LaVern Plett, minister of education and denominational worker, died Nov. 11 in Dallas. He was 89. He was born to Jacob and Elizabeth Plett in Cimarron, Kan., on March 7, 1936. He graduated from Baylor University in 1959, having earned his Bachelor of Arts degree and developed a lifelong devotion and enthusiasm for the Baylor Bears. After he graduated from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth and was ordained to the gospel ministry, he served as minister of education at churches in Florida, Tennessee, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arizona, Hong Kong and Texas. He went on to serve on the Sunday School Division staff at the Baptist General Convention of Texas. He was a longtime Sunday school teacher at First Baptist Church in Richardson. He was preceded in death by his brother, Eugene Plett of Los Angeles, Calif., and his sister, Sharon Bell of Carrollton. He is survived by his wife, Myra Plett of Dallas; son Greg Plett and his wife, Kimberly of Broken Arrow, Okla.; daughter, Melissa Hancock and her husband, Clayton of Ovilla; the mother of their two children, Julie Plett of Red Oak; six grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. His blended family includes two children through marriage, John Beasley and Jennifer Beasley Skinner; and six grandchildren. A celebration of life service, followed by a reception, will be held at 2 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2026, at First Baptist Church of Richardson. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, Dallas Chapter, 5000 Quorum Dr., Suite 530, Dallas, TX 75254.

Joe E. Trull, former Texas Baptist pastor and seminary professor, died Nov. 2 at his home in Lake Wylie, S.C. He was 89. He was born Dec. 2, 1935, in Oklahoma City to Eulah Edna Hobbs Trull and Ellis Rufner Trull. He attended Oklahoma Baptist University. During his sophomore year there, he married his high school sweetheart, Audra Madding. After he graduated from OBU, he enrolled at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, studying Christian ethics under T.B. Maston. He graduated in 1963 from Southwestern Seminary with a Doctor of Theology degree. After serving First Baptist Church in Roosevelt, Okla., he was pastor of several Texas churches—Crestview Baptist in Austin, Calvary Baptist in Garland and First Baptist in El Paso. Following a pastorate in Richmond, Va., he joined the faculty of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, where he was professor of Christian ethics from 1985 to 2000. After the Trulls retired to Wimberly, he served as pastor of nearby Driftwood Baptist Church and was editor of Christian Ethics Today. Through the years, the Trulls participated in mission trips to Mexico, Central America and Barbados. He was preceded in death by his wife, Audra, in 2016. He married Mary Rickenbaker of Lake Wylie in 2018, and she survives him. Other survivors include daughter Cheryl Trull Burns and her husband William of Lewisville; son Timothy Joseph Trull and his wife Meg of Columbia, Mo.; daughter Cynthia Layne Trull Greenleaf and her husband William of Melbourne, Fla.; eight grandchildren; six great-grandsons; and a brother, Don Trull of Houston.

Carroll O. Prewitt Jr., a longtime volunteer in Texas Baptist Men disaster relief and prison ministry, died Oct. 31. He was 80. He was born Aug. 1, 1945, in Fort Worth to Carroll Ordie Prewitt Sr. and Mary Edmonia Knowles Prewitt. His family moved to Irving, where he grew up and graduated from high school in 1963. He attended North Texas State University before he married his high school sweetheart Tina. He joined the Dallas Police Department in 1966, serving in various roles including detective, sergeant and divisional supervisor until he retired in 2000. He completed his Business Administration degree from NTSU in 1972. After a few years of being part-owner of a plant nursery near Lindale, he retired a second time. He taught Sunday school more than 40 years, and he served as a deacon and sang in the choir at churches in Lewisville, Garland, Dallas and Lindale. He loved using part of his vacation time to help build churches in the Rio Grande Valley. He was active in the Bill Glass Prison Ministry, spending many weekends in prisons across Texas. He also taught Bible study classes in the Hutchins State Prison and the Winnsboro unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. After retirement, he became active in the disaster relief ministry of Texas Baptist Men, now Texans on Mission. In addition to working on disaster relief in Texas and throughout the United States, he served in Iran, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Grenada and Haiti following major disasters in those countries. He and his wife served two years with the Southern Baptist Convention International Mission Board as missionaries in South Asia after she retired. In his senior years, he was diagnosed with a terminal lung disease but received two lung transplants at age 68. After he recovered from surgery, he shared his testimony and journey with patients, encouraging others who were waiting for transplants. He was also present to support families while a transplant was taking place. He is survived by his wife Mary Ernestine King Prewitt, better known as Tina; daughter Diane Derebery and her husband Jason; daughter Denise New and her husband Russell; daughter Donna Cornell and her husband Michael; eight grandchildren; and one great-grandson, as well as a sister, Susan Whaley. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts can be made to Texans on Mission, designated for disaster relief. Give online here, call (214) 275-1100 or mail a check to Texans on Mission, 5351 Catron Dr., Dallas, TX 75227.

Charles Fake, longtime Texas Baptist pastor and former member of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board, died Oct. 18. He was 94. He was born on Sept. 24, 1931, to Charles Clinton Fake and Jessie Lowe Fake Heim. Fake grew up in Houston before attending Baylor University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He met his wife Wanda (Sadler) Fake while at Baylor, and they married in 1953. Fake preached his first sermon at 17, and he spent 72 years preaching, leading music and serving congregations. He was pastor of seven churches and served three congregations as interim pastor after he retired. Both First Baptist Church of Rockport and Bethel Baptist Church in Ingleside named him as pastor emeritus. Fake wrote more than 5,000 posts in his blog, covering religion, memories of family, friends and other topics. He was preceded in death by his wife Wanda; sister Melva Keil; brother Jimmy Heim; sons David and Dan; and daughter Debbie Hamm. He is survived by his daughter Dianna Hinze and her husband Mark; son Dwight Fake; nine grandchildren; four great-grandchildren, with another on the way; sisters Elva Underwood, Mary Sanders and Brenda Jones; and brother Joe Heim Jr.

Donald E. Lewis, Texas Baptist pastor and denominational worker, died Oct. 27. He was 91. He was born on July 7, 1934, to Lowell Vaden Lewis Sr. and Lillie Wartzick, on a farm near Neches in East Texas. After he graduated from high school in Palestine, he went on to attend the University of Texas in Austin. After one year at UT, he felt God’s call to ministry and transferred to East Texas Baptist College in Marshall, where he earned his undergraduate degree. At ETBC, he met classmate Olivia Faye Todd from the Houston area, who was instrumental in the daily devotional gathering students participated in each morning. They married in June 1957, the same year he was ordained to the gospel ministry. Don served several churches in East Texas before serving churches in Nashville, Tenn., Beaumont and Fort Worth. He studied at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, earning his doctorate in 1968. He was pastor of Connell Baptist Church, now Citylight Fort Worth, from 1972 to 1981. He was a church extension consultant with the Baptist General Convention of Texas before joining the staff of Tarrant Baptist Association, where he served 17 years as director of church/mission development and director of church starting until his retirement in 1999. He was preceded in death by a brother, Lowell. He is survived by his wife Olivia; son Keith Lewis and his wife Mary Lewis of Keller; son Vaden Todd Lewis and his wife Rachel Stas; three grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Memorial gifts can be made to Citylight Fort Worth by clicking here.

Robert Lewis Newman, minister of pastoral care at Baptist Temple Church in San Antonio, died Oct. 24. He was 79. He was born June 24, 1946, to Elaine Blanchard Newman and Prentice Arthur Newman. He earned a degree in Germanic linguistics from the University of Texas, but he chose to pursue his interest in photography rather than translating or teaching. He spent his career at Havel Camera Services as a camera repair technician. In 1958, he joined Baptist Temple Church. He sang in the church choir and ensemble from his early teens until his death. He served as a deacon in the church for 40 years. After he retired from Havel, he became minister of pastoral care at Baptist Temple, and he served in that role until his death. He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Karen Clemmons Newman. Visitation is scheduled from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Nov. 6 at the Southside Funeral Home chapel in San Antonio. A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. on Nov. 7 at Baptist Temple. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts can be made to Baptist Temple Church, 901 E. Drexel Ave., San Antonio, TX 78210.

NASHVILLE (BP)—Morris H. Chapman, former pastor, former Southern Baptist Convention president, former SBC Executive Committee president and champion of the Cooperative Program, died Oct. 20, at age 84.

The last SBC president during the so-called conservative resurgence to be opposed by a moderate candidate, Chapman led the SBC to remain focused on the Great Commission as moderates broke away.

Under his leadership as Executive Committee president, Cooperative Program giving reached a record high yet to be matched.

Chapman was given the honorary title of president emeritus of the Executive Committee upon his retirement in 2010.

“In a world where so many have fallen, he was faithful to the end,” current SBC President Clint Pressley posted on social media in tribute to Chapman. “Southern Baptists like me owe men like him a debt of gratitude. Praying the Lord is close to his family and especially his widow Jodi in the days ahead.”

“Morris Chapman led with passion and integrity,” said current SBC Executive Committee President Jeff Iorg. “He was a champion for cooperation and our global mission. He was also a friend who encouraged me for many years—including after my election as president of the EC. We honor him and pray for his family in their loss.”

Born in Kosciusko, Miss., on Thanksgiving Day, 1940, Chapman professed faith in Christ at age 7 at First Baptist Church in Laurel, Miss., was called to ministry at age 12 and recognized a call to preach at age 21.

After graduating from Mississippi College, Chapman earned master of divinity and doctor of ministry degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He was ordained to the ministry at Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tenn., when Ramsey Pollard was pastor.

Chapman served as pastor of four churches in Texas and New Mexico during a span of 25 years: First Baptist Church in Rogers from 1967 to 1969; First Baptist Church in Woodway from 1969 to 1974; First Baptist Church in Albuquerque, N.M., from 1974 to 1979; and First Baptist Church in Wichita Falls from 1979 to 1992.

Along the way, Chapman was active in denominational life, serving two terms as president of the Baptist Convention of New Mexico and as a member of the Executive Board of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

In 1984, Chapman felt a growing burden for revival among Southern Baptists and led First Baptist in Wichita Falls to pray by name for each of the 36,000 Southern Baptist churches as well as SBC entities.

During that five-month period and beyond, the church received hundreds of responses from across the nation testifying to the impact of the effort.

During Chapman’s pastorate in Wichita Falls, First Baptist was consistently in the top 1 percent of Southern Baptist churches for giving through the Cooperative Program as well as for baptisms. Under his leadership there, Cooperative Program gifts reached 16 percent of total undesignated receipts and baptisms each year averaged more than 160.

SBC presidency

After serving as president of the SBC Pastors’ Conference in 1986 and preaching the convention sermon at the SBC annual meeting in 1989, Chapman’s peers looked to him as the conservative nominee for SBC president in 1990.

While Adrian Rogers in 1979 was the first in a string of conservatives elected over moderate candidates during the so-called conservative resurgence, Chapman was the last. His election marked the end of moderates’ attempts to win the presidency, and the following year he ran unopposed.

When he was elected in 1992, Morris said he saw his role as rallying Southern Baptists together.

“I see myself as carrying out the will of the majority and carrying out genuine healing among Southern Baptists,” Chapman said after his election was announced during a February 1992 meeting of the Executive Committee, according to Baptist Press archives.

As president of the SBC, he also emphasized the need for the SBC to focus on evangelism and prayer and called churches around the country to pray while he was SBC president.

“The desperate need for spiritual awakening in this nation has been ever present in my thoughts,” he said at the time.

Chapman appointed two task forces as president: one on spiritual awakening and the other on family ministry. He warned that the “moral fiber of our nation will soon be shredded beyond repair” if the erosion of the family was not reversed.

James Merritt, another former SBC president, said Chapman helped the denomination get back on track after the end of that battle by focusing on the Cooperative Program, the SBC’s long-running program for funding missions and national ministries.

He referred to Chapman as a “Christian gentleman” devoted to the SBC.

“Morris came out at a very strategic time,” said Merritt. “Healing needed to take place. He struck a good chord, trying to bring people together.”

When moderate Southern Baptists began to explore options for redirecting their Cooperative Program gifts to bypass the SBC Executive Committee, Chapman opposed “any deviation from this proven practice of cooperation.”

Moderates officially formed the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship while Chapman was SBC president in 1991. At that year’s meeting in Atlanta, Chapman pushed for extending Southern Baptist outreach in the host city for the annual meeting each year. It became a week-long effort and was renamed “Crossover” at Chapman’s suggestion.

Executive Committee leadership

With Chapman championing cooperative giving, the Cooperative Program allocation budget receipts distributed to SBC entities grew by 44 percent during Chapman’s 18 years as Executive Committee president.

Receipts exceeded the annual Cooperative Program allocation budget 15 years in a row from 1994 through 2008, falling off slightly during a global economic crisis.

Total giving through the Cooperative Program to state Baptist conventions reached a record high of $548,205,099 in 2007-08. Even without an adjustment for inflation, that is 23 percent higher than the most recent year.

In his role at the Executive Committee, Chapman led the implementation of the conservative resurgence vision, preaching throughout the convention and emphasizing the full authority, inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible.

To prepare Southern Baptists for the 21st century, Chapman initiated a study committee that led to the Covenant for a New Century in 1995, a plan that streamlined convention entities for improved effectiveness.

Ben Cole, a longtime friend of the Chapman family, referred to Chapman as a denominational statesman.

“Dr. Chapman never saw himself as the commanding officer nor the Executive Committee as the flagship of the Southern Baptist Convention,” Cole said in a text message. “Neither did he serve as captain of a denominational battleship forever stirring waters of strife among his brethren.

“He will be fondly remembered by honest churchmen as a trustworthy ballast during seasons of theological retrieval and institutional realignment.”

Unlike other leaders of the so-called conservative resurgence whose ministries ended in scandal, Chapman was known for his personal integrity.

He was not above controversy, though, especially when clashing with those he thought might undermine the SBC or the Cooperative Program.

In 2009, during his speech at the Southern Baptist Convention, he criticized then-popular megachurch pastor Mark Driscoll as someone whose behavior was unfit for pastors.

He also criticized a move to cut funding to the Executive Committee.

Chapman, while he denounced abusers, opposed starting a database to track abusive church leaders.

Chapman is survived by his wife Jodi, his son and daughter-in-law Chris and Renee Chapman, his daughter and son-in-law Stephanie and Scott Evans, eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

With additional reporting by Bob Smietana of Religion News Service.