Changes

==Background==

==Background==

   

   

A native of Princeton in Caldwell County in western [[Kentucky]], Grey was reared in Paducah, a city in McCracken County, also in western Kentucky at the confluence of the [[Tennessee River|Tennessee]] and [[Ohio River|Ohio]] rivers. In 1925, Grey received his diploma from Tilghman High School in Paducah. That same year, he was ordained to preach by the Immanuel Baptist Church in Paducah. In 1959, years after he had left Paducah, the city mayor named him an honorary "Duke of Paducah". In 1929, he graduated from [[Union University]] in Jackson, Tennessee. In 1932, he received the Master of Theology degree from [[Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary]] in [[Fort Worth]], [[Texas]].<ref name=bio>James Cole and Robert L. Lee, ''Saint J. D.'' (Waco, Texas: Word Publishers, 1969), p. 159-163</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/1985/07/29/us/the-rev-j-d-grey.html|title=Rev. J. D. Grey|publisher=''[[The New York Times]]'', July 29, 1985|accessdate=July 5, 2012}}</ref>

A native of Princeton in Caldwell County in western [[Kentucky]], Grey was reared in Paducah, a city in McCracken County, also in western Kentucky at the confluence of the [[Tennessee River|Tennessee]] and [[Ohio River|Ohio]] rivers. In 1925, Grey received his diploma from Tilghman High School in Paducah. That same year, he was ordained to preach by the Immanuel Baptist Church in Paducah. In 1959, years after he had left Paducah, the city mayor named him an honorary "Duke of Paducah". In 1929, he graduated from [[Union University]] in Jackson, Tennessee. In 1932, he received the Master of Theology degree from [[Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary]] in [[Fort Worth]], [[Texas]].<ref name=bio>James Cole and Robert L. Lee, ''Saint J. D.'' (Waco, Texas: Word Publishers, 1969), p. 159-163</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/07/29/us/the-rev-j-d-grey.html|title=Rev. J. D. Grey|publisher=''[[The New York Times]]'', July 29, 1985|accessdate=July 5, 2012}}</ref>

   

   

While he attended Southwestern Seminary, Grey was the pastor from 1929 to 1931 of the Vickery Baptist Church in [[Dallas]], [[Texas]], from 1931 to 1934, he was the pastor of Tabernacle Baptist Church in Ennis in Ellis County, south of Dallas. Both of those congregations are still active.<ref name=bio/>

While he attended Southwestern Seminary, Grey was the pastor from 1929 to 1931 of the Vickery Baptist Church in [[Dallas]], [[Texas]], from 1931 to 1934, he was the pastor of Tabernacle Baptist Church in Ennis in Ellis County, south of Dallas. Both of those congregations are still active.<ref name=bio/>

   

   

   

   

In 1957, Grey was asked to nominate for the Southern Baptist Convention presidency Brooks Hays, a [[liberal]] U.S. representative from [[Little Rock]], [[Arkansas]], who subsequently lost a [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] gubernatorial primary election in 1966. At the time Hays was the chairman of the Christian Life Commission, a liberal group advocating peaceful relations among the races within the Christian community. Grey declined to make the nomination on the grounds that he should not use his influence as a two-term past president of the convention to promote a particular candidate. Nevertheless, Hays was elected as the convention president for a single term that year.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=9yHdwD5LbEUC&pg=PA115&lpg=PA115&dq=Brooks+Hays+and+J.+D.+Grey&source=bl&ots=sIVBqhmuUD&sig=ckk7FlYDLOXolGYLD0pZpW5k888&hl=en&sa=X&ei=8Tz6T8DmNeWC2wXgqrz_Bg&ved=0CEAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Brooks%20Hays%20and%20J.%20D.%20Grey&f=false|title=James Thomas Baker, Brooks Hays, pp. 114-115|publisher=Macon, [[Georgia]]: Mercer University Press, (1989)|accessdate=July 9, 2012}}</ref>  

In 1957, Grey was asked to nominate for the Southern Baptist Convention presidency Brooks Hays, a [[liberal]] U.S. representative from [[Little Rock]], [[Arkansas]], who subsequently lost a [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] gubernatorial primary election in 1966. At the time Hays was the chairman of the Christian Life Commission, a liberal group advocating peaceful relations among the races within the Christian community. Grey declined to make the nomination on the grounds that he should not use his influence as a two-term past president of the convention to promote a particular candidate. Nevertheless, Hays was elected as the convention president for a single term that year.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9yHdwD5LbEUC&pg=PA115&lpg=PA115&dq=Brooks+Hays+and+J.+D.+Grey&source=bl&ots=sIVBqhmuUD&sig=ckk7FlYDLOXolGYLD0pZpW5k888&hl=en&sa=X&ei=8Tz6T8DmNeWC2wXgqrz_Bg&ved=0CEAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Brooks%20Hays%20and%20J.%20D.%20Grey&f=false|title=James Thomas Baker, Brooks Hays, pp. 114-115|publisher=Macon, [[Georgia]]: Mercer University Press, (1989)|accessdate=July 9, 2012}}</ref>  

Among the politicians who admired Grey was the colorful and controversial Louisiana Governor [[Earl Long]], who retorted, "Everybody's bragging about this Billy Graham. Hell! He can't preach nothing [sic] like J. D. Grey. I had rather hear him preach  than any [other] man I've ever heard."<ref>Cole and Lee, ''Saint J. D.'', p. 127.</ref>

Among the politicians who admired Grey was the colorful and controversial Louisiana Governor [[Earl Long]], who retorted, "Everybody's bragging about this Billy Graham. Hell! He can't preach nothing [sic] like J. D. Grey. I had rather hear him preach  than any [other] man I've ever heard."<ref>Cole and Lee, ''Saint J. D.'', p. 127.</ref>