Remembering Dr. W. James “Jimmie” Abbington

Dr. W. James “Jimmie” Abbington Jr., a preeminent scholar, performer, and advocate for Black sacred and gospel music, died September 27, 2025. His work as a performer, editor, teacher, and conductor shaped worship and church-music practice across the United States, and his visits to Baylor, including his 2023 Northcutt Lecture, longstanding service on the Dunn Center Advisory Board, and leadership at the Alleluia Conference, left a lasting mark on our campus community and church musicians near and far. 

Abbington’s career combined deep scholarship with a musician’s ability to move an audience. He served for many years as executive editor for GIA’s African American Church Music Series and held faculty positions where he taught and mentored generations of church musicians and liturgists. In reflecting on the life and ministry of Jimmie, Dr. Randall Bradley, director of the Dunn Center shared, "I was indeed privileged to know Dr. James Abbington and to consider him a friend. I had the opportunity to work with him as a board member of the Center for Christian Music Studies, to host him at Baylor as a Northcutt Lecturer, as a headliner at our Alleluia Conference, and experience his academic perspectives and brilliant ability as a performer in many other contexts." 

In reminiscing about his friendship with Jimmie, Dr. Randall was reminded that what set Jimmie apart from many fine scholars and performers was his deeply imbedded commitment to be a minister. He shared, "in 2011, Jimmie and I were both invited as presenters at a small conference in Andalusia, Alabama, highlighting the importance of hymnody. For the closing session, I was tasked with planning and leading a hymn festival in a small African American Church on the outskirts of town. Jimmie was the organist for the event – along with some other instruments. When we got to the church, we discovered that many components of the small instrument Hammond organ did not work. However, Jimmie was not discouraged, and he never mumbled a negative word. He was able to bring life to the dead bones of this severely compromised instrument, and the Holy Spirit shone in ways that I will never forget."

The Northcutt Lecture: Reimagining Negro Spirituals in Worship

At Baylor’s Northcutt Lecture Series in April 2023, Dr. Abbington presented “Reimagining Howard Thurman’s Use of Negro Spirituals in Worship,” a lecture that modeled the kind of theological-musical conversation the Dunn Center cultivates, rigorous scholarship tied to lived congregational practice. His presentation brought historical sensitivity together with practical guidance for worship leaders, exactly the blend Baylor students and faculty prize in the Northcutt program. 

Service to the Dunn Center and Baylor Church Music Program

Dr. Abbington was an original member of the Dunn Center for Christian Music Studies’ Advisory Board when the Center launched its advisory structure in 2007, and he worked with Baylor faculty and students across multiple programs and events. In those years he helped shape programming that emphasized both the theological depth and the performance vitality of Black church music.

Alleluia Conference: Walking Audiences through Gospel History

At Baylor’s Alleluia Conference, Dr. Abbington led sessions and concert programs that taught by example. His 2017 Alleluia presentation, “The Negro Spiritual in Worship and Concert Performance,” and the evening concert-format programs he led exemplified his pedagogical approach: moving an audience through the history of repertoire, stopping at key repertoire milestones, demonstrating congregational and concert settings, and giving participants both contextual background and practical models for worship and performance. Those programs didn’t simply lecture about repertoire, they performed it as living tradition, which helped conference attendees hear, feel, and better lead the music in their own contexts.

A Legacy of Music, Teaching, and Stewardship

We mourn with Dr. Abbington’s family, colleagues, and the many students and church musicians he taught and inspired. On behalf of the Dunn Center for Christian Music Studies and the Baylor School of Music, we give thanks for his life and for the gifts he shared with our campus through lectures, concert, and in the ongoing instruction his work provides to future church-music leaders. 

For those wanting to revisit his Northcutt presentation or the Alleluia sessions he led, recordings are available at the link below. 

James Abbington Recordings from Baylor Events