The year 2024 brings joyful celebration to Dallas Theological Seminary. If you’ve been part of the DTS family, you probably know why: We’re celebrating our centennial anniversary! It was back in 1924 that the seminary’s founders welcomed the first students to a new kind of school, a place where pastors and ministers could receive in-depth training in all sixty-six books of the Bible. A century later, DTS continues to equip godly servant-leaders for the proclamation of God’s Word and the building up of the body of Christ worldwide. Not all of the faculty, staff, students, and alumni are preachers by profession, but they all live out the school’s motto, “Preach the Word,” through their lives as they shine the light of the gospel everywhere they go.
In celebration of the centennial, DTS Magazine looks back over the seminary’s history and forward to what God might continue to do through DTS. We’re excited to present two special issues. First, we look at the early days: the doctrinal distinctives that have guided DTS from the start; what the city of Dallas was like in 1924; and the first students on campus. Then we hear from the seminary’s leaders: Chancellor Emeritus Chuck Swindoll tells about coming to DTS as a student, and Chancellor Mark Bailey and President Mark Yarbrough reflect on what Dallas Theological Seminary means.
In our next issue, we’ll look forward, seeing how DTS has grown to equip people all over the world to be godly servant-leaders—and how we’ll continue seeking God’s leading into the future. Thank you for your part in our century of teaching truth and loving well!
NEIL R. COULTER EDITOR, DTS MAGAZINE
6
LOOK WHAT GOD HAS DONE!
President Yarbrough invites us to a celebration of God’s faithfulness and goodness as we look back at the first century of Dallas Theological Seminary.
MARK M. YARBROUGH
RUSTY WILLIAMS 12
DALLAS, TEXAS: THE VIEW FROM 1924
Today, we know Dallas as one of the largest, most vibrant metropolitan areas in the US. But what was it like in 1924? Historian Rusty Williams takes us on a historical tour.
GLENN R. KREIDER 16
BIBLIOTHECA SACRA— A HISTORY WITH DTS
DTS has valued partnerships to help reach people all over the world with biblical and theological education. Glenn Kreider traces the beginnings of one of those significant partnerships: DTS’s publication of Bibliotheca Sacra, America’s longestrunning theological journal.
20
REMEMBER THE WHOLE WAY BY WHICH HE HAS BROUGHT YOU PART 1
In conversation with his daughter Colleen, Chuck Swindoll remembers how the Lord led him to DTS. It’s a story of following God, step by step, and being surprised by the Lord’s blessing and provision all along the way.
CHUCK SWINDOLL WITH COLLEEN SWINDOLL THOMPSON
TWO PRESIDENTS: BAILEY & YARBROUGH IN CONVERSATION PART 1
Enjoy a conversation with Mark Bailey and Mark Yarbrough as they reflect on the core character of DTS and what it means to answer God’s call to seminary leadership.
NEIL R. COULTER & KRAIG MCNUTT 26
40
GRATEFUL FOR THE PRIVILEGE OF JOYFUL WORSHIP PART 1
In the first of a two-part message, Mark Bailey opens Psalm 100, considering seven components that should shape our thinking, prompt our worship, encourage our faith, and set the right tone for celebration.
MARK L. BAILEY
42
DEPEND ON THE LORD: LEARNING TO RECEIVE
Learning to receive as God provides for our needs is a spiritual discipline we must practice. Read about a pivotal moment in DTS history, when Lewis Sperry Chafer saw the Lord provide in a beautiful, nick-of-time way.
KIM TILL, SCOTT TALBOT & NEIL R. COULTER
46
REMEMBERING GOD’S GREAT DEEDS
This Bible study guide, for individuals or small groups, looks at the concept of remembering in the Old Testament. How might we become more active and intentional in our remembrance, as Scripture teaches us?
CONTRIBUTORS
PRESIDENT
DR. MARK M. YARBROUGH
VP FOR COMMUNICATIONS & COMMUNITY
DR. JOSH WINN
EDITOR IN CHIEF
KRAIG W. MCNUTT
EDITOR
DR. NEIL R. COULTER
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
JASON FOX
ART DIRECTOR
STEPHANIE JOHNSTON
PRINT PRODUCTION SENIOR MANAGER
DEBBIE J. STEVENSON
PROJECT MANAGER
SALLY KAMARA
PROOFREADER
LISA WHITE
COPY EDITING & PROOFING
MARGARET TOLLIVER
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS
MEDIA PRODUCTIONS
PHOTOS USED IN THIS ISSUE FOR THE CHUCK SWINDOLL ARTICLE ARE COURTESY OF THE SWINDOLL FAMILY
OUR MISSION IS TO GLORIFY GOD BY EQUIPPING GODLY SERVANT-LEADERS FOR THE PROCLAMATION OF HIS WORD AND THE BUILDING UP OF THE BODY OF CHRIST WORLDWIDE.
WRITERS:
MARK L. BAILEY (P h D, 1997)
CHANCELLOR, DALLAS THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
Now the chancellor of DTS, Mark served for nineteen years as the seminary’s fifth president. He continues to be active in the classroom as senior professor of Bible exposition, along with leading tours to the Holy Land and speaking frequently at conferences and churches.
IS THIS YOUR FIRST COPY OF DTS MAGAZINE?
WANT TO SUBSCRIBE?
If you would like to receive it to your home address (or need to update your address), scan this QR code to begin your free subscription today!
NEIL R. COULTER
After studying ethnomusicology and then ministering for twelve years in the arts in Papua New Guinea, Neil now teaches at Dallas International University and DTS, along with serving as senior writer and editor of DTS Magazine
JOHN D. HANNAH (T h M, 1971; T h D, 1974)
One of the longest-serving faculty members at DTS, John’s research interest focuses on the history of the Christian church. His book An Uncommon Union recounts the history of Dallas Theological Seminary.
GLENN R. KREIDER (T h M, 1990; P h D, 2001)
In addition to teaching in the Department of Theological Studies and serving as editor-in-chief of Bibliotheca Sacra, Glenn enjoys researching and writing about Jonathan Edwards, theological method, theology and popular culture, and our eschatological hope.
KRAIG MCNUTT
Kraig has led marketing teams at numerous companies and schools. Along with his current role as DTS’s director of marketing and communications, he also serves on the Story of Scripture leadership team and writes about the Civil War.
Pastor Chuck has devoted his life to the accurate, practical teaching and application of God’s Word and God’s grace. Chuck founded Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas, and serves as chancellor emeritus of DTS.
COLLEEN SWINDOLL THOMPSON
Colleen is the founder and director of Reframing Ministries. Reframing provides resources that help individuals and caregivers reframe their circumstances and shift their perspective.
SCOTT TALBOT
Scott has over thirty years of experience in the field of financial planning, including more than twenty years in planned giving. In his role with the Dallas Seminary Foundation, he assists numerous donors in understanding their planned giving opportunities.
KIM TILL
For over thirty-five years, Kim has worked for charitable organizations in development and fundraising. She has been on staff at DTS since 1996 and currently serves as vice president for advancement.
PAUL D. WEAVER (T h M, 2003)
Before joining the DTS faculty, Paul taught for eighteen years at the Word of Life Global Bible Institute. His podcast, Bible & Theology Matters, has released over one hundred episodes on theology and the Christian life. www.BibleAndTheologyMatters.com
RUSTY WILLIAMS
Rusty is an award-winning author of books about the history of Texas and the Southwest. His latest is Texas Loud, Proud, and Brash: How Ten Mavericks Created the Twentieth-Century Lone Star State. He lives in Dallas and can be reached at rustywilliams2004@yahoo.com.
MARK M. YARBROUGH (T h M, 1996; P h D, 2008) PRESIDENT, DALLAS THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
The president of DTS, Mark also teaches classes in Bible exposition and leads tours to the Holy Land, which he believes every Christian should visit at least once in their lifetime. Mark is a popular conference speaker, including at the Story of Scripture events.
LOOK WHAT GOD
CENTER: THE SEMINARY COMMUNITY GATHERS FOR THE GROUNDBREAKING OF CHAFER CHAPEL
FAR RIGHT: AN EARLY SIGN THAT WELCOMED PEOPLE TO THE DALLAS CAMPUS
ABOVE: DAVIDSON HALL, THE SEMINARY’S FIRST NEW BUILDING (1927)
GOD HAS DONE!
BY MARK M. YARBROUGH PRESIDENT, DALLAS THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
Since the beginning of our centennial year at Dallas Theological Seminary, the refrain from a popular worship song has been ringing in my mind:
Oh, look what God has done
He’s been here all along
All through the changing of the tides
He’s been constant, He’s been kind
Oh, look what God has done
His love surrounding us
All through the fire and the flood
He’s always been enough
He’s been enough1
All of us at DTS share the privilege of serving God, and we reflect on what he has done these past one hundred years. He has moved; he has provided; he has gone before us. And he has used countless alumni from across the world to further God’s mission through our school.
“Look what God has done!”
It is good to remember God’s faithfulness. Remembrance invites us to pause and acknowledge our reliance on him and express gratitude for his provision. Remembering God’s faithfulness at critical points in our spiritual journey is a powerful principle given to us in Scripture. One timeless example: Moses, having brought the nation of Israel to the cusp of the promised land, encouraged God’s people to
REMEMBER the whole way by which he has brought you these forty years through the wilderness so that he might, by humbling you, test you to see if you have it within you to keep his commandments or not.
DEUTERONOMY 8:2
Remembering God’s faithfulness humbles us as we review overwhelming evidence of his leadership and his goodness toward us. Additionally, our ability to trust him grows deeper whenever we look to him in tough times.
God knew his people would need regular reminders of his power and provision when they faced the inevitable uncertainties of entering the land. By looking back and seeing God’s hand, they would be steeled for any unknowns ahead. The same is true for DTS. As we look at what God has done, we can joyfully move forward in faith with genuine humility and a deeper confidence in him.
Though the world churns in political and social turmoil, and society can seem to be cascading into chaos, God’s people need not fear the future. Rather, we will face tomorrow with humility and deepened faith—because we have a God who has been there all along.
Will you join us at Dallas Theological Seminary in celebrating God’s goodness? I hope you will. Let’s join our hearts together in song: “Oh, look what God has done!” He has been faithful. He has been enough. And we praise him.
BOTTOM
STUDENT LOUNGE, STEARNS DORMITORY, 1929
CENTER: A STUDENT AT WORK IN THE DORMITORY TOP RIGHT: LIBRARY INSIDE DAVIDSON HALL, 1940
BOTTOM RIGHT: MORNING FLAG–RAISING CEREMONY, 1942
1 Corey Voss and Madison Street Worship, “Look What God Has Done,” Heaven Come Closer (Integrity Music, 2020).
LEFT:
LEWIS SPERRY CHAFER
FOUNDING PRESIDENT (1924-1952)
TOP LEFT: LEWIS SPERRY CHAFER, ALWAYS IN MOTION
BOTTOM LEFT: DR. AND MRS. CHAFER
CENTER: GROUNDBREAKING OF CHAFER CHAPEL
TOP RIGHT: THE CONSTRUCTION OF DAVIDSON HALL
BOTTOM RIGHT: DAVIDSON HALL
DALLAS , TEXAS : THE VIEW FROM 1924
BY RUSTY WILLIAMS
On a typically sunny October morning in 1916, hundreds of Dallas’s commercial, industrial, financial, and city leaders gathered for a celebratory luncheon to mark the formal opening of the new Union Station (later renamed the Eddie Bernice Johnson Union Station). The $6 million train depot presented an imposing example of Beaux-Arts classicism: six grand Doric columns framed the three forty-foot-tall arched windows in the passenger lobby. The two-story building was sheathed with glazed-white brick panels that glittered as they reflected the morning’s autumn sunshine.
“The greatness of this station is hardly to be known today,” said the keynote speaker. “This is merely the fertile soil from which a vibrant city of commerce, ideas, and faith will grow.” 1
Dallas built the new depot to unify train traffic and rails used by the seven steam railroad companies serving the city. The new Union Station replaced five dinky, dingy, and dilapidated old depots scattered around the city, miles apart and inconvenient to passengers and shippers.
Rail lines crisscrossed the city’s commercial district, often interfering with street traffic and obstructing access to businesses. Without viaducts, underpasses, or automatic signaling devices, at-grade rail crossings represented an ever-present danger to automobiles, delivery wagons, and children at play. Rails strangled the city’s prospects.
Shortly after the opening of Union Station, the Dallas Morning News reported that the city had already made “a good start in removing grade crossings.” 2 Rerouting
rail lines and removing all the grade crossings from city streets would take years, but downtown business districts felt the effects of the new depot quickly. Owners of the old Jefferson Hotel, located across Houston Street from the station, completely renovated the shabby ten-story structure. Citizens voted their interest in buying the city block across from the depot for use as a park to welcome city visitors.
Elsewhere, the city paved more downtown streets, laid trolley lines, and passed traffic laws limiting horse-drawn vehicles in the streets. Neiman Marcus expanded from its Main Street storefront to take over the whole block of South Ervay between Main and Commerce; radio stations went on the air to provide news and entertainment. Area cotton production was at an all-time high, and two textile plants opened, along with scores of garment and millinery factories. Work commenced on Commerce Street for the Southland Life Insurance Building, on Elm for the Texas and Pacific Building, and on Main for the American Exchange Building, each more than ten stories tall and each housing the new corporate headquarters of its company.
Daily, a hundred trains and up to 50,000 passengers arrived and departed from Union Station. Three hundred employees, dressed in colorful uniforms designating their functions, assisted passengers, while electric tractors whisked luggage between trains and the depot. Flight service companies began to acquire the land and facilities used to train airmen during the Great War; this would eventually become the modern Love Field. Trade groups, manufacturers,
and fraternal organizations began to choose Dallas as the destination for their national conventions. Work commenced on a city plan that called for widening some city avenues, acquiring more parklands, building levees along the Trinity River to prevent future flooding, and constructing broad, landscaped parkways to crisscross the city. In 1922, the twenty-nine-story Magnolia Oil Company Building—then the tallest building west of the Mississippi—opened for occupancy. Dallas’s population grew to more than 200,000.
The Chamber of Commerce’s end-of-year report affirmed that 1923 broke all previous records for trade volume, real estate values, bank deposits, and most other measurements. Before the end of the year, workers removed the final section of railroad track from the middle of Pacific Avenue, opening it to develop into another of the city’s major commercial streets.
With its commercial success, Dallas was stepping lively. But discordant notes sounded, too. Yes, America’s brief involvement in the Great War improved the balance sheets of area producers and Dallas manufacturers, due to increased demand for cotton, wool, and leather goods.
And most people greeted the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment in 1920, prohibiting the manufacture, sale, and transport of alcoholic beverages, as a moral victory. But these events also seem to have fostered greater moral confusion and licentiousness among some in the community.
The global conflict and the troubling experiences of combat left some people wondering about the presence of any guiding force to affect their lives. Motion pictures portrayed lives that were vulgar, immoral, degenerate, and without consequence. Stage shows grew more daring and bawdier. The pages of books and magazines brought readers stories about subjects not spoken of in public before. And legal restrictions on intoxicating beverages meant that such libations were more likely to be brought home, consumed in the privacy of personal automobiles, in not-so-private clubs within the city, or in rural “booze bungalows” surrounding the city. Increasingly, many people lived as though all barriers could be cast aside, that any life choices were as good as any others.
In response to this cultural shift, Dallas churches attended to the city’s spiritual needs. Twenty-two new
churches opened their doors in 1923, most in the new eastern suburbs and Oak Cliff. Congregations built fifteen new sanctuaries or Sunday school buildings. Permitting or construction was underway for grand new houses of worship for First Methodist Church, Gaston Avenue Baptist Church, East Dallas Christian Church, and Highland Park Methodist Church. The area boasted a cadre of educated, erudite clergy who had arrived in Dallas to help fill those new pews—men such as George W. Truett of First Baptist, William M. Anderson Jr. of First Presbyterian (an early friend and supporter of the seminary), Carl C. Gregory of First Methodist, L. N. D. Wells of East Dallas Christian, and Lewis Sperry Chafer of First Congregational (later renamed Scofield Memorial). These clergymen and others sought the best ways to meet the spiritual needs of their community. As detailed in elsewhere in this issue, for Chafer, the call to address the
needs of his community would grow from pulpit ministry in one church to a seminary founded on confidence in the Bible and the need to equip more ministers for the task of gospel proclamation. The city of Dallas in 1924 represented an ideal setting for such an institution.
Dallas’s Union Station had been erected to unify the young city, opening up clogged transportation arteries and allowing Dallas to flourish and grow. Union Station had become the city’s “front door,” welcoming buyers, sellers, lenders, borrowers, builders, dealmakers, seekers, and ministers. Dallas had risen above its peers in a ranking of US cities, achieving the same tier as such metropolitan mainstays as St. Louis, Kansas City, Cincinnati, and Louisville.
With Union Station, Dallas had become a city beautiful, a city practical, and a city thriving. Those attributes may in part have influenced the founders of a new seminary to choose Dallas as the school’s location—a city that promised to be the leading edge of American life in the twentieth century and beyond. In this vibrant, energetic setting, in 1924 Dallas Theological Seminary launched its innovative curriculum that would ground a grieving
postwar culture in the truth of God’s Word. And just as Dallas was poised to reach out to the rest of the world’s cultures, so DTS would also flourish beyond its Dallas campus and reach people everywhere.
1 “Dallas’ New Union Station Formally Opened to Public; Governor Ferguson Pleads for Railways,” Dallas Morning News, October 15, 1916.
2 “Good Start in Removing Grade Crossings,” Dallas Morning News, October 26, 1916.
BOTTOM LEFT: LOOKING EAST DOWN DALLAS’S “MAIN STREET CANYON” (8 1/2 X 9 3/4” POSTER PRINT IN DTS ARCHIVES)
CENTER: DAVIDSON AND STEARNS, 1929
TOP RIGHT: DOWNTOWN DALLAS IN THE EARLY 1920 s
DALLAS
A HISTORY WITH DTS
BY GLENN R. KREIDER
From the early years of Dallas Theological Seminary, and long before “distance education” became a trend, the school’s leaders have found ways to engage with people beyond the classrooms on campus. Lewis Sperry Chafer’s ministry before founding DTS included work at the New York School of the Bible, which distributed a popular Bible correspondence course. Chafer also traveled extensively as a speaker at Bible conferences throughout the US. Built into the fabric of DTS, then, was a vision to reach people everywhere with the gospel. An important partnership for biblical and theological engagement began in 1934, when DTS took on publication of Bibliotheca Sacra
The oldest theological journal published in the US, Bibliotheca Sacra has traveled through many homes on its way to DTS. It started in 1843 at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. Three issues later, the publication’s home moved to Andover Theological Seminary in Massachusetts. In 1884, the journal traveled once more, this time to Oberlin College in Ohio—coincidentally, the same school which Chafer attended from 1889 to 1892. In 1922, Xenia Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, purchased the journal. But when Xenia merged with Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, which already published its own theological journal, Bibliotheca Sacra needed a new home yet again. Thus, in 1934 it moved to Dallas, and DTS has published Bibliotheca Sacra ever since.
At the seminary, the journal’s first editor was Chafer’s brother, Rollin, followed by Chafer himself, John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck, Larry J. Waters, and, from 2018
to the present, Glenn R. Kreider. An editorial committee of DTS faculty members evaluates articles and renders decisions about publication. Each issue of Bibliotheca Sacra features peer-reviewed articles on biblical, theological, and historical topics, along with reviews of recent books. Though authors are not required to affirm the doctrinal statement of DTS, they do model orthodox Christian convictions and a respect for the inspired Word of God and “the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints” (Jude 3).
Over the years, Bibliotheca Sacra has cultivated a community of enthusiastic readers, eager for each new issue. Bradford Garrigues Sr. (MABS, 1987), for example, a pastor in North Carolina, is one of few individuals to have a complete set of all the journal’s issues on his bookshelf. “I think BibSac is precious to alumni for three reasons,” Garrigues says. “First, it stands for the biblical truths that DTS was founded upon. Second, it links us to the gifted Bible teachers who started at DTS and those who taught us. Third, it is a regular reminder of how the Lord worked in so many of our lives to provide us with resources for ministry.”
As DTS celebrates its centennial and looks forward to the next century of equipping God’s people and serving the church worldwide, Bibliotheca Sacra will continue to encourage the seminary’s faculty, students, alumni, and other constituents with resources for ministry and ongoing learning.
DALLAS
The First Students at the Evangelical Theological College
DALLAS, TEXAS
BY JOHN D. HANNAH
Sometimes the beginning of a new endeavor hardly suggests what may gradually emerge over the decades. Initially without a campus, the Evangelical Theological College began in a two-story rental property in south Dallas. Classes convened in that former residence of a parishioner of the nearby First Presbyterian Church until the school secured its first property in 1926: the Gaston Mansion, on Swiss Avenue. Small beginnings, tenuous endeavor, and, unknown to the founders, headed toward the Great Depression.
From the founding of the school in 1924, the administrative restructuring of the institution in 1929, and the construction of buildings on the site—first Davidson Hall, housing classrooms, dining commons, the library, and offices in 1927, and then Stearns Hall, a dormitory, in 1929—seventy-five students joined the school’s fledgling community. Between 1930 and 1936, the year the school was renamed to Dallas Theological Seminary and Graduate School of Theology, an additional 125 students matriculated. What attracted students to a small, independent school to prepare for ministerial service?
The doors of the school flung open to create a voice against challenges to a new Christian orthodoxy that redefined the relevance of Jesus Christ and integrity of the Holy Scriptures. Unease became discernible in the enclaves of higher learning by the closing decades of the nineteenth century. A notable response to these trends was the emergence of the Bible conference movement, wherein the Bible became the central focus. Such conferences led to a more formal curriculum in emergent
Bible institutes and colleges that offered certificates and degrees—and this led to graduate schools for ministerial preparation. Students who embraced historical orthodoxy came to DTS, a place that gave priority to the integrity of Holy Scripture. These first students (like the thousands of students who would follow them) shared a devotion to the Savior and a calling to share the gospel with the world. They came because they wanted to know Christ more deeply and to make him known.
Looking at the earliest years of DTS, we see that it had a small beginning, but by the second decade of its existence, the student body had grown, and new students brought more and more qualifications for continuing education. The seminary had moved from rental space to its own campus, with two major buildings constructed. Students from across the nation and around the world found their way to DTS. Most graduates pursued pastoral ministry in churches, with an equal number finding vocational fulfillment in foreign missions and education. In the 1920s and ’30s, students in pastoral ministry entered denominational churches, reflective of the fact that the denominations welcomed graduates from a nondenominational institution, as well as the fact that most of the earliest teachers had Presbyterian connections.
From the beginning, then, students came to DTS for all the reasons students still do today: the seminary’s doctrinal convictions, love of Jesus Christ, dependence on God’s Word, all brought together for comprehensive preparation to share the gospel with the world.
By 1929
· 30 Students with Undergraduate Degrees
· 13 Students with Prior College Experience
· 16 Students Had Completed Certification from a Nonaccredited Bible Institute
· 6 Students with No Formal Academic Experience
· 21 States Represented
1930–36
125 New Students
· 68 of the 125 New Students Came with Undergraduate Degrees
· 18 Students from Outside the US
· 22 States Represented (Including Hawaii)
1932 Survey
INQUIRING ABOUT THEIR WORK AFTER FINISHING THEIR DTS DEGREES
54% RESPONDED TO THIS SURVEY (A TOTAL OF 53 PEOPLE)
· 29 in Pastoral Ministries
· 10 in Teaching Posts
· 10 in Ministries Outside the USA CANADA : 7 // IRELAND : 2 // BULGARIA : 1
· 2 in Full-Time Evangelical Work
· 2 in Bivocational Ministries
R E M EM B E R
t he Whole Way by Which He Ha s Brought You .
[ PART 1 ]
BY CHUCK SWINDOLL CHANCELLOR EMERITUS, DALLAS THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
WITH COLLEEN SWINDOLL THOMPSON
The Lord took me far from home to single me out for a lifetime of ministry.
When he brought me back, he led me to Dallas Theological Seminary, where I would receive my training for lifelong service. Each time I look back at my story—really, Cynthia’s and my story—I’m overwhelmed by his grace and the hope I’ve known as he faithfully led us each step along the way.
After high school, I completed a four-and-a-half-year apprenticeship at a machine shop. During those years I met and married Cynthia. Two years later, I joined the Marines; back then, military service was mandatory. My first tour of duty was in San Francisco. Cynthia and I were blissfully happy. She was the most wonderful individual I’d ever met. From the beginning, she has always loved me simply for who I am, which is the best way to be loved. In our first two years of marriage, we enjoyed a wonderful time together in a little home outside Houston, and then for a few months in San Francisco. And then one day an unexpected letter arrived: I learned that the Marines were sending me overseas . . . to the island of Okinawa. At that time, wives were not allowed to accompany their husbands to overseas assignments. Talk about a shock! We were to
endure sixteen long months apart, during which time I wouldn’t even hear her voice, since phone calls were too expensive. Deep within our hearts we knew we’d make it. But I felt dreadfully disappointed in God, even bitter, asking him, “How could you let this happen?”
Little did I realize what he had planned for me during those many months on that South Pacific island. It started on the troop ship on the way there (twenty-one days at sea). I read a book my brother had given me: Through Gates of Splendor. In that excellent volume, Elisabeth Elliot tells the story of her husband and four other men who gave their lives to reach the Waorani of Ecuador in 1956. I thought, “If they would do this, and those wives could go on without their husbands— and they were all martyred—then Cynthia and I can certainly survive this.” That became a turning point for me in my attitude about having to leave my sweetheart and lifelong companion, Cynthia. Once I arrived on Okinawa, God favored me with a special role in the Marine 3rd Division Band, which allowed me extra time for Bible study, Scripture memory, and spiritual formation. I met Bob Newkirk, who served with The Navigators. Bob became a devoted spiritual mentor and a dear friend. That wonderful man built into my life and encouraged me to pursue a Scripture memory
program that I remain committed to. In our free time, we’d go out and hold public meetings on a flatbed truck. A crowd would gather for an evangelistic street meeting. Eventually, Bob said, “Chuck, you can sing—I also want you to sing and preach. You just lead the whole thing.” So that’s what I did. On the way back to my military base, he’d say to me, “You’re a natural, you know that? You’ve got it.” His words came as a total surprise! After some months of digging into the Scriptures and singing and preaching, I said to Bob, “I think I’m going to study for the ministry.” Bob enthusiastically replied, “Now you’re talking!” I’ll never forget his prayer that evening. I sensed the Lord’s call on my life from that day on. I wrote to Cynthia to tell her I’d surrendered my life to the Lord for ministry. She went into orbit, she was so thrilled.
So, after those months on Okinawa, I was honorably discharged from the Marines, took the next flight home to Cynthia, and decided to apply to Dallas Theological Seminary. We were so excited! I knew I didn’t have all the academic credentials to be accepted—I hadn’t even graduated from college!—but I trusted in God’s leading, and I held on to hope. We drove to Dallas, and we went to campus to meet with Dr. Donald Campbell, who served at the time as the seminary’s registrar and top admissions officer. Oh, how I loved that man. He said, “Let’s give you a few tests and see if you can do master’s-level work at a theological seminary.” He gave me three tests, telling me to be sure to add verses of Scripture where they applied; after all my Bible study and Scripture memory on Okinawa, I was able to pack every answer with verses. By God’s grace, I did very well on all three tests. Dr. Campbell said, “Okay, Chuck, we’ll accept you on probation.” I teared up. I was so thrilled, so honored; the seminary rarely allowed that kind of probationary admission. I took a job as the seminary’s lawn keeper, mowing the grass on campus—75 cents an hour, paid toward our $63 monthly rent. That job allowed me to meet many of the faculty members. I knew this was all made possible by the grace of God. So, with eagerness, I started classes. That first year, 1959, amazingly, I made straight As. Dr. Campbell called me in and said, “You’re certainly doing the work. I’ll take you off probation, but I want to see you at the end of your second year.” To my surprise, I made all As again in my
second year. I continued in Greek, and I took Hebrew with Bruce Waltke. I loved the languages, loved theology, loved Christian education, loved church history, and loved Bible exposition. I loved it all! As I studied, I realized that ministry is not about brilliance as much as discipline. I didn’t have a history with any prestigious institutions, but my years in the Marine Corps had certainly taught me the essential value of discipline. I did all the work each semester in my classes; I worked diligently, and I loved it. I absolutely loved it—as did Cynthia, who typed all my papers.
Nearing graduation, as Cynthia and I wondered where God would lead us, we claimed Deuteronomy 8:2 together:
Remember the whole way by which he has brought you these forty years through the wilderness so that he might, by humbling you, test you to see if you have it within you to keep his commandments or not.
I received four ministry offers, including an invitation from Dr. J. Dwight Pentecost to become the assistant pastor of Grace Bible Church in Dallas. Cynthia and our young
family had weathered a lot during my years in seminary, and staying in Dallas was just what we needed. God is good! We had four and a half wonderful years serving at that church before God moved us—first up to the Northeast, then back to Texas, and later out West.
But I could never have imagined a call from DTS years later, in 1993, with an invitation I had neither expected nor desired. God was going to invite me to step out once again in hope, trusting in his grace, to consider becoming the fourth president of Dallas Theological Seminary.
It was virtually unbelievable!
WATCH FOR PART TWO OF THIS ARTICLE IN THE FALL 2024 ISSUE!
JOHN F. WALVOORD
SECOND PRESIDENT (1952-1986)
THE INAUGURATION OF PRESIDENT WALVOORD CENTER: WALVOORD IN FRONT OF CHAFER CHAPEL
TOP
BOTTOM
GROUNDBREAKING FOR ACADEMIC CENTER I (LATER TODD)
CHAFER CHAPEL, 1978
FAR LEFT: COMMENCEMENT, 1960
TOP LEFT: DR. AND MRS. WALVOORD
BOTTOM LEFT:
RIGHT:
RIGHT:
BAILEY YARBROUGH
[ PART 1 ]
INTERVIEW CONDUCTED BY
NEIL R. COULTER & KRAIG MCNUTT
In our centennial year, we express gratitude to God for the leaders he has called to guide Dallas Theological Seminary. Not only has each president brought unique gifts and skills to the role, but the transition from one president to the next has always modeled ongoing, gracious, supportive camaraderie. In our magazine issues this year, we invite you into a conversation with Chancellor Mark Bailey (MB) and President Mark Yarbrough (MY) as they reflect together on the core character of DTS and what it means to answer God’s call to seminary leadership.
DALLAS
Q: For many years in evangelical Christianity, just the single word “Dallas” has meant something all on its own. What did “Dallas” mean to you before you came to campus the first time? And how has that meaning changed and grown as you’ve moved through different responsibilities and roles over the years?
MB: My first introduction to Dallas Seminary, or I should say Lewis Sperry Chafer, was my father, who was a lay Bible teacher. He had a book by Chafer on grace in his little bookshelf. Pastors who would come to our house to visit us would see that book and sort of sidle up beside it and try to slide the bookshelf open and take that book down. And so, at about age ten or twelve, I had a feeling that there was something special about Dr. Chafer and, therefore, about Dallas Theological Seminary. And that only enhanced over the years. I entered Bible college and then went to seminary. At that point, DTS had a reputation (and it still does) of being an elite institution— four-year ThM, rigorous coursework, mandatory Greek and Hebrew for anyone who was going to be a pastor. The smartest student in our Bible school applied and got accepted into Dallas, so the rest of us were chicken. I didn’t even apply to Dallas. I didn’t think I could get in, and I was part of the Conservative Baptist Association that had ties to Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon. But almost all of my profs at Western were Dallas grads, and everybody talked about Dallas all the time, telling
stories about beloved professors like Dr. Walvoord and Prof. Hendricks. So, for me, Dallas was always a school of prestige, highly esteemed, biblical, dispensational, and solid to the core. That reputation was planted deep and early in my life, and it’s never gone away. After I’d taught for nine years at what is now called Arizona Christian University, Dallas called with an offer to teach, and the Lord’s timing was so perfect and right.
MY: In the era when I was a prospective student, “Dallas” was almost synonymous with “Bible” (not to denigrate the word “Bible” in any way!). I thought, “This is a place—and a community—that is committed to the Holy Scripture.” There was an intentional rigor, a love of Scripture. And not just to understand it academically, but how to communicate it, how to lay it out as a beautifully presented, gorgeous meal for our sustenance. It’s for our thriving. What I was drawn to in many of the communicators of Scripture I’d grown up watching or reading was their love of God’s Word and how to handle it, how to treasure it. So for me, as a prospective student in the late 1980s and early 1990s, completing Bible college and getting ready to move to seminary, that was my picture of DTS. It was a place that treasured the Word of God, and they wanted to teach people to treasure the Word of God. And the people who were associated with it modeled that.
Then it was just confirmed when I came here. From the day I’ve been here, when I came as a student in 1993, I’ve never been let down. There are no perfect places; there are no perfect people. There’s a perfect Savior. And we all know that; that’s our given in this dialogue. But I have seen people associated with Dallas Theological
Seminary—those who teach, those who lead—with a quest to honor God’s Word and to say it really is God’s breath, in written form. It’s for our growth, and our growth is for a purpose. He has good work for us to do. It’s that beautiful picture that we get out of 2 Timothy 3:16. I don’t think we’ve lost that treasure at DTS.
Q: Is DTS an idea, a place, a school, a community, a movement?
MB: I’ve always said that Dallas Theological Seminary is more than a school—it’s a movement, a movement of leaders, a fountainhead of ministries. Dallas has always fostered an entrepreneurial ministry creativity. Dr. Chafer and other leaders were willing to blaze a unique trail. Faculty members over the years have continued to cultivate that creativity and trail-blazing. I think of all the ministries that originated through DTS grads: from Young Life, Insight for Living, and Living on the Edge to missions, schools, and so many more. The seminary has always brought a grounding in the Word of God to a focus on the whole world.
MY: I totally agree; it’s a movement. I’m thrilled with all of our campuses and locations across the country, and all the teaching we do across the world and in various languages. But “movement” helps me think more holistically about what God is doing at DTS. The seminary has always been a place (and now a lot of places in the US and around the world), but it’s the
nature of an educational institution to send people out. And once DTS graduates go out, the message goes to other places around the world, and the movement starts. From the founding, DTS has talked about “equipping”—preparing to do something. That something is the proclamation of the greatest news this world has ever heard, and that’s what DTS is about. This is not an ivory tower where we get together and think deep thoughts. No, it’s got to move beyond here. We have to be a seminary without boundaries. It’s all about being out there: a movement.
Q: Which Scripture passages are particularly significant for the life and history of DTS?
MB: The difficulty of identifying a single passage is that all sixty-six books are sacred to us. “Preach the Word,” of course, is our motto.
MY: That’s so true about selecting just one verse, or even a selection of verses. The first verse I thought of was also the motto that’s embedded in our seal: “Preach the word” (2 Tim 4:2 NIV). “Be prepared in season and out of season.” This wedding of knowing God’s Word and living God’s Word is what DTS has always been known for. It’s not just “understand the Word,” but “proclaim it,” “preach it,” “get it out there.”
MB: As an educational model, Colossians 1:24–28 (NET), “that we may present every person mature in Christ,” gives the philosophy of Christian education that drives DTS.
MY: The pastoral letters have always played an important part in the ideology of the seminary. When I think of our core values at DTS, the first one is “Trust in God’s Word,” which we relate to 2 Timothy 3:16–17 (NIV), “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” That’s another touchstone that’s guided DTS through the years.
MB: And then I think of all the passages and whole books that relate specifically to our doctrinal distinctives: ecclesiology (Eph 3; Phil; Col); grace (Eph 2:8–9; Rom 4–5); salvation (Rom 1–5); eschatology (1 & 2 Thess).
Personally, I hold on to Philippians 1:21 (NIV), “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” And also the “transformation passage,” 2 Corinthians 3:18.
MY: A verse that has always been important to me, and that keeps showing up throughout our history, is Ephesians 3:20, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more . . .” That verse has appeared through various presidents and faculty members. Obviously it’s a famous passage and a hinge point in Paul’s address to the church at Ephesus. But I think there has been a heartbeat of Dallas Theological Seminary
of saying, number one, it’s to the glory of God, and number two, this is what God is doing. He can do more than all we ask or imagine. Our call is just to be faithful and leave the results to him and to do what he’s called us to do, proclaim what he’s called us to proclaim. So those are verses that certainly come to mind. Obviously when it gets into some of our more detailed theological convictions, I could speak more about some of those. But I think in that great wedding of commitment to God’s Word (to faithfully proclaim it) and to just be good stewards of what he’s asked us to do (trusting him with the results)—that’s always been the heartbeat of the seminary. I think that was the heartbeat of Dr. Chafer, that was the heartbeat of Dr. Walvoord, Dr. Campbell, Dr. Swindoll, and certainly modeled by Dr. Bailey. And by God’s grace, we’ll continue to have that be our heartbeat as well.
Q: How does each president lead the seminary in a distinctive way?
MB: I’ve been a part of DTS’s history since the second president, and I’ve seen that each president has a unique personality and a different set of gifts. When I became president, I knew that if God has his hand on this, then it’s not dependent on a single leader—and that’s comforting. I see that in each period of the seminary’s life, the world was different and what was needed at that time was different. God always met that need as he raised up each leader. I remember, after Dr. Campbell announced his retirement, praying that God would give
us a president with a pastor’s heart—little dreaming that he would send us Chuck Swindoll, one of the premiere pastors in the world.
Though I often felt like a chihuahua in a pack of big dogs, in regard to the seminary’s history of leadership, I know that when you watch God work, it’s not about self-confidence; it’s trust in him. As a leader, you watch God do things that are so far beyond you and what you could do on your own that there’s no explanation for it other than God orchestrating students, faculty, givers, growth, and opportunities. You live in confidence that God has his person for that time, and then you stay humble to recognize that it’s not about you but about him. That’s been one of the hallmarks of all our presidents: regardless of their gifting, they modeled a humility and dependence upon God. I watch Chuck, this man with such a big personality and big heart, and he is always so humble, so surprised that God would choose to use him as he has. That says a lot.
MY: I so agree with that. Every president has to assess what can’t change and what must change. That’s going to be different for every president because the world keeps spinning. We can’t sit static. The way we did things in 1924 can’t fully be the way that we do things today. Adaptations must be made. As a leader, you have to constantly ask and assess. The way I say it is that we’re married to the mission, but we date the methodology. Some things have remained the same since 1924, but who our students are, the culture they’re coming out of, and what’s happening in terms of the church have changed. And what is happening globally has radically changed. Methods of education have changed, as has
communication. It has changed every one of us. So we can’t be a school that’s locked into “this is exactly the way we do it.” And therefore every president has to wrestle with that. The listening dynamic, that’s part of it. Carefully observing what’s happening will determine some needs not just of the church in the West but also of the church globally. It’s watching, listening, and observing what God is doing on the planet. That’s what I think every president has to do. It’s what I have to wrestle with.
WATCH FOR PART TWO OF THIS CONVERSATION IN THE FALL 2024 ISSUE!
Sent
BY STEPHANIE MCINTOSH
I saw you backstroke-tracing a ballpoint across notebook-page margins while roasted coffee saturated the air of Todd’s second floor. Pages swirling with newly learnt surrender, Prof’s voice dripping through the vapor, then the sweet release of a break, sound waves subsiding into stillness. As you stretched back and soaked into your seat— did you know the storm always calms when I tell it to?
I found you feeding faith to a famished friend, settling into a carpet of clover-kissed grass and speaking love deep into aching places while sunshine poured over the gable of Walvoord, strong like waves. As your hands crested over the dewy petals— did you know five thousand men rested on a spring-speckled meadow before they ate loaves of barley beside the sea?
And I noticed you hunched and squinting in Turpin, laboring to distinguish bet from kaf while the shuffle-hum of lapping pages around you kept time with strumming katydids. As you sank into the weathered cedar bench, smooth like a fisherman’s hull— did you know woodgrains once made a floating pulpit?
I watched you submerge under the water I walk on, sponging eternal, soaking into my Word. And now I see you surfacing where the waters meet, swimming with purpose, side-stroking into my world. As you teach truth and love well, steadfast in deep waters— did you know you, too, are a fisher of men?
A Desperate Need, a Great Vision, and an Enduring Seminary
DALLAS THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY’S FOUNDER, LEWIS SPERRY CHAFER
BY PAUL D. WEAVER
Many people have big dreams, but few people develop the determination, fortitude, and skill needed to achieve those dreams. Even fewer endure personal and financial hardships to realize those aspirations. Lewis Sperry
Chafer had a great vision, in response to a desperate need, and he worked hard to make that dream a reality. One hundred years later, that dream has not only endured but thrived, as DTS has become the largest nondenominational seminary in the world. 1
A DESPERATE NEED
In the early twentieth century, the modernist movement and the resulting theological liberalism exerted a devastating impact on many mainline denominational seminaries across the United States. 2 These institutions, established to equip pastors and missionaries to proclaim the truth of Scripture, devolved to undermine their students’ faith and cause them to question the Bible’s historical veracity. Remarking upon his own alma mater, Lewis Sperry Chafer lamented, fearing that it had become “like other educational centers of this time. It has fallen into the hands of unregenerate, intellectual men who are aptly described in 1 Cor. 2:14 and John 3:3.” 3
Theological liberalism provided the historical context of the need for Dallas Theological Seminary. In the words of one historian, Dallas Theological Seminary was “the most important nondenominational school to be organized during the fundamentalist–modernist controversy.” 4
A GREAT VISION
Chafer envisioned a school with an unwavering commitment to the authority and inspiration of Scripture. The Bible itself would be the primary source and textbook in the classroom. Chafer and the other founders and faculty members committed to training their students 1) to study all sixty-six books of the Bible, 2) to pursue great depth of theological understanding, 3) to become proficient in the biblical languages, and 4) to cultivate skill in the expository preaching of Scripture. DTS’s founders wanted to produce graduates who shared their unwavering commitment to the authority and inspiration of Scripture.
Now, a century later, the commitments of Dallas Theological Seminary remain intact! This is reflected in the seminary’s motto, “Preach the Word,” and in its contemporary tagline, “Teach Truth. Love Well.” The core values of DTS also remind us to “Trust in God’s Word.”
A UNIQUE CURRICULUM
Chafer, a man of great conviction, was grounded in the authority of Scripture. This core foundational commitment influenced all subsequent curriculum decisions, prioritizing:
THE AUTHORITY AND INERRANCY OF SCRIPTURE
Chafer’s primary commitment was to the authority and inspiration of Scripture. He and his colleagues believed that abandoning this affirmation rendered mainline seminaries inadequate and would continue to be the greatest challenge to evangelicalism for many years. Chafer transmitted this conviction to his protégé John Walvoord, who would become the school’s second president. A student once asked Walvoord, “What is the greatest threat to dispensationalism today?” Walvoord responded, “Son, it is what it has always been—departing from the inerrancy of Scripture.” 5 Each year, DTS’s faculty and board sign a doctrinal statement affirming their belief in the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture.
The Whole Counsel of God’s Word
At a time when other seminaries devoted less curricular time to the teaching of Scripture, DTS doubled down on this commitment—championed by the DTS founders involved in the Bible conference movement. Chafer saw not only the educational benefit of teaching all of God’s Word but also its transformational impact. In the early days of the school, Chafer invited itinerant preachers to be adjunct faculty for a month at a time, to teach through entire sections of Scripture. The teaching format has changed over the years, but DTS remains committed to teaching through every book of the Bible in six courses, required for professional degrees. Additionally, elective courses such as The Story of Scripture and Kingdom and the Covenants provide a helpful understanding of the whole of Scripture and its unifying themes.
Rigorous Theological Training
Chafer became the first professor of systematic theology at DTS. He wanted to ensure that his students would study “the entire field of doctrine” and be “prepared to proceed intelligently in every phase of the divine revelation.” He believed that without such training, a minister would be unprepared to “hold truth in its right proportions” and might “drift into the errors of unscriptural cults, or into modernistic unbelief.” 6 Theological training in all ten traditional categories of systematic theology was a core conviction of the seminary’s founders. That conviction continues today, as is reflected in the curriculum commitments. Six required courses teach through all ten traditional categories of theology. 7
Scripture’s Original Languages
Dallas Theological Seminary was established to train pastors and teachers of Scripture. Because of this, the founders committed to training their students in the languages of the Bible. This commitment continues today. Students who are preparing to be pastors and teachers of Scripture are encouraged to enroll in Dallas Theological Seminary’s flagship ThM program, which requires five semesters of Greek and four semesters of Hebrew. Such an uncommon curricular commitment is unmatched by many other seminaries. The core belief that the Bible is inspired and inerrant makes study of the original languages necessary for proper interpretation, preaching, and teaching.
Expository Preaching and Teaching
Another core commitment resulting from the influence of the Bible conference movement is an emphasis on the expository preaching of God’s Word. Chafer wrote that there was a “distinct demand” and a “widespread need” for “thorough training in the Scriptures with special reference to expository preaching and teaching.” 8 Such commitment and preparation continue to be a hallmark of Dallas Theological Seminary’s Department of Pastoral Ministries.
AN ENDURING SEMINARY
In the past century, numerous seminaries have ceased to exist or have departed significantly from their original missions, but Dallas Theological Seminary has endured and thrived, with increasing enrollment and enthusiastic support from donors and alumni. A key factor in that growth is consistent, steadfast embrace of the seminary’s founding vision and core values, from 1924 to today. Teaching modalities and methods have changed, but the mission has not. By God’s grace, the focus and commitment of DTS will lead to continued thriving for the next hundred years, or until the Lord returns.
1 “2022–2023 Data Table,” ATS Resources, https://www.ats.edu/files/galleries/ 2022-2023_Annual_Data_Tables.pdf.
2 For a detailed discussion see Lindsell, Harold. The Battle for the Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976. Bush, L. Russ, and Tom J Nettles. Baptists and the Bible. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1999.
3 Personal letter from Lewis Sperry Chafer to Frank E. Burgess, Nov. 11, 1924; Archives of DTS; John D. Hannah, AnUncommonUnion:DallasTheological SeminaryandAmericanEvangelicalism (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009), 81.
4 Stewart G. Cole, TheHistoryofFundamentalism (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1931), 247.
5 That student was Michael Stallard, former dean of Baptist Bible Seminary and now Vice President of International Ministries at Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry.
7 In addition to Chafer’s frustration with the theological compromise by mainline denominations, he also felt underwhelmed by conservative seminaries’ lack of educational rigor. He saw a need for Bible “experts,” who would require a higher level of preparation.
8 “The Opening Exercises,” Evangelical Theological College Bulletin 1 (January 1925): 13-14.
DONALD K. CAMPBELL
THIRD PRESIDENT (1986-1994)
TOP LEFT: DR. CAMPBELL AT HIS DESK BOTTOM LEFT: THE INAUGURATION OF PRESIDENT CAMPBELL
BOTTOM CENTER: DR. AND MRS. CAMPBELL
TOP RIGHT: DR. WALVOORD AND DR. CAMPBELL, SURVEYING THE CAMPUS
BOTTOM RIGHT: DR. DONALD CAMPBELL AND HOWARD HENDRICKS
Grateful for the Privile e of Joyful Worship
BY MARK L. BAILEY CHANCELLOR, DALLAS THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
In 2024, as we reflect on one hundred years of Dallas Theological Seminary, we affirm that the seminary’s primary purpose is, as the opening line of our mission statement declares, “to glorify God.” In our celebration of what God has accomplished, what better psalm to guide us in our hundredth year than “Old Hundredth” itself, Psalm 100!
The psalmist calls us to worship God with a heart and a mind of thanksgiving. And throughout the centuries, God’s people have responded in many forms and contexts. William Kethe composed a metrical paraphrase in 1561, “All People That on Earth Do Dwell,” sung to Louis Bourgeois’s tune, “Old Hundredth.” Many of us now cherish the fifth verse of that hymn as “The Doxology”:
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; praise Him, all creatures here below; praise Him above, ye heav’nly host; praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!
The second component is global authority: “all the earth.” God is the king of the whole world, and he has been all along. His intent has always been that the world will acknowledge him as the one true God. Our [ PART 1 ]
(verses 1–3 and verses 4–5), each section calling us to joyful worship and then explaining the reason for that worship. In just five verses, this psalm suggests seven components that should shape our thinking, prompt our worship, encourage our faith, and set the right tone for Dallas Theological Seminary’s centennial celebration. We’ll look at the first three components here, and then explore the other four in the next issue of DTS Magazine
First, a royal recognition: “Shout joyfully to the L ord” (Ps 100:1 NASB). Hebrews conveys “shout for joy” with just one word, and we find that word in a number of the “royal psalms” that extol God’s kingship. This command compels us to show our God no less excitement and loyalty than we would shower upon a good and beloved earthly king. And so, we must ask ourselves: What does God think as we come into his presence? Does he think we’re excited? Has he heard us shout joyfully lately? Psalm 100 reminds us that God seeks a royal recognition from us—and he is worthy!
Liturgical settings call Psalm 100 by its opening word in Latin, Jubilate (“O, be joyful”). The psalm’s superscript describes it as simply “a psalm of thanksgiving.” Structurally, Psalm 100 presents two balanced sections
allegiance, the psalmist tells us, is not to territorial gods or human-created idols, but to the true king. The question for the whole world is, Will you recognize him?
Third, joyful service: “Worship the L ord with joy” (Ps 100:2). In Psalm 2:11, people who are hostile to God are told to serve him “in fear.” But Psalm 100 tells us who have an established relationship with God to worship him “with joy.” Genuine service to the Lord requires humility, integrity, and responsibility. But above all, we are grateful for the privilege of serving God. Let us ask ourselves: Are we grateful for the privilege of serving the Lord with gladness?
Reflect on Psalm 100 in your time with the Lord, and let it draw you toward joyful worship of our King, the one true God of all. And join with us here at DTS as we thank God for his faithfulness, protection, and provision for one hundred years!
WATCH FOR PART TWO OF THIS ARTICLE IN THE FALL 2024 ISSUE!
ABOVE: PRESIDENT CHAFER, A MUSICIAN BY TRAINING, LEADS THE STUDENTS IN A HYMN DURING CHAPEL
RIGHT: THE DALLAS QUARTET SINGS AT MT. HERMON, 1959
DALLAS
DEPEND ON THE LORD LEARNING TO RECEIVE
IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN NECESSARY FOR US TO REMAIN ON OUR FACES BEFORE GOD, THAT WE MAY KNOW HIS WILL FOR THE GROWING WORK AND CONTINUALLY EXPERIENCE HIS DELIVERING POWER 1
LEWIS SPERRY CHAFER
BY KIM TILL, SCOTT TALBOT & NEIL R. COULTER
God calls us to depend on him for all our needs. Sometimes we see God’s faithfulness so clearly that praising him comes easily. But we also endure seasons in which his provision seems uncertain. When the gap between income and expenses widens, we may wonder: Will God really come through again this time? In those moments, we continue to hold on to his promises, and we gather strength from looking at how God has come through in the past.
We regularly receive strength from the Bible’s many examples of people who trusted God in times of uncertainty. Remember Elijah? During a time of famine, God miraculously used ravens to feed him. But then God led Elijah to the next place of provision: the home of a widow and son who were starving. Is this where God will provide? Elijah continued to trust God, and the widow trusted Elijah—and God provided miraculously again, giving the widow an abundant supply of flour and oil (1 Kings 17).
Or consider the day thousands of people followed Jesus to “an isolated place” (Matt 14:15). He knew they’d be hungry, and he knew no food service was available way
out there. He also knew his Father is gracious to provide. The miraculous multiplication of bread and fish teaches us such an important lesson about depending on God that all four Gospel writers told the story.
Writing about Proverbs 3:5, Chuck Swindoll once said, “God doesn’t ask us to forego planning or to throw ourselves blindly into decisions. He calls us to give greater priority to trusting Him. Let confidence in God’s character, power, plans, and past faithfulness be the foundation of all your decision-making as you exercise sound judgment.” 2
Lewis Sperry Chafer drew strength from the Bible’s examples and instructions to begin Dallas Theological Seminary with good planning and radical trust. He believed God would always provide for the school’s needs, including finances. In his leadership, Chafer modeled a life of seeking God’s provision through prayer. He often gathered members of the seminary’s community to kneel with him in spontaneous prayer for the school’s urgent needs. The needs sometimes felt overwhelming—as when Chafer wrote in 1927, “The burdens are almost beyond our bearing this morning.” 3
But he pondered stories of God’s provision in the past, and he eagerly expected God to work again. “This school won’t close as long as the Lord is willing to see it go on,” Chafer affirmed.
Chafer’s favorite story of God’s provision took place in 1929. That spring, the school faced a $10,000 debt. Chafer led his colleagues in prayer that the debt be resolved by the day before commencement in May. Two weeks before commencement, several people, including Chafer, awoke at five in the morning with a burden to pray for the school’s finances. But still the debt remained. The morning before commencement, the seminary staff sat in the office like “a pretty beat bunch,” according to Chafer. Then a registered letter arrived. Chafer opened the envelope and found a US treasury certificate for $10,000. The money came from a bank president in Illinois with no previous financial relationship with the seminary. Two weeks earlier, he had awakened at five in the morning, sensing the need to pray for the seminary and send his support. Chafer walked back into the office, casually tossed the check on the floor, and said, “There it is, men.”
The history of Dallas Theological Seminary stands with examples from Scripture to strengthen our faith in God, our Provider. Like the bank president who helped DTS through a challenging time, other donors have also followed God’s leading to provide for DTS through the years. They form a special part of the seminary’s legacy.
God wants to teach us all to be humble, grateful receivers as we walk with him. Our response is to trust him, even in the hard times, eagerly anticipating the next moment we can say, “There it is.”
1 Quoted in Mrs. Howard Taylor, Empty Racks and How to Fill Them (Dallas, Evangelical Theological College, n.d.), 19.
2 Chuck Swindoll, “How to Trust God,” Insight for Today , September 6, 2021, https://www.insight.org/resources/daily-devotional/individual/how-totrust-god.
3 Quoted in John D. Hannah, An Uncommon Union: Dallas Theological Seminary and American Evangelicalism (Grand Rapids, Zondervan Academic, 2009), 112.
HISTORY OF THE MITCHELL MINISTRIES CENTER
Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Dallas began in 1915, with a first church building constructed at Riggs and Sanger. In 1952, the church expanded to a new facility on the corner of Apple Street and Swiss Avenue. When the growing church community moved again to a new location in the early 1990s, a generous friend of the seminary enabled DTS to purchase the Swiss Avenue building. Renamed the Mitchell Ministries Center (after an alumnus of DTS) and dedicated in 1993, it provided space for a dining hall, classes, and, eventually, the seminary’s bookstore.
Now the Mitchell Ministries Center is being reimagined once again, to become the Legacy Center—a museum celebrating God’s faithfulness in the heritage and ongoing ministry of Dallas Theological Seminary. Look for photos of the new Legacy Center in the next issue of DTS Magazine, and visit the Dallas campus starting in the Centennial Celebration Week (October 21–25) to experience it in person!
THE SEMINARY RENOVATED THE MITCHELL MINISTRIES CENTER WHEN IT BECAME PART OF THE DALLAS CAMPUS IN THE EARLY 1990 s MOST RECENTLY, THE FORMER CHURCH SANCTUARY HOUSED THE DTS BOOKSTORE (LOWER RIGHT) . CURRENT RENOVATIONS WILL TRANSFORM THE SPACE ONCE AGAIN TO BECOME THE LEGACY CENTER.
DALLAS
A REVIEW TO STUDY and SHARE
Remembering God’s Great Deeds
Remembrance benefits God’s people. Of course, God always remembers his covenants with his people and remains forever faithful. Yet, we must be reminded to remember God—for our good today and for the generations that will come.
The centennial year of Dallas Theological Seminary offers an invitation to remember. We look back with gratitude at what God has done through the school and in our lives—but we don’t stop moving forward into God’s leading. Rather than passive recall, Scripture’s command to remember conveys “an active calling to mind of what happened in the past so appropriate action will be taken in the present.” 1 We must remember God’s past deeds in order to rightly celebrate in the present and to fully commit to future service.
Let’s consider how the biblical theme of remembering God’s mighty acts links the diligence of service set forth in the Pentateuch with the devotion of song and celebration presented in the psalms. Then, as we move through this centennial year at DTS, we’ll reflect on the place of active remembrance in our lives.
DILIGENT REMEMBRANCE
In the Pentateuch, Moses detailed God’s instructions for his people. In brief review, God’s command to remember appears more than a dozen times in Deuteronomy. God’s wonders in creation are announced in Genesis and then echoed in Exodus. There, God’s creative work–rest pattern is reflected by his people’s obligation to remember the Sabbath each week.
Beyond the Sabbath, the Pentateuch commanded national feasts to commemorate the L ord’s great deeds throughout Israel’s calendar year. Passover, the Feast of Booths, and all other festivals were intended to regularly reenergize the people’s commitment to obedience. These physical prompts bore witness to historic events, reinforcing recall for current and future generations.
DEVOTIONAL REMEMBRANCE
The book of Psalms guided the practice of communal devotion to God. Consider how Psalm 105 traces God’s wondrous works through Israel’s history, from Abraham to Jacob, to Joseph, to Moses. As an example to follow, the psalmist then shifts from praise to pledge in the final verses. God’s call to worship requires his people to remember who and what to celebrate, fostering a wholehearted commitment to him for future service.
REFLECT AND DISCUSS:
What do we learn in Deuteronomy about God’s heart and the hearts of his people from the repetition to “remember”? (See 5:15; 7:18; 8:2, 18; 9:7; 15:15; 16:3, 12; 24:9, 18, 22; 25:17; 32:7).
How diligently do you weave observance of God’s great deeds into the fabric of your family? How might more regular recollections motivate obedience?
Psalm 63 links David’s reflection on God’s past faithfulness with his present joy and future hope. Which verses of this psalm best display the attitude you want to live out?
PRAY
Lord, guard us against forgetting you when we experience abundant blessing. May each of your children faithfully carry out your mission in Jesus’s name and for his glory. Amen.
1 Jack R. Lundbom, Deuteronomy: A Commentary (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2013), 286.
DTS MAGAZINE ®
Spring 2024, Vol. 11, No. 1 ISSN 1092-7492
Published twice a year by Dallas Theological Seminary 3909 Swiss Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75204
Subscriptions are free of charge to addresses in the United States. Go to voice.dts.edu/magazine or call 800-DTS-WORD and ask for the DTS Magazine subscription office.
Online/Submissions: Visit voice.dts.edu/magazine to view the editorial policies or DTS Magazine online. Contact magazine@dts.edu to inquire about our content calendar for article submission, to request reprints, or to leave comments.
Email: Contact admissions@dts.edu for information about DTS’s graduate degree programs.
Donations: For information on how you can support the ministry of DTS, call 214-887-5060.
Send address changes to magazine@dts.edu or mail to DTS Magazine, 3909 Swiss Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75204
