Copyright © 2013 Grady DeVon Smith, Jr. All rights reserved. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has permission to reproduce and disseminate this document in any form by any means for purposes chosen by the Seminary, including, without limitation, preservation or instruction. EDWARD MCKENDREE BOUNDS ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PROVIDENCE AND MAN’S WILL IN PRAYER A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by Grady DeVon Smith, Jr. December 2013 APPROVAL SHEET EDWARD MCKENDREE BOUNDS ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PROVIDENCE AND MAN’S WILL IN PRAYER Grady DeVon Smith, Jr. Read and Approved by: __________________________________________ Timothy K. Beougher (Chair) __________________________________________ Adam W. Greenway __________________________________________ Bruce A. Ware Date______________________________ To my pastor, Al Jackson, who encouraged me to pursue my seminary education and gave me the time to do so; to the people of Lakeview Baptist Church, our wonderful church family, who have been so supportive of us during these years as I pursued both ministry and doctoral studies; to my parents, who have always encouraged me to keep learning and who have particularly encouraged us and helped us in many ways during this long educational journey; to our boys, Grady Jeremiah and Richard Josiah, whose desire to be with Daddy reminds me that my first and foremost ministry is always at home; and most importantly, to my best friend and remarkable wife, Julia, who brings such joy into my life each day and provides support and strength so that I can pursue our calling to help shepherd the people of Lakeview and to make God famous among the world in Auburn. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page PREFACE . vi Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION . 1 Influence of Bounds on the Evangelical Understanding of Prayer . 2 Statement of the Problem . 8 Background of the Study . 12 Methodology of the Research . 15 Limitations of the Study . 18 Definitions . 20 2. A BIOGRAPHY OF EDWARD MCKENDREE BOUNDS . 25 Childhood, Education, and Law Career . 27 Early Years of Ministry: Preacher and Chaplain During Civil War . 31 Middle Years of Ministry: Preacher and Newspaper Editor . 39 Later Years of Ministry: Personal Prayer and Writing . 50 His Final Years, Death, and Legacy . 56 3. AN EXAMINATION OF BOUNDS’ WRITINGS . 62 Bounds’ Books . 63 Bounds’ Newspaper Editorials . 142 4. THE CHURCH DOMINION MODEL AND BOUNDS’ PLACE WITHIN IT . 164 The Church Dominion Model . 166 Proponents of the Church Dominion Model . 168 iv Chapter Page Legitimacy of the Church Dominion Model . 190 Bounds’ Place within the Church Dominion Model . 194 5. ASSESMENT OF BOUNDS’ BELIEFS ON PROVIDENCE AND PRAYER . 210 Psalm 2:7-8 . 211 Isaiah 45:11 . 218 Matthew 7:7-8 . 226 John 14:13-14 . 235 2 Kings 20 . 243 Genesis 18 . 251 6. CONCLUSIONS ABOUT BOUNDS’ BELIEFS ON PROVIDENCE AND PRAYER . 262 Appendix BOUNDS’ BOOKS: EDITIONS, REVISIONS, AND CHANGES THROUGH THE YEARS . 278 BIBLIOGRAPHY . 284 v PREFACE This undertaking could not have been completed were it not for the help, encouragement, support, and prayers of so many others. Dr. Tim Beougher, my supervising professor, introduced me to E. M. Bounds during my doctoral studies, and through a seminar assignment challenged me to think more deeply about how Bounds’ theology impacted his radical prayer life. Dr. Beougher is the one who encouraged me to pursue this particular topic for further study beyond that seminar, something that eventually led to this project. Dr. Bruce Ware and Dr. Adam Greenway have further provided valuable guidance to the direction of this project. In addition, I am thankful for Dr. Thom Rainer and Dr. Chuck Lawless, who joined Dr. Beougher in encouraging me to pursue this doctoral program. Sufficient space is not available to recount how each professor under whom I studied at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary was used by the Lord to deepen my understanding of the things of God. I am grateful for the godly influence of each of those men, and the many who went before them to ensure that what is taught in our seminaries is faithful to the Word of God. Their teaching helped equip me to look at everything, including Bounds’ underlying theology, in light of what the Word of God teaches. I would be remiss not to mention here how Dr. Darrel King, the foremost expert on Bounds today, has spent countless hours sharing with me stories about Bounds’ life and beliefs and letting me ask incessant questions. His insights were of tremendous importance in this project, his prayers were much appreciated, and his making himself vi available for whatever was needed has been a resource far more useful than any biography or printed resource could ever provide. My parents especially have encouraged me to further my education and have given sacrificially of their time to regularly travel to Auburn to help my wife with our children so that I could be free to research and write. Their investment in me throughout the years, and their encouragement to think deeply about things, laid the foundation on which this work is built. Most importantly, no number of words could express my appreciation to my wife, Julia, for loving me and helping me through this journey. Her sacrifice and willingness to release me to study and write while she took care of two little boys under age three provided the time without which this project could not have been completed. More than that, her love for me and support for both my school and ministry endeavors provided me the encouragement to press on. I am amazed at the mercy and grace that God has poured into my life. I realize that it is only by His mercy and grace that I have life, salvation, ministry opportunities, an amazing family, and everything else I experience in life. I pray that the efforts of this project will be useful to His people for the sake of His Kingdom advancing and His fame being known among all the peoples. Grady DeVon Smith, Jr. Auburn, Alabama December 2013 vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION In Christianity today, there is no shortage of books in which the author calls believers back to the necessity of prayer and the need to give it greater importance in their lives both individually and corporately as the body of Christ. For example, books on spiritual disciplines place a strong emphasis on the importance of prayer as a foundational discipline. In Celebration of Discipline Richard Foster reminds his readers that of all disciplines, “Prayer is the most central.”1 Donald Whitney also reminds readers that the lack of godliness is a result of prayerlessness since “to be like Jesus we must pray.”2 In addition, contemporary theology books, such as J. I. Packer’s Knowing God, stress that “people who know their God are before anything else people who pray.”3 Similarly, popular author and speaker John Piper asserts the necessity of prayer in enjoying God since “prayer is the nerve center of our vital fellowship with Jesus.”4 Detailed books are available on a theology of prayer such as Packer’s Praying5 and Eric J. Alexander’s Prayer: A Biblical Perspective.6 Books are available chronicling how prayer changes churches, perhaps the most well-known of which is Jim Cymbala’s Fresh 1Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1998), 32. 2Donald S. Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1991), 66. 3J. I. Packer, Knowing God (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 28. 4John Piper, Desiring God (Sisters, OR: Multnomah Books, 1996), 150. 5J. I. Packer, Praying (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2006). 6Eric J. Alexander, Prayer: A Biblical Perspective (Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2012). 1 Wind, Fresh Fire, the story of how prayer changed the Brooklyn Tabernacle.7 Specialty books, such as Gregory Frizzell’s How to Develop a Powerful Prayer Life, are also available to guide believers in specific steps to improve prayer.8 Perhaps such modern books fill bookshelves today because, as John MacArthur describes in one of his own books on prayer, “Communion with God is so vital and prayer so effective in the fulfillment of God’s plan, the enemy attempts constantly to introduce errors into our understanding of and commitment to prayer.”9 As E. M. Bounds himself describes, “There is the decay of prayer in the Church.”10 Perhaps books on prayer continue to be written and bought in large numbers because believers sense that struggle to give priority to prayer in their lives, and its resulting decay individually and corporately due to the enemy’s attacks on this vital area of their lives. Influence of Bounds on the Evangelical Understanding of Prayer As one peruses those many books on prayer, one man from a past generation frequently appears quoted within them. That man is Edward McKendree Bounds, the Methodist pastor and evangelist from the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. His quotes, primarily on prayer, are cited by authors such as Cymbala,11 Foster,12 MacArthur,13 7Jim Cymbala, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1997). 8Gregory R. Frizzell, How to Develop a Powerful Prayer Life (Memphis, TN: The Master Design, 1999). 9John MacArthur, Alone With God: Rediscovering the Power & Passion of Prayer (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2006), 10. 10Edward M. Bounds, Prayer and Praying Men (New York: George H. Doran Company, 1921), 102. 11Cymbala, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, 145. 12Foster, Celebration of Discipline, 45. 13MacArthur, Alone with God, 51. 2 Packer,14 and Piper,15 along with D. A. Carson,16 Neil Cole,17 Robert Coleman,18 John Eldredge,19 Jerry Falwell,20 Cheri Fuller,21 James Goll,22 Stanley Grenz,23 Kent Hughes,24 Chip Ingram,25 Cindy Jacobs,26 David Jeremiah,27 Greg Laurie,28 Erwin Lutzer,29 Joyce Meyer,30 Robert Morgan,31 Oswald Sanders,32 Charles Stanley,33 John Stott,34 Chuck 14Packer, Praying, 190.