Lowrie to seek 2nd term as BGCT president

CANYON—David Lowrie will seek a second term as president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas when the BGCT conducts its annual meeting in Houston Nov. 16-17.

Lowrie’s decision to serve a second one-year term could reverse a recent trend in BGCT politics. Although presidents historically served two terms as the convention’s leader, his five immediate predecessors did not seek re-election, each voluntarily serving a single term.

David Lowrie

Ken Hall, whose term began that recent trend, articulated the rationale. Since the BGCT is large and enjoys a bounty of qualified leaders, single-year administrations enable the convention to elect twice as many presidents, he explained.

During the short succession of one-year presidencies, the BGCT broke ground on several fronts:

• Albert Reyes became the convention’s first Hispanic president in 2004.

• The BGCT elected Michael Bell as its first African-American president in 2005.

• In 2007, Joy Fenner ventured where no woman had gone before, becoming the convention’s first female president.

• Last year, for the first time in more than two decades, Texas Baptists Committed—a political group formed to protect the BGCT from fundamentalists who gained control of the Southern Baptist Convention—did not endorse a presidential candidate.

Lowrie, pastor of First Baptist Church in Canyon, based his decision to seek a second term on conversations with convention leaders, prayer and a sense of God’s leadership, he said.

“I did consult with a large number of leaders from all different parts of Texas Baptist life,” he said. “Listening to their advice and looking at what had been happening and what I hoped would happen in years to come, I felt this was a unique situation and time and opportunity to serve a second term. …

“My wife and I prayed long and hard about it,” he said. “Clearly, it’s the people’s decision. I can’t say without a doubt this is God’s will. God will either affirm it or not, but I feel a peace.”

So does Bobby Dagnel, pastor of First Baptist Church in Lubbock, who plans to nominate Lowrie for the presidency at the BGCT annual meeting.

“David is someone I’ve gotten to know during my days here in West Texas and in Lubbock,” Dagnel said. “I appreciate his work and the efforts he’s made the past year. He’s made great strides serving as president.”

Dagnel noted the previous five presidents served single terms and said he was struck by how that trend conflicts with advice he heard at a “best practices” seminar at Baylor University, where he serves on the board of regents.

“Part of the panel discussion focused on extended terms for officers,” he said. “If you serve one term, by the time you learn the ropes, your time is up.”

Lowrie entered the presidency without previously serving as a convention vice president, and Dagnel said he decided much could be gained if Lowrie has another year to lead.

“He’s doing a great job and just now getting traction,” Dagnel said. “A second year lends itself to continuity.”

“David also has represented a broader tent in Texas Baptist life,” Dagnel added. “He’s doing a good job and is deserving of another year.”

Lowrie cited several factors that indicate a second term would benefit the convention.

“My hope would be, if I were re-elected, I would be able to continue the work we’re doing on Texas Hope 2010,” he noted.

Texas Hope 2010 is the BGCT’s campaign to present the Christian gospel to every Texan and to combat hunger statewide by Easter 2010. It’s the brainchild of BGCT Executive Director Randel Everett and was launched last year, not long before Lowrie assumed the presidency.

“Texas Hope 2010 will be on the front page. That’s where we need to put all our energy,” Lowrie said. “I feel there’s an up side to the continuity of having the same president for the second year of the initiative. … If I’m elected in November, we will have six to seven months to get after it.”

Another benefit to a second term is the opportunity to build on the reconciliation and harmony the BGCT has enjoyed recently, he added.

“I feel we have made a lot of strides in the past year—getting the groups of the convention working together and moving forward. I would like to continue that,” he said.

For example, he cited how he and the BGCT’s vice presidents, Carolyn Strickland and Bobby Broyles, “have done a good job of appointing members of our convention to serve on various committees and in places of leadership that represent well the face of Texas Baptists.”

“I also feel we have made strides in helping churches who felt they weren’t a part of what we were doing to feel a part—particularly churches that continue to have a relationship with the Southern Baptist Convention,” he said.

Also, another year without endorsed presidential candidates could benefit the BGCT, Lowrie surmised, noting this second year of non-endorsements would set the stage for a broad range of presidential candidates at the 2010 annual meeting, when his term would expire.

“I want to make sure my service will help and not hurt our cause,” he said. “I truly believe, talking to other leaders, that it will help.

“I feel I can make a difference next year and help us accomplish Texas Hope 2010, and that’s a high commitment on my part. If the people decide otherwise, I will support the new president.”

Among other priorities of a second term, Lowrie would focus on engaging the rising generation of Texas Baptists.

“One of the things I’ve already started is to try to build connections with our younger generation of leaders—both men and women,” he said. “If we don’t reach them, we will lose opportunities to be all God wants us to be.”

Because of its nine universities and two seminaries, the BGCT should reap a perpetual bumper crop of young leaders, he explained. “We ought to be at the forefront of reaching young leaders and engaging them in the process.”

Similarly, Lowrie wants to involve a broader range of Texas Baptists in the life of the convention.

“We must try to help our affinity groups to step up and nominate leaders and be part of the process,” he said. “Because the BGCT is such a wonderful, diverse, strong convention, we need to represent that in our leadership. … That has been part of who we have been, and I want to continue that.”

In addition, Lowrie hopes to strengthen the convention’s financial base, which has been stricken by a weak economy and disaffection of many churches.

“I would like to build connections with churches to help them see clearly our vision and, hopefully, to get them to be more part of our convention,” he said, noting he wants to help churches understand the value of their engagement in the convention and to see they can shape how the convention allocates its resources.

Whether it lasts one or two years, Lowrie set his BGCT role in context. “The presidency is somewhat symbolic,” he said. “Randel Everett has been the guy who has helped mobilize this progress. I’ve seen a lot of exciting things under Dr. Everett’s leadership. I believe our future is really bright.”

Lowrie is the first second-generation BGCT president. His father, D.L. Lowrie, was president in 1982-83.

Lowrie is a graduate of Baylor University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and earned a doctorate from Bethel University.

He is a member of the Howard Payne University board of trustees and the BGCT Future Focus Committee.

He and his wife, Robyn, are the parents of four children—Kalie, Lorin, Jamie and Madison.