Adrian Rogers: 1931-2005

Adrian Rogers, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention and longtime pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tenn., died early this morning due to complications from double pneumonia and cancer. Although I never had the privilege to hear Rogers preach in person, he became one of my favorite preachers to listen to through his radio and television ministry, Love Worth Finding. I'll always remember Rogers' booming voice along with the passion, love for Jesus Christ and evangelistic zeal that were clearly evident in his preaching.

In the foreword to Joyce Rogers’ recently released book, “Love Worth Finding: The Life of Adrian Rogers,” Paige Patterson, president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, writes:

“Only a few times in any century does a man rise out of the ranks of the ordinary with a touch of God upon him in such a way as to change the course of human history. Further, for that man to be a man of impeccable moral standards, while possessing a pastor’s heart, remarkable alacrity, profound dedication to the work of the Savior, as well as matchless pulpit eloquence and brilliance is extraordinary.

"To say that this is exactly what God gave the world in Adrian Rogers is not an attempt to fell the oak of his humility, but only to recognize what most of us know is true in order to praise God for what he has done through him and to thank Adrian Rogers for allowing God to have the use of all his talents and abilities.”