January 26, 2000
DURING groundbreaking ceremonies for the new Baptist Building in May 1987, Pinson is surrounded by BGCT Treasurer Roger Hall and members of the building committee.
Pinson aimed to keep Texans focused
___By Ken Camp
___Texas Baptist Communication
___Ask Bill Pinson about his greatest challenge during 17 years as Texas Baptists' executive director, and he will talk about the importance of staying focused.
___"The great challenge has been the continuing attempt to help Texas Baptists keep focused on the biblical priorities and imperatives of evangelism, missions, ministry,education and benevolence," said Pinson, who retires next week as executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board.
TEXAS BAPTISTS baptized more than 1 million new believers from the time Pinson arrived as Executive Director (l) to his retirement next week.
___Pinson helped guide Texas Baptists through periods of economic boom and bust, and through years of great change on the denominational landscape.
___Through it all, Pinson continued to call Baptists in Texas to those same scriptural priorities that guided him personally throughout 45 years of ministry as a youth evangelist, educator, pastor and denominational leader.
___William M. Pinson Jr. was born in Fort Worth. He was valedictorian of his high school class at Lancaster in 1951 and graduated with high honors from North Texas State College in Denton four years later.
___While serving as president of the student body and the Baptist Student Union at North Texas, Pinson surrendered to God's calling into full-time vocational ministry.
___He became pastor of West Keechi Baptist Church at Barton Chapel and was a youth evangelist with the student department of the BGCT.
___After one year at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, he left Texas forgraduate studies at the University of Edinburgh. While there, Pinson preached revivals in Scotland, visited mission sites throughout Europe and served as a representative to the European Baptist Youth Leadership Conference in Zurich, Switzerland.
PINSON gets a first-hand report on disaster relief ministries after the Mexico City earthquake in 1985.
___Returning to Southwestern, Pinson studied Christian ethics under T.B. Maston and served as an associate with the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission. He earned his doctorate from Southwestern and began his teaching career there, serving as professor of Christian ethics from 1963 to 1975.
___"One day, as I was walking across campus, I felt a loosening of the moorings," Pinson recalled. Not long after that, First Baptist Church of Wichita Falls called him as pastor.
___"I have enjoyed every place I have served," he said. "When the time was right, God has blessed me with a sense of 'letting go.' It's not something you come to rationally."
___Pinson was pastor of First Baptist Church in Wichita Falls until 1977, when he left to become president of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary near San Francisco.
___A missions calling led him to California, he said. And another missions calling led him back to Texas. In May 1982, the BGCT Executive Board elected Pinson as successor toJames Landes. He assumed the post the following January.
DURING a disaster relief briefing in the mid-1980s, Pinson is joined by State Missions Commission Director Charles McLaughlin and Texas Baptist Men Executive Director Bob Dixon.
___Pinson came home to a state that had changed drastically since his childhood. It was increasingly urban, culturally diverse and largely unchurched. The church growth rate was being outpaced by the population growth rate.
___"My heart's desire has been for Baptists in this state to reach the Texas mission field while continuing to strengthen the mission base," he said.
___That was a theme he began preaching across the state, telling Texas Baptists that half their state was unchurched. This emphasis resulted in adoption of Mission Texas, a long-range plan for 1985 to 1990. Mission Texas emphasized reaching people, developing believers, strengthening missions, praying for spiritual awakening and growing in stewardship.
___A major part of the emphasis was the goal of starting 2,000 churches and missions in the state by 1990. To help fund new churches, Pinson worked with Woman's Missionary Union of Texas to set "far above normal" state missions offering goals for 1985 and 1986.
By the numbers
___During the years of Bill Pinson's tenure as executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas:
___BGCT churches baptized more than 1 million new believers.
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___Under the volunteer leadership of Fred and Gloria Roach of Richardson, many Texas Baptists accepted the "Triple/Triple" challenge--tripling their 1984 gifts to the Mary Hill Davis Offering in 1985 and then tripling their 1985 gifts in 1986. As a result, Texas Baptists exceeded the Mission Texas goal of starting 2,000 congregations.
___Despite severe economic recession in Texas during the mid-1980s, Texas Baptists more than doubled their giving to state missions in 1985 and gave a record $8.3 million in 1986.
___Other emphases followed. From 1990 to 1995, the theme was "Mission Texas: Reach! Grow! Serve!" Then a 74-member strategy council developed the Texas 2000 vision.
___Texas 2000 emphasizes sharing the gospel with every person in the state by the year 2000, ministering to human needs, equipping God's people for ministry, developing Christian families and strengthening and starting churches.
___The church-directed emphasis of Texas 2000 reflected a "paradigm shift" for the BGCT, Pinson often said. Instead of setting goals for churches to reach and programs for them to adopt, the convention recast itself as a resource for local churches.
___Pinson maintains one of the most significant things that occurred in Texas Baptist life during his 17 years as executive director was the "development of a cooperative team spirit among churches, associations, institutions and the BGCT Executive Board staff. There is a synergy that comes from that kind of teamwork."
___Looking at disappointments, Pinson said one of his greatest is that not every Texas Baptist felt a part of the team. After several years of controversy, some congregations broke with the BGCT in 1998 to form a new convention.
___"Many of us tried hard to stave off a split," Pinson said. He maintained that "a divorce in the family" of Texas Baptists set a poor example, and continuing controversy caused "a sapping of energy."
___Another disappointment, Pinson added, is that Texas Baptists did not make greater inroads into reaching non-Christian Texans with the gospel.
___However, over the past several years, Texas Baptist church growth once again began keeping pace with population growth. That reversed a trend in which Baptist churches were falling behind, and it came at a time of explosive population growth in the state--growth fueled largely by immigration.
___Pinson said he particularly is encouraged by the growth of Hispanic Texas Baptists. The number of Hispanic Baptist churches grew from 550 in 1982 to 920 in 1998.
___At this point, Pinson said, he has "no clear sense of direction" about specific plans for his retirement years, though he already has received a number of offers to teach, write and speak.
___As executive director emeritus, he does anticipate working with the BGCT's Baptist Distinctives Committee to develop resources for local churches and to work toward the creation of a Texas Baptist Heritage Center.
___He also expects to continue efforts in financial development, encouraging planned giving to BGCT-related causes.
___Looking to the future, Pinson believes the new BGCT emphasis on church health and the continuing emphasis on evangelism and missions--combined with "a gifted, dedicated, skilled team of servant leaders"--is a "formula for great days ahead."
___"As I retire from the office of executive director, I do so with gratitude for the past and confidence in the future--a confidence rooted in the quality of leadership in place among Texas Baptists, such as new Executive Director Charles Wade, but primarily in the leadership and empowerment of God," Pinson said.
___"We serve a great God who desires to do great things through his people--great things in ministry and service. I believe the best is yet to be."
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