Jordan to Deliver OBU’s Gaskin Lecture on Baptist History

September 29, 2016

Dr. Anthony Jordan, executive director-treasurer of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, will deliver Oklahoma Baptist University’s Gaskin Lecture Monday, Oct. 3, at 10 a.m. The event will take place in the upper level of OBU’s Geiger Center, rooms 218-219. Jordan’s lecture will focus on the contribution of Falls Creek to Oklahoma Baptist history.

Friends of Dr. J.M. Gaskin and advocates for the preservation of Baptist history and heritage in the state of Oklahoma established the J.M. Gaskin Lectureship. The objective of the lectureship is to provide and sustain a series of lectures that will preserve and promote the study of Oklahoma Baptist history and heritage. Gaskin has written 15 books about Oklahoma Baptists, and he provided the major impetus for Oklahoma Baptist research and publication over the last four decades.

Gaskin served as the BGCO’s first historical director. Known as “Mr. Oklahoma Baptist History,” he led in forming the Oklahoma Baptist Historical Commission in 1952 and was elected as the organization's first historical secretary in 1953. He also served as the founding president of the Oklahoma Baptist Historical Society in 1956 and was the editor of the Oklahoma Baptist Chronicle, beginning with its launch in 1958 through spring 1998.

Jordan was elected executive director-treasurer of the BGCO in 1996, following more than 28 years of experience as a pastor. He is a graduate of Southwest Baptist University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts. He earned both a Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. In 2010, he was presented with an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from OBU. In 2011, he was presented with the President’s Medallion from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.