A Man With A Good Name -- By: Jerry N. Barlow

Journal: Journal for Baptist Theology & Ministry
Volume: JBTM 08:2 (Fall 2011)
Article: A Man With A Good Name
Author: Jerry N. Barlow


A Man With A Good Name

Jerry N. Barlow

Dr. Barlow is Dean of Graduate Studies and Professor of Preaching and Pastoral Work at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

My first interaction with Dr. Dan Holcomb occurred when he was placed on my doctoral committee at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Because he had come to NOBTS in 1979 as a church history professor, I had not had the opportunity to take any of his master’s courses and get to know him that way. Since my doctoral studies involved seminars in the major of preaching and a minor in theology and not history, Dr. Holcomb was a “mystery person” to me. However, as I completed my doctoral oral exam and dissertation defense and responded to his carefully crafted questions, I began to know him as a man to be greatly respected.

Where does respect begin? A very wise man named Solomon wrote, “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches” (Proverbs 22:1, NKJV). Through the years as I have gotten to know Dr. Dan Holcomb, I have come to recognize and respect him as a man with a good name.

Dan Holcomb, as I learned early on, came from a family with a good name. Like me, he was a “Petal boy” (as he called himself). In my hometown of Petal, Mississippi, the Holcomb name was highly regarded—i.e., the Holcombs were “good people” according to those who knew them. As Dan Holcomb grew up, he lived up to the good Holcomb name and that high regard. Solomon also stated that “a good name is better than precious ointment” (Ecclesiastes 7:1). Dan’s early life seemed to be a realization of such, as he became known as a young man with a good name, not just by heritage but by his own conduct and character.

Such also became evident when he came to teach at New Orleans Seminary. When I returned to NOBTS as an Associate Professor sixteen years ago, I came to see that few professors had the respect that Dan Holcomb had earned. Yes, I soon learned that this man with a good name also had been given another name, i.e., “Smoke’em Holcomb.” Both students and faculty spoke somewhat reverently when they referred to Dr. Holcomb with that name. However, the nickname only underscored what I too came to see—i.e., Dan Holcomb was fair but demanding of his students, just as he was of himself as a teacher and scholar.

A television commercial from several years ago made the point that “when E. F. Hutton speaks, everyone listens.” As a new professor at NOBTS, I soon learned that when Dr. Dan Holcomb rose to speak in faculty meetings, everyone listened. Just as he had done in my oral exam and dissertation defense, Dr. Holcomb spoke carefully and thou...

You must have a subscription and be logged in to read the entire article.
Click here to subscribe
visitor : : uid: ()