Answer
Wallie Amos Criswell (1909—2002), better known as W. A. Criswell, was an American Southern Baptist minister who served five decades as senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas, one of the nation’s largest congregations. With his expository preaching gift, Criswell imparted God’s Word to his flock, once spending 17.5 years of Sunday morning sermons expounding verse-by-verse through every book of the Bible. He started in Genesis and ended in Revelation. W. A. Criswell pioneered the conservative resurgence of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), serving two terms as its president (from 1968 to 1970).
Criswell was born in Eldorado, Oklahoma, to Wallie Amos and Anna Currie Criswell. Since boyhood, he was called by his initials, W. A., a common custom at the time that helped differentiate between father and son.
In 1915, when W. A. was six, the family moved to Texline in the Texas panhandle to escape the dustbowl. His father’s cowboy-barber career meagerly sustained the family at the poverty level. When W. A. was ten, he heard the evangelist John Hicks preach at a revival service. That day, he committed his life to Jesus Christ and, by age 12, felt called to full-time ministry. His first sermon was a eulogy for his beloved pet dog. When he was 17, he acquired his license to preach and began pastoring part-time in small Texas congregations.
Criswell ministered in three Texas churches while putting himself through college, still managing to graduate magna cum laude from Baylor University in Waco, Texas, in 1931. He continued his studies at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, earning a master’s in theology (1934) and a doctorate (1937).
W. A. met his wife, Bessie Marie “Betty” Harris, while he was pastoring at Mount Washington Baptist Church near Louisville. She was the church’s pianist and an education graduate of Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green. The couple was married in 1935 on Valentine’s Day. They had one daughter, Mabel Ann, in 1939.
After completing seminary, W. A. Criswell pastored Baptist churches in Chickasha (1937—1941) and Muskogee (1941—1944), Oklahoma. In August 1944, at age 34, Criswell accepted the senior pastor position at the downtown First Baptist Church of Dallas, a tenure that would span the rest of his life. He would preach thousands of sermons there. One message, entitled “The Scarlet Thread Through the Bible,” revealed Christ’s sacrifice in every book and verse of Scripture. It lasted 4.5 hours.
Under Criswell’s leadership, the church became a forerunner of today’s mega-churches. Membership expanded from around 8,000 to 26,000, with more than 5,000 attending weekly by the mid-1980s. W. A. was an organizational mastermind who established several inner-city missions and led the church to support many social ministries and homeless shelters. The church model he created became a pattern for many others.
In 1953, Billy Graham joined the church and became lifelong friends with the Criswell family. Graham embraced Criswell as his pastor and counselor. He was deeply inspired by W. A.’s devotion to Scripture, describing his preaching as “electric in its power” (https://christianhof.org/w-a-criswell/, accessed 9/10/24).
W. A. Criswell combined solid biblical exegesis with a rhetorical persuasiveness that captivated, moved, motivated, and challenged. He was knowledgeable about history, the arts, literature, and human nature and never used notes. He enhanced his sermons with quotes, illustrations, and life applications that fueled his biblical exposition. One writer comments, “His preaching was often a verbal pyrotechnic extravaganza . . . a homiletical fourth of July” (www.preaching.com/articles/past-masters/with-a-bible-in-my-hand-the-preaching-legacy-of-w-a-criswell/, accessed 9/10/24).
W. A. Criswell was conservative and evangelical in theology. He emphasized the inerrancy and infallibility of Scripture, the believer’s security, and the truth that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation. His sermons were broadcast on radio and television stations throughout the southwestern United States. He published more than fifty books in his lifetime, preached more than 4,000 sermons, and received eight honorary doctorates. Dedicating his later years to preparing young ministers to preach the Word of God, Criswell founded the Criswell College in Dallas, Texas, in 1970.
Criswell believed a preacher’s job was to take God’s Word and “make it flame, make it live! The word we preach from our pulpits . . . ought to be like the Word of God itself—like a fire and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces (Jeremiah 23:29)” (https://wacriswell.com/about-dr-criswell/, accessed 9/10/24).
Elected two times as president of the Southern Baptist Convention (1968—70), Criswell helped turn a generation of Southern Baptist preachers back to their conservative, Bible-believing roots. From then on, he was one of America’s most sought-after speakers for conferences and evangelist events.
In 1995, Criswell retired as senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas. At this time, the church honored him as its first pastor emeritus. He continued to serve as chancellor of Criswell College.
On January 10, 2002, W. A. Criswell died peacefully at the residence of his longtime friend, Jack Pogue. He was 92.
Here are a few quotes from W. A. Criswell:
“He stands best who kneels most. He stands strongest who kneels weakest. He stands longest who kneels longest.” (Guidebook for Pastors)
“To lift Him up, to preach His name, and to invite souls to love Him and to follow Him is the highest, heavenliest privilege of human life.”
“The greatest, finest, noblest sermon any pastor ever delivers is that of his own example.” (Guidebook for Pastors)
