|
Frequently Asked Questions: Q: What does R. T. stand for? A: Right Theology! My father named me Robert Tillman after his favorite preacher, Dr. R. T. Williams who was General Superintendent of the Church of the Nazarene. He went by his initials and R. T. is all I have known since the day of my birth – July 13, 1935. Q: Why do you not have a British accent? A: I wish I did – I could probably earn an extra $10,000 a year! Our children picked up English accents and my wife Louise can put on more than one kind of British accent. But as for me, you can take a man out of Kentucky but you can’t take the Kentucky out of the man! But I may have lost my pure Kentucky accent. Q: How did you manage to become the Minister of Westminster Chapel in London, England? A: During my third year at Oxford, when I was putting the finishing touches on my thesis, I was invited to preach at Westminster Chapel. Word soon spread that Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones – the Minister from 1938 to 1968 - approved of me and that is what undoubtedly made the people feel safe with me. The bottom line: they asked me to stay and it turned out to be twenty-five years (to the day) – from February 1, 1977 to February 1, 2002. More details of this may be found in my book IN PURSUIT OF HIS GLORY, an account of my twenty-five years at Westminster Chapel. Q: What was it like to follow Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones? A: It wasn’t easy. He was a genius and possibly the greatest preacher in the history of the Christian church – a natural orator and brilliant interpreter of Scripture. Nobody could match him. His influence on the Chapel was profound and it continued long after he went to Heaven. Q: Did you and Dr. Lloyd-Jones have any differences? A: Yes, but not many. There were no theological differences except on the interpretation of two or three passages and I refer to them also in IN PURSUIT OF HIS GLORY. Q: Did he believe in limited atonement? A: Yes, but only just. He knew exactly what I believed regarding this and actually encouraged me – ‘you go on’, he would say - in my view of the atonement, which varied from traditional reformed theology. He loved my thesis which was published by Oxford University Press under the title CALVIN AND ENGLISH CALVINISH TO 1649. Q: What do you believe about limited atonement? A: I believe that Jesus died for everybody without exception but that the blood he shed was applied to God’s elect only and made effectual as a consequence of Christ’s intercession at the Father’s right hand. Dr. Lloyd-Jones was fascinated by this concept but that is not to say he began preaching it himself. I regard myself as a four and a half point Calvinist. Q: Then what differences did the two of you have? A: I think the essential differences between us was my accepting preaching invitations he might not approve of and, probably (though he was not alive to know for sure), my having visiting ministers at Westminster Chapel that he himself would not invite. He was by nature a very conservative person and was uneasy with anything innovative. Q: How close were the two of you? A: We were like father and son for most of the four years I was also his Minister – from 1977 to 1981. Again, see IN PURSUIT OF HIS GLORY. Q: Is it true you and he agreed on the issue of the Holy Spirit? A: We were absolutely at one when it came to the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. He and I bonded over the issue of the immediate and direct witness of the Holy Spirit and the fact that it tended to be separate from and subsequent to conversion. Were it not for this issue, in my opinion, he would not have encouraged my being the minister of Westminster Chapel. ‘I and I alone put you there’, he used to say to me. But I would prefer one to read IN PURSUIT OF HIS GLORY if you have more questions about Dr. Lloyd-Jones and me. Q: How do you spend your time now that you are retired? A: Less fishing than I did when we came to Florida every summer over the previous twenty-five years! We live on Largo Sound in Key Largo, Florida, and someone provided me with a boat and new motor. I try to do a little bonefishing every day or so, but it does not have the hold on me it used to, for some reason. I do a surprising amount of preaching, and am with Charles Carrin and Jack Taylor on the average of once a month holding ‘Word, Spirit, Power[‘ Conferences. I still write a lot. Q: How many books have you written? A: It depends how you count them since a couple of them (e.g. THE WORD AND SPIRIT with Paul Cain) have a joint authorship. But by the time all is published that I have edited or written it will be over forty. Q: How does your wife Louise spend her time? A: She travels with me nearly everywhere I go. She takes a few speaking invitations. She doesn’t care for fishing! She is an avid reader, helps me answer emails, shops in Miami as often as she can and loves sitting on the porch swing with me overlooking beautiful Largo Sound. Q: Can you describe your children?
A: Our son (Robert Tillman II) whom we call T.R is married to
Annette who is an RN. They live in Miami Florida. T.R. is a computer whiz so I am blessed to have
him help me with our website. Our daughter Melissa is single
and lives in the Dallas, Texas area and works as Associate
Producer to Joni Lamb on Daystar Television. © RT
Kendall Ministries 2006 |
||
 |
|
