Summer 2009 | Volume 67, No. 4

David Allen: The Preacher's Study

by Benjamin Hawkins

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It is clear from the first visit to David Allen’s office that he believes study is an important aspect of life and ministry. Shelves piled with books fill a small library attached to his office, and other shelves, just as full, line the walls of his office. Several of them, standing along the wall to the left of his desk, are devoted to another of his passions: preaching.

“One of my greatest passions is teaching students how to do exegesis in order to prepare a true expository sermon,” says Allen, who serves as dean of the School of Theology and professor of preaching at Southwestern Seminary. Allen drives his students toward the same ideal that the apostle Paul did his young colleague, Timothy: “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15).

Allen enjoys teaching students how to dissect a passage of Scripture, discovering the primary and subordinate points that the author makes. He then teaches them how to communicate this meaning to a modern audience while remaining faithful to Scripture. According to Allen, it is important that a sermon be guided by the structure of Scripture because it is God’s Word.

Allen came to Christ as a 9-year-old boy and began to sense God calling him to the ministry seven years later. “As I studied the Scriptures, I had an insatiable desire to know the Word of God,” he recalls. “I discovered I loved studying the Bible.” Allen’s call to preach was further confirmed by the Holy Spirit in his prayer life, by the encouragement of others, and by the opening of opportunities to speak for youth groups and at youth revivals.

After high school, Allen earned his bachelor’s degree from Criswell College and his Master of Divinity from Southwestern Seminary. He then pursued his Ph.D. in Humanities from the University of Texas at Arlington, while also serving as pastor at the Audelia Road Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas. After completing his Ph.D., he supplemented his ministry position by serving as an adjunct professor of New Testament and homiletics at Criswell College.

Allen believes effective preachers must be pastor-scholars.

“I had the privilege of growing up under a pastor-scholar: Jerry Vines. I saw first-hand what it looked like in the pulpit when a pastor devoted himself to the study of Scripture and theology and sought to wed the two together in his preaching.

“Today more than ever, we need pastor-scholars in the pulpits of our land. I have used my own study of theology in the pulpit in many ways. It always provides me with an additional arsenal to bear on a text of Scripture and provides a framework in which to locate it for the people.”

As dean of the School of Theology, Allen has been part of designing a curriculum that trains men to be effective pastor-scholars in theological disciplines such as systematic theology, church history, philosophy, ethics, biblical studies, Greek, Hebrew, and the disciplines of practical theology such as pastoral ministry and preaching.

“Pastors do not have to know everything about each of these disciplines, but they should be effectively equipped with basic knowledge in each one, and they should possess the tools necessary for a lifetime of learning and research in these areas as well.

“Our goal is to teach men to be ‘pastor-scholars’ by providing them the skills and the tools necessary to ‘do’ theology for a lifetime. In the fragmented world in which we live, a holistic understanding of the big picture of theology and preaching will help the pastor to speak to his people week by week and help them to learn to be theologians who think theologically as well as about every area of life. The result: the bringing of every thought into captivity to Jesus Christ.”

Allen’s call is certain: “I believe God has called me to be a part of the training of the next generation of expository preachers,” he says. “There is such a need for genuine biblical preaching in the churches.”

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