Adrian Rogers
Encyclopedia
Adrian Pierce Rogers served three terms as president
of the Southern Baptist Convention
(1979–1980 and 1986–1988), a Southern Baptist pastor
, and a conservative author.
Rogers was born in West Palm Beach, Florida
, and decided to enter into the Christian ministry
at the age of nineteen. He graduated from Stetson University
and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Rogers was ordained by Northwood Baptist Church (now known as The Village Baptist Church) in West Palm Beach. His first job as a senior pastor was at Fellsmere Baptist Church, a small congregation in Fellsmere, Florida
. He performed his first baptism in the C-54 Canal, near Fellsmere
. 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 29,000, and the church moved into a new, megachurch
facility.
Rogers was instrumental in the Southern Baptist denomination's
shift towards the right 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 his works are featured on the internationally available radio and television program, Love Worth Finding
, which is broadcast in English
and Spanish
. Rogers was also the founder of the Adrian Rogers Pastor Training Institute for ministers, which is currently headed by his widow, two sons, and a granddaughter.
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.
Evangelical 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
professor
s, 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
. The denomination has remained staunchly conservative since Rogers' first term as president.
. He stated that Christian
s 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 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
http://www.leaderu.com/common/adrianrogers.html." 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."http://www.christianity.com/partner/Article_Display_Page/0,,PTID319326%7CCHID629244%7CCIID1662852,00.html
In May 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 criticizes President Bush'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." http://www.ouramericanvalues.org/press_release_article.php?id=27
Cecil Sherman writes in his autobiography that he once questioned Rogers about biblical inerrancy
with reference to New Testament
passages that seem to support slavery
. Sherman reports that Rogers replied: "I believe slavery is a much maligned institution; if we had slavery today, we would not have this welfare mess."
Rogers was an adamant supporter of the pro-life
movement, had stated that the institution of capital punishment
is spiritually ordained, and (along with other Southern Baptists) supported a boycott of Disney
because of the company's promotion of homosexuality
.http://www.sbc.net/resolutions/amResolution.asp?ID=435.
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 whoever had sold her the alcohol, only to discover that she had taken the bottle from his own liquor cabinet.
Southern Baptist Convention Presidents
The President of the Southern Baptist Convention heads the denomination and is elected at the yearly convention. The term is for one year, and a candidate can serve a maximum of two consecutive terms.-See also:...
of the Southern Baptist Convention
Southern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention is a United States-based Christian denomination. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination and the largest Protestant body in the United States, with over 16 million members...
(1979–1980 and 1986–1988), a Southern Baptist pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
, and a conservative author.
Rogers was born in West Palm Beach, Florida
West Palm Beach, Florida
West Palm Beach, is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and is the most populous city in and county seat of Palm Beach County, the third most populous county in Florida with a 2010 population of 1,320,134. The city is also the oldest incorporated municipality in South Florida...
, and decided to enter into the Christian ministry
Christian ministry
In Christianity, ministry is an activity carried out by Christians to express or spread their faith. 2003's Encyclopedia of Christianity defines it as "carrying forth Christ's mission in the world", indicating that it is "conferred on each Christian in baptism." It is performed by all Christians...
at the age of nineteen. He graduated from Stetson University
Stetson University
Stetson University is a private university with four colleges and schools located across the I-4 corridor in Central Florida. The primary undergraduate campus is located in DeLand, Florida, USA. In the 2012 U.S...
and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Rogers was ordained by Northwood Baptist Church (now known as The Village Baptist Church) in West Palm Beach. His first job as a senior pastor was at Fellsmere Baptist Church, a small congregation in Fellsmere, Florida
Fellsmere, Florida
Fellsmere is a city in Indian River County, Florida, United States. The population was 3,813 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 4,658...
. He performed his first baptism in the C-54 Canal, near Fellsmere
Fellsmere, Florida
Fellsmere is a city in Indian River County, Florida, United States. The population was 3,813 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 4,658...
. In 1972, he became the senior pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church
Bellevue Baptist Church
Bellevue Baptist Church is a large Southern Baptist megachurch in the Cordova area of Memphis, Tennessee, United States.-History:Bellevue Baptist was founded in 1903 by Central Baptist Church as a mission church on the outskirts of Memphis...
in Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, where he remained until March 2005. During this period, the church's membership grew from 9,000 to 29,000, and the church moved into a new, megachurch
Megachurch
A megachurch is a church having 2,000 or more in average weekend attendance. The Hartford Institute's database lists more than 1,300 such Protestant churches in the United States. According to that data, approximately 50 churches on the list have attendance ranging from 10,000 to 47,000...
facility.
Rogers was instrumental in the Southern Baptist denomination's
Religious denomination
A religious denomination is a subgroup within a religion that operates under a common name, tradition, and identity.The term describes various Christian denominations...
shift towards the right that began in the late 1970s, as he was elected president of the denomination during a theological
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
controversy within the denomination. He published eighteen books and his works are featured on the internationally available radio and television program, Love Worth Finding
Love Worth Finding
Love Worth Finding is an American radio and television ministry founded by Adrian Rogers, who was the president and CEO, as well as the chairman of the board of directors of it before his death. In 2003, it could seen and heard worldwide on more than 14,000 television outlets and 2,000 radio...
, which is broadcast in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
. Rogers was also the founder of the Adrian Rogers Pastor Training Institute for ministers, which is currently headed by his widow, two sons, and a granddaughter.
In November 2005, Rogers contracted pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
of both lungs as a complication of colon cancer treatments, and died following a period of mechanical ventilation at the age of seventy-four.
Southern Baptist Convention Presidency
Rogers served three times as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Evangelical denomination with 16 million members. He was first elected to this post on a platform of biblical inerrancy
Biblical inerrancy
Biblical inerrancy is the doctrinal position that the Bible is accurate and totally free of error, that "Scripture in the original manuscripts does not affirm anything that is contrary to fact." Some equate inerrancy with infallibility; others do not.Conservative Christians generally believe that...
, and under his leadership, the denomination shifted sharply rightward, firing liberal and moderate seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
s, 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
Baptist Faith and Message
The Baptist Faith and Message is the confession of faith of the Southern Baptist Convention . It summarizes key Southern Baptist thought in the areas of the Bible and its authority, the nature of God as expressed by the Trinity, the spiritual condition of man, God's plan of grace and salvation,...
. The denomination has remained staunchly conservative since Rogers' first term as president.
On politics and social issues
Like many influential conservative pastors, Rogers participated in the advancement of a conservative political agenda in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He stated that Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s have a duty to be involved in government, and that it is a sin
Sin
In religion, sin is the violation or deviation of an eternal divine law or standard. The term sin may also refer to the state of having committed such a violation. Christians believe the moral code of conduct is decreed by God In religion, sin (also called peccancy) is the violation or deviation...
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 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
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...
http://www.leaderu.com/common/adrianrogers.html." He went on to say that social problems, such as gun violence
Gun violence
Gun violence defined literally means the use of a firearm to threaten or inflict violence or harm. Gun violence may be broadly defined as a category of violence and crime committed with the use of a firearm; it may or may not include actions ruled as self-defense, actions for law enforcement, or...
, 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
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
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."http://www.christianity.com/partner/Article_Display_Page/0,,PTID319326%7CCHID629244%7CCIID1662852,00.html
In May 2003, Rogers, along with twenty-four other religious leaders and persons of influence, signed a letter sent from Gary Bauer
Gary Bauer
Gary Lee Bauer is an American politician notable for his ties to several evangelical Christian groups and campaigns.-Biography:...
's conservative organization American Values to President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
. The letter criticizes President Bush's proposed Road Map for Peace
Road map for peace
The roadmap for peace or "road map" for peace is a plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict proposed by a "quartet" of international entities: the United States, the European Union, Russia, and the United Nations. The principles of the plan, originally drafted by U.S. Foreign Service...
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." http://www.ouramericanvalues.org/press_release_article.php?id=27
Cecil Sherman writes in his autobiography that he once questioned Rogers about biblical inerrancy
Biblical inerrancy
Biblical inerrancy is the doctrinal position that the Bible is accurate and totally free of error, that "Scripture in the original manuscripts does not affirm anything that is contrary to fact." Some equate inerrancy with infallibility; others do not.Conservative Christians generally believe that...
with reference to New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
passages that seem to support slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
. Sherman reports that Rogers replied: "I believe slavery is a much maligned institution; if we had slavery today, we would not have this welfare mess."
Rogers was an adamant supporter of the pro-life
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
movement, had stated that the institution of capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
is spiritually ordained, and (along with other Southern Baptists) supported a boycott of Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
because of the company's promotion of homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
.http://www.sbc.net/resolutions/amResolution.asp?ID=435.
As a traditional Baptist, he opposed the use of alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
and tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
, 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 whoever had sold her the alcohol, only to discover that she had taken the bottle from his own liquor cabinet.
"You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."
This quote appears frequently on the Internet and is often attributed to Dr. Rogers with an incorrect date of 1931. In fact, the quotation is part of a longer sermon by Dr. Rogers' from 1984 in a larger series titled God’s Way to Health, Wealth and Wisdom (CDA107), but it also appears as a passage in Dr. Rogers' 1996 work Ten Secrets for a Successful Family complaining that "by and large our young people do not know either the importance or the value of honest labor".You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the industrious out of it. You don't multiply wealth by dividing it. Government cannot give anything to anybody that it doesn't first take from somebody else. Whenever somebody receives something without working for it, somebody else has to work for it without receiving. The worst thing that can happen to a nation is for half of the people to get the idea they don't have to work because somebody else will work for them, and the other half to get the idea that it does no good to work because they don't get to enjoy the fruits of their labor.
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)
- Grace for the Widow (posthumous collection of unpublished material in appendix; book is written by his wife Joyce, to be published January 2009)
See also
- Southern Baptist ConventionSouthern Baptist ConventionThe Southern Baptist Convention is a United States-based Christian denomination. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination and the largest Protestant body in the United States, with over 16 million members...
- List of Southern Baptist Convention affiliated people
- Southern Baptist Convention PresidentsSouthern Baptist Convention PresidentsThe President of the Southern Baptist Convention heads the denomination and is elected at the yearly convention. The term is for one year, and a candidate can serve a maximum of two consecutive terms.-See also:...
- Southern Baptist Convention conservative resurgence