GARLAND—Citing a need for greater lay involvement and strategic planning in Texas Baptist leadership, retired electronics industry executive Ed Jackson has announced his intention to allow his nomination for first vice president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.
“We need laymen in these kind of positions” in the BGCT, Jackson said.
As a retiree—albeit one actively involved in church and community affairs—Jackson stressed he could devote the necessary time to the post and bring to it expertise in financial management and strategic planning.
“A strategic approach is needed for the BGCT. We need to be thinking long and hard, five to 10 years out, and I have experience at that,” he said.
Greg Ammons, Jackson’s pastor at First Baptist Church in Garland, will nominate him. Jackson can bring a love for Texas Baptists, a "missions heart" and "the fresh perspective of a layman" to the vice president's position, Ammons noted.
Jackson has led multiple missions projects at First Baptist Church, he noted, including Project Jerusalem, the congregation's effort to place Scripture in 400 homes in downtown Garland as part of the BGCT's Texas Hope 2010 initiative.
Jackson serves on the BGCT Executive Board and as a member of the Future Focus Committee.
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During his career in electronics industry, Jackson took a leave of absence to serve the Baptist General Convention of Texas as volunteer assistant director of the Mission Service Corps program.
After his retirement in 1997, he served the BGCT Executive Board staff as special assistant to the executive director, working as a consultant in the Continuous Quality Improvement program.
Jackson grew up in Cisco and was baptized at First Baptist Church there. He served as an officer in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. He attended Texas Tech University and graduated from the University of Oklahoma.
He has taught Sunday school classes since 1951, serving in four churches.
Jackson was the founding chairman of Hope Clinic, a Christian health care provider that serves the uninsured and underserved working poor in Garland.
Other community involvement includes current service as president of the Garland Housing Finance Corporation, two years as chair of the Garland Chamber of Commerce and five years on the Salvation Army advisory board.
He and his wife, Re, have been married 56 years. They have three children and five grandchildren.
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