Walter B. “Buddy” Shurden is a prominent Baptist historian, preacher, author, and professor of church history. Shurden was born in Greenwood, Mississippi, on February 1, 1937, and later moved to Greenville, Mississippi, as a child. Shurden graduated from Greenville High School in 1954 and attended Delta State College in Cleveland, Mississippi, for one year. He then graduated from Mississippi College in Clinton, Mississippi, in 1958 with a degree in Religion and English. Shurden continued his education at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and earned a Master of Divinity degree in January 1967.

In his professional life, Shurden has been a lecturer, professor and/or pastor at several institutions, including at McMaster University, Carson-Newman College, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Mercer University, Providence Baptist Church, Lakeport Baptist Mission, East Fork Baptist Church, and First Baptist Church (Ruston, Louisiana). The complete list of churches for which Shurden has been interim pastor is located in Box 1, Folder 3. He is also the author of several works about Baptist history, including The Baptist Identity: Four Fragile Freedoms and Not a Silent People: Controversies that Have Shaped Southern Baptists. After nearly 25 years as a Christianity professor and department chair, Shurden retired from Mercer University in 2007.

He is married to Dr. Kay Wilson Shurden of Greenville, Mississippi, with whom he has three children: Sherry (b. 9/22/1959), Paula (b. 7/12/1961), and Walt (b. 2/19/1963).