Kevin DeYoung Defends Dissertation

(CHARLOTTE, N.C.) — Kevin DeYoung has successfully completed and defended his dissertation, “John Witherspoon & ‘The Fundamental Doctrines of the Gospel’: The Scottish Career of an American Founding Father.” DeYoung is a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Leicester in the UK, focusing on the theology of John Witherspoon.

Witherspoon was a Scottish-American Presbyterian theologian, and founding father of the United States. DeYoung’s dissertation examines Witherspoon’s historical context and looks at his role as a defender of the Reformed tradition. “It has been a great experience working on my Ph.D. the last five years,” said DeYoung, “learning about the Enlightenment, Scottish church history, Reformed theology, and the Great Awakening.”

“I am so thankful for the good work that Kevin DeYoung has done in his Ph.D. thesis,” stated Dr. J.Ligon Duncan III, Chancellor and CEO of RTS. “This is a field of studies that I have been interested in for years. I can’t wait for it to be published. ‘John Witherspoon and “The Fundamental Doctrines of the Gospel”‘ is the first major theological study of a key figure in American cultural, political and religious history.”

“With his sharp mind and pastoral heart, Kevin DeYoung has already been a rich blessing to our students here at RTS Charlotte,” said Dr. Michael Kruger, President of the Charlotte campus. “His top-rated Ph.D. work on John Witherspoon, now finished, shows that it is not impossible to have professors who love God with both their hearts and their minds. Kevin is poised to make significant scholarly contributions in the years to come. We can’t wait.”

Kevin DeYoung

DeYoung is the Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology at RTS Charlotte. In addition, he serves as the senior pastor of Christ Covenant Church in Matthews, North Carolina. Prior to moving to Charlotte, DeYoung was the senior pastor at University Reformed Church, East Lansing, Michigan. He was also a Chancellor’s Professor at RTS. DeYoung grew up in Jenison, Mich. and earned a B.A. in Religion from Hope College in Holland, Mich., Summa Cum Laude. He earned an M.Div. with a concentration in Theology from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts, Summa Cum Laude.

DeYoung also served as a keynote speaker to numerous conferences and lectures including Together For the Gospel, The Gospel Coalition, The Shepherd’s Conference, and many more. Regularly blogging on thegospelcoalition.com, he has published a dozen books for adults and children. His book, Crazy Busy: A Mercifully Short Book About a Big Problem, was named the 2014 Evangelical Christian Publishers Association Book of the Year. Christianity Today has awarded Book of the Year honors to three of his books in 2009, 2010, and 2013. World Magazine named What Does the Bible Really Teach About Homosexuality? one of its 2015 Books of the Year. To see a full list of DeYoung’s publications, click here.

DeYoung and his wife Trisha are the parents of eight children.

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