by Doug Kutilek
When a boy was born into the Criswell home in Eldorado, OK, in December 1909, the parents named him W. A. — just initials, no names. Only years later, when a passport application required the initials stand for something, did W. A. adopt the names Wallie Amos, his father’s name, making himself a junior. When he died at 92 in January 2002, W. A. Criswell left behind a remarkable legacy of long and effective service to Christ to several Baptist churches, especially First Baptist Church of Dallas, and to the Southern Baptist denomination of which he was a part.
W. A. was raised in Texline on the New Mexico border in far northwest Texas. There he was converted to Christ at age ten in a revival meeting conducted by Johnny Hicks of Dalhart, TX; he sensed a call to preach at 12. W. A. lived in Dalhart during his high school years and was licensed to preach at 17.
Influenced in part by a young evangelist named John R. Rice, W. A. attended Baylor (1927-1931) where he majored in English. He continued his education at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY, (1931-1937) where he earned both Th.M. and Ph.D. degrees.
During these years of formal education, Criswell pastored several small churches. Upon graduation, he was called to pastor in Oklahoma, first at Chickasha (1937-1941) and then Muskogee (1941-1944). He quickly became widely known for his fiery and fervent Biblical preaching as well as his administrative skills. When the legendary George W. Truett died in 1944, First Baptist Church of Dallas, where Truett had pastored for almost half a century (1897-1944), sought out 34-year-old W. A. Criswell to be their pastor. Criswell told them more than once that he wasn’t interested, but ultimately God persuaded him to accept their call.
How does one follow a legend? In this case, magnificently. Though First Baptist was a large and wealthy congregation (over 7,800 members with a 75-year history), Criswell was not content to simply coast on past achievements. He reorganized the church’s many ministries, greatly expanded most of them, and initiated many new ones. By the end of his ministry there, the church had over 26,000 members, being among the first “mega-churches,” and making it for many years the largest Southern Baptist church in the world. Its facilities occupied five city blocks in downtown Dallas.
Criswell was most at home in the pulpit. He usually preached 45 minutes to an hour, and often lamented that he didn’t have enough time. He preached at First Baptist some 4,000 times, with many of these sermons broadcast live by radio or television, and recorded for later publication in book form. Not long after going to Dallas, Criswell began preaching through the Bible “from Genesis to Revelation.” The Old Testament occupied three-and-a-half years, while the New Testament took more than 13!
He wrote some 54 books. Among the most notable is Why I Preach that the Bible is Literally True (1969), a strong defense of inerrancy against the attacks of apostate professors in Southern Baptist seminaries in the 1960s. This book may well be identified as the catalyst that led to the conservative resurgence in the Southern Baptist Convention in the 1970s and 80s (Criswell was president of the Convention 1968-70, when the book was published); it earned him the unending hatred of those in the SBC who had abandoned the historic faith of Baptists. His Criswell’s Guide for Pastors is a distillation of half a century’s pastoral experience.
In theology, Criswell vigorously proclaimed and defended all the fundamental doctrines of the faith. He likewise adhered to those Biblical truths that are characteristic of Baptists — believer’s immersion, local church autonomy, and the rest. In eschatology, after an extended personal struggle, he became a strong dispensational pre-millennialist. He also preached against Darwinism.
Retiring proved among the greatest challenges of Criswell’s long ministry. He had originally thought to retire at age 65 (after 31 years at the church), and then decided to try to match Truett’s 47 years. A successor was chosen in 1990 (after 46 years, Criswell becoming at age 80 senior pastor), though this successor resigned (for cause) after two years. Another successor followed in 1992, with Criswell now pastor emeritus, a title he retained until his death in 2002. (This massive and very challenging congregation has been under the able leadership of Robert Jeffress since 2007).
W. A. Criswell: the authorized biography was written by Billy Keith (Revell, 1973). It is anecdotal and chatty. Criswell’s autobiography, Standing on the Promises (Word, 1990) is very much better. Leon McBeth’s The First Baptist Church of Dallas: Centennial History (Zondervan, 1968) has, inter alia, an extensive account of the first 24 “Criswell years” at FBC. The Tribune also published an article about W. A. Criswell in its April 15, 2002, edition, not long after his death.