A Desperate Need, a Great Vision, and an Enduring Seminary

Many people have big dreams, but few people develop the determination, fortitude, and skill needed to achieve those dreams. Even fewer endure personal and financial hardships to realize those aspirations. Lewis Sperry Chafer had a great vision, in response to a desperate need, and he worked hard to make that dream a reality. One hundred years later, that dream has not only endured but thrived, as DTS has become the largest nondenominational seminary in the world. (¹⁾

A Desperate Need 
In the early twentieth century, the modernist movement and the resulting theological liberalism exerted a devastating impact on many mainline denominational seminaries across the United States (2). These institutions, established to equip pastors and missionaries to proclaim the truth of Scripture, devolved to undermine their students’ faith and cause them to question the Bible’s historical veracity. Remarking upon his own alma mater, Lewis Sperry Chafer lamented, “I very much fear that Oberlin is like other educational centers of this time. It has fallen into the hands of unregenerate, intellectual men who are aptly described in 1 Cor. 2:14 and John 3:3.” (3)

Theological liberalism provided the historical context of the need for Dallas Theological Seminary. In the words of one historian, Dallas Theological Seminary was “the most important nondenominational school to be organized during the fundamentalist–modernist controversy.” (4)

A Great Vision
Chafer envisioned a school with an unwavering commitment to the authority and inspiration of Scripture. The Bible itself would be the primary source and textbook in the classroom. Chafer and the other founders and faculty members committed to training their students 1) to study all sixty-six books of the Bible, 2) to pursue great depth of theological understanding, 3) to become proficient in the biblical languages, and 4) to cultivate skill in the expository preaching of Scripture. DTS’s founders wanted to produce graduates who shared their unwavering commitment to the authority and inspiration of Scripture. 

Now, a century later, the commitments of Dallas Theological Seminary remain intact! This is reflected in the seminary’s motto, “Preach the Word,” and in its contemporary tagline, “Teach Truth. Love Well.” The core values of DTS also remind us to “Trust in God’s Word.”

A Unique Curriculum
Chafer, a man of great conviction, was grounded in the authority of Scripture. This core foundational commitment influenced all subsequent curriculum decisions, prioritizing:

The Authority and Inerrancy of Scripture
Chafer’s primary commitment was to the authority and inspiration of Scripture. He and his colleagues believed that abandoning this affirmation rendered mainline seminaries inadequate and would continue to be the greatest challenge to evangelicalism for many years. Chafer transmitted this conviction to his protégé John Walvoord, who would become the school’s second president. A student once asked Walvoord, “What is the greatest threat to dispensationalism today?” Walvoord responded, “Son, it is what it has always been—departing from the inerrancy of Scripture.” (5) Each year, DTS’s faculty and board sign a doctrinal statement affirming their belief in the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture.

The Whole Counsel of God’s Word 
At a time when other seminaries devoted less curricular time to the teaching of Scripture, DTS doubled down on this commitment—championed by the DTS founders involved in the Bible conference movement. Chafer saw not only the educational benefit of teaching all of God’s Word but also its transformational impact. In the early days of the school, Chafer invited itinerant preachers to be adjunct faculty for a month at a time, to teach through entire sections of Scripture. The teaching format has changed over the years, but DTS remains committed to teaching through every book of the Bible in six courses, required for professional degrees. Additionally, elective courses such as The Story of Scripture and Kingdom and the Covenants provide a helpful understanding of the whole of Scripture and its unifying themes.

Rigorous Theological Training 
Chafer became the first professor of systematic theology at DTS. He wanted to ensure that his students would study “the entire field of doctrine” and be “prepared to proceed intelligently in every phase of the divine revelation.” He believed that without such training, a minister would be unprepared to “hold truth in its right proportions” and might “drift into the errors of unscriptural cults, or into modernistic unbelief.” (6) Theological training in all ten traditional categories of systematic theology was a core conviction of the seminary’s founders. That conviction continues today, as is reflected in the curriculum commitments. Six required courses teach through all ten traditional categories of theology. (7)

Scripture’s Original Languages
Dallas Theological Seminary was established to train pastors and teachers of Scripture. Because of this, the founders committed to training their students in the languages of the Bible. This commitment continues today. Students who are preparing to be pastors and teachers of Scripture are encouraged to enroll in Dallas Theological Seminary’s flagship ThM program, which requires five semesters of Greek and four semesters of Hebrew. Such an uncommon curricular commitment is unmatched by many other seminaries. The core belief that the Bible is inspired and inerrant makes study of the original languages necessary for proper interpretation, preaching, and teaching.

Expository Preaching and Teaching
Another core commitment resulting from the influence of the Bible conference movement is an emphasis on the expository preaching of God’s Word. Chafer wrote that there was a “distinct demand” and a “widespread need” for “thorough training in the Scriptures with special reference to expository preaching and teaching.” (8) Such commitment and preparation continue to be a hallmark of Dallas Theological Seminary’s Department of Pastoral Ministries.

An Enduring Seminary
In the past century, numerous seminaries have ceased to exist or have departed significantly from their original missions, but Dallas Theological Seminary has endured and thrived, with increasing enrollment and enthusiastic support from donors and alumni. A key factor in that growth is consistent, steadfast embrace of the seminary’s founding vision and core values, from 1924 to today. Teaching modalities and methods have changed, but the mission has not. By God’s grace, the focus and commitment of DTS will lead to continued thriving for the next hundred years, or until the Lord returns.

Dr. Paul D. Weaver is Associate Professor of Bible Exposition and Host of the “Bible and Theology Matters Podcast” www.BibleAndTheologyMatters.com

1. “2022–2023 Data Table,” ATS Resources, https://www.ats.edu/files/galleries/2022-2023_Annual_Data_Tables.pdf.
2. For a detailed discussion see Lindsell, Harold. The Battle for the Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976. Bush, L. Russ, and Tom J Nettles. Baptists and the Bible. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1999.
3. Personal letter from Lewis Sperry Chafer to Frank E. Burgess, Nov. 11, 1924; Archives of DTS; John D. Hannah, An Uncommon Union: Dallas Theological Seminary and American Evangelicalism, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009), 81.
4. Stewart G. Cole, The History of Fundamentalism, (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1931), 247.
5. That student was Michael Stallard, former dean of Baptist Bible Seminary and now Vice President of International Ministries at Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry.
6. Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology, Volume 1, (Dallas: Dallas Seminary Press, viii), 1948.
7. In addition to Chafer’s frustration with the theological compromise by mainline denominations, he also felt underwhelmed by conservative seminaries’ lack of educational rigor. He saw a need for Bible “experts,” who would require a higher level of preparation.
8.  “The Opening Exercises,” Evangelical Theological College Bulletin 1 (January 1925): 13-14.