Click for AUDIO; Click for PART 11: Other memories not fitting neatly into just one of the categories of the previous 10 posts
Link in this post: Video of Charlie Johnson’s 2016 TBC Breakfast address: Public Education and the Struggle for Religious Liberty
2013-present: Pastors for Texas Children
In the late 2000s, Suzii Paynter – then director of the Christian Life Commission (CLC) of the Baptist General Convention of Texas – asked Charlie Johnson, longtime Texas Baptist pastor, to take on the challenge of defending public education in Texas against forces that were trying to destroy it. Charlie accepted the challenge. Though it began as a CLC initiative, it was “reborn” in 2013 as Pastors for Texas Children (PTC), an independent 501(c)(3), to which would later be added a 501(c)(4).
Charlie was a member of my Texas Baptists Committed (TBC) board, and he asked me to join the new Pastors for Texas Children board, which I was glad to do. In the years to come, PTC would become my deepest advocacy passion as I became increasingly convicted of the importance of its mission.
On Wednesday, March 19, at our vouchers town hall at Wilshire, I explained the mission of Pastors for Texas Children:
For those of you who aren’t familiar with Pastors for Texas Children, our mission is twofold. One involves legislation, the other involves community. These two sides of our mission have one thing in common – care for the children of Texas, which means supporting the neighborhood public schools that exist to serve all Texas children.
On the legislative side, PTC encourages legislators – some would call this lobbying – to fully fund our public schools and to oppose any legislation that provides public taxpayer funds to private entities, particularly private religious schools.
On the community side, PTC encourages houses of faith and their members to provide wraparound care for their neighborhood public schools. Wilshire exemplified this when it provided supplies to an elementary school in Richardson at the beginning of this school year to the extent that no teacher in that school would have to dip into his or her pocket for supplies this entire school year. They just go to the pantry where those supplies are located and take what their class needs.
Our executive director, Charlie Johnson, travels the state tirelessly, meeting with school teachers, superintendents, faith leaders, and others to encourage support for our mission – and to assure them of our support for them and their students and parishioners. His co-director, Charles Luke, spends most of his time at the Capitol, when the legislature is in session and when it’s not, building relationships with legislators and their staffs, and encouraging them to vote in support of public schools.
It has been my privilege to work with Charlie, Charles and our board for the past 12 years; our board is an eclectic group, consisting of lay faith leaders like me, pastors, professional educators, and others, and we’re hoping to expand our board in the coming days.”
In every Texas legislative session since our founding, PTC has been at the forefront of the battle against giving public taxpayer money to private sectarian schools. I am convinced that, were it not for Charlie Johnson and Pastors for Texas Children, a voucher bill would have long since passed the Texas House (the Senate always approves it) and been signed into law by the governor.
In 2016, I asked Charlie to keynote our TBC Breakfast at the Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT) annual meeting. In his address, titled “Public Education and the Struggle for Religious Liberty,” Charlie set forth the motivation for establishing Pastors for Texas Children, its mission, and his vision for fulfilling its mission. Click here to view the video.
I have had many memorable experiences with PTC over the years. I recall one Sunday – it must have been 7 or 8 years ago – that Charlie asked me to represent PTC at an advocacy Sunday presented by a church (I don’t recall the denomination) in Dallas. Booths for various charitable/advocacy organizations were set up in the church’s fellowship hall, and – as at any such exhibit area – people passed through, taking materials, asking questions, signing up for mailing lists, etc. I always enjoy working booths like this – I did it for years at the TBC booth at the BGCT annual meeting. You always get to meet interesting people, some of whom simply want to know more about your organization, others who are passionate supporters and want to offer encouragement. In the worship service later that morning. representatives of all of the organizations were recognized, and it was my privilege to represent PTC.
In February 2023, I drove down to Austin and spent a day walking through the Capitol with Charles Luke. We visited legislators, viewed a hearing from the gallery of the House, and had a wonderful barbecue lunch on the grounds of the Capitol, provided by a Native American organization. It was an education for me, learning from Charles how to approach legislators and their staffs, and how to succinctly present our case for a vote against vouchers.
Last year, Charlie, Charles, and I represented PTC at the first national Pastors for Children Conference in Orlando, FL. Over the 12 years since our founding, Charlie and PTC have helped public education advocates in eight other states start affiliate organizations. At the conference in Orlando, it was exciting to see seven states represented. Though attendance was small – 40 people or so – the energy in that room was remarkable, as we all shared the different ways in which our state organizations were strategizing, organizing, and planning to carry out our mission.
PTC’s mission continues to be a passion of mine. How long will I stay actively involved? I turned 74 earlier this month. So, who knows? As long as my health holds out, I’ll do what I can to support this mission that I see as vital to the future of education, not just in Texas, but throughout our country.