Introducing MAGL Adjunct Professor Dr. Charles Wade

DBU is blessed to have many outstanding adjunct professors, many of them teaching for us right here in the Master of Arts in Global Leadership Program. Dr. Charles Wade is no exception!

Growing up in a pastor's home, Dr. Wade lived in Durant, Tulsa, and Woodward, Oklahoma, while his father served churches in those areas. It was in Oklahoma, as a young boy, that Dr. Wade committed his life to Christ. He recalls that his decision to follow Christ has been formative for him. He responded to God's call to preach when he was eleven and shared, "That happy decision has shaped all the plans and goals of my life since then." He added, "'Father' is the way I experience God's presence most all the time."

Dr. Wade graduated from Woodward High School and majored in English Literature with minors in Philosophy, History, and Bible at Oklahoma Baptist University. Over the years, he has served as a pastor, administrator, and denominational leader. For 23 years, he was Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Arlington, and for nine years served as Executive Director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

He currently serves as Pastor Emeritus at FBC Arlington. He continues to minister to families who have lost loved ones, counsels young ministers, and faithfully participates in his church. He serves alongside his wife, Rosemary, who is his strength and inspiration. One of his most important goals is to help others, especially students, realize how important a local church can be for their lives and ministry wherever they go. He believes in the power of the local church to provide community and encouragement to Christian leaders.

Being an adjunct professor in the MAGL program and serving DBU students is a great privilege and a source of joy for Dr. Wade. He feels that the MAGL program has many remarkable students who have encouraged and challenged him along the way. He explained that students in the MAGL program learn about making themselves available to God to serve Him and His world while also being willing to do their best to prepare themselves for extraordinary service in His kingdom.

Dr. Wade advises MAGL students to use this season of their life to maximize their opportunity to read, discuss, and learn. Being a student at a university is expensive, don't waste it! He encourages students, "Learn everything that you can; God will use it someway in your life of ministry." He wants students to be alert to the importance of conviction, commitment, and living a life of "long obedience," a phrase used by Eugene Peterson, because they are critical to being effective in all God is calling you to do. He also shares that developing leadership skills are essential to living lives that make a difference in the world.

Dr. Wade's course, Local Church on Mission (MAGL 5333), is part of the Urban Ministry, Missions, and General Studies concentrations of the MAGL program. The next opportunity to take this course is in Fall 2024.

We are introducing Dr. Wade! Thank you, Dr. Wade, for sharing with us and helping us get to know you better!