Rev. Zan W. Holmes, Jr.

Rev. Zan Wesley Holmes Jr., pastor emeritus of St. Luke “Community” United Methodist Church in Dallas, served as Senior Pastor of St. Luke’s from 1979 to 2002.  Before receiving two graduate degrees from SMU’s Perkins School of Theology --  a Master of Theology in 1959 and a Master of Sacred Theology in 1968 -- Rev. Holmes graduated cum laude from Huston-Tillotson University in Austin.

In addition, he taught and mentored students and ministers for 24 years as an adjunct professor of preaching at the Perkins School of Theology. As a community activist and leader, Rev. Holmes served in the Texas House of Representatives from 1968-1972 while serving as a United Methodist District Superintendent.

Rev. Holmes is the author of Reaching for Renewal (1991), Encountering Jesus (1992), and When Trouble Comes (1996). Rev. Holmes is well known as the narrator and host of the "Disciple I Bible Study" video series produced by Abingdon Press.

In 2002 the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute in Selma, Alabama, recognized Rev. Holmes as one of the civil rights movement’s “Invisible Giants.” He remains active as a life member of the NAACP and continues to live a life of sacrifice for the public good.