In Memoriam

Thomas H. Olbricht: In Memory of a Life Well Lived

Volume 1 | June 6, 2022

Theme: In Memoriam

During the 2021 Christian Scholars’ Conference at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee, a group of scholars presented their reflections on the life and work of Thomas H. Olbricht, the namesake of the conference, who had died a few months earlier. Speaking for many at the conference and around the world, these scholars sought to find…

Tom Olbricht as Interpreter of the Old Testament

Volume 1 | June 6, 2022

Theme: Biblical Scholarship, In Memoriam

Discipline: Religious Studies

The editor of Ecclesiastes spoke of Qohelet as one who “sought to find pleasing words and to write true words.” That tribute to his teacher certainly applies to ours as well. Thomas H. Olbricht sought to integrate his own life, the ongoing history of his ecclesial family, and the Bible into a coherent whole. Part…

“Church Doctor” Thomas H. Olbricht: Impressions and Sentiments of a Former Student

Volume 1 | June 6, 2022

Theme: In Memoriam

Discipline: American Religious History

When Professor Hans Rollmann delivered one of the six papers at the American Academy of Religion/Society of Biblical Literature (AAR/SBL) in 2003, recognizing the scholarship in the Churches of Christ from the previous fifty years, his focus was on “Tom Olbricht as Theologian.” Rollman closed his paper by suggesting that because of Olbricht’s extensive influence…

Thomas H. Olbricht’s Scholarship on Rhetoric and Scripture: Some Lingering Methodological Questions

Volume 1 | June 6, 2022

Theme: Biblical Scholarship, In Memoriam

Discipline: Religious Studies

I am honored to reflect on the biblical scholarship of my teacher and mentor Dr. Thomas H. Olbricht. Before I begin my comments on his scholarly work, I will provide some personal context. I first met Tom in the fall of 1990, when I began the M.Div. program at Pepperdine University. Four years before, he…

Tom Olbricht as Historian

Volume 1 | June 6, 2022

Theme: In Memoriam

Discipline: American Religious History

I am grateful and humbled to pay tribute to the significance of the life and work of Tom Olbricht for Churches of Christ, the Stone-Campbell Movement, and Christ’s universal Church, through his multifaceted scholarship and leadership. In preparation, I read many of Tom’s articles and essays, surveyed his autobiographies, and listened to recordings in which…

Thomas H. Olbricht: A Memorial Tribute

Volume 1 | June 6, 2022

Theme: Biblical Scholarship, In Memoriam

Discipline: Religious Studies

I met Tom Olbricht in 1969 when I enrolled in the first of many courses that I took with him as a student at what is now Abilene Christian University (ACU). When Tom died on August 21, 2020, I had been privileged to know him for 51 of the 90 years of his extraordinary life.…

Prayer of Thanksgiving for the Life of Thomas H. Olbricht

Volume 1 | June 6, 2022

Theme: In Memoriam

Note: This prayer and introduction were offered at a dinner held in honor of Tom Olbricht at the 2021 Christian Scholars’ Conference. IntroductionI was a member of Tom Olbricht’s last class at Abilene Christian University, almost the only woman in a large group of men, and the only Asian woman for certain. He treated me with…