John R. Rice (1895–1980). Born on December 11, 1895, in Cooke County, Texas, John R. Rice was an American fundamentalist Baptist evangelist, pastor, and publisher. Raised in a devout family, he earned degrees from Decatur Baptist College and Baylor University, later studying at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and the University of Chicago. Converted at 12, he began preaching in 1920, pastoring churches in Dallas and Fort Worth, including First Baptist Church of Dallas as interim pastor. In 1934, he founded The Sword of the Lord, a biweekly periodical promoting revival and soul-winning, which grew into a publishing house with his books like Prayer: Asking and Receiving and The Home: Courtship, Marriage and Children. Known for his fiery evangelistic campaigns, he preached to thousands across the U.S., emphasizing personal salvation and biblical inerrancy. Rice mentored figures like Jack Hyles and Curtis Hutson but faced criticism for his strict fundamentalism. Married to Lloys Cooke in 1921, he had six daughters and died on December 29, 1980, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He said, “The only way to have a revival is to get back to the Book—the Bible.”