Hispanic will Lead Baptists

Vote called proof Texas convention embraces diversity

SAN ANTONIO (By Richard Vara, Houston Chronicle) November 9, 2004 - The grandson of migrant farm workers on Monday was elected the first Hispanic president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.  

The Rev. Albert L. Reyes, 45, was elected without opposition to succeed Kenneth Hall as president of the 2.5 million-member convention. The convention concludes its annual meeting today.

"Texas is more culturally diverse than ever before, and we are seeing people from every corner of the globe make their way to the Lone Star State," Reyes said in his first news conference. "My election as president affirms that Texas Baptists embrace our state's cultural diversity and welcome the challenges our place in history brings."

Reyes' paternal grandparents were Texas field workers who became Christians through Texas Baptist missionaries in the 1930s. Reyes, a native of Corpus Christi, holds a doctorate in ministry from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and chairs the Hispanic Task Force for the White House Initiative on Hispanic Academic Excellence for the U.S. Department of Education.

Reyes is also president of the Baptist University of the Americas, a biblical theology school in San Antonio for primarily Hispanic ministers. He is the first non-Anglo to preside over Texas Baptists in state convention history.

His election dovetailed with a heavy emphasis on ethnic missions and ministry at the annual meeting at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. The meeting's theme was Celebrando La Familia de Dios (Celebrating the Family of God).

Texas Baptist leaders also gave tentative approval to major reorganization of the convention's structure, which will include an increase of ethnic minorities and women on the decision-making executive board.

Messengers, or delegates, gave the first of two required approvals for the reorganization by a vote of 2,420 to 444 on Monday. The second vote will be taken at the 2004 meeting in Austin.

Texas Baptist leaders lauded Reyes' election and said it reflected the new reality of ethnic minority growth in church life.

Hall said the convention did not want to offer minorities "tokenism but to be absolutely inclusive in the truest sense of the word."

The convention counts 1,200 Hispanic congregations, 700 black congregations and 300 Asian congregations among its 5,700 churches.

Reyes said he will emphasize the need for outreach to minorities during his one-year presidency, which begins at the end of today's session. He said some churches are not aware of the pressing need to reach out to ethnic groups.

"Change is hard, but I think our Baptist family will step up to the plate and deliver," Reyes said.

Charles Wade, convention executive director, said increasing minority participation and representation was one goal of the massive reorganization, the first in 50 years.

The reorganization will eliminate several administrative groups and cut the 234-member executive board to less than 100. But minority representation will increase from 15 percent to 30 percent.