Robert James Jeffress, Jr. (born November 29, 1955) is an American Southern Baptist (Evangelical) pastor, best-selling author, and radio and television host. Jeffress hosts the program, Pathway to Victory, which is broadcast on more than 1,200 television stations in the United States and 28 other countries. He also has a daily radio program, Pathway to Victory, heard on 900 stations and broadcast live in 195 countries. He is the pastor of the 13,000-member First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas.
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Biography
Jeffress's father was Robert Jeffress, Sr. (1925-1990). Jeffress and his wife, the former Amy Lyon Renard, have two daughters, Julia Sue Jeffress and Dorothy Fielder Jeffress.
Jeffress received a Bachelor of Science degree from Baylor University in Waco, Texas, a Master of Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Ministry from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.
Jeffress grew up under pastor W. A. Criswell of First Baptist Dallas and cites him as an influence on his own ministry.
In 2006, Jeffress received the Daniel Award from Vision America. On August 12, 2007, he was elected pastor of First Baptist Dallas, now a church of 13,000 members. He succeeded Mac Brunson. Previously, Jeffress had been the senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Wichita Falls since 1992, and before becoming pastor at FBC in Wichita Falls, he was the senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Eastland, Texas, from 1985 to 1992.
At the SBC annual meeting on June 15, 2011, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary awarded Jeffress a distinguished alumni award for the impact of his ministry in the state of Texas.
On January 20, 2017, Jeffress preached the sermon at a private service at St. John's Episcopal Church, attended by President-elect Donald Trump, on the day of the latter's Inauguration. He has been described as "one of Mr Trump's favourite pastors".
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First Baptist Church of Dallas
Under Dr. Jeffress' leadership, the First Baptist Church of Dallas broke ground on the construction of a new 3,000-seat Worship Center. As of 2013, it was the largest Protestant church building campaign in modern history. The $130 million church campus officially opened for Easter Sunday worship on March 31, 2013.
While the trend across many growing churches today is to purchase old buildings, renovate existing space, or open new satellite campuses in neighboring suburbs, FBC Dallas decided to keep the entire church in downtown Dallas, where it has been since its inception in 1868, and serve the Dallas community and extended metro area. "Our church felt a need to expand and improve the campus in order to fulfill our ministry calling," Jeffress is quoted as saying. "In these tough economic times, we wanted to use our gifts to build a church that provides spiritual growth and healing while seeking to reflect the splendor and majesty of God. First Baptist remains committed to equipping individuals to worship, serve and influence the community, the city and the world for Christ."
Views on Social Issues
In the aftermath of the racial unrest in Charlottesville, VA in August 2017, Pastor Jeffress condemned white supremacy, stating, "Let there be no misunderstanding. Racism is sin. Period."
During an interview with CBN, Jeffress further addressed racial issues, saying, "There has been a failure on the part of the Church, even a failure on conservative Christians in decades past, to denounce racism, to embrace segregation, which is so wrong." He added, "I think we did have some catching up to do but I think that in this environment, we need to say clearly, that racism is abhorrent in the eyes of God."
In the summer of 2017, addressing the issue of DACA and children born to illegal immigrants, Jeffress said the "president is one of the most compassionate people I have ever been around, and he was sincerely torn between his sincere compassion for the DACA recipients and the oath of office he took on January 20th to execute all the laws of the land." Commenting on the future for those who would be affected by a change in DACA policy, Pastor Jeffress added, "I think [the president] came up with the perfect solution of delaying the ending of DACA and allowing Congress, the rightful people, to make the laws to fix this problem."
An outspoken opponent of same-sex marriage, Jeffress has described such marriages as being "counterfeit."
While a pastor in Wichita Falls in 1998, Jeffress sought to have two children's books about children with gay or lesbian parents removed from the public library by checking out the books and paying for them rather than returning them to be recirculated. Following publication of the story by news media, the library received multiple copies of the books as donations and demand for the books increased significantly.
In 2008 Jeffress, in his sermon "Gay Is Not OK," stated, citing Romans 1:27: "And the males likewise gave up natural relations with females and burned with lust for one another. Males did shameful things with males and thus received in their own persons the due penalty for their perversity." Declared Jeffress: "What they [homosexuals] do is filthy. It is so degrading that it is beyond description. And it is their filthy behavior that explains why they are so much more prone to disease."
Views on Religion
In a sermon in August 2010, Dr. Jeffress took issue Islam, claiming the religion promotes pedophilia, because the prophet Muhammad raped a 9-year-old girl and that "around the world today, you have Muslim men having sex with 4-year-old girls, taking them as their brides, because they believe the prophet Muhammad did it."
In his sermon Jeffress also stated, "It is our love for Muslims that demands we speak the truth about Islam," and that "we do not hate Muslims" also noting: "I have a very good friend here in Dallas who is a Muslim."
in December 2010, Jeffress established a "Naughty and Nice List" in which businesses were identified based on whether or not they openly celebrated Christmas: "I wanted to do something positive to encourage businesses to acknowledge Christmas and not bow to the strident voices of a minority who object to the holiday."
Also in 2010, Jeffress referred to Roman Catholicism as a "Satanic" result of "Babylonian mystery religion". In another interview that same year, he said, "Mormonism is wrong, it is a heresy from the pit of Hell; Judaism, you can't be saved being a Jew, you know who said that by the way, the three greatest Jews in the New Testament, Peter, Paul, and Jesus Christ, they all said Judaism won't do it, it's faith in Jesus Christ."
In October 2011, at the Values Voter Summit, Jeffress called The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) "a cult." He received widespread criticism for the statement, but did not retract it despite Mitt Romney's request for him to do so.
Political Activity and Endorsements
Dr. Jeffress is a Fox News contributor and a faith advisor to President Donald Trump.
Jeffress supported Governor Rick Perry in the Republican presidential primaries for the 2012 presidential nomination. On October 7, 2011, he provoked a national controversy when he introduced Perry at the Values Voter Summit in Washington, DC, by indicating that one of Perry's rivals, Romney, of Massachusetts, is opposed to Christianity. According to Jeffress, Romney's Mormonism contradicts the teachings of Jesus Christ. He had previously made a similar statement during the 2008 presidential primaries. Nevertheless, in April 2012, Jeffress endorsed Romney for president because of the pastor's strong opposition to the re-election of Barack Obama.
In September, Jeffress warned Romney that he was risking defeat by concentrating solely on economic issues in the campaign: "Up to this point, the Romney strategy has been to focus on the economy. Well this isn't working out well for him, is it? Because the economy is improving, and it fails to recognize that many of the Republican base, many of them are social conservatives who care about the economy, but we also care about the moral and spiritual deterioration of our country."
On November 4, 2012, the Sunday before the 2012 election, Jeffress commented on Obama and the Antichrist:
I want you to hear me tonight, I am not saying that President Obama is the Antichrist, I am not saying that at all. One reason I know he's not the Antichrist is the Antichrist is going to have much higher poll numbers when he comes. President Obama is not the Antichrist. But what I am saying is this: the course he is choosing to lead our nation is paving the way for the future reign of the Antichrist.
Jeffress has further questioned the commitment of the conservative clergy to the preservation of traditional societal morality. In an interview on The O'Reilly Factor, which aired on December 11, 2012, on the Fox News Channel, Jeffress questioned why many clergy falsely perceive Christ as
this little, wimpy guy who walked around plucking daisies and eating birdseed and saying nice things, but never doing anything controversial. The fact is, Jesus did confront his culture with truth - and he ended up being crucified because of it.... Wimpy pastors produce wimpy Christians - and that is why we are losing this culture war. I believe it's time for pastors to say, You know, I don't care about controversy, I don't care whether I'm going to lose church members, I don't care about building a big church. I'm going to stand for truth regardless of what happens.
For the 2016 US Presidential election, Jeffress endorsed and appeared at rallies for the Republican candidate, Donald Trump, though he initially endorsed Dr. Ben Carson. Jeffress also declared that Christians who would not vote for or support Trump as the Republican nominee were "fools" and "motivated by pride rather than principle". Jeffress also stated that if a candidate ran on the principles found in the Sermon on the Mount, when dealing with foreign enemies of the United States such as ISIS, Iran or North Korea, he "would run from that candidate as far as possible" and would still vote for Trump. On June 21, 2016, candidate Trump named Jeffress to participate in an advisory board of evangelical leaders.
After the devastation done by Hurricane Harvey in the summer of 2017, President Trump declared September 3 to be a National Day of Prayer for those affected by the devastation. The declaration took place in the Oval Office and Pastor Jeffress was asked to lead a prayer immediately following the President's remarks.
Television Appearances
In the aftermath of the Las Vegas Massacre in October 2017, Robert Jeffress appeared on the Fox Business network and said of the shooting, "Evil is real, but evil is also temporary."
After Hurricane Harvey devastated the greater Houston area, Jeffress was recorded in the Oval Office praying, "We thank you that the president had the wisdom to call our nation right now to a Day of Prayer," he continued. "This is what we need."
Jeffress appeared on Fox News Sunday on Father's Day, June 18, 2017 encouraging everyone to be thankful for their fathers, even if they've been let down. He also encouraged viewers to forgive their fathers for their shortcomings saying, "When we forgive we set the prisoner free, and the prisoner we set free is us."
After the church shooting in Charleston in June 2015, Jeffress was on Fox News and referred to the attack as "pure, unadulterated evil."
In December 2016, Pastor Jeffress said he believes Christians are being "marginalized and attacked" in the United States and all around the world during a Fox News interview.
In 1986, Jeffress was a contestant on the game show Card Sharks, where he won more than $4,000 as a four-day champion.
Books
Dr. Jeffress' latest book, A Place Called Heaven: 10 Surprising Truths About Your Eternal Home, released in September 2017.
Other works:
- Not All Roads Lead to Heaven, Baker Books, 2016 (208 pages) ISBN 978-0-8010-1875-6
- Countdown to the Apocalypse: Why ISIS and Ebola Are Only the Beginning, FaithWords, 2015 (144 pages) ISBN 978-1455563043
- Perfect Ending: Why Your Eternal Future Matters Today, Worthy Publishing, 2014 (224 pages) ISBN 978-161795-183-1
- Twilight's Last Gleaming, Worthy Publishing, 2012 (256 pages) ISBN 978-193603-458-1
- Second Chance, Second Act: Turning Your Messes into Successes, WaterBrook, 2007 (160 pages) ISBN 978-1400070916
- The Divine Defense: Six Simple Strategies for Winning Your Greatest Battles, WaterBrook, 2006 (224 pages) ISBN 978-1400070909
- How Can I Know?: Answers to Life's 7 Most Important Questions, Worthy, 2013 (229 pages) ISBN 978-1936034598
- As Time Runs Out: A Simple Guide to Bible Prophecy, Broadman & Holman, 1999 (192 pages) ISBN 978-0805420197
- Outrageous Truth: Seven Absolutes You Can Still Believe, WaterBrook, 2008 (256 pages) ISBN 978-1400074945
- Grace Gone Wild!: Getting a Grip on God's Amazing Gift, WaterBrook, 2005 (240 pages) ISBN 978-1578565214
- Bible Studies for Life: Honest to God - Bible Study Book, LifeWay, 2013 (80 pages) ISBN 978-1430028956
- When Forgiveness Doesn't Make Sense, WaterBrook, 2001 (240 pages) ISBN 978-1578564644
- Coming Home: To the Father Who Loves You, WaterBrook, 2005 (208 pages) ISBN 978-1578568574
- I Want More!, WaterBrook, 2003 (240 pages) ISBN 978-1578565191
- The Solomon Secrets: 10 Keys to Extraordinary Success from Proverbs, WaterBrook, 2002 (256 pages) ISBN 157856249X
- Pathway to Discovery, Pathway to Victory, 2014 (359 pages) ASIN: B074WMPGTX
- Choose Your Attitudes, Change Your Life, Servant, 1992 (192 pages) ISBN 978-0896931237
- The Road Most Traveled: Releasing the Power of Contentment in Your Life, Broadman & Holman, 1996 (184 pages) ISBN 978-0805462661
- Hearing the Master's Voice: The Comfort and Confidence of Knowing God's Will, WaterBrook, 2001 (240 pages) ISBN 978-1578562480
- Clutter-Free Christianity: What God Really Desires for You, WaterBrook, 2009 (208 pages) ISBN 978-1400070923
- Say Goodbye To Regret by Robert Jeffress, Multnomah, 1998 ASIN: B01F9GCVUQ
- Faith at the Crossroads: Responding to the Challenges of Life by Robert Jeffress, Baptist Sunday School Board, 1989, ASIN: B01A65N7OO
References
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