[The following article, used by permission, was a publication of İBaptist Publishing House, P. O. Box 7270, Texarkana, TX 75505-7270]
D. N. Jackson was ordained to the ministry September 2, 1913. He received his B.A. degree from Jacksonville College, Jacksonville, Texas in 1917. He studied at Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, 1920-21. He did graduate work at Princeton University, 1925-26. His LL.D. degree was conferred by the Missionary Baptist College, Sheridan, Arkansas.
Dr. Jackson was married to Erma Oretus Gilbert on November 9, 1918. Mrs. Jackson is the daughter of the late Dr. C. A. Gilbert who for many years was the business manager of the Baptist Sunday School Committee in Texarkana, Arkansas.
Dr. Jackson was pastor of First Baptist Church, Jefferson, Texas, 1917-1918; County Avenue Baptist Church, Texarkana, 1918-1934 (four years on leave of absence for school studies at Princeton and Chicago). He organized and pastored Central Baptist Church, Texarkana, 1934-1940. He worked during those years with such great men of God as J. T. Moore, H. B. Pender, A. L. Poindexter, C. C. Winters, L. M. Byers, D. L. Hamilton, T. L. Blaylock, E. A. Puthuff, J. W. Brewer, and C. A. Gilbert.
During the twenty-two years he lived in Texarkana, he was Editor-in-Chief of Baptist Sunday School Committee of the American Baptist Association, sometimes writing all of the quarterlies for each grade level for both Sunday School and for Baptist Young Peoples' Training Course, as it was known then. Helping him with that task for many years was his faithful rife, Erma, who also wrote quarterlies, worked in his office, and worked diligently at the job of being a pastor's wife with all of its related chores, responsibilities, and privileges. Dr. Jackson also served as pastor to the Baptist churches in Malta, Texas; Fulton, Arkansas; to Emmanuel Baptist Church, Nashville, Arkansas; and Calvary Baptist Church, Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Dr. Jackson was active in the organization of the American Baptist Association in 1924. He was its President in 1935. He was one of the prominent leaders when the North American Baptist Association (now Baptist Missionary Association of America) was organized in 1950. He played a significant role in the organization and development of the North American Theological Seminary.
Dr. Jackson was widely used as a debater in earlier years, defending the Baptist faith. He was also widely used through the years as an evangelist, special speaker at various Bible conferences, clubs, and associational meetings. He used the radio as a means of spreading the gospel, having a program for many years over several stations. He saw very early the advantage of using the tape ministry. He made several tapes for the Baptist News Service. He was editor and publisher of the "American Baptist," oldest Baptist paper west of the Mississippi from 1934 until his death. The paper was founded in St. Louis in 1875.
In 1940, Dr. Jackson became pastor of Parkview Baptist Church, Laurel Mississippi. The present facilities of that church were erected during his pastorate when both the location and the name of the church were changed from Hickory Grove. It was during that time that Southeastern Baptist College was organized under the leadership of Dr. Jackson. He became its first president.
Dr. Jackson accepted the pastorate of the Park Place Baptist Church, Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1949. There he provided the leadership for purchasing property now known as the Central Baptist College, Conway, Arkansas. He became the first president of that college in 1952.
Dr. Jackson accepted a life-time professorship at the Baptist Missionary Association Theological Seminary at Jacksonville, Texas in 1955. Being one of the first teachers in that school, he remained with the Seminary until 1967. During those years, he pastored Berean Baptist Church, Memphis, Tennessee; Creston Hills Baptist Church, Jackson, Mississippi; Walston Springs Baptist Church, Palestine, Texas; Pine Grove Baptist Church, Diboll, Texas; and First Baptist Church, Mixon, Texas. The latter was his last pastorate.
In 1963, Dr. and Mrs. Jsckson made an extensive trip covering twelve different countries, spending several weeks doing research for his book on Baptist history at Oxford University, Oxford, England and at the British Museum Library and at Spurgeon College Library, both in London, England.
In August of 1967, Dr. and Mrs. Jackson moved to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where he headed the Midwestern Baptist College from 1967 until his death.
At various times throughout his fifty-eight years in the ministry, Dr. Jackson held the office of President, vice-President and Promotional Secretary with the Baptist Missionary Association of America. He chaired numerous committees for them. He was one of the prime movers in the association, helping its growth by encouraging the establishment of the department of Research and Public Relations (now known as Baptist News Service). He was that department's first director.
Among his books are Baptist Searchlight, Baptist Claims Vindicated, Woman's Sphere and Function, Baptist Young People's Manual, The Lord's Supper, Science and the Bible vs. Evolution, Ten Reasons Why I Am a Baptist, Studies in Baptist Church Doctrines and History, The Doctrine of Divine Election, the Cogdill-Jackson Debate, The Jackson-Smith Debate, Our Travels to the Holy Land, Holy Ghost Baptism, Speaking in Tongues, and 52 New Testament Lessons. In addition, there were many pamphlets, tracts, other debate books, and hundreds of expository articles in the "American Baptist." For several years, he wrote lesson comments for The Advancer, a Sunday School magazine published by the Baptist Publications Committee. He was a voluminous writer. At the time of his death, he was writing a textbook on Baptist history and a verse-by-verse commentary of the Bible.
Active until his death, Dr. Jackson was not only editing the "American Baptist," writing books, preaching, president of Midwestern Baptist College, but he was also the Director of Baptist News Service for the Baptist Missionary Association of America, an office he held from its inception.
Dr. and Mrs. Jackson were blessed with three children, T. Sherron, Carrol F., and Ermagene (Mrs. S. T. Sullivan).
Dr. and Mrs. Jackson were parents filled with love for the youth as well as those of other age brackets. They helped many students to secure their formal education, including Dr. Eugene Moore, David Moore, Homer Jackson, and John Olivera of Portugal, a missionary's son.
Dr. Jackson's favorite expression, often quoted at youth camps and to his students, was, "Always let your golden day he ahead." That expression was such a part of Dr. Jackson's philosophy of life and became so familiar to his family, that they had it engraved on the marker which stands at the foot of his grave in the Jacksonville, Texas, cemetery where he was laid to rest on December 3, 1968, after a beautiful service at Jefferson Heights Baptist Church, Oklahoma City, on December 2, 1968, and one at the First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Texas, on December 3, 1968.
On the family marker which stands across the burial plot at the Jacksonville cemetery is the name, "Jackson," engraved in Dr. Jackson's own handwriting, a request made by his daughter since that familiar signature throughout the years had become such a source of strength and comfort to her.
It can be said of Dr. D. N. Jackson that he was a real pioneer in the work of Baptist people, a lifetime friend of man, a pastor, a preacher, a teacher, a defender of the faith, an author, a great man of God who loved his home, his family and "our people," as he so often called the Baptist people with whom he loved to work and to whom he gave a lifetime of work.
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8/15/00
1. The Preface is contained on pages 2-7 of the "hard copy" edition. The current electronic version of the book follows the formatting of the original document as much as possible, especially in the method of documentation and use of bold characters. The original use of indentions at the beginning of paragraphs and in certain other places is not followed. The current document was scanned. Hence, typographical errors associated with such a process are no doubt present. The editor, Philip Bryan, will certainly appreciate readers who notify him about such errors and he asks that they do so.
Since the book was published in 1974 some of the information is not current, and the reader is asked to be cognizant of that fact.
