R. G. Lee

1886-1978

          “We live in a world of invertebrate theology, jellyfish morality, seesaw religion, India rubber convictions, somersault philosophy and a psychology that tells us what we already know in words which we do not understand.”

          R.G. Lee was born November 11, 1886, and died July 20, 1978.  The midwife attending his birth held baby Lee in her black arms while dancing a jig around the room, saying, “Praise God! The Lord has sent a preacher to this house.”
 

“God-sent preacher” well describes Dr. Lee.  Few in number are the Baptists who have never heard his most famous sermon, “Payday Someday!” If you haven’t heard it, or read it, surely you have heard some preacher make a favorable reference to it.
 

          From his humble birth to sharecropper parents, Dr. Lee rose to pastor one of the largest churches in his denomination and head the mammoth Southern Baptist Convention as its president, service three terms in that office.  Dr. John R. Rice said:
 

          “If you have not had the privilege of hearing Dr. Lee in person, I am sorry for you. The scholarly thoroughness, the wizardry of words, the lilt of poetic thought, the exalted idealism, the tender pathos, the practical application, the stern devotion to divine truth, the holy urgency in the preaching of a man called and anointed of God to preach and who must therefore preach, are never to be forgotten. The stately progression of his sermon to its logical end satisfies. The facial language, the alliterative statement, the powerful conviction mark Dr. Lee’s sermons. The scholarly gleaning of incident and illustration from the treasures of scholarly memory and library makes a rich feast for the hearer. The banquet table is spread with bread from many a grain field, honey distilled from the nectar of far-off exotic blossoms, sweetmeats from many a bake shop, strong meat from divers markets, and the whole board is garnished by posies from a thousand gardens.
 

          “Often have I been blessed in hearing Dr. Lee preach, have delighted in his southern voice, and have been carried along with joy by his anointed eloquence.”