2006 Archives
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Panhandle-Plains conference taps changing demographics
Posted: 3/03/06
Jesse Rincones, pastor of Alliance Baptist Church in Lubbock, addresses a point about reaching the Hispanic population in a panel discussion to kick off the Panhandle-Plains Pastors’ and Laymen’s Conference at Wayland Baptist University. With Rincones are (from left) Stacy Conner, pastor of First Baptist Church of Muleshoe, Mateo Rendon, a consultant for West Texas with the BGCT, and Charles Davenport, a retired Tulia pastor and a BGCT congregational strategist. Panhandle-Plains conference
taps changing demographicsBy Teresa Young
Wayland Baptist University
PLAINVIEW—Reaching the changing West Texas populations with the gospel will require intentional efforts, a worker mentality and an attitude of acceptance, panelists told participants at the 85th annual Panhandle-Plains Pastors’ and Laymen’s Conference at Wayland Baptist University.
Panelists invited participants to examine changing demographic trends—particularly the explosive growth of the Hispanic population, as noted by Jesse Rincones, pastor of Alliance Baptist Church in Lubbock. He pointed out 1,300 of the 5,700 Baptist churches in Texas are Hispanic, and within the next decade, half of the Hispanic population in Texas will be age 25 or under.
Newly elected officers of the Panhandle-Plains Pastors’ and Laymen’s Conference are President David Lowrie (center), pastor of First Baptist Church in Canyon; President-elect Richard Laverty (right), pastor of First Baptist Church in Perryton; Secretary/Treasurer Charles Bassett (left) of Wayland Baptist University; (not pictured) First Vice President Ackey Martinez, youth director at First Baptist Church in Brownfield, and Second Vice President Carl Williams, layman at Colonial Hill Baptist Church in Snyder. 03/02/2006 - By John Rutledge
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Sri Lanka ministries continue despite political unrest
Posted: 3/03/06
A Texas Baptist Men volunteer assists as Andrew Bentley, from Baptist Child & Family Services, removes a wooden splinter from the leg of a tsunami victim in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka ministries
continue despite political unrestBy Craig Bird
Baptist Child & Family Services
BATTICALOA, Sri Lanka—Texas Baptist ministries in Sri Lanka continue despite ongoing political tensions.
Two Baptist General Convention of Texas-related groups—Baptist Child & Family Services and Texas Baptist Men—have worked in the Indian Ocean island-nation since January 2005. Both groups have based their ministries in the east coast town of Batticaloa, which straddles the uneasy ceasefire line between government troops and their adversaries for the past 23 years, the Tamil Tigers.
03/02/2006 - By John Rutledge
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Texas Tidbits
Posted: 3/03/06
Texas Tidbits
Pro alums help improve Baylor Ballpark. Baylor University alumni Jason Jennings and Kip Wells recently contributed $50,000 each toward $400,000 in Baylor Ballpark improvements, including a new scoreboard. Jennings, a pitcher for the Colorado Rockies, and Wells, a pitcher for Pittsburgh Pirates, recently participated in an exhibition game against the 2006 Baylor squad at the ballpark.
Hardin-Simmons tops $100 million endowment. Hardin-Simmons University has exceeded $100 million in endowment, 10 months ahead of the goal President Craig Turner announced in his 2001 inaugural address. At that time, Turner launched the Securing the Future fund-raising campaign to increase the school’s endowment from $57.5 million to $100 million by the end of 2006. The campaign has netted $42.5 million.
Baylor University names interim CIO and dean. Baylor University has named Becky King interim chief information officer and William B. Hair III as interim dean of libraries. King has been director of information services, and Hair was associate dean and director of university libraries. They assume responsibilities previously held by Reagan Ramsower, vice president for finance and administration.
03/02/2006 - By John Rutledge
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TOGETHER: Mandate & mission push Texas Baptists
Posted: 3/03/06
TOGETHER:
Mandate & mission push Texas BaptistsTexas Baptists are a special kind of people. We believe God has given us a great mandate and a great mission—to love him as we love nothing else, to love our neighbors as we love ourselves and in that love to go everywhere calling people to follow Jesus Christ. And we believe that if God is in something, then he will provide a way to get it done.
Quite simply, Texas Baptists like being on the cutting edge of God’s purposes in the world. I was reminded of that this past week. It was an emotional and intense time.
Executive Director
BGCT Executive Board
It may seem a bit mundane, but the reorganized Executive Board of the Baptist General Convention of Texas met for the first time Feb. 27-28. We had dreamed of an Executive Board that would be more actively involved in directing the activities of our convention, and at this first meeting, we began to see that dream come to life.
03/02/2006 - By John Rutledge
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EDITORIAL: Offer letters to reduce global poverty
Posted: 3/03/06
EDITORIAL:
Offer letters to reduce global povertyCan you afford to invest $1.17 and a few minutes to reduce global poverty? That’s the cost of three first-class stamps and the amount of time you’ll need to write your senators and congressional representative, urging them to direct an additional 1 percent of the federal budget to defeating global poverty, hunger and AIDS.
This is a goal already claimed—but not yet funded—by our government. The United States has joined 188 other countries in agreeing to the Millennium Development Goals, a set of eight objectives for overcoming poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental damage and discrimination against women. The cornerstone of the project is a worthy target—cutting poverty in half by 2015. President Bush has signed on to this grand plan. Last year, he pledged to double all foreign assistance in order to ensure progress.
Two obstacles stand between the president’s intention and reality. First is congressional approval; the House and Senate have to ratify a budget that includes such funding. Second is allocation of resources. Less than half of all U.S. foreign aid goes to poverty-focused development assistance, or programs that actually eliminate poverty. For example, last year, the United States spent $19.5 billion on foreign aid, but only $9.6 billion (49.2 percent) focused on poverty reduction and helping countries provide health care, schools, clean water, sanitation and roads—the kind of infrastructure necessary to help people climb up out of the pit of poverty.
03/02/2006 - By John Rutledge
