Albert Mohler became president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in February 1993 when he was 33 years old.

To understand how unusual that is and what sort of challenges Mohler faced, listen to how he told the story ten years later in 2003 at a Sovereign Grace leadership conference: Part 1 | Part 2.

(See also my review of Gregory A. Wills, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1859–2009, Themelios 34 [2009]: 403–5.)

Shortly before Mohler became president (i.e., when he was president elect), Southern Seminary held a Q&A that was fairly hostile. You can watch it here. Fascinating. One Q&A exchange still makes me laugh. The question begins around 8:40 in the video:

• Paraphrased question: “You are young. Other faculty are older and thus wiser. What do you plan to do about it?”
• Mohler’s reply: “I intend to age. … I didn’t decide when I would be born, but I trust God’s providence in deciding when I’d be born and also his calling in bringing me here now. Age is not a factor to me. It may be to others. It’s something that’s just a part of who I am. … Without any apologies for my age, as the clock ticks, it changes.”

“I intend to age.” Well, he kept his word.

Happy 57th birthday, Al Mohler. I thank God for you.

Related:

1. R. Albert Mohler Jr.. “Confessional Evangelicalism.” Page 68–96 in Four Views on the Spectrum of Evangelicalism. Edited by Andrew David Naselli and Collin Hansen. Counterpoints. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011. Mohler responds to the other three views on pp. 50–55, 150–55, 194–99.
2. ———. The Conviction to Lead: 25 Principles for Leadership That Matters. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 2012.
3. I regularly listen to only a handful of podcasts, and two of them are by Mohler: (1) The Briefing and (2) Thinking in Public. I highly recommend them.