October 3, 2025
East Texas Baptist University hosted the third annual Lyceum, a forum for Christian thinkers, writers, and scholars, on Monday, September 29, in the Ornelas Student Center. This free, public event, organized by the School of Christian Studies and Humanities, welcomed attendees to engage in a thought-provoking evening centered on the intersection of faith and scholarship.
The event featured retired pastor, campus minister, and professor Dr. Gerald L. Stevens, who invested 34 years of his ministry teaching New Testament and Greek at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Since his retirement in 2022, he has taught as Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Greek at University of Holy Cross and at Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans. During this time, Dr. Stevens also served as interim pastor of numerous churches.
On Monday, Dr. Stevens first addressed ETBU’s campus community as guest speaker for the morning chapel service, offering a reminder that the story of Jesus cannot be understood apart from His death and resurrection.
“The Messiah fulfills Israel's story, but not as expected,” Dr. Stevens said. “No one expected the Messiah to die, and no one expected the Messiah to be raised from the dead. The resurrection, however, is what transforms Jesus' death into a life-giving force, unlike the death of any Jewish martyr on a first-century cross in Judea, and unlike even the noble death of a valiant gladiator in the Roman arena… Jesus' death is the only one that became the salvation of the world.”
Monday evening, Dr. Stevens shared a presentation titled “The Apocalypse Tapestry and the Tapestry of our Lives: Lessons in Worldview.” Following his presentation, Dr. Stevens participated in an engaging discussion with faculty from ETBU's School of Christian Studies and Humanities and an informal Q&A session with the audience.
Dr. Stevens has written extensively, publishing books, articles, Bible study lessons, and Bible resources. His textbooks for the classroom focus on Greek language, but he also has written commentaries on Acts, Romans, and Revelation. All of his writing is filled with numerous illustrations and images from his extensive travel overseas studying at biblical archeological sites and museums around the world. He has received various academic awards, including outstanding classroom professor. He is a skilled communicator, photographer, videographer, multimedia, computer, and technology specialist, as well as an accomplished musician.
"Lyceum was Aristotle's school that he founded 335 BC as a place for scholars and students to work together to seek out new understanding of the world around them," Dean of the School of Christian Studies and Humanities Dr. Sandy Hoover said. "ETBU’s Lyceum event reflects that vision of community by inviting a Christian scholar in one of the fields represented in the School of Christian Studies and Humanities to show our community how faith enriches the work we do as scholars. We hope that each time we get together for this event, we can grow alongside each other and understand what it means to be humans made in God's image."
ETBU's Lyceum hosts leading Christian thinkers, writers, and scholars annually. By bringing distinguished voices like Dr. Stevens to campus, the University hopes to inspire students and faculty to think deeply about the role of faith in their daily lives and careers.
“The cross is how God conquers evil in the world forever,” Dr. Stevens said. “What is the implication for living in revelation today? True Christian witness is a commitment to preach the Gospel so faithfully that your life takes on the shape of a cross.”