Adrian Rogers Celebrated on his Last Day as Pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church
Adrian Rogers, one of the key players in the Southern Baptist Convention’s “Conservative Resurgence” and builder of one of America’s largest congregations, preached his final message as pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church on March 6, 2005, amid showers of blessings and praise from notable Christian figures across the nation.
According to Baptist Press, thousands came to the 29,000-member church in Cordova, Tennessee to say “an emotional goodbye” to Bellevue’s pastor of 32 years.
“Thousands on Friday night celebrated Rogers' pastorate at Bellevue. Thousands more on Sunday morning heard Rogers preach his last sermon as pastor of the Memphis-area congregation. And on Sunday night, the throngs gathered to bid a final farewell to their beloved leader,” BP reported.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
When Rogers took up the senior pastor role at Bellevue three decades ago, the church had 8,739 members. Today, it has grown to more than three times its size.
Those who paid their respects to the successful pastors included Paige Patterson, one of the foremost architects of the Conservative Resurgence 25 years ago in Southern Baptist history, and James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family.
President George Bush also wrote a letter commending Rogers’ “dedication to serving others in the Memphis area, and indeed around the world.
“Your efforts helped put hope in people’s hearts and a sense of purpose in their lives,” the letter read.
Other notables who paid tribute to Rogers included: Richard Land, president of the SBC’s Ethics & Religious Liberties Commission; SBC President Bobby Welch; Jerry Vines, pastor of First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla.; Mike Spradlin, president of Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary; Zig Ziglar; and Robert E. Reccord, president of the SBC's North American Mission Board.
Despite the showering of praise and blessing, Rogers remained humble down to his last sermon, according to BP.
“I am what I am by the grace of God, and we are as a church what we are by the grace of God,” Rogers said. “God has saved me by His grace. God has secured me by His grace. And God has seen us through by His grace.
“Jesus on the cross suffered, bled and died to take your sin debt and mine with His precious blood,” he said. “I promise you on the authority of the Word of God, if you will trust Christ as your personal Savior, He will save you.”
At that light, Rogers said he was merely the donkey that carried Jesus into the city of Jerusalem.
“Jesus is the one we praise,” he said. “I am the donkey. God has given to me the privilege of just bearing the name of Jesus.”
For more information on Adrian Rogers, visit: www.bellevue.org. For more information on the tribute to Adrian Rogers, read: http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=20290.
