William MacDonald (January 7, 1917 – December 25, 2007) was President of
Emmaus Bible College, teacher,
Plymouth Brethren theologian and a prolific author of over 84 published books.
Biography
Early life and education
William (Bill) MacDonald was born on January 7, 1917, in
Leominster, Massachusetts
Leominster ( ) is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the second-largest city in Worcester County, with a population of 43,782 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Leominster i ...
.
In 1922, in the
Western Hebrides, William was dying of diphtheria. A mucous membrane was forming across his throat, and breathing was becoming increasingly difficult. His Christian mother turned her back so she would not see William take his last breath. At that very moment, there was a knock at the door. It was her brother-in-law from an adjoining village. He said, "I've just come to tell you that you don't have to worry about William. He is going to recover, and one day God is going to save his soul." Mom was distracted and incredulous: "Whatever makes you say that?". Then he explained he had been sitting at his fire reading Psalm 91 when God distinctly spoke to him through the last three verses.
When he was six years old, his family moved to
Stornoway,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
, and later moved back to Massachusetts. 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 from
Tufts College
Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...
in 1938 and an
MBA
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
from
Harvard Business School in 1940.
Career
After graduation, he was employed as an investment analyst at the First National Bank of Boston (now known as
BankBoston
BankBoston was a bank based in Boston, Massachusetts, which was created by the 1996 merger of Bank of Boston and BayBank. One of its predecessor banks started in 1784, but the merged BankBoston was short-lived, being acquired by Fleet Bank in 19 ...
) until 1942. During 1942, MacDonald enlisted in the
Navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...
, where he served until 1946. He then served on the faculty of
Emmaus Bible School until 1965, becoming President in 1959.
He contributed to the Emmaus Correspondence School through his writings.
President of Emmaus Bible College (1959-1965)
While President of Emmaus Bible College, MacDonald made lasting contributions. Among his accomplishments are numbered:
# Leading Emmaus Bible College to purchase of the 156 N. Oak Park facility
# Leading the merging of the Toronto and Chicago schools in Oak Park
# Leading the purchase of the Groveland building in 1960
# Bringing the "Emmaus student enrollment above 100 in the resident school and above 60 in the evening school."
Post-Presidency Career
After 1965, he led a Bible-teaching ministry in the USA, Europe, and Asia until 1972. In 1973 he served on the faculty of the Discipleship Intern Training Program, based in
San Leandro, California, until 1996. After 1996, MacDonald moved back to the Bible-teaching ministry, until his death on December 25, 2007.
Works
* ''The Good News'' Bible Correspondence Course (The Moody Bible Institute, 1954)
* ''Hebrews: From Shadow to Substance'' (The Moody Bible Institute, 1957)
* ''Believer's Bible Commentary'' (1989)
* ''True Discipleship'' (1975)
* ''The Epistle to the Hebrews: From Ritual to Reality''
* ''1 Peter: Faith Tested, Future Triumphant; A Commentary''
* ''Ephesians: The Mystery of the Church; A Commentary''
* ''Worlds Apart (Gospel Folio Press, 1993)
* ''The Wonders of God'' (Gospel Folio Press, 1996)
* ''Once in Christ: In Christ Forever'' (Gospel Folio Press, 1997)
* ''Our God Is Wonderful'' (Gospel Folio Press, 1999)
* ''Be Holy: The Forgotten Command'' (John Ritchie Publications, 1999)
* ''Here's the Difference: Bringing Important Biblical Distinctions Into Focus'' (Gospel Folio Press, 1999)
* ''Joseph Makes Me Think of Jesus'' (Gospel Folio Press, 2000)
* ''Living Above the Average'' (Gospel Folio Press, 2001)
* ''Now THAT is Amazing Grace'' (Gospel Folio Press, 2001)
* ''God Still Speaks'' (Gospel Folio Press, 2002)
* ''True Discipleship'' (Gospel Folio Press)
* ''The Disciple's Manual'' (Gospel Folio Press)
* ''One Day at a Time'' (Gospel Folio Press)
* ''My Heart, My Life, My All'' (Gospel Folio Press)
References
External links
In Memory of William MacDonald*
ttp://www.voicesforchrist.org/speakers/MacDonaldWilliam.html2 Free MP3 Sermons of William MacDonald on www.voicesforchrist.org (Page 2/2)Gospel Folio Press publishes and sells books by author, William MacDonaldRemembering Bill MacDonald from Emmaus College, page 3
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, William
1917 births
2007 deaths
20th-century evangelicals
21st-century evangelicals
American evangelicals
American male non-fiction writers
American Plymouth Brethren
Evangelical writers
Harvard Business School alumni
Tufts University alumni