Kathy Hillman: The right tools: A compass, a map & GPS

Worship during the BGCT annual meeting in San Antonio. (Photo: Kathy Hillman)

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I admire people like my grandparents, who innately sensed north, south, east and west even on cloudy days. Unfortunately, I’m directionally challenged. I can’t fault genetics, so I blame my Texas hometown’s founders.

kathy hillman130Kathy HillmanEldorado has no hills or creeks to interrupt the landscape. I wish Eldorado’s early settlers had used a grid like Lubbock. Instead, they chose to point the corners of the courthouse the true directions and radiated streets from the structure’s sides. On classroom wall maps, right was never east nor was left west. I was always confused.

Now I live in Waco, where the Brazos and Bosque rivers make streets run at odd angles. Directions are jumbled. South Valley Mills Drive runs east, while North Valley Mills goes west. To compensate, I rely on compasses, maps and turn-by-turn GPS—global positioning system—navigation. All three reside in my vehicle.

hillman compass gps400Reaching the destination depends on the right people using the right tools at the right times in the right situations.(Photos by Kathy Hillman)The compass simply points a general direction and proves especially valuable on hikes and at night. Maps help me get where I’m going, but I’m sometimes hindered by multiple route options, detours and dated information. The GPS takes me step-by-step and includes helpful landmarks. But whatever the tool, the goal is moving forward to the journey’s end.

These three instruments also help answer my most frequently asked question, “How does the Baptist General Convention of Texas work?” What’s even more remarkable is how God uses each technique in the Bible. Reaching the destination depends on the right people using the right tools at the right times in the right situations.

The compass

In Exodus 14:15, God calls Moses to “Tell the children of Israel to go forward.” The Lord provides general directions in the same way a compass points the way. 

hillman vernon200Steve Vernon, BGCT Associate Executive DirectorOnce each year, Texas Baptists gather for an annual meeting to move the convention forward toward accomplishing its mission “to encourage, facilitate and connect churches in their work to fulfill God’s mission of reconciling the world to himself.”

Nearly 5,400 churches representing about 2.2 million members elect messengers to vote and set the organization’s path toward that mission within the context of Baptist values and beliefs. That direction takes form through the constitution, bylaws, standing rules, policies, relationship agreements, resolutions, budget and election of convention officers, Executive Board, and other committees, boards and trustees.


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A map

hillman exec board425Meeting of the Texas Baptist Executive Board.In Numbers 13, the Lord instructs Moses to send out a dozen men to scout the land. He tells them to “see what the land is like,” including towns, topography and natural resources. One might say Moses asks them to create a map. 

A map adds specifics to the course but usually shows several routes and multiple options. Texas Baptists delegate the authority to draw the map and ensure that the convention moves forward through the officers, Executive Board, committees, boards, commissions and advisory groups. These bodies carry out a myriad of responsibilities between annual meetings, including planning the yearly gathering.

hillman hardage200BGCT Executive Director David Hardage addresses the Executive Board.Additionally, the convention delegates to the Executive Board the responsibility of employing and supervising, in business terms, the CEO, COO and CFO—Executive Director David Hardage, Associate Executive Director Steve Vernon and Treasurer Jill Larson.

GPS

In Exodus 13:21, God provides specific turn-by-turn direction to the Israelites. “By day, the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light ….” As explained in Exodus 13:17-18, sometimes the chosen route may not be the most direct but the one that best meets travelers’ needs. 

Like the pillars of cloud and fire, the GPS guides every turn necessary for making a successful journey. The executive director, associate executive director and treasurer program the GPS for Texas Baptists. They set priorities in keeping with the convention’s vision. They structure, organize, hire and supervise staff.

hillman bgct staff comm425Staff members and committees help plan and implement the Texas Baptist vision. In turn, the staff works toward those goals in a variety of ways, including training, equipping, supporting, connecting, partnering, establishing relationships, focusing on ethics and human needs, carrying out ministries and adjusting to serve the local church in a changing world.

“What is that in your hand?”

texas baptist voices right120In the 1940s, Waco pastor and convention vice president J.M. Dawson warned the Baptist General Convention of Texas must “advance against inertia” to accomplish the mission. That challenge continues for all of us today whether we hold compass, map or GPS in our hands: “Go forward!”

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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