Merlin D. Burt, PhD, is founding director of the integrated Center for Adventist Research at Andrews University, director of the White Estate Branch Office, and professor of Church History at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary. He has been with the Ellen G. White Estate since 1993.

His dissertation examined the development and integration of the Sabbath, sanctuary, and Ellen White’s role in Sabbatarian Adventism between 1844 and 1849. Dr. Burt has published numerous articles and chapters and has served variously as a speaker, editor, and organizer of various conferences and symposiums.

He is author of Adventist Pioneer Places, and is in the process of writing a textbook on the development of Seventh-day Adventist theology. Previous to his academic and administrative appointments, Dr. Burt served as a pastor in Ohio and California in the United States.

He and Sarah, his wife of 35 years, have two grown sons and a teenage daughter in college. They also have two grandchildren. Dr. Burt’s hobbies include collecting Adventist-related materials and woodworking. He has a passion that Seventh-day Adventists connect God’s leading in the past to a personal living Christian experience.