Robert Craig Sproul, better known as R.C. Sproul Jr., (born July 1, 1965) is an American Calvinist Christian minister and theologian and is the son of noted Reformed theologian and founder of Ligonier Ministries, Robert Charles Sproul.
Video R. C. Sproul Jr.
Career and family
Sproul holds degrees from Grove City College (Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Literature, 1986) and Reformed Theological Seminary (Master of Arts in Theological Studies, 1991) and received his D.Min. in theology from Whitefield Theological Seminary (2001).
After working with Ligonier Ministries for some years, Sproul founded Highlands Ministries (formerly Highlands Study Center) in Bristol, Virginia, in 1996. In the same year, he planted Saint Peter Presbyterian Church in Bristol and until 2001 served as its senior pastor and then until 2010 as its Associate Pastor of Education. Sproul formerly served as executive editor of Every Thought Captive, a monthly magazine published by Highlands Ministries. 2009-10, he worked as a teacher for Veritas Press, which specializes in Christian educational texts.
In 2010, Sproul was appointed a Teaching Fellow and Associate Professor of theology, philosophy, and apologetics at Ligonier Academy in both the Bible college and D.Min. programs. In 2014 he was named Rector at Reformation Bible College as well as the Chair of the Department of Theology and Philosophy.
In August 2015, Sproul wrote in his personal blog that his name was associated with the release of information in the Ashley Madison data breach earlier that month. The board at Ligonier Ministries suspended him until July 2016.
Sproul married Lisa Carol Sproul (Porter), October 14, 2016 and ecclesiastically officiated November 19, 2016. Combined they have thirteen children, six grandchildren and currently reside in Indiana. Sproul's first wife, Denise Elizabeth Sproul (née Rocklein), died December 18, 2011, age 46, of cancer.
On November 29, 2016, RC Sproul Jr was arrested in Fort Wayne, Indiana for drunk driving with two of his minor children in the car. He posted a $5,000 bond and was free under a "monitored conditional release." On December 9, 2016, the board of directors of Ligonier Ministries and Reformation Bible College received and affirmed Sproul's resignation request. Ligonier Ministries posted a statement regarding his resignation on their website on December 12, 2016.
Maps R. C. Sproul Jr.
Church allegiances
Sproul was first ordained in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARP). After a failed attempt to transfer into the Presbyterian Church in America, he was ordained in the Reformed Presbyterian Church General Assembly (RPCGA) in 2000.
In January 2006, Sproul and the Session of Saint Peter Presbyterian Church, its governing body, were deposed from office by the RPCGA under charges including "abuse of authority in an inexcusable manner" against several families, alleged illegal use of the ARP's tax identification number, planting a church without authority, and practicing infant communion. The SPPC Session issued a letter of apology and asked to be released from general membership in the RPCGA, and the denomination granted their request. SPPC requested pastoral oversight from the CREC, which accepted the congregation as a full member in October 2007. The Confederation of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC) examined the case and accepted Sproul as an ordained minister in good standing in 2006. In 2010 Sproul transferred his ordination to the denomination Covenant Presbyterian Church (CPC).
Publishing
Sproul has written twelve books, including When You Rise Up: A Covenantal Approach to Homeschooling, Bound for Glory, Biblical Economics, Almighty Over All, Eternity in Our Hearts, and Tearing Down Strongholds. He has edited four books, including After Darkness Light: Distinctives of Reformed Theology, and contributed to several others. He was a regular columnist for World magazine, Homeschooling Today magazine and the Covenant Syndicate. For eleven years he was the editor of Tabletalk magazine, a publication of Ligonier Ministries, and is still a monthly contributor.
Books
- Money Matters, 1985. Reprinted as Dollar Signs of the Times: A Commonsense Guide to Securing Our Economic Future, 1994, and Biblical Economics: A Commonsense Guide to Our Daily Bread, 2002. Supplemented with Biblical Economics Study Guide in 2010.
- Almighty over All: Understanding the Sovereignty of God, 1999.
- Quothe The Prophet, 2000.
- The Brave Monk, 2000.
- Eternity in Our Hearts, 2002.
- Tearing Down Strongholds: And Defending the Truth, 2002.
- Bound for Glory: God's Promise for Your Family, 2003
- When You Rise Up: A Covenantal Approach to Homeschooling, 2004.
- Believing God: Twelve Biblical Promises Christians Struggle to Accept, 2009.
- The Call to Wonder: Loving God like a Child, 2012.
References
External links
- R.C. Sproul Jr. - Highlands Ministries
- Saint Peter Presbyterian Church
- RC Sproul Jr RC Sproul's blog.
- R.C. Sproul Jr. Bio
Source of article : Wikipedia
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