During the final five years of his life, Robert Wolgemuth published two books about living with purpose in one’s later years. The title of his 2021 book, Gun Lap: Staying in the Race with Purpose, refers to the last minutes of a race, when a gun sounds to signal that the lead runner has started the final lap. Wolgemuth found the gun lap to be a powerful metaphor for how he wanted to approach the end of his life—moving forward with intensity and purpose. In his book, he encouraged other men to do the same.
“You’ve experienced all kinds of things. Don’t go retire to someplace where shuffleboard and square dancing is on the menu,” Wolgemuth said in a 2021 interview while promoting Gun Lap. “You have a lot of mileage left in your tires, to change the metaphor.”
One of the most influential men in evangelical publishing, Wolgemuth was a literary agent who represented writers like Albert Mohler, Kevin DeYoung, Nancy Leigh DeMoss (now his wife), and Joni Eareckson Tada. He collaborated with James Dobson, Max Lucado, Randy Alcorn, and R. C. Sproul and was the author of Lies Men Believe and She Calls Me Daddy. After the loss of his first wife in 2014 and after his own battles with cancer, Wolgemuth began to write and speak about making peace with age and death while still pursuing one’s calling.
Over the course of his decades-long career in Christian publishing, Wolgemuth held powerful positions at Campus Life magazine,Word Publishing, and Thomas Nelson before forming his own publishing company and literary agency (now Wolgemuth & Wilson).
Robert Wolgemuth died on January 10 of complications from pneumonia.
Andrew Wolgemuth, Robert’s nephew and now a partner at Wolgemuth & Wilson, told CT that his uncle “brought kindness to his interactions with everyone he worked with” and continued working creatively and bringing fresh ideas to the publishing process until the end of his career.
“He was consistently on the edge of his seat,” said Andrew Wolgemuth. “He was excited about the work he got to do. Over the course of his career, he sat in every seat around the table. He was a marketer, a publisher, an author, and an agent. He brought a 360-degree perspective to every project.”
Warren Cole Smith, editor in chief of MinistryWatch, told CT that Robert Wolgemuth was “one of the most important and influential men in evangelicalism you’ve never heard of.”
Wolgemuth was born in 1948 in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. He attended Taylor University, graduating in 1969 with a degree in biblical literature. After graduating, he spent several years on staff with Youth for Christ.
From 1976 to 1979, Wolgemuth was the business manager for Campus Life magazine, the print publication of Youth for Christ. He became vice president of sales and marketing for Word Publishing in 1979, a position he held for five years.
In 1984, Wolgemuth was hired as the president of flagship Christian publisher Thomas Nelson. Two years later, he and former Thomas Nelson CEO Michael Hyatt formed a publishing company, Wolgemuth & Hyatt Publishers, which they sold in 1992 before forming their literary agency, now Wolgemuth & Wilson.
Over the course of his career, Wolgemuth served two terms as the chairman of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. In 2005, he received an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, Taylor University. He wrote or cowrote over 20 books; his coauthors included John MacArthur, R. C. Sproul, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, and Joni Eareckson Tada.
Wolgemuth sought to address what he saw as biblical illiteracy among Christian men. He was the general editor of the Men’s Daily Bible (Christian Standard Bible), published by Lifeway. He also wrote the notes for the NIV Dad’s Devotional Bible, published by Zondervan. His devotionals, study Bibles, and books have sold over 2 million copies.
Wolgemuth married Nancy Leigh DeMoss, founder of the ministry Revive Our Hearts and author of the best-selling book Lies Women Believe, in 2015. Writer Hannah Anderson referred to the partnership as “the closest thing evangelicalism has to a royal wedding.” Wolgemuth had been DeMoss’s literary agent prior to their romantic involvement, and he continued collaborating with her in publishing and Revive Our Hearts throughout their marriage.
In 2015, when DeMoss announced their engagement, she made it clear that their partnership was both marital and missional. She wrote, “I love this man dearly and look forward to becoming Mrs. Robert Wolgemuth. But my life mission has not changed. It will now be our life mission to magnify the Lord together.” For ten years, Robert and Nancy Wolgemuth ran Revive Our Hearts as a married couple, appearing together on radio broadcasts and podcasts and coauthoring books, including You Can Trust God to Write Your Story.
Following the announcement of Wolgemuth’s death, Hyatt celebrated Wolgemuth in a post on social media as “a man of quiet humility, gentle strength, and unwavering integrity.” Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship and author of Jesus Revolution, paid tribute to Wolgemuth as well, calling him “a legend in Christian publishing.”
Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, described Wolgemuth as “one of the greatest encouragers in ministry and writing I have ever known.” Wolgemuth’s longtime friend and client Tada memorialized him as a “skilled and seasoned leader” who “excels in character and kindness.”
“He was consistent,” said Andrew Wolgemuth. “Robert was committed to his friends and neighbors, his local church. He was the same person in the office and out of the office.”
Robert Wolgemuth is survived by his wife, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth; his two daughters; five grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
