Bill Bright
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William R. Bright (October 19, 1921 – July 19, 2003) was an American evangelist. In 1951 at the
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...
, he founded Campus Crusade for Christ as a ministry for university students. In 1952 he wrote The Four Spiritual Laws. In 1979 he produced the film ''
Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
''. In 1996 Bill Bright was awarded the $1.1 million
Templeton Prize The Templeton Prize is an annual award granted to a living person, in the estimation of the judges, "whose exemplary achievements advance Sir John Templeton's philanthropic vision: harnessing the power of the sciences to explore the deepest ques ...
for Progress in Religion, and donated the money to promote the spiritual benefits of fasting and prayer. In 2001 he stepped down as leader of the organization and Steve Douglass became president. He died in 2003.


Early life and education

Bill Bright was born in
Coweta, Oklahoma Coweta is a city in Wagoner County, Oklahoma, United States, a suburb of Tulsa. As of 2010, its population was 9,943. Part of the Muscogee (Creek), Creek Nation in Indian Territory before Oklahoma became a U.S. state, the town was first settled ...
, on October 19, 1921. He was the sixth child and fifth son of Forrest Dale and Mary Lee Rohl Bright. His father Forrest Dale was a cattle rancher while his mother Mary Lee was a school teacher prior to marrying Forrest. Bill's father Forrest was actively involved in the
Oklahoma Republican Party The Oklahoma Republican Party is an Oklahoma political party affiliated with the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party. Along with the Oklahoma Democratic Party, it is one of the two major parties in the state. It is currently the ...
with Bill remaining a staunch Republican throughout his life. Bill studied economics at
Northeastern State University Northeastern State University (NSU) is a public university with its main campus in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The university also has two other campuses in Muskogee and Broken Arrow as well as online. Northeastern is the oldest institution of hig ...
in
Tahlequah, Oklahoma Tahlequah ( ; , ) is a city in Cherokee County, Oklahoma located at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. It is part of the Green Country region of Oklahoma and was established as a capital of the 19th-century Cherokee Nation in 1839, as p ...
. As a student at Northeastern State University, he was initiated into the Zeta chapter of the Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity, and has subsequently been granted honorable alumnus status to the Alpha Gamma Omega Christ-Centered Fraternity. In 1942, Bill enlisted in the
United States Navy Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2004, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called reservists, are categorized as being in either the S ...
but did not see combat service due to a burst eardrum from playing football during high school. While in his early 20s he moved to
Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, and founded a company called "Bright's California Confections." During the 1940s, Bill attended the First Presbyterian Church, Hollywood where he became an
evangelical Christian Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
. Bright was influenced by Henrietta Mears, who served as the Director of Christian Education at First Presbyterian Church, and
Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (; November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American Evangelism, evangelist, ordained Southern Baptist minister, and Civil rights movement, civil rights advocate, whose broadcasts and world tours featuring liv ...
, who later became a prominent American evangelical leader. In 1946, Bill Bright quit his candy business to pursue Biblical studies and theology at
Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a Private university, private seminary, school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Establish ...
and
Fuller Theological Seminary Fuller Theological Seminary is an Evangelical seminary in Pasadena, California, with regional campuses in the western United States. It is egalitarian in nature. Fuller has a student body of approximately 2,300 students from 90 countries and ...
. According to the historian John G. Turner, Bright struggled with his academic studies and did not complete his degree at either institution. While studying at Fuller seminary, Bright felt what he regarded as the call of God to reach out to university students and abandoned his academic studies. Before starting his campus ministry, Bright sold off his confections company and settled a financial dispute with his former business partners, the Taylor family.


Family

Bill Bright married Vonette Bright on December 30, 1948. The two had been engaged to marry since the spring of 1946. However, Bill at the prompting of Zachary's parents agreed to delay the wedding until her impending 1948 graduation from Texas State College for Women. During the 1950s, Bill and Vonette adopted two boys named Brad and Zachary Bright.


Ministry career


Writings

In 1965, Bright wrote ''The Four Spiritual Laws'', an evangelistic
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
tract. In the booklet he outlines his view of the essentials of the Christian
faith Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, faith is " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, faith has multiple definitions, inc ...
concerning
salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...
. It is summarized as four spiritual laws or principles that govern what he sees as human beings' relationship with God. The booklet ends with a prayer of repentance.


Creation of Campus Crusade for Christ, early 1950s

Bright had initially planned to produce an evangelical film called "The Great Adventure" but abandoned the project due to a lack of funding. Though Bright had initially considered partnering with other churches, his disenchantment with their ability to mentor new Christian converts led him to start Campus Crusade for Christ as a
parachurch organization Parachurch organizations are Christian faith-based organizations that work outside and across denominations to engage in social welfare and evangelism. Parachurch organizations seek to come alongside the church and specialize in things that indi ...
. In 1951, after recruiting several volunteers from Fuller Seminary and Hollywood Presbyterian, Bright started Campus Crusade's first chapter at the
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...
(UCLA). According to Turner, Campus Crusade was also inspired by Bright's desire to combat
Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
influence in US universities including UCLA, which was then regarded as a hotbed of student radicalism. By 1952, Bright's Campus Crusade had reportedly converted 250 students at UCLA including the student body president, campus newspaper editor, and several athletes including
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
decathlete and future Olympian
Rafer Johnson Rafer Lewis Johnson (August 18, 1934 – December 2, 2020) was an American decathlete and film and television actor. He was the 1960 Olympic gold medalist in the decathlon, having won silver in 1956. He had previously won a gold at the 1955 Pan ...
. While Bill and his colleagues focused on the male students, Vonette focused on reaching out to the female students. In 1953, Campus Crusade established its headquarters in Los Angeles'
Westwood Boulevard Westwood Boulevard is a street in Los Angeles that runs through the heart of Westwood Village and further south in West Los Angeles. Route Westwood Boulevard begins south of Sunset Boulevard in the campus of UCLA as Westwood Plaza. After exi ...
. Bright's campus outreach was also aided by his Hollywood Presbyterian mentor Henrietta Mears, who allowed the Brights to share her Bel Air home and spoke at several Crusade functions.


Expansion of Campus Crusade beyond UCLA

Bright's success at UCLA led him to establish Campus Crusade branches at several other US universities. Campus Crusade's expansion across several US campuses created friction with other Christian campus groups including
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA (IVCF) is an evangelicalism, evangelical Christianity, Christian student movement with affiliate groups on university campuses in U.S.. It is a member of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students ...
and liberal campus chaplains, who disagreed with the evangelistic tone of Bright's ministry. In 1956, Bright wrote a 20–minute evangelistic presentation called "God's Plan for Your Life", which set the tone for Campus Crusade's evangelism and discipleship program. Bright also initially partnered with the
fundamentalist Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that are characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishin ...
Bob Jones University Bob Jones University (BJU) is a private university in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. It is known for its Conservatism in the United States, conservative and Evangelicalism in the United States, evangelical cultural and religious posit ...
. However, the relationship deteriorated after Bright sided with Billy Graham, who had accepted the sponsorship of liberal Protestants for his 1957 New York crusade. In response, Bob Jones Sr. and his son Bob Jones Jr. severed relations with Bright's ministry. According to Turner, this split with Bob Jones University led Bright to gravitate towards the "new evangelical" wing of the Protestant movement, which was associated with Billy Graham's cooperative evangelism. In 2011 Campus Crusade for Christ had 25,000 missionaries in 191 countries.


Later life

Bright held five honorary doctorate degrees: a
Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...
from the
Jeonbuk National University Jeonbuk National University (JBNU; ) is one of ten Flagship Korean National Universities founded in 1947, located in Jeonju, South Korea. Jeonbuk National University has been ranked 551–560th in the world by QS Top Universities Ranking in 2023 ...
of Korea, a
Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...
from John Brown University, a
Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...
from Houghton Seminary, a
Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...
from the Los Angeles Bible College and Seminary, and a
Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...
from
Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private university, private Christianity, Christian research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ, with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pepperdine's main campus consists ...
. In 1975, along with fellow evangelist Loren Cunningham (founder of
Youth With a Mission Youth With A Mission (typically shortened YWAM, generally pronounced ) is an interdenominational Christian mission organization with a focus on missionary work and training for Christian missions. Founded by American missionary Loren Cunningha ...
) and theologian Francis Schaeffer, Bright was one of the founders of what would later be termed the Seven Mountain Mandate. The idea would later go on to be popularized by Bethel Church pastor Bill Johnson and Lance Wallnau, among others. The concept centers around Christians taking dominion of seven societal
spheres of influence In the field of international relations, a sphere of influence (SOI) is a spatial region or concept division over which a state or organization has a level of cultural, economic, military, or political exclusivity. While there may be a formal a ...
: "family, religion, education, media, art, economics, and government." In 1983, he chaired the National Committee for the National Year of the Bible. He was named the 1996 recipient of the $1.1 million Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion. He wrote more than 100 books and booklets, and thousands of articles and pamphlets. He endorsed the document
Evangelicals and Catholics Together "Evangelicals and Catholics Together" is a 1994 ecumenical document signed by leading Evangelical and Catholic scholars in the United States. The co-signers of the document were Charles Colson and Richard John Neuhaus, representing each side of ...
. Bright was a co-founder of the Alliance Defense Fund, which funds high-profile litigation cases on behalf of Christians'
First Amendment First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...
rights. He was a co-signatory of the Land letter of 2002 which outlined a
just war The just war theory () is a doctrine, also referred to as a tradition, of military ethics that aims to ensure that a war is morally justifiable through a series of criteria, all of which must be met for a war to be considered just. It has bee ...
rationale for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, providing a theological underpinning for the invasion being planned by President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
. He produced the film ''
Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
'' in 1979, which was released by Warner Bros. in the United States. It was not a financial success, losing approximately $2 million. In 1988 he led the protest against the
Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...
film '' The Last Temptation of Christ'' and he called the film "blasphemous". He offered to buy the film's negative from Universal in order to destroy it.


Death

Bright died on July 19, 2003, in
Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...
. His wife died in 2015.


Politics

Bill Bright's father Dale Bright was a staunch Republican who served as the chairman of the
Wagoner County Wagoner County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 80,981. Its county seat is Wagoner. Wagoner County is included in the Tulsa metropolitan area. History According to archaeological st ...
Republican Party. Like his father, Bill remained a staunch Republican supporter and voter throughout his life. As an evangelical Christian, Bright was also anti-Communist and stated that one of his reasons for starting Campus Crusade was to combat
Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
influence in US universities. During the 1970s, Bright defended the South Korean
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Park Chung Hee Park Chung Hee (; ; November14, 1917October26, 1979) was a South Korean politician and army officer who served as the third president of South Korea from 1962 after he seized power in the May 16 coup of 1961 until Assassination of Park Chung ...
, who imposed martial law and assumed dictatorial powers. He claimed that Park was fighting against Communism and supported religious freedom.


Further reading

*Richardson, Michael (2001), ''Amazing Faith: The Authorized Biography of Bill Bright.'' Colorado Springs, CO WaterBrook. *


References


External links


Cru.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bright, Bill 1921 births 2003 deaths 20th-century evangelicals 21st-century evangelicals Alliance Defending Freedom people American evangelicals American evangelists American founders California Republicans Christians from California Christians from Oklahoma Evangelical missionaries Fuller Theological Seminary alumni Northeastern State University alumni Oklahoma Republicans People from Coweta, Oklahoma Templeton Prize laureates