Joe Early, Jr. is an assistant professor of religion at Cumberland College in Williamsburg, Kentucky. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Cumberland College (1993), a Master of Divinity degree from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri (1998), and a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas (2002). While at Southwestern he studied under Dr. Harry Leon McBeth, Dr. Karen Bullock, and Dr. James Leo Garrett. He served as visiting assistant professor of religion at Baylor University in 2002-2003. He is the author of A Sourcebook of Texas Baptist History, The Building of a Church, the Centennial History of South Main Baptist Church Houston, Texas, and A Handbook of Texas Baptist Biography. Early has written several articles for scholarly journals, presented papers at historical society meetings, and has two other books, A Texas Baptist Feud: The Hayden Controversy, and Religious Life in Austin's Colony, 1821-1836, forthcoming.

A Texas Baptist History Sourcebook has over 650 pages of primary source materials concerning many aspects of Texas Baptist life. This book contains archival material, excerpts from books, articles from old newspapers, church minutes, and private memoirs. Readers can find information on Texas Baptists from Joseph Bays and Z.N. Morrell to Bill Pinson and Charles Wade. This book corresponds and was developed to be used in tandem with Dr. Harry Leon McBeth’s Texas Baptists: A Sesquicentennial History. For more details and ordering information, contact joeearly@cumberlandcollege.edu.

A Handbook of Texas Baptist Biography details the lives, contributions, achievements, and influence of two hundred and fifty men and women are prominent in Texas Baptist life. Within this text you will find details on Baptist pastors, missionaries, educators, and philanthropists. Each entry is followed by a detailed bibliography leading the reader to further relevant research. In order to acquire the information in this book, one would have to visit dozens of libraries, archives, and personal holdings. For more details and ordering information, contact joeearly@cumberlandcollege.edu.
Click here to view a list of bibliography entries in the book: biographyentries.pdf

The Building of a Church details the first one hundred years of South Main Baptist Church, Houston, Texas. During its first century, South Main has been one of the leading churches in the Union Association and the Baptist General Convention of Texas. It has been the home to several prominent pastors including E. Hermond Westmoreland, Ken Chaffin, and William Turner. This book details South Main’s strong leadership for civil rights activities in the 1960s. It was the site of the funeral for the last Confederate soldier. It also contains many other facts about its membership and its role in Texas Baptist life. For more details or to purchase the text, contact South Main Baptist Church at lcampbell@smbc.org.

Religion, Politics, and Power in Texas: The Hayden Controversy tells the story of how one man, Samuel Augustus Hayden, almost destroyed the newly organized Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT) before it could take root. In the final decades of the nineteenth century, Hayden caused so much unrest among Texas Baptists that after a failed attempt to over the BGCT he was expelled from the statewide body. In turn, he created a rival Baptist organization (BMA) that continued to fight the perceived oppression of the BGCT. While trying to take over the BGCT, Hayden, through his newspaper, accused his enemies of embezzlement, heresy, arson, and strong-arm tactics. Hayden’s high profile opponents, who included George Washington Truett, Benjah Harvey Carroll, and James Britton Cranfill, asserted that he was a liar, insane, and a heretic. No Baptist in Texas failed to take sides in this affair. After more than twenty years of turmoil, the controversy ended with a pistol in a rest room on a train bound for the Southern Baptist Convention. Though fought one hundred years ago, as affirmed by editorial in the July 21, 2004 edition of the Texas Baptist Standard, certain elements that brought about the Hayden Controversy are once again appearing in Texas Baptist life. To order this book contact Texas A&M Consortium Press at: 1-800-826-8911.

A Student's Guide to the Old Testament Dr. Early says, "These outlines are a result of my efforts to provide Bible students with a simple skeleton of the books of the New Testament. Over the years, I have discovered that outlines help students gain a better understanding of not only the various books of the Bible, but also its various subsections, genres, and background materials." These outlines are designed for the use of college and seminary professors, Sunday School teachers, or anyone who is interested in teaching the Old Testament in a straight-forward, orderly manner. Professors will find these outlines useful as the can easily be expounded upon, re-arranged according to theme, or separated for the study of individual books. For more information go to: http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/ItemDetail~bookid~32155.aspx.

A Student's Guide to the New Testament Dr. Early says, "These outlines are a result of my efforts to provide Bible students with a simple skeleton of the books of the New Testament. Over the years, I have discovered that outlines help students gain a better understanding of not only the various books of the Bible, but also its various subsections, genres, and background materials." These outlines are designed for the use of college and seminary professors, Sunday School teachers, or anyone who is interested in teaching the New Testament in a straight-forward, orderly manner. Professors will find these outlines useful as the can easily be expounded upon, re-arranged according to theme, or separated for the study of individual books. For more information go to: http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/ItemDetail~bookid~32154.aspx.