The Narrow Path Ministries

The lady that led me to the Lord was of the Word of Faith persuasion so my first two bible teacher/preachers were,



Kenneth Hagin
Kenneth Copeland

Then i started listening to someone else and was totally confused,

Hank Hannegraff

Then i found another guy who i love but he is a 7th day Adventist

Doug Batchelor

Now i settled on,

Steve Gregg
Rick Suraci (christianquestions.net)
Michael Brown

Steve is my fav because he is the most knowledgeable and is open minded and pleasant (unless you disagree with him/just kidding).

As regards internet teaching/preaching there`s only 2 people I consistenly listen to (sorry I know I`m not really answering the question):

Steve Gregg

Greg Boyd

But sorry Steve. When I go for my 40 minute before-bed walk every night, there`s only one I listen to: Greg Boyd. Why? Theologically more persuasive?
No, much more mundane:

I can fit Greg`s (usually about 8 mb) sermons on my old Nokia mobile, whereas your verse-by-verse teachings are all into the 20s! Not one fits!

That's weird, for some reason I gravitate to those two guys as well!

Tying this in with another subtopic, I think an even more interesting question would be the Theological Influence of R.B. Thieme. John MacArthur was plagued by some controversy a while back regarding his teaching on the blood of Christ. He was proposing that the term referred to a spiritual sacrifice made of Christ and that the literal blood was simply a metaphor for this. He learned that from Thieme in the early 60's when he sat in his congregation. In the 80's, Hal Lindsey wrote "The Late Great Planet Earth". In that book basically repeated the lessons he heard in Thieme's church (where he admits that he was saved, and where he spent a good deal of time). Someone with the option of pigeon holing Swindoll might also ask him exactly how many years he spend in that church (or how many people Thieme fed to DTS). And, since he had/has a massive free tape ministry (which you can avail yourself of if you choose) there are tens of thousand of pastors from the 1970's-90's who were deeply influence by his teaching, if not his style, but who will never admit it. The key to understanding Thieme is that he was a deeply flawed person (a silver spoon, a tragically alcoholic father, and a deeply painful experience in WWII) with a sharp intellect. He basically took Augustinian theology and his own study to it's logical extreme, which resulted in absurdity. I feel deep pity and affection for him and will always admire his work ethic, but after spending about 1,500 hours on him and his son, and then doing some wider reading, it's obvious that he has misled conservative Christianity in America on a very deep level.

To answer the question of this thread directly (though this doesn't mean I necessarily agree with them), I'd say:

Thieme
Boyd
Brondos
Preston
Wright


Doug

It seems that our lists exclude those influences from the early centuries of Christianity. So I will offer four other relatively modern writers who influenced my thinking besides Ian Thomas and Clarence Jordan whom I have already mentioned:

George Müller
Leo Tolstoy
C.S. Lewis
George MacDonald

Leroy C. Webber, C&MA pastor the church where I grew up. Excellent Bible teacher.
Norm Davis, our youth pastor (came from Missionary Church) and wife Joanne, taught us discipleship
J Vernon McGee on the radio when I was first saved
Donald Gray Barnhouse on the radio for a number of years
20 yrs with the PBs but never accepted dispensationalism or eternal security
Dave Witmer, Mennonite pastor and a good Bible teacher. Explained the covenants, refuted calvinism. He turned out to be amil, and I realized he was teaching what I had heard growing up and reading the Bible for myself.
About the same time got to know Steve Gregg thru HomeAid Letters and then TNP. Steve's teaching has helped to really tie it all together. May the Lord bless you for all your labors!

I am grateful to the Lord that He does not give up on us, but keeps leading us along. Two verses that have meant alot to me are

Pr 4:7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.
Joh 7:17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.

Paula

[user account removed]

mattrose wrote:I wonder if some of you would like to share the same. I'd love to look into some of the preachers, teachers, and authors that influence you.

Hi Matt, since your inquiry seems to denote our present here's my short list:

Ed Stevens
Don Preston
Kelly Birks
Dave Curtis
Steve Gregg

God Bless!

Steve Gregg
Chuck Smith
Bruxy Cavey
C.S. Lewis
Ben Witherington III
William Lane Craig
A.W. Tozer
Garry Friesen
N.T. Wright
Grace Communion International (http://www.gci.org/)