After 27 years of faithful service to Denver Seminary, Dr. Don Payne, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Academic Dean, will retire on June 30, 2026. Throughout nearly three decades, Don has served the Seminary’s mission with wholehearted dedication, investing deeply in the formation of students called to meet the world’s deepest needs with the gospel.

Don joined Denver Seminary in 1998, bringing theological scholarship and pastoral wisdom. His journey here reflects a rare combination of administrative leadership and personal investment in others. As Associate Dean from 2001 to 2013, he pioneered the Seminary’s Training and Mentoring program—a distinctive approach to theological education that has shaped hundreds of students and influenced mentoring ministries across multiple continents. In 2021, Don assumed leadership as Vice President of Academic Affairs and Academic Dean, providing steady guidance during a season of institutional transition.

As a theologian, Don has made substantive contributions to evangelical scholarship in theological anthropology, theological method, and the doctrine of the Christian life. His book Already Sanctified: A Theology of the Christian Life in Light of God’s Accomplished Work (Baker Academic, 2020) distills years of careful thinking about sanctification and spiritual formation—themes close to his heart and central to his ministry. His doctoral work at the University of Manchester, studying under T.A. Noble, focused on the theological method, theological anthropology, and the spirituality of J.I. Packer, and these commitments have consistently informed his teaching and writing. Beyond his own scholarship, Don has generously invested in the next generation, supervising numerous theses and dissertations and mentoring emerging pastors, scholars, and ministry leaders with patience and care.

Don’s influence has extended well beyond our campus. He has taught in Ecuador, Kenya, South Korea, and Northern Ireland, strengthening theological education and pastoral care with church leaders and mission organizations around the world. Since 2019, he has co-hosted the Seminary’s Engage360 podcast, where he shares theological reflection and practical wisdom with a broader audience. Throughout all of this, his commitment to the local church has remained constant—from his earlier years in pastoral ministry to his ongoing preaching and teaching in area congregations. This pastoral heart has shaped everything he has done at Denver Seminary.

“Serving at Denver Seminary, my alma mater, has been a remarkable gift to me” Don reflected. “I have had the opportunity to serve alongside and under some of the most gifted people I’ve ever known, many of whom have become friends. They have grown me as a professor, a scholar, a leader, and a follower of Jesus. I’ll forever be grateful for this community’s role in my life and the opportunity to serve here.”

President Mark Husbands expressed gratitude for Don’s long tenure:

“Don has given 27 years to Denver Seminary—years marked by faithful presence, theological seriousness, and genuine care for students, staff, faculty, and alumni. He has served wholeheartedly in one of the most demanding roles in higher education: the academic dean must hold together competing goods, balance the needs of multiple constituencies, and steward both cherished tradition and necessary innovation. Don has navigated these complexities with integrity and pastoral grace. His work in developing our mentoring program created something distinctive in theological education that continues to bear fruit. His scholarship has served the broader evangelical community with theological depth and clarity. We are grateful for his faithfulness, his care for this community, and the foundation he has helped build for those who will follow.”

As Don prepares for retirement, the entire Denver Seminary community joins in celebrating his decades of faithful service and the many lives he has touched through teaching, mentoring, scholarship, and quiet acts of pastoral care. We give thanks for Don’s service and pray God’s continued guidance and blessing for him and his family in the years ahead.