Robert A. Pyne

Visit this professor's page

Dr. Bob Pyne stands at the lectern with a simple ease. His tone never nervous or raucous, his demeanor relaxed and informal. Not reflective of a life upset by twists and turns as God revealed his good but sometimes strange providence.

Truly, Bob Pyne’s life has been a tapestry of God’s unexpected design. From an early age God engaged Bob. In an overflow room at Scottsdale Bible Church at the age of 10, he accepted Christ as his personal savior. By the end of high school he had a growing desire for God’s will and his place within the providence of God.

“I was so serious about God’s will that I literally prayed about what clothes to wear. I look back at those pictures and I think: Yeah right! He had a really good sense of humor about my green polyester pants.”

God’s providence appeared more clearly when Bob met his bride-to-be, Julie Stanger. Their story began one September morning at an Arizona State park bench, where Bob presented a pleasant diversion to a studious yet bored Julie. “I’m glad her homework was boring.” smiles Dr. Pyne. Three years later they were married. With a degree in communication and influence from Campus Crusade, Bob believed the mission field was his next step when he and Julie headed to Dallas Theological Seminary for training.

While Bob was completing his ThM, Julie played professional golf on the LPGA tour. The Pynes enjoyed seeing the country every summer when Bob caddied for Julie during his break from classes. Golf provided her with a challenging and rewarding career, but Julie always felt that it was something of a stewardship. God had given her an unusual ability for golf, it seemed, and she and Bob both thought she should develop it to the full. Julie played on the tour for seven years, choosing to retire after she had given it her “best shot.” The Pynes realized at the time that the same gifts of patience and tenacity that made Julie a champion golfer could be used to glorify God in other pursuits, but they had no way of knowing exactly what the next stage of life would bring.

In 1986, while Bob was starting his doctoral studies, their first son Stephen was born. His entrance into their lives introduced something unexpected for the Pynes, as Steve had Down Syndrome. Given Steve’s many medical needs, Bob and Julie recognized that they would not be teaching on the mission field as they had expected. As one mission agency told them, “This is the sort of thing that makes missionaries go home.” That is no longer always the case, but it was true for the Pynes. They would be staying in the United States.

But God did have another plan. Bob began to work with Probe Ministries as a research associate, and Lanier Burns invited him to join the theology department at Dallas Theological Seminary in 1990. As professor of theological studies, Bob has enjoyed a dynamic ministry in which the mission field has, in a sense, come to him. “I have found myself at a widely diverse place here at DTS. I am engaging people theologically in a community context. My conclusion is you need to think expansively and not limit yourself.”

And so he has not. He has enjoyed an engaging life teaching. He finds great satisfaction in relationships with students and interns who travel with him. He has also been given the privilege to go abroad and teach in countries like Ukraine and India. 

Bob and Julie have now lived in Dallas rather unexpectedly for 23 years. In addition to Steve, who is now 17, their family includes 15-year-old Danny, 12-year-old Ben, and 10-year-old Becky. (For those who may be wondering, none of the children, are golfers, though they have apparently been given every opportunity!)

With these events coloring the life of Dr. Bob Pyne, his view of God’s providence has sharpened as he gives a striking definition of God’s character.  “In God’s goodness and sovereignty, he oversees everything, such that nothing comes to pass except that which he has purposed—and you don’t know what it is until it goes by—but you know ahead of time that you will never be cut off from the goodness and kindness of God.”

This profile was written by Kevin McGill, a current Th.M. student.