Jack Hyles: Difference between revisions

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	Hyles was honored in Hammond, Indiana with a huge portrait of Hyles and his widow, Beverly, dominating the skyline of the town.<ref name="BJH" /> He is also honored in Founder's Park at his college, where they laid 30,000 bricks as flooring for life-sized statues of Hyles and his widow.<ref> ], ] Northwest Indiana Times</ref>		Hyles was honored in Hammond, Indiana with a huge portrait of Hyles and his widow, Beverly, dominating the skyline of the town.<ref name="BJH" /> He is also honored in Founder's Park at his college, where they laid 30,000 bricks as flooring for life-sized statues of Hyles and his widow.<ref> ], ] Northwest Indiana Times</ref>

	==Controversy and criticism==
	=== Allegations by Nischik, Sumner, and Glover ===
	In May 1989, Victor Nischik, a former deacon of the First Baptist Church, accused Hyles of being a "cult leader" who committed adultery with Nischik's former wife and Hyles's long time assistant, Jennie Nischik.<ref>Victor Nischik. ''The Wizard of God: My life with Jack Hyles.'' Buchanan, Mi.: Sychar Pub. Co., 1990."</ref> Nischik, a church accountant, also accused Hyles of questionable financial dealings.<ref name="Charges">"Charges All Lies, Hammond Pastor Says," '']'', ], ].</ref> Hyles said, "Everything that I am charged with is a lie," and claimed Nischik was an "immoral man" that Nischik's wife supposedly found Victor "alone in his pajamas with another woman."<ref name="Charges" /> Hyles also responded to the charges of financial impropriety by pointing out that his salary was only $18,308 in year. He said, "I'm not a wealthy man...I could have been, but I have chosen not to be." Hyles pointed out that the Nischiks and other workers and needy friends regularly received many gifts from himself, including new cars<ref name="Charges" /> Hyles said that he received "love offerings and honorariums" from his nationwide speaking engagements and he said that gifts given to him he shared with others, especially those that worked with him. Hyles said that "money doesn't mean anything to me" and that he has given away "hundreds of thousands of dollars to needy friends" but he doesn't keep records of all the gifts he has given out over the years. <ref name="Charges" />

	], a Baptist evangelist and an author, accused Hyles of running his church in an authoritarian, almost 'cultist' manner in an article called ''The Saddest Story We Ever Published'' in Sumner's ''The Biblical Evangelist'' newsletter. Sumner detailed Nischik's charges and contended that Rev. Hyles has strayed from biblical teaching and into cultlike mind control.<ref name="Cracks">Ed Briggs "Fundamentalists' House Displaying Widening Cracks" '']''. Richmond, Va.: ], ]. pg. A-9</ref><ref>Michael Hirsley, "Pastor denies adultery, 2 other charges." '']''. Chicago, Ill.: ], ]. pg. 1</ref> Sumner's article had over 100 separate allegations of wrongdoing, including one that alleged that Hyles had "sex satellites" in Petersburg, Beaumont, Texas; and Anniston, Alabama.<ref name="Cracks" /> Hyles responded to Sumner's accusations by calling them "all lies".<ref name="Charges" />

	In 1991, Voyle A. Glover, a local government attorney and former member of First Baptist Church of Hammond during Jack Hyles' ministry, published a book called ''Fundamental Seduction: The Jack Hyles Case,'' in which he recounts Sumner's 1989 allegations of "moral laxity, doctrinal heresy and financial impropriety" by Hyles.<ref>Voyle Glover. ''Fundamental Seduction: The Jack Hyles Case.'' Schrerville, Indiana: Brevia Publishing, 1990. </ref> Glover tried to distribute his pamphlets at the First Baptist Church of Hammond, but church members told his distributor that he could not enter the church and an off-duty Hammond police officer working for the church advised that the man could be arrested for disorderly conduct and trespassing.<ref>Gruszecki, Debra ''Northwest Indian Times'' ], ] </ref>

	===Sexual molestation at First Baptist===
	In March 1993, a deacon at First Baptist, A.V. Ballenger, was found guilty of one count of child molestation dating from a 1991 incident in which a church worker reportedly witnessed Ballenger molesting a 7-year-old girl during a Hammond Sunday school class.<ref name="Pastor Linked">Lehmann, Daniel J. "Pastor Linked to Sex Abuse Lashes Out," '']'', ], ]. pg. 5</ref> In 1991, Hyles and First Baptist were sued for $1 million by the girl's parents who believed that Hyles and the church should have done more to protect their daughter.<ref name="leaders sued">"Church leaders sued in sex-abuse case," '']'', ], ].</ref> The parents said that the molestation was brought to Hyles' attention when it happened, but Hyles did nothing about it, so they finally reported it to the police.<ref name="One step">Amanda Beeler. . ''Northwest Indiana Times'' March 31, 1996</ref> The parents claimed in the lawsuit that Hyles told them that Ballenger "just liked little girls," and "you don't have a case."<ref>"Church leaders sued in sex-abuse case" '']''. Oct 16, 1991. Pg. 3</ref> The lawsuit against Ballenger and the church was settled out of court in 1994.<ref name="One step" /> Ballenger was sentenced to five years in prison in 1993, but he remained free on appeal until ], ], when he was finally ordered to report for prison.<ref name="Convicted">Mark Kiesling ''Northwest Indiana Times'' ], ]</ref> The '']'' criticized Hyles because he allowed Ballenger to continue working at the church and have contact with children during Ballenger's appeal.<ref name="innuendo"> '']'' ], ]</ref> Hyles and his followers insisted that he always believed that Ballenger was wrongly convicted, but the leading prosecutor in the case said the church maintained "a conspiracy of silence" by closing ranks behind Ballenger.<ref name="deacon guilty">Ed Evans and Mark Kieslong. . ''Northwest Indiana Times'' March 27, 1993 </ref>

	In May 1993, ], a ], ] area news team, did a six-part story called '']'' where it followed up on allegations of child molestation at area churches.<ref name="Grand Rapids">"7 accused of abuse linked to preacher." ''The Grand Rapids Press.'' Grand Rapids, Mich. ], ]. pg. B.2</ref> The news report said that seven U.S. churches with ongoing molestation controversies all had preachers that attended ].<ref>"Preacher has links to molest suspects" ''The San Diego Union-Tribune.'' San Diego, Calif.: ], ]. p. A.7</ref> The WJBK report linked the abuse cases to Jack Hyles and it also accused him of running a cult. The news station "recapped a sermon in 1990 in which Hyles pretended to pour poison into a glass and asked an associate pastor, Johnny Colsten, to drink from it. Colsten said he would."<ref name="Dictator">Debra Gruszecki. '']'' ], ]</ref> Furthermore, "The WJBK report said the sermon has the "ring of ] to it - the mass suicide in ] in 1978 by followers of cult leader ]."<ref name="Dictator" /> The mini-series also "showed footage during its report of" Hyles "brandishing a rifle form the pulpit, along with "people with guns and walkie-talkies patrolling the outside of the church at times."<ref name="Dictator" />

	In response, on ], ], the ''Northwest Indiana Times'' ran a story entitled ''Baptism by innuendo'', which criticized the stories that ran on WJBK-TV and later on WLS-TV in Chicago. The Times also suggested that the May ratings period, which is traditionally known for such similar sensationalized stories, was not a good enough excuse to make up for the poor journalism the stories displayed, concluding that the stories were "a monstrous overreach". Hyles spoke to 1300 supporters in which he disputed the latest reports point by point and he branded the recent news reports as "ridiculous assumptions and malicious lies".<ref name="Pastor Linked" /> During that speech, Hyles claimed some people in the report had not even attended the school to destroy the bus ministries operated by his church and others like it.<ref name="Pastor Linked" /> Several hundred followers signed a statement supporting Hyles' in an advertisement placed in the Tuesday ], ] ''Chicago Sun-Times''.<ref name="Pastor Linked" />

	After the WJBK news report, the FBI was asked to look into accusations that minors were taken without parental permission from Michigan churches to events at the First Baptist Church of Hammond where they were then allegedly abused.<ref name="FBI">Debra Gruszecki ''Northwest Indiana Times" ], ]</ref> The FBI concluded there was insufficient evidence of any federal crimes and turned the matter over to local authorities.<ref name="FBI" /> On Friday, ], ] Sgt. Charles Hedinger, a Hammond police detective, described the Hyles investigation as "open-ended."<ref name="FBI" /> Jack Hyles said that he welcomed an investigation and he attended a meeting with city officials to discuss it. Hyles emerged from the meeting saying that there was no investigation. Confirmation of this came on Wednesday, ], ], when the Chief of Police detectives, Capt. Bill Conner and the prosecutor's office stated that it did not have any cases or investigations involving Hyles or his church.<ref name="No Investigation" /><ref name="Pastor Linked" />

	=== Hyles and church sued for negligence ===
	In ], ], Hyles and his church were sued by an attorney of a mentally disabled woman and her sister for negligence in connection with sexual assaults alleged to have happened over a six-year period.<ref name="Suit Claims">Debra Gruszecki ''Northwest Indiana Times'' ], ]</ref><ref name="Baptist Megachurch">{{cite web \| year = 2006 \| url = http://www.ctlibrary.com/ct/1997/december8/7te63a.html \| title = Baptist Megachurch Faces Sex Suit \| work = ] \| accessdate = 2006-05-01}}</ref> The lawyer said Hyles was sued because he failed to protect the woman, in 1996, from being raped by two or three males while another church member stood watch.<ref name="Baptist Megachurch" /> Earlier, in 1991, a teacher at First Baptist had reported to the police that the same woman was abused by someone at the church.<ref name="Suit Claims" />The "civil suit filed in ] Court in Gary claims the Chicago woman was "induced by agents" of the church in 1991 to ride a bus to attend Sunday."<ref name="Suit Claims" />

	Despite the rape and abuse claims by the woman's lawyer, it doesn't appear that any criminal charges were filed in the 1991 case or the 1996 case.<ref name="Baptist Megachurch" /><ref name="Suit Claims" /> Hyles denied the allegations that the woman was abused after 1991 in newspaper advertisements and pointed out that his church has costly missions devoted to helping the disabled.<ref name="Baptist Megachurch" /> Hyles alleged that church records showed that the girl had not even attended the church since the 1991 abuse incident.<ref name="Suit Claims" />

	==Works by Hyles==		==Works by Hyles==

Revision as of 22:26, 25 August 2006

File:Jack Frasure Hyles FBC Hammond.jpg

Jack Frasure Hyles (September 25, 1926-February 6, 2001) was a leading figure in the independent Baptist movement. He pastored the First Baptist Church of Hammond from 1959 until his death. He was also well-known for being an innovator of the church bus ministry that brought thousands of people each week from surrounding towns to Hammond for services. Jack Hyles built First Baptist up from fewer than a thousand members to a membership of 100,000. In 1993 and again in 1994, it was reported that 20,000 people attended First Baptist every Sunday, making it the most attended protestant church in the United States In 2001, at the time of Hyles death, 20,000 people were attending church services and Sunday school each week.

Over the course of his nearly 50 years as a church leader, Hyles was occasionally criticized for his doctrinal views and for alleged scandals. His literal interpretation of the Bible often put him at odds with other Christians -- even with other fundamentalist Baptists.

History

His early life and beginnings of his ministry

Hyles was born and raised in Italy, Texas, a low income area just south of Dallas, Texas. Hyles often described his less-than-ideal upbringing which, he said, included distant parents. At 18 years of age, Hyles was drafted into the United States Army and served as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division during World War II. He and his wife, Beverly, were married during the war.

After the war was over, Hyles completed his college education at East Texas Baptist College. He also attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. After his graduation from East Texas, Hyles started preaching at several small Texas churches, after which their membership grew. These churches included: Marris Chapel Baptist Church, Bogata, Texas; Grange Hall Baptist Church, Marshall, Texas; and Southside Baptist Church, Henderson, Texas. After receiving his education Hyles pastored at the Miller Road Baptist Church in Garland, Texas for about six years. During this time the congregation grew from 44 members up to 4,000 members. Hyles said he was "kicked out" of the Southern Baptist denomination because he was too conservative for them. Hyles then ran Miller Road Baptist Church as an independent preacher for a while.

The move to Hammond, Indiana

In 1959, Hyles moved to Hammond, Indiana and became the pastor of First Baptist Church of Hammond. When he arrived, the church had a membership of around 700 people, said to be mostly "high-society types." About a third of the members left the church after hearing Hyles preaching style, which was much different than what they were used to. Hyles then led the Church to its status as an independent Baptist church -- freeing it from its ties with the American Baptists. Hyles started his bus ministry and soon shepherded the church from a congregation of several hundred to more than 20,000. In the early 1990s a national survey ranked First Baptist as the largest church in the nation, by average weekly attendance figures.

Beginning in 1969, and continuing for several years, First Baptist received recognition for the size of its Sunday School. In 1969, Dr. Elmer Towns wrote a book called The Ten Largest Sunday Schools and What Makes Them Grow which analyzed First Baptist's Sunday School. Towns presented a plaque to Jack Hyles in 1971, naming First Baptist Church of Hammond the nation’s largest Sunday school. In 1972, and for several years following, Christian Life Magazine proclaimed First Baptist Church of Hammond to have "the world's largest Sunday School".

In 1972, Jack Hyles and Russell Anderson founded Hyles-Anderson College, an unaccredited bible college, to specialize in training Baptist ministers and Christian school teachers. Hyles-Anderson College never sought accreditation because Hyles insisted school accreditation would undermine his ability to control how the college ought to run, and for various other reasons outlined in a sermon entitled, Accreditation.

The ministry of Hyles

One of the most notable aspects of Hyles is his church bus ministry that he helped innovate. As early as 1975, Time magazine described the phenomenon in an article titled, "Superchurch." The Time article notes that First Baptist Church of Hammond Sunday School, which regularly ran almost 14,000 people, pushed the church to a record attendance of 30,560 on March 16, 1975, thanks to a boisterous contest between two bus route teams. In that year, the First Baptist bus route ministry consisted of 1,000 workers using 230 buses to ferry as many as 10,000 people every Sunday. In 2001, a fleet of over 200 buses was regularly ferrying 7,000 to 15,000 people from throughout northwest Indiana and the Chicago, Illinois area.

Hyles was also a leader in the Independent Baptist movement through his speaking at 'The Sword of the Lord' conferences with John R. Rice and his own annual "Pastors School". The school continues to attract as many as 7000 visitors to the Hammond area.

Hyles wrote approximately fifty works in his lifetime with over 14 million total copies in circulation, including the popular Is There A Hell?, based on a sermon he preached at a National Sword of the Lord Conference. Another work, Enemies of Soul Winning tackled many issues considered controversial in fundamentalist and evangelical circles, which include the doctrine of repentance, Lordship salvation, and the role of the church in soul winning. The Calvary Contender wrote, "Hyles will be remembered as a one-of-a-kind, ever controversial leader whose ministry touched the lives of multitudes."

Jack Hyles was better known as "Brother Hyles" to his tens of thousands of congregants.

Honors, awards, accolades, and praise

Hyles has been the recipient of much praise, honors, and other accolades throughout the course of his life, and even continuing on past his death.

Hyles received an honorary doctorate from Midwestern Baptist College, an unaccredited bible college for budding pastors, missionaries, evangelists, and Christian school teachers.

In 2001, the Hyles' boyhood home, a 384 square foot shack in Italy, Texas (30 miles south of Dallas, Texas) was purchased for a planned museum to honor Hyles. The home was shipped from Texas to Hyles-Anderson College. The home was planned to house Hyle's writings, photographs, and other relics on the 2,700-student campus. Ray Young, a close friend of Hyles, said, "We have 5,000 to 7,000 independent Baptists who come here each year for conventions. Reverend Hyles was very much adored by independent Baptists across the country. It should be a major attraction for them."

Hyles' commitment to poor children grew out of his own childhood. He was raised in poverty by a single mother during the Great Depression. Hyles is given recognition for his commitment to the poor, mostly black and Hispanic children from Chicago's inner-city neighborhoods, whom he has bussed to private Christian schools in Hammond every day.

Hyles was known as a "great preacher" among the fundamentalist preachers. The Washington Post compared the meek preaching style of Jerry Falwell to the "spit and fire" of Jack Hyles. The Post suggested that after you heard a preacher like Hyles, "you knew that you'd been preached to".

The Chicago Sun Times wrote about Hyles on the occasion of his death, "When he chose the interests of poor, inner-city kids over millionaire church members, they said he'd never keep the doors of his church open. In more than 50 years of ministry, the Rev. Jack Hyles, pastor of mammoth First Baptist Church in Hammond, Ind. proved them all wrong. In the process he built one of the largest congregations in the country, a college, six schools, and a vibrant ministry that will now have to survive without him."

In the same article, the President of Hyles-Anderson College was quoted as saying Hyles is "a tremendous man of integrity, business acumen, leadership ability, organization. You didn't have to do everything his way. But after you experimented, you usually found out his way was the best way".

Matthew Barnett, while discussing his work at an inner-city Los Angeles ministry, explained how he learned from Jack Hyles. He explained how he and his dad learned the whole bus ministry and bus captains idea from Hyles during a conference. Barnett also expounded on how Hyles was a tremendous soul winner, and how Hyles had great influence throughout the entire Chicago area.

The Rev. Jerry Falwell, chancellor of Liberty University, said that "Hyles will be remembered as a leader in evangalism through the local church." Falwell also said, "He inspired me as a young pastor to win others to Christ through Sunday school, the pulpit, and personal witnessing. He made a great contribution to the calls of Christ".

The mayor of Hammond, Illinois, speaking of Hyles, said, "He had a tremendous following at his church, but when other people where moving out of downtown Hammond, the reverend decided to stay. Many of his congregation lived in Hammond, so I would say he had a very important impact here."

Hyles was honored in Hammond, Indiana with a huge portrait of Hyles and his widow, Beverly, dominating the skyline of the town. He is also honored in Founder's Park at his college, where they laid 30,000 bricks as flooring for life-sized statues of Hyles and his widow.

Works by Hyles

Books

Seeing Him Who Is Invisible -- Sword of the Lord Pub (1960) ISBN 0873987543
How to Boost Your Church Attendance -- Zondervan (January 1, 1961)
Let's Build an Evangelistic Church -- Sword of the Lord Pub (1962) ISBN 0873985028
Kisses of Calvary and Other Sermons -- Sword of the Lord Pub (1965) ISBN 087398479X
Let's Hear Jack Hyles (Burning Messages for the Saved and Unsaved) -- Sword of the Lord (1972) ISBN 0873985044
Hyles Church Manual -- Sword of the Lord Pub (November 1982) ISBN 0873983726
Church Bus Handbook -- Hyles-Anderson (1970)
How to Rear Children -- Hyles-Anderson Pub (January 1, 1972) 193 pgs.
How to Rear Infants -- Hyles-Anderson Pub (January 1, 1979) 143 pgs.
How to Rear Teenagers -- Revival Fires! Publishers (January 1, 1998) 155 pgs.
Blue Denim and Lace -- Hyles-Anderson Pub (1972)
Let's Go Soul Winning -- Sword of the Lord Pub (January 1980) ISBN 0873985036
Hyles Sunday School Manual -- Sword of the Lord Pub (November 1982) ISBN 0873983912
The Blood, the Book and the Body -- Hyles-Anderson Pub (1992)
Enemies of Soul Winning -- Hyles-Anderson Pub (1993) 148 pgs.
Please Pardon My Poetry -- Hyles-Anderson Pub (January 1, 1976) 123 pgs.
Logic Must Prove the King James Bible. -- Hyles-Anderson Pub
Is There A Hell? -- Hyles-Anderson Pub
Jack Hyles Speaks on Biblical Separation -- Hyles-Anderson Pub (1984) 112 pgs.
Salvation is more than Being Saved -- Hyles-Anderson Pub (1985) 150 pgs.
Teaching on Preaching -- Hyles-Anderson Pub (1986) 153 pgs.
Grace and Truth -- Hyles-Anderson (January 1, 1975) 222 pgs.
The Miracle of the Bus Ministry -- Ray Young Publications (1996)
Fundamentalism in My Lifetime -- Hyles Pub (2002) ISBN 0970948840
What Great Men Taught Me -- Berean Publications (2000)
Truman Dollar, Jerry Falwell, A.V. Henderson, & Jack Hyles Building Blocks of the Faith (Foundational Bible Doctrines, Special Faith Partner Edition) -- Fundamentalist Church Publications (1977) ISBN 0896630064

Other

Introduction to the Dino J. Pedrone book What is It All About? Sword of the Lord (2000) ISBN 0873989325
Introduction to the Beverly Hyles book Woman, the Assembler (Making Your Hasband a Leader) Hyles Publications (1995)

References

^ Janega, James Rev. Jack Hyles; Led bus ministry Chicago Tribune, Feb 9, 2001
Lehmann, Daniel J. "Fundamentalists Shun a Society They Try to Save" Chicago Sun-Times, June 6, 1993. pg. 5
^ Lehmann, Daniel J. "Pastor Linked to Sex Abuse Lashes Out," Chicago Sun-Times, June 2, 1993. pg. 5
^ Chalfant, H. Paul, Religion in Contemporary Society (3rd Edition), Itasca, Illinois: F.E. Peacock Publishers (1994); pgs. 363-364
^ Falsani, Cathleen Brother Jack Hyles of Hammond dies at 74 Chicago Sun Times, February 8, 2001.
^ "First Baptist Church. . . Helping People for 116 Years, and Counting!" (PDF). The Voice of First Baptist Church. Retrieved May 1. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
Towns, Elmer. "The Ten Largest Sunday Schools and What Makes Them Grow" (PDF). Baker Book House. Retrieved May 1. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
"Megachurch Pastor Jack Hyles Dead at 74". Christianity Today. Retrieved April 2. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
^ Superchurch Time Dec 1, 1975 (retrieved Jun 4, 2006)
Zabroski, Steve (2006). "Faithful flock to Hammond". Northwest Indiana Times. Retrieved March 24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
"Jack Hyles Succumbs To Heart Attack". Calvary Contender. 2001. Retrieved May 1. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
Associated Press Texas childhood home of prominent minister planned as Indiana museum Schererville, Ind. November 6, 2001
Harrington, Walt What Hath Falwell Wrought? Washington Post July 24, 1988, pg W19
High hopes: Matthew Barnett's secret is to inspire others to dream what God can do--and dream big The Leadership Interview from Leadership Journal Jan 1, 2005
News briefs Illinois edition: Dedication to unveil college founder Oct 20, 2001 Northwest Indiana Times

External links

Hyles Ministry

The Jack Hyles Home Page -- books, sermons, & links
Hyles Publications -- a publisher of books and bibles including many by Jack Hyles
JackHyles.net - An unofficial Jack Hyles site with archival copies of books and sermons and links to discussion groups

Criticism

Biblical Discernment Ministeries criticism of Hyles
The Jack Hyles Story by Robert Sumner

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