W.A. Criswell
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Wallie Amos Criswell, Ph.D. (December 19, 1909 – January 10, 2002), was an American pastor, author, and a two term elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention during 1968 and 1969. Supporters have described him as the patriarch of the "Conservative Resurgence" within the Southern Baptists.
Criswell was born in Eldorado, Oklahoma and decided to go into Christian ministry as a teenager. Criswell was liscensed to preach at the age of 17 and soon there after held student pastorates at Devil's Bend and Pulltight, Texas. He would also serve as pastor of Mount Washington Baptist Church, First Baptist Church of Chickasha, Oklahoma and First Baptist Church of Muskogee. In 1944, he became the senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas in Dallas, Texas, where he remained until 1995. During this period, the church's membership grew from 7,800 to 25,000, expanding to multiple buildings in downtown Dallas, and becoming one of Southern Baptist best known megachurches.
Criswell was instrumental in the Southern Baptist denomination's rightward shift that began in the late 1970s. He published fifty four books and was awarded eight honorary doctorates. He founded Criswell College, First Baptist Academy, and KCBI Radio.
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[edit] Southern Baptist Convention Presidency
Dr. Criswell served two times as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest American Protestant denomination with 16 million members.
[edit] Theology
Criswell's theology is best described as conservative and evangelical. He believed in Biblical inerrancy and eternal security of the believer.
[edit] Selected works
- Why I Preach the Bible Is Literally True
- Criswells Guidebook For Pastors
- Standing on the Promises: The Autobiography of W. A. Criswell
