Richard Albert Mohler, Jr. was born in October, 1959 in Lakeland, Florida. He attended Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida as a Faculty Scholar. He received a B.A. from Samford University, a private, co-educational Baptist-affiliated college in Birmingham, Alabama. His graduate degrees, M.Div. and Ph.D. in Systematic and Historical Theology, were conferred by Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. His 1989 dissertation was entitled, ‘Evangelical Theology and Karl Barth: Representative Models of Response.’ He joined the staff of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky in 1983 as Coordinator of Foundation Support. In 1987 he became Director of Capital Funding, a post he held until 1989. While still a student he served as assistant to then-President Roy Honeycutt.
In February 1993, Mohler was appointed ninth President of the Seminary by the board of trustees, succeeding Roy Honeycutt. The seminary soon saw a wholesale shift towards conservative theology (characterized by Mohler as a move toward ‘confessional fidelity’) and a rapid exodus (both voluntary and compulsory) of more than 60 percent of the faculty. In addition to his presidential duties, Mohler hosts two radio programmes and writes a popular blog and a regular commentary on moral, cultural and theological issues. His mission is to address contemporary issues from a consistent and explicit Christian worldview. He is married to the former Mary Kahler, and they have two children, Katie and Christopher. He is the author of numerous books and articles, including the Trust’s booklet Preaching: The Centrality of Scripture.