Paul Alexander Rader (born March 14, 1934), is an American religious leader, who was the 15th

General of the Salvation Army General is the title of the international leader and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Salvation Army, a Christian denomination with extensive charitable social services that gives quasi-military rank to its ministers (who are therefore known ...

from 1994 to 1999, and was the President of

Asbury University Asbury University is a private Christian university in Wilmore, Kentucky. Although it is a non-denominational school, the college is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The school offers 50-plus majors across 17 departments. In the fal ...

Wilmore, Kentucky Wilmore is a home rule-class city in Jessamine County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 3,686 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Lexington–Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the United States Census Burea ...

, from 2000 to 2006.

Biography

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1934, Rader spent his undergraduate years at

, then studied at the

Asbury Theological Seminary Asbury Theological Seminary is a Christian Wesleyan seminary in the historical Methodist tradition located in Wilmore, Kentucky. It is the largest seminary of the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. It is known for its advocacy of egalitarianism, giving ...

and the

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) is a Baptist theological institute in Louisville, Kentucky. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. The seminary was founded in 1859 in Greenville, South Carolina, where it was at ...

, graduating with BA, BD and MTh degrees. At Asbury, he met and married his wife, Kay, who upon graduating with a BA degree, qualified as a teacher. Together, they entered the Salvation Army School for Officers Training in New York in September 1960 and were commissioned a year later. Lieutenant Rader and his wife temporarily assisted at

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Korean language Korean ( South Korean: , ''hangugeo''; North Korean: , ''chosŏnmal'') is the native language for about 80 million people, mostly of Korean descent. It is the official and national language of both North Korea and South Korea (geographic ...

with the intention to serve as missionaries there. They arrived in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

, in January 1962 to serve on the staff of the Officer Training College. After five years, Captain Rader was appointed vice-principal. They returned to America for two years in 1971 where Rader, now a captain and then a major, was assigned to Southern California Divisional Headquarters and his wife to Pasadena Corps, in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. While in California, Rader studied at

Fuller Seminary Fuller Theological Seminary is an interdenominational Evangelical Christian seminary in Pasadena, California, with regional campuses in the western United States. It is egalitarian in nature. Fuller consistently has a student body that compri ...

, earning his doctorate in

Missiology Missiology is the academic study of the Christian mission history and methodology, which began to be developed as an academic discipline in the 19th century. History Missiology as an academic discipline appeared only in the 19th century. It was ...

. In August 1973, they again returned to Korea, to serve first as training principal, then later as Territorial Education Secretary. In October 1977, Major Rader was appointed chief secretary and promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. In February 1984, Rader returned to the United States after 22 years of service to serve as principal of the School for Officers' Training in

Suffern, New York Suffern is a village that was incorporated in 1796 in the town of Ramapo in Rockland County, New York. Suffern is located 31 miles northwest of Manhattan. As of the 2010 census, Suffern's population was 10,723.Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL. ...

(LLD) degree from Asbury. In January 1989, Colonel Rader was appointed chief secretary of the USA Eastern Territory, and in October 1989 was promoted to the rank of commissioner and became leader of the USA Western Territory. Then in 1994 he was elected general of The Salvation Army where he served until 1999. He served as president of

from 2000 through 2006 and was Asbury's 15th president. Rader retired as president in 2006. Rader is the great-nephew of evangelist

Paul Rader Paul Alexander Rader (born March 14, 1934), is an American religious leader, who was the 15th General of the Salvation Army from 1994 to 1999, and was the President of Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky, from 2000 to 2006. Biography Born in N ...

References

External links

Salvation Army biographyAsbury College
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rader, Paul American religious leaders American Salvationists Presidents of Asbury University Asbury Theological Seminary alumni Southern Baptist Theological Seminary alumni 1934 births Living people Salvation Army officers Asbury University alumni