This week in Christian history: Puritan leader dies, Criswell ordained, ‘Queen of Methodism’ born

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Sunday, August 23, 2020

W.A. Criswell ordained — August 29, 1928

Wallie Amos Criswell(1909-2002), notable Southern Baptist pastor and prolific author. | Facebook/The W. A. Criswell Sermon Library

This week marks the anniversary of when prominent fundamentalist preacher W.A. Criswell, longtime head of the prominent First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas, was ordained.

Still a student at Baylor University and only 17 years of age, Criswell was ordained in Amarillo after being questioned on matters of faith by six Baptist leaders.

“Criswell graduated from Baylor University and then received a Th.M and Ph.D. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary,” wrote E. Michael Rusten and Sharon O. Rusten in 2014.

“He pastored for a few years in Oklahoma before accepting a call from First Baptist Church of Dallas in 1944, where he served for almost fifty years. Under Criswell’s ministry the church became the largest Southern Baptist congregation in the nation with nearly twenty-six thousand members.”

Criswell also wrote over 50 books, helped to found Criswell Bible Institute (now called Criswell College), and played a crucial factor in the Southern Baptist Convention rejecting liberal theology in the late 20th century.