Michael Easley Inaugurated as Moody's Eighth President
Moody Bible Institute inaugurated its eighth president on Thursday and Friday, beginning with an installation ceremony at Moody Church on the evening Sept. 8.
Moody Bible Institute inaugurated its eighth president on Thursday and Friday, beginning with an installation ceremony at Moody Church on the evening Sept. 8.
Though the seminarys president, Dr. Michael J. Easley, started serving at the position since Mar. 1, the inauguration lent dignity and weight to his service, according to MBI.
Delegates from more than thirty Christian schools participated in the installation ceremony, during which Dr. Charles Swindoll, chancellor of Dallas Theological Seminary, delivered the ceremonys charge and Dr. Joseph M. Stowell, former president, oversaw the investiture and presentation of insignia.
The inauguration celebration, hosted by the trustees and administration of MBI, continued on Sept. 9 with student, employee and alumni events on the campus.
A closing banquet was held at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill. And Jerry Jenkins, Institute trustee and writer-at-large and author of the best-selling Left Behind series, was present.
Prior to assuming the presidency of MBI, Dr. Easley served in pastoral ministry for twenty years. He began as a youth pastor intern at Trinity Fellowship in Dallas, Texas, before becoming senior pastor of Grand Prairie Bible Church in Grand Prairie, Texas. After nine years at Grand Prairie Bible, he was appointed senior pastor of Immanuel Bible Church in Springfield, Virginia, where he served for eleven-and-a-half years.
Easley graduated from Stephen F. Austin State University, where he received a bachelor of science in education in 1980, and Dallas Theological Seminary, where he received a master of theology in 1985 and a doctor of ministry in 2003. The seminary awarded him the John G. Mitchell award for outstanding scholarship and effectiveness in ministry for his doctoral work.