Cedars, February 2019

by Zach Krauss P astor and author Dr. Warren Wiersbe will donate his personal library to Ce- darville University. This collection of over 13,000 titles, including commentaries, literary works, and nonfiction publications, will be housed in the Warren and Betty Wi- ersbe Library and Reading room in the Cen- ter for Biblical and Theological Studies. Dr. Thomas White, president of Cedar- ville University said that Wiersbe’s love for people makes the donation meaningful. “He told me that good preachers must care about the people they speak to in or- der to preach well,” White said in an email interview. “He also loves words; his library includes many different genres which adds a breadth to his preaching and writing.” White said that Wiersbe is a wordsmith known for his ability to make complex pas- sages simple while also using alliteration to make it memorable. White said that his love for words and writing styles can clear- ly be seen in his preaching, and that this all points to how genuine and down to earth Wiersbe is. Dr. Jason Lee, dean of the School of Biblical and Theological Studies and pro- fessor of theological studies, said Wiersbe is one of the most humble men he has ever met. “He has accomplished many things through his international preaching min- istry and his volumes of publications,” Lee said in an email interview. “However, he is also one of the most personable pastors that you would ever meet.” The library will function as a place of study and reference for all students on cam- pus. Many of the texts in the library include Wiersbe’s personal notes and insights, which will allow students to follow his thoughts as he wrote sermons and messages while reading through his library. White is excited to see how the library will influence the student body. He hopes that the library will cast a vision for the stu- dents to develop their own personal librar- ies. “In the ages of electronic resources, reading books, making notes in those books, and leaving a legacy behind for others to see, is rare,” White said. He hopes to see a generation that will follow in Wiersbe’s footsteps of faithful- ly preaching the text, applying the text to the lives of people, and compelling people to follow Jesus with well-crafted sentences and outlines that edify believers and glorify God. Dr. Lee believes that the library will be an invaluable resource for anyone hoping to seriously study the Scriptures for the pur- pose of Bible study or discipleship. “For students preparing for ministry, the books that Dr. Wiersbe used to develop his sermons and to write his pastoral com- mentaries are now available to the next gen- eration of pastors and teachers,” Lee said. “I hope the legacy of Dr. Wiersbe lives on not just in the library, but in the Biblical ex- position done by students shaped by these books.” Zach Krauss is a senior pharmacy/music double major from central Texas and cam- pus reporter for Cedars. He loves music, theatre, biology, community, and meeting new people. February 2019 6 CAMPUS Read and Reflect Author Warren Wiersbe donates personal library to Cedarville University Photo provided by Nancy Voorhies Dr. Warren Wiersbe (right) shows his personal library to Dr. Thomas White (center) and Dr. Jason Lee (left). The collection will be donated to Cedarville University.