Bailey McBride

Bailey McBride, a longtime professor of English and former administrator at Oklahoma Christian University, became interested in The Christian Chronicle when he started college. In 1979, when John Beckloff, pioneer missionary to Nigeria, bought the Chronicle and moved it to Oklahoma City, McBride became part of an advisory board and eventually began working for the paper under the direction of editor Howard Norton.

Since the first edition of The Christian Chronicle under the auspices of Oklahoma Christian, McBride has written a column for the paper. His first focus was on church growth, and for the past 30 years he has written the column “Insight.”

He taught at the college level for most of his adult life, specializing in 18th and 20th century British writers. He taught while serving as Vice President of Academic Affairs for Oklahoma Christian. His last major project before retiring from the university was directing and teaching in the Honors Program.

McBride and his wife, Joyce, were married for nearly 59 years. In 1966 they began worshiping with the Memorial Road Church of Christ in Oklahoma City, where Joyce McBride taught pre-K Bible classes for 45 years. Bailey McBride  served as the church’s education director, as a deacon for missions and as an elder. He and Joyce raised three children in the church. They have 12 grandchildren (four by marriage) and two great-grandchildren. Joyce McBride died in April 2015.

In 2017 Bailey McBride married Linda Samples. He continues to teach Bible classes for the Memorial Road church and makes regular trips to Europe to encourage Christians there. His great passion is mentoring younger men and women as they seek to teach and to serve.