I LOVE ADRIAN ROGERS! Still learning from him today! Glory!
MERRITT ISLAND, Fla. – A dozen or so miles from NASA’s launch pads at Cape Canaveral, a new pastor – Adrian Rogers – asserted in a sermon, “God has given us a golden opportunity” that “very few people get to see.”
Arriving in Merritt Island, Fla., in 1964 amid America’s race to the moon, Rogers told First Baptist Church, founded 15 years earlier, “This church cannot be a normal church.
“It should be large and strong. It should be attractive and exciting. It should be abreast of the times and in many respects compare favorably with the dynamic spirit of this area and age.”
Even so: First Baptist Merritt Island “must be true to the pure Gospel,” Rogers, then 32, declared in the church newsletter. “We must unashamedly proclaim the Old Book, the New Birth, the Precious Blood and the Blessed Hope.”
Rogers’ eight years at First Baptist – until he was called to the Memphis-area Bellevue Baptist Church in 1972 – are the focus of “Moon Port Pastor,” a new book by Phil Kramer, an Arkansas pastor and Florida native. The title stems from how Rogers typically was introduced as a popular conference speaker in the 1970s – with Merritt Island situated at the center of Brevard County, known as “Moon Port USA,” the hub of NASA’s – and America’s – lunar ambitions. More Here