Dan Doriani

HOMETOWN:
Born in NYC, but St. Louis is my home

FAMILY:
My wife Debbie teaches music and remembers thousands of names. We have three daughters, all married and part of Central. Abigail, married to Dave, is a teacher; Sarah, married to Branden, is an architectural designer and Beth, in corporate communication, married James.

SERVING AS: 
Senior Pastor

DUTIES: 
To preach, teach and train the church, to lead the gifted people of Central into a life of church and to orchestrate the gifted folks of the church.

PASSIONS: 
Preaching and teaching. Open dialogue both with disciples and skeptics. Honest, unfettered conversation. Active sports.

PHILOSOPHY OF MINISTRY & LIFE:
Theologically, I am orthodox and evangelical, a glad heir of the Reformation. I believe in the triune God, fully revealed in Jesus - God, man and redeemer. I believe in the inspiration, authority, and clarity of God's Word. I believe in the gospel of grace, which every believer needs every day. I believe the bodily resurrection of Jesus proves that all of life counts, now and forever. I believe Jesus is Lord of this life and that we should reclaim it for him. I want to lead our church into deeper community and discipleship, into authentic worship and effective evangelism, and service throughout this world.

EDUCATION/ORDINATION:
I earned a B.A. from Geneva, an M.Div. and a Ph.D. from Westminster Seminary and an S.T.M. from Yale, where I was twice a research fellow. I am ordained in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.

FAVORITE AUTHORS:
I admire J. Calvin, D.A. Carson, C.E.B. Cranfield, C.S. Lewis, M. Luther, J. Stott, K. Vanhoozer, B. Waltke, C. Wright, N.T. Wright, all good reference works; Plato, Aristotle, Shakespeare, Dostoevsky.

QUOTE: 
Polonius: What do you read, my lord? Hamlet: Words, words, words.

MUSIC: 
Mozart, Faure, Allison Kraus, Mark Knopfler, The Shins, Sting, Sufjan Stevens, Brooks Williams, John Williams   

MOVIES: 
The Princess Bride, The Lives of Others, Almost Famous, The King's Speech, Tootsie, Fog of War, Before Sunrise, Ratatouille.

HOBBIES:
tennis, hiking, fitness, all sorts of games and sports. 

STRANGE BUT TRUE:
I spoke in a lecture series after Bono and before Mel Gibson. Bertrand Russell's son was my dissertation advisor. Abigail was in the world championship in Ultimate Frisbee.

AS AN AUTHOR: 
I've written ten books and contributed to others, including commentaries on Matthew and James, a book for men, called The Life of A God-Made Man, and three on Bible interpretation: Putting the Truth to Work, Getting the Message, and Beyond the Sacred Page. I'm working, slowly, on a book on spiritual healing through the Psalms.