Bob Jones

Background

Robert Reynolds Jones Jr. was born in Montgomery, Alabama, to evangelist and university founder Bob Jones Sr. and Mary Gaston Jones. During childhood he traveled with his parents on evangelistic campaigns and was taught at various times by tutors. His grandmother, Estelle Siddons Stollenwerck, introduced him to literature when he was five and to French when he was six. He attended a private school, briefly attended public school, and in 1923 entered Starke's University School, a military academy in Montgomery. When Bob Jones College and Academy was founded in 1927, he transferred there for his senior year. His early religious commitment was influenced by hearing his father preach, and he became closely identified with the Christian educational movement established by his family.

Education

Jones graduated from Starke's University School in Montgomery and completed his senior year at Bob Jones College and Academy after transferring there in 1927. He graduated from Bob Jones College in 1931 with a major in speech and a minor in history. He earned a master's degree in history from the University of Pittsburgh in 1933, completing the work over two summers. He also studied at the University of Chicago, the University of Alabama, and Northwestern University. Later honorary degrees included Doctor of Letters from Asbury College and Chung-Ang University, Doctor of Humane Letters from John Brown University, Doctor of Law from Houghton College, Doctor of Divinity from Northwestern Schools, and an honorary Doctor of Letters associated with the University of Chicago.

Career

Jones joined the Bob Jones College faculty after completing his undergraduate degree and taught while becoming involved in the institution's administration. In 1932 he was appointed vice president and acting president while his father traveled; he continued to serve as acting president during his father's absences through 1947. He became president in 1947, the year Bob Jones College became Bob Jones University and moved to Greenville, South Carolina. As president he helped guide the institutional transition, supervised the development of the Greenville campus and many of its principal buildings, and promoted programs in drama, music, motion pictures, travel, and art. He was also a preacher, lecturer, Shakespearean actor and interpreter, writer, and collector of Old Master paintings. He became chancellor in 1971 and continued preaching, representing the university internationally, and influencing its academic and cultural life until his death in Greenville on November 12, 1997. Jones founded and edited the periodical Faith for the Family from 1973 to 1986.

Achievements

• Helped lead Bob Jones College through its transformation into Bob Jones University and its relocation to Greenville, South Carolina, in 1947.

• Designed or influenced the development of the Greenville campus and many of its principal buildings.

• Established and promoted major university arts and cultural programs, including the Classic Players, the Artist Series, the Opera Association, Unusual Films, and the Museum and Gallery.

• Founded and edited Faith for the Family, a periodical published from 1973 to 1986.

• Developed a major collection of religious and Old Master paintings for the Bob Jones University Museum and Gallery.

• Wrote the novel Wine of Morning, which was adapted into a feature film selected to represent the United States at the Cannes International Film Festival.

Works

• memoir

  • Cornbread and Caviar

    (A memoir and collection of reminiscences and reflections.)

    1985

• novel

  • Wine of Morning

    (A historical novel set in the first century; it later ser...)

    1950

  • Daniel of Babylon

    (A historical novel based on the biblical figure Daniel.)

    1984

• poetry anthology

  • Inspirational and Devotional Verse

    (An anthology of devotional and inspirational poems.)

    1946

  • Rhyme & Reason

    (An anthology of inspirational verse.)

    1981

• preaching instruction

  • How to Improve Your Preaching

    (A practical work on sermon preparation, delivery, worship...)

    1960

• religious instruction

  • Fundamentals of Faith

    (A series of chapel messages on the Bob Jones University c...)

    1964

• sermon collection

  • Ancient Truths for Modern Days

    (Sermons on Old Testament subjects and their application t...)

    1963

  • Old Testament Sermons

    (A collection of sermons on Old Testament subjects.)

    1973

  • As the Small Rain

    (A collection of brief sermons and quotable poems.)

    1945

  • Showers Upon the Grass

    (A companion volume to As the Small Rain.)

    1951

Religion

Bob Jones Jr. was a Christian preacher and university leader whose educational and cultural work was shaped by evangelical Christian conviction. He was associated with the fundamentalist Christian tradition represented by Bob Jones University and regularly preached in chapel services and Bible conferences.

Views

Jones held that Christian education should unite religious conviction with serious study of literature, music, drama, and the visual arts. He argued that a broad engagement with legitimate and wholesome fields of learning enriched life and strengthened Christian testimony, and he sought to make cultural refinement part of the educational identity of Bob Jones University.

Quotations: The broader a man's interest in any legitimate and wholesome field of study, the more enjoyment he will find in life.

Membership

Jones served as president of the board of the Gospel Fellowship Association, reflecting his continuing leadership in evangelical religious and educational work. He was also an honorary member of the International Cultural Society Korea, extending his institutional and cultural associations beyond the United States.

• President of the board.

  Gospel Fellowship Association , United States

• Honorary member.

  International Cultural Society Korea , South Korea

Personality

Jones was described as a man of strong convictions who could appear forceful and uncompromising in defending his religious beliefs. He was also recognized for broad cultural interests, literary knowledge, theatrical ability, and a cultivated appreciation of painting and the performing arts.

Quotes from others about the person

• A contemporary friend described Jones as sometimes harsh and unbending in manner but emphasized that his intensity arose from strong convictions rather than hatred or bitterness. He was also regarded as a Shakespearean authority and interpreter and as an influential promoter of the arts within Christian higher education.

Interests

• His interests included Shakespearean drama, poetry, hymn writing, religious art, public preaching, motion pictures, travel, and the cultivation of cultural programs in Christian education.

• Writers

  Jones had a documented lifelong interest in William Shakespeare and literature, beginning with instruction from his grandmother and continuing through his work as a Shakespearean actor and interpreter.

• Artists

  Jones collected Old Master paintings and developed the collection that became associated with the Bob Jones University Museum and Gallery. The collection included works attributed to Rembrandt, Rubens, Van Dyck, Tintoretto, Veronese, Lucas Cranach the Elder, Gerard David, Bartolomé Murillo, Mattia Preti, Jusepe de Ribera, and Gustave Doré.

• Music & Bands

  Jones wrote hymn texts, including the words of the Bob Jones University hymn, which was set to music by Harriet Parker and other university musicians.

Connections

Jones was the son of evangelist and Bob Jones University founder Bob Jones Sr. and Mary Gaston Jones. He married Fannie May Holmes, who headed Bob Jones University's Department of Home Economics from 1947 to 1985, and they had three children: Bob Jones III, Jon Jones, and Joy Jones. Bob Jones III succeeded his father as president of Bob Jones University. Jones's family relationships were closely connected with the university's leadership and institutional history.

Father:

Bob Jones Sr.

Evangelist and founder of Bob Jones University.

Mother:

Mary Gaston Jones

Wife:

Fannie May Holmes Jones

Head of the Department of Home Economics at Bob Jones University from 1947 to 1985.

Son:

Bob Jones III

Succeeded his father as president of Bob Jones University.

Son:

Jon Jones

Daughter:

Joy Jones

References

• Bob Jones University: Origins of BJU Seminary Documents Jones's childhood, education, administrative career, presidency, chancellorship, and cultural initiatives at Bob Jones University.
  2019
• BJU 100: Our Stories Provides an institutional biography of Robert Reynolds Jones Jr., including his terms as acting president, president, and chancellor.
• Bob Jones Jr. Dies at 86; Was Head of University An Associated Press obituary documenting Jones's death, career, preaching, Shakespearean interests, art collection, writings, and family.
  1997
• Obituary: Bob Jones, University Administrator and Preacher An obituary describing Jones's leadership of Bob Jones University, preaching ministry, theatrical interests, and cultural influence.
  1997