Book signing, open house highlight MC Archives’ Homecoming activities

Dr. Bob Rogers '80 will sign copies of his book, 'Mississippi Baptists: A History of Southern Baptists in the Magnolia State,' during the MC Archives Open House on Oct. 25.

More than 50 years have passed since R.A. McLemore published a comprehensive history of Mississippi Baptists. Dr. Robert “Bob” Rogers, a 1980 Mississippi College alum, agreed it was time to revise and update McLemore’s exhaustive treatise.

Commissioned by the Mississippi Baptist Historical Commission in conjunction with the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board, Rogers’ book, “Mississippi Baptists: A History of Southern Baptists in the Magnolia State,” sheds light on many discoveries about the group that were unknown or didn’t make it into McLemore’s account five decades before.

Rogers is scheduled to sign copies of his work from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Oct. 25, as part of the MC Archives Open House taking place during MC Homecoming festivities.

MC alumni and students will delight in perusing the old yearbooks, school newspapers, tribe scrapbooks and other historical documents related to the University that the MC Archives will make available during the event.

“The Open House is a great way to let our alums know that we are actively working to preserve MC's history,” Heather Moore, assistant director of the Mississippi Baptist Historical Committee and head of special collections at MC, said. “One day, they may have materials that they would be willing to donate to the archives, too.

“This is especially important as MC celebrates its bicentennial year in 2026. Everyone is looking at how far we've come and all that we’ve accomplished in the last 200 years. That information and history are here in the MC Archives.”

That includes Rogers’ book. Evan Lenow, MC associate professor and chair of Christian Studies, director of the Clinton Extension Center for NOBTS, and director of Church and Minister Relations, said the work draws on Rogers’ experience serving churches in the state and his academic background in church history.

“Dr. Bob Rogers has a long history of serving Southern Baptists, and particularly Mississippi Baptists, throughout his career,” Lenow said. “Dr. Rogers included both the last 50 years in his new book as well as deeper insight into events farther back in our history.

“I am especially grateful that a fellow MC graduate was commissioned to write this book because MC has been a central part of the history of Mississippi Baptists since 1850.”

Rogers earned his Th.D. in church history at New Orleans Seminary, retired as a chaplain at Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg and teaches history online for Baptist University of Florida.

The book signing will take place in the lobby of the Leland Speed Library on the MC Clinton campus, while the Open House will be in the Special Collections Department on the library’s top floor.

For more information about the event or MC’s Homecoming, visit mc.edu/homecoming.