Rogers, who was the only person in modern times to serve three terms as president of the 16.4 million member Southern Baptist Convention, saw the SBC through tumultuous times in two decades, beginning in1979 and then again in 1986-87.

In an Oct. 6 interview with Florida Baptist Witness Executive Editor James A. Smith Sr., Rogers acknowledged the importance of his part in the SBC’s conservative drift and told Smith:

“I look back on my life and there are a lot of things that have happened. I have written books, pastored churches, preached on radio and television around the world. But I think the part that God allowed ...