David Charles Fisher (born 1943) is an American author, professor, and a pastor who was the senior pastor at

Park Street Church Park Street Congregational Church, founded in 1809, is a historic and active evangelical congregational church in Downtown Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The Park Street Church is a member of the Conservative Congregational Christian Confer ...

in Boston from 1989 to 1995 and the senior pastor at Plymouth Church in Brooklyn, New York from 2004 to 2013.

Life and work

Fisher was born in

Warsaw, Indiana Warsaw is a city in and the county seat of Kosciusko County, Indiana, United States. Warsaw has a population of 15,804 as of the 2020 U.S. Census. Warsaw also borders a smaller town, Winona Lake. Etymology Warsaw, named after the capital of ...

, while his father, Reverend Emery Nile Fisher, was attending seminary there. Fisher graduated from

Bryan College Bryan College is a private Christian college in Dayton, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in the aftermath of the 1925 Scopes trial to establish an institution of higher education that would teach from a Christian worldview. History Du ...

in 1967 and then received a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

from

Trinity Evangelical Divinity School Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) is the divinity school of Trinity International University, an evangelical Christian university headquartered in Bannockburn, Illinois. The divinity school was founded in 1897. In April 2025, Trinit ...

, and later he received his Ph.D. in New Testament Interpretation from the

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) is a Baptist theological institute in Louisville, Kentucky. The seminary was founded in 1859 in Greenville, South Carolina, where it was at first housed on the campus of Furman University. The s ...

with further graduate study at

Hebrew Union College Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language until ...

and

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

. Fisher's academic focus is the Jewish background of early Christianity. Fisher has served as instructor of New Testament at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and as adjunct professor of New Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and adjunct professor at

Bethel Theological Seminary Bethel (, "House of El" or "House of God",Bleeker and Widegren, 1988, p. 257. also transliterated ''Beth El'', ''Beth-El'', ''Beit El''; ; ) was an ancient Israelite city and sacred space that is frequently mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Beth ...

. He served as pastor of

in Boston from 1989 to 1995, then the Colonial Church in

Edina, Minnesota Edina ( , ) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States and a first-ring suburb of Minneapolis. The population was 53,494 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the 18th most populous ci ...

. From 2004 until 2013 he was the senior minister at Plymouth Church, a historic

congregational church Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. During the nine years of his ministry at Plymouth Church, Rev. Fisher's almost doubled the membership of the congregations and implemented new programs that advanced the mission of the church. Fisher has published a popular book entitled ''The Twenty-First Century Pastor: A Vision Based on the Apostle Paul'', which is in its eighth printing and cited by dozens of other publications. In addition to Fisher's many academic and popular articles and publications, interviews and articles about Fisher have appeared in news sources, such as the ''

New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American conservative news website and former newspaper based in Manhattan, New York. From 2009 to 2021, it operated as an (occasional and erratic) online-only publisher of political and economic opinion pieces, as we ...

'', ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'', and

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

."PARK STREET CHURCH NAMES NEW MINISTER." The ''

'' June 26, 1989 (Boston, Massachusetts)

Partial list of works

;Books *
The 21st Century Pastor: A Vision Based on the Apostle Paul
' (Zondervan, 1996) (eight printings)(author). *John R. Cionca,
Dear Pastor: Ministry Advice from Seasoned Pastors
' (Group Pub., 2007) (contributor) *G. McIntosh,
Evaluating the church growth movement: 5 views
' (Zondervan, 2004) (contributor) *E. Glenn Wagner,
Escape from Church, Inc.
' (Zondervan, 2011) (contributor) *"Easter Fear," by David C. Fisher, ''The Library of Distinctive Sermons'', Volume 6, 1997, (Sisters, Oregon: Questar Publishers, 1996) (pp. 209–224). (10 Volumes). (chapter contributor) *''A critical analysis of I Thessalonians 4:13-18'', M.A. Thesis *''A critical assessment of the concept of Biblical unity in the writings of

C. H. Dodd Charles Harold Dodd (7 April 1884 – 21 September 1973) was a Welsh New Testament scholar and influential Protestant theologian. He is known for promoting " realized eschatology", the belief that Jesus' references to the kingdom of God meant ...

'', Ph.D. Dissertation ;Articles *"Thoughts on a Son's 13th Birthday," ''Family Life Today'' (April, 1983) *"A New Context in Ministry," ''

Christianity Today ''Christianity Today'' is an evangelical Christian media magazine founded in 1956 by Billy Graham. It is published by Christianity Today International based in Carol Stream, Illinois. ''The Washington Post'' calls ''Christianity Today'' "eva ...

'' (1990) *" Prayers from a Pastor's Heart" ''Christianity Today'' (1986) *"Traditional vs. Contemporary," ''Christianity Today'' (1997) ;Sermons
"Free at Last"
Galatians 5:1; Luke 4:16-21; John 8:31-32, July 6, 2008
"A Long and Winding Road,"
Philippians 3:12-4:1, March 4, 2007
"How Firm a Foundation"
Matthew 5:1-12, January 30, 2011

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, David C. 1943 births Living people American theologians American Congregationalists Bryan College alumni Trinity Evangelical Divinity School alumni Southern Baptist Theological Seminary alumni Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion alumni Indiana University alumni Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary faculty People from Warsaw, Indiana