Obituary: Herbert Brisbane

Herbert Brisbane of Fort Worth, a trailblazing African American Southern Baptist denominational leader in evangelism and church planting, died March 2. He was 68. He was born June 21, 1954, to Marjorie Tatum and Herbert Brisbane Sr. in Wichita Falls. He attended Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls on a basketball scholarship and was featured in Sports Illustrated in 1975 for his athletic accomplishments. He earned a Master of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth. He served as associate director of the Baptist Student Union at Sam Houston State University and as director of the BSU at Texas Southern University. He was director of evangelism for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board before he joined the staff of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Home Mission Board, later the North American Mission Board, where he served in a series of roles—director of Black church evangelism, associate director of Black church extension and manager of multicultural evangelism. He was minister of missions and singles at Brentwood Baptist Church in Houston; director of pastoral care and evangelism at Antioch Baptist Church in Fairfax Station, Va.; and a chaplain at Baylor Scott & White in Grapevine. He most recently served on the ministerial staff at Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church in Fort Worth. He was a trustee of the SBC International Mission Board from 2010 to 2013. He was the author of The Journey of Brokenness, published in 2017. Brisbane is survived by his wife of 45 years, Wanda; son Marlin and his wife Melissa; daughter Tennille Gavin and her husband Cedric; son Marcus and his wife Ruth; and five grandchildren.