BGCT president’s tenure already bearing fruit_11005

Posted: 1/07/05

BGCT president's tenure already bearing fruit

By Marv Knox

Editor

SAN ANTONIO–No matter what else happens this year, Albert Reyes' tenure as president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas will hold eternal consequences for Homer Carrejo and his family.

Reyes and Carrejo met when they were 14-year-olds in Corpus Christi, but they lost touch years ago.

Then Reyes got elected president of the BGCT last November, and Carrejo saw a newspaper story about him.

Carrejo tracked down his friend at Baptist University of the Americas, where Reyes is president. Until then, neither knew they both lived in San Antonio.

They reunited after 18 years and brought their families together. Soon, the Reyeses invited the Carrejos to visit their church, Trinity Baptist in San Antonio.

During a Christmas holiday trip, Reyes received good news from his pastor, Charlie Johnson.

“Charlie called me on my cell phone,” Reyes recalled. “He said: 'Albert, I have good news. I just left the Carrejos' house, and all four of them prayed to receive Christ as their Savior.'”

So, when the Carrejo family stands in Trinity's baptistery, Reyes will celebrate their birth into the kingdom of God.

The Carrejos' conversion experience represents in microcosm Reyes' goals for his tenure as BGCT president. He wants Texas Baptists to do everything they can to reach people for Christ.

At the end of the year, one of the BGCT's major headlines will be “Texas Baptists reinvented themselves,” Reyes predicted, pointing to the convention's biggest reorganization in 50 years.

This year, BGCT messengers will consider a second vote on constitutional revisions, as well as new bylaws. In the meantime, BGCT Executive Director Charles Wade will reorganize the convention staff to implement new mission, vision, values and priorities statements.

“My role is to make sure we don't forget to do what we said we would do” in reorganization, Reyes said.

Part of the reorganization plan is controversial, he acknowledged, noting Baptists in West Texas and rural East Texas are concerned about representation on the Executive Board.

“We need to ensure that everyone is fully informed and heard, that Texas Baptists can support the reorganization,” he said. “But I want us to keep our focus where it needs to be. Being a Baptist does not mean being a better organization. That's just a means to an end, and the end is to glorify God through missions.”

And that, Reyes hopes, will be the topic of the other three headlines that will summarize the BGCT in 2005: Texas Baptists prayed, went and gave to support missions.

Prayer provides the grounding for missions, he explained. “Every time we meet, I'm going to ask our people to pray. We need to pray for people without Christ. We need to pray for missions, whether it's across the street or all the way to Southeast Asia. And we need to pray for unity in our Baptist family as we work through our governance/reorganization situation.”

Reyes will ask Texas Baptists to “Pray the 5th” by gathering in Austin for a prayer rally May 5, the National Day of Prayer.

“If possible, we will meet on the steps of the Capitol or at one of our Texas Baptist churches in Austin,” he said. “This gives us one thing all of us can do together–pray for our state, pray for people who need Christ, pray for convention unity.

“If you can't make it to Austin, go to your church to pray, gather with others in your community and pray.”

Texas Baptists also need to put feet to their prayers by going on missions and crossing cultures with the gospel, Reyes stressed. He envisions Texas Baptists going to minister to victims of the Dec. 26 tsunami. He urged BGCT institutions, churches and individuals not only to pray for the people of that region, but also to go and help them.

“I hope we'll see wave after wave of churches and institutions going there; it's such a huge area, and the needs are so vast,” he said. “God didn't cause this tragedy to happen. But since it has happened, it's time for us to rise up and do what we do best.”

He also hopes sensitivity gained by the tsunami disaster will help Texas Baptists to “be aware of the other cultures around us” and serve all Texans more effectively.

Financial giving is vital if Texas Baptists are going to do missions as they should, Reyes said. He is urging the convention to conduct a campaign to promote the Cooperative Program, the BGCT's missions/ministry budget.

“Texas Baptists can do more together than we can do apart,” he insisted. “The money we give through the BGCT supports missions in Texas and around the world. And every Texas Baptist can be involved in missions–from Texas to the other side of the world.”

Reyes pointed to missions resources, saying: "One of the best ways to get connected to missions is through WorldconneX. I want to invite every Texas Baptist who wants to be involved in missions to start by visiting the WorldconneX website (www.worldconnex.org) to discover how to directly connect to missions locally and globally."

Missions is Reyes' passion, and it's the BGCT's stack pole, he said. “If we don't stand together for missions, we lose our vitality, passion and purpose for being a family.”

Expect him to explain that to the Carrejo family very soon.