About Jim Andrews
Personal and Family Background
Jim and his wife, Olsie, are natives of West Virginia and will have been married 50 years this next August 29 (2008). They have two married daughters, Kristi Dotson and Juli Grose.
Educational Background
University of Colorado, M.A. in Classics, 1980
Dallas Theological Seminary, Th.M. in New Testament Literature and Exegesis, 1963
West Virginia Institute of Technology, B.A. in Journalism, 1959
Professional Experience:
Senior Pastor, Lake Bible Church, Lake Oswego, Oregon, 1991 to present
Southern Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky, adjunct teacher, summer, 2000
Western Seminary, 1980-1991, Assistant Professor and Chairman, Division of Ministerial Studies (1987-1991)
Western Bible College, Morrison, Colorado, 1970-1980, Chairman, Department of Pastoral Studies {later merged with Rockmont College to form Colorado Christian University}.
Pastor, Poca Baptist Church, Poca, West Virginia, 1963-1970
Other Experience:
Founder of and Bible Teacher on The Final Word, aired four times daily between KPDQ-FM and KPDQ-AM (twice on each station)
Bible teacher, Riverside Baptist Church, Denver, Colorado. 1970-1979
Interim Pastor, Village Baptist Church, Northglenn, Colorado, 1979-1980
Conference and retreat speaker (1980-1991)
Author of Polishing God’s Monuments: Pillars of Hope for Punishing Times,), (Shepherd Press)
His Story
Born in a coal mining camp and growing up in the southern mountains of his native West Virginia, Jim was privileged to be reared in a devout Christian family, the oldest of four siblings. Although reared in the American Baptist denomination, Jim was early on repelled by the pervasive theological liberalism in that body. So, after college Jim went outside for his theological training before returning to his roots. There in the mountain state for seven years Jim pastored a small ABC church northwest of Charleston, the state capitol. Eventually, and quite unexpectedly, the Lord directed him for the next 21 years into academia where he taught and mentored young men headed into vocational ministry. Equally surprising was when at age 52 the Lord led him back into pastoral ministry long after he had assumed that chapter of his life was over.
Jim is deeply committed to an expository ministry, but with this difference in approach from many in his mode: he insists on finding the timeless in the time-bound, on exposing ‘the Monday morning significance’ of the Sunday morning text and “causing the truth of Scripture to collide violently with the issues of life at the intersections of the consciousness.”
In his teaching days in Bible college and seminary, Jim resisted tidy theological labels, preferring simply to describe himself as a “radical Biblicist,” a self-description with which many students resonated.
“I will line up theologically wherever I believe the Scriptures lead me. As much as I lean in a Calvinistic direction, I am not a knee-jerk devotee of any theological system. My loyalty is first and foremost to Christ and to whatever the Word of God appears to teach. If that happens to collide with the theological perspectives of my mentors, so be it. Some are right about much, others are wrong about a lot, but none of us is right about everything. The word of God is profounder than the mind of man can encapsulate in any neat theological package. So, I personally prefer that people not see my teaching as the cookie cutter product of a system or as from a man who cannot see outside his theological box, but see what I teach as simply the insights and conclusions of a man wedded to the Scriptures who just tries to tell it like it is and let the chips fall where they will. Hopefully, with the aid of the Spirit of God, I will get a lot more right than I get wrong, but none of us are immune to error unfortunately.”
As for his expository method, from his youth in West Virginia Jim always wondered aloud why “no one would ever just pick up the Bible and simply explain it so we could understand it.” God used that frustration to birth a passion in his heart to major in that very enterprise. Virtually everybody agrees that Bible teaching is Jim’s strongest gift. His vision in this broadcast ministry has been to share the fruits of that God-given skill with as many as possible for the enlightenment and edification of the saints and the salvation of the lost.
A foundational premise of his ministry has always been the conviction that the Spirit working through the Word is the catalyst of spiritual transformation. He believes to the bone that if any influence is capable of “destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God,” and “taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,” it is the Spirit working through the Word. Where the human heart is impervious to the Word, Jim believes no alternative will avail. That conviction is the foundation of The Final Word ministry.
When it comes to communication, theorists would argue that cultural nuances and circumstances determine what can get through and what doesn’t. Jim rejects that idea. He believes that in the dynamics of human communication, the Word of God, not culture, is sovereign. The Word can and will effect exactly what our sovereign God wills. It does not return unto Him void but accomplishes His purposes. It can work, as God wills, in, through and around every cultural barrier that obstructs it. It is that core belief that drives this ministry. “The word of God is living, powerful and sharper than any double edged sword and pierces to the division of the soul and spirit.”
Broadcast Schedule
The Final Word can be heard weekdays on the following stations:
Portland, Oregon
KPDQ FM 93.9 at 7 PM and 11:30 PM
KPDQ AM 800 at 12 PM
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
WORD FM 101.5 at 9:30 PM
WPIT AM 730 at 6 AM
The Final Word Blog
Introduction to Isaiah
The New Testament is replete with quotes from the prophet Isaiah. The book thunders with warnings to the godless and resounds with chords of hope for the faithful. If the preacher's job is to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable, then Isaiah is the perfect model. Its contents are also a great example of prophecy as forth-telling the Word of God for the present as well as foretelling what God is going to do in the future ...
