Pastor's Corner
A brief bio of Dr. Rogers
Dr. Jeffrey S. Rogers has been Senior Pastor of First Baptist Greenville
since July 1, 2001. Known by most of the congregation as Jeff, he has been a member
since shortly after his arrival in Greenville in 1988. His wife, Bev, has been
FBC's Minister to Children since 1995, and his three children, Marshall, Graham
and Heath, are active participants in Sunday School and children's and youth activities.
Born in Philadelphia, Jeff spent his formative years in Hickory, North Carolina,
where his father, a Lutheran minister, was Chaplain at Lenoir-Rhyne College. He became
a Baptist during his college years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill. He completed his Bachelors degree in English at North Carolina Central University
in Durham in 1980. His graduate degrees are from Southeastern Baptist Theological
Seminary (M. Div., 1983) and Princeton Theological Seminary (Ph.D., 1992). He was
ordained in 1981 at Ephesus Baptist Church of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He served
as part-time Minister of Music and Minister of Music and Youth during his college
and seminary years and as pastor of Lea Bethel Baptist Church (Prospect Hill, North
Carolina) from 1983 to 1985.
Furman University became his academic home in 1988 when he began teaching in his
specialty, Biblical Studies. He soon became known far beyond the confines of Furman
as a teacher, writer and speaker. A few of his activities outside the classroom included
sermons and lectures at the Furman Pastors School (three years), keynote address
at the 1999 Christian Higher Education Luncheon at the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship
General Assembly, Keynote Preacher (twice) of the South Carolina Cooperative Baptist
Fellowship General Assembly, author of chapters in scholarly monographs, author of
papers in scholarly journals, co-author of a handbook on Biblical Hebrew grammar,
and writer of numerous book reviews. He has served on the National Network Board
of the Lilly Fellows Program in Humanities and the Arts, on the Governing Board of
the South Carolina Network for Educational Renewal, on the Steering Committee for
Old Testament/Hebrew Bible in the Society of Biblical Literature (Southeast Region),
and as President of the South Carolina Academy of Religion. From 1998 until accepting
the call to FBC Greenville, Dr. Rogers was Assistant and Associate Academic Dean
of Furman University. He and faculty colleagues helped Furman garner a $2 million
grant from the Lilly Endowment, Inc., to establish a Center for Theological Exploration
of Vocation, of which he was co-director and which he continues to serve as a consultant.
In the Greenville community, he has served on the Education Plan Steering Committee
for The School District of Greenville County and on the Sub-committee on Teacher
Quality of the Alliance for Quality Education. In 2003, he was a member of the inaugural
class of the Diversity Leadership Academy, a program of the American Institute for
Managing Diversity, Inc., at the Richard W. Riley Institute for Government, Politics
and Public Leadership at Furman University. His guest columns have appeared in The
Charlotte (N.C.) Observer, the Chronicle of Higher Education, The
Durham (N.C.) Herald-Sun, The Greenville (S.C.) News, and The Greenville
(S.C.) Journal. His book, Building a House for All God’s Children:
Diversity Leadership in the Church, was recently published
by Abingdon Press.
Quick Facts about Dr. Rogers
Professional/Educational Background:
Ph.D. in Biblical Studies from
Princeton Theological Seminary
M.Div. with Languages from Southeastern Baptist
Theological Seminary
B.A. in English from North Carolina Central University
Thing you like most about your job:
Being a part of "what really matters" in people's lives
Favorite books:
As a child: Go Dog! Go! by P.D. Eastman
In college: Steps to an Ecology of Mind, by Gregory Bateson
As an adult: When Religion Becomes Evil, by Charles Kimball
Favorite Movie:
The Lion King
Favorite Things to Do:
Go to the beach; QT with Marshall, Graham and Heath; work in the yard; play golf
Meaningful scripture/life verse:
Psalm 19:14; 1 Corinthians 16:13-14
"What I like most about First Baptist Greenville is that we don't have to look alike or think alike or be alike to be taken in and respected and cared for and loved. We are a 'whosoever-will' kind of congregation."