F.

Leroy Forlines:
Theology for All of Life
Few people have had more influence over the theological commitments of Free
Will Baptists than Leroy Forlines (1926-present). While the inclusion of a living
person in FWB Heritage month will strike some as odd, it is certainly
appropriate when one considers Forlines impact on the Free Will Baptist
denomination and Arminian theology at large. His multi-generational impact will
be considered in this essay.
Personal Background
Franklin Leroy Forlines was born and raised on a tobacco farm in eastern North
Carolina on November 14, 1926. As a child of the Great Depression, he knew
both the realities of economic hardship, as well as the uniqueness of being a
part of the aptly-named greatest generation [1]. Though raised in the Biblebelt, it wasnt until age 17 that Forlines was converted during a revival meeting
(1944). Feeling the Holy Spirits leadership in the subsequent years, Forlines
made the pilgrimage to Free Will Baptist Bible College in 1948 to begin studies.
He would graduate in 52 in the second graduating class to receive bachelors
degrees.
Four years later he met and married his future wifeCarolyn Le Fay Gilbert.
Ironically, she was introduced to Leroy by their boss, L. C. Johnson. They raised
two sons, Jon and James, who have both been long-time leaders in Free Will
Baptist churches and institutions. Even now, some 50+ years later, the
Forlineses are a mainstay at National Conventions and other denominational
functions.
Academics: Background, Influences & Achievements
It has been common for students throughout the years to refer to Forlines as
Doctor as opposed to Mister, though he never earned a doctorate. The
mistake is understandable, given his passionate intellect and academic
achievements.
While many conservative Baptists were gravitating toward schools such as Bob
Jones University, Forlines traveled north and earned his first masters degree at

the Winona Lake School of Theology in 1959. Four years later he earned a
Bachelor of Divinity from the Northern Baptist Theological Seminary [2]. Still
later, rather than pursuing a doctorate, Forlines earned the only other terminal
theological degree (Th.M.) at the distinguished Chicago Graduate School of
Theology (1970). These degrees not only gained Forlines membership in
organizations like the Evangelical Theological Society. They equipped him for
unique scholarship and ministry.
Without question, Forlines will forever be thought of as a professor-scholar. He
taught Bible and theology at Welch College when it was still Free Will Baptist
Bible College. Over the span of 50+ years, Forlines taught courses like
Romans, Biblical Ethics, Eschatology, and most notably, Systematic Theology.
Because systematics is required for all ministry majors (and an elective Bible
credit for others), Forlines taught well over a thousand students in this course
alone! To say he is the principal theological influence on most Free Will Baptists
would be no overstatement [3].
Much of Forlines published work arose out of his academic course-load. Not
only did he teach ethics, but he published Biblical Ethics in 1973. This work
included a distinct critique of cheap-easy believism, and an exposition of the
four

basic

ethical

values

[4].

But

it

was

Forlines

book Biblical

Systematics (1975) that became the definitive Free Will Baptist doctrinal book
for the next 25 years. Its influence was only slowed when its contents took fuller
form in The Quest for Truth (2001). Originally the subtitle was Answering Lifes
Inescapable Questions, but later became Theology for a Postmodern World.
This reflects that Quest doesnt only go deeper on soteriology, but also
introduces

important

concepts

such

as worldview, epistemology,

and apologetics to many readers.

Forlines belongs to an older breed of theologians. This is evidenced by both his
influences, as well as his writings. He was influenced by luminaries of the
Evangelical Renaissance such as Kenneth Kantzer, the British scholar H. D.
McDonald, and Carl F. H. Henry. Henrys fingerprints arent difficult to find in
Forlines writing, both theologically and stylistically.
Forlines was like a previous era of theologians who published both a
systematics volume as well as a biblical commentary: Romans (1987). The
Quest for Truth, though, is perhaps the most fruitful work to read if one must
select a single book of his to read. Readers encounter his passion for truth, a

biblical understanding of conversion, and his distinct total personality

approach to theology. For many Free Will Baptists, including myself, Forlines
became a gateway to understanding that theology is for all of life. He engaged
destructive worldviews (postmodernism), non-Arminian theologians (Hodge),
and his neo-orthodox contemporaries (Brunner). The belief that orthodoxy
shapes and is shaped by orthopraxy is one that permeates his work.
For those outside of the Free Will Baptist movement, Forlines name (alongside
his colleague Robert Picirilli) has become synonymous with Classical or
Reformed Arminianism. Thus, many greatly welcomed Forlines Classical
Arminianism: A Theology of Salvation (2011), an edited volume which consisted
of earlier published material on Calvinism and Arminianism. It has since
been reviewed by many Arminian bloggers. Though Forlines no doubt learned
from others, his outlook was always rooted in Arminian thought, cognizant of
wider cultural changes, and tailored for a mid-late 20th-century conservative
Christian audience.
Serving Gods People: Ministry and Leadership
Mr. Forlines has always manifested a deep concern for the spiritual lives of his
students. Though he only served as a pastor for a short time in the early 1950s,
Forlines exercised spiritual oversight as Dean of Men and Women at Welch
College for 17 years. Furthermore, it was not uncommon for Forlines to visit
with struggling students in his office. The pastors heart never went away,
despite the fact that his calling was exercised more behind a lectern than a
pulpit.
An easily overlooked role that joined the academic with the pastoral was his
service to the Commission for Theological Integrity for over 50 years [5]. While
his role as chairman would be considered an academic one, it is without
question a leadership role that touched (and continues to touch) countless local
churches. Integrity, the Theological Symposium, and the annual lecture at the
National Convention (all of which bear his fingerprints) are ministries designed
to benefit pastors, and by extension, lay persons. Leroy and Fay even spent
significant time in the former Soviet Union training pastors in the late 1990s.
Work Left to Do
The label retired doesnt quite fit Mr. Forlines. As he told one interviewer in
2006, Im just getting into overdrive [6]. He hopes to complete a lengthy
project on the roots of secularism in America this year, as well as a book on

eschatology and covenantal theology. Receiving the title Professor emeritus in

1992 never slowed him. Though he has passed the instructor-baton of his twosemester systematic theology course to two former students, he still teaches
eschatology occasionally [7]. In this he leaves behind a great legacy to build
upon, one that he himself inherited from figures like Paul Palmer, John L Welch,
and L. C. Johnson.
Many students remember Forlines for the imaginary snowballs tossed at
sleeping students. Others remember the efforts to keep the boys downstairs
and the boys upstairs working in concert [8]. Yet his legacy includes published
works, an annual lecture series at Welch College named for him, and many
competent pastors. In sum, his most valuable contribution was a theology that is
big enough, deep enough, and meaningful enough to impact all of life.
_______________________________________
[1] This phrase of course is derived from Tom Brokaws award-winning book by
the same name, published in 2004. Brokaw was referring to the WWII
generation of who fought, served, and started families following the war.
[2] For contemporary readers, it will be helpful to know that the Bachelor of
Divinity (B.D.) in those days would be the equivalent of todays Master of
Divinity (M.Div.).
[3] Some will immediately question how this can be since many Free Will
Baptist ministers did not receive their education at FWBBC/Welch College.
However, many still purchased and read his many pamphlets, and landmark
booksBiblical Systematics and The Quest for Truth.
[4] Forlines work with the commission began when it went by the name The
Commission for Theological Liberalism.
[5]

Making

Doctrine

Practical from

his

articles

on

Christian

Doctrine in Contact.
[6]

Jack

Williams

excellent

interview/essay

can

be

found

at http://www.onemag.org/no_excuses.htm, accessed 29 January 2013.

[7] http://www.onemag.org/news_education40.htm accessed on 29, January
2013.
[8] This was a reference to the subconscious versus conscious minds.
Sometimes Forlines referred to his own, and sometimes his students. But the
boys represented the sort of mental team that worked on two levels for the
human mind/personality to function.

**Some of my insight was drawn from the above-cited sources. The rest is
drawn from personal contact and conversation with Forlines, and his other
students particularly. Specifically, we had a recent conversation on Friday,
January 29, 2013 in preparation for the publication of this essay.
_______________________________________
Pamphlets/Articles by Leroy Forlines
What Must I Do to Be Saved? (1953)
The Bible College Approach to Education (1965)
Issues Among Evangelicals (1968)
Christian Doctrine (1970-1981, Contact)
Evolution (1973)
Morals and Orthodoxy (1974)
Cheap-Easy Believism (1975)
Inerrancy and Scriptures (1978)
Christian Standards and Convictions Without Legalism (1981)
The Prophets of Prosperity (1982)
The Doctrine of Perseverance (1986)
A Plea for Unabridged Christianity (2003)
Many presentations at theological conferences and meetings
Years of Randall House curriculum