Letter from the Editor

The year 2024 brings joyful celebration to Dallas Theological Seminary. If you’ve been part of the DTS family, you probably know why: We’re celebrating our centennial anniversary! It was back in 1924 that the seminary’s founders welcomed the first students to a new kind of school, a place where pastors and ministers could receive in-depth training in all sixty-six books of the Bible. A century later, DTS continues to equip godly servant-leaders for the proclamation of God’s Word and the building up of the body of Christ worldwide. Not all of the faculty, staff, students, and alumni are preachers by profession, but they all live out the school’s motto,  “Preach the Word,” through their lives as they shine the light of the gospel everywhere they go.

In celebration of the centennial, DTS Magazine looks back over the seminary’s history and forward to what God might continue to do through DTS. We’re excited to present two special issues. First, we look at the early days: the doctrinal distinctives that have guided DTS from the start; what the city of Dallas was like in 1924; and the first students on campus. Then we hear from the seminary’s leaders: Chancellor Emeritus Chuck Swindoll tells about coming to DTS as a student, and Chancellor Mark Bailey and President Mark Yarbrough reflect on what Dallas Theological Seminary means.

In our next issue, we’ll look forward, seeing how DTS has grown to equip people all over the world to be godly servant-leaders—and how we’ll continue seeking God’s leading into the future. Thank you for your part in our century of teaching truth and loving well!

About the Contributors

Neil R. Coulter

Neil R. Coulter completed degrees in music performance and ethnomusicology from Wheaton College and Kent State University. He and his family lived in Papua New Guinea for twelve years, where Neil served as an ethnomusicology and arts consultant for Wycliffe Bible Translators. In 2015, he helped design and launch the PhD in World Arts at Dallas International University. He teaches doctoral courses in theory and ethnography at DIU’s Center for Excellence in World Arts. At DTS, he teaches about art, literature, film, and theology, and he is senior writer and editor of DTS Magazine. Neil is married to Joyce, and they have three sons.