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FORT WORTH—Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary opened its new 3,500-seat chapel on Dec. 1 with a daylong celebration, including a ribbon cutting, dedication chapel service, baptisms and a free Christmas concert. The opening of the J.W. MacGorman Chapel and Performing Arts Center represents the largest venue of its kind in Fort Worth.
The 96,000-square-foot complex will serve as the setting for the seminary’s weekly chapel services, graduation ceremonies, musical performances, conferences and other special events. Beginning in July 2012, it will also house the “Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible” exhibition.
Preaching during a morning chapel service from 1 Kings 8:22-30, school President Paige Patterson said his prayer for the chapel was similar to Solomon’s dedicatory prayer for the temple—that it would be a place to honor the name of the Lord, a place to seek his face, and a place to experience his presence.
Citing the many uses of the chapel and events that will come, Patterson said, “Never miss the point that all of that is add-on. It comes to nothing if certain things are not true of this place. All we seek of God today is that he will choose this place, that his presence will be known and experienced here.”
Patterson noted that many have asked him recently if he is excited about the new chapel, to which he responded, “Not yet.”
“I can’t be excited about it until I see what you’ve heard from the lips of several today, that it has moved from being a building to a house of transaction—when I see that transactions of eternal consequence begin to take place here and people begin to find Christ as Savior and they’re drawn here to the Lord Jesus—because, ladies and gentlemen, that’s the only thing that matters in time and eternity.”
Patterson presented the gospel at the end of the service, inviting people to come forward to receive Christ or to pray about their relationship with the Lord. During the invitation, several people came forward to talk and pray with seminary professors.
Dignitaries from across the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) attended the dedication service, including GuideStone Financial Resources President O.S. Hawkins, ERLC President Richard Land, and Golden Gate Baptist Seminary President Jeff Iorg. Three special guests brought greetings and shared their joy in the historic day: Frank Page, president of the SBC Executive Committee; Hance Dilbeck, chairman of Southwestern’s board of trustees; and Heinrich Derksen, president of Bibleseminar Bonn, a German partnership with the seminary.
Built by Manhattan Construction, the same company that built Cowboys Stadium, MacGorman Chapel is also designed as a venue for top-quality stage productions and musical events.
Alongside its excellent acoustics, the auditorium features state-of-the-art sound, video, and lighting systems, as well as a combination pipe-digital organ that can support congregational worship as well as large choral and instrumental ensembles. The main stage is large enough for a 90-piece orchestra and 200-voice choir. Two projection screens are mounted on each side of the stage, each one equivalent to a 330-inch television. Behind the stage, choir and orchestra rehearsal rooms provide space for musicians to prepare, and a hospitality suite offers a reception area for intermissions and private gatherings.
Immediately following the chapel dedication service, guests gathered in the main lobby for the dedication of The Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Baptismal Pool. The SBTC provided funds for the dual-purpose fountain and baptismal pool, which serves as a symbol of the seminary’s commitment to evangelism and missions as well as Baptist views on the meaning and mode of baptism.
To cap off the daylong celebration, Southwestern’s School of Church Music presented Christmas at Southwestern, an annual concert featuring Christmas carols and pieces from Rutter’s “Magnificat” and Handel’s “Messiah.” The free concert open to the public garnered widespread appeal, resulting in a near-capacity audience.
The MacGorman Chapel and Performing Arts Center is available to groups interested in hosting performances, conferences, graduations, or other special events. To inquire about holding an event in MacGorman Chapel, call 817-923-1921, ext. 2440.
To read individual stories about various places in the chapel and to view photo slideshows, visit swbts.edu/MacGormanChapel.
