1 JESSE MURPHY HENDLEY COLLECTION AR 848 Prepared by: Taffey Hall, Archivist Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives March, 2004 Updated April, 2012 2 Jesse Murphy Hendley Collection AR 848 Summary: Main Entry: Jesse Murphy Hendley Collection Date Span: 1933 – 1994 Abstract: Jesse Hendley was an author, poet, song writer, and evangelist. He held crusades across America and in Canada, Africa, India, Central America, and South America. He was host of The Radio Evangelistic Hour for fifty years. His collection consists mainly of Hendley’s sermons, sermon outlines, and sermons on cassette tape, and most of the cassette tape recordings were sermons Hendley used on The Radio Evangelistic hour Size: 12 linear ft. (12 boxes) Collection #: AR 848 Biographical Sketch The “Dean of Southern Baptist Evangelists,” Dr. Jesse Murphy Hendley dedicated his life to the proclamation of the gospel message to lost souls.1 He was born October 11, 1907 in Montgomery, Alabama, to Albert and Helen Hendley, but his family moved to the Atlanta area when he was a child. He received his education from the public schools in Atlanta and later attended Georgia Tech University for one year. Hendley accepted the call to preach and enrolled at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. He later attended Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Jesse Hendley was a natural leader. His first pastorate position was at Liberty Baptist Church in Lilburn, Georgia (now Lilburn First Baptist), from 1932 to 1933. He later served as pastor of Colonial Hills Baptist Church in East Point, Georgia for fourteen years. Under his leadership, the congregation grew from eighty-five on Sunday mornings to 2,300. He also began a radio ministry, in 1931 that developed into The Radio Evangelistic Hour (one of the most sustained and successful gospel radio ministries of the twentieth century). Hendley also served as the editor of The Radio Evangelistic News, a monthly publication that featured sermons from the REH as well as letters from listeners of the show. In addition to holding revival meetings throughout the United States, Dr. Hendley preached messages in Africa, India, Indonesia, the Panama Canal Zone, Singapore, and South America. 1 Bryant, James W. “Sixty-five Years in Evangelism: A Spiritual Biography of Dr. Jesse M. Hendley” – Paper in Jesse M. Hendley Collection, Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives. 3 Though the majority of Hendley’s career centered on his work as a Southern Baptist evangelist, he was also an author, poet, and song writer. Among his books and manuscripts are: Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: Studies in the Book of Revelation, The (1985); God as I Know Him (1995); How to Get Out of This World Alive (1990); Let’s Go Right Now: Walking With God (1990); Unfolding Drama of Bible Prophecy, The (1993); and Walking the Last Mile to the Electric Chair and Other Sermons (1955). Some of Hendley’s songs are: “Have Faith in God,” “I Believe,” “I Have the Joy Bells Ringing in My Heart,” and “Jesus Has Promised to Save Me.” Hendley married the former Louise West August 9, 1927. They had two children – daughter, Helen, born in 1934, and son, Jesse David, born in 1936. Jesse Hendley died November 30, 1994. Scope and Content Note The Jesse Murphy Hendley Collection consists of eleven linear feet of material (1,332 folders and 258 cassette tapes contained in twelve record boxes) mainly documenting Hendley’s career as a Southern Baptist evangelist for much of the twentieth century. More than half of the collection consists of Hendley’s sermons, sermon outlines, and sermons on cassette tape. The vast majority of the cassette tape recordings are sermons Hendley used on The Radio News Hour, his primary media evangelistic outreach tool. The collection also includes a gamut of material that shows Hendley’s talents as an author, poet, and hymn writer. The collection will be most useful to researchers studying twentieth-century religious culture and evangelism in the United States. Materials included in the Jesse M. Hendley Collection allow the researcher to follow Hendley’s evangelism career from 1933 until his death in 1995. His ministry spanned much of the eastern United States and as far north as New Brunswick, Canada. In addition to sermons, the collection also contains newspaper advertisements, newspaper clippings, news releases, and an array of Hendley’s diaries from 1933 to 1991. Most of the diaries in the Hendley collection are in the format of daily calendars, but some (particularly earlier volumes) include Hendley’s reminiscences of church meetings and conversions of people deciding to follow Jesus Christ. The collection contains promotional photographs and photographs of revivals and events. The photographic images have been removed and placed in the Photograph Collection of the Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives. The Jesse M. Hendley Collection also provides insight into the life of Hendley beyond evangelism. He authored several booklets, books, and tracks. The booklets and tracts are kept with the collection; however, the books were removed but are listed at the end of the inventory. Hendley also wrote several poems and a number of church songs that are included in the collection. Contained in the correspondence portion of the Jesse M. Hendley Collection are letters of testimony and memoirs of converts who were saved under Hendley’s preaching. Prominent individuals whose correspondence is included in the collection include Billy 4 Graham, Robert G. Lee, Homer G. Lindsey, Eddie Martin, Lee Roberson, Charles Stanley, Jack Stanton, and Jerry Vines. Other portions of the Hendley Collection include a “Memorabilia” scrapbook that includes biographical information, Hendley’s personal notes on his funeral, and his obituary. The collection also contains three folders on the dedication of the Manor House at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in honor of Jesse M. Hendley. The collection is arranged alphabetically and was donated to the Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives in May, 2003 by Jesse Hendley’s children, Helen Hendley Herron of Elljay, Georgia and Jesse David Hendley of Tucker, Georgia. Arrangement Arranged alphabetically by folder title. Provenance Donated to the Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives in May, 2003 by Helen Hendley Herron and David Hendley Preferred Citation Jesse Murphy Hendley Collection, Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives, Nashville, Tennessee Access Restrictions None Subject Terms Graham, Billy, 1918 – Lee, Robert Greene, 1886 – 1978 Martin, Eddie, 1915 – 1997 Stanley, Charles F., 1932 – Vines, Jerry, 1937 – Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary Radio Evangelistic Hour Evangelism Radio in religion Evangelistic sermons Revivals – United States Sermons – American Related Materials Edward William Martin Papers, AR 809, Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives. 5 Container List Box 1 1.1 Advertising 1.2 Advertising – Alabama – Birmingham 1.3 Advertising – Alabama – Dothan 1.4 Advertising – Alabama – Huntsville 1.5 Advertising – Alabama – Mobile 1.6 Advertising – Canada – New Brunswick – Saint John 1.7 Advertising – Florida – Clemont 1.8 Advertising – Florida – Daytona Beech 1.9 Advertising – Florida – Fort Lauderdale 1.10 Advertising – Florida – Jacksonville 1.11 Advertising – Florida – Leesburg 1.12 Advertising – Florida – Miami 1.13 Advertising – Florida – Tallahassee 1.14 Advertising – Florida – Tampa 1.15 Advertising – Georgia – Athens 1.16 Advertising – Georgia – Atlanta 1.17 Advertising – Georgia – Augusta 1.18 Advertising – Georgia – Cochran 1.19 Advertising – Georgia – Columbus 1.20 Advertising – Georgia – Dalton 1.21 Advertising – Georgia – Macon 1.22 Advertising – Georgia – Rome 1.23 Advertising – Indiana – Fort Wayne 1.24 Advertising – Indiana – Winona Lake 1.25 Advertising – Kansas – Salina 1.26 Advertising – North Carolina – Charlotte 1.27 Advertising – Ohio – Cleveland 1.28 Advertising – Ohio – Columbus 1.29 Advertising – Pennsylvania – Lancaster 1.30 Advertising – Pennsylvania – Washington 1.31 Advertising – South Carolina – Spartanburg 1.32 Advertising – Tennessee – Chattanooga 1.33 Advertising – Tennessee – Cookeville 1.34 Advertising – Tennessee – Knoxville 1.35 Advertising – Tennessee – Newport 1.36 Advertising – Texas – Dallas/Fort Worth 1.37 Advertising – Texas – Houston 1.38 Advertising – Virginia – Fredericksburg 1.39 Advertising – Virginia – Richmond 1.40 Biographies – Jesse M. Hendley 1.41 Booklets – Assassination of Anwar Sadat and Signs Relative to the Second Coming of Christ, The; Assurance of Salvation 1.42 Booklets – Holy City, The 6 1.43 Booklets – How You May be Saved from Hell and Go to Heaven; Order of Events in God’s Prophetic Plan, The 1.44 Booklets – Picture Gallery of the Mind, The; Tribulation Period, The 1.45 Booklets – Walking the Last Mile to the Electric Chair 1.46 Booklets – Walking with God in the Peace of a Known Salvation; What Time is it on God’s Clock? 1.47 Correspondence 1.48 Correspondence, 1940s 1.49 Correspondence, 1950s 1.50 Correspondence, 1960s 1.51 Correspondence, 1970s 1.52 Correspondence, 1980s 1.53 Correspondence, 1990s 1.54 Correspondence – Christmas Letters 1.55 Correspondence – Eddie Martin 1.56 Correspondence – Letters of Testimony 1.57 Correspondence – Letters of Testimony – Excerpts from Radio Mail 1.58 Correspondence – Memoirs of Converts (1 of 2) 1.59 Correspondence – Memoirs of Converts (2 of 2) 1.60 Dedication of Manor House at Southeastern Seminary 1.61 Dedication