Rogers, Adrian Pierce

Rogers, Adrian Pierce, 1931–2005, American Southern Baptist clergyman, b. West Palm Beach, Fla. After deciding to enter the ministry while in college, he attended the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (M.A., 1958). In 1972 he became the pastor of the Bellevue Baptist Church, Memphis, Tenn., serving there until shortly before his death, by which time Bellevue had become a megachurch located in suburban Cordova. A leader among Southern Baptists conservatives, he was instrumental in the movement that led the denomination to reassert or adopt conservative religious and social policies, including biblical inerrancy and a male-only ministry, and served as denomination president thrice (1979, 1986–87). Rogers also founded (1987) Love Worth Finding broadcast ministry.