Harold John Ockenga has stood tall among evangelical leaders for nearly half a century. I first learned of him when he was elected president of the newly formed National Association of Evangelicals. One of the secrets of Ockenga’s success as a pastor and church leader was his thorough preparation for everything he did. He prepared his sermons from the Greek text and has continued to study his Greek Testament throughout his ministry. As a student worker in Harvard Divinity School library, I noted that Dr. Ockenga always checked more books out of the library than any other area pastor—or even faculty member or student (except one). Read our interview with Harold John Ockenga for insight into the mind and heart of one of the greatest evangelical leaders of our generation.
This issue we add three contributing editors to the CHRISTIANITY TODAY masthead. Canadian Baptist Clark Pinnock is professor of systematic theology at McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton, Ontario. An able writer and communicator, Dr. Pinnock first became known through his vigorous defense of the authority of the Bible. Since then, he has published widely in the area of apologetics and systematic theology. Presbyterian R. C. Sproul heads the Ligonier Valley Study Center near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He guides the starting programs of students who visit the study center and carries on a wide ministry in teaching history of Christian doctrine, systematic theology, and apologetics through his tapes and lectures. Missouri Lutheran David Scaer is professor of systematic theology at Concordia Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He is much in demand as a preacher and as a lecturer at pastors’ conferences. All three are excellent scholars who also have warm hearts and a deep commitment to the pastoral ministry and the cause of missions and evangelism. Through their writings we trust that our Current Religious Thought column will prove more valuable than ever to Christian leaders. They seek to keep the busy pastor and lay church leader informed about the world of Christian scholarship.
