Reginald Calvert

Reginald Calvert was the 2009 Beeson M.Div. Distinguished Alumnus of the year. For ten years Reginald has served as pastor of the New Jerusalem Baptist Church in Bessemer. When Ralph Waldo Beeson provided the funds to establish Beeson Divinity School in 1988, he gave us the charge of preparing “pastors who can preach.” Mr. Beeson, who was born in the year 1900, had spent many hours of his long life in church listening to pastors who couldn’t preach, or at least who didn’t preach very well in his view. I think he would be proud of Reginald Calvert who certainly models in an exemplary way one of the major goals Mr. Beeson set for our school.

It was through the ministry of Dr. Robert Smith that Reginald was first introduced to Beeson. At the time, Reginald was a student at Birmingham-Easonian Baptist Bible College. Dr. Smith presented a series of lectures on the place of preaching in the pastor’s calling. Reginald was immediately drawn to Dr. Smith, to his deep knowledge of the Scriptures, his passion for the Gospel, and his warm-hearted love for Christ and his church. Dr. Wilson Fallin, the president of Birmingham-Easonian, recommended Reginald to Beeson as one of the finest students in his school, and he began his studies with us while still serving as a pastor in Bessemer.

What does Reginald most remember from his years at Beeson? Well, certainly the influence of Dr. Robert Smith who became Reginald’s personal mentor as well as his professor. And other Beeson professors like Dr. Allen Ross who emphasized the importance of knowing the historical context of the Bible and the traditions of interpretation that have marked its reception among the people of God across the centuries. And Dr. Frank Thielman, a world-renowned New Testament scholar and a paragon of kindness to all of his students.

He also remembers with affection Sandy Brinson, our Beeson receptionist, who offers a ray of sunshine and an encouraging word to everyone she meets, and other staffers like Jim Pounds, our conference coordinator, Tal Prince and Debbie Mize in the Office of External Relations, and Bridget Rose, who served for seven years as the curator of Hodges Chapel. And there were fellow students who shared the joys and struggles of seminary life at Beeson, some of whom have remained close friends and valued colleagues to this day. Reginald says that it is impossible to place a finite value on the things he learned at Beeson—biblical languages, the history and doctrine of the church, knowledge about the mission of the church around the world—but neither can he quantify the intangibles of friendships, relationships, spiritual growth and transformational discipleship.

If you see Reginald Calvert around Bessemer he is likely to have a book or two under his arm, his Bible and some work of theology he is reading. Like many busy pastors, he “studies on the run,” but he also devotes special time to reflection, prayer, and sermon preparation. He is married to Karla, herself the daughter of a distinguished Baptist pastor. Like Reginald, she is deeply committed to the ministry of New Jerusalem Baptist Church where she works with children and teaches God’s Word. Together they form a great team in ministry.

New Jerusalem Baptist Church is a congregation with a venerable history. Dr. Wilson Fallon’s father served as pastor there for fifty-three years! During the past ten years Reginald has led the congregation to new heights including a major focus on ministry and outreach in the community. The church is now completing a major building program which will provide ample educational space and a new recreational facility which will enhance the witness of the church in the Bessemer community.

And Reginald is not done with Beeson yet either. After ten years of pastoral work, he has sensed the need for further training and has returned to Beeson where he is enrolled in the Doctor of Ministry program. In the meantime, the Lord continues to open doors for his ministry in the wider church. Active in the work of his own denomination, the National Baptist Convention, he spoke in 2008 at the annual meeting of the Alabama Baptist State Evangelism Conference. This July he was one of the featured preachers at the Beeson Pastors School.  The website of New Jerusalem Baptist Church is www.njbcbessemer.org.