H. Dale Jackson
Encyclopedia
Reverend Dr. H. Dale Jackson (7 December 1930 – 15 February 2003) was a Baptist
minister, denominational leader and ethicist
. He is most remembered for his efforts in promoting the historic distinctives
of the Baptist
faith; among those being the ideals of absolute separation of church and state
, the authority of the Holy Scriptures, the autonomy of the local church, the priesthood of the individual
, perseverance of the saints
and the ordinances of believer's baptism by immersion and Holy Communion. For twenty years, he served as Senior Pastor
of the Overland Baptist Church in St. Louis, Missouri
.
language and Roman Period
Palestinian
culture. Having exhaustively studied the New Testament
in this context, he emphatically believed that the Holy Bible was not intended to be casually read or taken as literally inerrant, but rather to be considered and studied for its broader message. His beliefs regarding separation of church and government
, social responsibility
, the equality of men and women in the church and a woman's right to choose an abortion
put him at odds with fundamentalist Southern Baptist leadership, and he was sometimes ridiculed by colleagues.
He did not preach on morals or lecture about the faults of people; rather, his sermons and writings focused on the forgiveness
of God
through Jesus Christ, and he encouraged listeners to 'forgive themselves', since God had forgiven them. During an era when many evangelical theologians considered the message of the Gospel
to be exclusive, he preached a Gospel of inclusion for all people. In his last years, he devoted his time to study and contemplation of Scripture and became increasingly universalist in his theology, in a similar fashion as fellow Baptist, Rev. Dr. Billy Graham
.
Jackson understood the Biblical role of Pastor
to be one of leadership, instruction and authority. Rather than unleash ideas that might be perceived by some as radical or unconventional, he chose to make changes gradually, through teaching, hermeneutics, exegetical
preaching and pastoral counseling.
, in rural southwestern Missouri
. Jackson's ancestry included English
, Scotch-Irish, French Acadian
(Louisiana 'Cajun
') and Missouri Sioux
. His forebears came to what is now Missouri
in 1796, when the land was still under the rule of Spain
. The religious preferences of his immediate ancestry were Baptist
, Methodist and Disciples of Christ. His great-great-grandfather, the Rev. Jason E. Dunton, was a Methodist minister who had been excommunicated for practicing Spiritualism
and lecturing on socialism
in the late 19th century.
Jackson's parents were tenant farmers during the Great Depression
and the Dust Bowl
. His father, who led congregational singing
in the church, had been raised in the rural Southern Missionary Baptist tradition; his mother, a Sunday School
teacher, had converted to that faith in childhood. Jackson was baptised into the First Baptist Church of Stotts City, Missouri
, at the age of nine.
Jackson's life-long appreciation for the outdoors stemmed from his experiences growing up in the rural Ozarks. He attended Stotts City School and Mt. Vernon High School and married Frances Reinsmith. They had four children.
Jackson had planned to become a cattle
rancher, but made a decision to enter the ministry at the age of twenty. He was ordained at the First Baptist Church of Joplin, Missouri
in November, 1951. He received degrees from Southwest Baptist University
and Ouachita Baptist University
, and did graduate studies at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
. He was a member of Alpha Kappa, an academic sociological fraternity
. He received a Doctor of Sacred Theology
degree from Southwest Baptist University
, a Doctor of Humane Letters
degree from Missouri Baptist University
and was honored by William Jewell College
with a Walter Pope Binns fellowship and election to the Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Society.
In his later years, he spent time in Great Britain
on a study fellowship with Missouri Baptist University, visiting the sites of early Baptist martyrdom and gathering data on the history of the English Baptists.
, 1956–1957 and the Eagle Heights Baptist Church in Harrison, Arkansas
, 1957–1967. During the early part of the Cold War
era of the mid 1950s through the early 1960s, Jackson was in demand as an after-dinner speaker. One of his topics was the threat of Communism
.
, to take leadership of that congregation following Roberts' eventual retirement. In March, 1967, Jackson informed the South Highland Baptist Church in Little Rock of his intention to accept the position of senior pastor there.
Having been contacted previously by the search committee at the Overland Baptist Church in St. Louis, Missouri
, Jackson called the Overland church to inform them of his decision. The committee chairman responded by telling Jackson that he was the only candidate that they were considering, and if he took the position in Little Rock, the Overland church would wait until he made himself available to them again. Jackson reconsidered, and in May, 1967, he accepted the position of senior pastor of the Overland church, following the twenty-year ministry of Dr. David W. Jones. Health problems forced Jackson into an early retirement in May, 1987.
, first vice-president and member of the Executive Board, Missouri Baptist Convention, president of the board of trustees of Missouri Baptist University, co-founder of the Metro St. Louis Police Chaplain's Association, chaplain
of the Overland, Missouri Police Department, Sheriff's Deputy and Chaplain, Boone County, Arkansas
,and co-founder, Operation Food Search.
In the early 1980s, observing the Southern Baptist Convention's
shift from a moderate and tolerant theological position to a rigid fundamentalism
, he was a founding member of the SBC Forum. In 1986, in further response, he organized a group of St. Louis-area pastors that later became the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Missouri.
Due to Jackson's widespread ecumenical work, the interdenominational Ritenour Ministerial Alliance of the communities of northwest St. Louis County
named him lifetime "Bishop of Overland" at his retirement. He received citations from Americans United for Separation of Church and State
, the American Legion
, the Christian Life Commission of the Missouri Baptist Convention and other organizations for his statewide leadership in moral and ethical issues, Christian citizenship, and separation of church and state. His printed and taped sermons and Bible studies
have been circulated worldwide.
In 1989, the Overland Baptist Church bestowed upon him the title, Pastor Emeritus
. The church's sanctuary
building and a ministerial scholarship
at William Jewell College
are named in honor of Dr. and Mrs. Jackson.
He gained considerable notoriety for the black suits and solid black ties he wore every day. Once, while waiting in the Nashville
airport, a Baptist magazine editor mistook singer Johnny Cash
for Jackson.
Jackson was an experienced boater
and avid fisherman
who relished angling
for rainbow trout
in the lakes of southern Missouri and northwestern Arkansas. He was also an expert marksman
and enjoyed hunting
for quail
and small game. He especially liked to hunt or fish
with family and friends, and prepare the game for dinner for a number of guests. During the early years of his residence in Harrison, Arkansas, he was a member of the Lions Club.
Jackson once recalled for his family an occasion of being a featured speaker at a statewide youth event in Little Rock, Arkansas
in the early 1960s, where he counseled a teenaged Bill Clinton
. He remembered the profound impression made by the young man. He met and maintained friendships with people from all walks of life, whether they shared his religious beliefs or not.
and tobacco
user during his early adulthood, although he was able to quit cigarettes "cold turkey
". In 1965, he underwent surgery
at Baptist Hospital in Little Rock, AR to remove a large tumor
in his sinus
cavity. It was during this hospitalization that he was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis
(RA), which moved out of remission about ten years later. The disease eventually became systemic and subsequently contributed to a heart condition
and polyneuropathy
. He spent his last fifteen years in and out of hospitals, finally receiving hospice
care at his home in Sycamore Hills, Missouri
. In February, 2003, he became unresponsive. In accordance with his wishes, he was taken off all medications and died peacefully three days later, on February 15, 2003. Jackson was given police honors at his funeral at the Overland Baptist Church.
– Rector Paula M. Jackson, older daughter of H. Dale Jackson
Actress Jacqui Jackson – granddaughter of H. Dale Jackson
Actor Don Johnson
– fourth cousin of H. Dale Jackson
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
minister, denominational leader and ethicist
Ethicist
An ethicist is one whose judgment on ethics and ethical codes has come to be trusted by a specific community, and is expressed in some way that makes it possible for others to mimic or approximate that judgement...
. He is most remembered for his efforts in promoting the historic distinctives
of the Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
faith; among those being the ideals of absolute separation of church and state
Separation of church and state
The concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state....
, the authority of the Holy Scriptures, the autonomy of the local church, the priesthood of the individual
Priesthood of all believers
The universal priesthood or the priesthood of all believers, as it would come to be known in the present day, is a Christian doctrine believed to be derived from several passages of the New Testament...
, perseverance of the saints
Perseverance of the saints
Perseverance of the saints, as well as the corollary—though distinct—doctrine known as "Once Saved, Always Saved", is a Calvinist teaching that once persons are truly saved they can never lose their salvation....
and the ordinances of believer's baptism by immersion and Holy Communion. For twenty years, he served as Senior Pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
of the Overland Baptist Church in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
.
Beliefs and philosophy
Jackson was a scholar of the ancient GreekAncient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
language and Roman Period
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
Palestinian
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
culture. Having exhaustively studied the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
in this context, he emphatically believed that the Holy Bible was not intended to be casually read or taken as literally inerrant, but rather to be considered and studied for its broader message. His beliefs regarding separation of church and government
Separation of church and state
The concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state....
, social responsibility
Social responsibility
Social responsibility is an ethical ideology or theory that an entity, be it an organization or individual, has an obligation to act to benefit society at large. Social responsibility is a duty every individual or organization has to perform so as to maintain a balance between the economy and the...
, the equality of men and women in the church and a woman's right to choose an abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
put him at odds with fundamentalist Southern Baptist leadership, and he was sometimes ridiculed by colleagues.
He did not preach on morals or lecture about the faults of people; rather, his sermons and writings focused on the forgiveness
Forgiveness
Forgiveness is typically defined as the process of concluding resentment, indignation or anger as a result of a perceived offense, difference or mistake, or ceasing to demand punishment or restitution. The Oxford English Dictionary defines forgiveness as 'to grant free pardon and to give up all...
of God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
through Jesus Christ, and he encouraged listeners to 'forgive themselves', since God had forgiven them. During an era when many evangelical theologians considered the message of the Gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
to be exclusive, he preached a Gospel of inclusion for all people. In his last years, he devoted his time to study and contemplation of Scripture and became increasingly universalist in his theology, in a similar fashion as fellow Baptist, Rev. Dr. Billy Graham
Billy Graham
William Franklin "Billy" Graham, Jr. is an American evangelical Christian evangelist. As of April 25, 2010, when he met with Barack Obama, Graham has spent personal time with twelve United States Presidents dating back to Harry S. Truman, and is number seven on Gallup's list of admired people for...
.
Jackson understood the Biblical role of Pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
to be one of leadership, instruction and authority. Rather than unleash ideas that might be perceived by some as radical or unconventional, he chose to make changes gradually, through teaching, hermeneutics, exegetical
Exegesis
Exegesis is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially a religious text. Traditionally the term was used primarily for exegesis of the Bible; however, in contemporary usage it has broadened to mean a critical explanation of any text, and the term "Biblical exegesis" is used...
preaching and pastoral counseling.
Early life and education
Herman Dale Jackson was the third son of Herman William and Annie Rachel Dunton Jackson, born December 7, 1930 near ChesapeakeChesapeake, Missouri
Chesapeake is an unincorporated community in Lawrence County, Missouri, United States. It is located on Route 174 about five miles east of Mount Vernon. A couple of businesses and a few houses are located there. The state also maintains a fish hatchery there....
, in rural southwestern Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. Jackson's ancestry included English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
, Scotch-Irish, French Acadian
Acadian
The Acadians are the descendants of the 17th-century French colonists who settled in Acadia . Acadia was a colony of New France...
(Louisiana 'Cajun
Cajun
Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles...
') and Missouri Sioux
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
. His forebears came to what is now Missouri
Missouri Territory
The Territory of Missouri was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 4, 1812 until August 10, 1821, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Missouri.-History:...
in 1796, when the land was still under the rule of Spain
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803. The U.S...
. The religious preferences of his immediate ancestry were Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
, Methodist and Disciples of Christ. His great-great-grandfather, the Rev. Jason E. Dunton, was a Methodist minister who had been excommunicated for practicing Spiritualism
Spiritualism
Spiritualism is a belief system or religion, postulating the belief that spirits of the dead residing in the spirit world have both the ability and the inclination to communicate with the living...
and lecturing on socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
in the late 19th century.
Jackson's parents were tenant farmers during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
and the Dust Bowl
Dust Bowl
The Dust Bowl, or the Dirty Thirties, was a period of severe dust storms causing major ecological and agricultural damage to American and Canadian prairie lands from 1930 to 1936...
. His father, who led congregational singing
Christian worship
In Christianity, worship is adoration and contemplation of God.-Overview:Throughout most of Christianity's history, corporate Christian worship has been primarily liturgical, characterized by prayers and hymns, with texts rooted in, or closely related to, the Scripture, particularly the Psalter;...
in the church, had been raised in the rural Southern Missionary Baptist tradition; his mother, a Sunday School
Sunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
teacher, had converted to that faith in childhood. Jackson was baptised into the First Baptist Church of Stotts City, Missouri
Stotts City, Missouri
Stotts City is a city in Lawrence County, Missouri, United States. The population was 250 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Stotts City is located at ....
, at the age of nine.
Jackson's life-long appreciation for the outdoors stemmed from his experiences growing up in the rural Ozarks. He attended Stotts City School and Mt. Vernon High School and married Frances Reinsmith. They had four children.
Jackson had planned to become a cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
rancher, but made a decision to enter the ministry at the age of twenty. He was ordained at the First Baptist Church of Joplin, Missouri
Joplin, Missouri
Joplin is a city in southern Jasper County and northern Newton County in the southwestern corner of the US state of Missouri. Joplin is the largest city in Jasper County, though it is not the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 50,150...
in November, 1951. He received degrees from Southwest Baptist University
Southwest Baptist University
Southwest Baptist University is a private institute of higher education affiliated with the Missouri Baptist Convention which is part of the Southern Baptist Convention. In 2003 there were approximately 3,600 students attending at one of SBU's four Missouri, United States campuses in Bolivar,...
and Ouachita Baptist University
Ouachita Baptist University
Ouachita Baptist University is a private, liberal arts, undergraduate institution located in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, which is about 65 miles southwest of Little Rock. The university's name is taken from the Ouachita River, which forms the eastern campus boundary. It is affiliated with the Arkansas...
, and did graduate studies at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, is a private, non-profit institution of higher education, associated with the Southern Baptist Convention...
. He was a member of Alpha Kappa, an academic sociological fraternity
Fraternity
A fraternity is a brotherhood, though the term usually connotes a distinct or formal organization. An organization referred to as a fraternity may be a:*Secret society*Chivalric order*Benefit society*Friendly society*Social club*Trade union...
. He received a Doctor of Sacred Theology
Doctor of Sacred Theology
The Doctor of Sacred Theology is the final theological degree in the pontifical university system of the Catholic Church....
degree from Southwest Baptist University
Southwest Baptist University
Southwest Baptist University is a private institute of higher education affiliated with the Missouri Baptist Convention which is part of the Southern Baptist Convention. In 2003 there were approximately 3,600 students attending at one of SBU's four Missouri, United States campuses in Bolivar,...
, a Doctor of Humane Letters
Doctor of Humane Letters
The degree of Doctor of Humane Letters is always conferred as an honorary degree, usually to those who have distinguished themselves in areas other than science, government, literature or religion, which are awarded degrees of Doctor of Science, Doctor of Laws, Doctor of Letters, or Doctor of...
degree from Missouri Baptist University
Missouri Baptist University
Missouri Baptist University is a private evangelical Christian, coeducational university located in western St. Louis County in Creve Coeur Missouri. In August 2002, the Missouri Baptist College was officially renamed Missouri Baptist University...
and was honored by William Jewell College
William Jewell College
William Jewell College is a private, four-year liberal arts college of 1,100 undergraduate students located in Liberty, Missouri, U.S. It was founded in 1849 by members of the Missouri Baptist Convention and other civic leaders, including Robert S. James, a Baptist minister and father of the...
with a Walter Pope Binns fellowship and election to the Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Charles Spurgeon
Charles Haddon Spurgeon was a large British Particular Baptist preacher who remains highly influential among Christians of different denominations, among whom he is still known as the "Prince of Preachers"...
Society.
In his later years, he spent time in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
on a study fellowship with Missouri Baptist University, visiting the sites of early Baptist martyrdom and gathering data on the history of the English Baptists.
Pastoral career and beyond
Jackson pastored churches in rural southwestern Missouri and southern Arkansas while in college. After college, and while continuing his seminary education, he served as pastor of the First Baptist Church of Des Arc, ArkansasDes Arc, Arkansas
Des Arc is a city in and the county seat of the northern district of Prairie County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 1,933 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Des Arc is located at ....
, 1956–1957 and the Eagle Heights Baptist Church in Harrison, Arkansas
Harrison, Arkansas
Harrison is a city in Boone County, Arkansas, United States. It is the county seat. According to 2007 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city was 13,108. Boone County was organized in 1869, during reconstruction after the civil war. Harrison was platted and made the county seat. It is...
, 1957–1967. During the early part of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
era of the mid 1950s through the early 1960s, Jackson was in demand as an after-dinner speaker. One of his topics was the threat of Communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
.
Overland Baptist Church
According to family recollection, Jackson was being groomed by Dr. Paul Roberts, senior pastor of the First Baptist Church of Little Rock, ArkansasLittle Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
, to take leadership of that congregation following Roberts' eventual retirement. In March, 1967, Jackson informed the South Highland Baptist Church in Little Rock of his intention to accept the position of senior pastor there.
Having been contacted previously by the search committee at the Overland Baptist Church in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, Jackson called the Overland church to inform them of his decision. The committee chairman responded by telling Jackson that he was the only candidate that they were considering, and if he took the position in Little Rock, the Overland church would wait until he made himself available to them again. Jackson reconsidered, and in May, 1967, he accepted the position of senior pastor of the Overland church, following the twenty-year ministry of Dr. David W. Jones. Health problems forced Jackson into an early retirement in May, 1987.
Denominational and Ecumenical Leadership
In denominational work, Jackson served as moderator of the Northwest Arkansas Baptist Pastor's Conference, on various committees of the Southern Baptist ConventionSouthern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention is a United States-based Christian denomination. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination and the largest Protestant body in the United States, with over 16 million members...
, first vice-president and member of the Executive Board, Missouri Baptist Convention, president of the board of trustees of Missouri Baptist University, co-founder of the Metro St. Louis Police Chaplain's Association, chaplain
Chaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
of the Overland, Missouri Police Department, Sheriff's Deputy and Chaplain, Boone County, Arkansas
Boone County, Arkansas
Boone County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 36,903. The county seat is Harrison. Boone County is Arkansas's 62nd county, formed on April 9, 1869. Boone County is part of the Harrison Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:Boone County...
,and co-founder, Operation Food Search.
In the early 1980s, observing the Southern Baptist Convention's
Southern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention is a United States-based Christian denomination. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination and the largest Protestant body in the United States, with over 16 million members...
shift from a moderate and tolerant theological position to a rigid fundamentalism
Fundamentalism
Fundamentalism is strict adherence to specific theological doctrines usually understood as a reaction against Modernist theology. The term "fundamentalism" was originally coined by its supporters to describe a specific package of theological beliefs that developed into a movement within the...
, he was a founding member of the SBC Forum. In 1986, in further response, he organized a group of St. Louis-area pastors that later became the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Missouri.
Due to Jackson's widespread ecumenical work, the interdenominational Ritenour Ministerial Alliance of the communities of northwest St. Louis County
St. Louis County, Missouri
St. Louis County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. Its county seat is Clayton. St. Louis County is part of the St. Louis Metro Area wherein the independent City of St. Louis and its suburbs in St. Louis County, as well as the surrounding counties in both Missouri and Illinois all...
named him lifetime "Bishop of Overland" at his retirement. He received citations from Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Americans United for Separation of Church and State is a group that advocates separation of church and state, a legal doctrine interpreted by AU as being enshrined in the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.-Mission:The guiding principle of Americans...
, the American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
, the Christian Life Commission of the Missouri Baptist Convention and other organizations for his statewide leadership in moral and ethical issues, Christian citizenship, and separation of church and state. His printed and taped sermons and Bible studies
Bible study (Christian)
In Christianity, Bible study is the study of the Bible by ordinary people as a personal religious or spiritual practice. Some denominations may call this devotion or devotional acts; however in other denominations devotion has other meanings...
have been circulated worldwide.
In 1989, the Overland Baptist Church bestowed upon him the title, Pastor Emeritus
Emeritus
Emeritus is a post-positive adjective that is used to designate a retired professor, bishop, or other professional or as a title. The female equivalent emerita is also sometimes used.-History:...
. The church's sanctuary
Sanctuary
A sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...
building and a ministerial scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
at William Jewell College
William Jewell College
William Jewell College is a private, four-year liberal arts college of 1,100 undergraduate students located in Liberty, Missouri, U.S. It was founded in 1849 by members of the Missouri Baptist Convention and other civic leaders, including Robert S. James, a Baptist minister and father of the...
are named in honor of Dr. and Mrs. Jackson.
Personal
Jackson was an imposing figure, over six feet tall, with a deep, resonant voice and deliberate speech. He considered the church, its mission, people, message and business operation to be his sacred trust; if necessary, he could be intimidating. He had a reputation of having no fear, even when facing armed criminals. He was known to exhibit the dark side of his Celtic origins; however, he had a ready sense of humor, often self-deprecating.He gained considerable notoriety for the black suits and solid black ties he wore every day. Once, while waiting in the Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
airport, a Baptist magazine editor mistook singer Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
for Jackson.
Jackson was an experienced boater
Boating
Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels , focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, such as fishing or water skiing...
and avid fisherman
Fisherman
A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishermen and fish farmers. The term can also be applied to recreational fishermen and may be used to describe both men...
who relished angling
Angling
Angling is a method of fishing by means of an "angle" . The hook is usually attached to a fishing line and the line is often attached to a fishing rod. Fishing rods are usually fitted with a fishing reel that functions as a mechanism for storing, retrieving and paying out the line. The hook itself...
for rainbow trout
Rainbow trout
The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
in the lakes of southern Missouri and northwestern Arkansas. He was also an expert marksman
Marksman
A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision, or a sharpshooter shooting, using projectile weapons, such as with a rifle but most commonly with a sniper rifle, to shoot at long range targets...
and enjoyed hunting
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
for quail
Quail
Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally considered in the order Galliformes. Old World quail are found in the family Phasianidae, while New World quail are found in the family Odontophoridae...
and small game. He especially liked to hunt or fish
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
with family and friends, and prepare the game for dinner for a number of guests. During the early years of his residence in Harrison, Arkansas, he was a member of the Lions Club.
Jackson once recalled for his family an occasion of being a featured speaker at a statewide youth event in Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
in the early 1960s, where he counseled a teenaged Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
. He remembered the profound impression made by the young man. He met and maintained friendships with people from all walks of life, whether they shared his religious beliefs or not.
Death
Jackson was a heavy smokerTobacco smoking
Tobacco smoking is the practice where tobacco is burned and the resulting smoke is inhaled. The practice may have begun as early as 5000–3000 BCE. Tobacco was introduced to Eurasia in the late 16th century where it followed common trade routes...
and tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
user during his early adulthood, although he was able to quit cigarettes "cold turkey
Cold turkey
"Cold turkey" describes the actions of a person who abruptly gives up a habit or addiction rather than gradually easing the process through gradual reduction or by using replacement medication....
". In 1965, he underwent surgery
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
at Baptist Hospital in Little Rock, AR to remove a large tumor
Tumor
A tumor or tumour is commonly used as a synonym for a neoplasm that appears enlarged in size. Tumor is not synonymous with cancer...
in his sinus
Sinus
- Anatomy :In anatomy, where a sinus is a sac or cavity in any organ or tissue:*Sinus , description of the general term*Paranasal sinuses, air cavities in the cranial bones, especially those near the nose, including:...
cavity. It was during this hospitalization that he was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, systemic inflammatory disorder that may affect many tissues and organs, but principally attacks synovial joints. The process produces an inflammatory response of the synovium secondary to hyperplasia of synovial cells, excess synovial fluid, and the development...
(RA), which moved out of remission about ten years later. The disease eventually became systemic and subsequently contributed to a heart condition
Heart disease
Heart disease, cardiac disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases affecting the heart. , it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, accounting for 25.4% of the total deaths in the United States.-Types:-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...
and polyneuropathy
Polyneuropathy
Polyneuropathy is a neurological disorder that occurs when many peripheral nerves throughout the body malfunction simultaneously. It may be acute and appear without warning, or chronic and develop gradually over a longer period of time. Many polyneuropathies have both motor and sensory...
. He spent his last fifteen years in and out of hospitals, finally receiving hospice
Hospice
Hospice is a type of care and a philosophy of care which focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's symptoms.In the United States and Canada:*Gentiva Health Services, national provider of hospice and home health services...
care at his home in Sycamore Hills, Missouri
Sycamore Hills, Missouri
Sycamore Hills is a village in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 668 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Sycamore Hills is located at ....
. In February, 2003, he became unresponsive. In accordance with his wishes, he was taken off all medications and died peacefully three days later, on February 15, 2003. Jackson was given police honors at his funeral at the Overland Baptist Church.
See also
Church of Our Saviour (Cincinnati, Ohio)Church of Our Saviour (Cincinnati, Ohio)
The Church of Our Saviour, located at 65 East Holister Street in the Mount Auburn neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, is a parish of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. The parish's historic stone church was built in the late 19th Century in the Gothic Revival style...
– Rector Paula M. Jackson, older daughter of H. Dale Jackson
Actress Jacqui Jackson – granddaughter of H. Dale Jackson
Actor Don Johnson
Don Johnson
Donnie Wayne "Don" Johnson is an American actor known for his work in television and film. He played the lead role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s TV cop series, Miami Vice, which led him to huge success. He also played the lead role in the 1990s cop series, Nash Bridges...
– fourth cousin of H. Dale Jackson
External links
- Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Missouri
- Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (USA)
- Eagle Heights Baptist Church, Harrison, AR
- First Baptist Church of Joplin, Missouri
- Missouri Baptist Convention
- Missouri Baptist University
- Ouachita Baptist University
- Overland Baptist Church
- Southwest Baptist University
- William Jewell College