ASHEVILLE, N.C. (ABP) — Lewis A. Drummond, prominent evangelist and former president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, died Sunday in Asheville, N.C.
Drummond, 77, suffered a heart attack on Christmas Day after battling cancer for several years. He is survived by his wife, Betty.
Drummond led Southeastern during “a turbulent, transition time,” as he described it. In 1988, he was the first president elected after conservatives gained control of the Southern Baptist school in Wake Forest, N.C. The school endured both financial crisis and academic probation by its accrediting agency, which factored into Drummond's resignation in 1992.
He preached crusades all around the world and was known as an expert on evangelism. Before going to Southeastern, he was Billy Graham Professor of Evangelism at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He wrote dozens of books and articles, including biographies of Billy Graham and Charles Haddon Spurgeon. He also was a pastor in Texas, Alabama and Kentucky.
The Lewis A. Drummond Center for Great Commission Studies at Southeastern is named in his homor. “His labor of love and the foundation that he established at our school is still bearing fruit,” said Bart Neal, interim president of Southeastern.
After Southeastern, Drummond was the Billy Graham Professor of Evangelism and Church Growth at Samford University's Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Ala., from 1992 until last summer, when he became evangelism professor in residence at the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove in Asheville.
A native of Dixon, Ill., Drummond earned a Ph.D. from King's College at the University of London, two master's degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a bachelor's degree from Samford.
“If I could show you a scholarly evangelist, a preacher of the Word, a biblical expositor, an encourager, a visionary leader, a gracious host, a good Samaritan, it would be Lewis Drummond,” said L. Russ Bush, dean of the faculty at Southeastern and a longtime friend and colleague of Drummond.
Timothy George, dean of Beeson Divinity School, said Drummond “was one of the most encouraging and hopeful Christians I have ever known. He embodied the optimism of grace rooted in a vibrant personal relationship with Jesus Christ.”
Drummond was a leader in the Baptist World Alliance. At the request of his wife, the Lewis Drummond Evangelism Fund has been established by BWA to receive contributions.
“Through his active participation in the Baptist World Alliance, the world became his pulpit,” said Denton Lotz, executive secretary of the BWA, based in Falls Church, Va. “Whether preaching to Nagas in Northeast India or in Brazil, or Korea, Lewie was at home in the world…. We are grateful for the tremendous contribution that he has made to the life of Baptists worldwide.”
A graveside service will be held Jan. 7 in Wake Forest, N.C., where Drummond will be buried in the seminary cemetery. A memorial service is planned in Asheville for Jan. 10.
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