Tributes To Adrian Rogers

Everyone loved Dr Rogers but not everyone appreciated the anti-Calvinism and the needless harm it has done to the body of Christ. How has any good come of this? I have gathered some of these tributes.

He was a man of enormous gifts, but I tell you what — I think they were put to a terrible cause,” Sherman, who served as the first coordinator of the moderate Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, said. “I take no pleasure in his dying, [but] the results of his efforts in other days caused me and many people great pain. [emphasis mine]

Rogers was no friend of Calvinism. In fact, more than once he was quite outspoken in his criticism of the doctrines of grace and especially some within Southern Baptist life who hold those doctrines to be the truth of God's Word. He referred to them (us) as "wine and cheese theologians." I was always saddened by his public denunciations of reformed theology because he seemed always to be attacking a straw man. Some of his comments provided fuel for the flames that were directed against faithful pastors by disgruntled church members and denominational servants Founders' statement at his death.

There are no PERFECT people on earth and Adrian Rogers was no exception - a truth he often openly admitted. He had his failures and blind spots and his seriousmisunderstanding of the sovereignity of God in the salvation of sinners was one of the most glaring!He understands the full truth of this (and other) subjects now.

I sat under his ministry for three years, and like Dr. Ascol, I was often saddened and sometimes angered by the caricatures of Calvinists and Calvinism that he sometimes painted in his messages. Although often at odds with him theologically, I greatly admired the fervor and energy with which he conducted his ministry, and the character he displayed in his daily walk. He will be greatly missed.

Could someone please enlighten me as to Adrian Rogers view of Calvinism. It may be that I am blind and deaf or that I just did not hear him enough, but this is all news to me. His messages on Grace seemed to be right on in my mind.

I praise God for Rogers' ministry (even though there are a couple dozen sermons I wish he had NOT preached)

I personally wonder if it was any better when Adrian was there (Bellevue Baptist Church). Now I know that is blasphemous to say that, and I would be considered a heretic in good Baptist circles, but I still think I am correct.I know not everyone worshiped AR, but I sure think a lot of them did and still do. Not all people looked at him as God but many did. He ran the church. He had his group of men that did all the stuff for him, just as SG has a group that is there to fight his battles.

Many of us are kids of professors who had to sit quietly by while the fundamentalist leaders like Rogers and others took over the State Conventions and the Baptist Colleges. Eventually, our parents were fired or run out.
Losing a Church is one thing (been there done that), but being forced to move 1,000 miles away from the small town I grew up in is traumatic. The Adrian Rogers of this world have cause my family much pain in recent years.
What did you expect Sherman to say? That Rogers was a stand-up guy? He wasn’t.
You often hear about preachers who get run out of town because of Fundamentalism and BSU directors and Professors who’ve lost their jobs because of fundamentalism. And you think - It’s just a job! And, yea sure it’s just a job. But we often forget about the innocent people behind the scenes - the families.

Adrian Rogers is not the only southern baptist preacher (past or present) to lull sinners into a false sense of security. There were thousands before him, as there are many thousands that continue this today. The sad thing is, most of those 'many thousands' today espouse to be just like Rogers.

Just an opinion...I have heard quite a few AR sermons. There are a few, not many, where he had made very valid statements concerning the sovereignty of God in all things. I say that to imply that he was not completely ignorant to truth, but much like the sin of the Pharisees, there was superficial light while there was inward darkness. They (Pharisees) had enough knowledge of the scriptures to discern that only the Lord's high priest could cure a man of leprosy, but they still attributed His work to the devil(blasphemy of the Spirit). AR had enough knowledge of the scriptures to discern that no man can come to the Son unless the Father draw (drag) him, and certainly he could not have been ignorant of Jesus' qualifying statement that only His sheep can and will believe, but still he attributed the work of salvation to 'you doing something and the Lord doing the rest'.

I won't dare deny Adrian Rogers, Charles Stanley, or even Pat Robertson the right to call themselves Baptists, even though they espouse many a belief that seems to run contrary to the very core of Baptist principles and distinctives. However, I know that calling yourself a Southern Baptist, yet acting in markedly un-Baptist ways, is very much in vogue right now in the late, great Southern Baptist Convention.


I have also exposed fully the horrific errors of exegesis committed by Adrian Rogers in his attempts to deal with Calvinism

Had the debate proceeded, the frequent accusation by the Caners equating so-called Reformed Baptists with hyper-Calvinists likely would have surfaced. White referred on his blog to a sermon in which Caner asked who might fill the shoes of Adrian Rogers to stand against “those hyper-Calvinists who have ceased to give biblical invitations and embraced Protestant Scholasticism."


Adrian Rogers is not the only southern baptist preacher (past or present) to lull sinners into a false sense of security. There were thousands before him, as there are many thousands that continue this today. The sad thing is, most of those 'many thousands' today espouse to be just like Rogers.

Just an opinion...I have heard quite a few AR sermons. There are a few, not many, where he had made very valid statements concerning the sovereignty of God in all things. I say that to imply that he was not completely ignorant to truth, but much like the sin of the Pharisees, there was superficial light while there was inward darkness. They (Pharisees) had enough knowledge of the scriptures to discern that only the Lord's high priest could cure a man of leprosy, but they still attributed His work to the devil(blasphemy of the Spirit). AR had enough knowledge of the scriptures to discern that no man can come to the Son unless the Father draw (drag) him, and certainly he could not have been ignorant of Jesus' qualifying statement that only His sheep can and will believe, but still he attributed the work of salvation to 'you doing something and the Lord doing the rest'.

I theorize that AR was much like those Pharisees that believed, but would not acknowledge Him(and His sovereignty in salvation) because he, like they, loved the praise of men more than the approval of God. Bellevue, much like most other megas, rely on 'cell' groups or 'family bible study networks' to forge some degree of unity or closeness among members, since one will get lost in a crowd of thousands. I know from firsthand sources that some of these 'cell' groups have had Calvinist leaders who have espoused the doctrines of grace despite what was being preached from the pulpit...I would suppose some of these still exist. Knowing the spellbound effect that AR had over most, it is not hard to imagine that some in these groups let the 'goings on' of their bible study trickle upward to higher paygrade staff and deep pocketed givers. I would also think that all it would have taken was their implied disapproval of this to AR, and viola', you have these anti-Calvinist sermons...not that he wouldn't or didn't preach these of his own accord. It's just a theory.

But I didn't give much thought to his 'every head bowed,every eye closed, pray this prayer and really mean it' spiel, because it's the same free-will, do your part, repeat after me production perpetrated by 99% of SBC churches/pastors everywhere. Paul Williams or any other Bellevueian has heard or will hear the same convoluted theology and decisional regeneration garbage before, during, or after AR's reign. Created PW's comfort...probably not; reinforced it, likely so. AR did not start this false gospel fire, he only added his brand of heretical fuel to it.

As to what Adrian Rogers taught about “Calvinism,” that is more than acceptable in this discussion. I agree with you that he constructed straw man arguments against Calvinists. Have you felt the pain inflicted by his sermons/ pamphlet? I have, my friend, I have. And so did my family and so did my church.