John W. Murray
American pastor, evangelist, and educator
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Weir Murray (October 6, 1913 – March 20, 1996), also known as Jack Murray, was an American pastor, evangelist, and educator.
John Weir Murray | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 6, 1913 |
| Died | March 20, 1996 (aged 82) |
| Occupations | Pastor, evangelist, and educator |
Biography
Murray was born in Laurium, Michigan, and grew up in Bellingham, Washington. He studied at the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Wheaton College in Illinois, and Faith Theological Seminary.[1] He later received honorary doctorates from Faith as well as from Bob Jones University.[2]
Murray served as an assistant pastor in the Bible Presbyterian Church in Chester, Pennsylvania.[3] He edited his denomination's publication Faith and Fellowship, later called Truth for Youth, from 1944 to 1950.[4] In 1955, when the denomination split, Murray joined with the Collingswood faction and became president of Shelton College.[5]
Murray led the establishment of the Harvey Cedars Bible Conference in 1941, with the purchase of the historic Harvey Cedars Hotel.[2][6] In 1960, he left Shelton to start a radio evangelism ministry, Bible Evangelism Inc.[1] Murray co-founded Clearwater Christian College in 1966, serving as the Chairman of the Advisory Board.[7] In 1971, along with Allan MacRae, Murray founded Biblical Theological Seminary.[8] MacRae was Murray's friend and former teacher,[9] and although they had different visions for the seminary (MacRae wanted to train scholar-pastors while Murray wanted to focus on evangelism), they were able to work together.[10]