Bishop Calvin C. Barlow, Jr., is a native of Ripley, Tennessee. He is the pastor of Second Missionary Baptist Church, which is in Old Hickory, Tennessee. The church was formerly located in the heart of the historic Waverly-Belmont community in Nashville, Tennessee, and where he has labored for thirty-six years. He is a graduate of Tennessee State University and Pensacola Christian College. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Music Education and a Master of Art in Biblical Studies. He is a former adjunct professor of New Testament Greek of the former Nashville Bible College, and a former Moderator of the Stones River District Association, N B C Churches, Inc.
Pastor Barlow is a board member of the National Baptist Convention Home Mission Board where he serves as the Southwest Regional Coordinator. He is also the President of Cervical Cancer Coalition of Tennessee and a member of the Community Advisory Board of Meharry-Vanderbilt-TSU Cancer Partnership. He is currently the president of Lowbar Publishing Company and Second Missionary Baptist Cooperative Ministries, Inc. He has written for The National Baptist Voice Magazine and the African American Lectionary. He is the author of several books, including Prophetic Building: A Nightmare or Vision, Preparing Your Church for Pastoral Leadership, C. J. Goes Hunting for Nouns, Fear: The Silent Killer of Church Growth, C. J. Goes to School, and Grace: Building Wealth One Penny at a Time.
Prior to ministry, Bishop Barlow owned several businesses where he owned and operated an insurance agency. He is a former licensed property and casualty agent, life and health insurance agent, real estate agent, and mutual funds agent. He is a certified qualitative researcher assistant. He has received several awards, two of them are the Black Essence Award and Dayton Ohio Best Book of the Year. Bishop Barlow has been married to Rutha L. Nixon for forty-nine years. They are the parents of three sons, Minister Calvin C. Barlow, III (Terrica), Jeremiah M. Barlow (Sharemah), and John K. Barlow (Shereka).