Adrian Rogers

Adrian Pierce Rogers (September 12, 1931 – November 15, 2005) was an American Baptist pastor and author. He served three terms as president of the Southern Baptist Convention (1979–1980 and 1986–1988).

Rogers was born in West Palm Beach, Florida. He entered Christian ministry at the age of nineteen. He studied at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, and earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1954, then he studied at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and earned a Bachelor of Divinity in 1958. Rogers was ordained by Northwood Baptist Church (later known as The Village Baptist Church, now operating as Family Church Village) 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 a radio sermon entitled "The Final Judgment", Rogers alluded to a radio program he hosted in the 1950s called "Day Break". He was senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Merritt Island, Florida from 1964 to 1972. In 1972, he became the senior pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee, 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 named pastor emeritus after his retirement in March 2005.

He was elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1979 in Houston, Texas, on a platform of biblical inerrancy. This election launched the conservative resurgence in the denomination, a movement pushed by the theologian Paige Patterson and the Houston judge Paul Pressler. When conservative control of all SBC seminaries and agencies was finally complete, liberal and moderate seminary professors were dismissed, or replaced by theological conservatives in response to normal attrition. All employees of SBC seminaries and denominatIonal agencies were required to affirm their adherence to the Baptist Faith and Message. The denomination has remained conservative since Rogers' tenure as president. He was re-elected in 1986 and 1987.

He was the chairman of the committee which produced the revised 2000 edition of the Baptist Faith and Message.

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.

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.

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". He went on to say that social problems, such as gun violence, are the consequences of fathers avoiding this responsibility.