March 5, 2001
Baptist Building staff reorganization complete
___By Dan Martin
___Texas Baptist Communications
___The reorganization of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board staff has been completed and is in place, members of the Executive Board were told during their Feb. 27 meeting.
___The new structure--which has been in the planning stages more than six months--replaces one that had been in place since the 1950s.
___"The organization is still developing and will never be set in concrete," said ExecutiveDirector Charles Wade. "We want the organization to be fluid so we will be able to meet changing needs and challenges."
___Under the old organization, the State Missions Commission had four divisions: Sunday School/discipleship, missions, church services and evangelism. Other main components were the Christian Education Coordinating Board, Human Welfare Coordinating Board and the Christian Life Commission.
___Communications, minister/ church relations and Ministers' Counseling Service were stand-alone units reporting directly to the executive director.
___Under the new organization, the work of the State Missions Commission is spread among three new sections: church missions and evangelism, church health and growth, and associational missions and administration. Two institutions that formerly related to the missions commission--Hispanic Baptist Theological School and Valley Baptist Missions and Education Center--will relate to a new institutional ministries section.
___Although the work unit distribution has changed, the convention-elected State Missions Commission will continue to function for now. Likewise, the Christian Education Coordinating Board and Human Welfare Coordinating Board--also elected by the convention--will work with the combined institutional ministries section.
___The convention-elected Christian Life Commission will relate to the work of the new Christian ethics and public life section.
___In the new organization, there are six sections. Coordinators of those sections serve on an 11-member leadership team that will work directly with Wade.
___The church missions and evangelism section is led by E.B. Brooks. Church health and growth is directed by Lynn Eckeberger. Associational missions and administration is led by Lorenzo Pena. Christian ethics and public life is led by Phil Strickland. Institutional ministries is directed by Keith Bruce. Financial management is led by Roger Hall, who also is chief financial officer and treasurer.
___Others on the leadership team are Chris Liebrum, director of human resources; Becky Bridges, newly elected director of communications; Dick Maples, executive associate; Carolyn Porterfield, executive director of Texas Woman's Missionary Union; and Jim Furgerson, executive director of Texas Baptist Men.
___Under the reorganization, the sections are divided into offices and centers.
___With only three exceptions, existing staff members have been reassigned to fill all the slots.
___Three key posts are vacant. A replacement for Bailey Stone, evangelism director, has not been named, but the department has been changed to become the Center for Strategic Evangelism. Also being sought is a director of the Church Starting Center, to replace Brooks, who became section leader. A replacement is being sought for Bob Eklund, who retired as director of church stewardship.
___Three other positions have been filled and previously announced: Becky Bridges is director of the Communications Center (formerly office of communications); Bob Ray is director of bivocational/smaller church development; and Susan Paynter is director of citizenship education and public policy.
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