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About Dr. Storms

Sam-Storms-Studio-PRINTWho is Sam Storms?

Sam was born on February 6, 1951, in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Both of his parents, as well as his sister, Betty Jane, were Christians. Sam was raised in a Southern Baptist context and came to saving faith in Christ at the age of nine. When he turned ten, his family moved to Midland, Texas, where they lived for the next four years. In 1965, as Sam was entering his freshman year in high school, the Storms family moved to Duncan, Oklahoma, where Sam's father became president of a local bank. Sam graduated from Duncan Senior High School in 1969, hoping for a career as a professional golfer. He attended the University of Oklahoma, where he soon abandoned his plans to play golf (due to the combined factors of incompetence and a notoriously bad temper!).

Near the beginning of his sophomore year at OU, Sam met Ann Elizabeth Mount, to whom he proposed marriage on their first date! Sam and Ann were married on May 26th, 1972. They have two daughters, Melanie (born December 23, 1978) and Joanna (born October 3, 1984), as well as four grandchildren.

After graduation from OU in 1973, Sam entered Dallas Theological Seminary to study in preparation for the ministry. He graduated in 1977 with a Th.M. in Historical Theology. While at Dallas, Sam served as interim pastor of Dallas Independent Presbyterian Church (1974-1977). Upon graduation in 1977, he joined the pastoral staff at Believers Chapel in Dallas, a non-denominational bible church. Sam began his work on a Ph.D. in Intellectual History in 1978 and received his degree from the University of Texas at Dallas in 1984, having written his dissertation on the topic of "Jonathan Edwards and John Taylor on Human Nature: A Study of the Encounter between New England Puritanism and the Enlightenment."

In August of 1985, Sam accepted a call to serve as Senior Pastor of Christ Community in Ardmore, Oklahoma, where he ministered for eight years. In 1993, he resigned his position in order to become President of Grace Training Center, the full-time bible school at Metro Christian Fellowship in Kansas City, Missouri, where Sam also served as Associate Pastor.

Although he never thought he would leave Kansas City, God had other plans, and in August of 2000, Sam accepted the offer to become an associate professor of theology at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. After four years on the faculty at Wheaton, Sam made the decision to resign in order that he might establish Enjoying God Ministries.

In 2008, Sam became Lead Pastor for Preaching and Vision at Bridgeway Church in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. And on September 1, 2022, Sam retired from his role and became Pastor Emeritus of Bridgeway. Sam serves as a member of the Council of The Gospel Coalition. Sam is a past President of the Evangelical Theological Society and currently serves on its Executive Committee.

Below is a more formal listing of Sam's educational background, ministerial experience, and publications (both books and journal articles).

Educational Degrees:

  • B.A. in History, University of Oklahoma (1973).
  • Th.M. in Historical Theology, Dallas Theological Seminary (1977) 

Thesis topic: "An Analysis of Jonathan Edwards on the Freedom of the Will"

  • Ph.D. in Intellectual History (minor in Aesthetics), University of Texas at Dallas (1984)

Dissertation topic: "Jonathan Edwards and John Taylor on Human Nature: A Study of the Encounter between New England Puritanism and the Enlightenment"

Honors and Awards:

  • Phi Eta Sigma - Freshman Men's Honorary Society; University of Oklahoma (1969)
  • W. H. Griffith Thomas Scholarship Award - Dallas Seminary (1977; awarded to the student who maintained the highest academic record during the four-year program)
  • Charles A. Nash Award in Historical Theology - Dallas Seminary (1977; awarded to the student who did the best work in historical theology for the year)
  • Rollin Thomas Chafer Award in Apologetics - Dallas Seminary (1977; awarded to the student who submitted the best paper in defense of the Christian faith)
  • Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities (1977).

Teaching and Pastoral Background

2008 - present / Lead Pastor for Preaching and Vision, Bridgeway Church, Oklahoma City, OK

2004 - present / President of Enjoying God Ministries

2000 - 2004 / Visiting Associate Professor of Theology, Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL (Systematic Theology, Historical Theology)

1993 - 2000 / President and Instructor in Theological and Biblical Studies, Grace Training Center (Systematic Theology, Historical Theology [with a focus on history of doctrine, ancient, medieval, and especially Reformation history] NT [both survey and exegetical courses], OT [survey], Ethics, Spiritual Formation).

1993 - 2000 / Associate Pastor, Metro Christian Fellowship, Kansas City, MO.

1985-1993 / Senior Pastor, Christ Community Church, Ardmore, OK.

1977-1985 / Associate Pastor, Believers Chapel, Dallas, TX, and Instructor in Theological and Biblical Studies, Advanced Studies Center.

1974-1977 / Interim Pastor, Dallas Independent Presbyterian Church, Dallas, TX.

Published Writings

  • The Language of Heaven: Crucial Questions about Speaking in Tongues (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2019)
  • Commentary on 1 Peter in the ESV Expository Commentary: Hebrews-Revelation (Wheaton: Crossway, 2018)
  • Practicing the Power: Welcoming the Gifts of the Holy Spirit in Your Life (Zondervan, 2017)
  • Packer on the Christian Life: Knowing God in Christ, Walking by the Spirit (Crossway, 2016)
  • Tough Topics (Crossway, March 2013)
  • Tough Topics 2: Biblical Answers to 25 Challenging Questions (Christian Focus, 2015)
  • Kept for Jesus: What the New Testament Really Teaches about Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Security (Crossway, 2015)
  • The Singing God (new edition from Passio, 2013)
  • The Beginner’s Guide to Spiritual Gifts (new and expanded edition from Regal, 2013)
  • Kingdom Come: The Amillennial Alternative (Christian Focus, 2013)
  • For the Fame of God’s Name: Essays in Honor of John Piper (edited, together with Justin Taylor, Crossway, 2010).
  • A Sincere and Pure Devotion to Christ: 100 Daily Meditations on 2 Corinthians in 2 volumes (Crossway Publishers, 2010)
  • More Precious than Gold: 50 Daily Meditations on the Psalms (Crossway Publishers, 2009)
  • To the One Who Conquers: 50 Daily Meditations on the Seven Letters of Revelation 2-3 (Crossway Publishers, 2008)
  • The Hope of Glory: 100 Daily Meditations on Colossians (Crossway Publishers, 2008)
  • Signs of the Spirit: An Interpretation of Jonathan Edwards’ ‘Religious Affections’ (Crossway Publishers, 2007)
  • Chosen for Life: The Case for Divine Election (Crossway Publishers, February 2007).
  • Convergence: Spiritual Journeys of a Charismatic Calvinist (Enjoying God Ministries, 2005).
  • One Thing: Developing a Passion for the Beauty of God (Christian Focus Publications, 2004)
  • Pleasures Evermore: The Life-Changing Power of Enjoying God (NavPress, 2000).
  • The Singing God: Discover the Joy of Being Enjoyed by God (Creation House, 1998)
  • “A Third Wave View” in Are Miraculous Gifts for Today? Four Views; ed. by Wayne Grudem (Zondervan, 1996).
  • To Love Mercy: Becoming a Person of Compassion, Acceptance, & Forgiveness (NavPress, 1991).
  • Healing and Holiness: A Biblical Response to the Faith-Healing Phenomenon (Presbyterian & Reformed, 1990).
  • Reaching God’s Ear (Tyndale House, 1988).
  • Chosen for Life: An Introductory Guide to the Doctrine of Divine Election (Baker Book House, 1987).
  • Tragedy in Eden: Original Sin in the Theology of Jonathan Edwards (University Press of America, 1985).
  • The Grandeur of God: A Theological and Devotional Study of the Divine Attributes (Baker Book House, 1984).
  • Revelatory Gifts of the Spirit and the Sufficiency of Scripture: Are They Compatible?” in Scripture and the People of God: Essays in Honor of Wayne Grudem, edited by John DelHousaye, John J. Hughes, and Jeff T. Purswell (Wheaton: Crossway, 2018)
  • When Word Meets Spirit,” in Charisma, Vol. 44, No. 3, October 2018, 34-38.
  • Ephesians 2:20 – The Cessationist’s ‘Go-To’ Text,” in Strangers to Fire: When Tradition Trumps Scripture, edited by Robert W. Graves (Woodstock, GA: The Foundation for Pentecostal Scholarship, 2014), 69-72
  • Why NT Prophecy Does NOT Result in ‘Scripture-Quality’ Revelatory Words (A Response to the Most Frequently Cited Cessationist Argument against the Contemporary Validity of Spiritual Gifts,” in Michael L. Brown, Authentic Fire: A Response to John MacArthur’s Strange Fire (Lake Mary, FL: Excel Publishers, 2014), 377-92.
  • Women in Ministry in the Vineyard, U.S.A.”, in The Journal for Biblical Manhood & Womanhood, Volume 12, Issue 2, Fall 2007, 20-25.
  • “Open Theism in the Hands of an Angry Puritan: Jonathan Edwards on Divine Foreknowledge,” in The Legacy of Jonathan Edwards, edited by D. G. Hart, Sean Michael Lucas, Stephen Nichols (Baker Book House, 2003).
  • “Is Imputation Unjust? Jonathan Edwards on the Problem of Original Sin” in Journal of Reformation & Revival, Volume 12, Number 3, Fall 2003.
  • “Prayer and the Power of Contrary Choice,” in Journal of Reformation & Revival, Volume 12, Number 2, Spring 2003, 53-67.
  • “Fettered but Free: Jonathan Edwards on Freedom of the Will,” in A God-Entranced Vision, edited by John Piper and Justin Taylor (Crossway Books, 2004).
  • “Prayer and Evangelism under God’s Sovereignty,” in The Grace of God, The Bondage of the Will: Biblical and Practical Perspectives on Calvinism, edited by Thomas R. Schreiner and Bruce A. Ware (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1995), pp. 215-31 (recently reprinted in Still Sovereign: Contemporary Perspectives on Election, Foreknowledge, and Grace [Baker, 2000]).
  • “Defining the Elect: A Review Article,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 27 (June 1984): 205-18.
  • “Jonathan Edwards on the Freedom of the Will,” Trinity Journal 3 (Fall 1982): 131-69.
  • Review of The Great Debate: Calvinism, Arminianism and Salvation, by Alan P. F. Sell (Baker), in Trinity Journal 4 (Spring 1983).
  • Review of The Worship of God, by Ralph P. Martin, in Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 26 (December 1983): 458-59.
  • Review of Offense to Reason: A Theology of Sin, by Bernard Ramm, in Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 30 (December 1987): 495-97.
  • “A Tribute to S. Lewis Johnson, Jr.” in Continuity and Discontinuity: Perspectives on the Relationship Between the Old and New Testaments, ed. by John Feinberg (Crossway Books, 1988), pp. 321-23.
  • Brief articles in Decision Magazine, Discipleship Journal.