Last Days

      The last few years of Jack Shuler’s life are somewhat shrouded in mystery. But a few incidents in these years may throw some light. One of the most important may have been related to Billy Graham.

      The forties and early fifties saw a mostly united body of conservative Christians holding evangelistic campaigns throughout the United States and in other countries. They all seemed to have a single purpose and message. But behind the scene a gradual shift was taking place. As Billy Graham became increasingly popular, he became increasingly open to other Christian leaders less conservative than himself appearing at his crusades. This did not set well with those who supported him at the beginning. Leading fundamentalist Christians such as Bob Jones, Jr., John R. Rice, and denominations such as Independent Fundamental Churches of America (IFCA) and General Association of Regular Baptists (GARB) gradually became increasingly concerned about Graham’s direction.

      Jack Shuler was caught between a rock and a hard place. He and his father were close friends with Bob Jones, but also with Billy Graham. In 1957 the split between Graham and the fundamentalists became obvious. Shuler’s internal conflict came to a head sometime in 1957. Bob Jones thought Shuler remained on the fundamentalist side of the split while Shuler himself so far hadn’t decided. An incident that took place around the time of the 1957 Billy Graham New York City campaign showed what Jones thought.

      Historian William Martin mentioned a showdown between Bob Jones and Billy Graham during this time that revealed Jones’ feeling about Shuler. It happened in Birmingham, Alabama, where Bob Jones happened to be staying at the same hotel as Graham and Graham knew it. Though he was meeting with around 20 others at the time, Graham thought this would be a good time to attempt reconciliation between himself and Jones. Martin related the interchange as follows:

          Graham asked his old adversary if he could call on him in his room: ‘I wanted to tell him that I still loved him and would answer any question he had about my ministry. It wasn’t an organized meeting; some of us just came in to visit. I remember Dr. Bob was in bed, and he was as nervous as a cat.’

          One participant recalled that Graham greeted Jones warmly and told him he was ‘looking great.’ Instead of returning the compliment, Jones harrumphed, ‘You’re on your way down, Billy.’ Graham said, ‘If that’s the way God wants it, then it’s settled.’ The reason, Jones said, was because ‘your converts don’t last.’ Graham turned the other cheek: ‘I don’t have any converts. I have never led anybody to Christ. Missionaries can say they have done that; I can’t. There are so many factors – prayer, Bible classes, pastors, hard work by lots of people. I come along and point to the door. I can’t claim any as mine.’

          Graham’s self-effacing responses fell on stony ground. ‘We’re taking over evangelism in America, Billy,’ Jones announced. ‘Jack Shuler is going to be the man now. I know because I trained him.”[1]

      While Graham and Bob Jones separated and Jack Shuler remained the fundamentalist’s hope for the future, Shuler himself didn’t fill that role as Jones envisioned it. Instead, as Jack had done in the past, he showed his independence, this time by remaining close to Graham.

      A Christianity Today writer reported Shuler’s presence at Graham’s 1957 campaign in New York City. The article read as follows:

Garden Seems Small After Rally At Yankee Stadium

By George Burnham

Christianity Today Magazine

          New York City – In the tradition and style of Broadway columnists, here are notes, quotes from the Billy Graham New York Crusade:

          “I never realized Madison Square Garden was so small.” Commented Graham in addressing 15,000 at the first meeting after Yankee Stadium’s 100,000 … Cablegrams poured in from all over the world after stadium rally…

          Noted evangelists from throughout America are dropping into the Garden to view the happenings. Merv Rosell and Jack Shuler were among those greeted by [Billy] Graham…[2]

      Once Shuler identified with Graham, he lost the support of Graham’s fundamentalist enemies. This meant he could not count on as much conservative Christian support as he had in the past when he held city-wide revivals throughout America.

      Shortly after his appearance with Billy Graham in New York City, Shuler conducted his own three-week crusade in Eugene, Oregon. Graham’s crusade was still taking place when Shuler began his Oregon campaign in early August. And Shuler’s would end toward the end August while Graham’s continued till the middle of September. Being bookended by Graham could have been somewhat discouraging for Shuler though he averaged 1,300 attending each meeting (a fraction of the number attending Graham’s).

      By this time Shuler probably was aware that his crusades were seeing their last days. On top of that he must have gotten word that people were becoming more critical of his dramatics, the reality of the converts, and his money management. Otherwise an article defending his crusade practices would not have been needed.

      As to criticism about his stage dramatics, Shuler said, “Oh, I’m a trouper, but the people don’t need to be entertained. They need to be helped.” By “help” he pointed to Christ as the answer.

      He discussed the longevity of converts, Much depended on the local church, he said. “When the churches need a shot in the arm, they invite me,” he explained. “And so Shuler preaches to the people. When admitting to problems, they go forward into the prayer room, Shuler talks to them in a group before they are turned over to local counselors."

      The most controversial issue, though, had to do with the money collected at Shuler’s crusades. The article asked and answered that question as follows: “And what happens to the money collected during the crusade? Local men, from participating churches, serve as ushers. The collection plates are gathered and the contents counted by the local gospel crusade finance committee.

      “According to Shuler, no member of his team has anything to do with this. The money is counted and banked, locally. Each night at the crusade, the audience is informed of the total received and of how much more is needed to meet the crusade goal.

      “This goal is a budget set up to cover crusade expenses. This includes payment to the singer, [Sam] Allred, and pianist, [Bob] Andersen, who are on salary. Shuler said that none of the funds come to him.

      “Money that he receives for his work comes in the form of ‘love offerings’ requested of the audiences after expenses are met. [Don] DeVos, who manages Shuler’s affairs, directs the choir and serves as master of ceremonies, is paid in the same manner – by ‘love offerings.’”[3]

      Concluding the Eugene crusade, Shuler relied on two sermons he had preached for some time, one on his rejection of an acting career to become a preacher, and the other on “America’s greatest Evangelist,” somewhat of a gimmick to speak about the Holy Spirit.

      By 1959 Shuler was preaching in individual churches.[4] In 1959 a St. Joseph, Missouri paper editorialized on the lack of interest in Jack Shuler.  Part of the article stated:

          It is not often a newspaper gets enthusiastic over a “mere preacher.” Evangelist Jack Shuler though is more than a mere preacher. He is a great influence for good. The man was here long months ago and stirred our complacent Protestantism as it has not been stirred since Billy Sunday was here much more than a generation ago.

          More recently Jack Shuler was here for one night. So well was he received that worshippers asked him to return. Booked far ahead, it was accident – or providential – a series in the East had to be changed to a later date. So this week Evangelist Jack Shuler is at a church out in Wyatt Park.

          The man is dynamic. Those of you who heard him will swear to that. The Los Angeles Examiner gave him a whole half page, and page one at that, with a picture mind you. Wichita newspapers gave him wonderful page one display. The man has been highly acclaimed by men of national import: Missouri’s Stuart Symington and Kansas’ Frank Carlson.

          If we were running the St. Joseph Ministerial Alliance or the St. Joseph Council of Churches we would come out of our shell and invite him to let us sponsor his meetings. How about rotating to use every downtown Protestant church? A wager, if one bets on things religious, that he will fill the churches.[5]

     By this time Jack Shuler’s home life was falling apart. He was divorced from his wife, Dorothy, and remarried, this time to Ruth Eloise Wehr by 1960.[6] What happened after that is hard to figure out. The last public record available appeared in the L.A. Times on December 22, 1962. It stated:

Evangelist Jack Shuler, well known in the Southland and across the nation, died at his Van Nuys home Dec. 8. He was a son of the Rev. Bob Shuler Sr., longtime pastor of Trinity Methodist.[7]

      In an email correspondence with the author, Jack Shuler’s nephew, Robert P. Shuler, III, when asked about what happened to Jack, said “He died in 1962 of a collapsed lung, having always had weak lungs. His crusades ended in 1960, give or take, due to his addiction to meds and later alcohol.”[8]

      A former Youth for Christ director in Salina, Kansas sent the author an email in which he said:

Jack Shuler … had a brother, Phil Schuler, who I met at a church where he was holding a crusade some time ago. I asked about Evangelist Jack Schuler because I had booked him in several churches in and around Salina, Kansas where I was YFC director until 1963. Phil told me that his brother had back-slidden for several years, but that he had repented and had several years of successful ministry before he passed away. There are many things about Jack that are better left untold. They are covered by the blood of Calvary and forgiven by the grace and mercy of God.[9]

     The full story of what happened in the last few years of Jack Shuler’s life may never be publicly known, but whatever it was won’t change the good he did from his conversion in 1940 through his nearly two decades of evangelism.

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[1] William Martin, A Prophet With Honor (New York: William Morrow and Co., Inc., 1991), 240.

[2] Burnham, George. "Garden Seems Small After Rally At Yankee Stadium." Park City Daily News. Bowling Green, Kentucky, July 28, 1957.

[3] Eugene Register-Guard, August 11, 1957.

[4] Spokane Daily Chronicle, November 15, 1958.

[5] St. Joseph News-Press, January 7, 1959.

[6] http://vitals.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ca/death/search.cgi?surname=Shuler&given=Ruth Dorothy later married Stanley M. Sundin. Jack Shuler’s nephew, Robert P. Shuler, III, said Jack’s new wife’s name was Ruth Campbell. Jack and Ruth had two children, Todd Murphy, born March 29, 1960; and William T., born June 1, 1962.

[7] Los Angeles Times, Sat., Dec. 22, 1962, page 12.

[8] Email correspondence between the author and Robert P. Shuler, III, July 24, 2012.

[9] Email correspondence between the author and Dale Kurtz, March 21, 2013.