by Lamar Wadsworth » Wed Nov 16, 2005 12:04 am
As an old man, John Leland (if you don't know who Leland was, go take a remedial course in Baptist history) wrote in his diary, "My earnest prayer is that my imperfect services will be deemed acceptable through the blood of the Lamb." All of us preachers offer "imperfect services," Adrian being no exception. A whole lot of people were led to faith in Christ through his ministry. For that I am truly thankful, though I disagreed with some of his theological views and most of his political views. People can be wrong on a whole lot of stuff and still be used to bring people to faith in Christ. I was always in awe of his oratorical skills--his ability as an orator was in the same league with Martin Luther King Jr. Having said that, great oratory does not necessarily equal great preaching. They may be found together, or either may be found apart from the other. Great oratory is becoming a lost art, though there is no shortage of great preaching being done today.
Someone once remarked to Nancy Sehested (pastor at Prescott Memorial BC in Memphis for several years, in my opinion among the best preachers alive today) that her Baptist preacher grandfather might not have been too thrilled with the idea of his granddaughter being a preacher. Nancy's response was classic: "Yes, but he's in Heaven now, and he knows better."
I believe Adrian was a sincere and faithful servant of Christ, although I believe he was sincerely wrong about a whole lot of stuff. I am confident that, as Leland put it, Adrian's imperfect services have been deemed acceptable through the blood of the Lamb. For all of the people he led to faith in Christ, and for all of the good things he said and did, I am truly thankful. As for all of the other stuff, he's in Heaven now and he knows better.