American theologian and pastor Voddie Baucham has died at the age of 56 following an emergency medical incident.

Baucham was widely known as a Reformed Baptist, or Calvinist, with conservative views on gender and race.

In his early life, he played American football before moving into theology, earning a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

He became Dean of Theology at African Christian University in Lusaka, Zambia, and in the 1990s founded Voddie Baucham Ministries.

He later became president of Founders Ministries, a confessional Calvinistic Baptist organization founded in 1982 to promote “the recovery of the Gospel and the biblical reformation of local churches.” It was established in response to perceived moves toward progressivism in the wider church.

Baucham was an advocate for what he called “Gospel patriarchy,” which he wrote about in his 2009 book What He Must Be: ...If He Wants to Marry My Daughter.

In 2008, he publicly opposed Sarah Palin’s vice-presidential candidacy, arguing she would serve God better at home caring for her five children.

Baucham was also a strong proponent of home education, choosing to homeschool his nine children.

He was vocally opposed to critical race theory, which he argued was rooted in Marxism and opposed to Christianity, instead promoting what he described as “biblical justice.”

In 2021, Baucham suffered a major episode of heart failure. A GoFundMe campaign raised more than a million dollars for his medical expenses.

In a statement, Founders Ministries said their president had “left the land of the dying and entered the land of the living” and was in “the immediate presence of the Savior whom he loved, trusted, and served since he was converted as a college student.”

They requested prayer for Baucham’s wife, Bridget, and the couple’s children and grandchildren.