Mark Dever
Encyclopedia
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
of the Capitol Hill Baptist Church
Capitol Hill Baptist Church
Capitol Hill Baptist Church is a Baptist church located on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., a few blocks from the United States Capitol. Mark Dever serves as the senior pastor of the church. Capitol Hill Baptist is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention....
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
since 1994, and is the president of 9Marks (formerly known as the Center for Church Reform), a Christian ministry he co-founded "in an effort to build biblically faithful churches in America.". He is known as a Calvinist preacher.
Biography
Dever grew up in rural KentuckyKentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
where he was an avid reader. He began reading sections of the World Book Encyclopedia
World Book Encyclopedia
The World Book Encyclopedia is an encyclopedia published in the United States. It is self-described as "the number-one selling print encyclopedia in the world." The encyclopedia is designed to cover major areas of knowledge uniformly, but it shows particular strength in scientific, technical, and...
and the Harvard Classics
Harvard Classics
The Harvard Classics, originally known as Dr. Eliot's Five Foot Shelf, is a 51-volume anthology of classic works from world literature, compiled and edited by Harvard University president Charles W...
before he was ten years old and based upon his reading and thinking considered himself an agnostic in his younger years. Later rereading and thinking about the Gospels and the change that he saw in the life of Jesus' disciples led him to become a Christian.
Dever earned the degrees of Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
, magna cum laude, from Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
, Master of Divinity
Master of Divinity
In the academic study of theology, the Master of Divinity is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America...
, summa cum laude, from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary is an evangelical theological seminary whose main campus is based in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, with three other campuses in Boston, Charlotte, North Carolina and Jacksonville. The current president of Gordon-Conwell is Dennis Hollinger...
, Master of Theology
Master of Theology
A Master of Theology is an advanced theological research degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries.-North America:In North America, the Master of Theology is considered by the Association of Theological Schools to be the minimum educational credential for teaching...
from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary , located in Louisville, Kentucky, is the oldest of the six seminaries affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention . The seminary was founded in 1859, at Greenville, South Carolina. After being closed during the Civil War, it moved in 1877 to Louisville...
, and Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in ecclesiastical history
Ecclesiastical History
Ecclesiastical History or ecclesiastical history may refer to:*Ecclesiastical history *Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum by Bede*Church History , pioneer work on the Christian Church by Eusebius of Caesarea...
from Cambridge University.
Dever is married with two adult children.
Dever's ecclesiology and the nine marks
Dever is a BaptistBaptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
and Reformed, but his church polity is notable for its emphasis on an elder
Elder (Christianity)
An elder in Christianity is a person valued for his wisdom who accordingly holds a particular position of responsibility in a Christian group. In some Christian traditions an elder is a clergy person who usually serves a local church or churches and who has been ordained to a ministry of Word,...
led, congregationally ruled church. In addition, he believes that Baptist churches should be led by a plurality of elders
Plurality (church governance)
In Christianity, the term plurality refers to a system of church government or ecclesiastical polity wherein the local church's decisions are made by a committee, typically called elders...
as opposed to a single elder.
Dever's main emphasis, as evidenced by 9Marks, is in the realm of ecclesiology
Ecclesiology
Today, ecclesiology usually refers to the theological study of the Christian church. However when the word was coined in the late 1830s, it was defined as the science of the building and decoration of churches and it is still, though rarely, used in this sense.In its theological sense, ecclesiology...
. He aims to help Bible-believing churches become healthy by recovering a Biblical view of the church. The 9 marks he provides are his positive prescription for church health. He does not intend the book as a comprehensive ecclesiology or even a comprehensive diagnosis of all the problems that may be found in contemporary churches. The nine marks are:
- Expositional preaching
- Biblical theology
- Biblical understanding of the GospelGospelA gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
- Biblical understanding of conversionReligious conversionReligious conversion is the adoption of a new religion that differs from the convert's previous religion. Changing from one denomination to another within the same religion is usually described as reaffiliation rather than conversion.People convert to a different religion for various reasons,...
- Biblical understanding of evangelismEvangelismEvangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
- Biblical understanding of membership
- Biblical church disciplineChurch disciplineChurch discipline comes in two types: formative and corrective. Formative discipline, or discipleship, seeks to help form the character and life of the believer. In this sense, every church disciplines it members. Jonathan Leeman has noted that "every church disciplines its members formally...
- Promotion of Christian discipleship and growth
- Biblical understanding of church leadership
Dever's influence
In the last several years, Dever has become a more widely-recognized name among conservative Evangelicals, due in part to his appearance at large, nation-wide conferences such as the Desiring God National Conference, the Ligonier MinistriesLigonier Ministries
Ligonier Ministries is a Reformed international Christian organization headquartered in the greater Orlando, Florida area. Founded by R. C. Sproul in the Ligonier Valley, Pennsylvania outside of Pittsburgh over forty years ago, Ligonier's stated purpose is "to awaken as many people as possible to...
Conference, the Shepherd's Conference organized by Rev.John F. MacArthur
John F. MacArthur
John Fullerton MacArthur, Jr. is a United States evangelical writer and minister noted for his internationally known and broadcast radio program titled Grace to You...
, and the Together for the Gospel conference (which Dever co-founded with C. J. Mahaney
C. J. Mahaney
Charles Joseph Mahaney is the former leader of Sovereign Grace Ministries , a network formed to establish and support local churches, and was one of the founding pastors and leaders of Covenant Life Church, in Gaithersburg, Maryland.-Selected publications:* Why Small Groups?* Disciplines for Life*...
, Ligon Duncan
Ligon Duncan
J. Ligon Duncan III is an American Southern Presbyterian scholar and pastor.-Early life and education:Duncan is native to Greenville, South Carolina. His father, J. Ligon Duncan, Jr. was an eighth-generation Southern Presbyterian ruling elder. He had a small commercial printing company, still in...
, and R. Albert Mohler).
Dever and the congregation that he serves in Washington, DC also train church leaders on a smaller scale. For the past four years, twelve interns a year have passed through the church's internship program that centers around ecclesiology. Many of these interns have gone on to seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
education, at the same time becoming active reformers in their current local churches. In addition, 9Marks hosts semi-annual weekend conferences at the church where pastors, elders, and seminarians from around the country experience the inner workings of Dever's church.
Most churches in the Southern Baptist Convention
Southern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention is a United States-based Christian denomination. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination and the largest Protestant body in the United States, with over 16 million members...
(the association of which his church is a member) have not adopted his views on ecclesiology. Even so, he narrowly missed being elected as the convention's first vice-president in June 2006, and he does serve the convention as a trustee of its Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary , located in Louisville, Kentucky, is the oldest of the six seminaries affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention . The seminary was founded in 1859, at Greenville, South Carolina. After being closed during the Civil War, it moved in 1877 to Louisville...
.
Dr. Dever is also a member of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals where he leads the Alliance Forum (www.AllianceNet.org).
Selected works
- Dever, Mark E., ed., Polity: A Collection of Historic Baptist Documents-Biblical Arguments on How to Conduct Church Life, (2001)
- Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, Crossway Books, (2004)
- The Deliberate Church - Building Your Ministry on the Gospel (2005)
- The Message of the New Testament: Promises Kept, (2005)
- The Message of the Old Testament: Promises Made, (2006)
- The Gospel and Personal Evangelism, (2007)
- What is a Healthy Church? (2007)
- 12 Challenges Churches Face, (2008)
- In My Place Condemned He Stood: Celebrating the Glory of the Atonement, (2008)