Kathy Hillman: Texas Baptists: Move out, move on, move up, move forward

Students move in to start a new semester at a Texas Baptist university. (Kathy Hillman Photo)

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• “Oh, the things you can find if you don’t stay behind.” (Dr. Seuss)

Texas Baptist university campuses swarm with students as fully-loaded SUVs, pickups and U-Hauls hit the road. Moms, dads, sisters, brothers, grandparents and assorted others unload suitcases, totes, computers and flat-screen TVs. kathy hillman130Kathy HillmanAfter multiple trips up the stairs and to Walmart, families wave teary farewells as their daughters and sons move out of the house, move on to the dorm, move up to college and move forward in life.

• “You are to move out from your positions and follow …” (Joshua 3:3)

Meanwhile in Dallas, Baptist General Convention of Texas employees sift through belongings; mark items for archiving; pack boxes, computers and a few flat-screens; and label everything with new office numbers. After myriad decisions, Baptist Building staff turn in keys and bid teary farewells to our state headquarters. Over the weekend, professionals move out their possessions, move on and move up the items to the Rambler Park facility’s 11th and 12th floors, so Texas Baptists’ kingdom work can move forward.

hillman wmu door300Moving out of the Woman’s Missionary Union offices at the Baptist Building. (Kathy Hillman Photo)My final meeting in the Baptist Building came on that last official day. Nostalgia washed through me. The facility was home-away-from-home the years I held Texas Woman’s Missionary Union and BGCT positions. 

• “Tell the Israelites to move on …” (Exodus 14:15)

Admittedly, when Baylor University approached Texas Baptist Executive Director David Hardage about purchasing the Baptist Building, my brows furrowed. Why would Baylor buy? Why would BGCT sell? How would Baylor Hospital feel? What would happen to WMU of Texas, which subleases space? As a Baylor faculty member, convention officer and former Texas WMU president, would one of my positions win while others lost? 

• “He will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’” (Luke 14:10)

I prayed God would lead clearly so all involved gained. As I prayed, I remembered how the Lord led in the past. Messengers at the San Antonio annual meeting in 1897 officially moved the headquarters from Waco to Dallas. “These brethren at Waco had been called to bear some peculiarly heavy burdens. They now asked to be relieved, and their request was granted.” 


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hillman wmu brockwood425New WMU offices at 10325 Brockwood Rd. in Dallas.Texas Baptists rented downtown space, many years in the R.E. Burt Building. During the 1920s, the Executive Board considered constructing a headquarters, but the depression intervened. In 1940, the BGCT planned a joint building at Ervay and Pacific with the Annuity Board. Occupancy came July 15, 1941. After World War II, the convention outgrew the space. Fund raising to move up to a better place began in 1948. Rising costs caused delays, but a generous donation moved the planning forward. On June 3, 1952, Texas Baptists dedicated a new Baptist Building at Ervay and San Jacinto, which also housed Texas WMU. 

hillman bbuilding packing425Packing up to the leave the Baptist Building location. (Kathy Hillman Photo)By 1988, space needs meant relocating again. This time, Baylor Hospital provided land. The fortuitous sale of convention property and judicious stewardship enabled construction of the $11.3 million structure at 333 North Washington without Cooperative Program or mission money.

• “The righteous keep moving forward …” (Job 17:9)

In 2014, God led once more. With changing Texas landscape and new technology, the convention no longer needed the 100,000 square-foot structure. Baylor University’s Louise Herrington School of Nursing did and rented the excess space. Since Baylor Hospital provides clinicals for nursing students and employs Baylor nurses, the sale could be win-win-win.

hillman ramblerpark350The new offices of the Baptist General Convention of Texas are on the 11th and 12th floors of the Rambler Park office building. (Photo courtesy of BGCT Communications)Plans moved forward. Baylor purchased the Baptist Building for the nursing school and provided a facility for the Texas Baptist Historical Collection in Waco. Researchers benefit with the two largest Texas Baptist history collections in the same city—The Texas Collection at Baylor and the TBHC. The building also can host small meetings.

The convention deployed some staff across Texas and leased office and warehouse facilities in Dallas. Woman’s Missionary Union opted for subleasing BGCT warehouse space. The structure offers room for offices, hands-on ministry, storage and packing 2 million pieces for Weeks of Prayer and mission offerings promotion. 

texas baptist voices right120God gave unanticipated blessings with the sale. No longer is Texas Baptist staff isolated and insulated in a building inhabited only by Texas Baptists. WMU staff rapidly discovered “in Jesus’ name” opportunities. Carolyn Porterfield marvels, “We don’t know God’s plans, but we want his glory to be known in this new place through us.” Pam Poole explains, “The (Baptist) Building was a great place, but I feel God wants us to be in the world to meet people who are desperate for him.”

Move out, move on, move up and move forward, Texas Baptists, into a world desperate for a Savior.

Kathy Hillman is president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. She also is director of Baptist collections, library advancement and the Keston Center for Religion, Politics and Society at Baylor University.


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