Denver Seminary

LYLE ADAMS: RACIAL RECONCILER & MULTI-SITE PIONEER by D.G. Wynn Lyle Adams was a man ahead of his time. In the face of a country ravaged by racial tension, his determination to maintain unity was steadfast. It was that conviction that led to the planting of one of the first multi-site churches in the United States—in the 1960s. The multi-site model was not widely adopted until three decades later. The training Lyle received from Denver Seminary would serve as a catalyst for a life of ministry dedicated to changing the heart and landscape of a city fractured by hate. FROM PILOT TO PREACHER Lyle was born in 1921 to a Baptist family in rural Missouri. Despite financial struggles, he managed to complete two years of college while earning his pilot's license. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1941 and joined the war efforts in Europe. During his service, he was distinguished as a pilot of extraordinary courage, earning the Silver Star for conspicuous gallantry in action on one of his 25 missions. After the war, Lyle felt the Lord calling him into a life of ministry. He enrolled at Denver Seminary during its inaugural year in 1951. He also became the pastor at Bethany Baptist Church in Denver. And from that point on, Lyle was a man on a new mission. BIBLICAL UNITY IN A CITY DIVIDED Lyle took a pastoral position at Trinity Baptist Church in northwest Detroit in 1956. Detroit was a city in transition, and the majority of Trinity Baptist's white congregants were moving to the suburbs. But Lyle held fast to his belief in the unity among brothers and sisters in Christ. He worked tirelessly to accommodate the church's needs by planting not one, but two satellite locations in the nearby suburb of Livonia. It was one church body worshiping in three locations. The country continued to erupt with tension and violence—including the 1967 riots in Detroit. But Lyle led Trinity Baptist in the fight for daily racial reconciliation. The church locations had different ethnic majorities but integrated congregations. Members would gather for special occasions to fellowship as a racially diverse community of faith, choosing biblical unity over personal prejudices and cultural pressure. ABOUNDING IN HIS WORK Lyle was a man of conviction and action. When he saw a problem, he acted to change it. On his days off from the church, he taught New Testament Greek at Detroit Bible College and volunteered as a probation officer. He orchestrated the building of low-income housing and a nursing home for the elderly in his community. In his not-so-spare time, he had a weekly radio show called Theology Today, ALUMNI & DONORS 10 FALL 2016

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