May 13, 2002

Texas Baptist Men leader taking early retirement
___By Ken Camp
___Texas Baptist Communications
___After nearly four years as executive director-treasurer of Texas Baptist Men, Jim Furgerson has announced his plans to retire July 15.
___Furgerson, 61, submitted his request for early retirement to the Texas Baptist Men executive committee at a May 3 called meeting in Dallas, citing his desire to spend more time with his family.
___"Texas Baptist Men has been fortunate to have had a man with the experience and denominational background of Jim Furgerson to lead them in the worldwide ministries that TBM has been called on to carry out," said Leo Smith of Alvin, president of Texas Baptist Men. "His heart has continued the vision of TBM touching the world with the love of God wherever God's people have a need."
___An ex-Marine, missions educator and volunteer coordinator, Furgerson joined the Texas Baptist Men staff Aug. 1, 1998, as executive director-elect. He assumed the executive director's post Sept. 6.
___"I love the men of Texas Baptist Men, and I pray for their success as they seek to know and do God's will for their lives. I will pray for the leadership of TBM that God will give them the vision and the ability to lead TBM to be all he wants it to become," Furgerson wrote in his retirement announcement to the executive committee.
___As president of Texas Baptist Men, Smith will provide transitional leadership for the organization until the group's personnel committee appoints an interim executive director.
___The organization's eight-member personnel committee, along with the current president and immediate past president, Andy Andreason of McGregor, will serve as the search committee for the new executive director-treasurer.
___Although Bob Dixon of Dallas preceded Smith as president, former President Andreason was given the responsibilities of serving as immediate past president when the Texas Baptist Men executive board named Dixon executive director emeritus.
___During Furgerson's tenure as executive director-treasurer, Texas Baptist Men enrollment grew more than 17 percent, from 56,926 to 66,680. Texas Baptists' total involvement in mission projects the last four years has grown 31 percent, from 133,329 to 175,083--much of it attributed to Texas Baptist Men.
___From 1993 to 1998, Furgerson was director of the Volunteers in Missions department at the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board, where he was responsible for directing the enlistment, orientation and placement of more than 17,000 volunteers in about 150 countries.
___Previously, he was adult division director with the SBC Brotherhood Commission, program administrator for Missouri Baptist Children's Home in Bridgeton, Mo.; director of campus life at South Texas Children's Home in Beeville; and Baptist Student Union director at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind.
___He served on church staffs in Florida and Mississippi and was a summer missionary in Montana and summer staff coordinator at Glorieta Conference Center.
___Furgerson served in Vietnam as a naval aviator with the United States Marine Corps, flying in more than 500 combat missions. He retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1989 after more than 14 years of active duty and nine years in the reserves.
___In retirement, Furgerson said his immediate plans are to spend more time with this wife, Patti, their two adult sons and two grandchildren.

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