Dr. Jerry Sutton is a

Southern Baptist The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The wo ...

pastor, historian, and administrator. His

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

is best described as conservative and

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 exp ...

Biography

Early life

He earned a PhD in church history from the

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary The Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is a Baptist theological institute in Fort Worth, Texas. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. It was established in 1908 and is one of the largest seminaries in the world. It i ...

Career

He served at Two Rivers Baptist Church, in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

for twenty-two years and retired on August 3, 2008. The church averaged approximately 2,000 in average weekly attendance over the course of his pastorate. In 1999, he led the Summit for the New Millennium which was designed to coordinate missionary efforts and church support in the 10/40 window. He served as the president of Southern Baptist Pastor's Conference in 2000 and was first Vice President of the Southern Baptist Convention in 2005. During the 2006 Tennessee Baptist Convention, he led a movement amongst Tennessee Baptist to affirm the

Baptist Faith and Message The Baptist Faith and Message (BF&M) is the statement of faith of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). It summarizes key Southern Baptist thought in the areas of the Bible and its authority, the nature of God as expressed by the Trinity, the spi ...

2000 edition when he proposed that all appointees of the Convention’s Committee on Committees and the Convention’s Committee on Boards be asked if they affirmed the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 edition. He served as the first vice president of the

Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The wo ...

from June 2005 to June 2006. In June 2006, he announced he would allow himself to be nominated for the Presidency of the

after being repeatedly asked to run by other Southern Baptists. He made this announcement only a few days prior to the election at the Southern Baptist Convention in

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...

. He ran against two other candidates, Frank Page of South Carolina and

Ronnie Floyd Ronald Wayne Floyd (born November 11, 1955) is an American religious leader and a former pastor and Southern Baptist executive. Ronnie was the Senior Pastor of Cross Church (formerly called First Baptist Springdale), a Southern Baptist megachu ...

of Arkansas. He placed third with 24.08% of the overall vote. In 2009 Sutton joined the faculty at

Liberty University Liberty University (LU) is a Private university, private Baptist university in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia (Southern Baptist Convention). Founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell Sr. and Elmer ...

Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner John Lynch, the city's population was 79,009 at the 2020 census. Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mount ...

and wrote The Primer On Biblical Preaching. He took the position of Vice President of Academic Development and Dean of the Faculty at

Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (MBTS) is a Baptist theological institute in Kansas City, Missouri. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary also houses an undergraduate college, Spu ...

in Kansas City, Missouri in 2010.

Personal life

He is married to Fern, a professional Christian therapist, and has two daughters: Ashli, who is a licensed Tennessee and Oklahoma attorney, an
Hilary
who is in content marketing.

Bibliography

*''The Baptist Reformation'' *''The Way Back Home'' *''A Matter of Conviction'' *''A Primer on Biblical Preaching'' * Lectures From the Gates of Hell

References

External links

Two Rivers Baptist Church

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sutton, Jerry Living people Religious leaders from Nashville, Tennessee Southern Baptist ministers Year of birth missing (living people) Baptists from Tennessee