 February 10, 1999
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CORY BOERM (left), a student at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, leads a round-table discussion on student campus activities and students (right) try to untangle themselves during an exercise in cooperation during the Christian Association of Student Leaders conference.
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Students told to 'find the future,' lead others
___BELTON--More than 130 leaders in student government and faculty advisers from nine universities in Texas and Oklahoma were challenged to "Rekindle the Torch" at the first conference of the Christian Association of Student Leaders Jan. 28-30 on the campus of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton.
___The association is a consortium of universities
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STUDENT GOVERNMENT leaders from nine universities in Texas and Oklahoma participated in problem--solving and cooperation-enhancing exercises and heard speakers exhort them to "rekindle the torch" of leadership during the Christian Association of Student Leaders conference at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. (Photos by Carol Woodward)
| dedicated to strengthening the leadership of campus organizations from a common Christian perspective. In 1998 students from UMHB and alumnus Brandon Tidwell approached the Baptist General Convention of Texas with the idea for the association and met with overwhelming support.
___The conference speakers, seminars and round-table discussions were designed to give student-leaders the opportunity to hear and experience new ways of bringing leadership to their respective campuses.
___Seminar topics included "The Ethics of Leadership"; "Leadership Management Tools"; Relationship Dynamics; "Leadership Style"; "Leadership Development"; and "Diversity in Leaders."
___According to conference coordinator Kathlee Roscoe, a student at the UMHB, other leadership conferences are available for students to attend, but this is the first time an association has been designed to speak to the unique needs of leaders enrolled in Christian colleges and universities.
___"What really excites me is the potential it has to influence America," she said. "I see a ripple effect once student leaders are trained
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DUDLEY CALLISON
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DRAYTON MCLANE JR.
| interactively at a Christ-centered leadership conference."
___Dudley Callison, president and director of Face to Face Ministries Inc. in Waco, stepped in as the featured speaker at the last minute due to an unexpected death in the family of scheduled speaker, Howard G. Hendricks. Callison spoke to the importance of "servant-leadership."
___Drayton McLane Jr. of Temple challenged the students as he spoke about team leadership. "Your real mission is to move Christian leadership to the next generation. Your role is to find the future and to take others to places you wouldn't go alone."
___McLane, chairman of the McLane Group, the Houston Astros and the Astrodome USA in Houston, is a graduate of Baylor University and received his master of arts degree from Michigan State University.
___Reactions from students were consistent on the
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STUDENTS made new friends during team-building exercises at the conference.
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BRANDON TIDWELL
| opportunity the conference provided for networking with each other and gaining ideas.
___"This is a chance for us to get new ideas and compare notes with other campuses," said Kallie Denny of Dallas Baptist University.
___"It is really refreshing to see the agenda because it is very legitimate stuff. I think we're talking about thingsthat are a lot more relevant" than past conferences said Brian Carter, student government president at Howard Payne University.
___"All the conferences I've been to, I've left feeling like there was something missing. We as Christian colleges are different," said Christy Caraway, special events coordinator at UMHB. "This conference meets our needs."
___Shalini Jhangiani of Houston Baptist University said the conference was an "eye opener" and suggested improvements for her own campus. "For instance, we are planing to exchange our by-laws to see the good things we can capitalize on from other campuses," she said.
___"We want to increase our consistency in working with our administration in working together as a team," said Stephanie Spencer of Houston Baptist University.
___Hardin-Simmons University will be the host for the conference next year.
___Keith Bruce of the Texas Baptist Christian Education Coordinating Board commended the students for their efforts in being Christian leaders.
___ "You students have set an example for us on the spirit of cooperation we need among our universities," he said.
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