Background

Luder Gradick Whitlock, Jr. was born on June 20, 1940, in Jacksonville, Florida, United States, to Luder G. and Juanita O. (Nessmith) Whitlock.

Education

Whitlock studied at the Santa Fe High School in Alachua. In 1962, he received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Florida, a Master of Divinity from Westminster Theological Seminary in 1966, and a Doctor of Ministry from Vanderbilt University.

Career

During his earliest years of ministry in Florida and Tennessee pastorates, Dr. Whitlock traveled widely as a speaker and preacher, was engaged in camp and conference leadership, and accepted multiple responsibilities within his denomination.

Dr. Whitlock joined the faculty of Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) in 1975 and, at the age of 37, was appointed its president, a position he held for 23 years. At the time of his retirement, he had the longest tenure of any active seminary president in the United States.

For many years Dr. Whitlock served on the executive committee of the Fellowship of Evangelical Seminary Presidents, including eight years as chairman. For eight years he served on the executive committee of the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) in the U.S. and Canada, including a two-year term as president. He was one of only five evangelicals to do so in the history of ATS.

His service to higher education also took him to the boards of the National Commission on Higher Education, the Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics, the International Theological Seminary, the International Leadership University, the International Graduate School of Theology, Covenant College, and Westminster Theological Seminary. In addition, Dr. Whitlock serves on the advisory boards of organizations such as InTrust and the International Institute for Christian Studies.

He was also co-founder and co-president of the International Reformed Fellowship and later assumed a major role in the establishment of the World Reformed Fellowship, also serving as a convener for the initial global gathering. He participated in founding the Foundation for Reformation, now Excelsis. Dr. Whitlock currently serves as President of Excelsis and as Executive Director of the CNL Charitable Foundation and the Seneff Family Foundation in Orlando, Florida. He also serves on the editorial advisory board of Leadership.

Achievements

• Dr. Whitlock is well known for his role as executive director of The New Geneva Study Bible and a major revision, published as The Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible. He is the author of The Spiritual Quest and has contributed to more than ten other volumes and over fifteen different periodicals.
  
  Under his leadership, Reformed Theological Seminary grew from a small regional school to one of the most innovative as well as one of the ten largest seminaries in North America with multiple campuses in the US as well as gateway extension programs in Asia, South America, and Europe.
  
  Whitlock was a leader in establishing the Church Planting Center, which now serves several denominations. He also helped establish the Greater Orlando Leadership Foundation, a highly successful model for training emerging leaders in a city.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Divided We Fall: Overcoming a History of Christian Disunity

    (Throughout the centuries, Christians have longed to be un...)

    2017
  • The Spiritual Quest: Pursuing Christian Maturity

    (The author argues that spiritual growth should occupy the...)

    2000

Membership

Whitlock's years of ministry have been marked by an effort to bring mutual understanding and cooperation within the worldwide evangelical community, which led him to serve on the boards of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), the World Evangelical Fellowship (North America region), Mission America, the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, and Greater Europe Mission. He has also participated in several interfaith discussions seeking mutual understanding.

Luder's interest in research about the church and its future led him to become a member of the Barna Institute board and his pro-life commitments resulted in a board term with CareNet, the largest pregnancy resource center in the U.S.

Connections

On August 29, 1959, Luder married Mary Louise Patton. They have three children - Frank Christopher, Alissa Ann, and Beth LaVerne.

Father:

Luder G. Whitlock

Mother:

Juanita O. (Nessmith) Whitlock

child:

Frank Christopher Whitlock

child:

Alissa Ann Whitlock

child:

Beth LaVerne Whitlock

Wife:

Mary Louise Patton

References

• Contemporary Authors New Revision Series: A Bio-Bibliographical Guide to Current Writers in Fiction, General Non-Fiction, Poetry, Journalism, Drama, Motion Pictures, TV, & Other Fields, Vol. 193 In response to the escalating need for up-to-date information on writers, Contemporary Authors New Revision Series brings researchers the most recent data on the worlds most-popular authors.
  2010