— Special Event —
Published Date: April 9, 2024
Friday, April 12, 7:00 – 9:00 pm and Saturday, April 13, 9:00 – 12:00 pm
Don Whitney grew up in Osceola, Arkansas where he came to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. He was active in sports throughout high school and college, and worked in the radio station his dad managed.
After graduating from Arkansas State University, Don planned to finish law school and pursue a career in sportscasting. While at the University of Arkansas School of Law, he sensed God’s call to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Education
He then enrolled at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, graduating with a Master of Divinity degree in 1979. In 1987, Don completed a Doctor of Ministry degree at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, and later a Ph.D. in theology at the University of the Free State in South Africa.
Pastoral Ministry
Prior to his ministry as a seminary professor, Don was pastor of Glenfield Baptist Church in Glen Ellyn, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago), for almost fifteen years. Altogether, he has served local churches in pastoral ministry full or part-time for twenty-four years.
Professor
Don Whitney has been Professor of Biblical Spirituality and Associate Dean at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY since 2005.
Before that, he held a similar position (the first such position in the six Southern Baptist seminaries) at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, MO, for ten years. He is the founder and president of The Center for Biblical Spirituality, Inc., which is a non-profit corporation, tax exempt under IRC Section 501(c)(3), organized in 2003.
Author
He is the author of Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (NavPress, 1991; revised and updated 2014), which has a companion discussion guide. He has also written How Can I Be Sure I’m a Christian? (NavPress, 1994; revised and updated 2019), Spiritual Disciplines within the Church (Moody Press, 1996), Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health (NavPress, 2001; revised and updated 2021), Simplify Your Spiritual Life (NavPress, 2003), Finding God in Solitude: The Personal Piety of Jonathan Edwards and Its Influence on His Pastoral Ministry (2014), Praying the Bible (Crossway 2015), and Family Worship (2006; and Crossway 2016).
Speaker and Teacher
Don enjoys speaking at conferences and churches primarily on the topic of Biblical Spiritual Disciplines, though on Sunday mornings he often preaches expositorally on other subjects. He is passionate about congregations discovering and practicing spiritual disciplines for the purpose of growth in godliness.
