Roger Hall enjoyed 'good fit'
ministry with BGCT
___By Ken Camp
___Texas Baptist Communications
___Looking back on his tenure as treasurer and chief financial officer for the Baptist General Convention of Texas, Roger Hall said his best days at work have been busy ones. And he's seen plenty of those.
___They included days spent with the 53 employees who reported directly or indirectly to him, in areas ranging from financial management and informat

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ion systems to the Texas Baptist Historical Collection and Center.
___They also involved days spent supervising the construction and maintenance of an $11.3 million, four-story mission facility in Dallas for Texas Baptists--built without incurring debt or using missions funds.
___He spent days in meetings--more than even an accountant would want to tally.
___But especially, they included days devoted to helping pastors, directors of missions and lay leaders of churches, connecting them to the resources they needed to achieve their mission.
___"Primarily, I'm a resource manager," Hall said. "At the end of the day, it's satisfying if I have been in contact with people who see points of need or potential ministries and I have been able to bring resources to bear to help them."
___Hall will retire March 31 after 18 1/2 years on the BGCT staff. Actually, he served both as an employee of the BGCT Executive Board and as an elected officer of the state convention, having been elected repeatedly as recording secretary for the annual BGCT meetings.
___Throughout his tenure as treasurer, the BGCT consistently received the highest possible praise from auditors. They regularly cited his office for its high standards of financial accountability.
___Hall brought to the chief financial officer's position a wealth of experience as a certified public accountant, ordained minister and seminary graduate, U.S. Army commissioned officer in Vietnam and lifelong active Baptist churchman.
___"It's been a good fit, in terms of who I am and what I've tried to do," Hall said. "My ministry has not been primarily from the pulpit, but rather from the computer terminal or the telephone, working with bankers and lawyers."
___Hall grew up in Missouri, graduating from Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield and from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City.
___Before coming to work for Texas Baptists, Hall was vice president for estate planning at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Mo. Previously, he had served as vice president for financial affairs at Midwestern Seminary, director of business services for the Missouri Baptist Convention and assistant professor of business and accounting at Southwest Baptist University.
___"One of the highlights for me has been in learning what Texas Baptists are all about," Hall said, noting he immediately was impressed by their "can-do spirit and serious missions commitment."
___Hall said he has been "enriched dramatically" by the lives of volunteers, church staff members, associational directors of missions, encampment managers and institutional representatives with whom he has worked.
___He expressed appreciation for the opportunity to work with "a lot of good people who shared themselves"--not only Texas Baptists, but also his colleagues among the business officers of other state conventions.
___Marlin Hawkins, former controller for the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, said Hall has served "as a confidant, encourager, leader, adviser and most of all, Christian brother and friend" to state convention business officers.
___Hall came to his post with the BGCT just prior to a severe economic downturn in the Texas economy in the mid-1980s, particularly in areas dependent upon oil, gas or agribusiness.
___Tough economic times were "a character-building experience," he said, only half joking. "We got through them, and they made us stronger in the process."
___During Hall's tenure as BGCT treasurer and chief financial officer, missions giving through the Cooperative Program increased 12.5 percent, from $54.5 million to $61.4 million in 2001.
___Total BGCT assets--including endowments and capital assets--grew 216 percent, from $52 million to more than $164 million.
___Hall looks back with satisfaction on the growth in the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas missions--from $2.8 million in 1983 to $5 million last year.
___And he points to the thousands of new churches Texas Baptists started, particularly during the Mission Texas emphasis under Bill Pinson's leadership as executive director.
___"I've never worked with a man I respected more," Hall said, noting that they worked closely together for more than 16 years. "To see his vision and his commitment to the task made it a joy to be able to put together resources to get the job done."
___At the same time, Hall pledged his continuing prayer support for Pinson's successor, Charles Wade, with whom he has worked the last two years.
___"I know Dr. Wade has a challenging task in the future. I pray for him and for the convention and its leaders in the coming days," he said.
___In retirement, Hall hopes he and his wife, Donna, will have a greater opportunity to travel and spend time with their extended family--particularly four grandchildren.
___Hall anticipates staying busy at First Baptist Church in Midlothian, where he is a deacon, Sunday School teacher and chairman of the finance committee.
___He also plans to do consulting part-time for non-profit institutions.
___While Hall no longer will be involved in the day-to-day work at the Baptist Building in Dallas, he emphasized he will continue to be vitally interested and involved in the future of the convention.
___Hall said he prays Texas Baptists will be "focused intently on the work God wants us to do and be serious about doing it."
___The "family squabbles among Baptists" that have consumed so much time and energy and grabbed so much attention have been painful, he admitted.
___But in spite of the frustrations, Hall said, "The overriding fact is I'd do it all over again--in a minute."

The Baptist Standard