A Guide to the Papers of Gilbert Stenholm
by Joseph Kappel
Biography
Early years and Schooling (1915-49)
Gilbert Ralph Stenholm was born on February 15, 1915, into a family of Swedish immigrants. As a child, Stenholm accepted Christ as his Savior while attending his parents’ Swedish Covenant Church in their hometown of Evanston, Illinois. He was an avid sports fan and revealed an incredible recall of sports scores and statistics. Even in later years, one could find Big Ten football scores in his personal diaries. Stenholm enrolled in Bob Jones College in Cleveland, Tennessee, in 1934 as a religion major. Finishing his degree in 1938, he continued his education at Bob Jones College by earning his M.A. in Bible while working on the staff of the Dean of Men’s office. Stenholm married Katherine Corne in 1941, after she had completed her education at BJC. He pursued further master’s courses at Northwestern University in his hometown of Evanston and at North Park Theological Seminary in North Park, Illinois. By 1947, Stenholm had concluded his course work and dissertation and received a Ph.D. from Bob Jones University.
Bible Professor and Bob Jones University Dean (1949-64)
On the advice of J. S. Mack, Christian businessman and warm supporter of Bob Jones College, Bob Jones Sr. sought out employees who would remain faithful throughout the years of the school’s development. As Mack suggested to Jones, "To build an organization, you hire and train folks and the longer they are in their job—if they are good—the better they become at their work." Both Gilbert and Katherine were hired as part of a wave of long-term employees. Stenholm began his ministry in the religion department and his wife began teaching in the speech department.
When Bob Jones College moved in 1947, the Stenholms remained faithful, continuing their ministry at the new university in Greenville, South Carolina. From 1949 to 1952, Gilbert assumed the role of Director of Religious Activities, supervising the ministerial class (or "preacher boys"), teaching Bible classes, serving as the Dean of Men, and fulfilling the secretarial role for the Gospel Fellowship Association. During the 1940s and 1950s, in addition to duties at BJU, Stenholm traveled as a Youth for Christ evangelist, garnering much interest in and support for BJU. Dr. Stenholm also directed the office of student extension during the years 1949 to 1964. In 1951, Stenholm began his ministry as the dean of the school of religion, a role he fulfilled until succeeded by Marshall Neal in 1965.
Director of Ministerial Training and Staff Evangelist (1964-89)
Stenholm continued his work in the extension office after stepping down from the role of dean, working almost exclusively with his preacher boys. Of particular importance during this period in Stenholm’s life was his political involvement. South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond switched parties in the mid-1960s to join the Republicans, contributing to a surge of cross-overs among southern conservatives. Part of that movement in South Carolina, particularly in the upstate, was the role of numerous Bob Jones University faculty and staff in support of the Republican Party. Spearheading the BJU switchover to Republicanism was Gilbert Stenholm. By the late 1970s he had enlisted several faculty members to get involved in the local political process, resulting in the opening of several Republican precincts, as well as the enlisting of hundreds of voters. The work of BJU staff and alumni, led by Stenholm, strengthened the South Carolina Republican Party and helped to lay the foundation for the Republican dominance of South Carolina politics by the 1990s.
Dr. Stenholm fulfilled his final role at Bob Jones University as the staff evangelist from 1977 until his death in 1989. During this time, Stenholm traveled abroad, preaching in the churches of the very men he had helped prepare for the ministry. His aforementioned ability to retain sports scores and statistics was a God-given ability that also aided him in remembering the names and churches of his preacher boys. As evidenced by correspondence in Stenholm’s personal files concerning his career as campus evangelist, his popularity as a speaker among his former students required him to follow an active traveling schedule, arranging engagements months in advance.
Stenholm received various awards during the final years of his ministry. BJU awarded him the Alumni Appreciation Award in 1975. Bud Bierman, director of alumni affairs, honored Stenholm in the award citation as "administrator, teacher, counselor, preacher, and friend." Faithway Baptist College then conferred upon Stenholm the Doctor of Divinity degree in 1979, and one year later he received the Charles Haddon Spurgeon Award from Maranatha Baptist Bible Institute.
Gilbert Stenholm passed away on December 12, 1989, while still active in the service of the University.
Description of the Collection
The Stenholm papers contain the personal collection of Gilbert Stenholm, consisting of a variety of topics. Included throughout the collection are many newspaper and magazine articles, advertisements, promotional materials, and correspondence addressed to Stenholm or his wife. The collection shows his reliance on Frontline, Sword of the Lord, and Blu-print as the main periodicals he used dealing with religious issues. Congressional reports as well as religious observations by men such as John Ashbrook comprise the bulk of the folders relating to Communism.
Stenholm kept both large and small records concerning ethical, religious, and political issues; denominations; particular churches he visited; Christian colleges; and matters of doctrine or theology. Among the largest files are Stenholm’s collections concerning the Communist agenda, which includes such folders as brainwashing, relations to China, Cuba, Christianity and the Catholic Church, and religion in Communist countries. Also taking up a large percentage of the collection are Stenholm’s Bob Jones University files. Among the BJU files are materials concerning the school’s accreditation battle, the Alumni Association during Stenholm’s tenure as president, faculty and staff information, and the school periodicals Voice of the Alumni and Little Moby’s Post. Among the denominations and religious organizations taking up more than one folder in the collection are the Catholic Church, the Conservative Baptist Association, the National Council of Churches, the World Council of Churches, and the Southern Baptist Convention. Throughout his years traveling as an evangelist for BJU, Stenholm gathered a collection of materials from several religious schools, including Cedarville College, Berkeley Baptist Divinity School, Dallas Theological Seminary, and Furman University. He also kept tabs on his former schools of North Park Theological Seminary and Northwestern University. In all, twenty-five colleges, universities or seminaries are on file.
Stenholm’s biography file consists of material on some seventy-five individuals, ranging from Anita Bryant to Bill Gothard to Ian Paisley. Taking up the bulk of the biography files are the files concerning Billy Graham. The Stenholm papers contain thirty-six files regarding Graham, among which are materials regarding Graham’s relations to BJU; twenty-four different files concerning his crusades; several about his political involvement with Presidents Kennedy, Eisenhower, Nixon, and Johnson; and various interviews and statements.
Exclusive to the Stenholm papers are his personal files concerning individuals, his multi-faceted career at Bob Jones University, correspondence to relatives and friends in the ministry, and letters of appreciation from churches on his evangelistic circuit. Of particular interest in the personal files are some of Stenholm’s early college papers and lesson plans, demonstrating the early years of Bob Jones University class life.
The papers are divided in religious, non-religious, and biographical files, arranged alphabetically according to subject.
List of Subjects
Religious Subjects
Religious Topics
Abortion
Accelerated Christian Education
AIDS
Alcoholism
American Baptist Convention
American Council of Christian Churches
American Council of Christian Laymen
American Episcopal Church
American Mission for Opening Closed Churches (Organization)
Amillennialism
Amusements, worldly
Anglican Church
Anglican Orthodox Church
Apostasy
Asbury College and Seminary
Associated Gospel Churches
Association of Baptists for World Evangelism
Atheism
Australian Beacon
Australian Council of Churches
Back to the Bible
Baptist Beacon
Baptist Bible Broadcaster (Periodical)
Baptist Bible Fellowship International
Baptist Bible Tribune (Periodical)
Baptist Bible Trumpet (Periodical)
Baptist Bulletin (Periodical)
Baptist church
Baptist churches
Baptist Fundamentalism ‘84
Baptist General Conference
Baptist International Missions, Inc.
Baptist Mid-Missions
Baptist World Alliance
Barthianism
Berean Mission, Inc.
Berkeley Baptist Divinity School
Bethel College and Seminary
Bible—Inspiration
Bible—Study
Bible—Versions
Bible—Versions—Living Bible
Bible—Versions—New English Bible
Bible—Versions—Revised Standard Version
Bible—Versions—Today’s English Version
Bible and religion in schools
Bible Christian Union
Bible memorization
Bible Presbyterian Church
Bible Protestant Church
Bible Speaks (Organization)
Biblical Recorder (Periodical)
Biola
Black Muslims
Blu-Print (Periodical)
Bob Jones University
Bob Jones University—Accreditation
Bob Jones University—Alumni Association
Bob Jones University—Change of address sheets
Bob Jones University—Chapel Prayer Tower
Bob Jones University—Extension ministries
Bob Jones University—Faculty and staff
Bob Jones University—Fine arts
Bob Jones University—Graduates and personalities
Bob Jones University—Legal seminar
Bob Jones University—Little Moby’s Post
Bob Jones University –Separation
Bob Jones University—Tax case
Bob Jones University—Television messages
Bob Jones University—Voice of the Alumni
Brethren churches
Camps
Campus Crusade for Christ
Capital punishment
Catholic Church
Catholic Church—Communism
Catholic Church—Converts
Catholic Church—Doctrine
Catholic Church—Jesuits
Catholic Church—Organizational structure
Catholic Church—Persecution by
Catholic Church—Power in US (Includes 1960 presidential election)
Catholic Church—Tracts
Catholic Worker (Periodical)
Cedarville College
Cedine Bible Mission
Chaplains
Child evangelism
Child Evangelism Fellowship
Christian Business men’s Committee International
Christian Catholic Church
Christian Challenge (Periodical)
Christian Crusade
Christian Crusade Weekly
Christian day schools
Christian education
Christian education with adults
Christian Service Corps
Christmas
Church advertisements, brochures, and newsletters
Church and state
Church and State (Periodical)
Church attendance
Church history
Church League of America
Church of Christ
Church of God
Churches, rural
Circuit Riders, Inc.
Clearwater Christian College
Colleges and Bible institutes
Collegians for Christ
Columbia Bible College
Communism
Communism—Anti
Communism—Anti-anti
Communism—Blacks, agitation and exploitation of
Communism—Brainwashing
Communism—Catholic Church
Communism—China
Communism—Christianity
Communism—Cuba
Communism—Highlander Folk School (Monteagle, TN)
Communism—Individuals
Communism—Religion in communist countries
Communism—Schools
Communism—Soviet clergymen
Communism—Through to Victory (Periodical)
Communism—US government
Communism—Youth
Conferences, assorted
Congress on Evangelism (Minneapolis, MN)
Congress on Fundamentalism
Conservative Baptist Association
Conservative Baptist Association—Central Conservative Baptist Theological Seminary
Conservative Baptist Association—Missions
Conservative Baptist Association—San Francisco Conservative Baptist Theological Seminary
Conservative Baptist Association—Schools
Conservative Baptists Today (Notebook)
Contemporary Christian Music
Conversion Center, Inc. (Alex Dunlap)
Creation
Creation—Ketcham-Carnell-Buswell-Mixter correspondence
Crusade for Christ and Freedom (Organization)
Cults
Current trends and issues
Dallas Theological Seminary
Death of God Theology
Decision (Periodical)
Denominations
Devil
Divorce
Doctrine—Baptism
Doctrine—Eternal security
Doctrine—God
Doctrine—Miscellaneous
Doctrine—Salvation
Doctrine—Tongues
Ecumenical movement
Ecumenical movement—Catholic
Ecumenical movement—Ecumenical evangelism
Ecumenical movement—World Congress on Evangelism (Berlin, Germany)
Editorials
Education pamphlets
Episcopal Church
Evangelical Alliance Mission (TEAM)
Evangelical Child Welfare Agency
Evangelical Covenant Church of America
Evangelical Free Church of America
Evangelical Methodist Church
Evangelical United Brethren Church
Evangelical Youth (Organization)
Evangelism
Evangelism—Bibliography
Evangelism-in-Depth
Evangelists
Evangelists—BJU
Evansville Rescue Mission
Evolution
Explo ‘72
Explo ‘74
Faithway Baptist College of Canada
Family
First Presbyterian Church (Newburyport, MA)
Forever Generation (Organization)
Foundations Bible College
Free Methodist Church
Fuller Theological Seminary
Fundamental Baptist Fellowship of America
Fundamental Christian Hour
Fundamental position
Fundamentalism
Furman University
General Association of Regular Baptist Churches
General Conference Baptist
Genesis—Bible study
Glide Memorial Church (San Francisco, CA)
Gospel Fellowship Association
Gospel Fellowship Association—Ordination certificates
Gospel Outreach (Organization)
Grace Cathedral (Akron, OH)
Healing
Herald of His Coming (Periodical)
Highway evangelism
Holy Spirit
Homosexuality
Human Events (Periodical)
Hymnology
Illustrations, sermon
Independent Fundamental Churches of America
Independent Methodists, Association of
Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts
International Christian Youth, USA (Organization)
International Council of Christian Churches
International Fellowship of Fundamentalists
International Students, Inc.
Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship
Jehovah’s Witnesses
Jesus Christ—History and criticism
Jesus movement
Jews
Jews—Communism
Jews—Middle East and prophecy
John Birch Society
Key ‘73
Last Temptation of Christ (Motion picture)
Leadership
Local church
Lutheran church
Maranatha Baptist Bible College
Marriage
Masonry
Mass media
Methodist church
Methodist Federation for Social Action
Mexican Gospel Mission
Miscellaneous
Mission boards
Missionary newsletters and prayer cards
Missions
Missions—Washington St. Mission
Missions, home
Missions, rescue
Modernism
Moody Bible Institute
Moody Institute of Science
Moral Majority
Mormonism
National Association of Evangelicals
National Christian Citizen Committee, Inc.
National Council of Churches
National Council of Churches—Communism
National Council of Churches—Politics
National Council of Churches—San Francisco Assembly (December 4-9, 1960)
National Council of Churches and race
National Religious Broadcasters
Neo-Orthodoxy
New evangelicalism
New morality
New Testament
New York’s World’s Fair
News & Views (Periodical)
North Park College and Seminary (Chicago, IL)
Northwest Baptist Missions
Northwestern Schools
Obscene literature
O’Hairism (Bullingerism)
Ohio Bible Fellowship
Old Testament
Operation Abolition
Operation Mobilization
Orphanages and children’s homes
Pastor and his church
Pastor’s aids
Pentecostal church
Peoples Church, Toronto
Periodicals, Christian (assorted)
Pillsbury College
Pocket Testament League
Poems
Politics—Christian view
Politics—Church activity
Pornography
Prayer
Preachers and preaching
Presbyterian church
Prisons
Private schools and the state
Prophecy
Prophetic News Letter
Protestantism
Psychology, religious
Public schools
Purgatory
Racial issues
Radio
Railroad Evangelism
Religious leaders
Religious organizations
Revival
Riverside Church (New York, NY)
Russia
Russia for Christ (Organization)
Russian Orthodox Church
Salvation Army
Science
Sensitivity training
Separation
Sermons
Servicemen’s center
Seventh-Day Adventists
Sexual ethics
Slovak Catholic Federation of America
Smoking
Socialism
Southern Baptist Convention
Southern Baptist Convention—Colleges and seminaries
Southern Baptist Convention—Ecumenism
Southern Baptist Convention—Highland Park Baptist Church (Chattanooga, TN)
Southern Baptist Convention—Sunday School Board
Southern Methodist Church
Stewardship
Students for a Democratic Society
Sunday school
Sunday School—Success (Periodical)
Sunday school literature
Sunday School Times
Sword of the Lord
Tennessee Temple University
Theologians, German
Theological seminaries
Tracts—General
Unification Church
United Campus Christian Fellowship
United Evangelical Action (Periodical)
United Nations
United Presbyterian Church
University of Chicago Divinity School
Vacation Bible School
Voice—Central Baptist (Anaheim, CA)
Wesleyan Methodist Church
Westmont College
Wheaton College
Winona Lake
Women in religion
Women’s Christian Temperance Union
Women’s liberation
Word of Life (Organization)
World Assembly of Evangelicals
World Church (Velma Mary Lee Jaggers)
World Congress of Fundamentalists
World Council of Churches
World Council of Churches—New Delhi conference, 1961
World Vision
Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc.
Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA)
Young Life (Organization)
Youth
Youth for Christ
Nonreligious Subjects
Black Manifesto
Black Panthers
Civil rights
Honorary degrees
House Committee on Un-American Activities
Juvenile delinquency
Lions Club
MacArthur Freedom Association
Northwestern University
Politics
Politics—Conservative Party of New York State
Politics—Conservatives Incorporated
Politics—Democrat
Politics—Republican
Politics—Republican—1976 Republican National Convention
Politics—Republican—Goldwater
Politics—Republican—Reagan v. Ford
Politics—Republican—Utt, James B.
Politics—Young Americans for Freedom
Schools
United States—Crime
United States government—Congress
United States government—Constitution
United States government—Foreign policy
United States government—Medicare
United States government—Miscellaneous
United States government—Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
United States government—Peace Corps
United States government—Supreme Court
United States government—Urban renewal
Biographical Subjects
Anderson, Theodore W.
Angley, Ernest W. (See Grace Cathedral)
Armstrong, Herbert
Bakker, Jim
Bell, Rod
Berry, C. A. (newsletter)
Billington, Dallas (Akron Baptist Temple)
Brandt, E. J. (Crystal Truth Tracts)
Bryant, Anita
Bundy, Edgar C.
Campbell, Ernest
Chiang Kai-shek
Crawford, Percy
DeHaan, M. R.
Deyneka, Peter
Eisenhower, Dwight D.
Falwell, Jerry
Ferre, Nels
Foote, Leon
Ford, Leighton
Fuller, Charles E.
Fuller, David Otis
Gaebelein, Frank
Gothard, Bill
Graham, Billy
Graham, Billy—Biographical and family
Graham, Billy (Brief summaries)
Graham, Billy—Bob Jones
Graham, Billy—Catholic Church
Graham, Billy—Crusades
Graham, Billy—Crusades—Committees—Bishop Gerald Kennedy
Graham, Billy—Crusades—Evaluation—Pro
Graham, Billy—Crusades—Foreign lands
Graham, Billy—Crusades—Geographical—Brisbane
Graham, Billy—Crusades—Geographical—Charlotte, NC
Graham, Billy—Crusades—Geographical—Chicago
Graham, Billy—Crusades—Geographical—Columbia, SC
Graham, Billy—Crusades—Geographical—Columbus
Graham, Billy—Crusades—Geographical—Denver
Graham, Billy—Crusades—Geographical—Greenville
Graham, Billy—Crusades—Geographical—Indianapolis
Graham, Billy—Crusades—Geographical—Junaluska
Graham, Billy—Crusades—Geographical—London
Graham, Billy—Crusades—Geographical—Los Angeles
Graham, Billy—Crusades—Geographical- Melbourne
Graham, Billy—Crusades—Geographical—New York
Graham, Billy—Crusades—Geographical—New Zealand
Graham, Billy—Crusades—Geographical—Portland
Graham, Billy—Crusades—Geographical—San Francisco
Graham, Billy—Crusades—Geographical—Sydney
Graham, Billy—Crusades—Policies
Graham, Billy—Crusades—Results
Graham, Billy—Crusades—Unscriptural position
Graham, Billy—Defense, denials
Graham, Billy—Doctrine, doctrinal ideas
Graham, Billy—Interviews
Graham, Billy—Politics (Kennedy, Eisenhower, Nixon, Johnson)
Graham, Billy—Schools
Graham, Billy—Worldly amusements
Graham, Billy and communism
Greene, Oliver B.
Greenway, Norman
Grounds, Vernon
Hall, Bill
Hargis, Billy James
Harrington, Bob
Higgins, Wally
Hoover, J. Edgar
Hyles, Jack
Ironside, H. A
Jones, Bob, Jr.
Jones, Bob, Sr.
Jones, Gary
Kennedy, Gerald
Kennedy, John F.
King, Martin Luther
LaHaye, Tim
Law, Allen L.
MacArthur, John, Jr.
McIntire, Carl
Mercado, Richard
Mollenkott, Virginia
Narramore, Clyde M.
Nelson, Ed
Nixon, Richard M.
Ockenga, Harold John
O’Hair, Madalyn Murray
Paisley, Ian R. K.
Parker, Monroe
Peale, Norman Vincent
Pike, James A
Poling, Charles S.
Reagan, Ronald
Redpath, Alan
Regal, Robert
Reveal, Ernest
Rice, John R.
Roberts, Oral
Ruckman, Peter
Saint, Rachel
Shuler, Phil
Sivnksty, Jerry
Skinner, Tom
Spence, O. Talmadge and sons
Templeton, Chuck
Thieme, R. B., Jr.
Thurmond, Strom
Van Impe, Jack
Weniger, Archer
Biography notebook
Personal Papers
Stenholm—Addresses
Stenholm—Awards, honors, etc.
Stenholm—BJU
Stenholm—BJU—Director of extension and ministerial class
Stenholm—BJU—Professor
Stenholm—BJU—Staff evangelist
Stenholm—BJU—Staff evangelist—1977
Stenholm—BJU—Staff evangelist—1978
Stenholm—BJU—Staff evangelist—1979
Stenholm—BJU—Staff evangelist—1980
Stenholm—BJU—Staff evangelist—1981
Stenholm—BJU—Staff evangelist—1982
Stenholm—BJU—Staff evangelist—1983
Stenholm—BJU—Staff evangelist—1984
Stenholm—BJU—Staff evangelist—1985
Stenholm—BJU—Staff evangelist—1986
Stenholm—BJU—Staff evangelist—1987
Stenholm—BJU—Staff evangelist—1988
Stenholm—BJU—Staff evangelist—1989
Stenholm—Cassette tapes
Stenholm—Correspondence
Stenholm—Correspondence—Asheville Bible Church
Stenholm—Correspondence—Associated Gospel Churches
Stenholm—Correspondence—Christian educators and teachers
Stenholm—Correspondence—Evangelical Covenant Church of America
Stenholm—Correspondence—Evangelists
Stenholm—Correspondence—Friends and relatives
Stenholm—Correspondence—Pastors, Christian workers, and ministerial graduates
Stenholm—Correspondence—Political leaders
Stenholm—Correspondence—Speaking engagements
Stenholm—Correspondence—Speaking engagements—1940’s-1950’s
Stenholm—Correspondence—Speaking engagements—1960’s
Stenholm—Correspondence—Speaking engagements—1970’s
Stenholm—Correspondence—Telegrams
Stenholm—Correspondence—Thurmond, Strom
Stenholm—Course work
Stenholm—Letters of appreciation, pictures, etc.
Stenholm—Miscellaneous (Personal)
Stenholm—Miscellaneous notes, sermons, outlines, etc.
Stenholm—Mission Covenant Church (Evanston, IL)
Stenholm—Political activity
Stenholm—Political activity—Greenville County Republican Party
Stenholm—Political activity—South Carolina Republican Party
Stenholm—Swedish materials
Stenholm—Watchman’s Investment Club