Editorial Introduction: In Honor Of Dan Holcomb -- By: Steve W. Lemke

Journal: Journal for Baptist Theology & Ministry
Volume: JBTM 08:2 (Fall 2011)
Article: Editorial Introduction: In Honor Of Dan Holcomb
Author: Steve W. Lemke


Editorial Introduction: In Honor Of Dan Holcomb

Steve W. Lemke

Dr. Lemke is Provost, Professor of Philosophy and Ethics, occupying the McFarland Chair of Theology,

JBTM Executive Editor, and Director of the Baptist Center for Theology and Ministry at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

“Walk about Zion, And go all around her. Count her towers; Mark well her bulwarks; Consider her palaces; That you may tell it to the generations following” (Psalm 48:13)

One of the responsibilities incumbent on each generation of God’s people is to share with the next generation what God has done among them. The Psalmist reminded the people of his day to tell the generations which followed about the great things God had done in Jerusalem. In the Christian world, we rely heavily on our church historians to remind us what God has done in His church in order to encourage the generations which follow. Dr. Daniel Holcomb is a Church Historian who has faithfully performed this task for many decades.

This issue of the Journal for Baptist Theology and Ministry is a festschrift dedicated to the honor of Dr. Dan Holcomb, Senior Professor and John T. Westbrook Chair of Church History at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Each of the articles is contributed by a person who shares a deep appreciation for the contribution of Dan Holcomb. This issue of the Journal is being co-edited by two of Dan’s colleagues in the Church History department at NOBTS, Rex Butler and Lloyd Harsch. We express our appreciation for their assistance in helping make this festschrift possible.

When I became Provost at NOBTS in 1997, Dr. Dan Holcomb had already served for over twenty years on the faculty at NOBTS, and that was after serving another decade at Oklahoma Baptist University. In my fifteen years on the faculty, I have come to have great respect and appreciation for Dan Holcomb, both as the man and as a scholar. Allow me to share a few of the things we appreciate most about Dan.

First of all, Dan’s prayers are unforgettable. Dan prays with fervor, and yet each word is so aptly chosen that one might imagine that he spent half the day crafting the words that he voiced, even though you knew he was praying without prior notice. Even so, his prayers are not stiff and liturgical, but heartfelt and personal conversations with God.

Dan’s sermons are equally eloquent. He is a wordsmith who paints each sentence richly with color and style. The sermons are works of art, works of a rhetoric often missing in contemporary preaching. The biblical and theological...

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