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Malcolm Yarnell is a Baptist theologian affiliated with Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. Yarnell has contributed to academic discussions in the areas of theological method, systematic theology, and historical theology. Yarnell is closely involved with the churches in the Southern Baptist Convention in the United States. As a writer, he has been described as "a formidable interlocutor and one worth wrestling with, yielding blessings rich in both understanding and piety." He has also been described as "one of the brightest lights of contemporary Baptist theology." He has been recognized internationally through appointments at Oxford University to the Centre for Baptist History and Heritage, Regent's Park College, Oxford, United Kingdom, at the Bibelseminar Bonn, Bornheim, Germany, at the Research Institute of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, Nashville, Tennessee,, and has delivered lectures at universities in the United States, Scotland, England, Germany, China, and Ukraine.
Theological Method
This theologian's earliest and most important contribution has received critical review in international, evangelical, and peer-reviewed journals. The Formation of Christian Doctrine divides methodological concerns into two realms: the foundation of doctrine (a.k.a. prolegomena or Fundamentaltheologie) and the development of doctrine.
* [http://www.denverseminary.edu/article/the-formation-of-christian-doctrine/ D. Buschart, Review, The Formation of Christian Doctrine, Denver Journal 11 (2008)]
* [http://www.goshen.edu/mqr/pastissues/July09.html T. Finger, Book Review, The Formation of Christian Doctrine, Mennonite Quarterly Review 83 (2009)]
* [http://www.citeulike.org/article/6651618 J.E. Colwell, Book Review, The Formation of Christian Doctrine, International Journal of Systematic Theology 12 (2010)]
* J.L. Garrett, Book Review, The Formation of Christian Doctrine, Southwestern Journal of Theology
* P. Patterson, Review, 'The Formation of Christian Doctrine, Baptist Theology (n.d.)
Prolegomena
Drawing upon the hermeneutics of Pilgram Marpeck, Yarnell believes that the free churches possess a distinct theological method in opposition to, yet in frequent conversation with the Roman Catholic, liberal Protestant, and evangelical Protestant traditions. The foundation of free church doctrine focuses upon discipleship to the Lord. This foundation may be considered in four dimensions: Christ-centeredness, the coinherence of Word and Spirit, the sufficiency and progressive dimensions of Scripture, and the local regenerate church.
Development of Doctrine
The free churches possess a distinct understanding of the development of Christian doctrine, and consider the cross of Jesus Christ as the pattern of history. Free church historiography has much in common with modern conceptions of history, as exemplified in the work of the Cambridge historian Herbert Butterfield.
Systematic Theology
Yarnell has focused upon the doctrines of the Holy Spirit and the Church so far in his systematic writings.
Holy Spirit
Yarnell's Pneumatology is concerned first with the person of the Holy Spirit. Believing that twentieth century discussions of the Holy Spirit were dominated by a narrow focus upon the work of the Holy Spirit, specifically the charismata, or spiritual gifts, Yarnell instead emphasizes the Trinitarian dimension of Pneumatology.
Church
Yarnell's Ecclesiology is apologetically free church or Baptist. Yarnell's understanding of the church is that the only proper development of Ecclesiology is contained within the New Testament itself. Following B.H. Carroll, the primary meaning of "ekklesia" is that of the local congregation. The local congregation is directly ruled by Jesus Christ, governed by the congregation, led by pastors, and served by deacons. The local congregation is separated from the world, begins with a covenant, and is tasked with fulfilling the Great Commission. The Great Commission necessitates going to the world, the making of disciples prior to baptism, and the continual teaching of doctrine. Yarnell affirms the universal church, yet because its gathering is eschatological, he does not speak of it as a current manifestation except in a forecasted sense.
Altercation at Oxford
Dr. Yarnell was involved in an altercation with an Englishman while he was a student at Oxford. The Englishman, obviously intoxicated, asked Yarnell where a young woman's finishing school was located. Yarnell refused to tell the man, which prompted him to strike Yarnell in the face. Yarnell responded by hitting the man with an open hand. The Englishman promptly left the scene of the incident. Yarnell shared that story and the moral struggle that ensued in his heart with his Systematic Theology II class in the spring of 2006.
Historical Theology
Yarnell's ThM thesis at Duke Divinity School was concerned with the continental development of the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers during the Reformation period. His DPhil dissertation at The University of Oxford was concerned with the English development of the doctrine of Royal Priesthood during the late Medieval and Reformation period.
Yarnell has produced articles in the area of the Reformation, the history and theology of the Early English Baptists, and the history and theology of the Southern Baptists. Recent writings often discuss Calvinism in the Southern Baptist Convention.
Selected publications
* The Formation of Christian Doctrine (B&H Academic, 2007)
* Managing Editor, Southwestern Journal of Theology (2006-)
* Co-Editor, First Freedom: The Baptist Perspective on Religious Liberty (B&H Academic, 2006)
* Co-Editor, Restoring Integrity in Baptist Churches (Kregel, 2008)
* Co-Editor, Upon This Rock: The Baptist Understanding of the Church (B&H Academic, 2010)