Paige Patterson

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Patterson posing with a dead leopard

Paige Patterson is a Southern Baptist theologian who currently serves as the eighth president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He was born in 1942 and is a third generation Southern Baptist preacher who received a B.A. from Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas and a Th.M. and Ph.D. of theology studies from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Patterson was also elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention twice. He started preaching while still in his teens and has visited countries on five continents, leading Bible studies and conducting missionary work.

Patterson is best known for his leading of the conservative faction of the SBC during the late 1970s and 1980s. Recognizing that the SBC President could (albeit through a lengthy process) influence the direction of the SBC (which Patterson and other conservatives believed was taking a "liberal" track in opposition to Biblical standards), beginning in 1979 Patterson led the faction to nominate conservative-leaning Presidents (a trend which continues to this day).

External links

• Official web site