Preaching legend Olford dies at 86

Stephen Olford, known worldwide as the “prince of preachers” and the “pastor’s pastor,” died of a stroke Aug. 29. He was 86.
   
Founder and chairman of the board of Memphis, Tenn.-based Olford Ministries International (OMI), Olford left a world of influence among Christian church leaders wherever he went, including Alabama.
   
Roger Willmore, pastor of First Baptist Church, Boaz, described Olford as his “father in the ministry.”
   
“His ministry made such an impact on me at age 18 that I wanted him to be my mentor — my role model,” said Willmore, a minister-at-large with OMI.
   
Olford will be remembered for his passion for the things of God, his purity as a man of God and his Christlike life, Willmore noted. “Those are the things that captured me. I feel like he modeled for all of us what authentic Christianity should be.”
   
Timothy George, dean of Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School, agreed. “Dr. Olford leaves a great legacy and an urgent challenge to all of us: To lift up Christ, to win the lost, to preach the Word with love and conviction, to extend the good news of God’s grace to everyone everywhere.
   
“He was a great friend and encourager to me and I shall always cherish our times of fellowship and prayer together,” George said.
   
Recalling the first time he heard Olford preach, George said, “I said, ‘Would that I could preach like that man.’ Later when I came to know Dr. Olford personally, my thoughts changed to ‘Would that I could know God like that man does.’”
   
Willmore, who has held a close friendship with Olford for more than 35 years and worked full time in Olford’s ministry 1992–1995, said, “Although he had his arms around the world, he never lost his ability to put his arms around the individual.”
   
Willmore was a speaker at Olford’s memorial service at Bellevue Baptist Church, Memphis, Sept. 8. Belleview Pastor Adrian Rogers brought the keynote message. Olford’s two sons, Jonathan and David Olford (who is president of OMI) also spoke at the service, held at the church where their father was a member. Besides his sons Olford is survived by Heather, his wife of 56 years, and five grandchildren.
   
Born in Zambia as a son of missionaries, Olford also hosted the weekly radio show, “Encounter,” heard on Christian radio stations internationally. He wrote several books, among them “Anointed Expository Preaching.”
   
Olford’s legacy also touches seminary students. Through partnerships of the Olford organization with Baptist seminaries doctor of ministry degrees in expository preaching are being established. Currently there is one at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Ky., and another at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Wake Forest, N.C.
   
The Olford Institute for Biblical Preaching was also founded as part of OMI in 1980.
   
Olford’s influence among Alabama Baptists is significant and enduring, Willmore said. Along with personal relationships, he also has preached in various settings in the state through the years.
   
George said Olford’s preaching lectures at Beeson in recent years “had a great impact on our community and there was a memorable moving of the Holy Spirit.”
   
His last appearance in the state was as the keynote speaker during the 2001 Alabama Baptist Pastors Conference. (BP contributed)