JAMES PICKETT WESBERRY

Summary Biography - James Pickett Wesberry (1906-1992)

Family: Born April 16, 1906, in Bishopville, S.C.; died December 25, 1992, in Atlanta, GA; son of William McLeod and Lillian Ione (Galloway) Wesberry; married Ruby Lee Perry, September 5, 1929 (died, December 25, 1941); married Mary Sue Latimer, June 1, 1943; (died September 8, 1982); married Margaret Spratlin; children: (first marriage) James Pickett, Jr. Education: Mercer University, A.B., 1929, M.A., 1930; Newton Theological Institute, B.D., 1931; Andover Newton Theological Institute, B.D., 1931; Andover Newton Theological Institute, M.S.T., 1934; further graduate study at Harvard University, 1931, Union Theological Seminary, New York, N.Y., summers, 1935, 1965, Yale University, 1946, and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1957. Memberships: Atlanta Area Military Chaplains Association (honorary member), Masons, Shriners, Lions, Atlanta Harvard Club, Atlanta Athletic Club, Atlanta Amateur Movie Club.

Ordained Baptist minister, 1926; pastor of Baptist churches in Soperton, Ga., 1928-30, Medford, MA, 1930-31, Kingstree, S.C., 1931-33, and Bamberg, S.C., 1933-44; Morningside Baptist Church, Atlanta, Ga., pastor, 1944-75, pastor emeritus, 1975-92; evangelist, counselor, chaplain, and writer, 1975-92,

Professor at Mercer University (Atlanta, Ga.), 1944-53. President of Highview Nursing Home, 1947-60 (chaplain, 1975-92), and National Youth Courtesy Foundation, 1971-92. President of Georgia Baptist Convention, 1956-57; member of executive committee of Southern Baptist Convention, 1959-65; member of board of managers of Lord's Day Alliance of America, 1971-92, executive director, 1975-92; chaplain of Yaarab Temple. Head of Georgia Literature Commission, 1953-75; member of Georgia governor's Citizens Penal Reform Commission, 1968; member of board of directors of Atlanta Fund Review Board, 1964-70; member of honorary board of directors of Dogwood Association Festival, 1970-71, and Atlanta Union Mission, 1972-92. Member of board of trustees of Mercer University, 1944-49, 1954-57, 1972-74 (member of president's council, 1974-92), Atlanta Baptist College (now Mercer University at Atlanta), 1964-72, and Truett McConnell College, 1960-65.

LL.D. from Atlanta Law School, 1946; D.D. from Mercer University, 1957; L.H.D. from La Grange College, 1962; Litt.D. from Bolen-Draughan College, 1967; named man of the South by Dixie Business, 1972; member of the South's Hall of Fame, 1972.

WRITINGS BY THE AUTHOR:

Rainbow Over Russia, privately printed, 1963.
Baptists in South Carolina Before the War Between the States, R. L. Bryan, 1966.
Evangelistic Sermons, Broadman, 1973.
Meditations for Happy Christians, Broadman, 1973.
When Hell Trembles, and Other Sermons for Revival, Baker Book, 1974.
Bread in a Barren Land, Broadman Press, 1982.
(Editor) The Lord's Day, Broadman Press, 1986.

Also author of Prayers in Congress, 1949, Every Citizen Has a Right To Know, 1954, and The Life and Work of William Screven. Staff correspondent for Christian Century, 1951-58. Editor of "The People's Pulpit," a column in Atlanta Times, 1964-65. Editor of Sunday, 1975-92, and Basharet.