Jerry Vines
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Jerry Vines, born in 1937, is an American preacher and pastor of the nation's third largest Southern Baptist church, the First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Florida. He, along with former co-pastor Dr. Homer G. Lindsay, Jr., is well known for his conservative and sometimes controversial public stances, as well as wide-reaching influence in the Southern Baptist Convention and the local political arena. He recently announced that he will be retiring from the First Baptist pulpit on February 7, 2006.
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History
Jerry Vines was educated at Mercer University, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and Luther Rice Bible College and Seminary before pastoring in churches in Alabama and Georgia. He relocated to Jacksonville in 1982 to co-pastor the First Baptist Church with Homer G. Lindsay Jr. In June 1988, he was elected President of the Southern Baptist Convention and served two terms. During his first 20 years at First Baptist, he baptized 18,177 people, and the church built an $8 million preschool building, $16 million auditorium and four parking garages, totalling almost $14 million.
Controversy
Vines sparked controversy when, at the 2002 Southern Baptist Convention, he remarked that "Christianity was founded by the virgin-born Jesus Christ. Islam was founded by Mohammed, a demon-possessed pedophile who had 12 wives, and his last one was a 9-year-old girl." [1] (http://www.biblicalrecorder.org/content/news/2002/6_14_2002/ne140602vines.shtml) His comments stirred a brief national debate on Islamophobia and the demonization of Islam in relation to the war on terrorism. He defended his comments by saying they were historically accurate.
Selected works
- "I Shall Return"... Jesus: A Biblical Perspective Of End Times (Victor Books, 1977)
- Interviews With Jesus (Broadman Press, 1981)
- A Practical Guide To Sermon Preparation (Moody Publishers, 1985)
- Spirit Life: Experience The Power, Excitement, and Intimacy of God's Shaping Hand (Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998)
- Power In The Pulpit: How To Prepare and Delive Expository Sermons (Moody Publishers, 1999)
- Pursuing God's Own Heart: Lessons From The Life Of David (Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2003)
External links
Jerry Vines.com (http://jerryvines.com/)