In 2019, Sydney Duke, a freshman health science studies major at Baylor University, was eager to embark on her journey to become a physician and to improve the quality of life of others.

So, when she encountered a representative from Be the Match while walking through the Baylor Sciences Building one day, she was happy to put herself on the National Bone Marrow Donor registry.

Four years later, during her senior year at Baylor, Sydney received a call notifying her she was a match for someone with blood cancer. And she was not just one of several matches—as can be the case during the initial matching stages—she was the only match out of more than 19 million individuals in the United States Be the Match Registry for this particular patient.

“When they first called me, my gut reaction was, ‘Of course, I’ll do anything to help.’ My grandfather had lymphoma and my uncle died of lymphoma about 10 years ago. So, I was familiar with blood cancers,” she said.

For the next three months, Sydney underwent routine blood tests and physicals to ensure she was the best and healthiest match for the patient. Once this was confirmed, her procedure was scheduled, and just a few weeks later, the donation process began.

Following five days of injections to both boost and move her stem cells to her peripheral blood vessels, Sydney traveled with her mom to Chicago for the eight-hour peripheral blood stem cell collection procedure.

“The best way I can describe it is basically an auto-blood transfusion. It was uncomfortable and long, but very manageable and fulfilling,” she said. “Throughout the whole process, I was treated with such care and compassion by all of the hospital staff I interacted with.”

“As I believe we are called to love one another and truly lay down our lives for one another, I was honored to endure any slight discomfort if that meant someone out there got another chance at life. I would hope someone would do the same thing for me.”

When the procedure was finished, Sydney’s donation was whisked away to board a plane on its way to her matched patient. Per confidentiality policies, Sydney will have to wait at least a year before she has the opportunity to reach out to the recipient for an update and to request contact.

“Not hearing anything is normally good news. So, I’m hoping and praying everything went well on their end,” she said. “In a year, I definitely plan to reach out.”

New perspective gained on theology of suffering

While the procedure itself is now over, this experience has and will continue to impact Sydney as she begins her medical school journey.

Before and after her donation, Sydney shares how the process informed her class experience at Baylor, offering a perspective she may not have had. She points to her medical ethics course, which she took leading up to the procedure, and a theology of sufferingcourse, which she took afterward. She said her understanding of suffering was expanded—both through her own trials during the procedure and through the very tangible connection with her recipient.

“My education and going through this experience have really opened my eyes to things that I didn’t think I would ever see.”

Sydney also praises her Baylor community for their support during the experience. She was able to connect with an alumna who had also gone through the donation process to hear a personal testimony from a fellow Be the Match donor.

Her mentor, another Baylor alumna who is now in medical school, also provided encouragement, as did Tricia Blalock, director of the health science studies program.

“I call Dr. Blalock my ‘college mom.’ She’s incredible, and she’s always been there for me,” Sydney said. “I talked a lot about the process with her, and she helped walk me through the procedures to better understand what I was going to be going through.”

Sydney, who recently graduated from Baylor, will attend the University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine in San Antonio.

She has also received a naval commission through the Health Professions Scholarship Program. Through this program, the U.S. Navy will cover Sydney’s medical school tuition, and she will have unique training opportunities throughout her course of study, including spending most of her rotations in Navy hospitals. After medical school, Sydney will have a naval residency before serving four years back to the Navy.

“I’ve always wanted to serve. Both of my parents are police officers. So, I’ve watched them serve their community growing up,” she said. “I’m really excited. I’ve wanted to serve, and I always knew I wanted to be a doctor, but I didn’t know that I could do both.”

Guided by Luke 12:48

As she looks toward medical school, Sydney reflects on her peripheral blood stem cell donation and the impact it will make on her for the rest of her life.

“Eight hours in a hospital bed allowed for a lot of deep reflection and thinking. While sitting in that bed and watching the snow fall through the window, I was constantly pondering about what it would be like to be on the other side of this donation,” she said.

“Throughout both college and this donation process, the verse Luke 12:48, ‘From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked,’ has remained at the forefront of my thoughts and motivation.

“The blessing of my good health allowed for the potential saving of another and more time on this Earth. This donation felt like my earthly duty and will forever be one of my life’s greatest blessings and honors.”

In the weeks after tornadoes hit Shawnee, Okla., and the surrounding area, the city has increasingly taken on a Texan drawl.

Texas Baptist Men has flooded the area with disaster relief volunteers, especially chainsaw and heavy equipment teams that have removed fallen trees and limbs for nearly a month. Early in the response, they were accompanied by chaplains and a box unit.

The volunteers have served more than 2,300 hours since the April 19 storms hit with winds as high as 135 mph. The tornadoes damaged many homes, as well as caused extensive damage to Oklahoma Baptist University.

“God has shown up in a big way here in Oklahoma,” said Wendell Romans, who coordinates TBM chainsaw teams. “He brought Texas to Oklahoma. Texas has been able to do several jobs that otherwise would have gone undone. We have the tools and the knowledge to remove trees from homes that others had to pass up.”

Cutting trees and limbs helps people with the physical obstacles after the tornado. Visiting with them helps lift the stressful emotional burdens. People share what they went through, and they often shed tears.

Emotions bubbled over when TBM volunteers met a woman who rode out the storm on her couch. And again when a man shared the story of his brother attempting suicide two years ago.

Each day, TBM volunteers have seen God open doors to allow them to minister. One day, a lift broke, putting the team’s future work in jeopardy. But the woman they were serving said her son could fix it. The team didn’t miss a day of work.

Weather also has been a challenge, with rain falling off and on throughout the deployment. Still, the timing of the precipitation wasn’t an issue.

“Probably the biggest way we’ve seen God’s presence is in allowing us to work, even though there has been a lot of rain,” said Jerry Hall of Cedar Hill. “His timing has been perfect—rain at night, but it dries quickly.”

 This year has been difficult for Oklahomans who have suffered repeatedly from tornadoes and wildfires. TBM volunteers have stepped up to deliver help, hope and healing.

“Our ministry in Oklahoma has been a powerful testimony of our teams’ willingness to help our neighbors. One team from Amarillo has deployed on three different deployments there this year,” said David Wells, TBM disaster relief director.

“When needs arise, God has called us to respond in his name. That’s exactly what has happened in Oklahoma.”

ALBA—Through their music and message, the Erwins— a Dove Award-winning and Grammy-nominated Southern Gospel music group—remain focused on shining the spotlight on Christ.

 Their musical journey began at an early age as siblings Keith, Kody, Kris and Katie Erwin started singing in churches around the country while their father Dennis served as a full-time traveling evangelist.

Growing up, the Erwin family attended Ovilla Road Baptist Church, south of Dallas. Since then, the family has relocated to East Texas.

Kody Erwin now attends First Baptist Church in Canton, while his siblings are members of Lake Fork Baptist Church in Alba, where they serve as staff evangelists. For the past 25 years, the Erwin family has hosted the East Texas Baptist Camp Meeting in Canton.

 As the group maintains a busy touring schedule performing concerts around the country, they remain committed to their mission of connecting people to Christ. Last year, the group was on the road for 285 concert dates.

“We hope and pray that whether you are 9 years old or 90 years old, you will leave an Erwin concert enjoying what you’ve heard and seen,” Keith Erwin said. “We earnestly want to build bridges between the generations.

“We also desire to build bridges between denominations, styles and preferences, knowing that the love and power of our Lord breaks not only every chain, but also every division.”

 He noted one of the group’s most memorable experiences occurred when they had the opportunity to sing for the inmates at a state prison.

“Back in 2017, we were able to sing at the Eastham Unit state prison in Lovelady,” Keith Erwin said. “For three nights, we sang to 600 different inmates, and we saw over 400 of those men make professions of faith.

“We’ve never been fortunate enough to do any foreign mission work, and we hope that we’re able to do so in some capacity in the future, but this crusade was probably the closest thing to that type of ministry that we’ve ever done. It was one of the most powerful things we’ve ever been a part of, and it changed our ministry for the better in so many ways. We will never forget it.”

The Erwins’ music and message have been well received. In 2020, they garnered a Dove Award for their song “The Power Of An Empty Tomb” as Southern Gospel Recorded Song of the Year.

In 2021, “The God I Know” became their first No. 1 hit song, topping The Singing News Power 50 Weekly Chart. That same year, their album What Christmas Really Means was nominated for a Grammy Award.

 Despite their accolades and achievements, the family musical group remains true to their humble beginnings and Texas Baptist roots.

 “We want people to know, learn and realize very quickly that we are a local church ministry,” Keith Erwin said. “God has opened so many doors for us to serve in various events, concert halls, high school auditoriums, banquets, conference centers and award shows, and we praise the Lord for all of that, but we will always be based primarily in the local church.

“We just want to be faithful to the calling that God has placed on our lives. We want to get closer to Christ every day, and in turn, drawing others to do the same.”

When former members of the youth group at Highland Baptist Church in Waco gathered for a recent reunion, old friends “picked up conversations where they left off” 50 years ago, Jimmy Dorrell said.

Dorrell, pastor of the Church Under the Bridge and president emeritus of Mission Waco, served as youth director at Highland Baptist Church from 1969 to 1974.

In the years that followed, he stayed in contact with about a dozen of the former youth—officiating at their weddings and conducting the funerals of some of their parents.

So, when Highland Baptist announced plans for its May 7 100th anniversary celebration, Dorrell wanted to reconnect with former members of his youth group who might return to Waco for the church event.

“I expected 15 or so,” he said. “We had 44 of the old youth group attend, along with nine spouses.”

Eight came from states outside of Texas, including three from California, he noted.

“It was an incredible weekend,” Dorrell said.

In addition to sharing meals at local restaurants and spending most of the day together on Saturday at Cameron Park, members of the former youth choir at Highland Baptist sang during a Sunday morning Church Under the Bridge worship service beneath the I-35 overpass at 4th Street.

Close-knit members of the former youth group honestly talked with each other about the struggles some have faced through the decades—divorces, serious health issues and even a suicide attempt, he noted. They also testified to God’s faithfulness and gave thanks for precious memories.

Most meaningful memories identified

Fourteen completed a survey in which Dorrell asked them to identify their most meaningful memories of their time in the youth group at Highland Baptist.

Some mentioned coming to faith and being baptized, learning more about God, enjoying fellowship together, experiencing summer camp at Falls Creek Youth Camp in Oklahoma and participating in youth choir.

Several also mentioned something close to Dorrell’s heart—ministry in Waco’s “No Man’s Land,” an impoverished unincorporated area between Waco and Bellmead. Working under the direction of Pastor Dewey Pinkney at St. Mary’s Missionary Baptist Church, the predominantly white youth group led Vacation Bible School for children in the mostly Black community.

“It was a transformational experience for me, and I was glad to find out it was an important part of their lives,” said Dorrell, who has spent most of his life ministering among the poorest and most vulnerable residents of Waco.

Since many of the former youth group at Highland Baptist were not from “churched families,” he was gratified to discover “most are still attending church and growing spiritually.”

Dorrell sees that as evidence of the important role youth ministry can play in spiritual formation.

“It can be a crucial ministry at a key time in life,” he said.

‘A place where I was accepted and loved’

Beth Baird Smith considers her time in the youth group at Highland Baptist a vital part of her spiritual pilgrimage. She and her family moved to Waco from Austin when her father was transferred, and they joined Highland Baptist.

“I desperately wanted to be in a place where I was accepted and loved,” she said. “That is exactly the incredible environment Jimmy Dorrell created in the youth group at Highland.

“Did I feel a call to missions when I was at the youth group at Highland? No, but the Lord planted seeds in my heart that made it easy to respond to the call later.”

Dorrell continued to make an impression on her in the years that followed. First, he went to work with “another kind of youth group” at the Waco State Home. Later, he and his wife Janet moved to a deteriorating house in a blighted North Waco neighborhood to live among the poor. Through that “incarnational ministry” and the relationships they built, Mission Waco was born.

“Seeing Jimmy live a life for others made a difference in my life. God used him to be a picture of authentic Christianity to me,” Smith said.

In 1998, she and her husband Dale answered God’s call to missions. Dale resigned from his successful legal practice, and the couple left their “beautiful home on 100 acres in Louisiana” to begin a two-decade ministry with Campus Crusade for Christ, focused particularly on unreached people groups.

In 2019, the couple founded a nonprofit organization, Jesus Said Go, that trains indigenous Bible storytellers and disciple-makers among previously unreached people groups in West Africa.

“The seeds that were planted in the youth group at Highland made it so much easier for me to respond to God’s call,” she said.

Today, she leads a discipleship ministry for women at Highland Baptist Church.

“How precious it is to serve women in the church where my spiritual roots took hold,” she said.

Youth ministry a model for building relationships

Dorrell said his experience in youth ministry prepared him for the pastorate of Church Under the Bridge—a multiracial congregation that includes the unhoused, mentally ill individuals and the working poor, along with students from nearby Baylor University—as well as co-founding Mission Waco.

“Youth ministry was the model for Mission Waco. It started with kids who played basketball on a court outside our home and the relationships we developed with them and their parents,” Dorrell said. “That thread—ministry to children and teenagers—is woven all through our lives.”

At age 73, Dorrell describes himself as “still a youth director at heart.”

“It helps in ministering to broken people through Church Under the Bridge. So many of them never had a childhood. We help them learn to play together. We play touch football and softball and go on picnics. Some of the same games we played in church youth group are what we play at Church Under the Bridge,” he said.

“Laughing together, playing together, messing with each other—the same things we did during my years as a youth director are what we do at Church Under the Bridge. It’s all about building relationships.”

A bill to approve online sports betting in Texas passed in the House of Representatives by a thin margin, but it appears dead-on-arrival in the Texas Senate.

HJR 102 by Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Allen, proposed submitting to voters in November a constitutional amendment to legalize sports wagering in Texas.

On an initial vote, the measure failed to receive the necessary two-thirds approval required. On a final vote, it passed the House with 102 votes in favor, but it lacks support in the Senate.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick tweeted on May 13: “I’ve said repeatedly there is little to no support for expanding gaming from Senate GOP. I polled members this week. Nothing changed. The senate must focus on issues voters expect us to pass. We don’t waste time on bills without overwhelming GOP support.”

In a follow-up post the next day, Patrick tweeted, “Can’t waste committee/floor time in the last days” on bills that lack majority support in the Senate.

A coalition that included the owners of several major professional sports teams in Texas strongly supported the online sports betting bill.

Some supporters of sports wagering focused exclusively on Patrick’s opposition, but Rob Kohler, consultant with Texas Baptists’ Christian Life Commission, noted broad-based opposition to gambling expansion in the Texas Senate.

“In the Senate, this kind of bill doesn’t have the votes. It’s not just one person. It’s a lot bigger than one individual,” Kohler said.

Casino bill goes nowhere

Meanwhile, in spite of the efforts of about 80 lobbyists working on behalf of Las Vegas Sands and other casino operators, a bill to allow resort casinos failed to receive the required two-thirds majority in the Texas House.

A bill that would have called for a statewide vote on a constitutional amendment to allow resort casinos failed to garner more than 92 votes in the House.

In the final days of this legislative session, Kohler said he is focused on raising awareness about the potential harm of a bill that would allow Texans to wager on charitable sports raffles on mobile devices.

“That means somebody sitting on his couch in San Angelo can take out his cell phone and buy a ticket for the Cowboys 50/50 raffle,” he explained.

Kohler noted the legislation would permit raffles for cash prizes, and that sort of gambling expansion should require a statewide referendum on a constitutional amendment, which the bill as introduced does not.

Russ Coleman, chairman of Texans Against Gambling, said he was pleased Texas legislators “yet again wisely kept casinos and sports gambling—mobile and bricks-and-mortar—outside our borders.”

“Texas’ decision to not follow the crowd of other states rushing to enable sports betting will prove wise when the significant social costs burdening taxpayers of those states and increases in crime increasingly become apparent,” Coleman said.

Looking ahead, Coleman acknowledged individuals and businesses with a vested interest in gambling expansion will continue efforts in the future, but he voiced continued opposition.

“The big gambling industries, their billionaire allies, and their hundreds of well-paid lobbyists will be back at the legislature to again attempt to addict and fleece vulnerable Texans,” he said. “We will again do what we can to preserve the Texas Constitution’s protections against the public harm that is the predatory gambling those industries peddle.”

The Emmanuels, un conjunto vocal de cuatro partes cuyos miembros comparten raíces en la Primera Iglesia Bautista de Corpus Christi, han liderado la adoración y han compartido el evangelio por décadas.

Sus miembros han cambiado a través de los años, pero Aaron Díaz ha estado con el grupo en un papel u otro durante la mayor parte de su historia.

Recordó haber escuchado al cuarteto original, Sammy Fuentes, Juan Reyes, Ángel Garza y Luiz Zamora, acompañados por la directora musical y pianista Orfalinda Castro, cuando tenía 12 años.

Cuando era adolescente, Díaz tocó el bajo para los Emmanuel hasta que dejó Corpus Christi para servir en el Ejército de los Estados Unidos en 1969.

Fuentes era un maestro de escuela que más tarde se convirtió en un evangelista musical vocacional. Reyes trabajó como cartero. Garza era soldador, y Zamora conducía un camión para una cadena regional de supermercados.

“Luis era el mecánico. Nos enseñó a cambiar los neumáticos del autobús y recargar la batería”, recordó Díaz.

Cuando completó su servicio militar y regresó a Corpus Christi, Díaz comenzó a cantar con el grupo.

“Al principio, viajamos por México y el sur de Texas”, dijo Díaz. “Tuvimos algunos grandes servicios evangelísticos en México, cantando en plazas de toros y en plazas abiertas. Estacionábamos el autobús y la gente empezaba a salir a escucharnos”.

Durante la celebración del bicentenario en 1976, los Emmanuel cantaron en varios lugares de la costa este, incluyendo Washington, D.C.

“Lo recuerdo, porque se nos rompió una junta del autobús en Washington, y yo me había convertido en uno de los conductores en ese momento”, recordó Díaz.

El grupo tuvo que traer a un mecánico para ayudarlos a volver a la carretera, y los miembros se dispersaron por toda la ciudad para localizar las piezas necesarias para reparar el autobús.

“Teníamos que regresar a casa dentro de dos semanas, porque todos estábamos de vacaciones y teníamos que volver al trabajo”, dijo Díaz, un trabajador social clínico que ahora trabaja para el condado de Nueces como subdirector de servicios de salud mental.

Cuando Rudy Sánchez era pastor de la Primera Iglesia Bautista, Díaz recordó que el grupo se le acercó para preguntarle si su hija adolescente Rhoda podría convertirse en su acompañante después de que perdieron a su pianista.

“Estuvo de acuerdo si prometíamos cantar en la iglesia cuando lo solicitara”, dijo.

Rhoda Sánchez Gonzales todavía sirve como pianista para los Emmanuels. Su esposo Vince, pastor de North Dallas Family Church en Carrollton, toca el bajo para el grupo.

Otros miembros actuales de los Emmanuel son Gus Reyes, director de asociaciones hispanas en la Universidad Bautista de Dallas y sobrino de un miembro original del grupo; Norman Vella, educador en Corpus Christi; y Luis Zamora Jr. de Round Rock, hijo de un miembro original del grupo.

Reyes se unió al grupo por un par de años cuando era estudiante universitario.

“Mi español no era muy bueno, pero sabía lo suficiente como para poder cantar, incluso cuando no podía predicar en español”, recordó.

Cuando The Emmanuels viajaron a Dallas para cantar en la Primera Iglesia Bautista Mexicana, Reyes conoció a su futura esposa Leticia, entonces estudiante de la Universidad Bautista de Dallas, en una reunión de avivamiento el sábado por la noche.

“Así que tener la capacidad de cantar con los Emmanuel ha bendecido mi vida de muchas maneras”, dijo Reyes.

The Emmanuels cantaron recientemente en un retiro para hombres hispanos en Floydada, patrocinado por la Asociación Bautista Caprock Plains. El fin de semana del Día de los Caídos, cantarán en San Antonio. También ya están reservados en McAllen en julio y Austin en agosto.

Además de cantar y predicar, los miembros del grupo también dirigen talleres sobre una variedad de temas cuando se les solicita.

“La mayoría de nosotros tenemos cierta flexibilidad en nuestros horarios de trabajo”, dijo Díaz. “Estamos abiertos a lo que el Señor tiene para nosotros.

“En cada servicio donde cantamos, Dios está en control. A todos nos gusta ministrar en canciones”.

Publicado primeramente en inglés en https://baptiststandard.com/news/texas/the-emmanuels-still-praising-god-through-the-decades/

WASHINGTON (RNS)—The Texas Legislature passed a bill that would allow schools to employ chaplains in addition to school counselors, with Republicans overriding objections by Democrats to send the proposal to the governor’s desk.

The bill will permit school districts to hire chaplains who, unlike school counselors, are not required to be certified by the State Board for Educator Certification.

A version of the bill already sailed through the state Senate last month, and the Texas House passed an amended version May 9 in a vote that appeared to fall largely along party lines, with 89 voting in favor and 58 opposed.

Conservative groups such as Texas Values Action have voiced support for the bill, and the National School Chaplain Association, an arm of the Christian group Mission Generation, testified in support during committee meetings last month.

Rocky Malloy, head of the NSCA, argued during his testimony the bill would increase school safety and not infringe on the religious beliefs of students, saying, “Chaplains operate within an individual’s belief and convictions. They are not working to convert people to religion.”

Eroding separation of church and state 

But Malloy’s organization has suggested otherwise in the past, and critics of the bill argue it could lead to proselytization and erode the separation of church and state.

“I worry that this bill will lead to Christian nationalists infiltrating our public schools and indoctrinating our students,” Democratic Rep. James Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian, told Religion News Service.

Texas Senate Democrats made similar arguments during debate over the bill last month, and multiple Democratic House members made efforts to amend it—with mixed results.

Talarico sought to bar chaplains from proselytizing and require parental consent before meeting with students, and Rep. Toni Rose sought to limit the bill to schools in counties with populations of less than 150,000.

Separately, Rep. Gene Wu attempted to bar the use of public funds and require schools to provide a religious leader of a different faith for students who request them.

All of those efforts failed, although lawmakers did amend the bill to prohibit registered sex offenders from serving as chaplains, to institute background checks and to require those serving in the role to be endorsed by an organization recognized by the United States Department of Defense, the Federal Bureau of Prisons or the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Imelda Mejia, a spokesperson for Texas Freedom Network, which has been critical of the bill, expressed concern about the influence of the NSCA. The website for the group’s parent organization, Mission Generation, recently began redirecting to the NSCA’s website, but archived versions from last year listed a desire to “influence those in education until the saving grace of Jesus becomes well-known, and students develop a personal relationship with him.”

In another archived version of the website, Mission Generation boasts it has “developed a viable approach of reaching the largest unreached people group inside of the public schools around the world … Where many have declared it impossible to deliver the Good News, many attempts to do so have failed, and very few organizations are trying; Mission Generation, with God’s help, has made record-breaking progress.”

Mission Generation appears to have allies in the Texas government: In a video posted to the group’s Instagram account in October, Julie Pickren, who sits on the NSCA’s board, is seen giving a speech in which she appears to celebrate the idea of chaplains proselytizing to children.

“There are children who need chaplains. For the pastors in here, you already know: We have a whole generation of children that have never stepped foot one day inside of a church,” said Pickren, who went on to be elected to the State Board of Education in November.

The NSCA came up during debate over the bill. After Rep. Gina Hinojosa pressed the chief sponsor of the bill in the House, Rep. Cole Hefner, about his refusal to amend the bill to bar proselytizing, Talarico noted NSCA’s support and asked his Republican colleague if he shared the group’s goals.

In responses to both lawmakers, Hefner resisted efforts to ban proselytizing, arguing chaplains are already trained to avoid such practices. He also noted that people of any faith can become chaplains and insisted he did not want people “forcing their religion” on others—including his own children.

“This is just to help supplement and complement our counselors in doing the job that (are) working really hard,” Hefner said.

However, Mejia noted several bills introduced since 2013 that could increase the number of state counselors or offer them additional support. At least three bills related to school counselors are languishing in committee.

“You can see where their desires lay, and I don’t think it was giving our students what they needed,” she said.

Hefner and Mayes Middleton, the state senator who authored the original Senate version of the bill, did not respond to requests for comment about the bill or its passage.

Inviting political controversy

The bill will require school boards to vote on whether to hire chaplains, but critics argue such votes will invite the kind of political controversy seen at school board meetings across the country over the past year.

Pickren appeared to reference such activism in her October speech while encouraging people to pressure local education officials.

“We have seen this all over America, that moms and dads showing up to school board meetings are shifting the course of education in America,” she said. “Go to your school board meetings, ask your school boards to put chaplains in their schools. Ask them to put a chaplain on every campus. Email your school board members, email your superintendent, email and call your local elected officials.”

The bill is one of a trio of proposals making their way through the Texas Legislature that focus on religion and public schools. Critics have argued that some of the bills, which include requiring schools to hang a version of the Ten Commandments, privilege a specific form of conservative Christianity.

“I see this as part of a troubling trend across the country of Christian nationalists attempting to take over our democracy and attempting to take over my religion—both of which I find deeply offensive,” Talarico said.

Pastor and South Texas community leader Dorso Maciel and denominational leader Dick Maples were named recipients of Texas Baptists’ 2023 Legacy Awards.

The awards will be presented June 4 at the historic Independence Baptist Church near Brenham in recognition of Maciel’s and Maples’ lifelong commitment to Christian service.

Dorso Maciel felt God’s call to pastoral ministry when he was a teenager. He was a student at Baylor University when he took his first pastorate in 1959 at Primera Iglesia Bautista in Marlin, where he met his wife Stella. The couple will celebrate their 63rd anniversary on June 15.

Maciel has served more than three decades as pastor of Primera Iglesia Bautista in Laredo.

He also was pastor of Primera Iglesia Bautista in Goliad, Primera Iglesia Bautista in Mathis, Iglesia Bautista Getsemani in McAllen and New Life Baptist Church in Beeville.

Maciel has served on the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board and in various capacities with Blanco Baptist Association and Rio Grande Valley Baptist Associations, as well as South Texas Children’s Home Ministries.

He has held various civic leadership roles including school boards and other civic boards. He has served with the Salvation Army, the Laredo HIV/AIDS Services Consortia and the Webb County Emergency Food and Shelter board.

Maciel has been honored by the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas, STCH Ministries and Baylor University.

James Richard (Dick) Maples was born in Goodnight and has served Christ faithfully in multiple roles, both in the local church and in denominational life.

He was pastor of First Baptist Church in Texas City, First Baptist Church in El Paso and First Baptist Church in Bryan, along with First Baptist Church of Waynesville, N.C. He was named pastor emeritus of First Baptist in El Paso.

Maples served in BGCT Executive Board staff roles including coordinator of minister/church relations and associate executive director.

After retirement from the state convention, Maples served was interim pastor for several churches and was special assistant to the president and adjunct professor at Dallas Baptist University.

He served terms as president and first vice president of the BGCT, and he was a member of the BGCT Executive Board, the Administrative Committee and the Christian Life Commission.

Maples also was a trustee of Hardin-Simmons University, East Texas Baptist University and the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.

He earned an undergraduate degree from Mississippi College, a Master of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

He received honorary degrees from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Dallas Baptist University and Baylor University.

Maples and his wife Mary Jo currently live in Guntersville, Ala., where they collaborate in teaching a Bible study class at First Baptist Church. They have two children, eight grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

The Texas Baptists Legacy Awards will be presented during the Sunday morning worship service at Independence Baptist Church, with lunch to follow. To make a lunch reservation, contact Becky Brown at becky.brown@txb.org or (214) 828-5301.

The Texas House of Representatives unanimously voted May 9 to expel Rep. Bryan Slaton, a former Southern Baptist minister, for alleged inappropriate sexual conduct with a 19-year-old female aide.

Slaton, R-Royse City, is the first member of the House of Representatives to be removed from office by his colleagues since 1927.

On Saturday, the House General Investigative Committee released its report into allegations against Slaton and recommended his expulsion.

Rep. Andrew Murr, R-Junction, chair of the investigative committee, said Slaton provided an under-age aide alcohol and engaged in inappropriate sexual contact. Subsequently, Slaton tried to influence the testimony of the aide and other witnesses, Murr said.

Prior to the House vote, Slaton had submitted a letter of resignation to Gov. Greg Abbott and Steven Brown, chief clerk of the House, on May 8.

“It has been an honor to represent my friends, neighbors and the great people and communities of House District 2. They voted overwhelmingly to send me to the Capitol as their representative in two elections, and I worked daily to meet their expectations. My decision today is to ensure that their expectations will continue to be met by a new representative who will also work hard on their behalf,” Slaton wrote in the letter of resignation.

“I look forward to spending more time with my young family, and will continue to find ways to serve my community and all citizens across our great state.”

However, the House proceeded to expel Slaton, voting 147-0 in favor of HJR 1542.

“Though Representative Slaton has submitted his resignation from office, under Texas law he is considered to be an officer of this state until a successor is elected and takes the oath of office to represent Texas House District 2,” Murr said in a prepared statement released on social media.

Expelling Slaton was necessary to protect “the dignity and integrity” of the Texas Legislature, Murr said.

According to a complaint filed last month, Slaton and the 19-year-old aide were in his Austin apartment April 1 when he gave her alcohol and subsequently had sex with her after she was intoxicated.

No one answered the telephone in Slaton’s Austin office on May 9. The Baptist Standard left a message requesting comment but did not receive a response.

According to Slaton’s website, he served 13 years as a youth minister and family minister. He is a graduate of Ouachita Baptist University, where he earned an undergraduate degree in youth ministry and speech communication, and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he earned a Master of Divinity degree.

Slaton campaigned as a proponent of “family values” who pledged to “protect the institution of marriage.” On his website, he describes himself as “a bold and brave Christian-Conservative.”

In the Texas House, he supported efforts to make abortion a capital offense, called for a statewide ban on drag shows and opposed expanding the rights of LGBTQ citizens.

As part of its mission as a Christ-centered institution, East Texas Baptist University prioritizes community engagement in the education and development of students.

Whether through serving at a food pantry, cleaning up after tornadoes or partnering with local elementary schools, ETBU provides their students real-life service experience and integration into the local community.

ETBU partners with the Marshall Independent School District in several ways, including through the university’s learning and leading classes, honors courses and athletic teams.

Every student takes a learning and leading class their first semester. This class involves learning how to be a Christ-centered leader in one’s community.

As coordinator of these classes, Vanessa Johnston works in the office of academic success and explains she helps “plan out the curriculum, provide training for the instructors, and coordinate all of the correspondence with Marshall ISD.”

ETBU learning and leading students perform weekly service within the elementary schools. Service is “one hour a week, doing anything that the schools need them to do” Johnston said.

Tasks could include “helping the teachers with small groups, helping in PE, making copies, or anything that would be beneficial for that school at the time of the service,” she added.

Every fall, ETBU learning and leading classes and honors students staff a fall festival for several local elementary schools. This provides children with a day of festive fun to celebrate and enjoy time with one another and the college students.

Principal Tamieka Johnson at William B. Travis Elementary in Marshall described ETBU’s involvement in the local school system as “instrumental” and the college students as “unsung heroes.”

Johnson, who has spent 18 years working in education—first as a classroom teacher in Marshall and the last six as principal—said the college students are vital to the functioning of the local schools.

With more than 50 regular volunteers who do anything from “opening doors for the students” to “helping with dismissal processes,” Travis Elementary relies on their partnership with ETBU, she said.

Sara Braun, vice president for communication and strategic initiatives at ETBU, noted the benefits involvement in community service through the elementary schools provides college students.

“It’s awesome to see how working with these [elementary] kids impacts our students,” both throughout their weekly service as well as during the fall festivals, she said.

Whether ETBU students are reading to the schoolchildren, leading them in groups, helping the teacher, or participating in the festivals, they are served in return, she asserted.

ETBU students see they can ‘make a difference’

Johnston explained the college students “are able to see that they can make a difference in their community.” She added ETBU hopes after students graduate, “they can remember what an impact they had and want to continue serving.”

After all, the kind of service students learn at ETBU is “what we’re called to do as Christians,” Johnston said.

In addition to the learning and leading classes, ETBU sports teams also invest their time and efforts into serving the elementary schools. Ryan Erwin, director of athletics and vice president of student engagement, explained the athletic teams have been active in serving their local school district.

Reflecting on the fall 2022 semester, he said “the hockey team went to Sam Houston, to their Boys and Girls after school program, and taught hockey to the students.”

Additionally, both the men’s and women’s soccer teams and the volleyball team participated in Read Across America.

 “They got to read books during Read Across America week. It was really good,” Erwin said. “We hit every classroom, so it was really cool.”

Addison Funk, junior captain of the soccer team, said the experience was “great for the team” and helped her envision her future as a teacher.

Volunteering in any capacity, but especially in the elementary schools, is a great opportunity for college students who “have a desire to get into education” Johnson noted.

“It is so fulfilling for them” she said. And it ultimately serves ETBU’s higher goal of integrating education and Christian service.

Rose Comstive, a student at East Texas Baptist University, served this semester as an intern with the Baptist Standard.

For decades, the Emmanuels—a four-part vocal ensemble whose members share roots in Primera Iglesia Bautista de Corpus Christi—have led in worship and shared the gospel.

Its members have changed through the years, but Aaron Diaz has been with the group in one role or another through most of its history.

He recalled hearing the original quartet—Sammy Fuentes, Juan Reyes, Angel Garza and Luiz Zamora, accompanied by music director and pianist Orfalinda Castro—when he was 12 years old.

As a young teenager, Diaz played bass guitar for the Emmanuels until he left Corpus Christi to serve in the U.S. Army in 1969.

Fuentes was a schoolteacher who later became a vocational music evangelist. Reyes worked as a mail carrier. Garza was a welder, and Zamora drove a truck for a regional grocery store chain.

“Luis was the mechanic. He taught us how to change the tires on the bus and recharge the battery,” Diaz recalled.

When he completed his military service and returned to Corpus Christi, Diaz began singing with the group.

“Early on, we traveled through Mexico and South Texas,” Diaz said. “We had some great evangelistic services in Mexico, singing in bull rings and in open plazas. We’d park the bus, and the people would start coming out to hear us.”

During the bicentennial celebration in 1976, the Emmanuels sang at several locations on the East Coast, including Washington, D.C.

“I remember, because we blew a head gasket  in Washington, and I had become one of the drivers by that time,” Diaz recalled.

The group had to bring in a mechanic to help them get back on the road, and members scattered all over the city to locate the necessary parts to repair the bus.

“We had to be back home within two weeks, because we were all on vacation and had to get back to work,” said Diaz, a clinical social worker who now works for Nueces County as deputy director for mental health services.

When Rudy Sanchez was pastor of Primera Iglesia Bautista, Diaz recalled the group approaching him to ask if his teenaged daughter Rhoda could become their accompanist after they lost their pianist.

“He agreed if we would promise to sing at the church whenever he requested,” he said.

‘We all enjoy ministering in song’

Rhoda Sanchez Gonzales still serves as pianist for the Emmanuels. Her husband Vince, pastor of North Dallas Family Church in Carrollton, plays bass guitar for the group.

Other current members of the Emmanuels are Gus Reyes, director of Hispanic partnerships at Dallas Baptist University and nephew of an original member of the group; Norman Vella, an educator in Corpus Christi; and Luis Zamora Jr. of Round Rock, the son of an original member of the group.

Reyes first joined the group for a couple of years when he was a college student.

“My Spanish wasn’t very good, but I knew enough Spanish to be able to sing, even when I couldn’t preach in Spanish,” he recalled.

When the Emmanuels traveled to Dallas to sing at First Mexican Baptist Church, Reyes met his future wife Leticia, then a student at Dallas Baptist University, at a Saturday night revival meeting.

“So, having the ability to sing with the Emmanuels has blessed my life in many ways,” Reyes said.

The Emmanuels sang recently at a Hispanic men’s retreat in Floydada, sponsored by Caprock Plains Baptist Association. Memorial Day weekend, they will sing in San Antonio. They also already are booked at McAllen in July and Austin in August.

In addition to singing and preaching, members of the group also lead workshops on a variety of topics when requested.

“Most of us have some flexibility in our work schedules,” Diaz said. “We’re open to what the Lord has for us.

“At every service where we sing, God is in control. We all enjoy ministering in song.”

After 28 years at Cottonwood Creek Church in Allen, Senior Pastor John Mark Caton confessed he longed for some word or phrase to “fix it”—to make right what had gone so terribly wrong in his city.

More than 2,000 community residents and guests gathered at Cottonwood Creek Church—about 25 miles north of Dallas—on Sunday to mourn, pray and comfort one another.

They grieved together in the wake of a mass shooting at a nearby mall the day before—the second most-deadly shooting in the country this year.

Saturday afternoon, a gunman opened fire outside the Allen Premium Outlets with an assault rifle, killing eight people and wounding seven others before he was shot fatally by police.

The Texas Department of Public Safety identified the slain shooter as 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia. Motive remained unknown, but some media outlets reported law enforcement was investigating suspected sympathies toward white supremacists and far-right-wing extremists.

‘We are here for you’

Reading from Isaiah 61, Caton spoke of the need to “bind up the brokenhearted,” to “comfort those who mourn” and bring “good news” when the news is unbearably tragic.

“We are here for you,” he said, noting ministers and licensed professional counselors were available at the community prayer gathering for any who needed them.

Without seeking to prescribe specific answers, Caton recognized educators, first responders, public officials, faith leaders and mental health professionals in attendance.

“You are part of the solution,” he said.

Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Attorney General Ken Paxton and his wife, state Sen Angela Paxton, attended the prayer service, along with other state and local officials.

‘Jesus, take the wheel’

Only two of about 30 public officials—Mayor Ken Fulk and Mayor-elect Baine Brooks—spoke publicly from the platform at the service.

Fulk told those in attendance the city is making available free counseling—24 hours a day, seven days a week—to any who desire it.

An emotional Brooks put aside his prepared remarks, saying he wanted to speak from the heart.

“We’re going to need prayer. … Jesus, take the wheel,” he said.

Speakers at the service focused on prayer for specific groups—shooting victims and their families, first responders, and the community and its leaders—and offering comfort to those who were grieving, rather than talking about public policy.

“It’s OK to cry out to God,” said Kelly Kitsch, children’s minister at Cottonwood Creek Church. “I don’t try to prescribe solutions to our Almighty God, because his ways are so much higher than our own.”

Executive Pastor Scott Sanford prayed for “a peace that transcends all understanding.”

“We ask to be comforted by your arms of love,” Sanford said. “And we ask for healing for the brokenhearted.”

Some propose solutions

Away from the church service, some elected officials and faith leaders were less muted in their thoughts about the mass shooting.

Interviewed on Fox News Sunday, Abbott mentioned efforts to increase penalties for criminals who possess guns, but he emphasized the need to focus on mental health rather than gun control.

“People want a quick solution. The long-term solution here is to address the mental health issue,” Abbott said.

Dwight McKissic, senior pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, about 50 miles southwest of Cottonwood Creek Church, tweeted: “There should be laws against permitting a gun able to do this kind of damage to be purchased by citizens. … To watch this kind of carnage now on a regular basis, year after year, I’ve reached the conclusion it’s immoral to permit citizens to own & possess such weapons.”

McKissic asserted a consistent pro-life position cuts across political party lines, opposing easy access to abortion and to assault weapons. He called on politicians “from both sides of the aisle” to enact laws and adopt policies that protect life.

“These senseless, tragic murders in the womb & in the malls, schools, churches, [and] public places must cease,” he tweeted.

In a challenge to Christians, he tweeted: “The gun lobby can’t have a stronger voice on these issues than the church.”