DALLAS—Charles Higgs, founding pastor of Cowboy Church of Erath County, has been named director of Baptist General Convention of Texas western-heritage ministries.

He will begin serving on a part-time basis Sept. 15 and become a full-time BGCT employee June 1, 2007. Higgs follows Ron Nolen, who recently retired to become coordinator of the Texas Fellowship of Cowboy Churches. The fellowship works closely with the BGCT director of western-heritage ministries.

09/15/2006 - By John Rutledge

• James King Jr., dean of the College of Business at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, will be the guest speaker at the fall convocation service Sept. 22 at 11 a.m.

• The Howard Payne University Yellow Jacket Band will be celebrating their 100th anniversary during the school’s homecoming activities Oct. 6-7. Friday, the Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma fraternities will host a memorial ceremony in the Davidson Music Complex. Also, former band members are invited to perform with current band students at the 10 p.m. pep rally. A continental breakfast honoring the band will be held Saturday at 7 a.m. The homecoming parade will follow at 10 a.m. Former Band Director Greg Barry will be the parade grand marshal. Alumni band members also are invited to play in the finale of the homecoming football game’s halftime show. The game begins at 2 p.m. The centennial band banquet will be at 7 p.m. For more information, call (800) 950-8465.

• Mark Warren has been named director of institutional research and effectiveness at East Texas Baptist University.

• Leigh Jackson has been endorsed as a chaplain with Seton Healthcare Network in Austin by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.

09/15/2006 - By John Rutledge

A Touch of Jesus: Stories and Studies of Women in the Life of Jesus by Janet F. Burton (Pleasant Word)

Many authors believe historical fiction to be the most difficult of stories to pen. The writer must mesh character, plot and setting with historically accurate research involving names, clothing, vocabulary, events and physical location. In A Touch of Jesus, Texas pastor’s wife Janet Burton not only tackles historical fiction, she adds a theological dimension by imagining and filling in the blanks in the stories of biblical women touched by Jesus.

From Mary’s cousin Elisabeth, to sisters Mary and Martha and the mothers of the little children blessed by Jesus, to the widow who gave her mites, Burton paints word pictures of significant incidents in their lives.

What are you reading that other Texas Baptists would find helpful? Send suggestions and reviews to books@baptiststandard.com.

But she doesn’t leave the reader there. She offers a behind-the-scenes Bible study surrounding the incident and includes insights gained from her research. Then she adds touch points showing how Christians can reach others in similar circumstances with the touch of Jesus.

09/15/2006 - By John Rutledge

Association breaks with church over homosexuality. The North Area Baptist Association, a 10-county group of Baptist congregations belonging to the American Baptist Churches-USA, voted 18-3 to break ties with Woodside Church in Flint, Mich., because of its acceptance of homosexuals. Woodside Church decided in May to join the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists, a pro-gay organization with 55 member congregations nationwide.

CBF-affiliated program receives federal grant. Sowing Seeds of Hope, a community and economic development organization affiliated with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, has received a $338,000 federal grant for the creation of a self-help housing initiative in depressed Perry County, Ala. The grant will be used to administer loans to low-income families, who will build their own homes. It will fund four employees and a portion of the salary for executive director Frances Ford. Applicants to the program must still qualify for a loan, which comes in addition to the grant. More than 140 applications from local residents already have gained acceptance to the program. Planners expect to build 20 custom-designed homes within two years.

09/15/2006 - By John Rutledge

SAN ANTONIO—Baptist University of the Americas broke ground Aug. 29 on a new 78-acre campus in southwest San Antonio that school President Albert Reyes called the institution’s “field of dreams.”

The new Baugh Family Campus will include a $4 million student housing complex, the 60,000-square-feet Piper Student Village, opening for the fall 2007 semester.

BUA purchased the 78-acre tract in early 2006 with the assistance of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The new campus is directly across the Pan American Expressway from the current campus and is accessible by a walkover bridge.

Infrastructure development and the housing complex are Phase 1 of the project and represent a $6 million investment, according to university sources. The university hopes to begin Phase 2 within the next three years, and it will include an additional $5 million to $10 million investment for a student services building that will include a learning resource center, dining facilities, a student center and student development offices.

09/15/2006 - By John Rutledge

The 2007 Baptist General Convention of Texas budget proposal the Executive Board will consider Sept. 25-26 not only reflects a comprehensive staff reorganization that occurred this year, but also includes incremental steps toward bringing into the budget items previously covered by discretionary funds and designated gifts.

The $50.6 million recommended budget represents about a 2 percent increase over the $49,437,000 budget for 2006. Of the total proposed budget, $42,441,000 would come from Texas Cooperative Program receipts.

09/15/2006 - By John Rutledge

Editor’s Note: Jess Lunsford, the founding administrator of South Texas Children’s Home, died Aug. 28 at age 96. STCH is one of four childcare agencies affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

Jess Lunsford was a giant. If you only knew Jess by his physical stature, you would wonder why anyone would characterize him as a giant. But if you knew Jess by his character, wisdom, relationship with Christ, heart or dreams, “giant” does not do him justice. Giant is too small for Jess Lunsford.

I have enjoyed reading his journals and want to share some of them with you. Some of the early struggles Jess faced occurred because people did not know the function of a children’s home. During Christmas of 1955, Jess wrote about the strange request he received one night at South Texas Children’s Home. He wrote: “Three oilfield workers at the door last night wanting to meet some of our girls—imagine; we never saw this before. They were shown the shortest route out of the grounds.”

09/15/2006 - By John Rutledge

VILLA MELLA, Dominican Republic—Eleven volunteers and staff from South Texas Children’s Home helped lead Vacation Bible School for children in the Dominican Republic.

The Texans worked in Villa Mella, a rapidly growing community north of the capital city of Santo Domingo.

09/15/2006 - By John Rutledge

Polehinke is the only survivor of Comair Flight 5191, which crashed in a private farm just past the end of Blue Grass Airport’s Runway 26 at 6:07 a.m., Aug. 27. Forty-nine other people died.

Polehinke, the co-pilot of Flight 5191, remained in serious condition in the University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital in Lexington. The Louisville Courier-Journal, which reported Polehinke’s question, said he did not specifically mention the crash. Still, contemplating his pain and loss, he asked the question that has sprung from the lips of suffering souls for millennia: “Why did God do this to me?”

09/15/2006 - By John Rutledge