Grady C. Cothen, Sr. (2 August 1920 – 19 May 2017), was a pastor, state convention executive secretary-director for the

Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The wor ...

, author, university president, and seminary president. Cothen was born in Poplarville,

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, to the Reverend and Mrs. J. H. Cothen. He married Martha E. (Bettye) Major and had two children; Grady, Jr., Carole Shields. He attended from Hattiesburg High School, graduated from Baptist-affiliated Mississippi College in

Clinton Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has frequently been used as a given ...

and received his

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from

New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS) is a Baptist theological institute in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. Missions and evangelism are core focuses of the seminary. NOBTS offers doctoral ...

. He was ordained into Baptist ministry in 1939 in Richton, Mississippi. Cothen died on 19 May 2017 in Ridgeland, Mississippi, at the age of ninety-six.

Service

* Chaplain, U. S. Navy, 1944–46 * Pastor: White Oak Baptist Church, Chattanooga, Tn. 1946-48 * Olivet Baptist Church, Oklahoma City, Ok. 1948-59 * First Baptist Church, Birmingham, Al. 1959-61 * Executive Secretary, Southern Baptist General Convention of Ca. 1961 – 1966. * President of Oklahoma Baptist University 1966-70 * President of

1970-74 * President of Southern Baptist Sunday School Board 1975-84

Awards

* Distinguished Alumnus Award, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary * Order of The Golden Arrow, Mississippi College * E. Y. Mullins Denominational Service Award,

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) is a Baptist theological institute in Louisville, Kentucky. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. The seminary was founded in 1859 in Greenville, South Carolina, where it was at ...

* Listed in '' Who's Who in America'' from 1970 until retirement.

Honorary degrees

* Doctor of Divinity, Mississippi College * Doctor of Divinity, California Baptist College * Doctor of Laws, William Jewell College * Doctor of Humanities, University of Richmond * Doctor of Humane Letters, Campbell University * Doctor of Humane Letters, Oklahoma Baptist University

Books

* ''The God of The Beginnings'' * ''Faith and Higher Education'' * ''Unto All The World: Bold Mission'' * ''What Happened to The Southern Baptist Convention?'' * ''The New SBC: Fundamentalism's Impact on The Southern Baptist Convention''

President of OBU

During Cothen's tenure as president the Howard Residence was completed, the Oklahoma Baptist University Authority was incorporated, the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education accredited all OBU programs, and The Geiger Center for University Life was completed.

References

External links

The Papers of Grady C. Cothen

JSTOR: Journal for Scientific Study of Religion

Council for Christian Colleges and Universities
1920 births 2017 deaths Mississippi College alumni Presidents of Oklahoma Baptist University New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary alumni Baptist writers United States Navy chaplains United States Navy officers United States Navy personnel of World War II Burials in Tennessee People from Poplarville, Mississippi Southern Baptist ministers Baptists from Mississippi {{US-Christian-clergy-stub