Texas Tidbits

Posted: 12/01/06

Texas Tidbits

Academy receives donated computer system. San Marcos entrepreneur Pat Price donated a new computer system to San Marcos Baptist Academy recently. Price, an academy alumnus, serves on the school’s fund-raising council. The computer and 17-inch, flat-screen monitor will replace an older system and will be used primarily for video editing purposes.

BUA names search committee. Teo Cisneros, pastor of Templo Jerusalem in Victoria, will chair a presidential search committee for Baptist University of the Americas. BUA trustees named a search committee to nominate an interim president and initiate a nationwide search for a successor to Albert Reyes, who has been named president of Buckner Children & Family Service. Search committee members who will serve with Cisneros are Debbie Ferrier of San Antonio, Francis Barrera of Plainview, John Bobo of Hurst and Doug Diehl of San Antonio. The board also named a council of advisers that includes Baldemar Borrego, president of the Hispanic Baptist Convención; Frank Palos, interim director of Hispanic ministries with the Baptist General Convention of Texas; Robert Rodriguez, BGCT second vice president; Alcides Guajardo, immediate past-president of Convención; Robert Cepeda, chairman of the BGCT Executive Board’s missions, evangelism and ministries committee; Alfonso Flores of San Antonio; Keith Bruce, director of BGCT institutional ministries; Irma Alvarado, president of Hispanic Woman’s Missionary Union; Rudy Camacho, a former president of Convención; and Delia Vela, president of the Convención Minister’s Wives Conference.

Blaze destroys camp auditorium. Fire destroyed the auditorium at the Highland Lakes Camp and Conference Center Nov. 18. Its cause still is under investigation. Surrounding area firefighters from Pedernales, Oak Hill, Hudson Bend, Spicewood and Travis County quickly responded. Even so, the building and all its contents were totally destroyed, said Executive Director Danny Dawdy. Dawdy hopes to rebuild the auditorium as quickly as possible. Until it is rebuilt, worship will be held in a tabernacle that is being remodeled. The camp needs electricians and air conditioning mechanics to help finish the remodeling effort. An additional $70,000 also is needed to finish the project. For more information on how to help the camp, call (888) 222-3482.

DBU honored for Katrina response. Dallas Baptist University recently was named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with distinction for Hurricane Katrina relief service. DBU volunteers worked in North Texas shelters to help evacuees, helped with clean-up efforts in southern Mississippi and New Orleans and helped rebuild Bay St. Louis, Miss. DBU and 71 other schools received recognition on the distinction list for service to Gulf Coast communities devastated by Hurricane Katrina. More than 500 colleges and universities applied for the honor roll.

Corrections and Clarifications:

In the item titled “BUA names search committee” above, our Dec. 4 print edition incorrectly identified Alfonso Flores. Flores is pastor of First Mexican Baptist Church in San Antonio, not Houston as stated in that article. The information in our online version above has been corrected.

An article in the Nov. 20 issue, “Missions network participants rally in Arlington,” incorrectly reported that First Baptist Church in Arlington budgets 23 percent of its funds to local direct missions. In fact, the church has designated 23 percent of its World Missions Offering to direct missionary support. The article also left the impression that speakers promoted hands-on local missions over financial support for global missions, when their goal was to encourage churches to mobilize members for missions in both local and global contexts.