Adrian Rogers
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Adrian Pierce Rogers, Th.D. (September 12, 1931 – November 15, 2005), was an American pastor, author, and a three-term president of the Southern Baptist Convention (1979-1980 and 1986-1988).
Rogers was born in West Palm Beach, Florida, and decided to enter into the Christian ministry at the age of nineteen. Rogers was ordained by Northwood Baptist Church in West Palm Beach. In 1972, he became the senior pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, where he remained until March 2005. During this period, the church's membership grew from 9,000 to 27,000, and the church moved into a new, megachurch facility.
Rogers was instrumental in the Southern Baptist denomination's rightward shift that began in the late 1970s, as he was elected president of the denomination during a theological controversy within the denomination. He published eighteen books and is featured on the internationally-available radio and television program, Love Worth Finding [1], which is broadcast in English and Spanish.
In November 2005, Rogers contracted pneumonia of both lungs as a complication of colon cancer treatments, and died following a period of mechanical ventilation at the age of seventy-four.
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[edit] Southern Baptist Convention Presidency
Dr. Rogers served three times as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest American Protestant denomination with 16 million members. He was first elected to this post on a platform of biblical inerrancy, and under his leadership, the denomination shifted sharply rightward, firing liberal and moderate seminary professors, as well as requiring all employees of the denomination's seminaries and the national office to affirm their adherence to the Baptist Faith and Message, a document which Rogers later (when he was no longer president) succeeded in significantly revising. The denomination has remained staunchly conservative since Rogers' first term as president.
Dr. Rogers is the only person to serve three times as SBC President (the bylaws limit serving to two consecutive terms; however, Dr. Rogers served one term in 1979 before stepping down, thus he was eligible to serve again).
[edit] Theology
Rogers' theology is best described as conservative and evangelical. He believed in Biblical inerrancy, dispensationalism, and eternal security of the believer. Rogers opposed Reformed theology and Calvinism.
[edit] On politics and social issues
Like many influential conservative pastors, Rogers participated in the advancement of a conservative political agenda in the United States. He stated that Christians have a duty to be involved in government, and that it is a sin for a Christian to abstain from voting in an election.
Familial dynamics was a recurrent issue for Rogers. He focused most closely on fathers that he labeled "drop-out dads." According to Dr. Rogers, since the Bible emphasizes the paternal role in a family, the father should be the primary source of teaching in the home. He was critical of fathers who do not fulfill this role: “We have dads today that are interested in sports, business, and sex. They’ve forgotten their God-given assignments to teach the Ten Commandments [2].” He went on to say that social problems, such as gun violence, are the consequences of fathers avoiding this responsibility.
On the topic of pastoral endorsement of political candidates, he wrote that it is a pastor's duty to influence the political decisions of the members of the pastor's congregation. A pastor need not, however, endorse a specific candidate (and, under Internal Revenue Service regulations, a church cannot do so without losing its tax-exempt status). He wrote that "[i]f [a pastor] has done his job his members will prayerfully and correctly use the standard of God's Word to select the right candidate."[3]
In May of 2003, Rogers, along with twenty-four other religious leaders and persons of influence, signed a letter sent from Gary Bauer's conservative organization American Values to President George W. Bush. The letter commends President Bush's decision to go to war in Iraq as courageous, but goes on to criticize the President's proposed Road Map for Peace initiative as being too lax towards the Palestinians. The letter states in part, "Mr. President, it would be morally reprehensible for the United States to be 'evenhanded' between democratic Israel . . . and the terrorist infested Palestinian infrastructure." [4]
According to one author, the pastor once responded to a question about biblical references in support of slavery during biblical times by saying, “I feel slavery is a much maligned institution. If we had slavery today we would not have such a welfare problem.” On the other hand, Rogers supported the 2000 revision of the Baptist Faith and Message which states that, "the blessing of racial and ethnic diversity and acknowledged that all races possess full dignity by the creative intention of God.” [6]
Dr. Rogers was an adamant supporter of the pro-life movement, had stated that the institution of capital punishment is spiritually ordained, and supported a boycott of Disney because of the company's supposed promotion of homosexuality.
As a traditional Baptist, he opposed the use of alcohol and tobacco, frequently telling stories to warn of their dangers. One particular story tells of a father who learned that his daughter had died while driving drunk, vowed revenge towards whomever had sold her the alcohol, only to discover that she had taken the bottle from his own liquor cabinet.
[edit] Selected works
- Believe in Miracles but Trust in Jesus
- Mastering Your Emotions
- God's Way to Health, Wealth and Wisdom
- The Power of His Presence
- Ten Secrets for a Successful Family
- Unveiling the End Times in Our Time
- The Incredible Power of Kingdom Authority
- What Every Christian Ought to Know
- Standing for Light and Truth
- Adrianisms (posthumous collection of quotes)
[edit] Sources
- Adrianrogers.org
- AP Obituary
- Love Worth Finding's short web biography
- Commercial Appeal article
- Ouramericanvalues.org
- It Takes God to Make a Home
- The Uniqueness of Christian Experience
- Baptist Faith and Message 2000
- Video Broadcasts
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Edward T. Babinski, ed., Leaving the Fold: Testimonies of Former Fundamentalists (N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 1995) ISBN 1-59102-217-7 p. 125 See
