Opening the Old Testament

by Perkins Center for Preaching Excellence on Wednesday, May 15, 2024

Opening the Old Testament with Dr. John C. Holbert

John C. Holbert, Lois Craddock Perkins Professor of Homiletics Emeritus, Perkins School of Theology, earned his B.A. degree from Grinnell College, the M. Div. from Perkins, and a Ph.D. in Old Testament Studies from SMU. After serving a church in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and teaching religion at Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth, Professor Holber joined the Perkins faculty in 1979 as a teacher of the Old Testament. He began to teach preaching in 1984 and was named to the Lois Craddock Perkins Chair in Homiletics in 1997. An ordained elder in The United Methodist Church, Dr. Holbert has served as interim senior minister of the First United Methodist Church in both Fort Worth and Dallas. He is past president of the Academy of Homiletics and, for several years, served as co-editor of the journal Homiletic, the journal of the Academy of Homiletics. He has written extensively in his field, has preached and lectured throughout the world, and has written and sung opera.

Retiring from Perkins in 2012, Dr. Holbert continues to be a sought-after speaker and teacher, and the author of the popular weekly blog “Opening the O.T.” for the Perkins Center for Preaching Excellence at SMU. We are indeed fortunate that he shares his gift of knowledge with preachers each week! Thank you, Dr. Holbert!

Works by Dr. Holbert:

Preaching the O.T.: Proclamation and Narrative in the Hebrew Bible

Preaching Job

Preaching Creation: The Environment and the Pulpit

What Not to Say: Avoiding the Common Mistakes that can Sink Your Sermon (with Alyce McKenzie)

The Ten Commandments

Holy Root, Holy Branches: Christian Preaching from the Old Testament

Telling the Whole Story: Reading and Preaching O.T. Stories

King Saul: A Novel