SAN ANTONIO—Victor Rodriguez has announced he plans to serve only one term as president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, and he will nominate the convention's first vice president, Jerry Carlisle, as his successor.

Jerry Carlisle

Rodriguez's term extends until the 2011 BGCT annual meeting, Oct. 24-26, in Amarillo. The next president will assume convention leadership at the conclusion of that meeting.

BGCT presidents may serve two one-year terms. But six out of the last seven presidents, including Rodriguez, have chosen to accept only one term.

Convention presidents travel extensively, and Rodriguez cited the needs of his family and congregation as primary factors in deciding to step down. He is pastor of South San Filadelfia Baptist Church in San Antonio.

"Our church is preparing to start building, and there's a huge construction process we'll be going through. That's what we're looking at as a church and ministry," he said. "So, between the time I need to spend with my family and my church, I wanted to stay closer to home."

Rodriguez predicted Carlisle, pastor of First Baptist Church in Plano, would make an excellent convention president.

"I believe Jerry is going to be the person God will use for the future of our convention," he said. "I see a future that is strong. We are blessed by young leaders who are on fire for God, and Jerry is one of them."

Carlisle particularly is gifted in leading his church and other Christians to bridge cultural, racial and ethnic divides, Rodriguez said. The first time they met, Carlisle instinctively called him hermano, the Spanish word for "brother," he recalled.

Under Carlisle's leadership, predominantly Anglo First Baptist in Plano has started mission congregations with other racial and ethnic groups in the community, sponsored three ongoing ministries in southern Mexico, and also supports two hospitals in Mexico.

Victor Rodriguez

"Jerry's effort to reach out to the multiple cultures that surround us is a plus. He knows the Hispanic and other ethnic work in Texas," Rodriguez said. "He is going to be a key leader."

For his part, Carlisle began praying about the possible nomination after Rodriguez brought it up a couple of months ago, he said.

If elected, Carlisle would focus on making Texas Baptists strong by building relationships—between churches and with institutions, he noted.

"We must enable the churches to connect with one another. That's something the convention definitely can help with," he said.

Rather than thinking of the convention as an old hierarchical structure, Texas Baptists can benefit by seeing the convention as a support system for horizontally connecting churches for individual support and to fulfill common purposes, he added.

"I know I need pastor friends and church partnerships in our city and the region as well as on a statewide level," he said. For example, First Baptist in Plano has been enriched by a partnership with Oak Island Baptist Church in Southeast Texas, which began as a response to devastation cause by Hurricane Ike in 2008, he explained.

"A lot of churches have missed out because they don't have those relationships," he said. "If we're going to reach the state, we need each other. Because of demographics and personal preferences, no one church can reach everybody in their community. The key thing our convention can do is help us all fulfill our calling—not just to our communities and to Texas, but to the world."

Texas Baptists also need to strengthen their relationships with about 25 institutions—universities, hospitals, children's ministries and others—supported by the convention, stressed Carlisle, who chaired the BGCT Executive Board's institutional relations committee.

"We need to keep the conversations alive with them—about our relationships and what the future holds for us," he said. "I think that future is positive and bright. It may be different than what we've had in the past, but it can benefit the churches, the institutions and the entire convention. …

"As our institutions increasingly become organizations that help us reach far beyond Texas to create a worldwide impact, that influence amounts to leverage—not for control or power, but for the sake of the gospel."

If elected, Carlisle would become BGCT president in the wake of what Rodriguez called "a very interesting year" in the convention's history.

Within weeks of Rodriguez's election last November, BGCT Executive Director Randel Everett resigned to become pastor of First Baptist Church in Midland.

Rodriguez unexpectedly found himself leading the process to move the convention forward, particularly working with BGCT and Executive Board officers to select an executive director-search committee.

Although the committee has not nominated Everett's successor, "I think they're doing a great job, and I pray God is going to continue to use them," Rodriguez said.

Also during the year, Houston Baptist University and Baylor University decided to name non-Baptists to their governing boards, steps that stirred controversy across the convention.

"The university relationships … have taken a lot of our effort, and it's been a good effort," Rodriguez said. "We continue to strive for unity between Baylor and the convention. Baylor needs the convention, and the convention needs Baylor."

In retrospect, Rodriquez believes God had a unique task in mind for him when he was elected last year.

"I've asked God, 'What was the purpose you have for me here?'" he said. "I see God used the officers to bring unity—to hold our leadership together and to continue to look forward into the future."

Carlisle has been pastor of the Plano congregation since 2002. The church averages 682 in worship attendance. In 2010, it contributed $518,037 to missions causes—17 percent of all receipts, which totaled $3,137,149. Last year, it allocated $87,623 to the Cooperative Program and gave $77,348 to the Cooperative Program for Texas causes.

Previously, Carlisle was pastor of First Baptist Church in Temple and Valley Ranch Baptist Church in Coppell. He served on the staffs of Tallowood Baptist Church in Houston and Plymouth Park Baptist Church in Irving. As a college student, he was a pastor and student minister of churches in Missouri and Alabama, and he spent a summer starting a church in Victoria, British Columbia.

He earned doctoral and master's degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and an undergraduate degree from Southwest Baptist College.

Carlisle is an adjunct professor at Dallas Baptist University and has supervised doctor of ministry candidates for Baylor University's Truett Seminary and the B.H. Carroll Theological Institute.

He serves on the governing boards of the Baptist World Alliance, Dallas Baptist University, Baylor Regional Medical Center of Plano, Mission to Unreached Peoples and the International Technical Assistance Group.

He previously served on the board of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and has been active in the Baptist associations with which his churches have affiliated.

Carlisle and his wife, Dedi, are the parents of three children, Elyse, Collin and Caleb.

A Texas Baptist minister who has founded a nonprofit Borderlands missions research center will be nominated for first vice president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

Ken May, pastor of First Baptist Church in Decatur, has announced his intention to nominate Jeff Johnson at the BGCT annual meeting in Amarillo, Oct. 24-26.

Jeff Johnson

"For the past four years, I have had the privilege of serving on the (BGCT) Executive Board and have come to know Jeff Johnson as a coworker and friend," May said. "I have found Dr. Johnson to be highly intelligent and yet very personable, well-organized, strategic and also hard-working, wise as well as very courageous for the cause of Christ, visionary and practical in the application and expansion of the kingdom along the border of Texas.

"He is passionate about our Lord, cooperative and a mainstream Texas Baptist. It is because of these qualities and his commitment to Texas Baptists that I plan to nominate him at our annual convention."

During Johnson's time as pastor of First Baptist Church in Del Rio, average weekly worship attendance grew from 80 to about 300. The church also launched two mission congregations and an extensive program to fight hunger in Del Rio and surrounding colonias by providing meals for about 900 people a month.

Previously, Johnson had served as pastor of Texas Baptist churches in Bonham, Sherman and Ivanhoe. He also served on staff at Baptist University of the Américas.

He founded the Center for Borderland Missional Research, Education and Outreach , a nonprofit organization devoted to contextual missions along the United States/Mexico border.

Johnson noted he did not seek out nomination for office, and he initially rejected the idea when first approached about it three years ago, saying, "The time just wasn't right." After being asked again and praying about the matter, Johnson said he agreed to allow his nomination this year.

"I've never been the pastor of a large church, but I have been involved in Texas Baptist institutional life, been a bivocational pastor, served a county-seat church and served in different parts of the state," he said.

"I believe I understand something about the cross-cultural challenges our state faces, and I have strong relationships with people across the broad spectrum of Texas Baptists."

Johnson noted he has not been a part of any political organization in Baptist life, and if elected, he will pursue no agenda other than promoting prayer, unity, relationship building and support for whomever the BGCT Executive Board selects as its new executive director.

"I would hope whoever the new officers are will help the new executive director be successful," he said. "The first year in any place of service is foundational, and I would want to help the person in the executive director's position succeed and to lay the foundation for the kind of long-term stability I think is needed there."

Johnson's denominational involvement has included service on the BGCT Executive Board, the BGCT Committee on Committees, the Texas Baptist Border Violence Committee, the Hispanic Baptist Convention/BGCT Unification Committee and the board of trustees for Baptist Child & Family Services.

A native of Mississippi, Johnson earned an undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University. He earned a master of divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a doctor of ministry degree from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

He and his wife, Molly, have three adult daughters—Lori, Sara and Julie.

AUSTIN—Ken Hall, chief executive officer of Buckner International since 1994, announced his retirement from the Dallas-based organization during a July 22 meeting of the board of trustees.

His retirement is effective April 30, 2012, when President Albert Reyes will assume the CEO title.

Ken Hall

Hall, who was elected to the position in 1993, served as president/CEO of Buckner until 2010, when Reyes was elected president. Hall has continued serving as CEO. With his retirement, board members named Hall president emeritus as of May 1.

During Hall's tenure at the helm of Buckner, the organization grew to serve more than 400,000 people annually through an array of ministries around the world. He oversaw the expansion of Buckner to include more than $200 million in capital improvements, and in 2008, the Buckner endowment topped $200 million. Today, Buckner lists total assets of more than $400 million.

Along with the capital growth and improvements, Hall guided Buckner to expand its services beyond the borders of Texas and the United States by launching the organization's international ministry arm in 1996.

In addition, Buckner Retirement Services grew exponentially under Hall. Today, it is the largest not-for-profit senior living organization in Texas, according to a recent report by Ziegler and Company.

Prior to assuming leadership of Buckner, he served as pastor of four Texas Baptist churches. He is a past president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas and is the author of two books.

Reyes, who becomes CEO May 1, came to Buckner initially as president of Buckner Children and Family Services and in January 2010, he was elected as the sixth president in the 132-year history of Buckner International, succeeding Hall in that role. He came to Buckner from Baptist University of the Américas in San Antonio, where he served as president.

A native of Corpus Christi, Texas, Reyes also served as president of the BGCT and was pastor of three Texas Baptist churches before moving to BUA. He currently serves on the board of the Joint Council on International Children's Services. He holds two doctorate degrees.

Board Chair Lee Bush from First Baptist Church in Athens said the leadership transition "exemplifies the way Christian ministries should operate. Buckner has been blessed for 132 years with outstanding leaders, and both Dr. Hall and Dr. Reyes personify that leadership."

BEEVILLE—Homer Hanna, a former executive with South Texas Children’s Home Ministries, will serve as interim president and chief executive officer for the Beeville-based agency.

A search committee will be named soon to find a successor to South Texas Children’s Home Ministries President Todd Roberson, who has been named president of Children at Heart Ministries in Round Rock.

Homer Hanna

John Weber, chairman of the STCHM board of directors, noted he immediately thought of Hanna, who retired in 2000 after 22 years service at South Texas Children’s Home, as he began the process of naming an interim president.

“Before I talked to Homer to see if he would take on this responsibility, I spoke with each of the members of our executive committee about who our interim should be, as well as to the chairmen of the South Texas Children’s Home and South Texas Children’s Home Land Management boards,” Weber said. “All were in agreement that we could not have a better person in this position than Homer Hanna.”

During his tenure at South Texas Children’s Home, Hanna’s responsibilities included serving as child care administrator, special assistant to the president and vice president for church relations. Additionally, he served two terms as interim president for South Texas Children’s Home.

In retirement, Hanna has continued to serve as part-time development consultant for South Texas Children’s Home Ministries.

“South Texas Children’s Home Ministries is successful because of the wonderful group of talented and dedicated people who do their part in every aspect of the day to day life of the Home,” Weber said, “We are in marvelous shape to move forward as Homer steps in once again to serve the South Texas Children’s Home Ministries family. He will be a familiar face, both internally and publicly, as he represents the Home and facilitates operations.”

Prior to his coming to the children’s home in 1977, Hanna served in numerous Texas churches as youth director, assistant pastor, associate pastor and pastor. He is a graduate of Baylor University and the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He also served as Dean of Students at the University of Corpus Christi—now Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi—from 1966 to 1970.

Hanna currently lives in Beeville with his wife, Marilyn. They have three children and eight grandchildren.

WACO—A team of Baylor University church music students in 2007 sought to change the lives of a handful of girls in East Africa, but their return this year found a village transformed.

A side trip to a Pokot village not on the original itinerary began the journey. On arriving in the village after an eight-hour drive from Nairobi, Kenya, the team noticed the children meeting in the school—a roofed structure without walls and a dirt floor.

What Randall Bradley, professor of music and director of Baylor’s church music program, and his team didn’t notice, the Kenyan national with him did—the school had no older girls.

The oldest girls were in the fifth grade. After talking with some of the women, Zippy Sindiyo, the mission team’s Kenyan guide, discovered in the poor out-of-the-way village it was customary for girls to undergo female genital mutilation and marry soon after reaching puberty. The families married them off as soon as possible for the dowry that accompanied the marriage.

The team asked Sindiyo what could be done to help.

“That was part of my goal with that team—that there are so many needs we can’t do very much, but if we could do something then when we came back (to the United States), it would create an awareness among the students for the long haul. That we are still thinking about Africa, that we are doing something, we’re making a difference, and we’re using the resources we have to offer something back,” Bradley said.

The team decided to support four girls to continue their education. They were taken to a residential school so that they not only could be educated, but also protected from the normal course of events in the village.

Not long after that, two other girls showed up on Sindiyo’s doorstep looking for help. She contacted Bradley, and the Baylor team now had six girls to support at a cost of about $425 a girl for each year. That cost has now risen to upwards of $500 per girl.

That cost is significant for college students, Bradley pointed out.

Pokot girls in East Africa receive Bibles provided by students in the church music program at Baylor University.

“You’re talking about students here, and raising this $3,000 for these six girls is not easy for students, and even when they graduate, they have only entry-level jobs.”

On this year’s trip, the team went to the school the girls attend. When the team asked what they might be able to provide, they were told the girls needed underwear. So, the 18-member Baylor team—along with the choir at Columbus Avenue Baptist Church in Waco and Westbury Baptist Church in Houston—collected the bulk of the 2,300 pairs of underwear delivered to the AIC Maasai School for Girls.

Each of the 710 girls there received two pairs of underwear, a Baylor T-shirt and some bubble gum. The girls the Baylor team sponsors received some additional items.

Sindiyo received the remaining underwear to distribute to the poor children she deals with daily. In addition, the team from this year’s trip pledged $2,000 to Sindiyo to meet the immediate needs of poor children.

The team also returned to girls’ village of Komolian. While the team arrived last time unannounced and was eyed suspiciously, this time the reception was much different. The local school had adjourned early so the children could interact with the visitors. Poor villagers had bought a goat and prepared a feast for the mission team.

“This time, we were honored guests,” Bradley said.

The team performed a concert, showed a film about the crucifixion of Christ and made a short evangelistic appeal.

The next morning, the parents of the sponsored girls wanted to meet with the six team members who also had made the trip in 2007.

“The mothers, and fathers where applicable, invited us to their homes, so we went around to four of their homes, and their homes would be a little over twice the size of my desk,” Bradley recalled.

“The time before we had gone into a couple of homes, but we were invading their privacy. This time we were welcome. One of the mothers had made each of us gifts.”

The local school also had four girls now in the eighth grade, whereas before none had been older than a single fifth grader.

“The mothers of these girls have banded together and they have teamed up with an organization in Kenya that does educational seminars on female genital mutilation to create education within their community,” Bradley said.

“As a result of that and the fact that they have girls away studying who come home and have shared their stories with their friends and encouraged their friends, ‘Don’t let them do this to you,’ now their parents are beginning to support them in that, and now these girls are not marrying off at this young age.

“Our little help has not only impacted the girls who we were able to remove from the situation, but as a result of that, it’s created an awareness. And there seems to be a pride in the community that says, ‘We’re not doing that to our girls.’”

Transition announced at BCS. After more than 41 years with Baptist Community Services and the related health care entities that preceded it, Tim Holloway will retire Dec. 31 as president and chief executive officer of BCS and the High Plains Christian Ministries Foundation. Steve Dalrymple, BCS senior vice president and general counsel, will be promoted to executive vice president and chief operating officer effective Aug. 1 and will succeed Holloway as president Jan. 1, 2012, according to Robert Byrd, chairman of the BCS board of trustees. Dalrymple is a graduate of Baylor University and the University of Texas School of Law. Holloway recruited Dalrymple as senior vice president and in-house counsel at High Plains Baptist Health Systems in 1991, and he joined the BCS administrative staff in 1997. He and his wife, Sharon, are members of First Baptist Church in Amarillo.

Music conference slated at Baylor. Church music ministers and choir directors from across the country will gather for the 10th annual Alleluia Conference at Baylor University July 19-22. The conference includes technical sessions on organ music, praise teams, music fundamentals, youth choirs, conducting, piano, technology, handbells, worship music, hymns and vocal technique. Breakout session topics include introducing and using multimedia in smaller churches, transitioning a church toward contemporary music, teaching hymns to children, growing and maintaining a full-time ministry and coping with job loss. Grammy Award-winning gospel singer Cynthia Clawson will present a concert at 7 p.m., July 21, in the Paul W. Powell Chapel at Truett Seminary. Cost for the conference is $315 per person. For more information, contact Melinda Coats, Alleluia Conference coordinator, at (254) 710-2360.

Conference focuses on reaching Boomers. “Beckoning the Boomers” is the theme of a leadership training conference Sept. 8-9 on the Baylor University campus in Waco. Eleven breakout sessions will focus on varied aspects of reaching and ministering to Baby Boomers. Amy Hanson, a writer and consultant from Omaha, Neb., will be the keynote speaker. Sponsors for the event include the Baylor School of Social Work, the Bible study/discipleship team from the Baptist General Convention of Texas, Collin Baptist Association and First Baptist Church in Allen. For more information, visit texasbaptists.org/events/beckoning-the-boomers/.

EL PASO—Journey of Faith Community Church in El Paso doesn’t have a building of its own, but that doesn’t stop church members from ministering each year to the families in their area through Vacation Bible School and sports camps.

Last year, 261 children participated in the combination VBS and sports camp. This year, the 106-degree heat and blustery winds lowered that number, but more than 200 children still attended, Pastor Herb Mims said.

Each day, workers arrived about 7 a.m. to set up tents in a park near the school where the church met for services. Since the activities took place in a public park instead of church property, the tents had to be set up and taken down daily.

Each morning kicked off with gathering the children for singing, like many other Vacation Bible schools. After the music, children chose their activity—basketball, soccer, flag football or volleyball. Typically, a child stayed with the same sport each day for the entire week.

Volunteers planned activities especially for preschool children during the sports activity portion of the morning.

“It takes a lot of volunteers from outside our church family,” Mims said. Many of the volunteers are teachers and coaches who are off from their paying jobs during the summer and volunteer to help the congregation of about 50, including its own children.

“This is a cooperative effort between us and the community,” he said.

This marked the seventh year the church has held a Vacation Bible School—all without having a church facility.

The first year, Mims and others distributed 6,000 flyers telling about the VBS that would be held at his home. Twelve children came.

Gayle Hogg, a retired pastor, teaches a Bible lesson to children at an outdoor Vacation Bible School and sports camp sponsored by Journey of Faith Community Church in El Paso. (PHOTOS/Courtesy of Herb Mims)

“We asked ourselves why the children didn’t come. We realized quickly that people don’t send their children to strangers’ homes,” Mims recalled.

The next year, in an effort to attract more children, the church added the sports camp and changed the venue to a public park.

The number of children tripled and  continued to grow until heat slightly withered the crowd this year, Mims noted.

Each year also seems to draw at least one family to the church as well, he said.

“We always baptize people as a result of this,” he added.

Participants make the connection between the weeklong sports camp and the church that sponsors it.

“The great thing is the park is so close to the school where we meet. We can point and say, ‘That’s where we meet,’” Mims said.

BELTON—Ministers should “go for the gold,” not settle for peanuts, Paul Powell told the annual conference for Texas Baptist bivocational and small-membership-church ministers and their families.

Powell, dean emeritus of Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary, spoke at the conference July 8-10 at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. He recalled a newspaper article from 1981 detailing a West Texas gold discovery—the “richest gold strike in America” at the time. Previously, the owner of the property had used the land to grow peanuts.

“It occurred to me that there are a lot of churches like that farmer,” Powell noted. “God has given to them and to us a golden opportunity, and in the midst of that golden opportunity, we are raising peanuts. We’re doing precious little considering the possibility of those fields.”

Powell encouraged conference participants to use the opportunities God has given them and work hard for his kingdom through evangelism, discipleship and missions. The fields are ripe with harvest, but the laborers are few.

“As a pastor, your mission—your goal—ought to be to get the maximum yield out of your field,” he said. “We never should be satisfied to raise peanuts. We need to go for the gold.”

To achieve that, Powell said, ministers must be committed to growth, open to change and willing to work hard. Without zeal to see non-Christians converted and willingness to put forth essential effort, the golden opportunity is lost.

“Let me remind you that there’s not only gold out there in that field, there is gold in you, … and you need to put it to use in the kingdom of God,” he said.

The conference featured plenary sessions—including four in Spanish—on topics ranging from biblical interpretation to issues pastors face. Funds from the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions helped sponsor the conference and a related student event held concurrently for ministers’ children.

The conference included a banquet celebrating 25 years for the Texas Baptist Bivocational and Smaller Membership Ministers and Spouses Association, an organization connecting more than 3,615 small-membership churches across the state.

Lisa Moser, a student at Truett Theological Seminary, received a $1,000 scholarship from the association to further her education in ministry.

In business, the conference elected its officers: president, Richard Ray, pastor of First Baptist Church in Wink; vice president, David Keith, pastor of Carlton Baptist Church in Carlton; second vice president, Charles Lavine, pastor of Terrace Acres Baptist Church in White Settlement; secretary, Rosalind Ray of Fairy Baptist Church in Fairy; and treasurer, Danny Rogers, pastor of Lebanon Baptist Church in Cleburne.

• Kim Bartel to Herty Church in Lufkin as pastor.

• Roye Blackmon to First Church in Glendale as pastor.

• Jimmy Bryan has been called as minister of missions and adults at First Church in Lewisville.

• Jason Burden to First Church in Nederland as pastor from Dorcas Wills Memorial Church in Trinity.

• Bob Dellinger has resigned as associate pastor of youth at Tabernacle Church in Ennis to start a church in the Austin area.

• Bobby Fortner to Northside Church in Plainview as pastor.

• Rex Harrell to Georgia Camp Church in Crockett as pastor.

• Hector Iracheta has resigned as pastor of Iglesia Nueva Vida in Pearsall.

• Kevin Landis has resigned as pastor of Celina Bible Church in Celina.

• Tim Lyles to Southland Church in San Angelo as minister of music from First Church in San Marcos.

• Joe Maresh to Sherwood Shores First Church in Gordonville as summer youth minister.

• James Moore to Fairview Church in Sherman as pastor.

• Waylan Owens to First Church in Wichita Falls as interim minister of education.

• Dwain Pollard to Carlisle Church in Trinity as pastor.

• Russ Ponder to First Church in Farwell as pastor from First Church in Hamlin, where he was student pastor.

• Jeremy Smith to First Church in Lipan as youth minister.

• Glenn Ward to Paluxy Association as director of missions from Acton Church in Granbury.

Correction: Our original posting incorrectly said Russ Ponder had resigned at First Church in Hamlin to become pastor at First Church in Farwell. He was student pastor in Hamlin, not pastor.

• The Heart of Texas Literature Center at Howard Payne University distributed 3,500 children’s books among the center’s sponsor organizations recently. The literature center reviews children’s books throughout the year in a quarterly journal and the Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database, used nationwide by librarians as a selection tool. At the distribution event, the books received from publishers were passed on to the center’s sponsors. HPU is one of only two universities in the United States that houses this type of children’s literature review center.

• Christy Gandy has been named director of global missions at Dallas Baptist University. She had been DBU’s assistant director of spiritual life. She is a member of Hillcrest Church in Cedar Hill.

• Ellen Fineout-Overholt has been named dean of the East Texas Baptist University department of nursing.

Anniversaries

• Craig Lloyd, fifth, as pastor of Southlake Church in Waxa-hachie, July 1.

• George Solis, 30th, as pastor of Primera Iglesia in Waxahachie, July 4.

• Keith McGee, 15th, as minister of music and worship at First Church in Denton, July 22.

• Greg Allen, fifth, as pastor of Kentuckytown Church in White-wright, Aug. 6.

• Stephen Wilhite, fifth, as minister of music of First Church in Howe, Aug. 6.

• Jerry Henry, 10th, as pastor of Sadler Church in Sadler, Aug. 12.

• Oak Grove Church in Burleson, 100th, Aug. 12-14. A dinner will be held at 6 p.m. Friday, along with children’s activities, singing and words from James Leo Garrett. A meal also will kick off the activities at noon on Saturday. The Cooks will lead a gospel sing-along, and Skip McNeal will speak. Sunday morning, Bruce Corley will preach, and Jimmy Nelson also will participate in the service, along with Rebekah Naylor and Bruce Troy. Steve Beckwith is pastor.

• First Church in Plains, 100th, Aug. 14. A breakfast will be held from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. A meal will follow the celebration service that morning. Patrick Hamilton is pastor.

• Wilshire Church in Dallas, 60th, Aug. 28. Copies of a book recounting the church’s history will be sold that day. Baptist historian Bill Leonard will preach. A reception will follow the evening service. A historical display featuring still images, video and audio will be available. A reunion of the sanctuary choir will be constituted for the morning service. A reunion of former youth choir members and orchestra members will perform in the evening service. George Mason is pastor.

Retiring

• Wayne Ford, as pastor of Allison Church in Allison, June 26. He served the church 32 years. During his 54 years of ministry, he also served as pastor of Shiloh Church near Richland Springs, Patillo Church in Lipan and Cross Cut Church in Callahan County. He served as interim pastor at Rocky Creek Church in Brownwood, First Church in Lipan, Huckabay Church in Stephenville and Morgan Mill Church in Morgan Mill.

Death

• Moveta McLaughlin, 84, June 29 in Garland. A graduate of Hardin-Simmons University, she was a teacher and counselor in Dallas 30 years. She and her husband, John, conducted marriage enrichment retreats many years. He was employed by the Baptist General Convention of Texas as an ethnic work consultant in the church training division. She taught Sunday school more than 30 years at First Church in Rockwall, but most recently was a member of Wilshire Church in Dallas. She is survived by her husband of 64 years; sons, Weldon and Travis; daughter, Kellye Magee-Brim; brother, Bill Wallace; 11 grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren.

Event

• First Church in Paducah held a retirement reception  June 26 to honor Ilene Robertson for playing the church’s piano and organ more than 80 years.

LUBBOCK—Every person will face storms in life—financial, spiritual, relational or personal. Navigating tough times requires faith in the proper Captain, preachers said during the annual meeting of the African-American Fellowship of Texas in Lubbock

When the storms of life inevitably arise, Christians must cling to the assurance of Christ's abiding presence, said fellowship President Michael Bell, pastor of Greater St. Stephen First Baptist Church in Fort Worth and incumbent president of the African-American Fellowship of Texas. (PHOTO/Grace Gaddy /Communications Intern)

When storms arose as the disciples and Jesus were on the Sea of Galilee, the disciples became fearful, said Eddie Jenkins, pastor of New Hope Baptist Church in Michigan City, Ind. They forgot who they were with and the power God has over the world.

Individuals today—even Christians—often do the same, Jenkins said. When trials strike, they forget who has the strength to pull them through. They panic and worry instead of relying on the power and guidance of God.

“If you’re with Jesus, know the one you’re with,” Jenkins said. “Know the one who can quiet the storm.”

In times of trial, Christians must cling to the assurance Christ always is with them no matter how difficult their journey is, said fellowship President Michael Bell, pastor of Greater St. Stephen First Baptist Church in Fort Worth. When the disciples became alarmed, Christ calmed the storm and brought them to safety on the other side of the sea.

“Jesus doesn’t send them across the lake,” Bell said. “He says, ‘Let us cross to the other side.’”

Relying on Christ doesn’t mean Christians will avoid all life’s storms, preachers noted. Individuals may encounter financial struggles, difficulties with family members or hardships with other people.

“None of us will live without encountering a storm,” Bell said. “The sooner we realize that, the better off we are.”

Officers elected at the African-American Fellowship of Texas meeting in Lubbock are: (left to right) Vice President Oscar Epps, pastor of Community Missionary Baptist Church in DeSoto; Assistant Secretary Gleen Samuels, pastor of New Millenium Baptist Church in Lubbock; President Michael Evans, pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Mansfield; Secretary Ponce Brown, pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in El Paso; and Treasurer Marvin Delaney, pastor of South Park Baptist Church in Houston. (PHOTO/Grace Gaddy/Communications Intern)

Storms may be part of how God shapes and develops a Christian, Jenkins said. They are teaching opportunities and chances for people to rely heavily on God and see him work. Going through that process may not be easy, but it’s what may be needed for growth.

“Most people are under the impression that once they give their hand to the preacher, their work is over,” Jenkins said. “I disagree. You’re work has just begun.”

To make it through the trials, people must abandon empty promises made to God, leave behind all excuses and see the shortfalls of limited faith—all mistakes the disciples made, said Reginald DeVaughn, pastor of Silverlake Church in Pearland. If people completely embrace the fullness of Christ, they will discover fullness in life.

“When you give your life to him, he will turn your life around and make it something beautiful,” DeVaughn said.

In business, the fellowship elected new officers: President Michael Evans, pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Mansfield; Vice President Oscar Epps, pastor of Community Missionary Baptist Church in DeSoto; Secretary Ponce Brown, pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in El Paso; Assistant Secretary Gleen Samuels, pastor of New Millenium Baptist Church in Lubbock; and Treasurer Marvin Delaney, pastor of South Park Baptist Church in Houston.

LUBBOCK—Church leaders need to take spiritual inventory of both their lives and leadership styles in order to grow and be most effective, speakers emphasized during plenary sessions of African-American Fellowship annual meeting in Lubbock.

Michael Evans, who was elected president of the fellowship and serves as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Mansfield, led a workshop examining church leadership against a backdrop of changing times and cultural transition.

“There’s a challenge to traditional leadership models,” Evans noted. “The question becomes: ‘Can you do it like you used to? Or can you do it like your father did?”

Statistics show marked changes and great diversity in the socio-economic and demographic composition of the African-American population, he pointed out. These factors contribute to unexplored church and community needs, which in turn affect—and demand—greater leadership responsibilities.

“What are the needs where you are? They will be different,” he said.

Evans encouraged ministers to engage the culture and close generational gaps. For example, some may use social media or sponsor a neighborhood block party to draw members of the younger generation into the church. Others may discover a need to sponsor foreign language classes to reach an ethnically diverse neighborhood.

The most important thing is to be obedient to whatever vision God bequeaths, even if it means having to “re-tradition tradition,” Evans said.

He offered the example of a fellow minister who started preaching on a secular hip-hop radio station.

“Where do you go when you’re fishing?” he asked. “You go where the fish are.”

But churches should first determine a set of biblically based “non-negotiables” before embarking on a new mission or ministry, he added.

“Make clear your mission, vision and values,” he said.

Evans also noted a sizeable benefit that comes from partnering with other churches. Increased exposure leads to greater support and collaboration—and a greater impact as the body of Christ. The goal, he emphasized, is to bring the most people into the kingdom of God as possible.