Denver Seminary

4 FALL 2018 NOTABLE News from the Denver Seminary community. F.Y.I. Denver Seminary Celebrates the Life and Legacy of Douglas V. Birk In Memory of Douglas V. Birk, 1918–2018 Dr. Douglas Birk, co-founder of Denver Seminary, died on June 13, 2018 at the age of 99. He would have celebrated his 100th birthday on August 7, 2018. Dr. Birk was born to John and Jenny Birk in Allouez, Michigan, and was the second of 11 children. Following high school, he moved to Detroit where in the summer of 1938 he accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior. In 1943 he entered Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, receiving a bachelor of theology degree and a bachelor of divinity degree. While at Northern he met Lucille Mills whom he married on June 20, 1947. They were subsequently blessed with four children: Judy, John, Phillip, and Timothy. In 1954 he earned a master of arts in Christian education from Wheaton College. When the Conservative Baptist Theological Seminary was founded in 1950, it extended an invitation to Dr. Birk to serve as the assistant professor of Christian education, a role he filled until 1982. Since no one else was available to handle administrative and academic duties, he also carried the dual responsibilities of registrar and business manager. He served in this capacity from 1950 to 1955. In 1956 Dr. Birk was appointed as administrative vice president, a position he held until 1978, and he served as vice president of business affairs from 1979 until 1982, when he retired from academic and administrative work. On May 12, 2000, Denver Seminary bestowed upon Douglas Birk the honorary degree of doctor of divinity for his 32 years of service. At this event, Dr. Vernon Grounds said of Dr. Birk, In those very earliest days, it was Doug who tenaciously kept the ship afloat. It was he who infused something of his own dogged determination into the hearts of our irregularly paid, embattled colleagues, encouraging us to fight on when we were tempted to give up. … It was he who had the vision to begin acquiring strategic properties in the neighborhood where the Seminary was located and thus he laid the financial foundation for the eventual purchase of our present campus. … It was he, in short, who really created the Seminary. Without Dr. Birk's visionary leadership, Denver Seminary would not be the institution it is today. In 2012 the Douglas V. and Lucille I. Birk Endowed Scholarship Fund was established at Denver Seminary. This fund was Dr. Birk's brainchild—he wanted to honor Lucille and encourage men and women entering pastoral ministry—but it was implemented and carried to completion by the Birk children in honor of their parents. The purpose of the scholarship is to provide tuition assistance for deserving MDiv students pursuing a career in full-time pastoral ministry. The fund honors the Birks' lifelong commitment to the local church. Denver Seminary held a memorial service for Dr. Birk on August 6, 2018 to honor his life and his service to the Seminary. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made toward the Birk Endowed Scholarship. To visit the memorial page for Dr. Birk, or to contribute to the fund, please visit denverseminary.edu/douglas-birk.

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