Jerry Vines is an American Baptist minister, author, and denominational leader who pastored First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, served twice as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, and became associated with the conservative defense of biblical inerrancy during the convention’s late-twentieth-century Conservative Resurgence.
Background
Charles Jerry Vines was born on September 22, 1937, in Carroll County, Georgia, to Charles Clarence Vines and Ruby Johnson Vines. He grew up in the Georgia Baptist environment and began preaching as a teenager, developing a vocational commitment that combined local church ministry with theological study.
Vines married Janet Denney on December 17, 1960. They have four children: Joy, Jodi, Jim, and Jon. His family life accompanied a succession of pastorates in Georgia, Alabama, and Florida and later his continuing ministry through preaching, writing, and Bible-teaching resources.
Education
Vines received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, in 1959. Founded in 1833, Mercer developed from a Baptist college into a comprehensive university while retaining a historic connection with Baptist education in the American South.
He earned a Bachelor of Divinity degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in 1966. The seminary, founded in 1917 by the Southern Baptist Convention, trained ministers and missionaries within the denomination's theological and ministerial tradition.
In 1974 he received a Doctor of Theology degree from Luther Rice Seminary in Jacksonville, Florida. He later received honorary Doctor of Divinity degrees from Criswell College and Liberty University in 1991. Criswell College emerged from the educational ministry associated with First Baptist Church of Dallas, while Liberty University developed as a large evangelical institution founded by Jerry Falwell in Lynchburg, Virginia.
Career
Vines began preaching in Georgia churches while completing his undergraduate education and theological training. His early ministry included pastorates at Centralhatchee Baptist Church, Bethesda Baptist Church in Carrollton, Eureka Baptist Church in Carroll County, Second Baptist Church in Cedartown, and First Baptist Church in Fort Oglethorpe. These assignments established the pattern of local-church preaching and pastoral visitation that marked his career.
He pastored West Rome Baptist Church in Rome, Georgia, from 1968 to 1974 and again from 1979 to 1982, with a pastorate at Dauphin Way Baptist Church in Mobile, Alabama, between those periods. Dauphin Way was among Alabama's prominent Southern Baptist congregations, while West Rome became associated with church growth during Vines's leadership.
In July 1982 Vines became co-pastor of First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Florida, alongside Homer G. Lindsay Jr., and later served as the church's senior pastor. He remained there until retiring from the active pastorate in February 2006. The Jacksonville church was one of the largest and most prominent Southern Baptist congregations in the United States, giving Vines a major platform for preaching and denominational leadership.
Vines served as president of the Southern Baptist Pastors' Conference in 1976–1977 and was elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1988 and re-elected in 1989. His 1987 convention sermon, “A Baptist and His Bible,” defended the inspiration and authority of Scripture and became a notable statement within the Conservative Resurgence. After retiring from First Baptist Church, he continued preaching and teaching through Jerry Vines Ministries, which distributes sermons, books, and Bible-study materials.
Achievements
Vines's 1987 sermon “A Baptist and His Bible,” preached at the Southern Baptist Convention, became a prominent conservative statement on biblical inspiration and authority during the Southern Baptist Convention's Conservative Resurgence.
He developed a continuing ministry of expository preaching through sermons, books, conferences, and Bible-teaching materials distributed by Jerry Vines Ministries.
Works
autobiography
Vines: My Life and Ministry
(An autobiographical account of Vines's journey from Carro...)
2014
biblical commentary
God Speaks Today: A Study of I Corinthians
(A study of the First Epistle to the Corinthians published...)
(The published form of Vines's 1987 Southern Baptist Conve...)
1988
Religion
Vines is a Baptist minister whose preaching and denominational leadership were shaped by evangelical convictions concerning the authority, inspiration, and practical use of the Bible. Baptist traditions emphasize believer's baptism, the autonomy of the local church, congregational participation, and the priesthood of all believers.
His 1987 sermon “A Baptist and His Bible” expressed a conservative view of biblical inspiration and became associated with the Southern Baptist Convention's Conservative Resurgence. Through his pastorates, convention leadership, books, and later ministry, he emphasized conversion, evangelism, expository preaching, and Christian discipleship.
Views
Vines's public theology centers on the authority and inspiration of the Bible, conversion through faith in Jesus Christ, evangelism, and the responsibility of pastors to explain biblical texts faithfully. His preaching philosophy emphasizes expository preaching, in which sermons develop from the meaning and structure of a biblical passage rather than from detached topical treatment.
His ministry also treats Christian growth as an ongoing process of Bible study, prayer, discipleship, and practical obedience. Through his writing and teaching resources, he presents preaching as both a theological responsibility and a form of service to local churches.
Membership
Vines participated in the Southern Baptist Pastors' Conference and the Southern Baptist Convention, institutions that connect autonomous Baptist churches through preaching meetings, cooperative mission work, theological education, and denominational administration. His leadership in these bodies placed him among the prominent Southern Baptist pastors involved in the convention's late-twentieth-century theological conflict.
His later work through Jerry Vines Ministries extended this pattern of service by providing expository sermons, preaching resources, and Bible-teaching materials for pastors, teachers, and churches.
President
Southern Baptist Pastors' Conference
,
United States
1976 - 1977
President for two terms
Southern Baptist Convention
,
United States
1988 - 1989
Personality
Vines has described preaching, Bible study, prayer, and continued ministerial learning as central disciplines of his life and work. His public ministry consistently presents him as a highly committed expository preacher and teacher.
Quotes from others about the person
Adrian Rogers described Vines's 1987 convention sermon as an example of scholarship, conviction, and devotion to Jesus Christ and the Bible.
Interests
Spending time with family and grandchildren in the Smoky Mountains; visiting the Old Mill restaurant in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
Sport & Clubs
Alabama football
Connections
Vines married Janet Denney on December 17, 1960. They have four children: daughters Joy and Jodi and sons Jim and Jon. The family has also included sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, including Tim Williams and Leslie Vines, as well as grandchildren identified by Jerry Vines Ministries.
Jerry Vines Ministries: About Us
Official biographical information about Vines's ministry, education, family, denominational leadership, retirement, and interests.
Jerry Vines Enrolls in Ph.D. Program
Institutional profile describing Vines's preaching career, education, ministry at First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, and role in the Southern Baptist Convention's Conservative Resurgence.
2017
Vines, Charles Jerry, 1937-
Library biographical entry documenting Vines's birth, family, pastorates, denominational offices, and published works.
