Largely due to the influence of Dallas Theological Seminary, a large number of Christian authors from all genres are committed to the theological system known as dispensationalism.
Highest recommendations go to Criswell and Rogers for their preaching, and to Archer, Merrill, and Wood for their scholarship. Draper and Vines are also very good, and much of McGee's material is fascinating.
Max Anders (b. 1947) - dispensational dispensational evangelical Southern Baptist from Dallas Seminary; formerly a megachurch pastor. He seeks to bridge the gap between the scholarly and lay communities, often using dry humor to drive home basic biblical teachings. His books include one of the most level-headed approaches to the topic of spiritual warfare. Titles: The Good Life; New Christian's Handbook; 30 Days to Understanding the Bible; 21 Unbreakable Laws of Life; What You Need to Know about Bible Prophecy; What You Need to Know about the Church; What You Need to Know about Jesus; What You Need to Know about Spiritual Warfare (and similar titles). He is also the editor for the Holman New Testament Commentary series.
Gleason Archer (1916-2004) - dispensational professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School from 1965 to 1991, and one of the original translators of the NASB and NIV. His defense of inerrancy by resolving alleged contradictions in the Bible made him a favorite target of atheists and skeptics. He also developed a number of Bible language software tools and other reference works. Titles: The Book of Job: God's Answer to the Problem of Undeserved Suffering; Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties; The Genesis Debate: Three Views on the Days of Creation (Ed.); The Illustrated Children's Bible; In the Shadow of the Cross; Old Testament Quotations in the New Testament; A Survey of the Old Testament; Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (Ed., w/ R. Laird Harris and Bruce Waltke); Three Views on the Rapture (Ed.).
Barry Beitzel - dispensational evangelical provost of Trinity International University, and Old Tesatment professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School since 1976. Beitzel once taught at Bob Jones University, helped translate the NKJV, and was a reviewer for the New Living Translation. He has also prepared award-winning maps for some of the most popular study Bibles, many of which can be found in his Moody Atlas of Bible Lands.
Craig Blaising (b. 1949) - evangelical administrator at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, formerly a theology professor at Southern. He is the primary proponent of progressive dispensationalism, whose main goal is to recover the relevance of the Old Testament for the church. Beitzel also helped produce the NKJV and NLT. Titles: Dispensationalism, Israel, and the Church (Ed.); Progressive Dispensationalism (w/ Darrell Bock).
Mark Bubeck - dispensational evangelical, formerly a professor at Moody Bible Institute and president of the International Center for Biblical Counseling. One of the key supporters of deliverance ministries. Bubeck helped pioneer the idea that believers can be infested and controlled by demons. He was one of the original teachers of the Christian concept of generational spirits. Heavily influenced by Jessie Penn-Lewis. Titles: The Adversary: The Christian Vs. Demon Activity; Overcoming the Adversary; Preparing for Battle; Raising Lambs Among Wolves; The Rise of Fallen Angels; The Satanic Revival; Spiritual Warfare Prayers; Winning Spiritual Victories.
W. A. Criswell (1909-2002) - pastor of FBC Dallas and president of the Southern Baptist Convention during the turbulent years before the conservative resurgence. A preaching giant, scholar, and founder of Criswell College, First Baptist Academy, and the radio station KCBI. Criswell helped cement the SBC's commitment to inerrancy and expository preaching. Titles: The Baptism, Filling, and Gifts of the Holy Spirit; Basic Bible Sermons on the Cross; Christ the Savior of the World; Criswell's Guidebook for Pastors; Ephesians; Great Doctrines of the Bible; Standing on the Promises; There's Just One Book; Welcome Back, Jesus!; What a Savior; What to Do Until Jesus Comes Back; Why I Preach that the Bible Is Literally True; With a Bible in My Hand and the Expository Sermons series. He also produced the Criswell Study Bible and the Holy Bible: Baptist Study Edition.Fred Dickason - Dallas-trained former chair of the theology department at Moody, having taught there from 1961 to 1995. Dickason is one of the leading non-charismatic proponents of deliverance ministry. Beyond the usual teachings, he adds the conviction that charismatic signs such as speaking in tongues are Satanic in origin and are evidence of demonization. Titles: Angels: Elect and Evil; Demon Possession and the Christian; Names of Angels.
Jimmy Draper (b. 1935) - grandfatherly president of LifeWay Christian Resources and former SBC President. Draper's writings and sermons have an evangelistic focus, and he works to keep LifeWay's growing bookstore chain a ministry rather than a business. Titles: Biblical Authority; The Church Christ Approves; Conscience of a Nation; Discover Joy; Foundations of Biblical Faith; Live Up to Your Faith; Proverbs: The Secret of Beautiful Living; Trusting Thy Word; The Unveiling; and the Basic Bible Sermons series.
Jerry Falwell (b. 1933) - founder of Liberty University and the National Liberty Journal, and pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church. Best known for his Moral Majority (est. 1979), he surprised and angered fundamentalists when he became a Southern Baptist several years ago. Falwell is outspoken on dispensationalism, inerrancy, young-earth creationism, and religious liberty, and he focuses much attention on American political issues. Titles: Champions for God; Fasting Can Change Your Life (w/ Elmer Towns); If I Should Die Before I Wake; Keys to Daily Living; Liberty Bible Commentary; Listen, America!; The New American Family; Stepping Out on Faith (w/ Elmer Towns); Strength for the Journey; 25 of the Greatest Sermons Ever Preached (Ed.); When It Hurts Too Much to Cry; Wisdom for Living.Charles Feinberg (1909-199?) - Old Testament professor at Dallas and Talbot Theological Seminaries, and early progressive dispensationalist. Feinberg was one of the original NASB translators and focused much of his work on end-time prophecy. Titles: Israel at the Center of History and Revelation; Israel in the Spotlight; Millennialism: The Two Major Views; Premillennialism or Amillennialism?; and commentaries on Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, the Minor Prophets, and Revelation.
John Feinberg (b. 1946) - progressive dispensationalist professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinitiy School, and consultant on academic books for Crossway. Feinberg has written on the problem of God and evil, upholding a basically Calvinistic view of God's sovereignty. Titles: Continuity and Discontinuity (Ed.); Deceived by God; Ethics for a Brave New World (w/ Paul Feinberg); No One Like Him (Ed.); Tradition and Testament: Essays in Honor of Charles Lee Feinberg (Ed. w/ Paul Feinberg); Where Is God?. He also edited the Foundations of Evangelical Theology series.
Paul Feinberg - dispensational professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School since 1974. Trained at Dallas Seminary and formerly taught at Moody. Feinberg's expertise is in bioethics; he also writes on apologetics and theology. Titles: Ethics for a Brave New World (w/ John Feinberg); Introduction to Philosophy; Tradition and Testament: Essays in Honor of Charles Lee Feinberg (Ed. w/ John Feinberg).
Frank Gaebelein (d. 1983) - Reformed Episcopalian, old-style dispensationalist, and board member of the American Tract Society from 1938 until his death; also associate editor of Christianity Today and chair of the NIV style committee. Titles: The Christian, the Arts, and Truth; From Day to Day: A Message from the Bible for Each Day of the Year; The Pattern of God's Truth. He was also general editor of the multi-volume Expositor's Bible Commentary and editor of the New Scofield Reference Bible.
Gene Getz (b. 1932) - dispensational professor at Moody Bible Institute and Dallas Theological Seminary. Getz writes church growth materials and books for men using biblical personalities as models for developing Christian character. Titles: A Biblical Theology of Material Possessions; Effective Church Growth Strategies (w/ Joseph Wall); Elders and Leaders; The Measure of a Church (w/ Howard G. Hendricks); The Measure of a Man; The Measure of a Marriage; Sharpening the Focus of the Church; and the Bible study series Interacting with God; Men of Character; and ...One Another.
Howard Hendricks (b. 1924) - dispensational professor of Christian Leadership at Dallas Seminary. Hendricks promotes accountability groups and the mentoring model of discipleship, and has also written many marriage and family titles. Titles: As Iron Sharpens Iron; Color Outside the Lines; Different by Design; A Life of Integrity; Living by the Book; The Measure of a Church (w/ Gene Getz); One Home at a Time (w/ Dennis Rainey); The Priority of Knowing God; Say It with Love; Standing Together; Teaching to Change Lives. Not to be confused with liberal theologian William L. Hendricks
Chip Ingram - founder of Living on the Edge Ministries and current head of Walk Through the Bible. A dispensational evangelical who bases spiritual development on the Bible rather than on psychology, Ingram has the voice and style of a typical seeker sensitive megachurch pastor but challenges his listeners toward repentance, holiness, and spiritual maturity. Titles: God as He Longs for You to See Him; Holy Ambition; Holy Transformation; I Am With You Always; Love, Sex, and Lasting Relationships.
Robert Jeffress (b. 1955) - dispensational evangelical pastor of FBC Wichita Falls, and host of the TV program Pathway to Victory. Never one to back down from controversy, Jeffress urges Christian political activism in his preaching, but focuses much of his attention on the spiritual development of his congregation. Titles: As Time Runs Out; Choose Your Attitudes, Change Your Life; The Comfort and Confidence of Knowing God's Will; Coming Home; Faith at the Crossroads; Guilt-Free Living; Hearing the Master's Voice; Heaven Can't Wait; Hell? Yes!; I Want More!; The Road Most Traveled; Say Goodbye to Regret; The Solomon Secrets; When Forgiveness Doesn't Make Sense. Not to be confused with sensationalist author Grant Jeffrey.
Zola Levitt - prolific dispensational author and television host who formerly taught at Dallas Baptist University. A strict literalist across the board in Bible interpretation, whose emphasis is on the Jewish roots of Christianity and the role of Israel in end-time prophecy. He opposes the Third Wave revivalsim that dominates much of religious television. Titles: Broken Branches; The Cairo Connection: Egypt in Prophecy; The Coming Russian Invasion of Israel; Coming: The End!; How to Win at Losing; An Israeli Love Story; Jesus: The Jew's Jew; Jews and Jesus; The Miracle of Passover; Raptured; The Seven Feasts of Israel; Signs of the End; The Stones Cry Out. Levitt has also composed about two hundred songs.
J. Vernon McGee (1904-1988) - dispensational host of the Thru the Bible radio commentary, a five-year program which still airs regularly nationwide. McGee is known for his plain-spoken, grandfatherly tone. He was an avid proponent of the Scofield Reference Bible and the gap theory of creation it proposes. He was also a sharp social critic during the turbulent 1960s and 1970s. The verse-by-verse expositions from his Thru the Bible radio broadcast are collected in book form as a series of Bible guides.
Eugene Merrill (b. 1934) - dispensational Old Testament professor at Dallas Seminary. He has done important work on the Dead Sea Scrolls and defending the historicity of the Bible. Merrill also helped produce the NKJV, NLT, and HCSB. Titles: A Historical Survey of the Old Testament; A Kingdom of Priests; Qumran and Predestination: A Theological Study of the Thanksgiving Hymns; and a commentary on Deuteronomy. He was also a major contributor to the Bible Knowledge Commentary. Not to be confused with Bible reference authors Merrill Tenney and Merrill Unger or SBC pastor James Merritt.
Doug Moo (b. 1950) - New Testament professor at Wheaton College, formerly at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School; also one of the NLT translators and a member of the Committee on Bible Translation. Unlike most dispensationalists, he holds to a post-tribulational rapture. His goal over the next few years is to develop a theology of the law of Moses in the New Testament. Titles: Biblical Authority and Conservative Perspectives; Introduction to the New Testament; The Old Testament in the Gospel Passion Narartives, and commentaries on Romans, James, 2 Peter, and Jude. Moo has also edited the Biblical Forums series.
Paige Patterson (b. 1942) - dispensational evangelical president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and one of the leading figures in the SBC's conservative resurgence. He has also served as president of Criswell College and Southeastern Seminary and as SBC president. Patterson was also on the Advisory Council for the ESV. While firm in all his convictions, he gives latitude to Calvinists and other non-dispensationalists with whom he works. With W. A. Criswell, Patterson edited The Holy Bible: Baptist Study Edition. Other titles: Heaven; A Pilgrim Priesthood; The Troubled, Triumphant Church; the Great Doctrines of the Bible series (Ed.); and commentaries on Song of Solomon and Revelation.
Adrian Rogers (b. 1931) - dispensational pastor of Bellvue Baptist Church in Memphis, and former SBC president. He headed up the 2000 revision of the Baptist Faith and Message. A highly expository preacher. Rogers is fiercely opposed to Calvinism, despite partnerships with Al Mohler and other Reformed Baptists. He is equally outspoken against liberalism and materialism. Titles: Believe in Miracles but Trust in Jesus; The Incredible Power of the Kingdom Authority; The Power of His Presence; The Secret of Supernatural Living; Standing for Light and Truth; Ten Secrets for a Successful Family; Unveiling the End Times in Our Time; The Wonder of It All.
Andy Stanley (b. 1958) - dispensational evangelical trained at Dallas Theological Seminary. He is the son of Charles Stanley and serves as pastor of North Point Community Church in Atlanta. Titles: Can We Do That? (w/ Ed Young); Choosing to Cheat; Fields of Gold; How Good Is Good Enough?; Like a Rock; Louder Than Words; The Next Generation Leader; Seven Checkpoints; Visioneering.
Charles Stanley (b. 1933) - dispensational pastor of FBC Atlanta since 1971, host of In Touch, whose presidency was a key event in the SBC's conservative resurgence. Primarly a practical teacher and preacher, he draws from psychology where applicable but stays focused on Scripture. Stanley also helped popularize the New American Standard Bible. Titles: The Blessings of Brokenness; Charles Stanley's Handbook for Christian Living; Finding Peace; The Glorious Journey; God Is in Control; God's Way; Handle with Prayer; How to Handle Adversely; How to Know God's Will; How to Listen to God; Seeking His Face; Success God's Way; A Touch of His Joy; Walking Wisely; Winning the War Within; The Wonderful Spirit-Filled Life; and the In Touch Bible study series. Not to be confused with a prominent North Carolina pastor also named Charles Stanley.
Ray C. Stedman (1917-1992) - dispensational evangelical pastor of Peninsula Bible Church in Palo Alto, and close friend of J. Vernon McGee. Very conservative, probably fundamentalist by today's standards. Titles: Adventuring Through the Bible; Authentic Christianity; Body Life; God's Final Word; Is This All There Is to Life?; Psalms of Faith; The Queen and I; Riches in Christ; Spiritual Warfare; Talking with My Father; Understanding Man; Waiting for the Second Coming; What's This World Coming To?.
Joseph Stowell (b. 1944) - dispensational evangelical president of Moody Bible Institute. Stowell was trained at Dallas and mainly writes lay-level materials about turning to God during hard times. Titles: Eternity: Reclaiming a Passion for What Endures; Far from Home; Following Christ; Loving Christ; Shepherding the Church; Simply Jesus; Strength for the Journey; The Trouble with Jesus; The Weight of Your Words; Where Was God on September 11?
Chuck Swindoll (b. 1934) - president of Dallas Theological Seminary until recently (though still on the faculty); attempting to de-emphasize the centrality of dispensationalism in the seminary's theology. Also host of Insight for Living. Though a non-charismatic in the Evangelical Free Church, Swindoll works closely with Baptists and calls for cooperation with charismatic evangelicals in evangelism and other ministries. Occupies something of an uneasy middle ground on the Lordship salvation issue. Titles: Encourage Me; The Grace Awakening; Hand Me Another Brick; Killing Giants; Living Above the Level of Mediocrity; The Mystery of God's Will; Pulling Thorns; So You Want to Be Like Christ?; Start Where You Are; The Triumph of the Cross; Wisdom for the Way; and the Great Lives from God's Word series. He also produced the Living Insights Study Bible..Merrill Unger (1909-1980) - evangelical apologist and Bible reference writer for Dallas Seminary. Teaches a deliverance model of spiritual warfare and writes frequently on the operation of the Holy Spirit in the dispensationalist system. Like Fred Dickason, he teaches that speaking in tongues is demonic. Titles: Archaeology and the Old Testament; The Baptism and Gifts of the Holy Spirit; Biblical Demonology; Demons in the World Today; The Haunting of Bishop Pike; New Testament Teaching on Tongues; Principles of Expository Preaching; Unger's Bible Dictionary; Unger's Bible Handbook; Unger's Commentary on the Old Testament; What Demons Can Do to Saints. Not to be confused with Bible scholars Merrill Tenney or Eugene Merrill.
Jerry Vines (b. 1934) - evangelical pastor of FBC Jacksonville and former SBC president. As an outspoken preacher and defender of inerrancy, he commands extreme respect among Southern Baptists. Vines opposes the movement by Ron Phillips and others to make the SBC a charismatic denomination. Titles: Basic Bible Sermons on the Ten Commandments; Exploring the Gospels; Fire in the Pulpit; Great Events in the Life of Christ; I Shall Return; Interviews with Jesus; Power in the Pulpit; A Practical Guide to Sermon Preparation; Pursuing God's Own Heart; SpiritFruit; SpiritLife; SpiritWorks; Wanted: Church Growers; Wanted: Soul Winners. Not to be confused with author William E. Vine and his expository dictionary.
Warren Wiersbe (b. 1929) - dispensational evangelical; international Bible conference teacher and former pastor of Moody Church in Chicago. Formerly the general director of the TV program Back to the Bible,. His primary ministry is to act as a pastor to other pastors. Titles: Being a Child of GodThe Bible Exposition Commentary; The Bumps Are What You Climb On; Comforting the Bereaved; Live Like a King; On Being a Servant of God; Preaching and Teaching with Imagination; Real Worship; The Strategy of Satan; Ten Power Principles for Christian Service; The 20 Essential Qualities of an Authentic Christian; What to Wear to War; When Your Life Falls Apart; Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the New Testament; and the Be... Bible study series..Leon Wood (1918-1977) - Baptist professor at Grand Rapids Seminary and acting president of Cornerstone University. A deeply respected mentor for many of today's best Old Testament scholar. Wood was a defender of the inerrancy and historicity of the Old Testament. He also helped produce the NIV. Titles: The Bible and Future Events; The Distressing Days of the Judges; The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament; Israel's United Monarchy; The Prophets of Israel; A Survey of Israel's History; and commentaries on Genesis and Daniel. Not to be confused with bible scholar Leon MorrisKenneth Wuest (b. 1893) - dispensational evangelical and one of the greatest Greek scholars of the mid-20th century. Wuest sought to make Greek study accessible to lay readers. He is known primarly for the Wuest Expanded New Testament translation, which, though highly interpretive, is more accurate than the similar Amplified Bible. Other titles: The Practical Use of the Greek New Testament; Word Studies in the Greek New Testament.There may be others in this database whose dispensational convictions I am not aware of. See also the section on the leaders of the movement.
For a statement of my beliefs, see my Declaration of Faith.
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