Bailey McBride, beloved educator, Christian Chronicle editor and friend, dies at 91

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There must be hundreds, maybe even thousands, of Bailey McBride stories like the one Scott LaMascus tells.

“He was already an accomplished writer, professor and provost when he saw — truly saw — an 18-year-old lost boy about to drop out of college, out of faith and out of hope in life,” LaMascus said. “Without any fanfare, Bailey helped me find a niche on campus and set me on a path toward finding my lost faith.”

For LaMascus and countless other students who passed through the halls of Oklahoma Christian University during McBride’s 58-year career, the quiet, unassuming scholar was a life-affirming, life-changing counselor.

For readers of The Christian Chronicle, McBride’s smiling face was the last thing they saw each month — though many acknowledged that they turned to his column first. For nearly three decades, his “Insight” appeared on the next-to-last page of this publication, offering Spirit-filled wisdom, sound, sage advice and heartfelt reflection.

McBride, a lifelong learner, teacher, journalist and friend to all, died May 12, 2025, at an assisted living facility in Brentwood, Tenn. He was 91.

In his final days, McBride’s family gathered close to him, praying, reading Scripture and playing his favorite music, including John Denver.

A love for learning and students

Bailey McBride was born July 29, 1933, in Amarillo, Texas, to Almon Harry McBride and Elberta Bailey, from whom he got his name. He excelled academically despite changing schools 12 times as his parents traveled to Texas, California, Wyoming and Colorado. He graduated from Will Rogers High School in Tulsa, Okla., in 1951.

He studied at the University of Tulsa for a year, but dissatisfied, he left the school. He worked for Mid-Continent Pipeline Corp. until he could begin classes at Central Christian College, a newly born institution in Bartlesville, Okla., associated with Churches of Christ.

He earned an associate’s degree from Central and enrolled at David Lipscomb College (now Lipscomb University) in Nashville, Tenn. There he met Joyce Ann Warren of Cowan, Tenn. They married on April 28, 1956.

He returned to Bartlesville with his new bride, who began work as an elementary school teacher as Bailey stepped into the role of English instructor at Central Christian. He recalled a hot August day in 1956 when he taught his first classes — composition to three sections, totaling 75 freshmen, and Old English poetry to 18 sophomores.

“My back ached, my legs were stiff, and my head was pounding,” he said. “But I had never been so happy. I loved interacting, thinking with, listening to and prodding students to think — students who were only slighter younger than I was.”

In 1958, he and Joyce moved back to Tennessee, where Bailey earned a master’s in English from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and began doctoral studies. He and Joyce moved to Albuquerque, N.M., where Bailey taught at the University of New Mexico before completing his doctorate. In Tennessee, the couple welcomed two daughters into the world, Melissa and Lynette.

In 1966, the McBrides moved to Oklahoma City, where Central Christian had relocated eight years prior and changed its name to Oklahoma Christian College. Bailey taught English at Oklahoma Christian, and Joyce began a decades-long tenure as pre-kindergarten teacher at the College Church of Christ (now Memorial Road Church of Christ). For nearly 50 years, every child who attended Memorial Road learned Psalm 23 with Joyce’s guidance. Their son, Michael, was born in Oklahoma.

After serving as associate professor, professor and chairman of the language and literature division, Bailey became OC’s associate academic dean in 1971. Four years later, he was named academic dean and became an elder of the College church. 

A newspaperman since age 12

In 1981, Oklahoma Christian acquired a struggling Christian Chronicle from owners John and Dottie Beckloff. Bible professor and College church minister Howard Norton served as editor and asked Bailey to join the staff as an editorial consultant and to write a column titled “Church Growth.” 

It was hardly a new experience for Bailey, who began writing columns at age 12, the same year he was baptized. 

“My dog, Tuto, was run over,” he said. “The (San Leandro) newspaper asked me to do a story about it to get people to drive more carefully through the neighborhoods. The editors liked my story so much that I began doing a column every three weeks about something connected with the community.”

He first learned of The Christian Chronicle in 1945, two years after its launch by founder and editor Olan Hicks, when the preacher for the San Leandro Church of Christ brought a few copies to Bible class. In 1947, he read a Chronicle story about Otis Gatewood, a missionary who traveled to Germany to teach the Gospel after the devastation of World War II. 

Bailey’s first columns for the Chronicle focused on church plants, thriving congregations and mission work. A group of “dedicated amateurs” produced the paper — often late at night due to their teaching schedules, he recalled.

But the effort was worthwhile, he added.

“I have always believed that communities are never any better than their best newspapers,” he said. “I felt that, when the Chronicle was a strong and vibrant news source, then the church (would have) a greater sense of unity.” 

“I have always believed that communities are never any better than their best newspapers. I felt that, when the Chronicle was a strong and vibrant news source, then the church (would have) a greater sense of unity.” 

He continued to teach and administer for Oklahoma Christian. In 1990, he became vice president for academic affairs. Four years later, he was named provost. In 1996, he began his decade-long tenure as the Chronicle’s editor. He was named director of OC’s Institute for Excellence in Learning and became director of the university’s Honors Program.

In 2004, Bailey was inducted into the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame. He returned to the classroom for another decade, retiring in 2014.

“I had no intention of retiring at the time,” he wrote in his April 2014 Insight. “For most of the past 16 years, I have joked that I wanted to die lecturing on modern poetry or teaching an adult Bible class on Job.”

He loved God, people and good books

Joyce McBride died April 16, 2015 — 12 days before their 59th anniversary. In 2017, Bailey married Linda Samples. The next year, he published his final Insight column as he and Linda made plans to travel the globe — a lifelong passion of Bailey’s.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted their plans, so the couple spent the long lockdowns at the Tealridge Independent Living community in Edmond reading books and keeping each other company. Linda McBride died in August 2023. Last year, as Bailey’s health began to deteriorate, his family moved him to Morning Pointe Senior Living in Brentwood. 

Lindy Adams, a former student of Bailey’s and a staff member of The Christian Chronicle, and Alan Phillips, the newspaper’s stewardship officer, hosted a farewell gathering for Bailey as he began the journey to Tennessee. 

“He had an amazing ability to remember obscure details of students’ lives — their majors, hometowns, parents, siblings, romantic interests, life choices,” said Adams, whose husband, Ken, was a longtime music professor at OC and director of the university’s Chorale.

“Bailey changed my life,” Lindy Adams said. “He sparked in me a love for what he loved, Oklahoma Christian. His wise counsel over the years to Ken and me steadied us in the darkest of moments. He was dedicated to the arts and travel, as were we. As my mother lay dying, it was Bailey who called me on a pay phone at St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville to comfort me.”

For Lynn McMillon, Bailey was a co-worker at Oklahoma Christian, a co-elder at the Memorial Road church and a next-door neighbor.

“We often referred to him as a prince of a Christian gentleman,” said McMillon, former chair of OC’s Bible department and the Chronicle’s president emeritus. “My wife Joy and I, along with scores of other friends and students, dearly loved Bailey for his warmth and genuine interest in all of our lives.”

Recently, Lindy Adams asked Bailey what brought him the greatest joy as he looked back on his life. 

“Besides his family, he said it was seeing generations of young people grow to become true believers,” she said, “and live lives of dedication and service.”

Scott LaMascus was one of those young people. With Bailey’s encouragement, he completed his degree at Oklahoma Christian and went on to serve the university for more than three decades as an English professor, director of the Honors Program and chief academic officer. He served under Bailey as the Chronicle’s managing editor. 

LaMascus is founding director of the McBride Center for Public Humanities at OC, a nationally known project for celebrating books and writers with important messages for the Christian community.  

“Bailey loved God, people and good books along the path of wisdom and love,” LaMascus said. “I merely followed Bailey as he followed Christ.”

Additional reporting: Lindy Adams, Bobby Ross Jr.

A Celebration of Life service is scheduled for on June 28, 2025, in Oklahoma City. Memorial gifts may be made to the McBride Center for Humanities at Oklahoma Christian University or the McBride Endowment at The Christian Chronicle. Memories and pictures may be shared with the family at [email protected].

 

 

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