R. C. Sproul had a “John Calvin mind with a Billy Graham reach” (p. 125). This is biographer Nate Pickowicz’s assessment of Sproul’s impact, and it is a perceptive one. One would be hard-pressed to find a Reformed believer today for whom Sproul did not play some role in his or her growth as a Christian. Pickowicz writes, “Sproul was this generation’s champion and defender of the Reformed faith” (p. 3). This might sound like an overstatement, but who would come second to him? It is probably accurate to identify Sproul as the Calvinistic statesman of the past generation. If you are like the present reviewer, you may not have met him in person, but you have spent hundreds of hours gleaning knowledge and wisdom through cassette tapes, radio, or the internet. To help us get to know the man, Pickowicz has written a highly accessible biography of the late doyen of contemporary Reformed theology, and I would recommend it to all who wish to better understand Sproul and his influence.

The first two chapters of this volume tell the story of the first three decades of Sproul’s life and focus on his upbringing and education. Pickowicz then frames the remainder of the book utilizing this striking insight: over a period of fifty years, Sproul engaged in five controversies, each decade corresponding to one of the five solas of the Reformation. In the 1970s, Sproul “led the Evangelical charge for the inerrancy and authority of the Bible” (p. 2), a defense of sola scriptura. The 1980s saw his attention turn to sola gratia as he penned The Holiness of God and Chosen by God. The 1990s were the years in which he fought for the centrality of sola fide to the gospel—his most costly battle from a personal standpoint—combatting the ECT (Evangelicals and Catholics Together) movement. The decade of the 2000s brought him back into the pastorate (he served as an assistant pastor early in his career), during which he contended for pure worship (sola Christus). The final decade of his life, truncated by his passing, was a busy season of founding a Bible college, writing books, and publishing music, all for the glory of God (soli Deo gloria).

The value of this book is that it is an ideal introduction to understanding Sproul’s life. One can breeze through its 130 pages in a couple of sittings. Pickowicz writes well and hits the most noteworthy points of this impactful life. Given its brevity, the book limits itself to Sproul’s public ministry and doctrinal battles (p. 3).

I would, however, mention a few drawbacks. First, this is not a critical biography but tends toward hagiography. There is no hint of anything negative or critical, and, ironically, Sproul would be the first to admit he was an imperfect sinner. For example, it is disappointing that Pickowicz neglected to comment on one unseemly matter concerning Sproul’s credentials. Although Sproul never earned a doctorate, he nevertheless accepted the appellation “Doctor’” throughout his ministry. On page 33, Pickowicz mentions that Sproul never earned the degree but does not explain why he was, and is, universally known as “Dr. R. C. Sproul.” Sproul was conferred an honorary doctorate much later in life, but in academia, it is considered inappropriate to call oneself a “Doctor” after receiving an honorary degree. It is unfortunate that this hero of the Reformed faith was guilty of credential inflation. Even our heroes have warts. A sentence or two of reproof would not have been out of line.

Another shortcoming is that the author appears to have drawn almost all his information about Sproul from the latter’s writings. Eighty percent of the footnotes come from Sproul’s publications, and none explicitly originated from primary source interviews. In the acknowledgments section, he refers to “conversations and correspondence” (p. 131) with Sproul’s wife, Vesta, and R. C. Sproul Jr., but nowhere does this material appear in the footnotes. While not fatal to a brief biography, this feature could have strengthened the book.

Stephen Nichols’s superb 400-page biography of Sproul [R. C. Sproul: A Life (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2021)] was published as Pickowicz was writing this shorter treatment. Pickowicz’s work is certainly eclipsed in comprehensiveness and magnitude by Nichols, but it is nevertheless worth your time.