No, not the E.T. or the J.P. that first come to mind. That’s E.T. as in Thompson, and J.P. as in Price.
‘Tis no small thing to try to fill the shoes of E.T. Thompson. Ernest Trice Thompson and his partner, Aubrey Brown, took over the Presbyterians of the South newspaper and turned it into The Presbyterian Outlook in April 1954. In the years that followed Thompson collected articles, edited them, wrote editorials, and wrote Sunday School lessons — and did all that every week.
After E.T.’s retirement, others followed. Aubrey Brown continued the editing. Then came George Laird Hunt, then Robert Bullock, then Ben Sparks (as interim), then yours truly. All of us have collected and edited others’ work. Each of us has written weekly editorials. In the process, each has continued to present sound reporting plus a thoughtful, prophetic influence in the church.
None of us has also written weekly Bible studies. Rather, we have recruited others to do so.
In effect, we editors have tried to fill only one of E.T.’s shoes. The other shoe has been filled by a biblical scholar, or to be exact, a collection of biblical scholars.
The Outlook has presented a variety of excellent Bible studies: seasonal devotional studies, such as Kenneth Bailey’s Lenten series (see p. 15); the monthly Horizons Bible study resource written by Rosalind Banbury and used by hundreds of women’s circles; and the Uniform International Lessons, fully 52 a year.
The UIL series is not used as widely as it once was. That is a shame — especially when you consider that quality of exegetical and expository work that has been done in the Outlook — beginning with E.T. Thompson, and continuing to this day.
The two scholars who have continued that tradition in recent years, feeding the Outlook’s readers’ hunger for Biblical study, have been W. Eugene March, retired Old Testament professor from Louisville, and James J.H. Price.
This week we say a sad farewell to Jim. His credentials are impressive. Since 1965 he has served as professor of religious studies at Lynchburg College. From 1995 to 1999 Dr. Price was the John Franklin East Distinguished Professor of the Humanities at the college. In 2006 he received the T.A. Abbott Award for Faculty Excellence. He also has written exegetical studies for Lectionary Homiletics.
Jim began writing for the Outlook nearly two decades ago. From 1989-1991 he prepared the Horizons Bible Study helps. Then in 1991, Robert Bullock convinced him to take on the task of preparing the UIL Bible study helps, and he has continued doing so ever since. His studies have been packed with content, have been carefully crafted, and have enriched the understanding of countless thousands.
Now other projects are begging for his attention, so he has asked us to find a successor.
We have secured the skills and efforts of Laurie Wheeler, a Presbyterian pastor and a Ph.D. candidate in New Testament studies at the University of Durham in England. We’ll tell you more about her when her first study appears in a few months.
In the meantime we say a heartfelt “Thank you” and a “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” to Jim.
And, we thank Jim for reminding us of who we are.
In a world where some other denominational traditions have been dubbed “Bible thumpers,” we more soft-spoken Presbyterians still are people of the Book. We are avid readers, avid students of Scripture. And when we do Bible study, we often do it well. We in The Presbyterian Outlook family feel a deep sense of satisfaction for the way we have been able to foster such biblical study, indeed, for the thoughtful contributions of the many scholars … from E.T. to J.P. … who have left behind big shoes to fill.
— JHH
