October 20, 1999
INAUGURAL ADDRESS:
Albert L. Reyes, Sixth President,
Hispanic Baptist Theological School
October 8, 1999
Introduction
I want to thank my lovely wife, Dr. Belinda Reyes, and my three boys Joshua, David and Thomas for their support of me in my new ministry as president of Hispanic Baptist Theological School. I also want to acknowledge the sacrificial support of my parents, Rev. and Mrs. Agustin Reyes, and my in-laws, Rev. and Mrs. Baldemar Alvarado. Were it not for their support this ministry assignment would be practically impossible.
Mr. Chairman, trustees, HBTS family and friends, Dr. William Pinson, members of the Executive Board staff and the officers of the Baptist General Convention Texas, President Rudy Camacho and the officers of the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas, representatives of our Texas Baptist institutions of higher learning and partnering Baptist organizations, it is my honor that you have considered this inaugural occasion worthy of your time and attention.
ALBERT L. REYES
For over 50 years, the Texas Baptist family, through the ministry of Hispanic Baptist Theological School, has sought to provide education and training for emerging leaders of Hispanic churches in Texas. While opportunities for Baptist higher education existed in Texas since 1845, Paul J. Siebenmann and C.G. Carter understood the need for a contextual program of studies. Since 1948, their dream has produced over 1,100 alumni and 950 graduates. Hispanic Baptist Theological School, previously known as Mexican Baptist Bible Institute, Hispanic Baptist Theological Seminary, or seminario has become the primary source of leaders for Texas Baptist Hispanic churches. Today, alumni of HBTS pastor 75 percent of Hispanic Baptist churches in Texas. Our alumni also serve as church staff, missionaries, associate directors of mission, Baptist Student Ministries directors, faculty, chaplains, evangelists, and they serve on boards of our institutions enriching the tapestry of Texas Baptist life.
Dr. Ernest Atkinson noted that since 1948, HBTS has continued to be the only Baptist school of its kind in the United States offering theological education in Spanish from an Hispanic perspective.
In my personal pilgrimage, I have been on a journey to rediscover my heritage and learn more about who I am. I believe this will give me clues as to my future investment in the kingdom. Recently I received a call from Mexico City. Luis Quijano Guerrero, my third cousin, was inviting my family to vacation in the Federal District and Acapulco. In Spanish, he said… "Tienes que conocer tus raizes Mexicanas para que sepas de donde vienes…You need to know your Mexican roots, so you can know where you come from." By the same token, it is vital that we know who we are as a school to give us direction for our future. So let’s take a moment to explore our identity.
Who We Are
First, we are Texas Baptist! We are a denominationally related school advancing the Great Commission by equipping men and women for effective Christian ministries in a multicultural context, especially among peoples of Hispanic culture. With a beautiful main campus and 14 off-campus centers, we enjoy excellent working relationships with the State Missions Commission and the Ethnic Coordinator’s Office of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. We also work closely with the officers of Convencion, the Valley Baptist Missions/Education Center and associations of churches. I want you to know without any exception that your new president is deeply connected to Texas Baptists. In the 1930s, Edward P. Gonzalez, an itinerant Texas Baptist evangelist and church planter, introduced the gospel to my grandmother, Francisca Rodriguez Reyes, on a ranch near Snyder. As the gospel moved through our family, it was Rev. Ignacio E. Gonzalez, a Texas Baptist pastor who discipled my father. Other Texas Baptists pastors who impacted me were Dr. Rudy Hernandez; Dr. Rudy Sanchez, who nurtured my call to vocational ministry; Rev. Fortunato Gonzalez, who was my college pastor; Rev. Jonatan Hernandez; Dr. Charles Wade; Rev. Thomas Potter; and Dr. Jimmy Draper, who pastored my wife and I during seven years of seminary preparation. Texas Baptist history in my wife’s family, the Olivares and Perez families of Bee County, dates back to 1890, when Belinda’s great-grandfather, Antonio Perez, a deacon/pastor began Baptist work in Skidmore, on the family’s ranch. Who would have ever guessed I would marry a fourth-generation Texas Baptist and Baylor grad? For over a century, our families have been blessed by Baptists in Texas. "To God be the Glory…Great Things He Has Done in our Family!" We are Texas Baptists, and we will remain connected to the Texas Baptist Family! I concur with Dr. William Pinson who said, "Texas Baptists remain committed to education that is academically excellent, unapologetically Christian and distinctively Baptist." It is from this perspective that the school has chosen 2 Timothy 3:16-17 as its thematic verse which says, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
The second characteristic that marks our identity is that we are Hispanic! We are Tejanos! We were on both sides of Colonel William B. Travis’ line drawn in the sand on the grounds of the Alamo. Our identity is sometimes clear but mostly complicated. We are Mestizo, Hispanic, Latin-American, Mexican-American and American. Hispanic means our identity is not finitely defined or permanently sealed but ever-emerging, blending and adapting. It means we are a bicultural and bilingual people whose horizons are expanded not limited. As philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein wrote, "The limits of my language mean the limits of my world." So the world of Hispanic Baptist Theological School has expanded and is ever-expanding. And so our future will be bilingual and bicultural. We represent an emerging icon of the demographic future of the entire southwestern part of the United States and perhaps the entire nation. One missiologist has said, "In 21st century Western Hemisphere, you will either be bicultural and bilingual or the other option is that you will be by-yourself." Our Hispanic identity provides us with linguistic and cultural affinity not only with the Americas but also with most of the Third World, especially the Arab world. You may be surprised to know that there are 6,000 Spanish words with Arabic roots. Leading missiologists are suggesting that the missionary force that will win Islam to Christ in the 21st century will come from the Hispanic world. Therefore, our God-given identity positions us for transcultural, translinguistic, hemispheric and global impact. We would say…To God be the Glory…Great Plans He has Made For US!
This is who we are. Now, where are we going?
Where We Are Going
In order to articulate a clear and compelling vision it is useful to describe our future as a point of departure. The celebration of the new millennium, now less than 60 days away, is full of changes. We are moving into a world that will dramatically change, constantly. Someone has said that the only person that really likes change is a baby with a wet diaper. That means there will be a lot of us dealing with change and adjustments in the next few years. The new millennium will be demographically different, with minorities comprising a larger percentage of the population. Urban centers and even small towns will become increasingly multicultural. The borders of the future will become cultural rather than merely geographic as we truly become a global village. Change will happen at an exponential rate. The Christian witness will be continuously challenged in public and private forums, and the church will strive to maintain its effectiveness in a post-modern society. As I have previously stated, the Western Hemisphere will become increasingly bicultural and bilingual. From Argentina to Alaska, Spanish and English will be spoken. In my first 60 days in office, I have attempted to listen to our constituency, consider what I was hearing and draft a planning document that would take into consideration the best stewardship of our future. We have reflected on 1 Chronicles 12:32 and tried to be like "the men of Isaachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do." Today, our board of trustees approved the adoption of our planning document, which I will use as the basis for the balance of my comments.
The vision of Hispanic Baptist Theological School is to become a premier equipper of cross-cultural ministry leaders who serve in a multicultural context.
What we are saying is that in the near future HBTS will be recognized as the place where ministry leaders gain the skills and knowledge needed to be effective in 21st century Texas and beyond. It will not be enough to know Spanish and English, it will not be enough to know theology or Bible, it will not be enough to know history or hermeneutics to be effective in the 21st century. We will need skilled servant leaders effective in cross-cultural settings who know how to bring to bear the disciplines of biblical knowledge, theological inquiry, historical reflection and hermeneutic skill in a predominantly Hispanic context
We will enhance our ability to realize our vision as we focus on the initiatives of accreditation, student enrollment, strategic partnerships, increased endowment and spiritual health.
Accreditation
The first initiative is the achievement of accreditation. HBTS is in the process of becoming a fully accredited Bible College with the Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges. We anticipate moving into the second phase of accreditation by the fall of 2000 and accredited status by the fall of 2001. A process has already begun to renew our effort to obtain a Certificate of Authority with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board enabling HBTS to legally grant accredited degrees in Texas. We will be in a position to offer accredited associate and bachelor's degrees in Bible as well as accredited entry-level programs. We will focus on a world-class Bible-centered higher education with a high level of analytical and communicative skills, biblical worldview, global vision of the church’s mission, and a commitment to spread the gospel message to a needy world. We will join the ranks of 600 bible colleges nationwide such as Moody Bible Institute, Wheaton College and Pensacola Christian College, and become the first Texas Baptist Bible college teaching from a bilingual and bicultural perspective. I see the emergence of a Bible College for the Americas strategically positioned for global impact from deep in the heart of Texas.
Student Enrollment
The second initiative that will impact our vision is increased enrollment. Without students, we have no school. Student retention and recruitment will become a priority focus. We will explore innovative processes to recruit the best and brightest students we have in our Texas Baptist churches. Its time that we pursue our responsibility and God-given right to call out the called from among our youth. Every student who senses a call from God for vocational ministry will be welcomed at our school despite his or her academic preparation. Even Sunday School teachers, deacons, youth leaders, church planters, as well as seasoned pastors and leaders, both Anglo and Hispanic, will be drawn to the contextual programs we will offer. This fall, we have achieved an enrollment of 261 students with 61 on-campus and 200 off-campus. We anticipate 100 students on campus in the spring of 2000 and 200 students on campus by the fall of 2001. I see the day when we will have 500 on-campus students and at least those many in our 14 off-campus centers. We will depend on Texas Baptist pastors, alumni, WMU leaders, Companierismo officers, directors of missions, Convencion officers and the entire Texas Baptist family to encourage emerging leaders to attend our school. Working together, there is no reason why we can’t reach an equipping level of 1,000 students over the next 10 years.
Strategic Partnerships
The third initiative that will impact our vision is the establishment of strategic partnerships. We realize that HBTS cannot do this work alone. In the new millennium, networking service organizations will rule the day. We will continue to enhance our working relationship with the Baptist General Convention of Texas, Nuestra Convencion Hispana, Texas Baptist associations of churches and a variety of Christian organizations partnering with the BGCT. We will proactively explore cooperative agreements with equipping entities such as the Borderland Leadership Center of the El Paso Baptist Association. We will also explore cooperative agreements with Texas Baptist institutions of higher learning to discover ways we can partner together, share resources and influence each other for greater impact and the advancement of kingdom causes in our state and beyond.
Endowment
The fourth initiative that will enhance our vision will be the establishment of a multi-million-dollar endowment to launch the trajectory of institutional advancement and institutional support services. We will intensively seek to articulate our mission and vision to donors, foundations and friends that deem our cause strategic in redemptive history. We will explore and exhaust all the means available to gather the resources necessary to carry out our work in the new millennium. We will appeal to our alumni, churches, convention, donors and other interested parties by providing both opportunities and compelling reasons to fund our efforts.
Spiritual Health
Finally, the fifth initiative that will have immediate impact on our vision is the nature and tone of our spiritual health as a school. It seems to me that God blesses his people when they are humble, transformed, open, repentant, willing and ready to serve the purposes of redemptive activity. Spiritual formation will become a key focus of our school. We want to be a school where students encounter the living God through the lives of their professors, administration and staff. Generation X wants to experience God in tangible ways. We want to be a place where students can encounter the living God during their preparatory years. Our students have already begun early morning prayer gatherings and weekly prayer-walks as an expression of their spirituality. I see an intercessory prayer network established for the school with one or more individuals praying for the school every day of the year. Our spiritual formation will enhance our integrity, our academic excellence and our desire to become servant leaders.
Conclusion
In conclusion, let me say that I have made an effort to connect our exciting future to our glorious past. However, to dwell on the past with a desire to recreate it places us in denial of how our world has changed in the last 24 hours. The words of the prophet Isaiah emerge in light of this dilemma. In the 43rd chapter and the 16th verse the prophet says: "This is what the Lord says—He who made a way through the sea, A path through the mighty waters, Who drew out the chariots and horses, And they lay there, never to rise again, Extinguished, snuffed out like a wick; Forget the former things, Do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up, do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and Streams in the Wasteland."
The people of Israel were hoping that God would part the Red Sea again or make water flow from a rock. But God was going to work in a new way. God is doing a new thing at Hispanic Baptist Theological School and among Texas Baptists. I hope and pray we would have the vision to see it.
What would we attempt for God in the future if we knew we couldn’t fail? How would we invest ourselves through the sacred trust of HBTS if we only had one kingdom investment to make? Ephesians 3:20 Living Bible says: "Now glory be to God, who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of—infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts or hopes."
What will we dare to ask God for? How big will we dream? What will we pray, desire, think or hope for our school? Whatever we do, God is able to go infinitely beyond us. I challenge you to pray for God to do great things at Hispanic Baptist Theological School. To God be the Glory…Great things he has done…Greater things He will do! May God bless you, your family, your church…Texas Baptists, and the future that begins today.
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