(b. Colfax, La., July 4, 1870; d. Amarillo, Tex., Apr. 10, 1945). Pastor, evangelist, seminary president, denominational leader, and writer. His parents were George W. and Mary Elizabeth (Rutland) Scarborough, who were reared in Mississippi and Tennessee, respectively. His father was a faithful Baptist minister, and his mother a devout Christian. The family altar was regular part of their home life. To them were born nine children, of whom Lee Rutland was the eighth.
In 1874 the family moved to Texas on a farm near Waco; later they settled in Jones County. In 1896 the family moved to the pioneer section of West Texas where Lee grew up on a farm ranch. In this area his father held many revival meetings in dugouts, brush arbors, log school houses, and under trees. Lee’s youth was spent in hard labor and with limited material resources, which was the accustomed lot of the cowboys of the West.
His education included the A.B. degree from Baylor University, Waco, Tex., in 1892; and the A.B. degree in 1896 from Yale, where he was a Phi Beta Kappa student. He received the honorary D.D. degree from Baylor, 1908, and an LL.D. degree from Union University, Jackson, Tenn., in 1927. He attended Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Ky., 1899-1900.
He was married in 1900 to Neppie Warren. To them were born six children: Warren, Emma, Lee, Lawrence, Neppie, Ada Beth, and Byron.
Ordained to the gospel ministry in 1896, he served as pastor of the First Baptist Church, Cameron, Tex., from 1896 to 1901. He served as pastor of First Baptist Church, Abilene, Tex., from1901 to 1908. He was in constant demand as a pastor-evangelist.
As a denominational leader he served in the following positions: member of Board of Missions and Education; director of the 75 Million Campaign, 1919; president of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1939-40; leader in securing funds for buildings at Hardin-Simmons University, Abilene, Tex.; member of the executive board of the Baptist General Convention of Texas; president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas; teacher in the first chair of evangelism at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1908; and president of Southwestern Seminary, Fort Worth, Tex., 1914-45. He led in a program of evangelism for the Southern Baptist Convention and the Baptist World Alliance, and made an evangelistic tour of South America for the Foreign Mission Board in 1936. He had an intense spirit of co-operation in denominational work.
His published works include books on evangelism, travels, and sermons as follows: Recruits for World Conquest; With Christ After the Lost (revised in 1952 by E. D. Head); Endued to Win; How Jesus Won Men; Tears of Jesus; Prepare to Meet God; Marvels of Divine Leadership; Christ’s Militant Kingdom; Holy Places and Precious Promises; A Search for Souls; Ten Spiritual Ships; Products of Pentecost; My Conception of the Gospel Ministry, A Blaze of Evangelism Across the Equator; A Modern School of the Prophets. He is buried at Fort Worth, Tex.
Biographical Sources:
Carson, Glenn Thomas. Calling out the called: the life and work of Lee Rutland Scarborough, 1994.
Dana, H. E. Lee Rutland Scarborough: a life of service, 1942.
Price, J. M. Ten men from Baylor, 1945.
Archival sources in Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives.
Norris, J. Frank. Papers, 1928-1952. AR.124.
Southern Baptist Convention. Conservation Commission of the Seventy-Five Million Campaign. Minutes, 1920-1927. AR. 634.
Mullins, Edgar Young. Papers, Microfiche 122.
Truett, George Washington. Collection, 1882-1901. Microfiche 119.
