Senior Pastor, Christ Covenant Church, Matthews, NC · Professor, Reformed Theological Seminary
The most contemporary preacher in the Hall by corpus era. His theological imagination holds a striking equilibrium: Calvin and C.S. Lewis are his most-cited authors at exactly 20× each — Reformed precision and apologetic imagination in perfect balance. He engages the ancient critic Celsus 12 times — more than most Hall members cite living authors.
Christology leads narrowly over Soteriology, with Bibliology unusually high at #3 (194) — reflecting a preacher whose institutional concern is the authority and sufficiency of Scripture. Ecclesiology at #4 (189) is consistent with a pastor-theologian whose writing ministry has focused heavily on the health of the church.
Analogy leads at 40 — unusual in the Hall where personal story typically dominates. DeYoung is a conceptual preacher who explains by comparison rather than narrating from life. Cultural reference (27) is well-represented, consistent with a pastor who engages the culture of the present moment directly.
"Nearly all the wisdom we possess, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves."
"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen — not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."
Celsus was a 2nd-century Roman philosopher who wrote The True Word — the earliest sustained critique of Christianity on record, preserved largely through Origen's refutation. DeYoung cites him 12 times, more than most Hall members cite living scholars. This is not superficial cultural engagement — it is a preacher who believes the ancient attacks on the faith illuminate the contemporary ones, and that the early church's answers still hold. Justin Martyr at 6× and Chrysostom at 4× round out a pattern of sustained early-church apologetic awareness unique in the Hall.
Calvin and Lewis at exactly 20× each is not a coincidence — it reflects a deliberate theological posture. Calvin gives DeYoung doctrinal architecture; Lewis gives him imaginative permission. The Reformed tradition grounds the sermon; the apologetic tradition opens it to the skeptic. Most Reformed preachers choose one; DeYoung maintains both.
Celsus at 12× is extraordinary. The 2nd-century Roman's attacks on Christianity — that it was credulous, low-class, and incoherent — are strikingly modern in structure. DeYoung's repeated use suggests a conviction that the contemporary church faces the same accusations Origen answered, and that those ancient answers are still sufficient. Early church apologetics as a live preaching resource.
Bibliology at #3 (194) and Ecclesiology at #4 (189) — both unusually high. Peter Drucker at 7× (management theory) and Kathy Keller at 8× (marriage and church) reinforce the pattern: DeYoung is preaching to a congregation he believes needs to be built, organized, and kept. He is a churchman preaching to churchpeople about what the church is and must be.
Analogy leads illustrations at 40 — ahead of personal story (37) — which is unique in the Hall. Most preachers reach first for narrative; DeYoung reaches first for comparison. He explains by saying what something is like, not by telling what happened. Lady Macbeth at 4×, Yogi Berra at 2× — his cultural range is wide, but the mode is consistently comparative rather than narrative.