Texas Baptists’ Office of Cooperative Program Ministry announced the winners of its 2024 Baptist Educators Serving Texans Award.

The award celebrates Baptist educators who are living out their faith daily among their students and the Texas Baptists institutions where they received their training. Eight award recipients were selected from among the universities that affiliate or relate to Texas Baptists.

The recipients are: Jason Fletcher, a graduate of Baylor University and high school science teacher in Midway ISD; Bailey Jordan Wofford, a graduate of Dallas Baptist University and middle school teacher in Mansfield ISD; Nay Chevalier, a graduate of Houston Christian University and teacher, leader and dean of students in Houston ISD; Sharon Davis, a graduate of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and retired former principal liaison at ESC Region 12, executive director for elementary schools and assistant superintendent in Killeen ISD; Amy Moss, a graduate of Wayland Baptist University and choral director in Frenship ISD; Jennifer Jordan, a graduate of Hardin-Simmons University and high school social studies teacher and department chair in Abilene ISD; Brandi Parrish, a graduate of Howard Payne University and high school English teacher in Kilgore ISD; Liliana Virginia Player, a graduate of the Baptist University of the Américas and high school geometry teacher in Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD.

Cooperative Program Director Clay Jacobson and the Office of Cooperative Program Ministry coordinated the award selection process.

“The B.E.S.T. Educators Award is a recognition of the outstanding achievements that an educator has accomplished in their field to the degree that their Texas Baptists alma mater recognizes their work,” Jacobson said.

“Publicly accessible education was born from the Protestant conviction to work for our community’s and society’s common good from a Christian worldview. The collaboration of Texas Baptists churches and our universities serve Texas and beyond towards this goal,” he added.

The annual award is presented to select Texas Baptists institution graduates who currently serve in faculty or administration roles in the Texas Public School System and are members of a church supportive of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Each university affiliated or related to Texas Baptists has the opportunity to select one graduate.

It is estimated graduates from Texas Baptists universities represent 6 to 8 percent of the more than 357,000 public school educators in Texas. The 2025 Missions and Ministries Budget, which was passed by messengers to the 2024 BGCT annual meeting, Nov. 10-12 in Waco, reflects an investment of more than $6.4 million in base support, student scholarships and ministerial financial aid directed to Texas Baptists educational institutions.

Texas Baptists Cooperative Program celebrates these graduates who share Christ daily in their classrooms and schools through the love and support they show their students. The B.E.S.T. Award was introduced in 2020 to honor the valuable contributions of these educators.

Several hundred people in North Carolina, who continue to deal with the aftereffects of Hurricane Helene, will be warmer this Thanksgiving due to the generosity of a small Baptist association in Texas.

Keith Blanton, pastor of Cedar Shores Baptist Church in Morgan and new director of missions for Bosque Baptist Association, and Greg Beard of Grace of Giving left from the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting in Waco, Nov. 10-12, to deliver heaters to two churches in the mountains of far west North Carolina.

Beard is a member of Blanton’s church and president of Grace of Giving, a ministry that has delivered needed food and supplies to partners in the Rio Grande Valley since 2004.

When the churches in the association expressed interest in providing support to people affected by Hurricane Helene, Beard had connections in North Carolina who helped identify lack of heating as a serious concern heading into colder weather.

Propane tanks were available in North Carolina in the area the association planned to serve, but the contact noted they did not have access to heaters.

Beard pinpointed a specific type of propane heater that is safe to use indoors and affordable. The association would need to purchase the heaters and hoses to adapt them to the propane tanks for $150 per unit.

The association put out a call for heaters, allowing three to four weeks to collect the contributions before delivery. Blanton set a goal of 30 units for the association, believing it to be a reasonable goal for a small association comprised of small rural churches. With Grace of Giving contributions, they hoped to provide 100 heaters in all.

God had other plans

But the churches responded quickly and generously, providing enough funds for 118 heaters. Grace of Giving collected enough for 104 heaters.

“I know God is in this because every little piece has just fallen into place,” Blanton noted.

Because the initial hoses they purchased didn’t work when they came in, the hoses were exchanged for hoses that were $12 cheaper, reducing the cost per unit to $148. And a donor had offered to close the gap if there was a minimal shortage on the full cost of one unit.

In total, the association collected enough funds to purchase 240 heaters and hoses, the exact maximum number of heaters the trailer could hold. Additionally, the gooseneck of the trailer can fit exactly the number of milk crates needed to hold and transport the individually packaged hoses.

One hundred heaters were delivered to Plumtree Church in Plumtree, N.C., where Ryan Bridgeo is pastor. Fifty of these heaters will be shared with a local Baptist church, Roaring Creek Baptist Church.

One hundred and forty heaters were to be delivered to Matthew Toney, a deacon at The Ark of Western North Carolina, a nondenominational church in Spruce Pine, N.C.

But Blanton explained that while packing the trailer they discovered they could fit 10 more heaters. A last-minute donation to fill the trailer came through, bringing the Spruce Pine donation total up to 150 heaters and hoses.

The heaters will be distributed to those in the greatest need in the local tri-county area, including the local Hispanic community, Blanton noted.

At-risk association

This ministry might not have happened just a couple of years earlier.

On the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic, the dwindling association considered disbanding.

Bosque Baptist Association, comprised of 19 churches from several small towns in Bosque County, near Lake Whitney, particularly was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Keith Blanton director of missions and pastor of Cedar Shores Baptist Church in Morgan, explained.

The rural churches sorted out how to adjust to the constraints the pandemic brought in the way each church felt worked best for the particular needs of its congregation.

The association cancelled its first meeting of 2020 in response to the COVID threat. Then in April of that year, the director of missions resigned to take a pastoral role in one of the churches in the association, Blanton said.

The association attempted to fill the open role, but with limited interest from applicants, struggled to find the right person for the job.

The association continued to hold annual meetings, with officers agreeing to continue their leadership during the interim. But in October of 2022, at the Bosque Association annual meeting, the future of the organization was up for discussion, Blanton explained.

The small group who came to the meeting considered options to “keep going along like we were at the time. One was to perhaps join with another association. Another was to just disband completely.”

The association decided to form a committee to explore ways to revitalize the association and encourage churches to become more active as an association again. Blanton said he wasn’t on that three-person committee but asked to meet with them, because he had some ideas.

The upcoming holidays delayed the start of the new committee. But one committee member, who is a music minister in the association, went ahead and planned for February 2023 an annual music festival the association holds.

Turn out for the festival was good, with 10 of the churches in the association participating, Blanton noted.

The church where the festival was held can hold 210 people, and it was packed, he explained. “So many of our churches came.”

People were singing and worshiping. “It was clear to everyone that was in there that the Holy Spirit was present. And it was really a good time of worship and fellowship between the people in our association,” Blanton said.

When he got up the next day at 5 a.m. to drive his school bus, Blanton said he was still “pumped” from the uplifting associational meeting the night before. As he was driving his bus, he thought to himself, “This association is not dead.”

“We thought as recently as October that we’re on life support, and it’s just not functioning,” he added. “[But] the people are here. The people are enthusiastic. The people can get excited. If only somebody would step up to lead them, we could do some really great things in ministry.”

When “somebody” is you

Blanton recalled how he’d raised his girls not to be the person who walks past a piece of trash on the ground and thinks, “Somebody ought to pick that up.” But instead, be the person who stops to pick up the litter or do whatever it is that needs doing.

He said it occurred to him: “You are somebody. If you volunteer to lead the association, maybe we could do some really great things in ministry.”

So, Blanton called the secretary of the association and asked to meet with the committee to discuss his willingness to be considered for the director of missions position.

He told the committee that director of missions was not something he’d ever aspired to be and assured the committee if they did not sense God was calling him to that role, “you’re not going to hurt my feelings.”

But the committee members all sensed God was leading that direction and Blanton added DOM to his pastor and bus driver titles in June of 2023.

He began the work with reestablishing connections between the association and the pastors of churches in the association.

In early 2024, the association hosted more opportunities to connect, with missions- and revitalization-focused workshops, than they’d held in a long time.

In the summer, the association worked together on a mission trip to Brownsville to help a church plant. Fourteen people participated and made many beneficial contacts for the church plant.

Several families the Bosque Association team met in canvasing were willing to host Bible studies in their homes and to join in the work of planting the new church.

Texas Baptists’ Christian Life Commission filed a complaint with the state attorney general’s office last month against three lottery retailers for selling scratch-off tickets in violation of the Texas Lottery Commission’s rules.

“Texas’ rules for the lottery prohibit the sale of lottery tickets over the phone or other similar devices,” the CLC explained in its latest newsletter.

The CLC sent letters to committee members in both the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Senate outlining the complaints and noting these online sales of scratch-off lottery tickets violate Texas law.

“Unlike the controversial changes in 2020 to the Texas Lottery draw game rules that introduced new processes and definitions in 401.304 (b) ‘Entry of Plays’ to obscure the sale of Texas Lottery draw games via couriers, there are no such provisions in the Scratch Ticket Game Rules to allow the so-called ‘ordering’ of scratch tickets,” the letter reads.

In recent testimony before the Senate Committee on State affairs, CLC Consultant Rob Kohler explained how the retailers named in the letter “and the so-called ‘couriers’ they share common ownership with are acting in defiance of the legislature and the will of the people of Texas,” the CLC newsletter stated.

This type of lottery ticket sale constitutes an unauthorized expansion of gambling in Texas contrary to the lottery statutes and rules established when the lottery was put to a vote and established in 1991, Kohler explained in a phone call.

The Texas Lottery rules stipulate lottery players must be “physically present” at a licensed terminal location. The language used in the rule specifically prohibits the sale of lottery tickets “by mail, phone, fax, or other similar method of communication.”

Rule changes made by Zoom

But in 2020, during COVID, the lottery commission met by Zoom and changed the rules to delete the “present at the terminal” language and change the definition of what it meant to sell lottery tickets, opening the door to lottery ticket sales by phone or online.

The commission also deleted a rule that said a retailer “shall not accept telephone or mail-in requests to issue a ticket,” Kohler explained, among other changes.

The Texas Lottery Commission has claimed they made the 2020 changes to provide clarity and did not see them as substantive. The commission also claims it has no control over the “couriers.”

But Kohler provided testimony before the Texas Lottery Commission, Oct. 29, explaining the commission has dealt with the sale of Texas lottery tickets through means other than in person at a physical retailer very differently in the past.

Kohler argued a 1995 case of a dispute between the Texas Lottery Commission and “Pick-a-State,” involving phone sales—conducted in the same fashion the online “couriers” utilize—shows the claims Texas Lottery Commission is now making of having no control of couriers doesn’t line up with their history.

Kohler explained in the 1995 case a New Jersey police officer, Scott Wenner, used the vendor Pick-a-State to win a $10.4 million Texas Lottery jackpot, by phone purchase.

The case went all the way to the Supreme Court, Kohler noted. And at the time, the Texas Lottery Commission took a very different stance, threatening to revoke the lottery license of the liquor store that sold the ticket.

In 1995, the lottery commission argued the ticket was sold over the phone across state lines for more than face value, violating regulations requiring that all aspects of the lottery sale happen at the licensed retail location.

The Texas Lottery Commission challenged the win and refused to pay it, before eventually settling with Wenner, Kohler explained.

But in 2023, when an international syndicate bought up almost every possible combination and scored a $95 million Texas Lotto jackpot using online “couriers” the Texas Lottery Commission added extra machines to retail locations to print out mass tickets, making the rigged win achievable. And the commission made no argument against paying out the purse.

“How these actions did not violate Sec. 466.307 prohibiting the influence of the selection of winners is a question I still haven’t gotten the answer to,” Kohler said.

This is a marked contrast to the 1995 case when the commission fought against remote purchase of tickets across state lines, he noted.

While the Texas Lottery Commission legal counsel was familiar with the 1995 case, it appeared the lottery commission was not. That is a significant miss because its relevance is clear, and—as such—the case should have been included in documents submitted to the Sunset Advisory Board in connection with its ongoing Sunset review of the Texas Lottery Commission, Kohler explained.

‘Couriers’ and retailers a turn-key operation

The retailers specifically cited as being “commonly owned” with a courier in the CLC letter are located in Austin. But the companies that own these gambling-specific locations (not typical convenience stores)—Winners Corner and Players Café—are owned by “courier” companies Lotto.com and Jackpocket.com.

These “couriers” are under domestic ownership in New Jersey and Boston, but other “couriers” are owned by companies operating from offshore locations, Kohler explained.

The “courier” companies acquire lottery licenses for a retail location in order to purchase the tickets they sell online. Though they say they don’t sell the tickets online, they just provide a service to then go buy the ticket for the customer who wants one, Kohler explained and public testimony by “courier” representatives confirms.

The “couriers” claim to operate like Uber eats, where when a purchase is made online, it’s not really a purchase until the courier goes to pick up the ticket at a retail location. But that is not what happens in reality, as a CLC video of purchasing an online scratch-off ticket shows.

The “couriers” and the retailers with the lottery license are one-and-the same. Tickets are being sold against the legislative intent of in-person, face-to-face sales as only could have been contemplated by voters in 1991, Kohler noted.

Even so, Texas Lottery Commission Executive Director Ryan Mindell acknowledged to Texas State Senator Mayes Middleton, Oct. 15, not one lottery license was revoked last year.

Texas Baptists’ public policy arm continues to push back against the illegal expansion of gambling in Texas by the Texas Lottery Commission.

“There’s one person that could stop this. And that’s Gov. Greg Abbott,” Kohler asserted. “He appoints those commissioners. He could call those commissioners and say: ‘Knock it off,’ and they’d knock it off. But that hasn’t happened.”

The governor’s office did not respond to email or voicemail requests for comment.

WASHINGTON (RNS)—Over the strong objections of many religious groups, the U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 21 approved a bill that would enable the secretary of the Treasury to rescind the tax-exempt status of any nonprofits the secretary concludes are “terrorist-supporting organizations.”

The Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act was approved 219-184 and now heads to the U.S. Senate.

But civil rights groups and a host of religious groups committed to a broad range of issues such as Palestinian rights, immigrant rights, racial justice and climate change are determined to continue to fight it. They fear it might serve as a dangerous new tool for the incoming Trump administration to punish its opponents.

The bill would enable the secretary of the Treasury unilaterally to rescind the tax-exempt status of any nonprofits the secretary concludes are “terrorist-supporting organizations.” Those conceivably could include houses of worship, which are also nonprofits, though more likely civil rights groups, humanitarian organizations and universities.

The American Civil Liberties Union this week sent an open letter co-signed by nearly 300 nonprofits to Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson expressing its “deep concerns” that the bill “creates a high risk of politicized and discriminatory enforcement.”

“The executive branch could use this authority to target its political opponents and use the fear of crippling legal fees, the stigma of the designation, and donors fleeing controversy to stifle dissent and chill speech and advocacy,” the ACLU letter said.

The Council of Foundations also opposed the bill.

Bill gained steam after campus protests

The bill was introduced by two Jewish congressmen shortly after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel that launched the war in Gaza. But it gained traction during the campus protests this past spring, in which pro-Palestinian activists demanded their universities divest from financial and cultural groups that support Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands and its brutal military offensive on Palestinians in Gaza.

Some groups alleged nonprofits organizing on campus were not only supportive of Palestinians, but also of Hamas, which the United States designated as a terrorist group.

Jewish Voice for Peace, one of the more vocal Jewish groups demanding an end to U.S. military aid to Israel, is particularly fearful that if the bill becomes law a Trump administration might target the organization and others like it.

“We have every reason to believe that along with other powerful Palestinian rights movement organizing groups, the (Trump) administration would try to weaponize and use legislation like this to try to stop us from being able to continue to organize for Palestinian freedom and to end this genocide,” said Beth Miller, political director of Jewish Voice for Peace Action.

Jewish Voice for Peace is a relatively small but growing nonprofit with more than 32,000 dues-paying members, 100 volunteer-run local chapters and an annual budget of $7.3 million.

It was joined in opposing the bill by a host of other faith-based groups, including dozens of Muslim groups and mosques, mainline denominations such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the major national institutions of Reform and Conservative Jewish movements.

Nonprofit status is critical to all of them. It gives them a kind of government seal of approval and allows donors to make tax-deductible donations, even though most taxpayers don’t itemize and thus don’t benefit from the deduction.

Federal income tax experts said the bill is redundant. U.S. laws already stipulate that any organization designated as a terrorist organization ceases to be tax-exempt. There are also tax rules that nonprofits that act illegally don’t qualify for tax exemption.

Material support or resources, not speech

The new bill targets “terrorist-supporting organizations.” But that support is defined as being of a material nature.

Samuel Brunson, a law professor at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, who specializes in federal income tax and nonprofit organizations, said advocating for Palestinians probably isn’t enough to get nonprofits into trouble if the bill becomes law.

The bill allows the Treasury secretary to go after organizations providing “material support or resources” to terrorist organizations—for example, money, property, lodging, training, weapons, personnel or transportation.

“It’s not that it couldn’t be used as a costly attack against these organizations, but effectively, I don’t see how you get speech to fall within the statute as it’s written,” Brunson said. “To some extent it is meant to be expressive more than enforced: ‘We want you to know that we can get your tax exemption and we’re not happy with what you’re doing.’”

The bill would give a nonprofit designated as “terror-supporting” 90 days to appeal. But it does not require the Treasury secretary to provide evidence for stripping the nonprofit of its tax-exempt status.

This was the second time the House voted on the bill. After House rules were suspended to fast-track the bill, it failed to garner the two-thirds majority required to pass.

It now heads to the Senate, which may decide to act on the bill early next year once Republicans take control of the upper chamber.

When the casseroles are gone and friends and family wave goodbye, the woman who has lost her husband now faces the unknown. From that moment forward, a widow must tread through each day alone, facing unfamiliar emotions and situations.

Becoming a widow can be a time filled with grief, fear and anxiety, and it often feels as though no one can understand or help.

Widows find themselves asking so many questions. What is my purpose? What does the future hold? What does being a widow mean?

Beth Campbell, Texas Woman’s Missionary Union communications consultant and the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions project manager, found herself asking similar questions during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Her husband Rex developed COVID-19 and had to be hospitalized. Due to regulations at the time, when Rex took his last breath, his wife could not be with him.

Snow fell as she sat in her car while their daughter-in-law, an occupational therapist at the hospital, held the phone to her husband’s ear as he slipped away.

Stunned by the swiftness of what had happened over the prior 10 days, Beth Campbell said aloud to God: “I don’t understand, but I know you have a purpose and a plan. You are present and faithful.”

Through her grief, she clung to the promise of Psalm 119:50, “My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.” Since her life as a wife suddenly was over, she began to ask God to point her toward a new goal,and she patiently waited for directions.

“I have learned to be patient … waiting for God to reveal his purpose and plan, waiting to be ready to receive it,” she said.

She knew God intended her to work somehow with widows.

Grieving widows become Overcomers

Widowed friends joined her in prayer to discover God’s plan. In October 2021, they sensed it taking shape and becoming clear. Seven months later, Campbell and her friends Phyllis Brower and Connie Hamilton began Overcomers.

Living with their grief but filled with excitement, the three women unveiled a ministry that would focus on encouraging widows to overcome fear, anxiety, loneliness, doubt, adversity and worries about how to provide for themselves—all concerns widows face every day. Overcomers would be a community of women facing widowhood with confidence and grace.

Eighteen women came to the first meeting. Today, Campbell said, the ministry has grown beyond her church, First Baptist in Grand Prairie.

“It is from and of the Lord. It is an affirmation of his presence and faithfulness while being patient in affliction,” she said. The ministry expanded to include women outside the church and widows in all stages of grief and loss.

One member named Lisa, who was widowed at 40, said, “It is really nice to be in a room full of women who ‘get it,’ who understand the heartbreak, the loneliness, the trials and the challenges that come from this journey we are on.”

Another woman, Martha, said: “When I first joined Overcomers, I didn’t think it would really be beneficial to me. … I have come to realize that no matter how long your spouse has been gone, God can use grief in ways that I never thought possible.”

Learning to see the joy of the Lord

Overcomers helped her see beyond the grief and see the joy of the Lord, she added.

A typical two-hour Overcomers meeting includes games and activities, lunch, work on a mission project, a devotion and prayer. The members also enjoy excursions like a trip through the bluebonnet trails and a visit to a local museum.

Education and awareness are also part of the meetings, with members receiving information from experts about topics such as personal safety and making and updating a will.

Overcomers helps other ministries through projects and donations. It partners with Isaiah 117 House, a foster care support ministry, by donating gift cards and hygiene products and making blankets for the children. The group also participates in Samaritan’s Purse’s Operation Christmas Child by assisting the church with shoeboxes.

Before launching Overcomers, Campbell and her friends discussed the ministry with the church’s deacons, making them aware of the needs of widows in their congregation. She encouraged the deacons to prayerfully consider a widows’ ministry for those who need it now and in the future, reminding them, “It could be your wife that will [someday] need this ministry.”

Beth’s pastor, Bill Skaar, said: “The Overcomers ministry helps our church to minister far more effectively to our widows with a consistent ministry focused exclusively on them. The ministry has also helped our deacon body … by identifying practical needs [they] can meet.”

Suggestions for ministry to widows

For churches considering a widows’ ministry, Campbell suggests assigning two or three widowed members to each deacon so widows maintain regular contact with their deacon.

She offers these additional suggestions:

• Provide practical help. Set a scheduled time for widows to sign up for “handyman” help with repairs, computer and technical support, and financial guidance.
• Create a point of contact for widows. Widows are sometimes hesitant to call the church or a deacon when they have a need. Ask another widow or women’s ministry leader to be the point person. If a widow has an urgent need, she would contact the person, who would then contact the church.
• Host a GriefShare group at your church. Campbell believes this is one of the best resources a church can offer in support of widows. It is an opportunity to reach widows outside church. Through GriefShare, Campbell can invite widows to join Overcomers, where they’ll have a place to belong with others who understand.

Overcomers continues to grow and reach widows needing a community that understands.

The ministry operates according to God’s promise of comfort in affliction. First Thessalonians 5:11 says, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”

Campbell encourages every widow to gather with other widows to find strength and purpose and to be an overcomer.

Tamela Turbeville is a freelance writer, author and director of a Christ-focused pro-life pregnancy center in Arkansas. An expanded version of this article originally appeared in the November 2024 issue of Missions Mosaic. It is republished with permission. Visit wmu.com for more information.

Members of a Baptist church in Mexico’s Hidalgo State who were displaced in April have moved to neighboring Veracruz State after local officials failed to honor their religious freedom rights, an international human rights group reported.

About 150 Christians associated with the Great Commission Fundamental Baptist Church relocated to Chalma, Veracruz, where they were offered the opportunity to rent land they can purchase later, Christian Solidarity Worldwide reported on Nov. 21.

The Baptists initially were forced from their homes in the villages of Coamila and Rancho Nuevo—indigenous Nahuati-speaking communities in Hidalgo—in April.

They sought refuge in Huejutla de los Reyes, where they asked the government to intercede for them and where local evangelicals provided them food and water.

In September, the displaced families were allowed to return home after municipal officials worked with Hidalgo State Secretary Guillermo Olivares and Religious Affairs Director Margarita Cabrera Roman to broker an agreement, assuring the Baptists their religious freedom rights would be protected.

Village leaders reneged on agreement

However, village leaders “quickly reneged on key provisions of the agreement,” Christian Solidarity Worldwide reported.

“Contrary to the stipulations of the agreement, those who returned to the villages were informed that they would be obliged to make financial contributions to the local Roman Catholic church, and while they would not be forced to participate in Roman Catholic events, they would be expected to pay associated fees,” CSW stated.

“The village authorities also communicated that they would not be permitted to speak about their religious beliefs and placed a ban on any conversions.”

The Baptists also learned their movements would be strictly monitored to prevent contact with associates and relatives in Veracruz.

They also were informed they would be barred from access to health, education and other government benefits for a year to ensure they complied with the restrictions.

“We are deeply disappointed that, yet again, the Mexican government at every level—municipal, state and federal—has neglected its responsibility to uphold constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion or belief and has placed the responsibility to resolve the egregious violation of their fundamental rights on the victims,” said Anna Lee Stangl, co-director of advocacy for CSW.

Coamila and Rancho Nuevo have a history of violating the religious freedom of minority faith groups dating back at least to 2015. The villages are governed under Mexico’s Law of Uses and Customs, which recognizes the right of indigenous communities to maintain their cultural and traditional local governance.

Action by government officials to broker an agreement “means little in the absence of enforcement and accountability measures for village leaders who continue to openly break Mexican law,” Stangl continued.

“We call on the Mexican government, once again, to take steps to ensure that freedom of religion or belief is protected for all, including indigenous people, and to combat a culture of impunity around freedom of religion or belief violations by holding individuals responsible for these crimes to account in a court of law,” she said.

The spiritual adviser of Steven Nelson—who was convicted of murdering Arlington Pastor Clint Dobson and is scheduled for execution—not only is pleading for mercy from the state, but also grace from some of those most deeply wounded by his actions.

“We don’t honor the memory of Clint Dobson by killing Steven Nelson,” said Jeff Hood, an anti-death penalty activist who grew up Southern Baptist and now is a priest in The Old Catholic Church.

Dobson was killed in March 2011 while serving as pastor of NorthPointe Baptist Church in Arlington, then a satellite mission of First Baptist Church in Arlington.

The 28-year-old minister earned his undergraduate degree from Baylor University and his Master of Divinity degree from Baylor’s Truett Theological Seminary, where he was named 2008 Preacher of the Year.

A Tarrant County jury sentenced Nelson to die after finding him guilty of killing Dobson. Nelson is slated to be executed by lethal injection Feb. 5, 2025.

Hood and Noa Dubois, Nelson’s fiancé, appeared at a Nov. 15 news conference across the street from First Baptist Church in Arlington to call on the courts to halt Nelson’s execution.

At the same time, Hood also urged the church to extend love to an enemy who still is “made in the image of God.”

Nelson was a victim of childhood abuse that left him “broken,” but he is not the “monster” some have labeled him, said Hood, who noted he has spoken to Nelson by phone “five or six times a week” the past few months.

Dubois, who plans to marry Nelson next month, said the person she has grown to know the past five years is a “gentle, caring man” who has moved beyond his troubled past to become a sensitive artist.

Insisting Nelson was not the only person involved in the crime at NorthPointe Baptist Church 13 years ago, Dubois is pleading for the courts to reexamine the case.

Pastor killed during violent robbery at church

Nelson participated in a robbery at NorthPointe Baptist Church on March 3, 2011. Dobson later was found in the church beaten, bound and smothered to death. Judy Elliott, ministry assistant at NorthPointe, was beaten and left for dead but survived her injuries.

Witnesses later saw Nelson driving a vehicle that matched the description of Elliott’s stolen car, and he used her credit card at a local shopping mall. He also sold Dobson’s stolen laptop for $150 on the day of the killing.

After his arrest, Nelson admitted to the robbery but claimed two other men involved in the crime killed Dobson. Physical evidence placed Nelson in proximity to Dobson and Elliott, and his fingerprints were found at the scene of the crime.

When a jury found Nelson guilty in October 2012, First Baptist Church and NorthPointe Baptist issued a joint statement in response to the verdict, stating in part: “This has been an unimaginably trying time for two families and two churches. Through God’s grace we have made it this far in what we know will be an ongoing legal process.”

The statement continued: “Most of all, we are grateful to God for holding us up every day since this occurred in March 2011. He will do so in the days to come. His love endures forever.”

In addition to pledging prayer for the Dobson and Elliott families, the churches also promised to “continue to pray for the people responsible for this terrible crime and their families.”

“We will pray that God will work a miracle of healing and peace and change in their lives. As people of faith, as Christians, that is what we must do,” the statement from the churches said.

Later, when the death sentence was handed down, the churches issued another statement: “We have all waited for this day. We have prayed for the people who are charged with the responsibility for the wheels of justice in our society. We have asked God for the truth to be known and for justice to be served. As the Bible teaches us, God has placed the civil authority in our midst so that innocent people can live in freedom without fear and so that guilty offenders can be appropriately punished.”

Stating the trial was conducted “with an incredible level of professionalism and integrity,” the churches concluded: “A jury comprised of members from our community has reached a verdict based on evidence presented in a court of law. We now can confidently say that justice has been served, and we will support the decision of this court.”

Hood: ‘Jesus didn’t kill’

However, Hood wants First Baptist Church in Arlington to extend “the extravagant grace of God” to the man convicted of Dobson’s murder.

“While the mortal heart might be incapable of forgiveness, with God all things are possible,” Hood wrote in an Oct. 31 letter to church leaders at First Baptist in Arlington.

The Baptist Standard contacted First Baptist in Arlington for a response. Church officials did not choose to comment publicly.

While Hood questions Nelson’s exact role at “one moment in time” in March 2011, he acknowledged Nelson was “part of a horrendous crime that deprived the world of an amazing person.”

Even so, he asserted, standing by while the state executes Nelson is not the answer for Christians.

As a spiritual adviser to Death Row inmates, Hood has been present in the death chamber for eight executions in four states.

Insisting, “Jesus didn’t kill,” he challenged Arlington church leaders to join the campaign to stop Nelson’s execution.

“You can’t execute hope,” Hood said.

WASHINGTON (BP)—President-elect Donald Trump has nominated a Baptist chaplain and former pastor to be the next head of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Doug Collins is a North American Mission Board-endorsed Southern Baptist chaplain in the Air Force Reserves, serving in that role since 2002.

He served two years as a Navy chaplain before joining the Air Force after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He remains active with the Air Force Reserves, which included a 2008-09 deployment to Iraq.

A native of Gainesville, Ga., Collins was senior pastor of Chicopee Baptist Church from November 1994 through October 2005, according to the church’s annual church profile reporting.

He also served as chaplain for Chattahoochee Baptist Association and earned his Master of Divinity degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

He and his wife Lisa are members of Lakewood Baptist Church in Gainesville.

 “I am grateful for people of faith, like Doug, who have sacrificially served our country and continue to do so when the nation calls upon them,” said Maj. Gen. (retired) Doug Carver, executive director of chaplaincy and federal endorser for the North American Mission Board.

“Caring for our nation’s veterans and for their families, caregivers, and survivors is an extremely noble calling. I will be praying for him as he takes on this important leadership role.”

Georgia voters elected Collins to the District 27 state representative seat in 2006. He was sent from Atlanta to Washington six years later, winning the District 9 election for the U.S. House. He stepped down to run for U.S. Senate in 2020, but lost.

Mike Melcher of Plainview, former director of advancement at Wayland Baptist University, died Nov. 4 in Dallas. He was 72. Phillip Michael Melcher was born March 3, 1952, to Louie and Iris Cloninger Melcher in Slaton. After he graduated from Slaton High School, he attended Texas Tech University, where he graduated with an undergraduate degree in business administration. After working briefly in banking, he began his career in the car sales business. He was owner and operator of Melcher Chevrolet in Littlefield from 1983 to 1988. While working at Gary Ritter Autoplex in Brownfield, he met and married Debra Graham. His other business enterprises included owning the Glass Slipper, where he sold shoes; Cake Lady, where he could be seen baking; and the Hot Cracker, where he was often in the kitchen preparing the meals. He began working in the Wayland Baptist University advancement office in 2006. He became director of advancement in 2012, serving in that role until he retired in 2023. In 2018, the Lubbock Association of Fundraising awarded Mike as the Outstanding Fundraising Professional of the year. While at Wayland, he earned a Master of Business Management degree. He was instrumental in bringing the Jimmy Dean Museum and the Jimmy Dean Musical Festival to Plainview. He was awarded Wayland’s highest honor, the President’s Award, in April 2023. For seven years, Mike and Deb Melcher owned and operated the President’s House Bed and Breakfast in Plainview. He held office and volunteered with the Lions Club in Littlefield, Lubbock and Plainview, and he served as a member and director of the Great Plains Lions Eye Bank board. He was preceded in death by a grandson, Barrett Bohn, and a brother, Larry Melcher. He is survived by his wife Deb Melcher of Plainview; son Wes Melcher of Prosper; son Russell Melcher and his wife Elizabeth of Canyon; daughter Kaci Bohn and husband Lee of Canyon; six grandchildren; and brothers Ken Melcher and Joe Melcher. The family will receive friends from 6 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22, in the chapel at First Baptist Church in Plainview. A celebration of life service will be held at 2 p.m. Nov. 23 in the Harral Auditorium on the Wayland Baptist University campus. Memorial gifts can be made to the Mike Melcher Endowed Scholarship at Wayland Baptist University or the Wind and Rain Campaign at First Baptist Church of Plainview.

(RNS)—Tony Campolo, an American Baptist minister and sociologist who spent decades trying to convince evangelicals and other Christians that their faith should motivate them to address social ills like poverty and racism, has died. He was 89.

A native of Philadelphia, Campolo was known for his charismatic preaching and sense of humor, which made him a popular speaker at college campuses, churches and Christian conferences—and equally at home giving an altar call or social commentary.

“Putting religion and politics together is like mixing ice cream with horse manure,” he told the comedian and television host Stephen Colbert in 2006. “It doesn’t hurt the horse manure; it ruins the ice cream. And I think that this merger of church and state has done great harm to religion.”

The author of 35 books, Campolo held degrees from Eastern University, Palmer Theological Seminary and Temple University. He taught sociology first at the University of Pennsylvania and then for decades at Eastern Christian College, where he was named professor emeritus.

He also served as an associate pastor at Mount Carmel Baptist, a predominantly Black church in Philadelphia, and in 2019 was named a co-pastor of St. John’s Baptist.

Inspired young people to be world changers

Starting in the 1980s, with books such as It’s Friday but Sunday’s Comin’, A Reasonable Faith, Who Switched the Price Tags and The Kingdom of God Is a Party, Campolo showed a knack for reaching young people with the Christian gospel and then inspiring them to go out and work to change the world. In the process, he often challenged the religious right.

In 1985, he lost a speaking gig at Youth Congress, a national event in Washington, D.C., after critics complained his book A Reasonable Faith was heretical. A panel of evangelical theologians then “determined that Tony Campolo cannot rightly be called a heretic,” according to Christianity Today.

He eventually became a spiritual adviser to then-President Bill Clinton in the 1990s. Campolo also founded a nonprofit called the Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education, which worked in several countries, including Haiti, from the early 1970s to 2014.

Ryan Burge, a former American Baptist pastor and an associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University, said Campolo carried forward the legacy of the social gospel.

“Tony Campolo was one of the most talented and sought-after preachers in the United States for several decades. He was able to speak to audiences from all corners of American Christianity—reminding them of the radical grace and forgiveness that is found in the gospel,” Burge said.

Passion for justice rooted in early family life

The child of Italian American immigrants, Campolo said his belief that Christianity could change lives in this world—as well as saving people’s souls—grew out of his childhood.

In a 2016 online interview, he told the story of how a Baptist mission changed the course of his family’s life.

“My father couldn’t find a job and they were totally impoverished, and a Baptist mission in South Philadelphia reached out to them, got my father a job, got them a place to stay, put their feet on solid ground and really saved them from despair and destitution,” he recalled.

“People often ask me: ‘Where did you get your social consciousness? Where did you get your commitment to the poor, before it was ever fashionable?’ My mother and father saw in the way they were treated by a group of Baptists that this is what Christianity is about. It’s not about getting a ticket to heaven, it’s about becoming an instrument of God to transform this world.”

In 2007, Campolo, along with author and activist Shane Claiborne, founded Red Letter Christians, a challenge to the conservative evangelical voting bloc. The name came from the practice of Bible publishers printing the words of Jesus in red ink and highlighted the social and ethical teachings of Jesus. In 2012, Campolo was given a lifetime award from the National Youth Workers Convention for his work inspiring young people.

“As a result of Tony’s life of ministry and leadership he has left a legacy of encouragement and hope to youth workers and students everywhere,” the award read, according to an official bio of Campolo.

Campolo suffered a stoke in 2020, which partially paralyzed his left side. He suffered a previous stroke in 2002.

“You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who has influenced evangelicalism more than Tony Campolo in the last 50 years,” Claiborne told RNS at the time.

Campolo is survived by his wife Peggy, son Bart and daughter Lisa.

The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor welcomed former Gov. Rick Perry as the featured speaker for the 2024 McLane Lecture, Nov. 6. Perry spoke to the crowd of UMHB students, faculty, staff and special guests about his faith and life in public service. “In 1964, I gave my life to Jesus Christ. At 14, the Holy Spirit dealt with me, and I had that warming of my heart,” he said. He explained after he became a pilot in the U.S. Navy, “it became abundantly clear to me that the checklist I’d been given as a young man—the Holy Bible—will show you how to govern and conduct your business” in all walks of life. The lecture series’ namesakes Elizabeth and Drayton McLane Jr. also were awarded Honorary Doctorate of Humanities degrees for their long-time commitment to Christian higher education at UMHB. The McLanes are major benefactors to many health and education institutions, including UMHB, having made the largest gift in the history of UMHB in 2012 to assist with the construction of Crusader Stadium. This was the 20th McLane Lecture. Rick Perry joins other notable McLane Lecture speakers, including George H.W. Bush, Barbara Bush, Marcus Lutrell, Joe DePinto, George W. Bush, Chuck Norris, George Foreman, Mary Lou Retton and Franklin Graham.

On Nov. 6, East Texas Baptist University hosted its annual Legacy of 1912 Society Luncheon—welcoming ETBU retirees, Legacy of 1912 Society members, and endowed scholarship donors to campus. The Legacy of 1912 Society is comprised of alumni and friends who, through thoughtful estate planning and other forms of planned giving, ensure resources will be available to support ETBU far into the future. Miss ETBU, Molly Segrest, a junior ministry and mental health major, and ETBU Tiger Baseball player Ben Lea, a senior business administration major, each reflected on their ETBU experiences and the impact that scholarships have had on their academic journeys and personal growth. Vice President for Advancement and Administrative Affairs Scott Bryant delivered a charge to attendees, highlighting the impact of their generosity. He emphasized each gift provides financial support, but also creates lasting opportunities for students, transforms lives, and positively influences their families and communities. Bryant shared stories of students whose journeys have been made possible by such gifts, underscoring how donor contributions empower the university to uphold its mission and invest in future generations.

In her short time at Howard Payne University, Bible major Vitoria Biazi has discovered HPU is a special place where she belongs. Biazi is a transfer student from São Paulo, Brazil. She began her journey to HPU in the summer of 2023 when she served as interpreter for a mission group in Brazil. During this mission trip, she met HPU alumni Woody and Miki Martin who told Biazi all about their time at HPU. Growing up, Biazi dreamed of studying abroad. While talking with the Martins, she revealed this dream, and they encouraged her to look into Howard Payne. As she researched, she became more interested, and after a campus visit in October 2023, committed to making her dream a reality. “I was so scared coming in that I wouldn’t know anyone, and nobody would know me, but God is putting people in my way that want to help me and get to know me,” she said. “The people here are welcoming me with open arms to be my adopted family.” When she was young, Biazi was interested in the Bible and understanding its meaning, though she wasn’t interested in pursuing a career in ministry. In fact, she wanted to be a veterinarian. As she grew, people around her encouraged her to go into ministry and study the Bible, so she decided to pursue a career in ministry. “God called me into this field of study and has made a place for me in ministry. I want people to love the word of God the way I do,” she noted.

Houston Christian University’s Alumni Association hosted the Spirit of HCU Awards Dinner, Nov. 9, in the McNair Cultural Arts Center, honoring alumni, faculty and staff for their contributions to the university, their work and the lasting impact each recipient has had on the community. This year’s award recipients included Rick Redding, Distinguished Alumnus Award; Marsha Griffith Eckermann and Lijo V. Joseph, Meritorious Service Alumnus Awards; Avin Brownlee, Hallmark Award; Gabby Livier Zacamitzin, Emma Key Faithful Servant Award; and Bryan Brody, Emerging Alumnus Leader Award. Each honoree was inducted into the HCU Alumni Association Walk of Honor.

Assisted by faculty and staff members, Donnie Brown, Wayland Baptist University’s executive director of spiritual life, and Donna Hedgepath, Wayland’s president, recently presented Bibles to incoming freshmen. They distributed 304 Bibles on the university’s Plainview campus, with more than 330 sent to university external campuses for distribution to first-time students. For some, this gift marks the first Bible they’ve ever owned. Brown recalled a unique encounter with a student eager to receive her first Bible. “She approached me and asked, ‘When will I get my Bible?’ Her distribution time was set for the following day, but since she would be traveling for a game, we went to my office right then to ensure she got her very own copy,” Brown said. “She was so excited to receive it, and it reminded me of the lasting impact that one small act of faith can have on a young person’s life.” Each Bible, a blue leather-bound edition of the New International Version, comes with a personal note, inviting students to explore their faith alongside their academic pursuits.

Area residents and visitors are invited to attend the 40th annual Community Thanksgiving Feast at Howard Payne University, on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event will take place at HPU’s Mabee University Center. North Lake Community Church in May will lead and coordinate the event. The traditional Thanksgiving meal will consist of turkey, dressing and all the trimmings. For those unable to join in person, volunteers will deliver meals in Brownwood and Early, with a maximum of 10 delivered meals per household. To help support the Thanksgiving meal, send checks payable to the “Community Thanksgiving Feast,” to Katrina Lynn, Howard Payne University, 1000 Fisk Street, Suite 210, Brownwood, TX 76801, or bring donations to the Mabee Center on Thanksgiving Day.

PLAINVIEW—In a ceremony marked with tradition and faith, Donna Hedgepath officially was inaugurated as the 14th president of Wayland Baptist University, Nov. 18, in Harral Memorial Auditorium on the university’s Plainview campus.

In her inaugural address, “Pioneering the Future,” Hedgepath reflected on Wayland’s legacy and outlined her vision for the university. Emphasizing Wayland’s pioneering spirit, she highlighted key moments in the university’s history.

She pointed to the advancements made by Bill Marshall, president of Wayland from 1947 to 1953, who “made several bold decisions that changed the trajectory of the university and in some cases the state of Texas.”

Hedgepath explained Marshall “recruited international students to such a degree that by the time he left, Wayland had a higher percentage of international students than any other college or university in the U.S.” One vehicle for this growth, the International Choir, continues to exist today, she noted.

Likewise, when Annie Taylor, an African American schoolteacher from Floydada, needed some continuing education credits, she “was brave enough to ask Dr. Marshall about coming to Wayland, and he saw an opportunity for a new kind of pioneering,” Hedgepath noted.

“Not only did the board vote, so did the faculty and student body, and guess what? Of course, everyone said, ‘yes!’ Thus, Wayland Baptist College became the first college in the former Confederate South to integrate—voluntarily—three years before Brown v. Board of Education forced the issue on a national scale.”

Taylor commuted to class, but “George May came that fall as the first full-time Black student who lived in the dorms as an undergrad, she explained.

“His sister Janet followed him a few years later and by the middle of the 1950s, was our first Black Homecoming queen.”

Hedgepath noted additional historical moments in Wayland’s past, including the “reign of the winningest women’s basketball team in U.S. history—Wayland’s Hutcherson Flying Queens,” who won 131 consecutive games and hold a place in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame for that streak.

Hedgepath outlined plans to advance Wayland’s mission, including upgrading technology, enhancing student success programs and fostering a culture of trust and collaboration.

Call to action

She also underscored her commitment to faith-based leadership, stating: “Wayland must meet the needs of an ever-changing workforce—and we can and will do this through creative programming and degree planning.”

Hedgepath closed her remarks with a call to action for the Wayland community, urging everyone to work together to shape a brighter future.

“Let us commit to a future where our university is not just a place of learning, but a beacon of progress and, most importantly, hope. Together, we will pioneer solutions that transcend boundaries, inspire change and create impact on a global scale.”

Hedgepath’s inauguration marks a historic moment for Wayland. As the first female president in the institution’s history, her appointment reflects Wayland’s commitment to continue in the path of inclusivity and innovation the university historically has followed.

At the inauguration, Joe Hopkins, president of Campbellsville University; Grant Litton, Hedgepath’s nephew; Paul Armes, president emeritus of Wayland Baptist University; and H. Keith Spears, chancellor emeritus of Campbellsville University; each offered a charge to the incoming president.

The investiture ceremony included the installation of Hedgepath by Mark Jones, a dedicatory prayer by Julio Guarneri and the formal presentation of the president by Jeanette Parker, interim vice president for academic affairs at Campbellsville University.

Beyond the inauguration

In a Zoom call after the ceremony, Hedgepath explained Wayland’s mission and “its potential to grow” were part of what drew her to Wayland. Since she arrived in July, she noted she has discovered many similarities to her prior institution in Kentucky that have allowed her to feel at home.

Short-term improvements already are underway and include upgrades to technology and facilities, she said.

But, enrollment is always both a long- and short-term goal, “and so we’re already looking at creative ways to get more students,” she said. The best way to increase enrollment, “especially with undergrads” is to “have a campus that is aesthetically pleasing and modern, and offers top-of-the-line accommodations,” she added.

Some of the dorms currently don’t meet that standard, but she said her goal is to develop a campus that feels like “an oasis in the desert,” noting the university already is raising money for improvements and will continue fundraising efforts to that end.

Strategic planning is underway, with the intent to begin implementation by next summer. She said the university would like to grow, “not by 40 or 50 but by a thousand or two, and we are working on some interesting programs and other ideas to bring in more students.”

“Once we establish and get our foundation strong, and a plan, our strategic plan, it’s easier to dream a little bit. And that’s what we plan to do,” she explained.

Hedgepath said she felt called to education when she served as a high school choir director, and as her path led her to the academy, when her giftedness in training teachers to teach became apparent.

Her path to academic leadership began with that passion for teaching other teachers, and the leadership piece happened organically once she started working at the university.

Hedgepath explained her “heart for students” grew out of that calling and her own experiences of professors and administrators investing in her as a first-generation college student.

She said of students who might be anxious about college—whether the source of their anxiety is financial, relational, loneliness or whatever—“I want to help all of them” to succeed.

“Part of that is my testimony, as well. I want them to know that it’s OK to struggle, because there’s always hope.”