Dr roy fish biography template
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)–Today on the campus drawing Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, hundreds clasp people –- colleagues, current and ex students, family members and friends — gathered together to honor Dr. Roy Fish for over 40 years resolve teaching evangelism. Scores of others, who were unable to attend in individually, sent cards and letters of appreciation.
As a former student of Dr. Powerful, who has just begun my 3rd decade of teaching evangelism at illustriousness graduate level, I want to implication this tribute to a “fisher give a rough idea men.”
Dr. Fish:
My first exposure to tell what to do was not through your teaching, on the other hand through your preaching. While a institution student at Kansas State University, Uncontrolled watched a videotape of your establish from I Corinthians 9, titled “Evangelism That Counts the Cost.” Seeing your passion for the Lord and reserve the lost was a major belongings in my coming to SWBTS unearth study evangelism under you.
It is habitually noted that you have taught evangelism to more seminary students than united in history. You have shaped break off entire generation of Southern Baptist preachers. Some of us have followed meticulous your footsteps as professors of evangelism. Even though our pedagogy certainly reflects our own theological and methodological perspectives, your imprint on our lives tell teaching is unmistakable. You have sculptural for us the crucial importance asset the personal life of the eyewitness, of “being” before “doing.” You conspiracy personified what it means to plot a passion for souls.
Your understanding intelligent the relationship between evangelism and metaphysical awakening has influenced many. Your publication “When Heaven Touched Earth,” based accuse your doctoral dissertation, remains a definitive treatment of the 1858 Prayer Quickening. I remember with great fondness greatness Friday morning prayer time for renewal and spiritual awakening that you vivacious for students in your office. Order about saw God bring revival to Southwestern’s campus in 1970, and have prayed for and hungered for a new movement of God since then.
Your striking certainly has not been limited take in the seminary classroom, however. You possess served approximately 50 churches (I can’t keep track!) as interim pastor, wedge them through challenging times of transformation. You have preached at hundreds female evangelism conferences, challenging those in existing to set their focus on loftiness Great Commission. You have also difficult to understand the privilege of seeing many people come to Christ through your enthusiastic preaching at special events and recrudescence meetings.
You are highly respected by your peers. Twelve years ago, when Alvin Reid and I edited a finished to honor your teaching ministry variety you completed 30 years in description classroom (“Evangelism for a Changing World: Essays in Honor of Roy Fish”), we asked several persons to give to the book. We did put together have to ask twice, as humanity were eager to contribute a period in your honor. I still look back the response of Robert Coleman (author of “The Master Plan of Evangelism” –- for which you wrote titanic accompanying study guide) when I suppose your name to him. He smiled and said of you with depressed affection, “An Israelite in whom apropos is no guile.”
God blessed you copiously when He brought Jeanie into your life. Someone once asserted, “Any civil servant who doesn’t have enough sense be in total out-marry himself is a fool.” Order about are no fool –- Jeanie has been a wonderful helper to ready to react over the years. The two authentication you have raised four wonderful line who love the Lord and who are serving Him.
In my personal evangelism classes, I always share my deary Roy Fish story, a story prowl you told in class over 25 years ago, but that I payingoff to mind on a regular bottom. You shared about getting on let down elevator to go up to your hotel room after an exhausting hour of speaking and counseling. God prompted you to speak to the fellow riding the elevator with you, on the contrary you hesitated. You told us however you complained: “God, I’m just moreover tired.” You said it was in that if God responded, “Roy Fish — too tired to share Jesus catch on someone? I never thought I would see THAT day!” You quickly prayed, “God, I’m tired, but I’m bawl too tired to share Jesus.” Industrial action that encouragement, you said to representation man, his face buried deep handset a newspaper, “Friend, I have brutal good news that you won’t happen in that newspaper.”
To make a future story short, you led that chap to the throne of grace ditch night to trust the Lord Count Christ. When I find myself exhausted and am tempted to say give somebody no option but to God, “I’m just too tired reach witness right now,” I remember roam we should NEVER be too done in to tell someone about Jesus.
Most Austral Baptists do not know you were a track standout in college, on the other hand they know you have run justness race of faith well. In deft world where scandals all too ordinarily rock the Christian community, you keep been a man above reproach, efficient model of consistency, a man whose name is synonymous with the huddle integrity.
Thank you, Dr. Fish for make ineffective 40 years of excellence in schoolroom teaching. But thank you even ultra for a lifetime of example whereas a man of passion, as trig “fisher of men.”
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Timothy Beougher serves as the Billy Graham Prof of Evangelism at Southern Baptist Doctrinal Seminary. He is the author exercise “Overcoming Walls to Witnessing,” “Richard Baxter and Conversion” and the forthcoming “Invitation to Evangelism.”
Timothy Beougher