Dr. Christian was educated at Bethel College, Russellville, Ky., and was strongly influenced there by Dr. W. W. Gardner. In June, 1876, he graduated from that college with a Bachelor's Degree. In 1880, he earned his Master of Arts degree from Bethel, and in 1888 the college conferred on him the honorary title of Doctor of Divinity. In 1898, Keachie College, La., honored him with the title LL.D. He was well known for his skills both as a debater and as a prolific and gifted author.
He became pastor in Tupelo, Miss., beginning in 1877, and served that church two years. He was afterward pastor of Sardis (Miss.) Church, and from there he moved to the First Baptist Church of Chattanooga, Tenn., beginning in March, 1883. After pastoring there for three years, he next became Secretary of Missions for Mississippi Baptists. In 1893, beginning June 1, he became pastor of the historic East Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky. Later he pastored churches in Arkansas.
In 1919, he became Professor of Church History at the Baptist Bible Institute, New Orleans, Louisiana (renamed the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in 1946). He played a major role in the controversies surrounding the restorationist views of Baptist history taught by William Heath Whitsitt (see The Whitsitt Controversy) in the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary of Louisville, Kentucky. He wrote extensive rebuttals to Whitsitt's works and eventually published a history of the Baptists written from a secessionist's perspective.
The John T. Christian Library of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary is named in his honor. According to the Seminary, "The basic collection came from the library of the outstanding church historian, John T. Christian, who was the first librarian of the seminary. He gave the school his personal library of 18,000 volumes when he joined the faculty in 1919. His personal papers are housed in the Archives at the John T. Christian Library, on campus at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
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