Frank Ely Gaebelein (March 31, 1899 – January 19, 1983) was an American

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

educator, author, and editor who was the founding headmaster of

The Stony Brook School The Stony Brook School is a 7–12 private, Christian, co-educational, college-preparatory boarding and day school in Stony Brook, New York, United States. It was established in 1922 by John Fleming Carson and fellow members of the Stony ...

in Long Island, New York. He is the author of more than twenty books, and also served as editor for ''Our Hope'' (which later merged with Eternity), '' Christianity Today'', and ''

Eternity Eternity, in common parlance, means infinite time that never ends or the quality, condition, or fact of being everlasting or eternal. Classical philosophy, however, defines eternity as what is timeless or exists outside time, whereas sempit ...

'' magazines, style editor for the translation committee of the New International Version of the Bible, and general editor for the 12-volume ''Expositor's Bible Commentary''.

Early life and education

Gaebelein was born in Mount Vernon, New York, the youngest of three sons, to German immigrants Arno Clemons Gaebelein and Emma Fredericka (née Grimm) Gaebelein. His father was a noted preacher and outspoken early leader of the

dispensationalist Dispensationalism is a system that was formalized in its entirety by John Nelson Darby. Dispensationalism maintains that history is divided into multiple ages or "dispensations" in which God acts with humanity in different ways. Dispensationali ...

and

fundamentalist Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that is characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishi ...

movements. Frank graduated from Mount Vernon High School, where he was editor of the yearbook with

E. B. White Elwyn Brooks White (July 11, 1899 – October 1, 1985) was an American writer. He was the author of several highly popular books for children, including ''Stuart Little'' (1945), ''Charlotte's Web'' (1952), and '' The Trumpet of the Swan'' ...

(later contributor to ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' magazine and author of '' Charlotte's Web'' and ''

Stuart Little ''Stuart Little'' is a 1945 American children's novel by E. B. White. It was White's first children's book, and it is now widely recognized as a classic in children's literature. ''Stuart Little'' was illustrated by the subsequently award-winnin ...

''). He earned his

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

(1920), where he was the piano soloist performing with the University Glee Club. Gaebelein's studies were interrupted briefly in 1918 to serve in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

, where he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant. He earned his A.M. from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

(1921), where he studied English and comparative literature. In 1923, Gaebelein married Dorothy Laura (née Medd), with whom he had three children: Dorothy Laura G. Hampton, Donn Medd, and Gretchen Elizabeth Gaebelein Hull (who later gave birth to artist Jeff Hull (1955), Dr. Rev. Sanford Hull (1956), and Meredyth Hull Smith (1957)).

Career

Shortly after graduating from Harvard in the spring of 1921, Gaebelein was approached by John F. Carson and Ford C. Ottman to be the headmaster of

, which was an outgrowth of the Stony Brook Assembly. Frank Gaebelein began organizing The Stony Brook School, which opened in the fall of 1922. He held the position of headmaster for more than four decades. During this time, he also served as an ordained deacon and presbyter at the

Reformed Episcopal Church The Reformed Episcopal Church (REC) is an Anglican church of evangelical Episcopalian heritage. It was founded in 1873 in New York City by George David Cummins, a former bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church. The REC is a founding member ...

. In 1954 he served as vice-chairman for

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

's preparation of the ''New

Scofield Reference Bible The Scofield Reference Bible is a widely circulated study Bible edited and annotated by the American Bible student Cyrus I. Scofield, which popularized dispensationalism at the beginning of the 20th century. Published by Oxford University Press ...

''. Toward the end of his tenure at Stony Brook, Gaebelein and the school came under pressure from fundamentalists because of their embracing "new evangelicalism". One of the leaders of this movement,

Harold Ockenga Harold John Ockenga (June 6, 1905 – February 8, 1985) was a leading figure of mid-20th-century American Evangelicalism, part of the reform movement known as "Neo-Evangelicalism". A Congregational minister, Ockenga served for many years a ...

, invited Gaebelein to be the dean of the newly founded

Fuller Theological Seminary Fuller Theological Seminary is an interdenominational Evangelical Christian seminary in Pasadena, California, with regional campuses in the western United States. It is egalitarian in nature. Fuller consistently has a student body that compr ...

, an offer he considered but ultimately declined. Gaebelein served on the executive committee of evangelist Billy Graham's famous sixteen-week crusade at Madison Square Garden in 1957. Following the close of the crusade in September, Graham visited Stony Brook and spoke to a crowd of 6,000 on the campus. It was due to this that the Stony Brook Assembly ceased its summer conferences, which had been conducted on the campus since 1909. After retiring from Stony Brook in 1963, Gaebelein joined

Carl F. H. Henry Carl Ferdinand Howard Henry (January 22, 1913 – December 7, 2003) was an American evangelical Christian theologian who provided intellectual and institutional leadership to the neo-evangelical movement in the mid-to-late 20th century. His earl ...

as co-editor of '' Christianity Today''. While covering the 1965

Selma to Montgomery marches The Selma to Montgomery marches were three protest marches, held in 1965, along the 54-mile (87 km) highway from Selma, Alabama, to the state capital of Montgomery. The marches were organized by nonviolent activists to demonstrate the ...

during the

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...

, he was criticized for abandoning his role as a reporter and joining as a protester. In 1968 he served as style committee chairman for the New International Version of the Bible. From 1969 to 1972, Gaebelein was director of the faculty summer seminar on faith and learning at Wheaton College of Illinois. In 1971, he took on the role as general editor for the ''Expositor's Bible Commentary'', an endeavor he continued until his death (supervising, in order of publication, volumes 10, 11, 1, 9, and 12).

Death and legacy

In October 1982, Gaebelein attended the dedication of the Frank E. Gaebelein Hall at The Stony Brook School. In November 1982, he underwent a double bypass surgery, and never fully recovered. Gaebelein died two months later at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

Published works

*''Down Through the Ages: The Story of the King James Bible'' (1924) *''A Brief Survey of Scripture'' (1929) *''Exploring the Bible: a study of background and principles'' (1929) *''The Hollow Queen'' (1933) *''Facing the Fact of Inspiration'' (1933) *''From a Headmaster's Study'' (1935) *''Philemon: The gospel of Emancipation: A Narrative and Devotional Commentary'' (1939) *''Looking Unto Him: A Message for Each Day'' (1941) *''The Christian Use of the Bible'' (1946) *''The Servant and the Dove: Obadiah and Jonah, Their Messages and Their Work'' (1946) *''The Meaning of Inspiration'' (1950) *''The Story of the King James Bible'' (1950) *"Rutherford Today" in ''Samuel Rutherford, 1600-1661'' (1950) *''Christian Education in a Democracy'' (1951) *''The Pattern of God's Truth'' (1954) *''The Practical Epistle of James: Studies in Applied Christianity'' (1955) *"The Bible College in American Education" ''School and Society'', 87, 223 (1959) *''The Story of the Scofield Reference Bible, 1909-1959'' (1959) *''Commitment and the School Community'' (Ed.) (1960) *''Toward a Philosophy of Christian Education: An Introduction to Evangelical Christian Education'' (Ed.) (1964) *''A Christianity Today Reader'' (1966) *''A Varied Harvest: Out of a Teacher's Life and Thought: A collection of Essays'' (1967) *''The New Scofield Reference Bible: Its Background and Making'' (1967) *''Christianity Today'' (Ed.) (1968) *''The Pattern of God's Truth: Problems of Integration in Christian Education'' (1968) *''Faith That Lives: From the Practical Epistle of James'' (1969) *''Four Minor Prophets, Obadiah, Jonah, Habakkuk, and Haggai: Their Message for Today'' (1970) *''From Day to Day: A Message from the Bible for Each Day of the Year'' (1975) *''The Expositor's Bible Commentary'' (1976–1992) *''The Christian, the Arts, and Truth: Regaining the Vision of Greatness'' (1985) *"What is Truth in Art?" in ''The Christian Imagination: Essays on Literature and the Arts'' (1986)

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaebelein, Frank E. 1899 births 1983 deaths American biblical scholars American evangelicals American people of German descent American Reformed Episcopalians American religious writers American school administrators Educators from New York (state) Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni New York University alumni Writers from Mount Vernon, New York People from Stony Brook, New York Translators of the Bible into English 20th-century translators Evangelical Anglican biblical scholars