Executive Board nominating committee meeting set. The committee to nominate Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board directors will meet at 10 a.m. Aug. 14 at the Baptist Building, 333 N. Washington in Dallas. Chairperson Linda Mastin from First Baptist Church in Corpus Christi will preside.

El Paso church flooded. Heavy rain in El Paso flooded Mission El Christiana Sembrado. Up to four feet of water filled the sanctuary of the church. This is the second time the sanctuary has flooded since 2006. The church sustained as much as $5,000 in damages. More than 40 members volunteered to help clean the facility. The congregation did not have insurance and will need to replace many of the ruined items, including carpet and band equipment.

Texas Baptist All-State heading for Europe. The Texas Baptist All-State Choir and Band will perform and participate in the Baptist World Alliance Youth Conference, July 30-Aug. 3 in Leipzig, Germany. The choir and band also will perform in four other locations in Germany, including as part of an outdoor evangelistic outreach. The Texas Baptist All-State Choir and Band includes 89 students from 58 churches. An additional 35 people from 21 congregations are assisting the group in various ways. Steve Holcomb, Dallas Baptist University professor of music, will direct the choir. Corey Ash, Howard Payne University assistant professor of music and director of bands, will serve as band director. Jay Smith, assistant professor of Christian studies at Howard Payne, will be the pastor. Phil Moore, minister of music and media for Northside Baptist Church in Corsicana, is the worship leader. To follow the choir and band on its trip to Germany, visit texasbaptists.wordpress.com starting July 28.

Baylor ranked in top 50 hospitals nationally. For the 16th consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report has designated Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas among the nation’s top 50 hospitals in its 2008 America’s Best Hospitals issue. Baylor Dallas is ranked among the nation’s top 50 hospitals in five of 16 specialty areas: endocrinology (32nd); gynecology (35th); kidney disease (30th); orthopedics (33rd); and respiratory disorders (35th). Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation (Baylor Rehab) is ranked 13th among the nation’s top rehabilitation facilities. Baylor Rehab is a 92-bed, not-for-profit hospital located adjacent to Baylor Dallas that specializes in comprehensive rehabilitation services, including traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, strokes and other orthopedic and neurological disorders.

Valley Baptist-Harlingen names new CEO. Daniel McLean has been named senior vice president and chief executive officer at Valley Baptist Medical Center-Harlingen, effective Aug. 18.  McLean, who has 29 years senior management experience, succeeds Jim Wesson, who will leave Valley Baptist at the end of July to begin a new position as vice president and administrator of Christus Santa Rosa Hospital-New Braunfels. McLean has been CEO of Harlingen Medical Center. Previously, he served South Texas Health System and McAllen Medical Center.

• Dan Brunson to First Church in Lolita as youth/education minister.

• Mark Bumpus to First Church in San Angelo as pastor from First Church in Mineral Wells.

• Austin Daniel to First Church in Clifton as music minister from First Church in Rosebud.

• Wes Edwards has resigned as pastor of First Church in Ovilla.

• Tyler Freeze has resigned as student minister at First Church in Gunter.

• Lowell Howard to Choctaw Creek Church in Bells as pastor.

• Jose Martinez to Mision Asherton in Asherton as pastor.

• Dwight Reagan to First Church in Elgin as interim pastor.

• Wes Robertson to First Church in Howe as youth pastor.

• Jason Thurston to First Church in Sherman as youth minister.

Panhandle pastor David Lowrie, who garnered 48 percent of the votes cast for president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas last year, will be nominated again at the 2008 annual meeting in Fort Worth.

Bruce Webb, pastor of First Baptist Church of The Woodlands, announced his intention to nominate Lowrie, pastor of First Baptist Church in Canyon.

David Lowrie

That follows the announcement last month by veteran seminary professor Bill Tolar, who said he plans to nominate Stephen Hatfield, pastor of First Baptist Church in Lewisville, for president.

For the first time in more than two decades, the presidential race apparently will not be influenced by Texas Baptists Committed—a political group created to protect Texas from fundamentalists who gained control of the Southern Baptist Convention.

The organization endorsed every winning BGCT presidential candidate for more than 20 years, including Joy Fenner, who outpolled Lowrie by just 60 votes last year and who has said she will not seek a second term. But Texas Baptists Committed Executive Director David Currie indicated his organization does not plan to endorse a candidate this year.

Webb stressed his decision to nominate Lowrie is not in opposition “to any candidate or group within Baptist life.”

“I am nominating David because he is a sincere Christian, a great pastor and a courageous Baptist statesman,” Webb said. “History has shown David is—and has been—a strong supporter of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

Reach beyond labels 

“I believe if elected he will reach beyond the labels that so often unnecessarily divide us, and he will inspire those of us who love our great convention to fix our eyes on Jesus and reach the lost world for Christ.

“I have long believed and often told others we need our leaders to be strong and committed supporters of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, but we also need our leaders to have the courage to think independently rather than always toe the party line. David has unquestionably demonstrated both qualities.”

If elected, Lowrie said, he wants to support Executive Director Randel Everett and the Texas Hope 2010 emphasis—an initiative to give every Texan the opportunity to respond to the gospel by Easter Sunday 2010 and to ensure basic human needs in the state are met.

“It’s a bold vision that challenges us to take seriously our responsibility to share the gospel with every person in Texas,” he said.

Spreading the gospel in Canyon 

First Baptist Church is working on a strategic plan to “knock on every door in Canyon and the surrounding area” to offer a Christian witness in response to that challenge, he noted.

“When we keep the Great Commission before us and are focused on that vision, then we (as Texas Baptists) will not be consumed with the things that divide us,” Lowrie said.

“At the same time, we must be involved in meeting human needs. We know with gas at $4 a gallon, things are getting harder and harder for people. We need to find ways to meet the needs of people in our state if we are going to be the presence of Christ in Texas. That is unquestionably the calling God has given us.”

Although he serves a rural West Texas community, Lowrie stressed the needs of urban areas in Texas.

Impacting the cities 

“A key issue for the BGCT is how are we going to make a meaningful impact on our cities in Texas, particularly the inner cities,” he said.

Last year, First Baptist in Canyon worked with several Amarillo congregations to sponsor Camp Discovery—a Christian camp for low-income children offered at High Plains Baptist Conference Center. The camp involved 70 children who speak seven languages, he noted.

Lowrie emphasized his desire to see the BGCT accentuate “the good things that are happening” in Texas Baptist life, continue to start new congregations and reach out to churches that have disengaged from BGCT life to varying degrees.

“We need to build bridges. Some of our churches are not as engaged as we need them to be. I believe we can get churches and their leaders back involved,” he said.

“We’ve had a rough ride the last several years. We need to encourage churches to step up and be more involved, including financially. … As we recast the vision and regain the sense of trust, I believe we can get them back on board.”

Potential to unify 

Webb emphasized his belief Lowrie could unify the BGCT.

“I believe David would bring instant credibility to the BGCT. He is a person clearly committed to Jesus Christ, the authority of Scripture, personal evangelism and the Baptist principles I—along with most Texas Baptists—hold dear.  Most of all, I believe his election as president would signal to all of our churches there is a place for them in the BGCT,” Webb said.

“In the midst of the convention controversy, too many of us began to focus more on what we were not than what we were. David did not allow himself to do that. He is clearly one of us, but he has stayed positive. He has been running the race for Jesus Christ while others have been under the stands fighting.  He has his own scars from the controversy, but rather than nurse them, he has chosen to run the race. 

“Randel Everett is trying to lead the BGCT to focus positively on reaching our state with the hope of Christ by 2010. It is what we should be talking about and working toward, and I believe David’s election as president will help Randel and our convention in this endeavor.”

Responding to a loss

Webb first considered nominating Lowrie after seeing how he handled his narrow defeat at the 2007 BGCT annual meeting in Amarillo.

“I think you often learn more about a person when they lose than when they win. David consistently demonstrated the fruit of the Spirit in the loss,” Webb said. 

“He was gracious in his support of Joy. He didn’t take his ball and go home. He encouraged those who voted for him to support the BGCT, even though he didn’t win. He personally never wavered in his support of our convention. It is the way all of us should be, but sadly it is rarely the case—even among ministers. 

“When I watched David’s reaction to the loss, that is when I was sold on his being the kind of winner we need as president of the BGCT.  David is the real deal.”

If elected, he would become the first second-generation BGCT president. His father, D.L. Lowrie, long-time pastor of First Baptist Church in Lubbock, was president of the state convention in 1982-1983.

Lowrie has been pastor of five Baptist churches since he entered the ministry in 1982—First Baptist of Canyon in West Texas, First Baptist of Mabank in East Texas, Timbercreek Baptist in Flower Mound, First Baptist in Roanoke and Northwest Baptist in Milwaukee, Wisc.

In 2007, First Baptist Church in Canyon had 1,442 resident members, averaged 713 participants in Sunday morning worship and baptized 18 new Christians.

It had $2,205,031 in total receipts, $1,638,216 in undesignated receipts, $351,341 in total missions expenditures and $174,450 in Cooperative Program allocations.

Lowrie is a graduate of Baylor University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and he earned his doctorate from Bethel University.

He is a member of the Howard Payne University board of trustees and the BGCT Future Focus Committee. He was president of the Panhandle/Plains Pastors’ and Laymen’s Conference in 2006. He was second vice president of the Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Con-vention and has been involved in various Baptist associational and civic activities.

He and his wife, Robyn, are the parents of four children—Kalie, Lorin, Jamie and Madison.

• Dallas Baptist University will hold its second annual childhood ministry summit Aug. 15-16. Michael Lindsay, a noted sociologist, author and professor at Rice University, will be the keynote speaker. The two-day event, co-hosted by DBU and the Baptist General Convention of Texas, seeks to meet the training needs of directors and teachers of a wide variety of preschool and children’s ministries. For more information, call (214) 828-5205.

• Robert and Kerri Hamilton of Anna were among the 72 missionaries recently appointed by the International Mission Board. He has been pastor of Pin Oaks Christian Fellowship in Anna since 2002. He previously was associate student minister at First Church in Denton, youth pastor at Fairway Church in Wichita Falls, director of student ministries at Aldersgate Church in Lubbock, and pastor of First Church in Anna. They will serve as apprentice missionaries in South America. They have four children—Katherine, 7, Joseph, 6, Eliza-beth, 4 and Samuel, 2.

• Several members of Howard Payne University’s faculty and staff have received service pins in recognition of their years of service. Art Allen, professor and assistant dean of Christian studies, and Rex Franks, assistant director of facilities and planning, were honored for 25 years with the university. Receiving awards for 15 years of service were Donnie Auven-shine, professor and dean, Christian studies; Eydie Hen-derson, administrative assistant, Christian studies; Charles Patillo, head men’s basketball coach; Jesus Romero, professor, modern languages; and Joe Weatherby, Sandefer scholar-in-residence. Ten-year honorees were Ray Bertrand, Kim Bryant, Karen Dempsey, Kathy Hagood, Scott Owen, Diann Prickett and Julie Welker. Eight faculty and staff members were recognized for five years of service.

• Donna Harrell-Lubcker has been named dean of the School of Education at East Texas Baptist University. She has taught at the university since 1998.

Anniversaries

• Mount Nebo Church, Victoria, 100th, June 8. Fred Hobbs is pastor.

• Bob Joyce, fifth, as pastor of Shady Shores Church in Shady Shores, June 29. He also celebrated 20 years in ministry.

• Tommy Stogner, fifth, as pastor of Oakville Church in Oakville, July 1.

• First Church in Belton, 155th, July 27. A vignette about the church’s burning in 1947 will be performed July 20. Historical panels from each church decade will be shown throughout the month and highlighted on the anniversary date. The anniversary will be celebrated in both the 9 a.m. and 10:25 a.m. services July 27 as well as after the 6 p.m. service. Copies of The History of First Baptist, Belton, by J.A. Reynolds will be on sale. An update on the church’s last five years will be available for books previously purchased. A First Baptist historical plate will be provided with each book purchase. For more information, call (254) 939-3995. Andy Davis is pastor.

• Shady Grove Church in Greenville, 120th, Aug. 29-31. On Friday night, Michael Bridges will be in concert. Royce Litchfield will be guest speaker Saturday, and Psalms 100 will lead the music. Sunday morning, Gene Witt will preach, and Sunday night, Benny Chaffin will be the preacher. James Ralson is pastor.

Deaths

• John Allen Sr., 92, June 23 in Grand Prairie. A Texas pastor, he served New Providence Church in Coppell, First Church in Bastrop, First Church in Hondo, Parkdale Church in Lubbock, and he was pastor of Indian Hills Church in Grand Prairie 24 years before his retirement in 1978. He was preceded in death by five brothers. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Charity; sons, John Jr. and Sam; sister, Fannie King, three grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.

• Allen Stickney, July 6 in Dallas. He and his wife, Alice, were International Mission Board missionaries in Kenya more than 30 years. He founded African Christian Outreach Discipleship Minis-tries as a way to support ongoing student ministry in Africa and businessmen’s ministry in the United States. He also was pastor of two Georgia churches and was associate pastor in Arkansas and at Park Cities Church in Dallas. He was a graduate of Baylor University and Southwestern Seminary. He is survived by his wife; son, Thomas; daughter, Aprile Hyder; and five grandchildren.

Events

• First Church in Belton honored Margaret Scott and Susan Montgomery for 30 years of service as pianist and organist July 13.

• Creekside Church in Richardson will celebrate 43 years of service to the community at 11 a.m. July 27. As a part of its ministry, it is home to Creekside Vietnamese Church and plans to begin a preschool co-op. Stephen Bryan is pastor.

Ordained

• John Cox as a deacon at Bethel Church in Eastland.

Revivals

• Elm Grove Church, Fayette County; July 27-29; evangelist, Eric Vaughan; music, The Believers; pastor, William Hunnicutt.

• Grace Fellowship, Sulphur Springs; July 27-30; evangelist, Billy Foote; music, Winky Foote; pastor, Jim Moore.

• Mount Calvary Church, Marysee; July 27-30; evangelist, Paul Cherry; music, The Cherry Family; pastor, Carlton Bailey.

DALLAS–A Christian leader from Myanmar (Burma) told a missions conference in Dallas July 11 that despite the sobering reality of disaster, poverty and oppression,  the gospel of Jesus Christ is changing people's lives in his country.

The "Renewing Your Passion" conference sponsored by Gospel for Asia drew more than 1,000 people from around the world who support the work of GFA's 16,500 native missionaries in 11 South Asian countries.  The organization, based in Carrollton, worked closely with Texas Baptist Men distributing aid in Sri Lanka after the deadly tsunami in 2004.

A group of Texas Baptist Men met with Sri Lankan leaders attending the conference, and heard how well-cleaning equipment TBM left there is still being used by the GFA teams they trained.

The GFA mission leader from Myanmar, who cannot be named for security reasons, said  the cyclone that slammed into the country in May only exacerbated an already tragic situation. The country has been under military rule since 1962.

“Once my country was known as the paradise of South Asia. But today it is full of problems and suffering,” he said.

Even before the cyclone struck, there were more than 150,000 in refugee camps at the border of Myanmar and China. Grinding poverty has dropped the average life expectancy to just 56 years. In neighboring Thailand, the life expectancy is 71 years.

The cyclone took an estimated 350,000 lives. More than 100,000 are still missing.

More than 1.6 million homes were destroyed and 1.3 million acres of fertile crop land were damaged as the cyclone swept across an area known as “the rice bowl of Myanmar.”

“In some affected areas, the dead are more than the living,” the leader noted.

There was no way to bury the vast number of dead, so their corpses still litter the waterways and landscape, he said.

After the cyclone struck, a Texas Baptist Men disaster relief team went to Thailand with hopes of entering Myanmar to help, but only a trickle of aid was allowed into the country. Although a Baptist World Alliance aid group was able to enter to assess needs, the TBM group opted to train Burmese Christians in Thailand instead when they found entry blocked.

Getting aid into Myanmar

Gospel for Asia teams, however, were able to get emergency food and supplies into Myanmar after the cyclone. The missionary leader himself was on the crew of volunteers who helped serve food to survivors who took refuge at the GFA Bible College in Yangon (Rangoon). He and every other missionary who served with him were "letting their lives preach the sermons" during those days, he said.

The people in the majority Buddhist country were stunned at this Christian response, he said. Two families who went without food for seven days after the storm articulated their thoughts about Jesus to the missionaries who brought them aid.

“'Buddha did nothing while we were suffering. But your Jesus loves us,'” the missionary reported. “Now every Sunday they are coming to church and worshipping the Lord.”

“In the midst of suffering, poverty and difficulty, the Lord is doing great things in Myanmar," he said.  "Missionaries are bringing the Good News, and because of their faithfulness, there are 482 of our churches in Myanmar.”
 
Opportunities in Nepal

Another speaker, Narayan Sharma, Gospel for Asia’s Nepal country leader, told how recent radical changes in his country have opened  new opportunities for the gospel.

Fifty years ago, he said, Nepal was the world’s only official Hindu kingdom. Nepal’s king was considered to be a god. Anyone who dared preach the gospel in the country was reviled and accused of promoting a foreign religion.

Radio stations regularly carried reports of Christians being arrested and imprisoned for their faith. Sharma recounted a time when he himself was arrested and put into a dungeon-like prison cell because he was sharing the gospel.

“In all this darkness, there was no imagination that the country would ever be open,” Sharma said.

Then things began to radically change. A few months ago, the people voted in a new legislative assembly, and only weeks ago the king stepped down from the throne. The newly elected officials have promised to allow freedom of religion. And now Christian programs are aired over the same government-owned radio stations that used to carry reports of believers being arrested.

“The Bible says that after the night, joy comes in the morning, and morning has come to Nepal!" Sharma told the crowd.

DALLAS—Eric Virrueta leaned down and stroked his mother’s head to wake her, but as his little hand went through her hair, he was left with a fist full of it.

“My son didn’t understand what was happening to me,” Consuelo Virrueta said. “He would ask me, ‘Are you going to die?’ I’d say, ‘No, I’m not going to die, because God wants me here with you.’”

Virrueta attends the Mothers of Preschoolers program at the Buckner Vickery Wellness Center , a ministry designed to help mothers of young children through relationships established in local groups.

Sindy Smith and Consuelo Virrueta don’t let a language barrier get in the way of their friendship. Smith drives Virrueta to see her doctor when she doesn't have a ride. (Photos by Analiz Gonzalez/Buckner)

When she learned she had cancer, Virrueta said she was sure she would die. But her greatest worries centered on her children, Daniela, 3, and Eric, 10.

“Daniela would kiss my cheeks when my hair fell out,” she said. “And it would encourage me. But my children are so young.”

Virrueta was diagnosed with breast cancer in November 2006 at age 33. MOPS members at Vickery began praying for her as soon as she received the troubling diagnosis.

Viurueta said her sickness helped draw her nearer to her family and especially to God.

“Sometimes I’d say, ‘God, if I have to die, let me die, but let me always be close to You,’” she said. “We need to put ourselves in God’s hands and let Him do His work.”

Sindy Smith, a member Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas, started driving Virrueta to doctors’ appointments when she lacked a ride and has provided babysitting for Daniela when Virrueta underwent treatment.

Smith is one of several women from Park Cities who is involved in MOPS at Vickery.

“I’d pick her up from treatment, and she would fall asleep on the ride back,” Smith said. “Sometimes, I’d have to carpool for the kids, and she would still sleep through everything. She was that tired.”

Consuelo Virrueta and her daughter, Daniela, take a picture during the monthly Mother of Preschoolers Program at Buckner Vickery Wellness Center in Dallas. Virrueta's hair has grown back since she stopped her chemotherapy treatments.

Park Cities MOPS members often brought Virrueta dinner so she wouldn’t have to cook, but she insists that the emotional support she received from them was the biggest blessing.

“Her illness helped the ladies bond by coming together to support and encourage her,” said Maria Pacheco, coordinator of the Vickery Family Wellness Center. “Some of the women helped her with her children and with daily chores. The women dropped their pretenses and were real with one another.”

“From the very first meeting all the women, including MOPS volunteers, were very open. And this created a very real connection between the women,” Pacheco said. “Many people in this community are isolated, and this group was a way of bringing them together.

“I have seen (Virrueta) change a lot in the last year,” she added. “And I believe God is raising leaders within the community to help change that community.”

At a recent MOPS meeting, Virrueta shared her testimony and smiled when the MOPS members complimented her head full of curly, black hair. She is no longer undergoing chemotherapy and now just goes for regular checkups.

“It’s my relationship with God that kept me going,” she said. “Without him, I am nothing. The peace that he gave me couldn’t come from anywhere else.

“And I am so grateful for the MOPS ladies. They are a part of my family. God put angels in my path.”

TYLER—For developmentally challenged adults, hanging out a “gone fishing” sign isn’t always easy, even when a pond outside their door has been stocked with perch and catfish. The pier needs safety rails, the slope of the bank needs to be gentle and the water needs to be fenced off.

But because a Baptist layman noticed a need he could meet and a men’s Sunday school class from another Baptist church pitched in, Breckenridge Village of Tyler residents can now enjoy a pastime many people for granted.

Breckenridge Village, a ministry of Baptist Child and Family Services, is a residential community in Tyler for adults with mild to moderate cognitive/developmental disorders.

Due to the generosity of community volunteers, residents now are able to fish in a fully stocked pond, surrounded by a safety fence, as well as relax near the pond in a covered rest area.

Linda Taylor, director of development for Breckenridge, said the project began after a visit from Charles Powell who wanted to stock a pond on the community grounds.

Powell, a member of Colonial Hills Baptist Church in Tyler, said the project grew out of a conversation with a Breckenridge resident at a Christmas banquet. The resident told Powell how much enjoyed fishing at a summer camp, but he said he couldn’t fish at Breckenridge.

“We went around asking residents what they would like to have, and several said they really like fishing. So, that’s what motivated me to get a pond stocked,” he said.

Powell provided Breckenridge with catfish, perch and minnows to get the pond started.

“He bought the fish himself,” Taylor said. “He has such a heart for Breckenridge.”

After a pond was stocked, volunteers from Sammy Rhodes’s Sunday school class at Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler decided to take the project a step further.

“We found out a pond was stocked, and we knew there was no way our residents could fish safely,” said Arthur Kennedy, a member of the class and the parent of a Breckenridge resident. “So, we came up with the idea to put a fence around it for the kids, so the kids could fish over it.”

The class, consisting mostly of retirees, built the fence as well as a covered rest area for residents to enjoy.

“We wanted them to be safe and enjoy the same sport Jesus did—fishing,” Kennedy said.

Another Breckenridge parent, Rex Schroeder, provided fishing poles.

“This is the first time we’ve been able to fish right here without having to go somewhere else,” said Taylor.

Breckenridge plans to schedule a fish-fry later this summer for their residents and to celebrate the fully equipped fishing pond, she added.

“It’s always been a resource,” Taylor said. “We just needed people to come in and help.”

DEL RIO—Students at Del Rio Middle School are learning the importance of making wise decisions about abstaining from drugs, alcohol and premarital sex, thanks to the Baptist Child & Family Services Right Choices for Life program.

Nineteen students in grades 7 and 8 are taking their commitment to abstinence to a new level by raising funds to attend the annual National Abstinence Clearinghouse Association conference in Orlando, Fla., July 21-27.

“I want to participate in the conference to meet other students who have the same goals as me and will encourage me to stay away from drugs and alcohol,” Jazmin Blancarte said.

At the conference, the youth will have the opportunity to meet students across the nation making the same commitment to abstinence.

Program organizers see it as a great opportunity for the students to establish themselves as leaders in positive decision-making as they enter the 9th grade, where no program exists currently.

“We only have a short window of time to influence these students,” said program director Aliyah McKinney. “This conference is a great opportunity to give them vision and goals for the future.”

For many of the youth raising funds to attend the conference, it will be their first time on an airplane— or even outside of Del Rio.

“I’m looking forward to meeting other people in Orlando who also want the best out of life,” Valeria Rivera said.

Raising money to attend 

Students have been working to raise enough money to attend the conference by washing cars, sponsoring a bake sale and writing request letters to local businesses.

The fundraising provides an opportunity for the youth to practice community service and for the Del Rio community to support for the students as they commit to abstinence.

“I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to help us raise money for the trip,” said Luis R. Banuelous. “Right Choices for Life has made a huge impact on me and taught my friends and me how to hold each other accountable.”

Right Choices for Life, offered at Del Rio Middle School for 12 weeks every semester, encourages students to practice abstinence from at-risk behavior including drug and alcohol abuse and premarital sex.

As part of the program, Baptist Child & Family Services also offers monthly family fun activities as a venue for the students to make healthy decisions, while offering parents and teachers training to help promote abstinence.

With the help of the Del Rio community, 90 percent of the students in grades 7 and 8 participated in the program this past school year.

“Our goal is to teach these students integrity through abstaining from at-risk activities in order to keep our youth and community safe,” McKinney explained.

WACO—Veteran Baylor University professor and administrator Randall O’Brien has been named as the 22nd president of Carson-Newman College, a Baptist school in Jefferson City, Tenn.

O’Brien has served at Baylor 17 years, including the last three as executive vice president and provost, posts he will leave effective Aug. 1. He will assume a transitional role at the Tennessee college in August and formally begin his service as president Jan. 1, 2009.

In his capacity as Baylor’s chief academic officer, O’Brien has worked closely with Baylor President John Lilley.
 
“Randall has served Baylor admirably in a variety of positions over a period of nearly two decades,” Lilley said.

“I have deeply appreciated the important role he has played as executive vice president and provost, overseeing our academic programs and helping to lead the university as we’ve confronted a variety of opportunities and challenges. Baylor has benefited enormously from Randall’s talent and dedication over a number of years, and the university has prospered as a result of his efforts.”

Lilley is consulting with officers of the board of regents, his executive council, the dean’s council and the executive committee of the Baylor Faculty Senate regarding an interim appointment to succeed O’Brien. He is expected to make an announcement within the week, according to a Baylor University news release.

Lilley also will be name a search committee to help with the selection of a new executive vice president and provost, and he will launch a national search immediately.

A popular choice of students, O’Brien’s courses often were oversubscribed, and students have honored him with numerous teaching awards. He also has written four books and more than 70 scholarly articles.

He also has filled the pulpit in many Texas Baptist churches, and he currently serves as interim pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio.
 
“Baylor University has been good to us,” O’Brien said. “For 17 wonderful years, Baylor has been home. Our children have grown up here. We have loved Baylor and Baylor has loved us. We have been a part of each other—family you might say, and in a very real sense we always will be.
 
“Furthermore, Texas has been home. We have served 15 Texas Baptist churches as interim pastor. Some of our dearest friends are in those churches and in the Baylor family.”

O’Brien expressed appreciation to the administrators and colleagues with whom he served at Baylor, and he pointed to the move to Carson-Newman as the next step in God’s calling on his life.

“The only thing harder than saying goodbye to family and friends is saying ‘no’ to God, a sure recipe for misery,” he said. “Thirty-two years ago, as Kay and I stood at our marriage altar, we clearly understood ours to be an ‘Abrahamic Call,’ wherein like Abraham and Sarah in Scripture, we were called to serve God wherever that call might lead us. Over these 32 years … we have followed God’s leading to six cities in five states, for service in missions, in churches and in universities. The journey has been rich, deeply fulfilling and meaningful.
 
“Someone has said that God’s other name is ‘Surprise!’ Well, God has, indeed, surprised us once again, this time with a call to become the 22nd president of Carson-Newman College. … We have prayerfully accepted God’s call upon our lives and Carson-Newman’s call to become president of the college.”

SNYDER—Toting a gun in one hand and a Bible in the other, a group of men gather on a ranch right outside of town. The pistol-packing group meets for fellowship and spiritual growth—with a little target practice in between.

The men, part of the small group initiative at Colonial Hill Baptist Church of Snyder, meets every other week to practice their gun-handling skills, participate in competitive team-shooting, fellowship with Christians, be challenged by Scripture and eat freshly baked cobbler.

“One of the things we wanted to do is to have a place where men can come and build relationships with other men,” said Clay Giddens, minister of education at Colonial Hill Baptist Church.

Mike Post shoots into “the box”—where paper targets are hung and metal targets are mounted. Post, a welder, made the target- shooting box for the small-group ministry of Colonial Hill Baptist Church in Snyder.

When Giddens introduced the small-group initiative to the church a year ago, he looked for natural connections to form groups focused on encouragement and spiritual growth. Since then, the church started five small groups.

“When I came here in August 2007, I met Mac and Barbara Ashby, a deacon and his wife, at the church who were involved in competitive pistol shooting,” Giddens said. “He invited me to come out and shoot at his homemade gun range. Others began to join us, and we incorporated that small-group concept to our shooting group.”

Mac Ashby presents gun-safety tips to a small-group Bible study sponsored by Colonial Hill Baptist Church in Snyder.

The group began meeting in March. It draws about 15 men of all ages, including some church staff, a former pastor, a retired Texas Ranger and college students working in the area. Most of the men have been members of the church for years but desire deeper fellowship. They also use this group as an outreach to other men in the community.

“There are people from other churches and our church,” said Mac Ashby, group member and owner of the shooting range. “We invited people who we think might be interested. We show them a good time. … It opens up the opportunity for building relationships outside of the conventional church environment.”

After the group spends an hour or two in target practice and competitive shooting, the men sit down to talk about life and their walk with God. During the last 13 weeks, the men took turns leading discussions and lessons on relationships.

The casual atmosphere allows men to be themselves, showing their personalities while deepening their relationships with each other.

“Normally the environment is such that they open up pretty quickly,” Ashby said. “There is a lot of good-natured harassment.”

After taking part in the group, the men have something interesting to discuss when they see each other in town or at church or at work, Ashby said.

Since the men meet on Tuesday nights, it allows church staff and leaders who are typically serving in other capacities on Sundays to participate.

Ernie Armstrong, a district judge and chairman of the deacons at Colonial Hill Baptist Church in Snyder, demonstrates his target- shooting ability during a small-group meeting at a ranch on the outskirts of town.

The group “helps me have contact with other folks,” said John Billings, a small-group member. “Since I am a Sunday school director, I haven’t been apart of a class in years because I have to do the paperwork.”

Since the beginning of the small-group initiative, Giddens has encouraged church members to discover the activities they enjoy. Then he said to use them to start a discipleship group.

“Any outreach and discipleship tool is trickle-down enthusiasm,” Giddens said. “I’ve really been excited about Mac’s excitement—the fact that he can take something he enjoys and use it to grow the kingdom.”

SAN MARCOS—The sign in front of Redwood Baptist Church’s tiny building reads, “Jesus, a Savior for all people.”

Sunday mornings at the church prove that vision a reality. Addicts, ex-convicts, the homeless and the hungry gather to worship God as Pastor Jim Lanning and his co-pastors Robert Rodriguez and Michael Johnson share duties to make Redwood Baptist Church welcoming to anyone with physical or spiritual needs.

“Boy, we really bear down on that ‘all,’” Lanning said of the church’s vision statement.

Redwood Baptist Church leaders consistently promote multicultural ministry, and the church’s diverse congregation testifies to those efforts. Combined, the Hispanics, African- Americans, and people with special needs at Redwood Baptist Church equal the number of Anglos in the congregation, which is a healthy proportion, Lanning noted.

Rodriguez translates sermons into Spanish to make them accessible to the Hispanic congregation.

The church’s diversity is a result of active outreach, Lanning said.

“Church growth and church planters won’t succeed with homogeneous groups,” he said.

Ethnic diversity “has to be intentional.”

At a Redwood Baptist Church service, “no one watches the clock; no one’s worried about what time they get home,” Lanning said. Members announce birthdays and various anniversaries—often of “clean” periods from drugs or alcohol—during the first part of the service, and they celebrate together with a song.

Later in the service, open “journey time” gives people a chance to share their testimonies with the rest of the congregation. Lanning wanders the center aisle with a wireless microphone, inviting church members to tell their stories and recent victories.

Christian and Irvin Vasquez enjoy fellowship with Eddie during a Sunday meal after worship services at Redwood Baptist Church in San Marcos.

When Buckner International President Ken Hall visited Redwood Baptist Church earlier this year, the testimonies rendered him speechless.

“We had journey time that lasted an hour and 45 minutes,” Hall remembered.

“We had a prostitute who hadn’t turned a trick in several weeks and didn’t want to, but she was hungry and she came to church because she wanted to eat” and knew lunch was provided.

“It just was … real,” Hall said. “When I got up to preach I was so filled with emotion, I told them I didn’t know what I could preach. … In my 15 years of visiting churches with Buckner, it was the most genuine worship experience I’ve ever had.”

Despite financial challenges, Redwood Baptist Church ministers to its members and community in tangible ways. Every Sunday, about 50 church families receive food donated by fellow members. One family provides lunch for the congregation every week after the service, and many who lack transportation are given free rides to and from Sunday worship in the church van.

A mother and child enjoy a Sunday noon meal at Redwood Baptist Church in San Marcos.

The multicultural ministry at Redwood Baptist Church has had a profound effect on church member Emma Johnson, sister of Pastor Michael Johnson.

“I think it’s a foretaste of heaven, where you’re going to mix with people of different races, creeds, nationalities,” she said.

“The only thing that binds us together is love, and it’s love in action.”

As the Baptist General Convention of Texas promotes Texas Hope 2010, which challenges Christians to give every Texan the opportunity to respond to the gospel in his or her own cultural context by Easter 2010, Redwood Baptist Church’s community outreach programs advance that goal.

Throughout June, the church provided lunch and Vacation Bible School activities for neighborhood children of the area through a program called Project Good Neighbors. The church also makes monthly visits to the Baptist Children’s Home in San Antonio. They minister to minors from countries other than Mexico who are illegally in the United States and awaiting deportation to their home country.

Members of Redwood Baptist Church in San Marcos head outside for a meal after the Sunday morning service.

Church leader Wanda Pittman said Redwood Baptist Church’s community ministry is one of its greatest strengths.

“You need to cater to the area you are ministering to,” Pittman said.

“I think that’s really important. You are meeting a need, a need that a lot of churches don’t consider.”

Although Redwood Baptist Church members’ needs may be more obvious than those of wealthier churches, Hall considered the church’s unconditional welcome a sign of Christian vitality.

“Too often … the person who is coming to church feels like they have to be a certain person before they can come, and we design our buildings and our programs to literally make it hard for people living on the edge of society to come to church,” Hall said.

Lanning invited Hall to preach at his church after reading Hall’s book, Inside Outside: The church in social ministry. He told Hall he’d built his ministry out of Hall’s description of an invitational church, marking these words: “People … will want to give their hearts to Christ and become part of the local church … (when they have) the awareness that they have been seen in their need and have been extended an acceptance of grace … that they are welcome, no matter who they are or where they have been or what they have done.”

Realizing that vision at Redwood Baptist Church hasn’t been easy, but for Lanning, it’s been worth the effort.

“Each one of these groups (at the church) has to yield to the others. It’s a great challenge; it’s a wonderful challenge,” Lanning said.

While writing his description of an unconditionally welcoming church, Hall never dreamed he’d see it embodied, he confessed.

“As much as I was trying to be truthful and honest in writing that book, I did not envision Redwood Baptist Church,” Hall said.

Lanning “did it far better than any preacher could ever say the words; he did it. He touched my life.”