Old Testament Scholar John Haralson Hayes To Give Auchmuty Lecture at Samford March 8

Posted by Mary Wimberley on 2011-02-22

Old Testament scholar and author John Haralson Hayes will give this year’s James A. Auchmuty Lecture at Samford University on Tuesday, March 8.

Dr. Hayes, who retired in 2007 after 30 years on the faculty of Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, Ga., and is now professor emeritus of Old Testament, will speak at 10 a.m. in Reid Chapel. His topic will be “The Minister and Re-conciliator.” The public is invited to the lecture and to a reception that will follow.

A prolific writer and author or co-author of 31 books on Old Testament, biblical history and preaching topics, Dr. Hayes was general editor of the Dictionary of Biblical Interpretation (Abingdon Press 1999). More recent titles include Biblical Exegesis: A Beginner’s Handbook (Westminster John Knox Press 2007), and a collection of down home homilies, If you Don’t Like the Possum, Enjoy the Sweet Potatoes: Some Principles for Travel Along the Road of Life (Cascade Books 2010).

Dr. Hayes, a Camp Hill, Ala., native who now lives in Lafayette, Ala., is a 1956 Samford graduate who received the school’s prestigious John R. Mott Leadership Award his senior year. He holds a bachelor of divinity degree and Ph.D. degree from Princeton Theological Seminary. In 2010, Princeton recognized him as an outstanding alumnus for the significant contributions he has made over the course of his career to the study of the Old Testament.

The Samford lecture is presented by Birmingham’s Shades Crest Baptist Church and Samford’s Resource Center for Pastoral Excellence through the Auchmuty Fund for Congregational Leadership. The fund honors former Shades Crest pastor Dr. James Auchmuty, a 1957 Samford graduate who served the church for 27 years.

Dr. Auchmuty and Dr. Hayes were roommates at Samford in the 1950s.

During his Birmingham visit, Dr. Hayes will also preach the 10:30 a.m. worship service at Shades Crest on Sunday, March 6, and teach two Biblical Perspectives classes at Samford on Monday morning, March 7.

Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.