Alistair Begg


Alistair Begg is the senior pastor of Cleveland's Parkside Church, a position he has had since 1983. He is the voice behind the Truth for Life Christian radio preaching and teaching ministry that broadcasts his sermons daily to stations across North America, through over 1,600 radio outlets. He is also the author of several books, and has played one small role as an actor in .
Begg is a strong advocate of historic Protestant Evangelical theology. He emphasizes his belief in the importance of believing the Bible to be the completely authoritative Word of God, and the importance of using the mind to know the Bible and knowing God through repentance and faith in Jesus.

Biography

Begg was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1952 and still carries a distinctive Scottish accent after nearly 30 years of ministry in the United States. On 2 November 1972, his mother died. Regarding the incident, Begg wrote that "more spiritual progress is made through failure and tears than success and laughter." Begg graduated from the London School of Theology in 1975 and then served eight years in Scotland at Charlotte Chapel in Edinburgh and Hamilton Baptist Church in Lanarkshire. Begg is a council member of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. He was also educated at Trent University and Westminster Seminary. Among his influences are Martyn Lloyd-Jones, John Stott, Derek Prime, Eric Alexander, Sinclair Ferguson, Dick Lucas, Eric Liddell, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Jim Elliot, and Hudson Taylor.
Begg's wife, Susan, is American by birth and Begg himself became a U.S. citizen in 2004. He and his wife have been married over 30 years and have three grown children. He is a supporter of Scottish football side Rangers F.C.

Theological views

Begg believes in the inerrancy and supremacy of Scripture, and in the saving power of Christ alone. He has said that the core belief of Parkside Church is "that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has died as an atoning sacrifice for our sins, and that to know Him is to know life, both now and forever Jesus Christ is the only Savior, because Jesus is the only one who is qualified to save." Fellow theologian and author R.C. Sproul wrote that "Alistair Begg incarnates this Neo-Puritan movement, a humble champion who has been galvanized by a magnificent obsession with the God-centered life. Begg is an anachronism. He breaks the mold of contemporary evangelicalism, the mold that has been marred by narcissism and sullied by a preoccupation with a man-centered focus on method, technique, and a virulent form of self-esteem." He is especially known for advocating prophetic, passionate preaching, which aims for biblical faithfulness and does not pander to the whims of culture. His work has been praised by such people as John MacArthur, Max Lucado, and Joseph M. Stowell. Begg, a Calvinist, is critical of Hyper-Calvinism and he also removed himself as one of the speakers at the "REiMAGINE" conference because of some of its other speakers, such as Leonard Sweet who has been criticized for his alleged New Age teachings.