Always youthful and energetic
by Mike Randall
In 1927, the world smack in between the two wars was restless and frenetic. The first talkie, The Jazz Singer, was on the movie screens, I Found a Million-Dollar Baby in the Five-and-Ten-Cent Store was a popular song, and Charles Lindbergh flew to Paris from New York in 33-and-a-half hours. The “roaring twenties” seemed like the best of times. Jack Wiley Combs saw the action and wanted a part of it, so soon after a son was born to him and Arah Moore Combs in Lubbock, TX, on October 6, 1927, he hit the road for the adventuring and gambling life. James O’Brien only saw his father once in his life.
Early life
Arah Moore had not planned to have a broken home. No one does. A few years before her marriage, she had been converted in a meeting held at First Baptist Church of Dublin, TX, conducted by Evangelist Lee R. Scarborough, who also was the president of the new Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary of Fort Worth. Scarborough was impressed with this young woman and they maintained some correspondence. He had encouraged her to become a missionary. But years later she wrote Scarborough that she had not become a missionary, her marriage had failed, and she had a little six-year-old boy. Scarborough thanked her for the note and assured her that he had prayed for her through the years. “But,” he wrote, “I will pray for your little boy, that he will be the one who, called of God, will preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Single mothering has never been easy, and Arah worked hard as a waitress to support her and James. In 1940, when the family lived in Waco, TX, her example and influence, and the prayers of the evangelist, were rewarded when James O. Combs responded to the gospel of Jesus Christ while listening to a Charles E. Fuller radio broadcast. After he was saved, he had a great hunger for the Bible. Always a voracious reader, he read through the Bible before he was 14 and soon was reading and studying commentaries. The energy of the roaring twenties had been born into him, and his fast and fertile intellect was soon wedded to an unshakable love of God. Before long, Combs surrendered to preach. He was licensed to preach on his 16th birthday at the Huisache Avenue Baptist Church of San Antonio, TX, Luther B. Osborne, pastor. A year later he was ordained.
Ministry training
After completing high school in January 1946 and at the recommendation of his friend Harold DeVilbiss, Combs moved to Missouri to attend Kansas City Bible College (later called Calvary Bible College) led by Walter Wilson, M.D. DeVilbiss was already attending. Combs joined Kansas City Baptist Temple, pastored by Wendell Zimmerman, and soon began teaching a junior high Sunday school class. In the summer of 1946, Zimmerman asked him to become interim pastor of Tabernacle Baptist Church of Joplin, MO, which Zimmerman founded several years earlier. James attended class during the week and for six months commuted to Joplin each weekend. After that, he became part of the staff of the Kansas City church.
In 1949, Combs moved to Fort Worth, TX, to study at Bible Baptist Seminary. G. Beauchamp Vick was the new president and its future looked promising. Before long, however, conflicts arose between Vick, those loyal to him, and school founder J. Frank Norris, in whose facilities the seminary met. In May of 1950, Norris ousted Vick, causing a split and the founding of the Baptist Bible Fellowship International with its new school, Baptist Bible College in Springfield, MO, a mission office, and a publication called the Baptist Bible Tribune. Present in the Texas Hotel meeting which launched the BBFI, Combs sided with the new movement, then left Texas and returned to Kansas City to work under Zimmerman at Kansas City Baptist Temple. A year later he received a call to become pastor of Joplin’s Tabernacle Baptist Church, where he had preached four years before.
Marriage and family
When Combs had enrolled at Kansas City Bible College in 1946, he met Jeri Marquis, a first-year student who was also a secretary to the school’s president. They both had other romantic interests for a time, but when Combs moved back to the area in 1950, they renewed their friendship and began to date. After a two-year courtship, they were married on May 27, 1952. In 1954, they gave birth to their daughter, Charis.
Pastor and leader
His pastorate in Joplin saw the church grow from an average attendance of 44 to 150, with a high of 245. At the same time, he commuted to the BBFI’s new college 70 miles east of Joplin and completed course work at the Kansas City school, driving an east-north-southwest triangle several times a week. He graduated from Baptist Bible College and received his bachelor’s degree from Kansas City Bible College in the same year, 1952.
In 1953, Olivet Baptist Church of Lynwood, CA, called Jim Combs to be their pastor. This began a 17-year ministry of growth and fruitfulness. Averaging 60 when Combs arrived, by 1956 the church averaged over 600 in attendance with a high day of 777. To make room for growth, Combs led the congregation to build a new auditorium and an educational building. Combs was well known in southern California as an evangelist, Bible-conference speaker, and enthusiastic preacher. His leadership ability was obvious, and he was chosen to edit the Pacific Baptist Bible News at the age of 25, which he edited for 10 years.
First Baptist Church of Costa Mesa
When P. G. Neumann retired as pastor of First Baptist Church of Costa Mesa, CA, in 1970, the congregation called Jim Combs to be their pastor. He accepted, knowing the demands of this large congregation would require his greatest effort and skill. During six years of busy ministry, the church reached a high attendance of over 1,000 on several occasions. He led a vast ministry including a Christian school (K-8 grades), a large bus ministry, a special ministry to an impaired citizens group, a weekly radio broadcast, and later a weekly television program. While pastoring in Costa Mesa he taught for three years at the nearby Pacific Coast BBC and was elected president of the California BBF.
Evangelism
In 1976, he resigned the church to run for public office. He shocked the local pundits by winning the Republican nomination for Congress in a spirited race. Facing an incumbent in the general election, Combs lost, but polled a surprising 43 percent of the vote (“The name is ‘Combs,’ like ‘He combs his hair,’ he would explain as he handed a “Vote Jim Combs” comb to a potential voter). Combs profited immensely from the experience, rubbing shoulders with leaders from many walks of life and gaining valuable skills, but he considered this loss as God’s leadership for him to enter full-time evangelism. He had many friends who welcomed this decision and immediately scheduled him for meetings.
His most popular series was a multimedia prophecy conference in which he taught the entire book of Revelation in one week. Often on the road six months at a time, Combs took his rear projection screens, colorful visuals, and a well-prepared presentation to 50 churches a year. The uniqueness of the series attracted steady crowds, and numbers of lost people accepted Christ at his meetings.
Third editor of the Baptist Bible Tribune
When Wendell Zimmerman resigned as editor of the Baptist Bible Tribune, the BBFI called upon Jim Combs to fill his shoes. He assumed his duties in 1983, following in the footsteps of Noel Smith and Zimmerman. He brought creativity, vision, and his characteristic energy to the job. In 1989, he converted the Tribune to a 32-page magazine format published every three weeks. In 1992, he published the Tribune every month and began a sister publication, The Baptist Preacher. In 1994, he reintroduced book publishing by the Tribune, including two books he wrote himself. During his tenure the circulation of the Tribune rose to over 24,000 per month. He retired in 1995.
After leaving the Tribune, he served as the founding editor-in-chief of Jerry Falwell’s National Liberty Journal. During his tenure, this publication grew to a circulation of 125,000 per issue. In 1996, he resigned this position to pursue other interests, to write, and to care for his wife, who was recovering from cancer.
Continuing ministry
Combs had a perennial interest in education; especially ministerial education. He personally held Graduate of Theology, Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Divinity, Master of Arts, and Doctor of Ministry degrees, and was awarded the Doctor of Divinity and Doctor of Literature degrees. In 1989, he teamed with Jimmy Tharpe of Shreveport, LA, to found the Louisiana Baptist Theological Seminary in conjunction with Louisiana Baptist University. Combs continued as provost of the seminary and executive director of the Institute for Prophetic Studies until shortly before his death.
Combs always managed to do several things at once, and do them well. He was an executive board member of the Pre-Trib Research Center and a partner in 21st Century Press, a small publishing house. While also pastoring or evangelizing or editing, he wrote or edited eight books including Roots and Origins of Baptist Fundamentalism, 20 Tremendous Truths, Mysteries of the Book of Daniel, Rainbows from Revelation, The End Times Are Here Now, What On Earth Is A Dispensation, ABC’s of Life Success, Mysteries of the Bible Now Revealed, and a more recent book on Bible study methods. He was the managing editor for the Tim LaHaye Prophecy Study Bible, and after that publishing success, he continued an active ministry as a speaker, editor, and author.
A memorial service was held for Mr. Combs June 4, 2013, in Springfield, where the Fellowship leader received tributes from preachers and students from across the nation. Mrs. Combs continues to reside in Springfield, MO.
Note: This article was edited slightly after Mr. Combs’s departure to glory with additional tributes added.
Sources
Interviews by author with James O. Combs
James O. Combs, “This year I will wear a white rose,” Baptist Bible Tribune, Volume 41, Number 15, May 1, 1991.
James O. Combs, “In defense of single motherhood,” Baptist Bible Tribune, Volume 45, Number 7, February 1995.
Mike Randall, “Thank you, Mr. Combs,” Baptist Bible Tribune (Springfield, Missouri), Volume 45, Number 9, April 1995, p. 30.
Tom Harper, “The real scoop on Editor James O. Combs,” The Baptist Preacher, Volume 4, Number 2, March/April 1995.
TRIBUTES
Neal Weaver President of Louisiana Baptist University
Many will know him as a pastor and instructor at Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College, while he was in California. Others became acquainted with Jimmy Combs while he was editor of the Tribune. I will remember him most for the over 20 years that he served as our provost. While I had known Jimmy Combs for many years, it wasn’t until after I came to LBU that we became fast friends. Until his illness, we spoke almost daily on the phone. He was always a great help and encourager. He often addressed me as “partner.” Almost everyone knew Bro. Jimmy and he was able to focus a lot of attention toward LBU. He was certainly one of the smartest men that I ever met.
Tom Harper Baptist Bible Tribune
In 1990, I moved from Florida to Springfield, feeling somewhat defeated. Mr. Combs welcomed us back [to my job at the Tribune], gave us hope, encouraged us to move forward in the power of the Spirit, the love of God, and the forgiveness of Jesus, and work together to make something that would last and be important and remembered. I stayed for 15 more years, mostly because of his vision and the confidence he placed in me. For seven years I was privileged to rub shoulders with a true leader and a unique individual. He made me feel like an equal; he never snubbed anyone; he lived to encourage young men to greatness; his spirituality was the genuine article, and his love for God “without dissimulation.” We will truly miss him. But his rich and full life, his example of forward movement and thinking, his marvelous prayers — we have these memories, and countless more besides.
Lyle Smith Pastor emeritus of Pioneer Baptist Church, Norwalk, CA
Dr. Combs was my mentor, my pastor, the one who ordained me to the gospel ministry, and a lifetime family friend. I first heard him preach at Tabernacle Baptist Church of Joplin, MO, a church founded by Wendell Zimmerman, who had sent this 15-year-old preacher-boy down from Kansas City to minister, and believe me, Jimmy was captivating and brilliant, even as a teenage preacher.
In 1953, God would lead Dr. Combs to the pastorate of Olivet Baptist Church in Lynwood, CA, where I was then living, and soon he was my pastor once again. When God called me to preach, it was Pastor Combs who ordained me, recommended me to BBC Springfield, and later sent me out to found Parkside Baptist Church of Anaheim.
He could quote the whole Book of the Revelation on demand, consistently memorized the entire chapter of his Sunday morning text and would recite it as an introduction, and was as gifted an orator as I have ever heard. His intellect and insight made the Scriptures come alive, and his sermons were brilliant beyond description.
Richard Beck Pastor of Highland Baptist Church, Paducah, KY
Dr. James O. Combs will always be many things to me. During our travels I came to know the things closest to the heart of this great man. He had an unusual sense of humor, but then those with an I.Q. such as his usually do. He would talk freely of the passions of his life: love for his family, desire to start new churches, encouraging and training pastors. He always saw more in others than they could see in themselves. As certainly as he could quote large passages of Scripture so too could he name pastors, missionaries, educators, and friends, both past and present.
The one part of his life he reflected on the most was the beginning of the Baptist Bible Fellowship. Those who were part of the founding of the BBFI had a special place in his heart and a bond that was strong, unshakable. I remember the night he called to say he had been offered the position as editor of the Baptist Bible Tribune. His goal was to represent all the aspects of the BBFI and to be a blessing to as many as possible, in as many ways as possible, a goal he achieved because of his love for the fellow soldiers of the cross and his part of our great BBFI history.
Keith Bassham Editor of Baptist Bible Tribune
James Combs’s contributions to our fellowship, and to the Christian world as a whole, are incalculable. As a pastor, he understood the needs of churches. As an evangelist, he understood the needs of men and women. As a student, he understood the need for continuance in the Word of God. As an educator, he understood what was important, and what could be saved for learning later. As an author, he could both analyze and synthesize, and make his knowledge available to all. As an editor, he knew what to publish, and perhaps more importantly, what not to publish. As a Baptist, he was loyal to great Baptist distinctives, the local church, and her ordinances. As a Christian, he lived a life that welcomed examination. Nearly every encounter I had with Dr. Combs ended with him praying, usually for me specifically.
And as I continue in the office that he once occupied, I will continue to encounter him. His handprints are on just about everything I do as editor of the paper he loved and nourished with his own blood and sweat. I am honored today to succeed him.