“I was James McClendon's wife and fellow scholar for seventeen of his years.  Knowing what he knew and cared about, the shape of this Chair perfectly honours his memory. He was not narrowly Anabaptist, or even Baptist, but gleaned resources from many religious movements and revivals. The interests of the holder of the Chair, Prof. Dr. Henk Bakker, are remarkably similar to his. This Chair is a great honour in his name and I look forward to supporting its work in any way I can”.

“With its name, the McClendon Chair refers to a type of theology that is thoroughly academic and profoundly practical, radically baptistic and courageously ecumenical. It will produce scholarship that takes seriously the challenges of our world. With that profile, the McClendon Chair and its Chairholder, Prof. Dr. Henk Bakker, will contribute significantly to the multicolour theology at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam."

“McClendon's work offers an international, ecumenical, yet, distinctly confessional approach to doing theology. IBTSC itself promotes research in this area and sees this Chair as an opportunity to develop further collaborative learning, teaching, and research with the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam into this particular expression of the Free Church tradition. Prof. Dr. Bakker is an internationally acknowledged scholar in this field”.

“Prof. James McClendon was my friend and colleague for many years. We first met in the midst of Anabaptist beginnings in Zurich and worked together in the Believers’ Church Conference at McMaster University (Hamilton) in 1996 where he was the keynote speaker. I have valued Jim’s theological accomplishment and used it many times in my advanced seminars. It brings together many streams in the Believers’ Church Tradition. I welcome the establishment of the Chair in his honour at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam”.

"The Baptist World Alliance representing over 40 million Baptist believers globally, is delighted to be a co-sponsor of the McClendon Chair. McClendon’s writings are a gift and a continuing challenge to the whole church, but especially to Baptists who dare to embrace his ‘baptist vision’."

"Miroslav Volf called McClendon “one of today’s premier American theologians.” Curtis Freeman once praised McClendon for seeking “to overcome the poverty of baptist theology” by recovering “a distinctive baptist vision as a standpoint for theological reflection” and by retrieving “diverse baptist voices as partners for theological conversation.” I urge Baptists to record our gratitude for McClendon’s contribution by supporting the fundraising program for the establisment of the chair."