Former RTS Jackson professor Dr. Wallace Carr passed away at his home in Raymond, Mississippi, on April 14, 2020. Dr. Carr was 97 years old and was preceded in death by his wife of 25 years, Ruth.
Born on October 9, 1922, in Slidell, LA, Dr. Carr held degrees from Bob Jones College, Columbia Theological Seminary, and University of Southern Mississippi. He pastored multiple churches in Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Mississippi during many years of ministry, before and after his time at RTS.
Dr. Carr taught at RTS as Professor of Practical Theology. He was instrumental in starting the Marriage and Family Therapy and Counseling program [now the Master of Arts in Counseling (MAC) Program] at RTS Jackson. Dr. Carr’s involvement in establishing the counseling program at RTS Jackson has left a lasting impact on the seminary, his students, and his colleagues.
Dr. Guy Richardson, Director of the MAC Program, reflected on his time as one of Dr. Carr’s students. “As a student at RTS Jackson in the ’70s, I wanted a strong theological foundation to integrate into my graduate pursuit of counseling. While RTS did not yet have a counseling degree, Dr. Carr was already creating the foundation for such training as a vital part of ministry in the church.”
Dr. Richardson continued, “I benefited greatly from his example of godly counsel. He had a heart to teach those who wanted a deeper understanding of the healing power of God through knowing his Word and his ways. He helped prepare RTS to train men and women to become skilled hands for service to a hurting world in the ministry of professional Christian counseling.”
Steve Lanier remembers his first counseling class at RTS Jackson in the mid-1980s. “Dr. Carr began the class by clapping his hands really loudly and rubbing them together. He then took off his shoes and said, ’When you approach your client in a counseling setting, you are on holy ground like Moses before the burning bush. Everyone who comes to you for counseling is an image-bearer of the Creator God. That person may be bent and twisted and broken by the weight and ravages of sin, but is still very much an image-bearer of God and due the honor of that position.’”
Dr. Carr’s teaching has stuck with Lanier, who had the opportunity to work with his former teacher in a church-based counseling center. Throughout their work together, Lanier saw Dr. Carr “practicing what he preached,” opening their meetings in prayer and focusing on helping their clients to find healing. Through his students, Dr. Carr has impacted countless lives.
Dr. Jim Hurley, Professor of Counseling, worked with Dr. Carr to start the counseling program at RTS Jackson. Dr. Hurley remembers meeting Dr. Carr in the early 1980s when he came to interview as a potential professor. “[Dr. Carr] and I spent several hours discussing Scripture, counseling, and our vision for the RTS program. Both of us enjoyed the time together, and I had the pleasure of joining him on the faculty in 1985.
“Wallace was gracious and welcoming, easy to work with, and always cheerful to make the difficult changes needed for accreditation,” Dr. Hurley continued. “His love for the Lord and our students was strong and infectious. His pastoral concern shaped the counseling program. Anxious students felt loved and supported as they launched into becoming helpers to the hurting.”
Outside of his ministry, Dr. Carr was a husband, brother, dad, granddad, great grandfather, neighbor, and friend. A ballroom and jitterbug dancer, he enjoyed Louisiana cuisine and was known to eat dessert first on outings with his granddaughters. He also played the trumpet and chess, performed as Iago in Shakespeare’s Othello, and spent time working in his yard and garden.
“Our prayers had been for the Lord to give him a peaceful end, which the Lord provided. He knew where he was going and was ready for the Lord’s call,” his son Fredrick shared.
Dr. Carr is survived by his two sisters, two children, five grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.