Bob Gray - When Principle Was King

WHEN PRINCIPLE WAS KING

The Life and Principles of Dr. JackHyles

By: Bob Gray Sr.

Solve Church Problems

P.O. Box 150484 ~ Longview, Texas 75615~ (903)576-1307

IndependetBaptist.com

2012-Bob Gray, Sr.

Published by Bob Gray Sr. atSmashwords

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

There have been many dear mentors,colleagues, friends, church members, staff members, and family whohave contributed greatly to my ministry and to this manuscript.Their encouragement has been unspeakably endless. I am approachingmy thirty-ninth year in the ministry and have had the wonderfulprivilege to pastor thirty-three of those years with ministriesaveraging from ninety to ten thousand members. Every friendship hasbeen precious to me. However, there is an unsung group of heroineswho have often gone unnoticed here on earth, but certainly will notgo unnoticed at the Judgment Seat of Christ. The Lord has blessedme with some of the most talented lady staff members a pastor couldever have had the privilege of working with side by side. Theircontribution to this manuscript cannot and will not be overlooked.I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation for these dearladies who, throughout the years, have made my work appear betterthan it really was.

*Mrs. Annette Martin*Miss DebbieBilladeau

*Mrs. Jennifer Petticoffer*Mrs. DianaFaye Ayres

*Mrs. Lu Anne Spencer*Mrs. CherylZinn

*Mrs. Pam Smith*Mrs. CrystalMatney

*Mrs. Amy Walters*Mrs. MaryRobinson

*Mrs. Karen Forgy*Mrs. MarthaDuckett

*Mrs. Stacy Freeman*Mrs. NicoleClapp

*Mrs. Karen Mendez*Mrs. DebbieKilpatrick

*Mrs. Joy Bleak*Mrs. HeatherAlderson

*Mrs. Elaine Howie*Mrs. CharityGabucci

PROLOGUE

Jack Frasure Hyles

1926-2001

First Baptist Church of Hammond,Indiana, was founded in 1888. Little did Dr. Hyles know that hisministry would grow into a great local church and would developinto a nationwide and even worldwide impact onChristianity.

The church grew from a weeklyattendance of 700 to 20,000.

The church baptized 10,000 converts ayear for his last five years as pastor.

4,000 soul winners a week

The Spanish Ministry averaged 2,000 aSunday.

The church had the largest DeafMinistry in the world.

The church ran over 200 Sunday schoolbus routes a Sunday.

The church started their own RescueMission.

The church has the largest EducableSlow Ministry in the world.

The church operated Hyles-AndersonCollege, with over 2,500 students, on an 88 acre campus.

Over 3,000 graduates fromHAC

The church operated Hammond BaptistGrade School, Junior High School, and Hammond Baptist High Schoolon a 26 acre campus.

The church operated Hammond CityBaptist High School for Chicago children.

The church hosted an ANNUAL NATIONWIDEPASTORS SCHOOL the third week in March, with thousands of pastorsattending.

The church hosted an ANNUAL NATIONWIDEYOUTH CONFERENCE averaging 7,000 teens a year.

The First Baptist Church, since August1959, had grown to a membership of 100,000.

Property values grew from $70,000 to$70,000,000.

Dr. Hyles authored 46 books andpamphlets with sales over 14 million.

Dedication to RussellAnderson

By the end of this year I will havepublished my thirty-first book. I believe this book will, perhaps,be the most important work God has allowed me to do thus far. Noneof this would have transpired had it not been for the influences ofmy family, my staff, my church, and my preacher friends who havebrought much to light on this book in the past fewyears.

I owe everything to my Saviour and tothose men of God who mentored, corrected, encouraged, andbefriended me: men like Dr. John R. Rice, Dr. Lee Roberson, Dr. TomMalone, Dr. Curtis Hutson, and, of course, the subject of thisbook, Dr. Jack Frasure Hyles.

Throughout the history of Gods workthere have always been men behind these men of God who, as laymen,were a key part of the work. Often, they have greatly helped in afinancial way. God sent Russell Anderson to Dr. Hyles as He hasdone hundreds of times for other great men of God in history. TheirGod-given gift with finances was given to the cause of Christ andsuch is the story of Russell Anderson.

One of the greatest Christianbusinessmen in history was a Philadelphia philanthropist andretailing pioneer, John Wanamaker, who developed a chain ofdepartment stores on the East Coast in the 1800s. This chain ofstores lasted almost two centuries. In his lifetime he helped tosupport one of the greatest evangelistic crusades in our nationshistory. He purchased the abandoned Pennsylvania Railroad Station,the largest building in Philadelphia, for D. L. Moodysrecord-breaking crusades. He also built hospitals, churches,colleges, and Sunday schools. Mr. Wanamaker gave over twentymillion dollars to Gods work!

Another example was Henry P. Crowell,affectionately called The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table. Afterhearing a sermon by D. L. Moody, the young Crowell prayed, I cantbe a preacher, but I can be a good businessman. God, if you willlet me make money, I will use it in your service. That is exactlywhat he did! He bought a little run down Quaker Mill in Ravenna,Ohio. Within ten years Quaker Oats was a household staple tomillions. Mr. Crowell gave sixty to seventy percent of his incometo Gods work.

The prolific inventor of earth-movingmachinery, R. G. Letourneau, once said in an interview for ForbesMagazine, Id like to do two things. One is to design machines,turn on the power and see them work. The other is to turn on thepower of the Gospel and see it work in peoples lives. When hedied he held over 300 patents, one being his monster earth-movingmachine which weighed 200,000 pounds and could cut a thirty-fivefoot swath through a jungle, knocking down trees five feet indiameter and shredding them up. Besides giving up to ninety percentof his income to the Lord, he would fly anywhere he was able tospeak about Jesus Christ.

The story of William Colgate isfascinating. As a sixteen-year-old lad he left home with all of hispossessions tied in a small bundle to seek his fortune. He met anold canal boat captain whom he told that his dad was too poor tokeep him and the only trade he knew was soap and candle making. Theold captain knelt and prayed for William and led him to Christ! Thecaptain told him, Someone will soon be the leading soap-maker inNew York. It might as well be you. Be a good and an honest man andpay the Lord all that belongs to him, make an honest soap: give afull pound, and God will bless you and make you a rich man. As aresult, William Colgate gave millions of dollars to the Lordswork.

There are many other similar stories oflaymen who gave millions to Gods work. As great as these storiesare, perhaps no one in history has given more to the work of Godthan Dr. Russell Anderson. Up to the present, he has already giventhirty-five million dollars to Gods work. He is the Anderson partof Hyles-Anderson College.

On a Sunday morning in 1962, Dr.Anderson and his family visited First Baptist Church. When theservice ended, a member of the church, who was a widow, asked theAndersons if they had any plans for lunch. When they told her theydid not, she invited them for lunch at her home. This little act ofkindness helped to begin a lifelong friendship with Dr.Hyles.

Born in Hunter, Kentucky, on May 16,1931, Dr. Russell Anderson was a Kentucky coal miner. Hiscoal-mining dad and hard working housewife mother had six children,four boys and two girls. One of the boys died very young. Fromthese humble beginnings, Russell Anderson has emerged as a shiningexample of the work ethic, and the faithfulness of God toward thosewho live their lives according to Bible principles.