David C. Fisher

David Charles Fisher (born 1943)^[1] is an American author, professor, and a pastor who was the senior pastor at Park Street Church in Boston from 1989 to 1995 and the senior pastor at Plymouth Church in Brooklyn, New York from 2004 to 2013.

Life and work

Fisher was born in Warsaw, Indiana, while his father, Reverend Emery Nile Fisher, was attending seminary there.^[2][3] Fisher graduated from Bryan College in 1967 and then received a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and later he received his Ph.D. in New Testament Interpretation from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary with further graduate study at Hebrew Union College and Indiana University.^[4] Fisher's academic focus is the Jewish background of early Christianity. Fisher has served as instructor of New Testament at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and as adjunct professor of New Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and adjunct professor at Bethel Theological Seminary. He served as pastor of Park Street Church in Boston from 1989 to 1995, then the Colonial Church in Edina, Minnesota. From 2004 until 2013 he was the senior minister at Plymouth Church, a historic congregational church in Brooklyn, New York.^[5][6] During the nine years of his ministry at Plymouth Church, Rev. Fisher's almost doubled the membership of the congregations and implemented new programs that advanced the mission of the church.^[7]

Fisher has published a popular book entitled The Twenty-First Century Pastor: A Vision Based on the Apostle Paul, which is in its eighth printing and cited by dozens of other publications.^[8] In addition to Fisher's many academic and popular articles and publications, interviews and articles about Fisher have appeared in news sources, such as the New York Sun, Boston Globe, and CNN.^{[2][9][10][11]}

Partial list of works

Books

• The 21st Century Pastor: A Vision Based on the Apostle Paul (Zondervan, 1996) (eight printings)(author).
• John R. Cionca, Dear Pastor: Ministry Advice from Seasoned Pastors (Group Pub., 2007) (contributor)
• G. McIntosh, Evaluating the church growth movement: 5 views (Zondervan, 2004) (contributor)
• E. Glenn Wagner, Escape from Church, Inc. (Zondervan, 2011) (contributor)
• "Easter Fear," by David C. Fisher, The Library of Distinctive Sermons, Volume 6, 1997, (Sisters, Oregon: Questar Publishers, 1996) (pp. 209–224). (10 Volumes). (chapter contributor)
• A critical analysis of I Thessalonians 4:13-18, M.A. Thesis
• A critical assessment of the concept of Biblical unity in the writings of C. H. Dodd, Ph.D. Dissertation

Articles

• "Thoughts on a Son's 13th Birthday," Family Life Today (April, 1983)
• "A New Context in Ministry," Christianity Today (1990)
• " Prayers from a Pastor's Heart" Christianity Today (1986)
• "Traditional vs. Contemporary," Christianity Today (1997)

Sermons

• "Free at Last", Galatians 5:1; Luke 4:16-21; John 8:31-32, July 6, 2008
• "A Long and Winding Road," Philippians 3:12-4:1, March 4, 2007
• "How Firm a Foundation", Matthew 5:1-12, January 30, 2011

References

1. "SBTS Library - Full View of Record". exlibrisgroup.com. 1994-11-06. Archived from the original on 2019-12-15. Retrieved 2012-02-04.
2. A.L. Gordon (March 11, 2005). "A Historic Church Looks to the Future. Profile: David Fisher". New York Sun. Retrieved 2012-02-05. In his former church, he had eight pastors on staff.
3. "Memorial Obituaries Fisher, Edna". Obit.einansfuneralhome.com. Archived from the original on 2013-10-18. Retrieved 2012-02-04.
4. Garth M. Rosell, Boston's Historic Park Street Church: The Story of an Evangelical Landmark (Kregel Publications, 2009)
5. "About Our Church -> People at Plymouth -> Ministerial Staff". Plymouth Church. 2011-06-12. Archived from the original on 2012-03-21. Retrieved 2012-02-04.
6. "Rev. Dr. David C. Fisher of Plymouth Church announces retirement," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 1, 2013
7. "Faith In Brooklyn for September 25" Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 25, 2013.
8. Google Books
9. Jamie Crawford, CNN, "How church helped sign Jackie Robinson to Brooklyn Dodgers," Archived 2011-09-13 at the Wayback Machine Gospel Truth Magazine (April 14th, 2011)
10. Amy Sohn, "Learnin' on a Prayer, Getting religion to get into pre-k." (May 7, 2007) New York Magazine
11. "PARK STREET CHURCH NAMES NEW MINISTER." The Boston Globe June 26, 1989 (Boston, Massachusetts)