Van McClain was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. He graduated from Dallas Baptist University in 1974 and followed God’s call to ministry while he was a student there. Dr. McClain went on to graduate from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary with an MDIV in 1977 and a PhD in 1985.  In 2001 he received his Master of Library Science degree from SUNY Albany.

Dr. McClain taught for 30 years in Schenectady, NY, where he was the Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew and the Director of Library Services for the Northeast Campus of Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary. Throughout his ministry career, McClain has served in multiple leadership positions at the associational and convention level, and as the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Dr. McClain recently received the Scholars Award from Northeastern Baptist College. He is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society and has served as the Vice-Chairman and Chairman of the Northeast Region of ETS.