Ervene C. Bragg
Biography
Ervene was born in Jacksonville, Florida but grew up in a rural area of Miami. He was the middle child of seven children, two of whom died in childhood. At the age of six, Ervene became a born-again Christian being led to the Lord by a godly Sunday school teacher. During a revival at the age of 12, Ervene surrendered his life to full-time Christian service.
Ervene received a Diploma in Biblical Studies from Florida Fundamental Bible Institute (now known as Trinity College of Florida)in 1934. This small Bible college was located at that time in Temple Terrace, Florida. He was president of the first graduating class of 1932 and delivered the Salutatorian address. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1943, a Master of Arts in Religious Studies in 1946, and was granted an honorary Doctor of Divinity from Trinity College in 1948.
Dr. Bragg received his ordination from the Christian & Missionary Alliance in 1934. While at college, he served as Assistant Pastor at the Alliance Tabernacle in Tampa under Rev. T. G. Mangham. His first full-time pastorate was the Daytona Beach Alliance Church. He also served in pastorates in North Carolina and Virginia for around ten years, returning to Florida in 1943. During his years in North Carolina, Ervene learned watchmaking under the tutelage of one of his congregation. This would prove to be what provided for the family while he pursued God's ministry for him. While teaching at Trinity, located then in St. Petersburg, Ervene set up a jewelry store in New Port Richey.
Dr. Bragg taught at Trinity College for a little over 55 years. It has been speculated that he was the longest standing professor of theology in the United States. He was the only professor at Trinity College who actually taught classes on all five of the campuses of the college, Temple Terrace, St. Petersburg, Bellair, Dunedin, and their current location, New Port Richey. Dr. Bragg taught subjects ranging from the full field of Systematic Theology over a four year rotation, Pauline Theology (the church doctrines of the Apostle Paul, the subject of his published book), Harmony of the Gospels, History of Missions, Christian Apologetics, Hermeneutics, Christian Psychology, and Comparative Religions. He spent hours in studying the Scriptures, from the Greek to Hebrew, and was a constant learner from the Lord. He spent his entire ministry teaching the students God placed in his classes, served as Vice-President of the college starting in 1952, and maintained a seat on the Board of Trustees from 1949 until his death in 1995.
Dr. Bragg was also gifted artistically as a wood-worker, crafting mottos, clocks, and boxes with his carving ability. He was an excellent artist and calligrapher, and made a detailed rendering of his marriage certificate and mottos. He wrote poetry and articles and was a published author in Christian periodicals and many Trinity College publications. His book, Pauline Theology, was published in 1975 and re-copyrighted in 2005, had as its syllogism that the doctrines of the Apostle Paul were the essential doctrines of Christian churches. This book is available online for reading at the websites listed in the links.
Dr. Bragg, while teaching at Trinity, maintained his watchmaking and jewelry store and also continued to serve the Lord in many other capacities. He ministered as interim pastor in churches in the Tampa Bay area, founded and served as first pastor of a church in New Port Richey, taught Bible classes in the evening hours to adults in the area, preached at evangelistic services and youth rallies in Florida, and taught at many different Bible conferences throughout the Eastern United States in the summer months.
Dr. Bragg's life and ministry lives on in the service of all of his students that he taught through the years. He greatly loved his students and truly enjoyed imparting his insights into the Scriptures to them. His most famous student was Dr. Billy Graham, but he touched the lives and subsequent ministries of thousands of young people. He kept track of his students and estimated that he taught around 23,000 of them during his years as a professor. Through an endowed scholarship in his name, he continues to impact students at Trinity. He is also still "teaching" as his classes are available online through audio and Pauline Theology in video. Some of his sermons and writings are also available online. The links to these websites are listed at the end of this article.
Family
While a college student, Ervene was preaching at a mission church in Largo, Florida. It was there that he met his future bride, Pauline, who was playing the piano for the little congregation. They were married in June of 1935. They were blessed with four children, Kenneth, Mary, Donald, and Peggy.
Bibliography
Bragg, E. C., Pauline Theology. Orlando: Daniels 2004, 1975. Bragg, E. C., "Requiem for the Old Man." Moody Monthly March, 1977: 61-62, 64.
Links
http://trinitycollege.edu/academics/ecbragg/ http://www.ecbragg.net/ http://www.ecbragg.info/
Dr. Ervene C. Bragg Born Ervene Conrod Bragg
July 6, 1912
Jacksonville, Florida
Occupation Professor, Pastor, Theologian, Speaker, Watchmaker Years Active 1932-1995 Religion Christianity Denomination Christian & Missionary Alliance Spouse Pauline Mixon Bragg (1916-2005) Children Kenneth E. Bragg
Mary L. Bragg
Donald L. Bragg
Peggy A. Bragg