About Barry
Barry Creamer has served as president of Criswell College since 2014, after spending a combined 10 years as both a member of the faculty and as the Vice President of Academic Affairs. A trained philosopher and historian, Barry holds a B.A. in English from Baylor University, an M.Div. from Criswell College, and a Ph.D. in Humanities from the University of Texas at Arlington. Before arriving at Criswell, he taught adjunctively at both Texas Woman’s University and UTA.
For more than 20 years Barry pastored churches across Texas, and he continues to preach conferences, teach lay audiences, and serve as interim pastor for churches in transition. As a leading voice for Southern Baptists, he often receives invitations to speak at leadership seminars in the Dallas area and events for groups like North Texas March for Life. Barry has also served on the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, and his writing has been featured on numerous print and electronic platforms.
Barry spent over a decade hosting Coffee with Creamer, a podcast covering relevant issues in ethics, ministry, and worldview, and we host that archive here.
Barry Creamer has served as president of Criswell College since 2014, after spending a combined 10 years as both a member of the faculty and as the Vice President of Academic Affairs. A trained philosopher and historian, Barry holds a B.A. in English from Baylor University, an M.Div. from Criswell College, and a Ph.D. in Humanities from the University of Texas at Arlington. Before arriving at Criswell, he taught adjunctively at both Texas Woman’s University and UTA.
Barry spent over a decade hosting Coffee with Creamer, a podcast covering relevant issues in ethics, ministry, and worldview, and we host that archive here.
Q & A
If you could spend a day with anyone, living or dead, who would it be?
Probably either John Donne or Gerard Manley Hopkins, whichever would be willing to share with me how he experienced the convergence of such deep devotion to God, manifest self-loathing, and nonpareil creativity in his life.
What is your favorite all-time movie?
For seeing more than once: Jaws or The Hunt for Red October
Never to see again: Life is Beautiful
If you could be any fictional character, who would you choose?
Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks’ character in Saving Private Ryan)
Why do you like working at Criswell?
The best things about Criswell College are the people with whom I work and the students we get to serve. They are both unique and amazing.
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?
Not too exotic, but octopus—like chewing a tire (which I have not done).
If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?
Everything. I hate that there are things I will never know how to do, just because I’ll run out of time.
Who is your favorite author?
For sheer literary style and prowess in prose: Stephen Crane
For poetry: TS Eliot
How would your mom describe you?
Accurately.
What books are on your nightstand right now?
The Wasteland and Other Poems by TS Eliot, an anthology of Bernard Malamud, Christian Liberty by Martin Luther, The Moral Interpretation of Religion by Peter Byrne, Essays on Faith and Morals by William James, and an old anthology of the works of Plato. Yeah, it’s a mess.
What was your first concert?
The same as my only concert: Queen’s “News of the World” tour around 1977 (9th grade). What can I say? I wasn’t right with God yet.
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