February 3, 1999
EDITORIAL:
Pinson paints divine Texas target
___Seventeen years ago, Bill Pinson painted a gospel target on the state of Texas, and he's aimed for that mark ever since.
___"I come ... on mission, not to ceremony and ritual and second-rate agendas, but rather to mission," Pinson said when he was elected executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas May 18, 1982.
___"I see Texas as the cornerstone of our mission to the world. I want to join with you in looking at Texas as a mission field--at its cities, at language and ethnic groups, at the lost millions, at disintegrating moral standards."
___Those words have shaped the trajectory of Pinson's gospel assault on our state during the intervening years. They will guide Pinson and Texas Baptists to his retirement Jan. 31, 2000, which he announced last week.
___When he was elected, Pinson expressed a call to evangelize and baptize Texans who do not know Jesus as their Savior; to start and strengthen churches; to equip Texas Baptists to reach their friends, neighbors and other people with the saving message of Jesus; to saturate Texas' cities with the message of Christ; to build the mission base from which Texans could lead out in missions; to spread the gospel among language groups; and to emphasize unity.
___Those themes will be Bill Pinson's legacy. They have shaped Mission Texas and Texas 2000, the missions/evangelism/ church-starting campaigns that have guided Texas Baptists' cooperative efforts during his tenure.
___Under Pinson's leadership, Texas Baptists have set records for baptisms, numbers of congregations and pace of church-starting, church membership, Sunday school enrollment and attendance, cooperative giving, and the fruits of affiliated ministries, such as university enrollment, medical care and ministry to children and the elderly.
___Despite political controversy that has swirled about Baptists these past two decades, the Pinson years have been blessed and bountiful in Texas. All Texas Baptists should thank God for Bill Pinson and for his Christ-oriented, church-centered, missions-minded, kingdom-building, faith-affirming tenure as our leader.
___Countless Texas Baptists wish he would remain at the helm. He'll be a youthful and healthy 65 this summer. He certainly has the stamina, vision and vitality to lead a few more years. But he is a person of prayer and a Christian who seeks God's will for his life. He says God says it's time to move on. So, trusting his wisdom as we have many times these past years, we pray prayers of gratitude for and blessings upon Bill and Bobbie Pinson. And we pray for God's wisdom as Texas Baptists seek a successor.
___The selection process will be time-honored and prescribed by longstanding convention policy. A search committee will be appointed by officers of the BGCT and its Executive Board, as well as chairpersons of the Christian Education Coordinating Board, Christian Life Commission, Human Welfare Coordinating Board and State Missions Commission.
___Those officers will do their work, and the search committee will do its work. No doubt, Texas Baptists will be asked for their recommendations. No doubt, Texas Baptists will discuss our ideas and preferences on these pages and in our churches. In the meantime, we would do well to keep several things in mind:
___This is a time for prayer. Ask God to guide every step of the selection process, every thought of every committee member. Pray that God will complete the preparation of Pinson's successor. And pray that Texas Baptists will be prepared to accept God's leadership and this new leader.
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___We need a visionary leader whose vision will be clear, church-centered and Christ-honoring as Texas Baptists take aim at reaching our state, nation and world in a new millennium. That vision must not be skewed by political subterfuge but rather sharpened by faith, hope and love.
___ --Marv Knox
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