News

OBITUARY: Ex-Fuller President David Hubbard Dies

The day before graduation ceremonies at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, the man who led the school to become the world’s largest interdenominational seminary died. David Allan Hubbard, 68, died of a heart attack on June 7.

During his 30-year presidency, a post he assumed in 1963 at age 35, Hubbard added a School of Psychology and a School of World Mission to Fuller’s School of Theology, both in 1965.

An Old Testament scholar, Hubbard published 36 books, including “Psalms for All Seasons” and “The Practice of Prayer.”

“David Allan Hubbard was widely acknowledged as a person who took evangelical theological scholarship into a position of leadership in the larger world of higher education,” says Richard Mouw, who succeeded Hubbard as Fuller’s president in 1993. “His influence in theological education was obvious, but he also played a key role in bringing together previously separate segments of the evangelical community in new coalitions.”

For example, Mouw says Hubbard, the son of ordained Pentecostal ministers, “worked to integrate the insights and practices of charismatics into a solid evangelical perspective.” Opening an Office of Women’s Concerns at Fuller, “he insisted, at a time when it was unpopular to do so, that women were encouraged to develop their gifts for the church and society.”

Before joining Fuller, Hubbard taught biblical studies at Westmont College in nearby Santa Barbara. “He was a statesman for the evangelical community,” says David Winter, Westmont’s president. “He constantly built bridges with the Jewish and Catholic communities. On the West Coast, Presbyterians are more evangelical than they are other places, and that’s due to the work of David Hubbard.”

Hubbard endured several controversies. Battles over biblical inerrancy and creationism led some evangelicals to feel betrayed. Emotions ran high, for example, when in 1972 Fuller dropped a phrase that the Scriptures are “free from all error in the whole and in the part” from its Statement of Faith, and when Hubbard, a member of the California Board of Education from 1972 to 1975, voted against mandating equal time for creationism in school texts.

Copyright © 1996 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Also in this issue

Persecuted: A crisis for the contemporary church

Christians, Jews Form Coalition

Lutheran, Catholic, and Black Churches Join Graham Effort

1,800 Churches Participating in Olympic Outreach

YANCEY: Confessions of a Spiritual Amnesiac

Why the Psalms Scare Us

From the Fringe to the Fold

ARTS: Messiaen’s Complicated Contemplations

NORTH AMERICAN SCENE: Arsons Continue, Frustration Sets In

Foes, Backers Seeks Common Ground

Congressmen Focus on Persecuted Believers

Bishops Propose Chastity Canon

Women Become 'Promise Keepers'

WORLD SCENE: Abducted SIL Missionary Freed

Palau Preached to a Preoccupied Metropolis

Evangelist Sets Sights on U.S. Latinos

The Suffering Church

SIDEBAR: Forgive Us Our Trespasses

News

News Briefs: July 15, 1996

Wire Story

SBC Targets Clinton, Disney, Jews

Risky Business

LETTERS: No Middle Ground

Editorial

EDITORIAL: Ministry in the Real World Order

Editorial

EDITORIAL: Burned, but Not Consumed

ARTICLE: Saving the Safety Net

SIDEBAR: When Your Church Says It’s Wrong

News

News Briefs: July 15, 1996

ARTICLE: Tolerance Without Compromise

BOOKS: Getting Evangelicals into the Church

BOOKS: Wesley on CD

BOOKS: Hymns for the Politically Correct

Classic & Contemporary Excerpts from July 15, 1996

SIDEBAR: Escaping Martyrdom in Saudi Arabia

SIDEBAR: Help for the Persecuted

View issue

Our Latest

The Bulletin

NYC Mayoral Race, Trump Softens to Ukraine, and Can Horror Films Edify?

Mamdani leads NYC mayoral race, Trump-Putin relationship cools, and why horror movies might help you cope in a horrible world.

The Bigfoot and UFOs Podcast Introducing Listeners to Christ

“We want to make a space where people can scratch an itch about the weird stuff they’ve encountered, but our heart for this is for people to encounter God.”

News

What Would a Liberal Democracy in Lebanon Look Like?

An interfaith group created a Youth Mock Parliament to imagine a nonsectarian government.

News

Brazilian Evangelicals See God at Work Among the Working Class

Small Pentecostal churches across poor peripheral neighborhoods fuel Protestant growth nationwide.

Analysis

‘Drug Boat’ Strikes Prompt Questions about Human Dignity, Executive Power

When the president exercises lethal force without congressional authority, we all lose.

Wire Story

Top ACNA Leader Faces Sexual Harassment Allegations

Following a string of scandals, the accusations against Archbishop Steve Wood come amid plans for the denomination to overhaul its abuse response.

The Russell Moore Show

 Listener Question: Should Communion Be Open to All Believers?

Russell takes a listener’s question about church membership and the Communion table.

Anti-Fragile Faith in Chaotic Times

Slow Theology highlights how a long obedience in the same direction grows.

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube