Dr. J. B. Hixson serves as the President of Not By Works Ministries. He is the author of the books Getting the Gospel Wrong, The Gospel Unplugged, The Great Last Days Deception, Freely By His Grace, and What Lies Ahead, as well as numerous theological journal articles. Dr. Hixson earned his B.A. from Houston Baptist University, Th.M. from Dallas Theological Seminary, and Ph.D. from Baptist Bible Seminary. J.B. and his wife Wendy have been married for 25 years and have six children.
Dr. Hixson's personal pilgrimage in the Christian faith is not unlike many others. He was raised by committed Christian parents who introduced him to the Gospel at a young age. At the age of six, while his family lived in West Virginia, the Holy Spirit brought conviction to his heart through the pastor’s message at a Sunday evening service. He realized that he was a sinner who needed a Savior. Later that night, his father reiterated the Gospel message that the pastor had presented earlier that night. Namely, that Christ took his place on the cross, died for his sin, and rose again. J.B.'s dad led him to faith in Christ that night. He was baptized a short time thereafter in the Baptist church his family attended at the time as a public profession of his faith in Christ alone for eternal life.
Throughout his childhood, J.B.'s family moved numerous times to several cities and states, finally settling in Houston, Texas during his high school years. J.B.'s faith in the Lord grew significantly during this time thanks to the influence of his Christian family and a dynamic Bible-teaching pastor at his home church, Northwest Memorial Baptist Church in Houston, Texas. He devoted his life to full-time Christian ministry in the summer of 1985.
After graduating from high school, he attended Houston Baptist University where he earned a B.A. degree in Spanish and Kinesiology in 1990. As He often does, the Lord used a crisis in his life during college to get J.B.'s attention and teach him many life lessons (Proverbs 15:31). As a result of sophomoric and foolish behavior at the age of twenty, he found himself at the center of a legal struggle that could have adversely impacted his life in a significant way. But thankfully, a gracious judge ultimately dismissed the case against him without any record. This experience redirected his life and led him to Dallas Theological Seminary. This was the fulfillment of a lifelong goal to attend the same seminary that had profoundly impacted his grandfather's life, a pastor himself.
J.B. met his wife Wendy after his first year of seminary at a church where he was doing an internship. They were married a year later. Wendy is an unbelievable blessing in J.B.'s life. Traveling the road of ministry together has been wonderful, challenging, rewarding, at times heart wrenching, and through it all very fruitful. J.B. and Wendy thank the Lord every day for the privilege of serving the Lord through this ministry.
During and after the completion of his Master of Theology degree from Dallas Seminary in 1993, J.B. spent several years in pastoral ministry. Over the years God's hand of blessing has been evident in his ministry, as he served in various pastorates in Illinois and Texas. Eventually, his ministry journey led him into the field of higher education. He spent six years teaching at the college level. Following the completion of his Ph.D. degree from Baptist Bible Seminary in 2007, he moved to the graduate level where he served as a professor and administrator for several more years. Currently, he continues serving on the adjunct faculties of several colleges and seminaries, while traveling with his family for speaking engagements at conferences, churches, and academic institutions.
J.B. and his family have traveled to all 50 states, and J.B. has spoken in more than 500 churches and conferences. They have educated all six of their children at home, where they seek to foster a home and learning environment that makes God's grace and the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ central to all that they do. They spend regular time in prayer and in the Word as a means of discerning the Lord's will and cultivating spiritual growth and family harmony.