April 26, 2024
DULUTH, Ga. – Candidates for president of the Southern Baptist Convention have been influenced by a variety of preachers from the modern era, including Adrian Rogers and Martin Lloyd-Jones.
They see themselves in biblical characters like Luke, Jeremiah and even Balaam’s donkey.
The Christian Index did a Q&A with the candidates on a variety of topics for a series of stories that have been published over the past week. In today’s installment, which wraps up the series, the candidates were asked to answer 10 questions as briefly as possible.
What follows are the responses to those questions by Tom Ascol, pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Florida and president of Founders Ministries; Bart Barber, pastor of First Baptist Church in Farmersville, Texas; and Robin Hadaway, a former pastor and International Mission Board missionary to Africa and South America.
Index: Which Christian leader of the past 50 years has had the greatest impact on your faith?
Ascol: Martyn Lloyd-Jones.
Barber: Adrian Rogers.
Hadaway: Adrian Rogers.
Index: Which Christian leader of the past 500 years has had the greatest impact on your faith?
Ascol: Martin Luther.
Barber: John Smythe.
Hadaway: Adoniram Judson.
Index: Who do you consider to have been the greatest SBC president of your lifetime?
Ascol: Adrian Rogers.
Barber: Adrian Rogers.
Hadaway: K. Owen White.
Index: Which biblical figure are you most like?
Ascol: Balaam’s donkey.
Barber: Jacob, maybe? Lots of wrestling. Lots of mistakes. Lots of undeserved blessings. Occasional work with cattle and crops. The comparison breaks down, though, because I’ve only got one wife and two children.
Hadaway: Luke.
Index: Which biblical figure do you consider to be your hero in the faith?
Ascol: Jeremiah.
Barber: Jesus. Jesus is the hero of every biblical story, right? If I were prevented from mentioning Jesus, I’d go with Paul.
Hadaway: Daniel.
Index: Which Bible translation do you most often preach from?
Ascol: ESV.
Barber: ESV.
Hadaway: New American Standard Bible.
Index: Which preacher do you most often listen to on Christian radio or podcasts?
Ascol: Martyn Lloyd-Jones.
Barber: Matt Henslee.
Hadaway: Tony Evans.
Index: What book has helped you most in ministry?
Ascol: The Pilgrim’s Progress.
Barber: James Leo Garrett’s Systematic Theology: Biblical, Historical, and Evangelical.
Hadaway: Transforming Worldviews, Baker Academic, 2008. By Paul Hiebert.
Index: What book would you consider a must-read for every SBC pastor?
Ascol: The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl Trueman.
Barber: The Baptist Way by Stan Norman.
Hadaway: A Survey of World Missions, B&H Academic, 2020. By Robin Dale Hadaway
Index: Who do you consider to be the greatest Christian writer of your lifetime?
Ascol: Iain Murray.
Barber: My degree is in history; therefore, I think a lifetime or two needs to pass before anyone can evaluate the greatness of a Christian preacher, pastor, writer, evangelist, etc. Nevertheless, I’ll go ahead and say Mark Dever.
Hadaway: Frances Schaeffer.
