Chuck Swindoll

Charles Rozell "Chuck" Swindoll (born October 18, 1934) is an evangelical Christian pastor, author, educator, and radio preacher. He founded Insight for Living, headquartered in Plano, Texas, which airs a radio program of the same name on more than 2,000 stations around the world in 15 languages. He is currently senior pastor at Stonebriar Community Church, in Frisco, Texas.

Early life

Charles Swindoll was born on October 18, 1934, in El Campo in Wharton County, Texas, the third of three children born to Earl and Lovell Swindoll. He attended Charles H. Milby High School in Houston. He credits his drama teacher, Dick Nieme, for helping him overcome severe stuttering. As a member of the school marching band and orchestra, he learned to play all of the instruments in the woodwind section, although the saxophone remained his primary instrument. After graduating from high school, He studied mechanical engineering while working for Reed Roller Bit Company in Houston, Texas. Swindoll then fulfilled his military service obligation with the United States Marine Corps, first in San Francisco, then on the Japanese island of Okinawa. After his honorable discharge in 1959, he attended Dallas Theological Seminary, where he graduated magna cum laude four years later.

Stonebriar Community Church

Stonebriar Community Church is a nondenominational evangelical Christian church in Frisco, Texas, a fast-growing suburb north of Dallas, Texas. The church was founded in 1998 by a group of individuals including Senior Pastor Chuck Swindoll, whose sermons are broadcast worldwide on the radio program Insight for Living.

History

Within six months of its 1998 founding , 1,500 people were attending Sunday worship services at Stonebriar’s temporary location, the Preston Ridge campus of Collin College. In 2001, the church opened the doors of a new, 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m²) building. By 2005, Sunday attendance was averaging 4,000 adults and 1,200 children, prompting the church to begin planning another building expansion.

In 2002, Stonebriar Community Church identified Chhattisgarh, a state in central India, as its strategic missions focus . The church’s goal is to train 1,000 national pastors, build 1,000 churches, and see 500,000 people become Christians in 10 years. By 2006, 280 men and women had earned theology diplomas, and 230 national pastors were leading 750 churches and home groups with an estimated total of 20,000 members.

Pastor

A pastor (UK: /ˈpɑːstə/; US: /ˈpæstər/) is usually an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, the term may be abbreviated to "Pr" (singular) or "Ps" (plural). A pastor also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation.

History

The word "pastor" derives from the Latin noun pastor which means "shepherd" and relates to the Latin verb pascere - "to lead to pasture, set to grazing, cause to eat". The term "pastor" also relates to the role of elder within the New Testament, but is not synonymous with the biblical understanding of minister. Many Protestant churches call their ministers "pastors".

Present-day usage of the word is rooted in the Biblical image of shepherding. The Hebrew Bible (or Old Testament) uses the Hebrew word רעה (roʿeh). It occurs 173 times and relates to the feeding of sheep, as in Genesis 29:7, or to the spiritual feeding of human beings, as in Jeremiah 3:15, "Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding" (NASB).

Dallas Theological Seminary

Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) is an evangelical theological seminary located in Dallas, Texas. It is known for popularizing the theological system known as Dispensationalism. DTS has extension campuses in Atlanta, Austin, Guatemala, Houston, Knoxville, San Antonio, Washington, D.C., and Tampa and a multi-lingual online education program.

History

DTS was founded as Evangelical Theological College in 1924 by Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer, who taught the first class of 13 students, and William Henry Griffith Thomas, who was to have been the school's first theology professor but died before the first classes began. Their vision was a school where expository Bible preaching was taught simply, and under Chafer's leadership, DTS pioneered one of the first four-year degrees in theology, the Master of Theology (Th.M.). The present location of the school was purchased in 1926 and Doctor of Theology (Th.D.) programs were started in 1927. Chafer remained president until his death in 1952.

Charles

Charles is a masculine given name from the French form Charles of a Germanic name Karl. The original Anglo-Saxon was Ċearl or Ċeorl, as the name of king Cearl of Mercia, that disappeared after the Norman conquest of England.

The corresponding Old Norse form is Karl, the German form is also Karl. The name was notably borne by Charlemagne (Charles the Great), and was at the time Latinized as Karolus (as in Vita Karoli Magni), later also as Carolus.

Etymology

The name's etymology is a Common Germanic noun *karlaz meaning "free man", which survives in English as churl (< Old English ċeorl), which developed its deprecating sense in the Middle English period.

In the form Charles, the initial spelling ch- corresponds to the palatalization of the Latin group ca- to [tʃa] in Central Old French (Francien) and the final -s to the former subjective case (cas sujet) of masculine names in Old French like in Giles or James (< Latin -us, see Spanish/ Portuguese Carlos).

According to Julius Pokorny, the historical linguist and Indo-Europeanist, the root meaning of Karl is "old man", from Indo-European *ĝer-, where the ĝ is a palatal consonant, meaning "to rub; to be old; grain." An old man has been worn away and is now grey with age.