2002 W.A. Criswell Memorial

DALLAS (BP)--Texas Baptists are mourning the loss of the Lone Star state's most prolific Southern Baptist preacher, W.A. Criswell. Criswell died Jan. 10 at the age of 92. He was pastor emeritus of the historic First Baptist Church of Dallas.

EVANSTON, Ill. (BP)--British man of letters, Isaiah Berlin, drew a distinction between the fox and the hedgehog. The fox knew many things. The hedgehog knew one big thing. So too with thinkers. Some are known for their fascination with multiplicity. Others are known for their fixation on one unifying truth.

AUSTIN, Texas (BP)--Texas Gov. Rick Perry was one of several political leaders who expressed their sorrow at the death of W.A. Criswell, the longtime pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Morris H. Chapman, president and chief executive officer of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee, released a statement concerning the death of W. A. Criswell, the longtime pastor of First Baptist Church, Dallas.

DALLAS (BP)--Even after his death, W.A. Criswell's preaching legacy can be tapped by a global audience at www.wacriswell.com.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--What was W.A. Criswell's most important sermon?

      LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--The year was 1931, and a young W.A. Criswell was trying to find God's will in choosing a graduate school.
      Criswell had just earned a bachelor's degree from Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and he had his list of graduate schools narrowed down to three: Yale University in New Haven, Conn.; Brown University in Providence, R.I.; and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.
      Yes, Yale and Brown.
      Criswell -- who later described himself as a "Bible-thumping preacher," who wrote a book titled "Why I Preach That the Bible Is Literally True" and who was a key leader within the Southern Baptist Convention through the later half of the 20th century -- actually considered attending a non-Baptist school.

EDITORS' NOTE: This sermon was preached on May 29, 1977, and is among 1,600 sermons posted at the Criswell Sermon Legacy Project, www.wacriswell.com. Used by permission.
      DALLAS (BP)--The title of the message is: "Books and the Book." And if you would, all of the thousands of you who are listening to this service on KRLD and on KCBI, would you turn in your Bible to Second Timothy.

      DALLAS (BP)--W.A. Criswell was a legendary Texas Baptist pastor who influenced a generation of Southern Baptist preachers to preach confidently and faithfully the Word of God and those who knew him said he was a "giant of the land."
      Criswell, longtime pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas and founder of Criswell College, died in the early morning hours of Jan. 10 in a private residence. He was 92.
      He served as pastor of one of the nation's largest Southern Baptist congregations from 1944 until 1991 when he was given the title of senior pastor. He had held the title of pastor emeritus since 1994.

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