2006 Archives
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Evidence found of misuse of Valley funds
Updated: 11/03/06
BGCT executive board member Al Flores during a question and answer session following the presentation of the investigation into alleged misappropriation of BGCT church starting funds in the Rio Grande Valley. (Photos by Barbara Bedrick/BGCT) Evidence found of misuse of Valley funds
By Ken Camp
Managing Editor
DALLAS—A five-month investigation uncovered evidence Baptist General Convention of Texas church starting funds were misused between 1999 and 2005 in the Rio Grande Valley.
At a called meeting of the BGCT Executive Board Oct. 31, investigators reported they discovered up to 98 percent of the 258 church starts reported by three pastors in the Valley—Otto Arango, Aaron de la Torre and Armando Vera—no longer exist. And some never existed, except on paper. The BGCT gave more than $1.3 million in start-up funding and monthly financial support to those 258 churches.
Diane Dillard, a Brownsville attorney, presenting results of independent investigation report of allegations regarding misappropriation of BGCT church starting funds in the Rio Grande Valley. 11/03/2006 - By John Rutledge
Investigation team outlines preventative steps
Updated: 11/03/06
Investigation team outlines preventative steps
By Marv Knox
Editor
The Baptist General Convention of Texas must take seven steps to prevent misappropriation of its church starting funds, the research team that investigated allegations of financial abuse in the Rio Grande Valley told members of the BGCT Executive Board during a called meeting Oct. 31.
Charles Wade, executive director of the Executive Board, pledged to implement some of those suggestions. Executive Board members also voted to create a liaison between the convention and churches in the Valley, who felt the sting of abuse.
Michael Rodriquez, Brownsville attorney and former federal prosecutor, outlined and explained the results of the 5-month study to the BGCT Executive Board. The full report is available here as a pdf document. See related articles:
• Evidence found of misuse of Valley funds
• Investigation team outlines preventative steps
• Brief excerpts from the report
• Otto Arango's earnings claims disputed by directors of missions
• BGCT faces challenges leaders say
• EDITORIAL: Executive Board must rise to the occasion• Charles Wade has posted a response to the report here.
11/03/2006 - By John Rutledge
Otto Arango’s earnings claims disputed by directors of missions
Updated: 11/03/06
In 2004, Charles Wade, BGCT executive director, speaks to an audience of Mexican church starters as Otto Arango, director of the Church Starting Institute, translates. Arango is now a central figure in a misuse of funds scandal. Otto Arango's earnings claims
disputed by directors of missionsBy Ken Camp
Managing Editor
Investigators who probed misuse of Texas Baptist church starting funds in the Rio Grande Valley reported Otto Arango—one of the central figures around whom allegations swirled—claimed he earned at least $14,000 a month from Baptist associations in Texas. But leaders of associations named in the report dispute that assertion.
Arango’s lifestyle—living in an expensive home in an exclusive neighborhood and driving luxury cars—raised questions among some fellow pastors in the Rio Grande Valley about the sources of his income. In part, their suspicions triggered the investigation that uncovered evidence of misused Texas Baptist church starting funds in the region.
11/03/2006 - By John Rutledge
BGCT faces challenges, leaders say
Updated: 11/03/06
BGCT faces challenges, leaders say
By Ken Camp
Managing Editor
An investigation that uncovered evidence of mismanagement and misuse of Texas Baptist church starting funds in the Rio Grande Valley presents major challenges for the Baptist General Convention of Texas—and especially Executive Director Charles Wade, some state convention leaders agreed.
“Anytime a leader makes a mistake which proves significant, his or her leadership is called into question. The investigation clearly indicated that Dr. Wade’s response to concerns expressed several times over a period of years was inadequate,” said Bob Fowler of Houston, chairman of the BGCT Executive Board.
BorregoBell11/03/2006 - By John Rutledge
EDITORIAL: Executive Board must rise to the occasion
Posted: 11/03/06
EDITORIAL:
Executive Board must rise to the occasionNow is the time for members of the Baptist General Convention of Texas’ newly reorganized Executive Board to act courageously, wisely, decisively and quickly to pull the convention back from the calamity of administrative failure. They must restore trust in the face of scandal.
The depth of calamity became apparent during the Executive Board’s called meeting Oct. 31. Members received a report on misappropriation of church starting funds in the Rio Grande Valley. The report told a terrible tale—at least $1.3 million in wasted money, years lost on a failed church starting scheme, lies and deception, and finger pointing.
The tone in the room resembled previous dark days, when fundamentalists attacked our convention. The prevailing attitude was to find external evildoers, rail against the wrong they did and rally around our guys. This is the tactic that enabled the BGCT to defeat fundamentalism, for which traditional, progressive Baptists are enormously grateful.
But fundamentalism no longer is the BGCT’s gravest threat. Our beloved convention faces far greater dangers from within—apathy among Texas Baptists and perceived irrelevance of the BGCT. Now add mistrust and suspicion. A frontal assault on adversarial bloggers and a hunker-down mentality won’t sustain, much less strengthen, the convention when loyal Baptists wonder if the BGCT will steward their trust and make a difference in their churches, and when they begin to feel they could not care less.
11/03/2006 - By John Rutledge
Around the State
Posted: 11/03/06
Westlake Chapel in Graham has broken ground on an expansion of the fellowship hall. The project will add 750 square feet to the existing building and will provide space for additional Sunday school classes, community outreach events, church-wide fellowships and better accommodations for other community organizations that utilize the facilities. Construction funds are in hand, and only funds for the furnishings now are needed. Don Raney, second from left, is pastor. Around the State
• The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor will hold a cultural fest Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. in the Shelton Theater of the Mabee Student Center. It is free and open to the public. It will include various types of music and expressive dance. For more information, call (254) 295-5519.
• The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor will hold a fireworks display as a part of its homecoming festivities Nov. 10, marking the beginning of what is planned as a new tradition. Homecoming events will begin at 11 a.m. Friday during the chapel service. Following chapel, the alumni association will present its distinguished alumni award at the Heritage Club luncheon. Honorary alumni awards will be presented during the alumni fiesta that evening. The homecoming pep rally, which will include the fireworks, will begin at 8:30 p.m. Saturday’s events include a golf tournament, a barbecue lunch and the 2 p.m. football game. Reservations must be made through the alumni office. For more information, call (254) 295-4599.
• East Texas Baptist Univer-sity has welcomed several new faculty members this fall, including Denise Allen, assistant professor of nursing; Eileen Baland, instructor of English; Eric Branscome, instructor of music; Robin Cook, instructor of business; Cassandra Falke, assistant professor of English; Cole Franklin, associate professor of communication; Sandy Hoover, instructor of history; Joanna Newkirk, instructor in kinesiology and associate athletic trainer; Yu Youling, visiting scholar from Lanzhou University of Technology in China; and Lin Weisheng, visiting professor from Guang-dong Teachers College of Foreign Languages and Arts in China.
San Marcos Baptist Academy held its annual sweetheart pageant recently, crowning Nicole Hoffman, center, sweetheart. Also pictured are her escort, Josh Brame, and the ladies of the court—from left, Michelle Deschner, Jacqueline Piers, Le’Resa Stokes, Arianna Taboada and Emily Rainone. 11/03/2006 - By John Rutledge
Texas Baptists prepare for annual meeting
Posted: 11/03/06
Texas Baptists prepare for annual meeting
By John Hall
Texas Baptist Communications
Texas Baptists are set to celebrate cooperative ministry, elect a new president and vote on a proposed $50.6 million budget when they gather Nov. 13-14 for the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting in Dallas.
BGCT President Michael Bell, pastor of Greater St. Stephen First Baptist Church in Fort Worth, said the meeting will be a time for Texas Baptists to come together to worship, celebrate their accomplishments from the past year and look forward to where God is calling them in the coming year.
11/03/2006 - By John Rutledge
Book Reviews
Posted: 11/03/06
Book Reviews
Covenant & Commandment: A Study of the Ten Commandments in the Context of Grace by C.W. Christian (Smyth & Helwys)
In this “call to freedom,” C.W. Christian insists covenant and law are “inseparable” but not “reciprocal.” He reminds us of the biblical order—covenant, commandment, covenant—and instructs, “The law is the law of the covenant.”
Christian provides practical and contemporary applications after each commandment that are refreshing and thought-provoking. He presents grace as the bedrock to approach two of the most important words in Judaism and Christianity. His use and explanation of commandment as it relates to common life today removes the stigma of time restraints placed so often on the Ten Commandments.
11/03/2006 - By John Rutledge
Baptist Briefs
Posted: 11/03/06
Baptist Briefs
Southwestern drills for gas. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary administrators recently signed a contract with a Fort Worth company to drill for natural gas on the school’s campus. The Barnett Shale—a geological formation of sedimentary rock believed to contain trillions of cubic feet of natural gas—runs underneath the seminary’s Fort Worth campus. President Paige Patterson told the school’s trustees that over the life of the contract, it potentially could bring the seminary millions of dollars in royalties.
Missouri convention kicks out churches. The Missouri Baptist Convention voted Oct. 31 to oust 19 congregations because of their affiliations with moderate Baptist groups. During its 172nd annual meeting in Cape Girardeau, the convention voted to refuse to seat messengers from any of the congregations at the meeting or future meetings. The convention has a single-alignment requirement that prohibits churches from belonging to other Baptist organizations. The vote came without recorded dissent. Only one of the congregations—most of which had been warned about the move to oust them ahead of time—sent messengers to the meeting.
11/03/2006 - By John Rutledge
