Brother Jed
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George Edward "Jed" Smock Jr. (January 4, 1943 – June 6, 2022), better known as Brother Jed, was an American
evangelist Evangelist(s) may refer to: Religion * Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels * Evangelism, publicly preaching the Gospel with the intention of spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ * Evangelist (Anglican Church), a ...
whose
open-air preaching Open-air preaching, street preaching, or public preaching is the act of evangelizing a religious faith in public places. It is an ancient method of proselytizing a religious or social message and has been used by many cultures and religious trad ...
ministry was concentrated on college campuses. He preached at major universities in all 50 US states and other countries. As an
itinerant preacher An itinerant preacher (also known as an itinerant minister) is a Christian evangelist who preaches the basic Christian redemption message while traveling around to different groups of people within a relatively short period of time. The usage of ...
, he usually spent only a few days on each campus, visiting the northern campuses in the fall and spring and the southern campuses in the winter. In 2004, he relocated to
Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1821 as the county seat of Boone County, Missouri, Boone County and had a population of 126,254 as recorded in the 2020 United States census, making it the List of cities in Misso ...
, where he often preached at the
University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...
and other colleges throughout the Midwest. In the summer of 2013, he relocated his ministry and residence to his hometown of
Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in Vigo County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 58,389 and Terre Haute metropolitan area, its metropolitan area had a populati ...
.


Biography

Brother Jed's self-described lifestyle of "drunkenness, dissipation, and debauchery" began while he was a freshman in high school. Older friends exposed him to alcohol, which became a regular part of his life. Smock began attending
Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...
in 1960. By his second year, he had established himself as the heaviest drinker in the fraternity. Smock would soon drop out of Indiana University and hitchhike to California, where he was a door-to-door encyclopedia salesman. Smock would later go on to finish his undergraduate education at
Indiana State University Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified ...
, continuing his previous lifestyle of "debauchery." There he graduated with honors, majoring in Social Studies with a minor of English. Smock states in his autobiography that, despite his lifestyle, he graduated near the top of his class, going straight to the bars after taking his last senior final exam. There he was hospitalized after being punched while trying to stop a fight, leaving him with a scar on his face. Smock claims to have woken up in an emergency room with no recollection of the night before, having details being filled in by his friend, and having gone back out to the bars that same night. Smock attended graduate school at Indiana State University, where he earned a master's degree in history and wrote a thesis on "the personal effects of smoking seven straight joints of marijuana" while he was a research assistant in psychology for the Institute of Research into Human Behavior at the school. Smock served as a history professor for one year at the
University of Wisconsin–La Crosse The University of Wisconsin–La Crosse (UWL or UW–La Crosse) is a public research university in La Crosse, Wisconsin, United States. Established in 1909, it is part of the University of Wisconsin System and offers bachelor's, master's, and ...
. He converted to Christianity after being preached to by an Arab carrying a cross in Morocco. Smock formed Campus Ministry USA, a para-church organization, in 1984. In 2004, the group moved its operations from
Newark, Ohio Newark ( ) is a city in Licking County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located east of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus at the junction of the forks of the Licking River (Ohio), Licking River. The population was 49,934 at the 2020 United ...
to Columbia, Missouri, where he often preached at the
University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...
on Speakers Circle. Brother Jed left Columbia for Indiana in 2013. His family was documented for a pilot TV series while preaching in Indiana. Brother Jed frequented Eastern Illinois University.


Personal life

Jed married Cynthia D. Lasseter Smock (who calls herself “Sister Cindy” when preaching). They have five daughters, all of whom have accompanied them on their travels and appearances on college campuses.


Preaching style and personal views

Smock wrote a spiritual autobiography, ''Who Will Rise Up?'' in which he described his dissolute youth and conversion experience, and presented his justification for his confrontational style of evangelism. Smock and his wife Cindy used a distinctive preaching style, termed "confrontational evangelism" in the subtitle of his autobiography. This controversial variant of evangelism is shared by some street and campus preachers, who hope that a spiritual rebuke will force sinners to repent. In his autobiography, Smock referred to his college evangelical group as "The Destroyers", but this name is not presently being used on his website. Smock was a member of the
United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ...
, although his actions, views, and theology were not indicative of its positions. College newspapers have reported some of his statements: "I don't know how the whorehouses in this town stay open — all of you sorority girls are giving it away for free!" and "Who are you,
Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...
?" (addressed to a black student with
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). He often shouted, "A masturbator today is a homosexual tomorrow." His assistants carried signs declaring that
feminists Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
, liberals, and those who listen to
rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...
are destined for
Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...
, along with homosexuals, fornicators, those who use tampons, and masturbators. As a result of his aggressive, rude and confrontational style of preaching, Brother Jed was frequently mocked and accused of intolerance. Besides issues relating to coarse language with immodest sexual references, Smock claimed to be sinless, holding a position called
Christian perfection Within many denominations of Christianity, Christian perfection is the theological concept of the process or the event of achieving spiritual maturity or perfection. The ultimate goal of this process is union with God characterized by pure lov ...
. He held to
Pelagianism Pelagianism is a Christian theological position that holds that the fall did not taint human nature and that humans by divine grace have free will to achieve human perfection. Pelagius (), an ascetic and philosopher from the British Isles, ta ...
, identifying himself with the teachings of
Pelagius Pelagius (; c. 354–418) was a British (Celtic Britons, Brittonic) theologian known for promoting a system of doctrines (termed Pelagianism by his opponents) which emphasized human choice in salvation and denied original sin. Pelagius was accus ...
. In addition, he held a view of God which denies that goodness is an essential attribute of God's nature.


Fictional portrayals

Smock's character was the basis of the 2012 short, ''Battle of the Sects'', in which an extreme evangelical preacher visits a university only to be run out by the campus Christians.


See also

* List of campus preachers


Notes


External links

*
The Brother Jed Phenomenon
– Brother Jed incorporated this
op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page," is a type of written prose commonly found in newspapers, magazines, and online publications. They usually represent a writer's strong and focused opinion on an issue of relevance to a targeted a ...
from Cal Poly's ''Mustang Daily'' into his autobiographical book ''Who Will Rise Up?''
Brother Jed moves beyond Speakers Circle
Columbia Missourian The ''Columbia Missourian'' is a digital-first newspaper based in Columbia, Missouri, published online seven days a week and in print five days a week. The newspaper is affiliated with the Missouri School of Journalism, and is owned as a 501c3 n ...

Obituary


Further reading

* Handelman, David "College is Hell: The Destroyers have preached hellfire and damnation on campus for a decade. But can they get a witness?" ''Rolling Stone'' 27 March 1986, pp. 87+ {{DEFAULTSORT:Brother Jed 1943 births 2022 deaths American evangelicals Converts to Methodism Campus preachers Indiana State University alumni American United Methodists People from Brookings, South Dakota Writers from South Dakota University of Wisconsin–La Crosse faculty Pelagians