Dr. Gary W. Derickson
Dr. Gary Derickson is Professor of Biblical Studies at Corban University (http://www.corban.edu) in Salem, Oregon, where he has taught for over twenty years. He has published articles in Bibliotheca Sacra, ETS Studies Series, The Master’s Seminary Journal, and The Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society. He contributed to The Nelson’s Complete Study Bible, is co-author of The Disciplemaker: What Matters Most to Jesus (2001) with Dr. Earl Radmacher, and is author of the 1, 2 & 3 John: Evangelical Exegetical Commentary.Dr. Derickson studied Biblical exposition at Dallas Theological Seminary, and earned his Masters of Theology in 1986. He continued his doctoral studies under four godly men at Dallas Theological Seminary: Drs. Elliot E. Johnson, Stanley D. Toussaint, J. Dwight Pentecost, and Homer Heater, completing his Ph.D. He left Dallas to teach at Western Baptist College, which later became Corban University.
I think that we both share an admiration for the life and legacy of Dr. Earl Radmacher. Dr. Radmacher was my hermeneutics professor in my seminary training in Phoenix. The content of what he taught was tremendous and he would emphasize important points with this big booming voice that would just put this exclamation point of all of the things we would learn. You wrote the book The Disciplemaker with Dr. Radmacher, what are some of your thoughts on what you learned from him and his legacy?
I learned of course an appreciation for accurately teaching God’s Word and reflecting the passion of Christ. One of the great things about that project is when we began it, I did the exegetical work, the research, the writing, and then he and I sat down together. He added a lot of illustrations and then sometimes made the choice on which view was going to be expressed in the book, which would be his view. The great thing is, after the initial work was done, actually near the end of the process, he and I sat down side by side and went through chapter by chapter, paragraph by paragraph and discussed everything. What I learned was just a rich trove because it was coming from all of his knowledge and experience and it was just being able to sit next to him and go through these things and learn from him. That was a great legacy to be a part of.
You’ve written The Disciplemaker and the commentary on 1, 2 and 3 John – are there other articles, books, or future projects?
My school has an e-journal that’s available to all called Dedicated, where several of my articles have been published. I also just finished a book for Lexham Press, which I think will be entitled, A Biblical Theology of 1, 2 and 3 John, and will be the first in a series that the publisher is releasing.
I have some other projects going – one project on Revelation for Kregel Press, and another project for Lampion Press taking my Master’s thesis and converting it into a book. My Master’s thesis makes the case that miracle workers ended in the first century though God still intervenes today. Those are some other upcoming projects that will keep me busy and tired for the next few years.
Thank you to Dr. Derickson for these tremendously helpful interviews. Dr. Derickson’s books, The Disciplemaker: What Matters Most to Jesus (2001) with Dr. Earl Radmacher and 1, 2 & 3 John (Evangelical Exegetical Commentary), should be in everyone’s libraries. Be sure to pick them up through your printed book or computer library sources.
Todd Mathis, M.Div.
Phoenix, Arizona
