Biography:

Baptist minister, seminary professor of theology, editor. Born– July 29, 1886, Langsdale, Miss. Parents– Charles Wesley and Letita (Gaines) Dobbins. Married– Mae Virginia Riley, December 25, 1909. Children– Three. Education– Mississippi College, B.A., 1908; Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Th.D., 1914; Columbia University, M.A. Ordained a Baptist minister in 1914. Served as church pastor in Gloster (1914-15) and New Albany, Mississippi (1915-16). A member of the editorial staff of the Baptist Sunday School Board, 1915-1920; founded the journal Home and Foreign Fields and continued to edit it for many years.   A professor at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1920-1956; acting president, 1950-52; Dean of the School of Religious Education, 1952-56. Professor of church administration at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, 1956-1966. Lecturer at Samford University, beginning in 1967.  Author of 33 books.  Member of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences, the International Council for Religious Education, and the Baptist World Alliance Commission on Bible Study and Membership Training.  Awarded the LL.D. by Mississippi College in 1947; received the Mullins Award for Distinguished Denominational Service in 1966 and the Distinguished Service Award for College Chaplains in 1972.   Died September 22, 1978.

Source:

Directory of American Scholars, 7th edition; Lives of Mississippi Authors;  Marquis who’s who online

Publication(s):

Baptist Churches in Action. Nashville; Southern Baptist Convention, 1929.

The Bible and the Bible School. Nashville; Broadman, 1935.

Building a Better Sunday School. Nashville; Convention Press, 1957.

Building Better Churches. Nashville; Broadman, 1947.

Can a Religious Democracy Survive? New York; F. H. Revell, 1941.

The Church at Worship. Nashville; Broadman, 1962.

The Churchbook; a Treasury of Materials and Methods. Nashville; Broadman, 1951.

Deepening the Spiritual Life.  Sunday School Board, SBC, 1937.

The Efficient Church. Nashville; Southern Baptist Convention, 1923.

Evangelism according to Christ.  Broadman, 1949.

Good News to Change Lives. Nashville; Broadman, 1977.

Great Teachers Make a Difference. Nashville; Broadman, 1965.

Guiding Adults in Bible Study. Nashville; Broadman, 1968.

How to Teach Young People and Adults in the Sunday School. Nashville; Southern Baptist Convention, 1930.

The Improvement of Teaching in the Sunday School. Nashville; Southern Baptist Convention, 1943.

Learning to Lead. Nashville; Broadman, 1968.

A Ministering Church. Nashville; Broadman, 1960.

The School in Which We Teach. Nashville; Southern Baptist Convention, 1934.

Teaching Adults in the Sunday School. Nashville; Broadman, 1936.

Understanding Adults. Nashville; Broadman, 1948.

Vitalizing the Church Program. Nashville; Broadman, 1933.

A Winning Witness. Nashville; Southern Baptist Convention, 1938.

Winning the Children. Nashville; Broadman, 1953.

Working Together in a Spiritual Democracy. Nashville; Southern Baptist Convention, 1935.

Working With Intermediates. Nashville; Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1926.

The Years Ahead.  Nashville:  Convention Press, 1959.

Zest for Living. Waco, Tex.; Word Books, 1977.

Papers;

The papers of Gaines Stanley Dobbins are held by the Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives in Nashville, Tennessee.