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Chuck Swindoll

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Charles R. "Chuck" Swindoll (born October 18, 1934) is an evangelical Christian pastor, educator and radio preacher.

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[edit] Early life

He was born in El Campo, Texas (Wharton County), the third of three children born to Earl and Lovell Swindoll. He graduated from Charles H. Milby High School in Houston. Before a life in Christian ministry, Chuck initially pursued his interest in mechanical engineering, and also served with the United States Marine Corps in Southeast Asia. He married his wife, Cynthia, in 1955 and they have four children. Swindoll entered Dallas Theological Seminary in 1959, where he graduated magna cum laude four years later.

[edit] Career

Chuck Swindoll was ordained into the ministry in 1963, and served in Dallas, Texas under J. Dwight Pentecost for two years. He has since held senior pastorates in Waltham, Massachusetts (1965-1967), Irving, Texas (1967-1971), and Fullerton, California (1971-1994).

Swindoll is the founder and CEO of Insight for Living, which produces a radio program of the same name on Christian and non-Christian radio stations around the world. The program is heard on more than 2100 stations as well as webcast, and is translated in several languages. Its roots go back to the summer of 1977, when Swindoll's sermons from the First Evangelical Free Church in Fullerton, California began to be broadcast on radio. In 1979, the Insight for Living radio ministry began. The offices of Insight for Living are now located in Plano, Texas.

In July of 1994, Swindoll became the president of the Dallas Theological Seminary, and now serves as its chancellor. He is the author of more than 50 books, most based on broadcasts of Insight for Living. In celebration of its 50th anniversary, Christianity Today produced an article naming Swindoll as one of the top 25 most influential preachers of the past 50 years (1956-2006).

In 1998, Swindoll founded a new church in Frisco, Texas, Stonebriar Community Church. The church first held services at Collin County Community College then moved to its permanent home on Legendary Drive in Frisco. The congregation grew rapidly from a few hundred members to several thousand in the first few years and this growth has necessitated major expansion of the current facility. Construction for the additions began in 2005. Many of the pastors at Stonebriar are graduates of Dallas Theological Seminary, and the church is known for its outstanding missionary work in India and other countries. Though Swindoll is still widely regarded as an Evangelical Free Church of America preacher, the Stonebriar Community Church is not a member of the EFCA.

[edit] Criticism

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Despite a wide range of popularity among Protestant Christians, Swindoll's teachings and doctrinal stances are unpopular in certain circles. For example, some fundamentalists consider his book, The Grace Awakening, an attack on their teachings of separation and extrabiblical moral standards. The doctrines of Swindoll are generally considered evangelical.

[edit] Some books by Swindoll

  • A Ministry Anyone Could Trust
  • Changing Wanderers to Worshippers
  • Christ at the Crossroads
  • Contagious Christianity: a Study of I Thessalonians
  • Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life
  • James: Hands-on Christianity
  • Joseph: A Man of Integrity and Forgiveness
  • Learning to Walk by Grace
  • Living Above the Level of Mediocrity
  • Paul: a Man of Grace and Grit
  • Steadfast Christianity
  • Strengthening Your Grip
  • Strike the Original Match
  • The Grace Awakening

[edit] Honors and Awards

[edit] External links

1. "Although Stonebriar shares many of the same beliefs and values, the church is not affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America." - Heather Hammontree, Insight for Living, e-mail dated 1/07/04.

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