Chuck Swindoll resigns as senior pastor

Chuck Swindoll stepped down Wednesday as senior pastor of Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas. Jonathan Murphy, Ph.D., professor of pastoral ministries at Dallas Theological Seminary, will take his place. Swindoll will become the founding pastor and remain on the board of elders.

“In these roles, Pastor Chuck will continue to preach God’s word at the pulpit on Sundays, while Jonathan will shepherd our day-to-day ministries and fill in at the pulpit when requested,” the church announced. “Pastor Chuck will continue to serve as mentor and advisor to Jonathan, and at the appropriate time in the future, Jonathan will then assume primary pulpit duties.”

According to the church’s statement, this transition has been two years in the making and was led by a prayer effort to search for the Lord’s will in the matter. “We believe the Lord has gone before us in this decision from the beginning,” the statement said. “Two years ago, as some of us elders gathered to pray, we talked about considering Jonathan as a candidate for the future role of senior pastor.”

Swindoll was one of the first big names in the modern era of radio preachers and megachurch pastor in the 1980s, while senior pastor at Fullerton Evangelical Free Church in Southern California. He returned to his home state of Texas in 1994 to become president of Dallas Theological Seminary

In 2006, “Christianity Today” named Swindoll one of the 25 most influential preachers of the past 50 years. Swindoll’s daily radio program, “Insight for Living,” is heard on 2,000 radio stations nationwide and broadcast by internet around the world. He is the author of 70 books.

With more than 60 years in ministry, Swindoll is the oldest megachurch pastor in the country and one of the most influential. He has been vocal about his plans to remain active in ministry until his death. “One of my great goals in life is to live long enough to where I am in the pulpit, preaching my heart out, and I die on the spot, my chin hits the pulpit — boom! — and I’m down and out,” he once said. “What a way to die.”

–Dwight Widaman | Metro Voice