1944-1956 – Deciding on the Ministry & Starting Out

Pete leaves Sheridan for college and discovers a direction to help people. He begins seminary at Perkins, SMU.

At age 15, Pete began challenging preconceptions publicly during church meetings. He stood up to question and confront injustices: why wasn’t the money considered good enough, just because it came from the liquor store owner? Why were Black people not allowed to walk on the sidewalk alongside white people? He began working in the lumber yard to build muscle, gaining much more than that. He was a teenager and the only white employee in the yard. Forging friendships with the crew, they talked and laughed as they walked the stacks and lifted three hundred pound logs together.

Barry attended The University of Arkansas for one semester, contemplating pre-med. After receiving poor marks that semester, he decided to apply himself and transferred to Hendrix College where he developed a habit of meeting with his professors outside of class to learn as much as he could and in his words, learn how to think. Some of his best education occurred listening to his professors speak off-topic, in their offices, on the tennis court and at meal times, about history and current events. His professors pushed him to learn and to build his vocabulary.

READ: Turning the Redfield School Around

For the next year and a half Pete taught, preached and was principal in Almyra, Arkansas. Here he enlisted the teachers to help lead the school, stating he could use their help, as he’d never been a principal. He was proud that he was somehow able to provide for all of the children to eat free lunch each school day, and that people all over town would show up to eat lunch in the school cafeteria. He taught eighth grade history and preached “short talks” at the Methodist church. He recalls his dad, Lamar Bailey, timed these and would chuckle about the short length of his talks. He preached the basic idea that you are better than your idea of God. You would not send someone to hell to burn for eternity like we say God does. We can do better, get a better picture of God. And the people in the church loved the message.

It was in Almyra that Pete decided to pursue some form of ministry and entered Perkins School of Theology at SMU. His initial thought was he might become a lawyer, using the ground work in seminary to assist him working in government projects or wanting whatever he did to include social work and people.

Pete’s mother, Marguerite and his nephew David, rode in the car with Pete to Perkins for him to begin theological studies. His family left the car with Pete and returned to Sheridan by train. It is at Perkins that Pete meet his wife Joan Allison Kessler and they married in 1950. Joan brought great character, that Pete loved, to everything she did. She was one of the two first women to graduate with a degree in Economics from SMU and was working as an assistant to a professor in the seminary. During seminary Pete commuted for two years to Nash, Texas every weekend by bus. He’d leave on Friday night, work Saturday and Sunday and return to Perkins late Sunday night. Upon finishing his schooling, Pete took on several Associate Minister positions at the First United Methodist Church, beginning what was to be an impactful journey for many years to come.

Perkins School of Theology at SMU