Philip Graham Ryken (born 1966) is an American theologian,

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

minister, and academic administrator. He is the eighth and current president of Wheaton College in Wheaton,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

Early life and education

Ryken was born on September 29, 1966. He received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree in English literature and philosophy from Wheaton College in 1988. He also completed a Master of Divinity degree from

Westminster Theological Seminary Westminster Theological Seminary is a Protestant theological seminary in the Reformed theological tradition in Glenside, Pennsylvania. It was founded by members of the faculty of Princeton Theological Seminary in 1929 after Princeton chose to ...

in 1992 and a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

degree in

historical theology Historical theology is the study of the history of Christian doctrine. Stanley Grenz, Grenz, Guretzki and Nordling describe it as, "The division of the theological discipline that seeks to understand and delineate how the church interpreted Scri ...

from

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

in 1995.

Professional life

Ryken is an ordained teaching elder in the

Presbyterian Church in America The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) is the second-largest Presbyterian church body, behind the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the largest conservative Calvinist denomination in the United States. The PCA is Reformed in theology and presb ...

. He joined the pastoral staff of historic

Tenth Presbyterian Church Tenth Presbyterian Church is a congregation of approximately 1,600 members located in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Tenth is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), a denomination in the Reformed (Calvi ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

in 1995 and was elevated to the position of senior minister upon the death of

James Boice James Montgomery Boice (July 7, 1938 – June 15, 2000) was an American Reformed Christian theologian, Bible teacher, author, and speaker known for his writing on the authority of Scripture and the defence of Biblical inerrancy. He was also th ...

in 2000. In February 2010, the Board of Trustees at Wheaton College announced his selection as the college's eighth president, succeeding the retiring

Duane Litfin A. Duane Litfin (born 1943) is an American academic administrator and evangelical minister. He was the seventh president of Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. Early life and education Litfin was born on November 14, 1945. He holds an undergrad ...

. Ryken took office on July 1, 2010, and was formally inaugurated on September 17, 2010, at Edman Chapel. He is a member of the

Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals is an organization of Christian individuals that believes evangelicals have largely forgotten the foundations of the Christian Gospel and is dedicated to calling on the Protestant churches, especially those ...

, serving as a member of the alliance council, which features his expository preaching on its weekly national radio and internet broadcast, '' Every Last Word''.Council - Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, Inc
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Scholarship

He has written over thirty books on a wide variety of Christian subjects, including: *''Art for God's Sake: A Call to Recover the Arts'' *''Written in Stone: The Ten Commandments and Today's Moral Crisis'' *''The Doctrines of Grace: Rediscovering the Evangelical Gospel'' with

James Montgomery Boice James Montgomery Boice (July 7, 1938 – June 15, 2000) was an American Reformed Christian theologian, Bible teacher, author, and speaker known for his writing on the authority of Scripture and the defence of Biblical inerrancy. He was also th ...

and R. C. Sproul *''Discovering God in Stories from the Bible'' Ryken has also coauthored a series of commentaries on individual books of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

with

R. Kent Hughes R. Kent Hughes (born March 1, 1942) is the former senior pastor of College Church in Wheaton, Illinois, United States. Hughes is the author of numerous books, including the best-selling ''Disciplines of a Godly Man''. He is also editor and contrib ...

. Ryken and his father, literary scholar

Leland Ryken Leland Ryken (born May 17, 1942) is professor of English emeritus at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. He has contributed a number of works to the study of classic literature from the Christian perspective, including editing the comprehensive ...

, have collaborated to produce a study Bible, and the father-son team worked with James Wilhoit to write ''Ryken's Bible Handbook'', which focuses on the literary genres and styles in each book of the Bible.

Personal life

Ryken is the son of the Christian literary scholar and Wheaton professor

. Ryken met his wife, Lisa, while the two were students at Wheaton. They were married after their junior year. The couple have five children, and reside in Wheaton. He is known to enjoy waterskiing,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, soccer, golf, and

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

Works

Books

* * * * * * * * * *

References

External links

Alliance of Confessing EvangelicalsEvery Last Word broadcastTenth Presbyterian ChurchWheaton College
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryken, Philip Graham 1966 births Alumni of Regent's Park College, Oxford American evangelicals Heads of universities and colleges in the United States Living people People from Wheaton, Illinois Presbyterian Church in America ministers Westminster Theological Seminary alumni Wheaton College (Illinois) alumni