SAN FRANCISCO (ABP) — Frank Pollard, one of Southern Baptists' best-known preachers and leaders, died Nov. 30 at his home in San Francisco.
Pollard, 74, twice served as pastor of First Baptist Church in Jackson, Miss., for a combined total of 22 years. Between his stints in Jackson he served as pastor of First Baptist Church in San Antonio and as president of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in Mill Valley, Calif.
He also was a past president of the Mississippi Baptist Convention and a regular preacher on the Baptist Hour broadcasts produced by the SBC Radio & Television Commission.
Pollard, who suffered from Parkinson's disease, had moved with his wife to San Francisco earlier this year, reportedly to be near his granddaughter.
A memorial service is planned at First Baptist, Jackson, but details are incomplete, according to a statement on the church website.
According to the Jackson Clarion-Ledger, Pollard became pastor at First Baptist, Jackson, in 1976. In 1980, he left for the San Antonio pulpit. In 1983, he went to Golden Gate, but left there in 1986 and became his former church's interim pastor. After three months on that job, the church called him to reprise his role as permanent pastor. He retired in 2002.
Time once named Pollard one of seven "Outstanding Protestant Preachers in America." The Mississippi Legislature passed a resolution commending his ministry after his retirement.
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Bob Allen is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.