CONVENTION UPDATE DINNERS REVEAL STRENGTH OF TBC

This is the fourth year for Texas Baptists Committed to sponsor “Convention Update Dinners” across the state. A look at where we are having these dinners and where we have had them in the past, reveals the strong support TBC has among traditional Texas Baptists.

It also makes you wonder how Walt Carpenter could write in the Texas Baptist (a fundamentalist newsletter) the following in reference to churches in Texas, North Carolina, Virginia, and Kentucky: “The ‘flagship’ churches in these states want nothing of the moderate state conventions but are firmly tied to the SBC. So while things may look bleak now, there is bright light at the end of the tunnel.”

This year we will have dinners or lunches at quite a few “flagship” Texas churches: the First Baptist Churches in Gladewater, Sanger, Abilene, Dimmitt, Richardson, and The Woodlands. We will also be at Baptist Temple, San Antonio; Highland Park, Austin; Central, Carthage; Shadow Hills, Lubbock; Calder, Beaumont; and several other churches we are finalizing at print time.

Over the past three years, we have held dinners and lunches in association with the following First Baptist Churches: Austin, Amarillo, Midland, San Antonio, Waco, San Angelo, Brownwood, Stephenville, Crockett, Tyler, Longview, Cleburne, Lewisville, Duncanville, Garland, Waxahachie, Plainview, Canyon, Muleshoe, San Marcos, Corpus Christi, Sulphur Springs, Brownfield, Levelland, Dickinson, Lexington, Bryan, and College Station.

We have also met in Columbus Avenue and Calvary in Waco; Ridglea West, Birdville and South Hills in Fort Worth; Calvary, Garland; South Main, Westbury, Trinity and Easthaven in Houston; Shearer Hills, Trinity and First Mexican in San Antonio; Southland and Harris Avenue in San Angelo; Alliance in Lubbock; Austin Heights in Nacadoches; Immanuel in Paris; and Second in Corpus Christi.

That is a pretty impressive group of “flagship” churches.

What does this mean? It means that Texas Baptists Committed is accepted, respected, and supported by many mainstream Texas Baptists. We are proud of that because our only reason to exist is to support a traditional Baptist General Convention of Texas focused and united on winning our state and world to Christ within the context of historic Baptist principles and practices.

To all the above churches, we are grateful!

August/September 1995