Author: billjones20

Baptists: 
Statement on the closing of Logsdon Seminary 
by Kyle Tubbs, M.Div. 2010,
as President of the Logsdon Alumni Council
(Guest contributor)

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I am devastated at the decision to close Logsdon Seminary. This place means so incredibly much to me. Numerous students and alumni also reached out to me over the past couple days to express their grief. It is hard to articulate the collective pain we feel today. For over 25 years, Logsdon prepared women and Read more . . .

Baptists: 
An Open Letter to the President, Provost, and Chair of the Board of the Trustees of Hardin-Simmons University 
by Concerned Logsdon Alumni
(Guest contributors)

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February 5, 2020 President Bruntmyer, Provost McNair, and Chair Moore, We send this letter to you out of a deep care and love for both Hardin-Simmons University and Logsdon Seminary. We understand Hardin-Simmons experienced challenges over the last few years financially. Many beloved faculty and staff are no longer part of the university. We kept Read more . . .

Ethics & Justice:
A Christian’s responsibility, in the wake of rising anti-Semitic attacks 
by George A. Mason, guest contributor

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(George A. Mason, senior pastor of Wilshire Baptist Church, Dallas, TX, posted the following commentary to his Facebook page on Sunday, December 29, 2019; it is reprinted here with his permission.) The repeated and increasing attacks on synagogues and the murder of Jews is a grim product of anti-Semitism. Beliefs matter. As a Christian pastor, Read more . . .

Baptists: 
On watching ‘Heaven’s Rain’ (now ‘The Amendment’) 40 years after the murders of Richard & Marilyn Douglass 
by Bill Jones

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Richard and Marilyn Douglass were murdered on the evening of October 15, 1979 – 40 years ago yesterday – so last night I watched my DVD of Heaven’s Rain, the movie that their son Brooks produced as a tribute to his parents. It’s a powerfully inspiring – and disturbing – movie, and I highly recommend Read more . . .

Remembrance: 
Joyce Stuermer’s lasting influence in my life; introducing a Facebook page commemorating her life and legacy 
by Bill Jones

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(You can find additional photos posted to Joyce Stuermer Facebook page.) This is the first post to a Facebook page I’ve created in collaboration with Del Sutton – going live today, Sept. 9, 2019 – to pay tribute to the life and legacy of Joyce Stuermer. Joyce, who passed away in October 2012, shortly after Read more . . .

Remembrance: 
Growing up with the Space Race, then recording Apollo 11 live on my tape recorder (now on YouTube) 
by Bill Jones

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(Click here to go to my Apollo 11 YouTube channel.) I was 6-1/2 years old on that evening in October 1957, when my parents, my sister, and I went out into our side yard and looked up to view the USSR’s Sputnik I shooting across the night sky. The “Space Race” was on! Growing up Read more . . .

Baptists: 
A Word from Bill Jones, Weekly Baptist Roundup, 7/20/2019: Fresh out of high school, recording Apollo 11 with my graduation present 
by Bill Jones

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Fifty years ago, I was fresh out of high school in Missouri, having graduated in June from Oak Park High School in the North Kansas City school district. For my graduation, Mother and Daddy gave me a reel-to-reel tape recorder. In July, the Apollo 11 astronauts went to the Moon, and I put my brand-new Read more . . .

Baptists: 
Remembering our first visit to Wilshire Baptist Church on July 4th 15 years ago 
by Bill Jones

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Fifteen years ago today – Sunday, July 4, 2004 – Joanna and I visited Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas for the first time. I had met George Mason, Wilshire’s pastor, and heard him speak two months earlier in San Antonio at the annual conference of the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission – then led by my dear friend Read more . . .

Baptists: 
If you haven’t been to CBF General Assembly . . . THIS is what you’re missing! 
by Bill Jones

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I spent last week in Birmingham, Alabama, at Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) General Assembly. Whether in Birmingham, Dallas, Atlanta, Greensboro NC, Grapevine TX, Fort Worth, or any of its other venues over the years, CBF General Assembly has long been a highlight of ANY year for me. Last week was no exception. Following are a Read more . . .