Robert Sumner Explained

Birth Date:August 3, 1922
Birth Place:Norwich, New York, United States
Death Date:December 5, 2016 (aged 94)
Death Place:Lynchburg, Virginia, United States
Occupation:Baptist Christian Evangelist
Website:biblicalevangelist.org

Robert L. Sumner (August 3, 1922  - December 5, 2016) was an American Christian author, Baptist pastor, evangelist and editor of the fundamentalist newspaper called The Biblical Evangelist.

Personal

Born to an educated family in Upstate New York he graduated from Norwich High School and Clarks Summit University (formerly Baptist Bible College & Seminary in Johnson City, New York). He also received honorary graduate degrees from Bob Jones University and Louisiana Baptist Theological Seminary in Sacred Theology. He was the brother-in-law of auto racing legend Hector Honore. Sumner died in December 2016 at the age of 94.[1]

Ministry

He was pastor of a number of Baptist churches in Illinois, California, Texas and Ohio. In 1959, he created the non-profit Sumner Evangelistic Foundation. In 1965, he was on the Council of 14 (now Council of 18) of the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches, and he changed the name of his foundation to Regular Baptist Evangelism. In May, 1966, this group launched a newsletter called The Regular Baptist Evangelist, which 9 months later became just The Biblical Evangelist. He has also attended many Christian conferences and lectures. In November, 1980, The Biblical Evangelist stopped publication and Sumner became Managing Editor of a Christian newspaper of (which he had served previously starting in 1954), The Sword of the Lord, which was published by John R. Rice.[2]

In 1982, Sumner left The Sword after a dispute with the editor that was mediated by Jack Hyles. After the ordeal, Sumner complained that he was left "without an editorial voice", so he restarted The Biblical Evangelist by sending letters to former subscribers asking them to resubscribe. Sumner continued as editor of the Biblical Evangelist until 2016, publishing the last edition only two months before he died.[3]

Hyles exposé

In 1989, Sumner received some attention for criticizing Jack Hyles when he wrote a story in The Biblical Evangelist, titled "The Saddest Story I've Ever Told". The article accused Hyles of sexual scandals, financial misappropriation and doctrinal errors.[4] These charges were denied by Hyles who deemed them "lies". Hyles' daughter, Linda [Hyles] Murphrey, confirmed in 2012 the truth of charges against her father, and that she considered her father the leader of a "cult." She speaks of this in a TEDx Talk.[5]

Author

Sumner published a total of 43 books including his last, Favorite Editorials, a collection of his favorite editorials from over the years, 304-pages (2015). He is also the official biographer of John R. Rice.[6] The Biblical Evangelist is no longer published, and except for The Saddest Story is no longer available online.

Bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Robert Sumner, Pastor and Author. 9 December 2016 .
  2. phone conversation with Robert Sumner 6-20-2014
  3. Sumner, Robert History - The Biblical Evangelist (accessed 5/26/06)
  4. Web site: Hirsley. Michael. Charges All Lies, Hammond Pastor Says. Chicago Tribune. 8 July 2010. 28 May 1989.
  5. Web site: Murphrey. Linda. Linda Murphrey - From Cult to Courage. YouTube. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/pdtxM0rD86I . 2021-12-22 . live. 13 January 2018. 21 August 2012.
  6. Web site: Barlow. Dr. Fred M.. Dr. John R. Rice. Go to the Bible. Sword of the Lord Publishers. 8 July 2010. 1983.

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