Shireta Rogers, wife of Pastor Tim Rogers, dies after brief condition
Correction appended
Scores of family members and well-wishers have been grieving openly on social media over the passing of Shireta Rogers, the beloved wife of pastor and singer Tim Rogers, who publicly dismissed Hell as a “fairytale” in 2018, but said he believes in Heaven, Earth and the afterlife. She was 46.
The death announcement was made in a statement on Facebook by the pastor’s band, Tim Rogers & The Fellas, on Tuesday afternoon.
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“Pastor Tim Rogers sincerely would like to Thank you for all of your prayers. First Lady Shireta Rogers has made her transition back to God her father. We love you all and thank you so much for your continuous prayers,” the band noted in the statement.
At the time of his wife’s death, Pastor Rogers and his wife, who also ran The Hope Church in Blytheville, Arkansas, had been married for more than 25 years and had seven children — six girls and one boy.
The statement did not give a cause of death, but Shireta Rogers’ death comes just six days after her husband’s band requested prayer for her on May 3.
“Peace & Blessings to All! Asking for your prayers for First Lady Shireta Rogers. We love you & appreciate your prayers!!!” the May 3 statement from the band noted.
Others, like digital creator Erik Melissa Gardner, also asked for prayers for Shireta Rogers prior to her death, noting “no explanation needed.”
“When I tell you I don’t get on and ask for prayer much but I need all the prayer warriors connected to me to continuously bombard heaven on behalf of Shireta Weatherspoon Rogers, Pastor Tim, their children, and their families. No explanation needed just pray, pray, pray,” Gardner wrote on Facebook days before the death announcement.
“When I tell you this is one wonderful lady and I know God has her still. I trust and believe in miracles and I am just waiting on the testimony. He is still Jehovah and He can do all things but fail. You got this Lady Shireta and God got you!!!!”
Pastor Tim Rogers who is well-known on the gospel music circuit and served as gospel singer Le'Andria Johnson's pastor, is expected to address his fans on social media at some point in the future, but his band could not say when. It was also noted that all his events for the month of May had been canceled and those who wish to support his family financially could make donations by CashApp to $PastorTimRogers.
Calls to Rogers’ church weren’t immediately answered on Thursday.
As the family continued grieving their loss, scores of family members and supporters shared their condolences on social media.
“Bishop Kenneth Robinson, Sr and the entire Antioch family would like to extend our sincerest condolences to Pastor Tim Rogers and family in the transition of his beloved wife First Lady Shireta Rogers. We pray the God will give you peace, comfort, strength and understanding during this time of bereavement. Antioch is there for you and we will keep you in our prayers,” Antioch Full Gospel Baptist Church said in a statement on Facebook.
“Woke to all the posts about my girl Shireta Rogers going to her new home. This one really hurts deep down in my soul. My heart is broken. I can’t believe she is gone. She was one sweet, kind, woman. She always greeted me with a smile. Every time I saw her I always told her that she was the prettiest girl in the church and she would just smile,” Gloria Shields, Shireta Rogers’ sister-in-law wrote on Facebook.
“I enjoyed having her for a sister-in-law. I never seen her mad and she was so soft spoken. Now, she can take her crown because God has something else for this beauty to do. I love you Shireta Rogers. You have broken a lot of hearts in Blytheville Ar. with your passing. I will continue to pray for my family the Rogers. Love you all so much.”
In 2018, Pastor Rogers garnered national attention after he declared during the funeral of a young man in Blytheville that Hell is a "fairytale" no different than Santa Claus.
“To believe in Hell means you have to believe in Santa Claus. I don't care how you cut [it]. Hell is an imaginary place. And I was told that if anything that does not have an explanation must be imagination," Rogers declared.
"So that's why you can talk about a Hell that you don't know nobody went to. For a billion years ain't nobody ever came back and told you that they were hot. For a billion years, ain't nobody ever came back and told you that they up in yonder singing around in a choir. I didn't come for you to agree with me. I know how to lay it out to y'all salted but I don't care. I didn't come for you to agree with me," Rogers said to approving hoots and shouts from the people who had packed the church to mourn.
In an extended interview with The Christian Post, Rogers later explained that he was on a quest for deeper meaning and truth with his church and he couldn’t really say what happens to Christians and non-Christians after they die.
“You know, at this juncture, I don't really have that answer. I'm undergoing a theological tune-up. There's a lot of stuff that I actually stumbled into that's new understanding to me. So, I guess what I'm saying is, I'm not done turning pages. I'm not done [with] my search and my quest. I can't actually give you an answer as to where believers and nonbelievers go after death,” he said. “In all honesty, all of my understanding concerning God and concerning Christ and concerning this whole spiritual thing it was inherited. So now I'm just in a place where I'm kind of open. Not empty but open.”
He insisted that “I believe in everything that's in the Bible,” but he doesn’t interpret all of the Bible literally.
“If the Bible talks about Heaven, I believe in Heaven. If the Bible talks about the devil, I believe in the devil. I just don't believe he looks like Freddy Krueger,” he said.
“If the Bible talks about Hell, I believe in Hell. I just don't think it's a lake of fire. I could go on and on and on, but I believe everything that's in the Bible. What I'm looking at now is making sure that we have the correct image of what the Bible is talking about. Making sure we have the right understanding,” he added.
“We all can say what the Bible says but the question is: Do we understand what the Bible means by what it says? And that's where we are now, and I believe it's the most controversial message I have ever preached.”
Correction: This article has been corrected to make clear that Shireta Rogers was age 46, not 44, when she died.
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