Criswell: His Life and Times is a biography released in April 2024. It was written by Dr. O.S. Hawkins, former pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas and President Emeritus of GuideStone Financial Services (the investment and annuity arm of the Southern Baptist Convention).
The biography tells of the life of the famous pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, from the viewpoint of the man who would eventually succeed him in that role. In interviews conducted prior to the book's release, Hawkins mentioned that the book was, in some ways, intended to be a continuation of his previous book [[In the Name of God (biography}|In the Name of God]] due to both Criswell being the successor to George W. Truett and how, in many ways, he resembled both Truett and J. Frank Norris in his actions and conduct. Hawkins also mentioned that Criswell agreed to share intimate details about his life and that of FBC Dallas, with the agreement that Hawkins could not publish the book until at least 20 years after Criswell's death, and that other individuals (who Hawkins did not name) also had to be deceased.
Synopsis
The first chapter of the book goes through Criswell's early life in the Texas Panhandle town of Texline, a small community on the Texas-New Mexico border. Notably, Hawkins mentioned how Criswell's parents argued over Norris and Truett (his father supported Norris while his mother supported Truett); Hawkins would surmise that his parents' conflict between the two notable pastors would result in Criswell being like Norris in terms of theology, yet also like Truett in his approach to pastoring.
The next three chapters then go through Criswell's life at Baylor, at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (where he would meet his wife, Betty), and his pastorates in Oklahoma prior to his calling in Dallas.
Chapters 5-10 would go over each decade where Criswell served (in whole or in part) as FBC Dallas's pastor. Hawkins mentions both the good points (the church's return to prominence after Truett's death, where in the years prior the congregation had dwindled and the facilities - notably the children's wing - showed signs of major deterioration) and the bad (the repeating of history, where in Criswell's latter years the church once again had a dwindling congregation and deteriorating facilities, as well as two failed attempts by Criswell to find a pastoral successor).
Chapter 11 mentions how Criswell believed that the 1948 restoration of Israel as a nation was part of Bible prophecy, as well as his friendships with Jews both in Dallas and in Israel, while Chapter 12 (titled "Three Great Regrets") mentions three areas where Criswell regretted certain actions: a 1956 sermon where he supported racial segregation, his lack of spending quality time with his family (his daughter married and divorced at least twice, and abandoned her son requiring the couple to legally adopt him, and Betty was known to be highly selfish and vindictive), and that he didn't push harder to see his preferred candidate - Hawkins - named as his successor until after two failed prior attempts (the second, involving Joel Gregory, would be a major disaster).
The final chapter mentions Criswell's life after his pastorate, his declining health (he would live the last four years of his life at the home of a family friend, as Betty didn't want his physical condition to spoil the expensive rugs in the church parsonage), and death.