Roger Willmore, pastor of Deerfoot Baptist Church, Trussville, in Birmingham Baptist Association, was named a fellow of the Stephen Olford Center for Biblical Preaching in Memphis, Tenn. Conferring the honor during an Oct. 13 ceremony was David Olford, the son and successor of the center’s founder.
“To me, this means my preaching ministry has been affirmed by one of the most notable preachers of this century,” Willmore said. “I share Stephen Olford’s conviction regarding the pre-eminence of preaching, and I also share his desire for excellence in preaching.”
To meet the requirements for the center’s Fellowship of the Institute of Biblical Preaching (FIBP), Willmore completed coursework, a number of reading and writing assignments and an internship phase. He actually did some of the work while serving on Olford’s staff from 1992 to 1995, but a retroactive feature allowed him to apply those past efforts toward the completion of the FIBP requirements. “As part of the team, I did almost everything required before the fellowship even came into existence,” Willmore explained, “but I did have to do some additional written work.”
The program, he said, is open to pastors and laypeople and is designed to develop a “society” of people committed to the inerrancy of the Bible and to faithfully sharing it. According to Willmore, a total of 11 Olford fellows have been named.
Long an admirer of Olford, Willmore was only 17 years old when he met the man many called a “pastor’s pastor” and “prince of preachers” at a convention in Birmingham over three decades ago. When Olford died unexpectedly in 2004, Willmore not only lost a treasured mentor but also a treasured friend.
“I knew from the beginning of our relationship he was not an ordinary man,” Willmore said. “His influence upon me and upon countless other ministers will continue, though he has gone to be with our Lord.”
(TAB)
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