April 2, 2001

TOGETHER:
Wayland transition reflects
long line of faith-keeping
___Wayland Baptist University didn't make national headlines, as Texas Tech did when the Red Raiders hired Bobby Knight as their new basketball coach. But what happened in Plainview, not Lubbock, was far more important for the educational future of the Caprock, the High Plains and all of Texas.
___On March 21, Wayland inaugurated Paul Armes as the school's 12th president. He

CHARLES WADE Executive Director BGCT Executive Board

follows Wallace Davis, who becomes chancellor of the Wayland University system. Wayland has campuses in San Antonio, Lubbock, Amarillo and Wichita Falls, and it has extension programs in New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska and Hawaii. Last year, Wayland dedicated a beautiful new campus in San Antonio, where the school has more than 1,300 students and plans for building a strong university that will serve South Texas.
___Wallace Davis has given visionary leadership over the past 10 years as one of the most effective and appreciated leaders in Baptist educational life. I am thankful he will continue to serve our young people in providing accessible, quality Christian education across our state and beyond.
___I treasure the spirit of our Baptist people on the High Plains. They love their churches, and they love Wayland. The university has a strong board of trustees who were proudly present to welcome their new president to his new task. Paul and Duanea Armes love West Texas, and they are a wonderful choice for the challenge the 21st century brings to Christian higher education.
___All who attended the inauguration were moved by a story Wallace Davis shared. Shortly after he became president of Wayland, he had an unexpected visit from Mabel Wayland Adams, daughter of the university's founder. Spry and alert at 102, she offered unsolicited advice to the new president.
___"Young man, you are more than Wayland's president. You are also the caretaker of a sacred trust," she told him. "It is a trust handed down by my father and those fellow pioneers who helped to establish this university. With their lives and their resources, they sought to ensure that Wayland's academic and spiritual roots would be forever anchored in the faith and message of Christianity. You have the solemn obligation of guarding that legacy, so that their love of knowledge and their faith in Jesus Christ can be shared with every individual touched by this university.
___"It is also a trust which declares your obligation to ensure the Baptists of Texas that all who labor in this place will continually strive with all their heart, soul and mind to light both the lamps of knowledge and faith, so that love for one's fellow man and the lordship of Jesus Christ will never vanish from the High Plains of Texas. Fulfill these trusts, and you will be an effective president."
___He told the inauguration audience: "That dear lady left me no room for pride in my position. Her words built in me a prayerful cry for God to make me faithful to the trust I had been given."
___I see in our university presidents at East Texas Baptist, Mary Hardin-Baylor, Baylor, Dallas Baptist, Houston Baptist, Howard Payne, Hardin-Simmons and Wayland that same great spirit. I am proud to be their advocate and partner in providing Christian education for the young people God is calling to service across our state.
___We are loved.

Get printer-friendly version of this story


Send this story to a friend

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist
churches, in the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.

---

Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!