“This Old House at 415: Letters from the Family” will be the topic April 10 when Wayland Baptist University hosts Karen O’Dell Bullock for the 2024 William M. Pinson Jr. Baptist History Lecture Series. Bullock’s topic stems from historians tracing the earliest Baptist church to 1609—415 years ago—in Amsterdam, where English Separatist pastor John Smyth rejected infant baptism and insisted only believing adults should be immersed. Bullock, who served as distinguished professor of Christian heritage and director of the Ph.D. program at B.H. Carroll Theological Seminary from 2007 until her retirement in 2023, will speak during Wayland’s weekly chapel service at 11 a.m. in Harral Memorial Auditorium, and a question-and-answer lunch session will follow. The Baptist General Convention of Texas established the lecture series and its supporting endowment as an expression of gratitude for Pinson’s service as a pastor, seminary professor and president, and Baptist denominational leader. The lectures are designed to highlight Baptist heritage and distinctives and are held annually on the campus of one of the nine BGCT-affiliated universities.
Julio Guarneri, executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, will address Wayland Baptist University students, faculty and staff during chapel at 11a.m. on March 27 in Harral Memorial Auditorium in Plainview. Chapel services are livestreamed for students at Wayland’s extension campuses. Immediately following the chapel service, Guarneri will participate in a question-and-answer brown bag luncheon.
The general public can join pastors, teachers and seminary students at a two-day seminar on 1 Corinthians led by theology professor Kimlyn Bender. The seminar is scheduled April 5-6 at the Houston extension of Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary at the Lanier Theological Library. The $150 registration includes three catered meals, fellowship and study that will help participants grow in their understanding of Scripture, sketch out preaching/teaching plans, and stimulate their faith. Seminars are scheduled from noon to 7:30 p.m. on Friday and 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. To register, click here.
Barbara Grooms of Brownwood, a 1959 Howard Payne University graduate, has been selected by the HPU Women’s Club to receive the 2024 Yellow Rose Award. Grooms will be recognized at the club’s annual Yellow Rose Scholarship Luncheon, scheduled April 25 in HPU’s Mabee University Center. To purchase tickets, contact the Office of Advancement at (325) 649-8007. Grooms grew up just two blocks from HPU and recalls walking across campus on the way to church. While she attended classes at HPU, she served as campus telephone operator. Barbara and Dwayne Grooms married in 1964. For the next 16 years, she stayed home to care for their two children and assist with the family business. She then served 25 years as secretary for First Baptist Church in Brownwood. In her role there, she had many opportunities to get to know HPU students, some of whom were interns at the church, and enjoyed hosting college dinners at their home. She and her husband “adopted” a multitude of HPU students through the church’s Student Adoption Ministry program, designed to integrate HPU students into the church and provide them with a family while away from home. She also made many lifelong friendships with ministers and their spouses and enjoyed teaching third-grade Sunday school.
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