The SBC, a Good Old Ship:

[Adrian] Rogers believed that he faced a choice: leave the convention or lead a change.

“Adrian considered leaving the denomination,” Joyce Rogers wrote. “This would be a major step should he do so. It would require his leading his church to come out of the denomination or else resigning. But in his heart he believed something could and should be done. He used this analogy. The Southern Baptist Convention is a good old ship that has taken on much water and is slowly sinking. The choices seemed to be to abandon the ship or to man the pumps. He chose the latter and was ultimately blessed in ‘manning the pumps’ along with others.”

http://www.bpnews.net/42612/adrian-rogers-rising-star-of-memphis-elected-35-years-ago

During the conservative resurgence, Rogers was asked to serve on the Peace Committee. Rogers and the other committee members were charged with reaching a compromise between liberal and conservative Baptists on key theological doctrines. At one point in their meetings, Rogers was approached by a lawyer who represented the opposing side. During this conversation, Rogers made a famous statement that in so many ways defines the man. Of that event his wife Joyce writes, “A successful lawyer who represented the moderate faction pulled Adrian aside and said, ‘Adrian, if you don’t compromise, we will never get together.’” Joyce noted her husband’s reply, “I’m willing to compromise about many things, but not the Word of God. So far as getting together is concerned, we don’t have to get together. The Southern Baptist Convention, as it is, does not have to survive. I don’t have to be the pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church. I don’t have to be loved; I don’t even have to live. But I will not compromise the Word of God.

5 Lessons I learned from Adrian Rogers