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Ligon Duncan
View on WikipediaJennings Ligon Duncan III (born November 29, 1960) is an American Presbyterian scholar and pastor. He is Chancellor of Reformed Theological Seminary.
Key Information
Early life and education
[edit]Duncan is native to Greenville, South Carolina. His father was an eighth-generation Southern Presbyterian ruling elder.[1] Duncan graduated from Greenville Senior High School in 1979 and Furman University in 1983 (B.A., History).[1] He continued his studies at Covenant Theological Seminary with an M.Div. in 1986 and an MA in historical theology in 1987. He completed doctoral studies in theology at the University of Edinburgh, New College in 1995.[2]
He served on the staff of Covenant Presbyterian Church, St. Louis, (1984–1987). He was licensed to preach in 1985 by Calvary Presbytery (PCA) in South Carolina and was ordained in 1990.[1]
Institutional and organizational involvement
[edit]Reformed Theological Seminary
[edit]In the Summer of 1990, Duncan joined the faculty of Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS), Jackson, Mississippi, as the John R. Richardson Chair of Systematic Theology. At the same time he served as assistant pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church, Jackson, Mississippi (1990–1995), and interim pastor at First Presbyterian Church, Yazoo City, Mississippi (1993).[3]
Effective January 1, 2014, Duncan resigned his position as Sr. Minister at First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, MS, and assumed the role of Chancellor of Reformed Theological Seminary.[4] He continues to teach in the department of Systematic Theology while serving in this role.
First Presbyterian Church and the PCA
[edit]Duncan was named senior pastor at First Presbyterian Church of Jackson, Mississippi (PCA) in 1996, and served in that capacity until early 2014. [citation needed] An active churchman, he has been involved in the courts of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) in various ways: General Assembly's Committee on Psalmody; Committees of Commissioners for Covenant Theological Seminary, Mission to North America, and Bills and Overtures; member and chair of the Credentials Committee of the Presbytery of the Mississippi Valley (1996–2002); vice-chair of the General Assembly's Creation Study Committee (1998–2000); member of the search committee for a Coordinator of Reformed University Ministries; chair of the General Assembly's Theological Examination Committee; member of the PCA's Strategic Planning Committee; moderator of the Presbytery of the Mississippi Valley (2001); moderator of the PCA General Assembly (2004), making him the youngest elected to this position in the denomination's history.[5]
Other Organizations
[edit]He is the former president of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals,[6] a broad coalition of evangelical Christians from various denominations. It aims to call the church to repent of what it see as its worldliness, and to take up the mantle of the Protestant reformers in recovering the centrality of worship and doctrine in the life of the church. In his capacity as president, Duncan regularly spoke at the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology, an Alliance-related forum that offers quarterly conferences on Reformed doctrine and history.[citation needed] He also contributes to the Alliance's online magazine and blog, Reformation21.[7]
He is also a council member of the Gospel Coalition, a "group of (mostly) pastors and churches in the Reformed heritage who delight in the truth and power of the gospel, and who want the gospel of Christ crucified and resurrected to lie at the center of all we cherish, preach, and teach." They have created The Gospel Coalition Network, which is a consortium of "Christian pastors and other leaders who stimulate one another to faithfulness and fruitfulness in life and ministry in this rapidly-changing, increasingly urbanized, and spiritually hungry world."[8][better source needed]
Pastoral History
[edit]Ligon Duncan is the Chancellor/CEO of Reformed Theological Seminary and the John E. Richards Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology. Ligon was born in Greenville, SC, and reared in the home of an eighth generation Presbyterian ruling elder. A 1983 graduate of Furman University (B.A. History), he received the M.Div. and M.A. (Historical Theology) from Covenant Theological Seminary. He earned the Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh, New College, Scotland, in 1995 (under the supervision of renowned Reformation and Patristics scholar, David F. Wright). While in Scotland he also studied Systematic Theology at the Free Church of Scotland College (now Edinburgh Theological Seminary) with Professor Donald Macleod.
Ligon’s pastoral experience began in his twenties, while in seminary. At the age of 24, he was licensed to preach by Calvary Presbytery (PCA) and since then he has preached in Presbyterian, Dutch Reformed, Baptist, Congregational, Anglican, Methodist, and Independent churches (including PCA, ARP, EPC, OPC, RPCNA, PC(USA), ECO, CRC, RCA, URCNA congregations, churches affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention as well as various Reformed Baptist and evangelical Anglican groups). While in Britain, Duncan supplied pulpits in Church of Scotland and Free Church of Scotland congregations, as well as Presbyterian Association of England churches (now called The Evangelical Presbyterian Church of England and Wales). His pastoral ministry now spans four decades and four congregations: The Covenant Presbyterian Church of St. Louis, Missouri; Trinity Presbyterian Church, Jackson, Miss.; First Presbyterian Church, Yazoo City, Miss.; and historic First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, Miss., where he served almost 18 years.
At 28, Ligon was elected to the faculty of Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS). In 1990, Duncan was ordained in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) and began to teach at RTS, Jackson, Miss., where he eventually became chairman of the department of systematic theology, and the John R. Richardson Professor of Theology. Over his thirty-plus years at RTS he has lectured regularly at all of the campuses of (especially Jackson, Charlotte, Orlando, Washington, and New York) and he has taught all of the core Systematic Theology courses, Pastoral/Social Ethics, Apologetics, History of Philosophy and Christian Thought, Covenant Theology, Patristics, Evangelism, Worship, Church History, Philosophical Theology, Scottish Theology, Contemporary Theology, and Theology of the Westminster Standards. He left his full-time position at RTS to become Senior Minister of the historic First Presbyterian Church (1837) in Jackson, Miss., in 1996 and served until 2013, while continuing to teach at RTS as adjunct. He returned to the regular faculty of RTS in 2012 and became Chancellor/CEO of RTS.[9]
Theological and Social Positions
[edit]In 2017, Duncan signed the Nashville Statement.[10]
Gender Roles
[edit]Duncan holds to a complementarian view of gender roles.[11][full citation needed] He believes that 1 Corinthians 14:34, which says 'women should keep silent in the churches', refers to women teaching men (like found in 1Timothy 2:12),[12] This puts him at odds with the popular view espoused by Wayne Grudem and Don Carson who insist that the context shows that Paul is prohibiting women from publicly judging prophecy in the church.[13] In the church he serves, men teach mixed adult Sunday school classes, occasionally husband/wife teams teach on issues such as parenting and marriage.[14]
Duncan wrote the introduction to Dr. Eric Mason's book "Woke Church," which argues Christian churches should support Black Lives Matter and that the Nation of Islam promotes black pride.[1]
Publications
[edit]Authored/co-authored
[edit]- Does Grace Grow Best in Winter? (co-author with J. Nicholas Reid). P & R Publishing, 2009.
- Fear Not! (foreword by Jerry Bridges). Christian Focus, 2008.
- The Westminster Assembly: A Guide to Basic Bibliography (co-author with David W. Hall). Reformed Academic Press, 1993.
- A Short History of the Westminster Assembly(co-author/editor with William Beveridge). Reformed Academic Press, 1993.
- The Genesis Debate: Three Views of the Days of Creation (co-author with David W. Hall, Meredith Kline, Lee Irons, Hugh Ross, and Gleason Archer). Crux Press, 2000.
- Should We Leave Our Churches? (co-author with Mark Talbot). P&R, 2004.
- Women’s Ministry in the Local Church (co-author). Crossway, 2006.
Edited
[edit]- Matthew Henry’s Method for Prayer (editor). Christian Focus Publications/Christian Heritage, 1994.
- The Westminster Confession in the 2lst Century: Essays in Remembrance of the 350th Anniversary of the Westminster Assembly, (general editor and contributor) Mentor, Vol. 1, 2003; Vol. 2, 2004; Vol. 3, 2008.
- Give Praise to God: A Vision for Reforming Worship, (editor and contributor) P&R, 2003.
Contributor
[edit]- The Practice of Confessional Subscription (contributor). University Press of America, 1995.
- Reclaiming the Gospel and Reforming Churches, (contributor) Founders Press, 2003.
- Letters to Timothy, (contributor) Founders Press, 2004.
- Confessing Our Hope, (contributor) GPTS Press, 2004.
- The Devoted Life: An Invitation to the Puritan Classics, (contributor) IVP, 2004.
- Preaching the Cross (contributor), Crossway, 2007.
- Fear Not: Death and the Afterlife from a Christian Perspective (contributor), Christian Focus, 2008.
- In My Place Condemned He Stood (contributor), Crossway, 2008.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Reverend J. Ligon Duncan III". First Presbyterian Church of Jackson, Mississippi. Archived from the original on 1 January 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
- ^ Duncan, Jennings Ligon (1995). "Covenant idea in ante-Nicene theology". hdl:1842/10618.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "Reformed Theological Seminary". Archived from the original on 2008-09-22. Retrieved 2008-08-22.
- ^ "RTS Appoints Pastor-Theologian as New Chancellor: Duncan has a longtime connection with RTS". rts.edu. Archived from the original on 2014-07-03. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
- ^ "Monergism.com". Retrieved 2008-08-22.
- ^ Ligon Duncan Archived 2012-05-05 at the Wayback Machine, Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals
- ^ "Reformation21". Retrieved 2008-08-22.
- ^ "The Gospel Coalition". Archived from the original on 2008-09-21. Retrieved 2008-08-22.
- ^ "About Ligon Duncan".
- ^ "Initial Signatories". Nashville Statement. Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
- ^ Recovering: Chapter 2
- ^ "Women in the Church and Silence in the Church". CBMW. 15 December 2004.
- ^ "see Question 25, also see footnote on p144 in Wayne Grudem's book Countering the Claims of Evangelical Feminism (or the footnote on p233 in the full length version Evangelical Feminism and Biblical Truth) for references to more detailed treatments of this question". Archived from the original on 2018-07-29. Retrieved 2009-08-02.
- ^ "Question and Answer Session". CBMW. Archived from the original on 2009-10-25. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
External links
[edit]- LigonDuncan.com - official website of J. Ligon Duncan III
- Ligon Duncan's Complete Bibliography Archived 2018-10-22 at the Wayback Machine
- First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, MS
- Alliance's reformation21 online magazine
- Alliance Homepage
- Council of Biblical Manhood and Womanhood
- “Patristics for Busy Pastors”: An Interview with Dr. Ligon Duncan
- Together for the Gospel Archived 2023-05-06 at the Wayback Machine
- Twin Lakes Fellowship
- Twin Lakes Camp and Conference Center
Ligon Duncan
View on GrokipediaJ. Ligon Duncan III (born 1960) is an American Presbyterian theologian, pastor, and academic administrator serving as Chancellor and CEO of Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) since 2013, where he also holds the John E. Richards Professorship in Systematic and Historical Theology.[1] Born in Greenville, South Carolina, and raised in a multi-generational Presbyterian family, Duncan earned a B.A. from Furman University in 1983, an M.Div. and M.A. from Covenant Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh in 1995.[1] Ordained in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) in 1990, he pastored several congregations, including a 17-year tenure as senior minister of First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, Mississippi, from 1996 to 2013, and served as the youngest moderator of the PCA General Assembly in 2004–2005.[1][2] A proponent of confessional Reformed theology, Duncan has co-founded initiatives like Together for the Gospel and authored or contributed to over 35 books on theology, worship, and church history, while lecturing internationally and shaping evangelical leadership through RTS's global campuses.[1]
Early Life and Education
Family Background and Upbringing
J. Ligon Duncan III was born on November 29, 1960, in Greenville, South Carolina, to J. Ligon Duncan Jr., an eighth-generation Southern Presbyterian ruling elder and local businessman, and Shirley Anne Ledford Duncan.[3][1][4] His parents married on May 21, 1959, after his mother, born in December 1932 in Athens, Tennessee, to Southern Baptist parents and raised in that tradition at First Baptist Church, transitioned into Presbyterian circles through her marriage.[4] As the eldest of three sons, Duncan was reared in a devoutly Presbyterian household characterized by consistent church attendance—nearly every week of the year—and a church-centered family life that included communal singing and active involvement in congregational activities.[5][4] His father exemplified elder leadership and familial devotion, while his mother, initially a stay-at-home parent until Duncan's youngest brother entered school, later became a professor of music at Furman University, directed the church choir, and was honored as a founding mother of the Presbyterian Church in America for her roles in Bible studies, Sunday school, and vacation Bible schools.[5][4] This environment instilled a deep commitment to Reformed faith and orthodoxy from an early age.[1]Academic Degrees and Formative Influences
Duncan earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, graduating in 1983.[1] He subsequently enrolled at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, the denominational seminary of the Presbyterian Church in America, where he completed a Master of Divinity in 1986 and a Master of Arts in Historical Theology in 1987, earning the latter cum laude.[1] [6] Following these degrees, Duncan pursued doctoral studies at New College, University of Edinburgh, in Scotland, earning a Ph.D. in Theologia with a focus on ecclesiastical history and systematic theology in June 1995.[3] [1] His dissertation, supervised by church historian David F. Wright, examined topics in Reformation and Patristic theology, reflecting an emphasis on historical doctrinal development within Protestant orthodoxy.[1] While in Edinburgh, Duncan audited systematic theology courses at the Free Church of Scotland College (now Edinburgh Theological Seminary) under Donald Macleod, a prominent Reformed theologian known for works on Christology and atonement.[1] These experiences under Wright and Macleod, combined with immersion in Scotland's Reformed heritage—home to figures like John Knox and the Westminster Assembly—reinforced Duncan's adherence to confessional standards such as the Westminster Confession of Faith, fostering a theology grounded in biblical exegesis, covenantal frameworks, and resistance to modern liberal drifts in Presbyterianism.[1][7]Ministerial and Pastoral Career
Early Pastoral Positions
Duncan was licensed to preach by Calvary Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) at age 24 in 1984.[1] He was ordained as a minister in the PCA in 1990.[1] Early in his ministry, Duncan supplied pulpits for churches affiliated with the Church of Scotland, Free Church of Scotland, and Presbyterian Association of England during his doctoral studies in Britain.[1] These preaching engagements provided initial pastoral experience alongside his academic pursuits at the University of Edinburgh, where he completed a Ph.D. in 1995.[1] Following ordination, Duncan served as pastor at Covenant Presbyterian Church in St. Louis, Missouri, likely during or shortly after his time at Covenant Theological Seminary.[1] He subsequently held pastoral positions at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Jackson, Mississippi, and First Presbyterian Church in Yazoo City, Mississippi, prior to his call to the senior pastorate in Jackson in 1996.[1] These roles emphasized preaching, teaching, and shepherding in PCA congregations, aligning with his concurrent faculty appointment at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson starting in 1990.[1]Senior Pastorate at First Presbyterian Church, Jackson
In 1996, J. Ligon Duncan III left his full-time faculty position at Reformed Theological Seminary to accept the call as Senior Minister of First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, Mississippi, a congregation founded in 1837 and affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in America.[1] He assumed leadership at age 35, focusing on pastoral oversight, preaching, and maintaining the church's commitment to Reformed confessional standards.[5] Duncan's 17-year tenure, ending on December 31, 2013, emphasized expository preaching through extended sermon series on biblical books, including Genesis, Romans (preached from 2000 to 2002), and Hebrews.[8][9][10] These series, later published in part, underscored doctrinal fidelity and scriptural exposition as central to congregational life.[9] He also contributed to worship practices, promoting Bible-saturated services with distinct Scripture readings alongside sermons.[11] Under Duncan's leadership, the church sustained its historic role in Jackson while engaging in theological education and ministry training aligned with Presbyterian polity.[12] His departure coincided with his appointment as Chancellor and CEO of Reformed Theological Seminary, allowing continued part-time teaching during the transition year of 2013.[13]Leadership Roles in the Presbyterian Church in America
J. Ligon Duncan III has held several key leadership positions within the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), reflecting his influence in denominational governance and doctrinal oversight. In June 2004, at the 32nd General Assembly held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Duncan was elected Moderator of the PCA General Assembly, serving through 2005; at age 43, he became the youngest minister to hold this rotating position, which involves presiding over the assembly's proceedings, representing the denomination, and guiding its deliberative processes.[14][3] Earlier, in 2000, he served as Moderator of the Presbytery of the Mississippi Valley, overseeing local presbytery meetings and judicial matters within that regional body.[3] Duncan also chaired the Credentials Committee of the Presbytery of the Mississippi Valley, responsible for examining and approving ministers' qualifications for ordination and transfer.[1] He acted as vice-chairman of the PCA's Creation Study Committee, which investigated biblical and scientific perspectives on origins, contributing to denominational reports on creationism without mandating young-earth views.[1] These roles underscore his engagement in presbytery-level administration and broader assembly committees focused on ministerial standards and theological inquiry. Beyond these, Duncan participated in PCA search committees for key positions and later served on the denomination's Strategic Planning Committee, aiding long-term organizational strategy.[15] His committee work extended to initiatives like Reformed University Fellowship oversight in the Mid-South region, where he chaired the campus ministry committee for multiple years, supporting evangelism and discipleship on secular campuses.[16] These positions highlight Duncan's commitment to PCA polity, emphasizing elder-led governance, confessional fidelity to the Westminster Standards, and practical church planting and training efforts.Academic and Institutional Leadership
Professorship and Administrative Roles at Reformed Theological Seminary
J. Ligon Duncan III joined the faculty of Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1990 as Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology following his ordination in the Presbyterian Church in America.[1] He progressed to roles including Chairman of the Department of Systematic Theology and John R. Richardson Professor of Theology, teaching core courses in systematic theology and related subjects such as covenant theology, apologetics, and the Westminster Standards.[1] In 1996, Duncan transitioned to full-time pastoral ministry at First Presbyterian Church in Jackson while continuing as an adjunct professor at RTS.[1] In January 2012, Duncan was elected to the regular faculty of RTS as the John E. Richards Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology, enabling him to serve as a voting member and expand his teaching load despite retaining his senior pastorate.[17] He has lectured regularly across RTS campuses, including Jackson, Charlotte, and Orlando, covering topics from patristics and church history to contemporary theology and philosophical theology.[1] Duncan was elected Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer of RTS in August 2013, succeeding Robert Peterson in leading the seminary's multi-campus operations, strategic direction, and global outreach initiatives.[18] In this administrative capacity, he also serves as President of the Jackson campus, overseeing academic programs, faculty development, and institutional growth while maintaining his professorial duties in systematic and historical theology.[19]
