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Fellow religious broadcaster James Dobson, founder of Colorado-based Focus on the Family, said of his colleague, "There is no one in America whom I respected more than Dr. Rogers."

Bill Skelton, executive vice president of Love Worth Finding Ministries, said Rogers' messages, which have been carried on some 2,300 radio stations and more than 13,000 television outlets, will continue for years to come. Rogers preached more than 3,000 sermons in his 33 years at Bellevue Baptist, and Skelton said "fresh messages" that have not yet aired can be broadcast through 2008.

"He said to me recently, 'You know, one day the messenger will be gone but the message must continue,'" Skelton recalled in an interview. "Our desire is and his desire was that the ministry continue and so, as long as that is feasible, we are committed to doing that."

Rogers' funeral is scheduled for Thursday at the Tennessee church that named him pastor emeritus upon his retirement.

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The Commercial Appeal of Memphis, Associated Press, Baptist Press and Associated Baptist Press have more on Rogers and his death.

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November (Web-only) 2005, Vol. 49