In 1913, he attended Baylor University, but he transferred to Howard Payne College and graduated in 1917.^[2][3] In 1924, he received a Ph.D. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.^[2][3] He taught there for three more years.^[2] He served as a Baptist pastor at the First Baptist Church at Greenville and the First Baptist Church of Lubbock.^[2] He next served as executive secretary of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.^[2] He then pastored at Broadway Baptist Church, Fort Worth and the First Baptist Church of Oklahoma City.^[2] From 1940 to 1943, he was the President of Hardin-Simmons University.^[2] He then served as Editorial Secretary of the Baptist Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention in Nashville, Tennessee, and later pastored at the First Baptist Church of Austin.^[2][4][5] From 1948 to 1961, he served as President of Baylor University.^[2][4][5] He was a Mason.^[4]