Bob Jones Case Study

The route to ministry for Billy was through college. One of the South’s leading evangelists, Bob Jones, came to Charlotte to speak at a high school to recruit students to attend Bob Jones College in Cleveland, Tennessee. Billy’s parents believed that this was the place for their son (Bruns, 2004). In the fall of 1936, Graham went off to Cleveland to begin his studies. Graham thought that the college was more strict than a prison (Bruns, 2004). For example, a couple could not hold hands and mail was read and checked for impurities (Wooten, 2001). Billy was miserable at this college and when Christmas break came, he knew he would not be resuming his studies in Tennessee. The Graham’s took a short vacation to Florida over the holidays and while …show more content…
In addition to studies and part-time jobs, students were expected to be prepared to preach anywhere at any given time (Wooten, 2001). Billy prepared four sermons and one day he got his chance to preach them at a small Baptist church in Bostwick. To his dismay, his sermon that was initially supposed to last forty-five minutes only lasted about two minutes. He practiced preaching in downtown Tampa by standing on the streets preaching to passersby or he would go into bars and preach to drunks about their evil ways. Billy would even go down to the banks of the Hillsboro River and preach to the animals and any old stump. But Graham was still unsure about what he wanted to do with his life (Wooten, 2001). One night he decided to take a stroll through the golf course and ask God what he should do. On the eighteenth hole, he had a sure answer, he was going to be a preacher. These beginning experiences in college were what would set Billy up for the rest of his life and career. Billy knew that he needed more education, and that is why he decided to head up …show more content…
In the fall of 1940, Graham packed his bags to head up north (Wooten, 2001). Billy seemed like a foreigner in Chicago (Bruns, 2004). He spoke differently, was less sophisticated and experienced, and overall he felt like a hick (Wooten, 2001). Wheaton had many more courses to offer, and Graham found the demands more harsh (Wooten, 2001). Graham decided to major in anthropology, the study of human beings, their origins, and cultures. And along with his studies, he got a job with Wheaton College Student Trucking Service, where they hauled trash and moved furniture (Wooten, 2001). Graham felt very out of place at Wheaton. It was nothing like his old college at Florida Bible Institute. Things would get better though, because Billy was about to meet his future