East Texas Baptist University hosted its eighth annual Calling Conference on Oct. 26 for students seeking to identify and clarify their sense of calling to vocational ministry by learning from experienced ministry professionals. Featured guests included David Hardage, executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas; David Berryhill, worship minister at First Baptist Church in Kilgore; Ryan Welch, minister to students at First Baptist Church in Tyler; Meredith Hanna, minister to children at First Baptist Church in Shreveport, La.; and April Franklin Ott, senior NextGen mobilization strategist for the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board. Hardage spoke to the ETBU student body in chapel. “We have all been called to a life of obedience to the will of God,” Hardage said. “There is a collective will of God for all of us, but specifically for you. His word is the calling. This is the Calling Conference, and each of you has been called to mingle with the nations—not to adopt their ways, but to engage and interact in a way that is gracious, kind and caring.”
R.T. Kendall of Cross Plains, Tenn., former senior minister at Westminster Chapel in London, will be honored at the Truett Theological Seminary’s National Preaching Conference in Waco Nov. 15-17. Featured speakers are Beth Moore, founder of Living Proof Ministries in Houston; Ralph West, founding senior pastor of The Church Without Walls in Houston; Charlie Dates, senior pastor of Progressive Baptist Church in Chicago; Mary Hulst, university pastor and adjunct professor at Calvin College; Tim Dilena, senior pastor of Times Square Church in New York; Patricia Batten, assistant professor of preaching at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary; and Jared E. Alcantara, professor of preaching at Truett Theological Seminary. To register, click here.
The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor board of trustees approved the construction of a golf clubhouse and practice facility on the UMHB campus. Earl Santee of Populous Designers is creating the clubhouse, and Ben Crenshaw of the Coore & Crenshaw firm is designing the practice facility. Crenshaw, a retired professional golfer, is the winner of the 1984 and 1995 Masters Tournament and 17 other events on the PGA Tour. The UMHB men’s golf program began in the early 1970s and has won the American Southwest Conference championship nine times. The women’s golf program was founded in 1996 and won the NAIA National Championship in 2000. The program has won the American Southwest Conference Championship 13 times and was the first UMHB athletic program to win an NCAA Division III National Championship in 2013.
Wayland Baptist University reported it has engaged the largest number of donors in the school’s recorded history. The new record comes with almost two months left in the current calendar year, as well as during a time when economic conditions create challenges for those who support the university. “Reality is that Christian higher education faces some real obstacles,” said Mike Hammack, vice president for institutional advancement. “Thanks to those who support Wayland, we are setting the groundwork for a university that thrives amid those challenges.”
One year after he preached 100 consecutive days through the Gospel of John, Pastor Toby Castleberry of Calvary Baptist Church in Vernon launched a 30-day effort in mid-October to preach verse-by-verse through 1 Peter and 2 Peter. “We have learned the truth and the blessing that we need more of the preaching of God’s word, not less,” Castleberry said.
The T.B. Maston Foundation presented its Christian Ethics Award to Faith Commons, a Dallas-based interfaith organization committed to promoting the common good through honest conversations, collaboration and cooperation. Founder and President George Mason, senior pastor emeritus of Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, and Rabbi Nancy Kasten, chief relationship officer, accepted the award on behalf of Faith Commons. The T.B. Maston Foundation exists to proclaim “the abiding relevance of the whole gospel of Jesus Christ” and to carry on the legacy of Maston, a pioneer in Christian ethics among Baptists. Since the foundation was created, it has provided 31 scholarships for graduate students.
Texas Baptist Men disaster relief volunteers completed work in Naples, Fla., in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian. They donated more than 18,700 volunteer hours, preparing 24,688 meals and completing 69 flood recovery jobs, tearing out damaged drywall and flooring. They washed 376 loads of laundry and provided access to 224 showers. They distributed 54 Bibles and 24 gospel tracts, and they recorded 18 professions of faith in Christ.
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