The California Collection/TheCaliforniaCollection.cdr/his054/bobjones.lzh/BOBJONES.TXT

Text File | 1991-06-30 | 20.9 KB | 317 lines

BIO:Robert Reynolds Jones  by R.K. Johnson

   Robert Reynolds Jones BORN: October 30, 1883 Shipperville, Alabama
DIED: January 16, 1968 Greenville, South Carolina LIFE SPAN: 84 years,
2 months, 18 days FUNDAMENTALISM'S GREATEST FORTRESS of the faith for
years was Bob Jones University. "Preacher boys" trained there have
fanned over the world with a zeal seldom matched anywhere. The fabulous
growth has put it in the top spot as far as enrollment is concerned
among Christian colleges. Some 5,000 take training there annually. What
produces such a school? Many things, but the indefatigable work of the
founder, Bob Jones, Sr., surely can be considered as the key
ingredient. One of the great evangelists of all time--a man who
preached in 30 countries--Dr. Bob's contribution to Bible Christianity
has seldom been matched. By age 40 he had preached 12,000 sermons to
some 15,000,000 people, with 300,000 converts. Jones was the son of
William Alexander and Georgia (Cree) Jones. The parents were farmers of
Calvinistic convictions. He was the eleventh of twelve children,
having eight sisters and three brothers. The family moved to the
Dothan, Alabama, area shortly after his birth. Christian convictions
were instilled in him by his parents and hard work on the farm gave him
a challenge early in life to work. He was converted at age eleven in a
country Methodist church outside Dothan. The preacher was 80 years of
age and the young lad was the first to go forward. Since age six he had
desired to get this matter settled. From the time of his conversion he
began preaching publicly and was known as "the boy preacher." He
preached to anyone who would listen. He became a good debater. He
developed strong convictions and undaunted courage. Like Billy
Sunday, his preaching was to be received because it would be on the
level of the people. He demonstrated unusual ability at memorizing
Scripture and recitation. For months he had made speeches at the Sunday
School, displaying great knowledge of the Bible. At age twelve he was
appointed Sunday School superintendent at this Methodist church at
Brannon's Stand. Being something of a child prodigy, he would gather
children of the neighborhood and preach to them. One day he caught some
older folk hiding behind the trees, listening to what was going on.
From this point on his father began to take a deep interest in his
oratorical powers, clipping significant pieces from newspapers and
asking young Jones to commit them to memory. When he reached 13 years
of age, he built a brush arbor (outside shelter of brush, lattice work,
trees, etc.) and out of this meeting place, two miles from home, came a
church of 54 members where he preached for about a year (age 14). His
mother died that year also. By age 15 he was licensed and ordained by
the Alabama Conference. At age 16 he headed a circuit of five churches,
including the little church he had started. He would often walk miles
just for the opportunity of having a chance to preach. He received $25
a month for this ministry. More than 400 came into the churches by
profession of faith that first year. Bob was now preaching all over
southeast Alabama. He finished his formal education, which was dis-
jointed in his earlier years, at Kinsey (Alabama) High School, 13 miles
away from home. He worked his way through school, living in the home of
the principal, J.C. Hammett. Graduated in 1899, the year his father
died, young Jones entered Southern University (later Birmingham
Southern) at Greensboro, Alabama, in 1901 where he attended until 1904.
He studied Latin, math and science, continued his preaching and was
ordained by Methodists in 1903, from whom he withdrew in later years
because of their drift from the fundamentals of the faith. While in
college he kept on preaching, first every weekend somewhere, with good
results, then campaigns, holding weekend revivals during school and
full-time meetings in the summer. For three summers he held meetings in
the State of Louisiana. Fearing a man they couldn't control, the
Methodists passed a rule that no Methodist layman or preacher could
preach or hold a religious service within the boundary of a Methodist
pastor's circuit without that pastor's permission. This of course did
not stop such as Bob Jones or his predecessor in those days, Sam
Jones. Bob was stirring up the entire state of Alabama as a young man
when he discovered his throat was bothering him more and more. It was
diagnosed as "tuberculosis of the throat." He also had double
pneumonia, was malaria prone, and was told he could not live ten years.
He went west where he did recover, being healed by the Lord of this
difficulty. This was when he was 21. The following year, on October 24,
1905, he married Bernice Sheffield, only to have her die ten months
later in August, 1906, of tuberculosis. Somewhere around January, 1907,
in Uniontown, Alabama, he met Mary Gaston Stollenwerck, who was con-
verted in his meeting. On June 17, 1908, they were married. Their only
child, Bob Jones, Jr., was born October 19, 1911. Marriage and family
did not change his life style, as Mrs. Jones traveled with him, taking
a maid along to care for the child until he was six years old, when he
entered school in Montgomery. Following the death of Sam Jones and
during the heyday of the Billy Sunday meetings, Bob Jones was raising
a storm throughout the country himself. In 1908, now 25 years old, he
held a crusade in his home town of Dothan, where some city officials,
several of whom had been converted, called a meeting of the City
Council and closed the dispensary, eliminating intoxicating liquor.
It was also in 1908 that he witnessed two outstanding conversions: In
Abbeyville, Alabama, a Robert Reynolds was converted. This was his
father's buddy in battle, for whom Jones was named. Then, in Ozark,
Alabama, he led a Dr. Dick Reynolds to the Lord. This was the doctor
who attended his birth. Several states were utilizing his services in
the next couple of years--Texas, California, Missouri, New York,
Georgia. By age 30, he had preached in 25 states. In 1911 he was
greatly used in Atlanta, Georgia, which had two notable services--a
"Women Only" service at the Forsyth Theater on June 2 and a large
gathering of "Men Only" at the city auditorium on his last Sunday
afternoon. People were long talking about his sermon, The Secret Sins
of Men. In 1915, great crusades were held in two small Indiana towns.
Crawfordsville had merchants closing their stores during the hours of
the services. They later commented that it was easier to collect for
bills, and preachers found it easier to get people to come to church.
Over 4,000 women gathered to hear his famous sermon for them, The
Modern Woman. One of the most amazing stories of revival in history
took place in Hartford City, Indiana, a town of 7,000. Before the
meeting, the church membership was 1,500; after the meetings the
churches had almost 4,000 members. On the last Sunday of the
meetings, 1,600 joined the churches. Some 100 per night accepted
Christ. Sunday movies were closed and the city voted dry and put out of
business 16 saloons within two months of his campaign there. Some 4,000
had attended his last service--in a town of 7,000 population. In 1916
Jones had good meetings in Joplin, Missouri. Going east, he was in a
small New York town, Gloversville, beginning April 8th. The headlines
of the April 13th newspaper said, "Bob Jones Launches Savage Attack
Against Saloons and Liquor Traffic." Jones had simply talked on the
topic, Some Problems of Home, to some 3,500 who had gathered. The next
night he preached to 4,500 on The Sins of Gloversville. The six-week
crusade held at the Tabernacle on Temple Street was sponsored by 12
churches. The total attendance was 175,000 with 1,780 deciding for
Christ. He closed the year out with a large tent crusade in New York
City. He was front-page copy for the New York Herald for more than a
week. The tent, located on West 12th Street, was the scene of many
victories. Another outstanding revival that had been conducted earlier
that year was at the City Auditorium in Lynchburg, Virginia. The
following year, 1917, found him in Quincy, Illinois, then in a good
Zanesville, Ohio, crusade from February 18 to April 1. Seventeen
churches participated. Total attendance was 266,000 with 3,284 signed
convert cards. His closing day attendance was 18,000. A large
tabernacle had been erected which seated 5,000. Bob pounded the altar
so hard while preaching that he broke it. Noon shop meetings, meet-
ings with students and women's meetings were all a part of this
crusade. One of his greatest crusades was the one that followed in
Grand Rapids, Michigan. Some 1,000 met him at the train, and some
10,000 gathered on the parade route while the procession went to the
tabernacle, where such as Mayor Tilma officially welcomed him. Some
15,000 attended the opening service, and 568 walked the "sawdust trail"
in response to the first invitation given the next day. Schools closed
early so that children might attend special sessions for them at 3 p.m.
A Sunday School parade had 2,500 participants. Over 5,000 converts were
made during his ministry there. In July of 1919 a good crusade was held
in Columbus, Ohio. Meetings were held under the Big Tent. In 1920 he
was in Anniston, Alabama, at the Lyric Theater. On Sunday, August 29,
1920, Jones and William Jennings Bryan were featured in a great rally
at Winona Lake (Indiana) Bible Conference. In 1921 Jones crusaded at
Steubenville, Ohio. Seventeen preachers who sponsored the meeting
early in the year attested to the good results at the large tabernacle
erected near the business center of the city. The newspapers gave great
coverage. More than 4,000 marched in the Sunday School parade. His
greatest crusade in his own opinion was that of the Montgomery,
Alabama, meeting in 1921. The meetings began on May 22; the headlines
the next day tell the story: "More Than Five Thousand Held Spellbound
by Eloquence of Splendid Evangelist: Hundreds Turned Away at Each
Sunday Service; Sermons Not Sensational." His Sins of Men address to
5,000 men was perhaps his greatest individual meeting ever held, by his
own assessment. At the close of the service over 2,000 men started a
great rush to the front to shake hands with him so that he was forced
to rush back to the platform and appeal to the men not to create a
panic, but to respond to the proposition to live right by holding up
their hands. Meetings were held at a large wooden tabernacle erected
near the business center, which seated over 5,000. The building was
crowded to capacity every night, and many times there were hundreds
standing around the outside of the tabernacle. It is estimated some
12,000 heard him the closing Sunday night in June. Average crowds were
10,000 nightly, in a medium-sized town with a total population of
40,000. Bob Jones received an honorary D.D. degree by Muskingum
College during this year. In the late fall of 1921 he held a large
campaign in St. Petersburg, Florida. The tabernacle seated 5,000 and
sometimes it was necessary to have two services in order to accommodate
the crowds. In 1927 (the year the Bob Jones college was founded), Jones
held two large crusades. One was in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, and the
other in Andalusia, Alabama. Jones' meetings continued with great
success into the 1930s and 1940s. In 1947, he held good crusades in
Spartanburg, South Carolina, and Asheville, North Carolina. As many
as 100 per night were saved in the former, with scores coming forward
each night at the latter as well. In 1949, at Presque Isle, Maine, a
town of 10,000, between 50 and 200 were saved each night. In June of
that year he returned to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, for a 15-day crusade.
The chairman of the sponsoring committee was his convert from a
Pittsburgh revival 25 years earlier. Bob Jones' friendship with John R.
Rice was a mutual help to both men, with Bob Jones often appearing at
Sword of the Lord conferences and then making the Sword of the Lord
required reading amonst the preacher boys at the college. Concerning
evangelism, Jones once said:

   I never had a goal as most men set up goals. My only goal was
to do the job at hand, and then to begin another. I never started out
to be a big evangelist, a little evangelist, or any other kind of
evangelist. I just started out to do the job the Lord had for me at the
time.

   Some 30 nations of the world were to hear him preach as
well. In 1952, at age 69, and 1959, at age 76, Bob Jones made
round-the-world missionary tours. Then again, in 1964, in connection
with his 80th birthday, the Joneses were sent on a goodwill tour around
the world, visiting 14 countries. By this time 850 missionaries in 90
countries had received their education at the school he started.
Perhaps he has been an evangelist longer than anyone in the history of
the Christian Church. He was preaching at age 13 and continued well
into his 80s, which would give him over 65 years in this chosen field.
He averaged some 40,000 miles of travel per year. His decisions for
Christ ran into the hundreds of thousands, with one report stating his
greatest single service response being 6,000 decisions. As years went
by Jones was beginning to get another burden--that of starting a
Christian college for the common people with whom he worked every day.
Many were the sad stories of sending children off to college and
seeing them return with agnostic views. Sitting in a drug store in
Kissimmee, Florida, in 1927, the idea hit him hard. "I'm going to
start a school!" he told his wife. A site was picked, seven miles out
of Panama City, Florida, on St. Andrews Bay. This site itself would
have a name--College Point, Florida. On December 1, 1926, ground was
broken. Jones described the naming of the school:

   I was averse to calling our school the Bob Jones College. My
friends overcame my aversion with the argument that the school would be
called by that name because of my connection with it, and to attempt
to give it any other name would confuse the people.

   Jones from the beginning, like other noble evangelists, poured his own
large income from evangelism right back into the work of the college, and
for years the operating expenses of the school were always current
because of this generosity. Whitefield and his orphanage, Moody and
his schools, are notable examples of this kind of dedication. On
September 12-14, 1927, the school opened with 88 students. The
financial crash of 1929 hit Florida especially hard, and assets of
$500,000.00 were wiped out. Enrollment was limited to 300 at this
Florida campus. A site in Cleveland, Tennessee, appealed because of a
better geographic position. Old Centenary College (Methodist Girls'
School) had been closed for years, and the move was made to Cleveland,
Tennessee, on June 1, 1933. Formal opening was September 1, and a new
school year was to begin. In 1934 Jones took a prolonged absence to
preach in such places as Ireland, Poland, and several engagements in
Michigan. During this time Bob Jones, Jr., got some good experience
in running the school. A great benefactor in those early days was John
Sephus Mack, who died on September 27, 1940. He contributed much
financial assistance in the development of the college. He was the head
of the Murphy stores and first met Jones at a revival in his home town,
McKeesport, Pennsylvania. Coming late to the meeting, he was seated on
the platform. Here he witnessed Jones' lips moving, and he was able to
read his lips: "Help me get ahold of this crowd." Being a conservative
Presbyterian, this kind of praying seemed a bit informal to him, but
since then Mack also talked to Jesus in this fashion. He also told
the evangelist if he ever made any money, he would give it to Jones if
he needed it. Approximately $150,000.00 for the building program
subsequently followed. By 1946 the school had expanded as much as it
could in Cleveland. Additional property needed to expand was next to
impossible to obtain. The Church of God was greatly interested in the
property, and so it was sold to them for $1,500,000.00. Much business
needed to be done, and Jones was constantly traveling, tying up loose
ends and preaching. He missed the Winecoff Hotel fire in Atlanta in
1946 by one night, having checked out of the ill-fated hotel one day
earlier than anticipated. Some 120 died in that inferno. It was
finally agreed to move the college campus to Greenville, South
Carolina, where, on Thanksgiving Day, November 27, 1947, it was
dedicated. At this point the school changed its name to Bob Jones
University, and Bob Jones, Jr., assumed the presidency of the same,
with Bob Jones, Sr., becoming chairman of the board. Some 2,900
students were now attending. Through the years, the school continued to
grow, with Bob Jones, Sr., playing an active role until his resignation
as chairman of the board of trustees in April, 1964. Currently the
school handles 4,000 to 5,000 students annually-one-third of this
number being ministerial students. Over 30 countries are represented in
the student body. The school has excelled in film teaching and
production. Shakespearean drama productions are held annually. The
university has amassed one of the finest collections of religious
paintings in North America. The $40 to $50 million assets with 180 some
acres made the modern facilities and beautiful campus a legend among
Christian schools. Refusing to compromise in any way, shape or form the
Bible principles established in the very beginning, the school has been
coerced and criticized. The discipline and dramatics program have been
misunderstood and derided. Because of its refusal to become a part of
the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, some have
felt it to be unscholarly. Because of the monitoring of dates and the
"six-inch rule" between the opposite sexes, some have felt the school
antiquated. Because of the school's refusal to back the Billy Graham
New York Crusade in 1957, an attempt to discredit the school's
leadership was made. The conclusion of all this is that Bob Jones the
man and Bob Jones the school were just not going to change their stand.
In the early days of Youth for Christ and the National Association of
Evangelicals, Jones was a prime supporter. Once, at an alumni meeting
of his school, he asked all present to sign a pledge that they would
use their influence to have the school closed if it ever developed
modernistic leanings. Both the man and the school he started continued
to prosper, and history will likely show that a greater combination
evangelisteducator never lived. When he was on campus, one of his main
jobs was his "chapel talks," where students received character training
and purpose. He left the Methodist Church in 1939. Jones will be
remembered as the man who was one of the first to take the unpopular
stand in those days of opposing the policies of Billy Graham. So much
has been blown out of proportion, but the simple facts are these: When
Graham began to insist upon the total support of a city, as he did in
the famous 1957 New York crusade, Jones would not put aside convictions
of a lifetime and ignore something he felt was harmful. Hence he, John
R. Rice, and others decided the truths of II John 9-11 should be
adhered to. It was not a personality clash as some would like to think.
It was not a matter of jealousy, for Jones promoted and supported Billy
Graham until the fraternization with liberals started. The ecumenicity
of Graham's new sponsorship, resulting in the practice of returning
converts to unscriptural churches and false teachers as well as sound
churches and good teachers, clashed with Dr. Bob's philosophy. "It is
not right to do wrong to get a chance to do right." So the polarization
of new evangelicals and fundamentalists did start for the most part
in 1957, as this policy developed. Of course, the right kind of
fundamentalist will rejoice in souls won by Graham or anyone else, as
the issue is not a man--but a Biblical principle. Bob Jones and John R.
Rice sponsored a historic meeting in Chicago on December 26, 1958,
where some 150 prominent evangelists gathered to form resolutions
backing historic Christian premises in the field of evangelism.
Muskingum College gave him a D.D. degree in 1921, and John Brown
University granted Jones an LL.D. degree in 1941. A plaque in his honor
was unveiled in Dothan, Alabama, on October 18, 1962, marking his
birthplace. The Christian Hall of Fame at the Canton (Ohio) Baptist
Temple honored him in 1966 as the only living entry in their portrait
gallery of greats. The last two years of his life, he was in the school
hospital. His last words, on January 16, 1968, were, "Mary Gaston,
get my shoes; I must go to preach." He was buried on campus in a
beautiful little island in a fountain of cascading pools, just across
the street from the Rodeheaver Auditorium. An excellent biography of
his life is the book Builder of Bridges by his friend of many years,

R.K. Johnson.