SAN LUIS—The beds had legs, but nobody expected them to walk away.

When Hurricane Ike hit the Texas coast, the small community of San Luis wasn’t among the first to receive help.

“It’s not on the maps, so it went unnoticed by a lot of relief groups that first week,” explained Glenn Young, pastor of First Baptist Church of Clear Lake in Houston.

His church already had been working in the community, however, and he was pleased when he heard a contingent of Texas Baptist Men would be coming to work in the area.

The TBM crew brought a large air-conditioned tent for the disaster relief crews to sleep in. Young, who came to the Houston church in May from First Baptist Church in Devine, knew Frio River Baptist Association had a disaster relief bed trailer for just such a circumstance.

The bed trailer was the idea of layman Kent McCary of First Baptist Church in Dilley, who had the foresight to see the need for the trailer.

The idea was born out of his own experiences as a disaster relief worker.

“The people who are doing disaster relief need a good mattress to sleep on at the end of a hard day, and these are good four-inch mattresses on steel frames that give good support. This is something I had often wished for,” he said.

Hill Country Baptist Association donated the 12-foot trailer in which the beds are transported, and the beds were bought with a grant McCary solicited from Home Depot.

In the 18 months Frio River has had the bed trailer, it has been used three or four times, said Jimmy Smith, director of missions for the association.

This time, the beds’ destination was the Texas coast.

“Initially, it was a lot of the Baptist Men relief workers staying in the tent and using the beds, but as they left, the families in the area whose homes flooded and had all their furniture destroyed began sleeping in the tent,” Young said.

Everything was going according to plan until the families in the small community between Kemah and Galveston began returning to their homes.

“The pastor there in San Luis said he couldn’t send them back to homes without beds when there were beds right there on hand. So, he let them take them,” Young said. “I told him that I totally understood, and we’d take care of it.

“The intent was that the beds would be returned after we used them, but the right thing was for the pastor in San Luis to take care of his people.”

The cost of the replacement beds was covered by funds sent by several churches to the Clear Lake church for disaster relief.

“Some of the money that came to replace those beds came from a church in downtown New Orleans that our church ministered to and developed a relationship with following Hurricane Katrina,” Young said.

“The pastor there said, ‘You helped us when we needed it, and now we want to help you and your people to minister after your storm,’” he explained.

While glad to have his trailer returned stocked with beds, if it hadn’t worked out that way, it still would have been all right, Smith said.

“I think, knowing the guys in our association, that they would have said, ‘I don’t know that I would have done anything different” than the pastor in San Luis, he explained. “These people had lost everything they had.”

But at least they have a place to lay their heads.

BURNET—The church in the United States is not reaching the younger generation in the same numbers as previous generations because churches are busy chasing the idols of extravagant buildings and political power, speakers warned at the annual convocation of the Hispanic Baptist Laity at Camp Buckner.

Rick McClatchy, coordinator for Cooperative Baptist Fellowship in Texas, urged Christians to follow the admonition of the Hebrew prophet Samuel to abandon idols and give complete loyalty and service to God.

“Samuel knows that God didn’t deliver the Hebrews from Egyptian slavery so they could be wealthy and powerful. He delivered them to be his light unto the Gentiles,” McClatchy said.

“Too many American churches are obsessed with their congregations using their wealth to construct buildings. … Jesus never commissioned us to make buildings. He commissioned us to make disciples.

“I know that some of you here today might be meeting as a church in someone’s home or store or a school, and you may think: ‘I wish we had a big fancy building like First Baptist. If we just had a building then everything would be great.’ That is an illusion. I was a pastor for 15 years, and I know the time that’s spent taking care of buildings and meeting the budget. It soon becomes the driving priority of the church.”

In a world where close to one-fourth of the population lives on less than $4 a day, and most of them are women and children, McClatchy said, “We must give them priority over nice buildings.”

“Jesus said he dwells with the hungry, the thirsty, the alien, the naked, sick and the oppressed,” he continued.

“If you are meeting in homes or small, simple buildings and using your money to help others, then you are more in line with the New Testament.”

Because of Hispanic population growth in Texas, Hispanic Texas Baptists are the future global mission leaders in the state, he said.

“You must become better stewards of God’s resources than the Anglo churches have been,” he urged. “Live a simple lifestyle and practice that simplicity in your congregation so that you have the resources to minister to the hurting and hungry in this world.”

Churches also are being led astray by the idol of political power, McClatchy said.

“Jesus wanted the church to serve others and in so doing gain the authority to be heard,” he said. “The right to be heard comes from sacrificial service to others. The church must bleed like Jesus did.”

Keynote speaker Rolando Lopez, Hispanic consultant in San Antonio Baptist Association, said the spiritual walls of the church today are in shambles as in Nehemiah’s day.

“Nehemiah mourned and prayed, magnifying the name of the Lord. Then he confessed the sins of the people,” Lopez said.

“What is holding us back? We must confess our sins of envy, indifference and hypocrisy.”

Winner of the convocation’s musical contest was Lalo Munoz, director of music for the Baptist Men of First Mexican Baptist Church of Dallas.

The future of Baptist journalism arrives early for messengers to the 2008 Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting.

The Baptist Standard will preview E3—its enhanced electronic edition—at its booth during Fort Worth meeting. Baptist Standard E3 will be the nation’s first enhanced electronic religious newsjournal.

The first E3 Standard will zip through the Internet in January, Editor Marv Knox announced. E3 subscribers will receive their enhanced electronic edition of the Standard as an e-mail. It will be published parallel to the distribution of 27 print editions of the newspaper each year.

The E3 edition will deliver all the design, news and images of the classic print edition along with several new features:

• Less-expensive electronic delivery, that also conserves paper.

• Zoom-in and zoom-out features for easy reading.

• Video, audio and slideshows.

• A viewer that “flips” pages similar to the print edition, and a program that enables digital clipping of articles.

• Interactive Internet and e-mail links.

• Simple programs that enable readers to search each edition by keyword, save articles and e-mail material to others.

“Every E3 subscriber will receive an e-mail with a picture of the cover of that issue of the paper,” Knox said. “When the reader clicks on that page, the whole edition opens up. With all the electronic enhancements—like video and slide-shows and interactive ads—the E3 will be far more comprehensive and helpful than we can dream of being on paper.

“We’re sure our readers will be amazed.”

And because production and delivery costs for an electronic edition are lower than a printed newspaper, the E3 cost will be an advantage, he added. The introductory annual subscription rate for E3 will be $8, compared to $15 for church subscriptions and the $24 individual rate.

The Standard will continue to sell individual and church subscriptions to the print edition, and churches and individuals can buy E3 subscriptions, Knox said. He predicted many churches will switch to the E3 edition—at least for some of their members—simply to save costs and speed delivery.

In addition, churches will be able to produce an enhanced electronic edition of their newsletter and deliver it with the E3 Standard, he added. “We know some churches already e-mail their newsletters to members, but our E3 technology is far superior to any church newsletter we’ve seen. Church members who receive an E3 newsletter will be able to register for church events, contact ministers, interact with each other, view sermons and listen to the choir. It will be a tremendous package for church communication.”

The E3 also will provide a strong benefit to news providers, such as BGCT agencies and institutions, as well as advertisers, Knox said, pointing out all the enhancements will be available to those partner constituents.

The E3 preview is not limited to the BGCT meeting in Fort Worth. A demo edition may be viewed at www.BaptistStandardE3.com. For more subscription information, e-mail lmajors@baptiststandard.com or call (800) 749-4610, ext. 18.

FORT WORTH—With arms fully extended, Texas Baptists reached out to Fort Worth.

Tarrant Baptist Association congregations worked together in a focused evangelism effort called City Reach, a Baptist General Convention of Texas effort to share the hope of Christ in Fort Worth. More than 30 congregations came together for the work, which included block parties, a marriage seminar and an upcoming soccer tournament.

More than 20 Hispanic congregations came together for one block party, which reached out to more than 2,000 people. The event included food, activities for young people, Scripture and tract distribution and preaching.

“We have so many people in Tarrant County who still do not have a relationship with the Lord,” said Hector Mendez, Hispanic consultant for Tarrant Baptist Association. “We’re trying to preach the gospel to the entire county.”

During the one block party, more than 315 people made a profession of faith in Christ, Mendez said.

Many of them came as a result of the tract distribution where Christians could build relationships with people at the block party.

When people understand they are cared for, Mendez said, they are more open to the gospel.

“When the body of Christ comes together, great things happen,” he said.

At a block party hosted by Unity Missionary Baptist Church Nov. 1, a sign between two trees called to the neighborhood. Smiles abounded as church members served hot dogs and hamburgers. Children gathered around a piano as a church member showed them how to play it. 

Jon Randles, director of the BGCT evangelism team, praised Fort Worth-area congregations for reaching out to their communities.

“We took a little different approach this year,” he said. “Instead of going in and producing events, we worked with the Hispanic fellowship in Fort Worth and the African- American fellowship in Fort Worth to provide resources, leadership assistance to focus on core Fort Worth.

“They produced 11 core events, including block parties, health clinics, a giagantic party in the park and a soccer clinic.

“As a result, we’ve seen more than 320 people come to Christ, and those numbers will go up.”

BROWNWOOD—When asked how long she has been a survivor of breast cancer, Cynthia Givan is quick to reply, “Eight years, praise the Lord!”

Givan, administrative assistant at Howard Payne University’s Douglas MacArthur Academy of Freedom, joined about 160 other participants in the third annual Walk for Breast Cancer Awareness at Howard Payne.

Givan’s team, Academy Angels for Life, came in second place for fundraising at the event that raised $4,357 for the Alliance for Women and Children of Abilene. Funds will help with transportation needs for Brown County women to access medical facilities in Abilene for breast and cervical cancer education, detection services and treatment.

“The walk-a-thon was a great event to get the student body, faculty and staff to think about breast cancer and raise awareness,” Givan said. 

More than 20 teams participated in the event, which has grown each year since its inception in 2006.

The Academy Angels for Life, a team composed of students, faculty and staff members of the Douglas MacArthur Academy of Freedom honors program, held several events throughout October to raise funds, including a breakfast burrito day on campus.

Reflecting on her personal experience with breast cancer in 2000, Givan said the encouragement she received was a blessing, particularly from her church. At the time, she attended a Methodist congregation. Now, she is part of Coggin Avenue Baptist Church in Brownwood.

Howard Payne University cashier Darla Collier and Becky Burt, administrative assistant for the school’s physical plant, participate in a walk for cancer awareness. (PHOTO/Kalie Lowrie/Howard Payne University)

“It was amazing how many people supported us, prayed for us and cooked for us,” she said. “I did not have to cook a meal for five months. Starting Aug. 18, my Sunday school class made our family three meals a week through December 1.”

She fondly recalls a college friend who encouraged her acquaintances to send hats and scarves to Givan during her time in chemotherapy.

“It was so fun to go out to the mailbox every day for almost two months and find a present. The support and love that was shown during that time was astounding,” she said.

During the difficult months of chemotherapy and radiation, Givan found great hope in God.

“He showed my family that you may think what you have is bad, but there are so many people who have it so much worse. I learned to look around and be thankful,” she said. Eight years later, now she walks for a cause dear to her heart.

Buckner International will ship $7,000 in humanitarian aid and a 40-foot container filled with shoes, socks, clothes, blankets and food to families affected by severe flooding and mudslides in Honduras.

Buckner staff loaded the container Oct. 27 for international delivery from the Buckner Center for Humanitarian Aid in east Dallas.

Torrential rains in Honduras have damaged crops, left people homeless and claimed 33 lives so far. And the government called for the evacuation of about 100,000 people, declaring a national emergency.

The office of the first lady of Honduras approached Buckner for aid, and the response was immediate.

“Buckner is committed to help Honduras,” said Leslie Chace, Buckner director of ministry development for Central and South America.

“In the trips we’ve taken, we’ve been very welcomed by the government and of all the Latin American countries we’ve visited, we found Honduras to be the neediest.”

Buckner services in Honduras include humanitarian aid for children’s homes and volunteer mission trips.

Buckner also is exploring the possibility of setting up a foster care program and transitional living programs.

Buckner will deliver shoes from this shipment to children living in orphanages in December as part of its Shoes for Orphan Souls ministry. For more information, visit www.ShoesforOrphan Souls.org .

Buckner International and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship are celebrating their seven-year anniversary of sending mission groups to the United States/Mexico border.

The summer and spring break KidsHeart program sends short-term mission groups from churches to serve along the border through projects including construction, medical services and Vacation Bible School.

“In 2003, we were serving between 9,000 and 10,000 people,” said Jorge Zapata, director of the Buckner colonia program. “In 2008, we are already at 73,000, and we expect to have served 100,000 by the end of the year.

“The thing is, though, that I don’t like to just count numbers because each number is a story. They always tell me at Buckner to share the stories, but I tell them that there is no way to keep up with them.”

Zapata went on to describe his experience serving a severely obese man who was displaced by a hurricane and returned to find his home ravaged and vandalized. FEMA gave him money for a down payment for a new home, and Buckner was able to serve by converting a garage into his bedroom and installing a double door so he could be removed in case of an emergency.

Then Zapata told a story about a family of four living in a home consisting of boards placed over the ground and nailed together. Hurricane Dolly flipped over their house and left them huddled in mud and water until the storm passed. With help from CBF churches participating in KidsHeart from South Carolina, Georgia, South Dakota and Texas, Buckner was able to build them a three-bedroom house.

So many stories 

“There are so many stories,” he repeated, after sharing a long list. “I’d better stop talking. I’d go on forever.”

Rick McClatchy, coordinator of CBF Texas, explained KidsHeart fits into the CBF Together for Hope Rural Poverty Initiative.

“Together for Hope started with CBF looking at the 20 poorest rural counties in the United States and seeing what we can do to serve these people groups,” McClatchy said. “That was how we realized that seven of those counties were along the border.

“Part of our approach is to work with community partners like schools, businesses and community centers. So, we took note of Buckner International’s colonia program and formed KidsHeart together. Buckner and CBF are now working to expand the ministry so that hopefully by 2010, KidsHeart missionaries will have a variety of places in which they can serve in several border states.”

One advantage of volunteers engaging in border ministry is that it is economical and close to home, McClatchy noted, which makes it easier to bring along children and the elderly.

“A church in San Antonio can drive down in a couple of hours and be in Eagle Pass and make it a weekend trip,” McClatchy said. “They could do a lot of really good things in just a one-day thing. The proximity is a big advantage.

“It can also be a cross-cultural experience for Anglo churches that might not have a lot of interaction with Hispanic populations.”

A lot of the KidsHeart work involves collaborating with local churches doing their best to meet the overwhelming need of such a large, struggling population, he added.

Transformational effect 

Dexton Shores, director of Buckner ministry development on the border and in Mexico, emphasized the transformational effect KidsHope missionaries have along the border.

“It is intense because there are so many participants,” Shores said. “It is a very transformational week for the families, because they are served through house repair, landscaping, the building of new homes and medical services. They are also very open to learning about the gospel, and we see large numbers of conversions every year.”

Zapata said 2009 will be the first year KidsHeart groups will work along the whole border from Brownsville to El Paso.

“This will be our first KidsHeart in Eagle Pass,” Zapata said. “We will also kick off our first KidsHeart in Arizona in 2009, and it will be the first time we work in Webb and Zapata counties, which are in the Laredo area.”

Seven counties where KidsHeart works—Willacy, Hidalago, Starr, Maverick, Zavala, Presidio and Dimmit—are among the 20 poorest in the nation, he noted.

KidsHeart teams can serve any time during the year, but there are special blitz weeks when teams from various churches work together.

They are scheduled in South Texas March 14-20 and July 11-17, Eagle Pass June 13-19 (pending) and El Paso June 20-26.

For more information on Buckner border missions, visit www.itsyourmission.com or call (877) 7ORPHAN.

WACO—At their pre-homecoming meeting in Waco, Baylor University’s board of regents took no action regarding the appointment of a presidential search committee.

“We believe our interim president and interim provost are doing a good job, and we don’t feel any need to be in a hurry,” Chairman Howard Batson said in a phone interview.

The Baylor Faculty Senate, the Baylor Alumni Association and Baylor Student Government each passed resolutions in recent weeks urging the school’s board of regents to include faculty, staff, alumni, students and other constituencies as voting members of the presidential search committee.

The Faculty Senate resolution—the first and most detailed of the three statements—called on the regents to form a search committee in which faculty representatives would serve with full voting rights and the balance between regents and faculty on the committee would reflect “best practices at other leading universities.”

The resolution also called on regents to include on the search committee as voting members duly elected representatives of “Baylor’s other constituent bodies,” specifically mentioning not only the student body and alumni, but also the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

Batson, pastor of First Baptist Church in Amarillo, underscored the committee’s research showed no single definitive process used by the best universities for a presidential search.

He indicated the process Baylor followed in the last presidential search—an all-regent search committee working in consultation with nonvoting advisory committee representing different university constituencies—is within the bounds of accepted practice. However, he noted no regent action was taken, and he said no timetable is attached to the search process.

Batson reported the university had received a lead gift from Baylor alumni Jay and Jenny Reid Allison of Frisco for an indoor football practice facility.

The Jay and Jenny Allison Indoor Football Practice Facility will complete the Alwin O. and Dorothy Highers Athletic Complex.

The new $12.1 million facility will be located adjacent to the two natural grass practice fields on the marina side of the Highers Athletics Complex and will feature a 100-yard field with a synthetic playing surface.

—With additional reporting by Lori Fogleman

• Howard Payne University will host a graduate school and seminary fair Nov. 14 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor will hold a ministers’ forum at noon Nov. 20 in the Manning Chapel. J.A. Reynolds will speak on the topic “Should Views About the Bible and the Future Go Unchallenged?”

• East Texas Baptist University will hold Shadow Days Dec. 2-3. The event allows high school seniors and transfer students the opportunity to experience college life at the school. A $15 preregistration fee is required, but if a student submits an application for admission and financial aid during the event, the $25 application fee will be waived. For more information or to register, call (800) 804-3828.

• The Baylor University Alumni Association presented the W.R. White Meritorious Service Award to Howard Dudgeon III, Madelyn Jones, David Malone, Ann Read and Bill Underwood in conjunction with homecoming activities Oct. 31.

• Rebekah Cuellar, a Houston Baptist University senior, has been awarded a $5,000 scholarship from the Texas Conference of Women. Cuellar attends Iglesia Houston.

Anniversaries

• Price Mathieson, 30th, as pastor of First Church in Lawn.

• Gary Loudermilk, 15th, as executive director of Denton Association, Nov. 1.

• Moises Gonzales, 15th, as pastor of Berclair Mission in Berclair, Nov. 1.

• Brad Crosswhite, 10th, as pastor of Lamar Point Church in Paris, Nov. 8.

• Hillcrest Church in Bryan, 25th, Nov. 23. There will be a dinner and a concert by the church choir and band. Dinner will begin at 6:30 p.m. with reserved seating. For more information, call (979) 776-5731.

• Basilio Montez, fifth, as pastor of Iglesia Tierra Santa in Cameron.

• Steve Faulkner, fifth, as music minister at First Church in Gonzales.

Death

• Khim Sok Phe, 62, Oct. 28 in Houston. An integral part of Cambodian Woman’s Missionary Union, she served on the Language Advisory Council for WMU of Texas as the Cambodian representative since 2004. She is survived by her husband of 40 years, Huoy Chang; children, Chang Kim Ngy, Chang Bun Ngech, Chang Bun Leng and Chang Bun Muy; sisters, Meng and Cheng; brother, Seng; and three grandchildren.

Revival

• First Church, Holland; Nov. 16-19; evangelist, Robert Barge; pastor, Randy Evans.

WACO—Baylor University police reported three apparently racially related on-campus incidents on Election Day.

Late Tuesday afternoon, university officials were notified a single clothesline rope resembling a noose was seen in a tree.

Later in the day, police investigated a small fire in a barbecue pit next to Brooks Flats residential community. Allegedly, several Obama/Biden campaign signs were burned.

Still later in the evening, police were called to a disturbance outside Penland Hall men’s dormitory, where a shouting match occurred between two small groups of white and African-American students.

“These events are deeply disturbing to us and are antithetical to the mission of Baylor University. We categorically denounce and will not tolerate racist acts of any kind on our campus,” Interim President David Garland said in an e-mail to all Baylor students.

“Further, we are committed to maintaining the safety and unity of our campus community. We wish to celebrate and strengthen inclusiveness, understanding and acceptance of all members of the Baylor family.”

Garland reminded students regarding university policies regarding civility and respect. The e-mail included a link to Baylor’s eight-page civil rights policy.

Garland encouraged faculty, staff and students to participate in ongoing dialogues sponsored by Baylor’s multicultural activities department.

African-Americans make up about 7 percent of Baylor’s current student enrollment.  The university’s student body is 72 percent Anglo.

“We believe that the incidents on our campus yesterday were irresponsible acts committed by a few individuals,” Garland concluded. “As a community, we condemn these terribly unfortunate events that do not represent the values we share as members of the Baylor family.”

The Future Focus Committee will bring only one recommendation to the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting, but it potentially could reshape the organization’s identity.

Co-chairs Stephen Hatfield and Andy Pittman will present the committee’s unanimous recommendation that the 123-year-old BGCT change its name to the Texas Baptist Convention.

“Our committee’s rationale for the recommendation is that in the present day and time, many people do not identify with and relate to the Baptist General Convention of Texas name as they did years ago,” Hatfield, pastor of First Baptist Church in Lewisville, explained.

“‘BGCT’ is cumbersome. ‘Baptist General Convention of Texas’ tells a story, but there’s no one alive that remembers the story,” said Pittman, pastor of First Baptist Church in Lufkin.

The BGCT took its long—and arguably unwieldy—name from the consolidation of two bodies in the 1880s. The Baptist State Convention, which drew most of its affiliated churches from South and West Texas, and the Baptist General Association of Texas, which was strongest in East and North Texas, met for the first time as the BGCT at the 1886 annual meeting in Waco.

What's in a name? 

But most members of BGCT-affiliated churches today have little if any awareness of that history, the committee concluded.

“When we refer to ourselves, we tend to say, ‘We are Texas Baptists.’ … We want a name that is easier to remember and more representative of who we are,” Hatfield explained.

The committee discussed whether to retain the designation “convention,” he added.

“We decided it accurately describes our polity and governance.”

Furthermore, unlike the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention—which broke away from the BGCT in 1998—the Texas Baptist Convention name speaks of who Texas Baptists are rather than who they relate to outside the state, Pittman added.

“There is kind of a Texas way of doing things that means more than geographic designation,” he said. “We are Texas Baptists, and our identity is not based on our relationship with any outside organizations.”

Change would require amendments 

The proposed name change would require amendments to the BGCT constitution and bylaws. Changes to the convention’s governing documents demand two-thirds approval by messengers at two consecutive annual meetings.

Even so, Hatfield noted, the name change should be a relatively “simple procedure.” The BGCT already owns the rights to the “Texas Baptist Convention” name, and it has secured appropriate Internet domain names, as well.

“Our committee felt like this is the right time. We’re looking at a new, fresh vision for Texas Baptists. It’s a good time to take care of clarifying our identity and adopting a name that is more reflective of who we are,” Hatfield said.

Ken Coffee, retired associate director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas State Missions Commission, will be nominated for first vice president of the state convention at the BGCT annual meeting in Fort Worth.

Coffee, who served more than 50 years as a Baptist pastor, associational missions director and denominational worker, announced his candidacy on his blog, “Strong Coffee.” James Shamburger, pastor of First Baptist Church in Victoria, will nominate him.

“Ken is representative of a large number of members of churches in the BGCT that still believe in missions as the core value of our convention … and still cooperate with the Southern Baptist Convention,” Shamburger said.

Ken Coffee

Coffee would bring to the office insights based on years of experience in BGCT life, as well as “a vision for the future of what Texas Baptists can be,” he added.

Coffee becomes the second announced candidate for first vice president. George Mason, pastor of Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, announced in September his intention to nominate Carolyn Strickland. Her husband, Phil, served 38 years with the BGCT Christian Life Commission, including nearly a quarter-century as its director.

On his blog, Coffee noted he agreed to allow his name to be entered for nomination after being contacted by a couple of people whose opinion he respects. He outlined three reasons for his candidacy:

• “First, I consider myself a Southern Baptist, and I would like to see the rift between the BGCT and the SBC healed enough so that we can at least try to work together for the sake of the gospel on issues of mutual interest,” he wrote. “I believe the laity in the vast majority of our BGCT churches feel the same way.”

• “Second, I would love to see some new people involved in our convention activity. I would love to see more of our churches represented and more different kinds of churches represented on our boards and committees,” Coffee said.

• “Third, I would love to see at least a study done of how we can involve more people in convention business. What kind of changes would be required in the constitution to hold an electronic convention, with voting at regional centers, such as our university campuses, as opposed to going to one location, the paradigm we have been using all these years?” he asked.

“Instead of just saying, ‘We can’t do it,’ why not ask, ‘What would it take to do it?’ Would it possibly multiply by the thousands those who could participate in the decisions of the convention?”

Coffee is a graduate of Wayland Baptist University, where he serves as a trustee.

Before serving 16 years at the Baptist Building in Dallas, he was director of missions for San Antonio Baptist Association 14 years. Previously, he was pastor of Harlandale Baptist Church in San Antonio.

He has been intentional interim pastor of First Baptist Church in Big Spring 16 months.

He and his wife, Martha, have two grown children, Blake of San Antonio and Risa Kacir of Honolulu, Hawaii; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.