MBN Hall of Fame Inducts Two Texans

The Mainstream Baptist Network’s Hall of Fame inducted two Texas Baptists— Charles Wade and Phil Strickland—at the MBN’s second national convocation in February in Birmingham, Ala.

Wade and Strickland joined eight other men and women cited by MBN for courage in standing for Baptist principles, heritage and freedom over years of service. Wade is executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas and Strickland heads the BGCT’s Christian Life Commission.

Convocation participants looked beyond nearly a quarter century of Baptist theological and political strife to a vision for missions networking in the 21st century.

Convocation speakers spun out a theme focusing on missions networks around the world that have emerged from years of pain and exclusion felt by many Baptists as the Southern Baptist Convention takeover has moved it strongly toward the right.

“‘Exclusion’ is the meanest word in the English language,” retired pastor Ralph Langley of Huntsville, Ala., told more than 200 Mainstream leaders from 15 states, urging them to move on in a pattern of inclusion with their “passion for missions.”

Two state Baptist executive directors, Wade and John Upton of Richmond, Va., outlined approaches to missions in their two states which they said will include any Baptists who want to network in the cause of spreading the gospel.

The new Texas Baptist worldwide missions network “is not just for Texas Baptists,” Wade said. “We will network with Virginia Baptists, (Cooperative Baptist Fellowship) global missions, or any others (including the SBC) who want to help people come to Jesus.”

“It’s easy to camp out where we’ve been and nurse our hurts,” Wade added. “The future is where God is calling us, and we can’t allow our critics to define our future.”

Two missions veterans, Keith Parks of Richardson and William R. (Bill) O’Brien of Birmingham opened and closed the convocation with addresses on the priority of missions and a vision for future missions. Fuller convocation coverage may be found at www.abpnews.com, www.mainstreambaptists.org and www.baptiststandard.com (Feb. 17 issue).

Besides Wade and Strickland, the MBN Hall of Fame also inducted Bruce Prescott, executive director of the Mainstream Oklahoma Baptists, Norman, Okla.;

Sarah Frances Anders, retired professor at Louisiana Baptist College, Pineville, La.;

Patrick and Carolyn Anderson of Lakeland, Fla., who were instrumental in development of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship;

Bill Wilson, MBN national co-chair and pastor of First Baptist Church, Waynesboro, Va.;

Jim Slatton, recently retired pastor of River Road Church in Richmond, Va.;

Gene Puckett of Raleigh, N.C., retired editor of the Biblical Recorder, North Carolina’s state Baptist news journal; and

Wilmer C. Fields, retired as vice president for public relations and director of Baptist Press, SBC Executive Committee, Nashville, Tenn

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