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The latest news from the BUA campuses.
Media inquiries are invited to contact:
Craig Bird, Vice President for University Relations
210.924.4338 x248
| Newsroom is updated by the department of University Relations
2010
Combination church planter-accountant named BUA director of finance/CFO
(BUA Communications, 08.30.10)
Electric outages don’t darken Dominicans’ spiritual formation
(BUA Communications, 07.14.10)
Fort Worth pastor Rodriguez to head BBI program at BUA
(BUA Communications, 07.09.10)
Most BUA students share culture, economic background, calling
(Baptist Standard, 06.17.10)
Answer to forgotten prayer directs ‘Pastor Mel’ to BUA
(BUA Communications, 06.15.10)
Imperfects find each other for successful ministry
(BUA Communications, 06.10.10)
BUA to provide alternative teacher certification for TEA Region 20
(BUA Communications, 05.24.10)
BUA preaching conference named for Rudy Sanchez
(BUA Communications, 04.08.10)
Mary Ranjel named to executive council
(BUA Communications, 04.05.10)
BUA’s Rondalla hits right note(s) at Baptist World Alliance
(BUA Communications, 03.24.10)
Prophetic black preaching featured at BUA Feb. 8-10
(BUA Communications, 01.29.10)
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08.30.10 Combination church planter-accountant
named BUA director of finance/CFO
by Craig Bird
BUA Communications
 Michael McCarthy
Michael McCarthy, area missionary for High Country Baptist Association in Colorado since 2005, succeeds Ed Braswell who retired last spring. “I believe BUA has the potential to become the preeminent institution for cross-cultural theological and leadership education, not only from the Hispanic context, but for people groups from all the world,” McCarthy said. “I have been impressed at the level of commitment to excellence in contextual education by the president, staff, and faculty.
“McCarthy brings a rare combination of gifts to a place where both his heart for evangelism and his head for finance will be fully engaged,” Maciel said. “His passion for sharing the Gospel meets a basic criteria we have for all BUA staff and his proven success in the world of business will be key to continuing the rapid growth and expanded outreach of BUA.”
In 1999, after “resisting a call to vocational missions and ministry for over 25 years,” McCarthy left a thriving business in central Texas to serve first in the rural eastern plains of Colorado as a church planter, and then with house churches in the Denver area. He was appointed by the North American Mission Board as the Area Missionary for HCBA in 2005 - an association with 22 churches scattered across 20,000 square miles in the north central and northwest mountain region of Colorado.
He is in his second term as a trustee of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and has held numerous positions in the Colorado Baptist General Convention. He has organized and led mission trips throughout the United States and around the world, including a long-term involvement with Crimea-American University in Simferopol, Ukraine.
McCarthy has previously been a Certified Public Accountant in Texas and Florida, and he is completing work on a Ph.D. in organizational performance and change at Colorado State University. He earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Baylor and a Master of Divinity, with a concentration in North American Church Planting, from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary.
His business experiences includes six years as vice president of marketing and finance for Payton Interests, Inc. in Round Rock, TX and six years as president of McCarthy & Company, PA, CPAs in Venice, FL. His community involvement in Texas, Florida, and Colorado includes Boy Scouts of America, Salvation Army, youth sports organizations, and YMCA.
“I believe this opportunity is the culmination of the Holy Spirit’s work in my life to this point,” McCarthy said. “BUA’s need for a financial officer meshes with over 20 years of business experience, while the university’s vision and purpose engage my heart for missions and church planting, my particular passion for internationals and immigrants here in America, my strong desire to see the local church as an effective and incarnational representative of Christ in the context of local communities, and my commitment to effective contextual theological education for the next generation of Christian leaders.”
He met his wife, Jill, at Baylor. They have three children: Lianna, Brendon, and Alison.
07.14.10 Electric outages don’t darken
Dominicans’ spiritual formation
by Adriana Peña
BUA Communications
SAN ANTONIO, Texas—Each night the electricity at Quisqueyana Iglesia Bautista failed, leaving 70 students in physical darkness.
Despite that, though wearied from a long day’s work and perched on hard wooden pews, the young men and women continued to ask questions and contribute insights. “It was if they were immune to it,” said American professor Mario Ramos, who spent a week teaching in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. “It took me by surprise the first time, but they were use to it and it didn’t stop them from participating.”
 A 4-hour class after a 10-hour work day didn't faze 70 young adults at Quisqueyana Iglesia Bautista who invested seven consecutive nights studying with Mario Ramos.
(BUA photo by Mario Ramos)
All 70 young men and women finished the course and received credit from BUA’s Baptist Bible Institute program.
Ramos, associate professor of practical theology at Baptist University of the Américas, teaches courses that prepare people for ministry in leadership. Thus, he was the perfect candidate when BUA president René Maciel was asked if BUA could provide a professor to teach Spiritual Formation.
Jacinto and Patria De la Cruz pastor the 500-plus member church in Santo Domingo as well as direct the church’s Bible institute, Instituto Biblico Berea. They had never given a class on Spiritual Formation, which explained their enthusiasm to have Ramos teach it at their institute. It also prepared the De la Cruz’s to teach the course in the future.
Although the stereotype is that residents of the Caribbean do little but enjoy the sun and the beach, Ramos witnessed different, pointing out that, “Dominicans work hard on a daily basis, trying to make a living. All students would work during the day, yet remained faithful, for four long hours and seven consecutive nights, to attending and finishing their class.”
“I felt both impressed and convicted,” multiple times, shared Ramos. One was listening as members of the church, including children, recited full length Scriptures during Quisqueyana Iglesia Bautista’s Sunday service. Another was the response when he tested the students’ spiritual maturity throughout the week. Each day, he asked two students to share a devotional. To his surprise, he was impressed by their academic and spiritual maturity. “They shared the word of God with such articulation and logic,” emphasized Dr. Ramos, “Their passion and fire for the Lord is amazing!”
 BUA professor Mario Ramos takes advantages of the lights being on to discuss spiritual formation with his class in Santo Domingo.
(BUA photo courtesy of Mario Ramos)
As a professor at a university built around cross-cultural awareness, the trip allowed him several relevant observations.
Despite of the heat and humidity, he noticed that men at “la plaza,” a place to shop, would wear pants. Dominicans explained that not until June 1st would they begin to wear shorts. Ramos had traveled in May. He also experienced the worst traffic he had ever seen. “No one really follows signs, traffic lights, or the law,” he laughed, “Everyone is just trying to get to their destination whichever way they can.”
But the most vivid instant came during a lunch with all the church leaders. Since everyone was eating in silence, he decided to “break-the-ice” and tell about his observations of life in Santa Domingo.
When he commented, “And I’ve also noticed that you do not serve beverages with meals,” one of the pastors’ wives saw an educational moment. “And we also do not talk while we eat,” she explained good-naturedly.
Ramos admits he learned an unforgettable lesson and a funny story he can always tell to “break-the-ice” in another cultural setting where it will be proper to do so.
07.09.10 Fort Worth pastor Rodriguez
to head BBI program at BUA
by Craig Bird
BUA Communications
SAN ANTONIO, Texas—A leading national authority on evangelism and church planting among Hispanics--and other ethnic groups--has joined the faculty of Baptist University of the Américas as the first full-time director of the school’s Baptist Bible Institute.
Moises Rodriguez, pastor of Primera Baptist Church in Fort Worth and director of the North Texas Church Planting Institute and Leadership Development Center for the past decade begins his new ministry July 15.
From 1993-2000 he served in ethnic leadership development for the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, including directing NAMB’s Hispanic Church Planting Unit. He also headed up its highly successful national church planter training program that included Russian, deaf, and Filipino ethnic leadership development.
The BBI currently has approximately 50 centers offering diploma and certificate training in theology and ministry. Enrollment at times approaches 800 students. The majority of the centers are concentrated along both sides of the Rio Grande River but others are throughout Texas and across the Southeast United States. There also are programs in India and South Africa.
BUA expects to vastly increase both the number of centers and the number of students, especially along both sides of the Rio Grande River.
The Baptist General Convention of Texas is providing substantial matching funding to support the BBI expansion over the next three years.
“More than 60 years ago, BUA started as a place to train Hispanic pastors—and that has remained our focus and our priority ever since,” BUA President René Maciel said. “We value our college program and the hundreds of men and women earning bachelor’s degrees on-campus but the things that God can do through the Baptist Bible Institutes are simply astounding.
“We share the Texas Baptists’ commitment and dream of reaping a great spiritual harvest among Latinos in Texas and northern Mexico through the Hope 1:8 emphasis and are prepared to train the new Christians God will call to lead the thousands of new churches we expect in the coming years.”
Previously the BBI program was directed by staff members with multiple other duties or by students enrolled in the BA program.
The decision to head up the BBI was both exciting and agonizing, Rodriguez admitted.
“In July of 2000 my family and I made a difficult choice to leave Atlanta to pastor Primera,” he explained. “Although that was hard emotionally, it did not compare to the decision to leave Primera now. Words, truly cannot express the love we have for our church. The members of Primera have loved us beyond description, but we know that BUA has a vital role in the work of God.
“BUA is a leader in preparing leaders for the wide range of ministries our Baptist churches offer. For this reason the diploma and certificate tracks of the Baptist Bible Institutes have existed for years. At the Home Mission Board we implemented a concept taught by (former BUA president) Dr. Joshua Grijalva to start Ethnic Leadership Development Centers.
“As BBI director, I view my roles as reaffirming and reactivating the philosophy that made these centers a success. Leadership development must include: 1. Taking the training to where the people are, 2. Providing the training in the language of the people, and 3. Offering the training at an affordable cost to the people. If we follow this approach I believe it will be another move in the right direction for Texas Baptists’ Hope 1:8 emphases.”
Rodriguez earned his Ph.D. from Baylor University, his Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (where he worked with Laotian, Hmong, Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Afghan refugees) and his Bachelor of Science from Howard Payne University.
He was pastor of Mision Bautista, Dublin, TX and Iglesia Bautista Del Salvador, Waco, TX; and interim pastor at Misión Bautista Briarlake, Atlanta, GA.
Randel Everett, executive director of the BGCT, affirmed Rodriguez: “We are very excited about Dr. Rodriguez joining the staff of BUA to give leadership to the BBI program in partnership with Texas Baptists. I pray that this will help us provide excellent theological training throughout the state as we seek to start new churches in our attempt to share the love of Christ with everyone in Texas.”
06.15.10 Answer to forgotten prayer
directs ‘Pastor Mel’ to BUA
 Vacation Bible School at Joshua House of Worship is something to smile about as Luanie "Bubba" Harris, left, found out during a question and answer time.
(BUA photo by Mel Keyes)
BUA Communications
SAN ANTONIO, Texas—Mel Keyes forgot about his prayer. But God didn’t.
Which is how an African American pastor, twice the age of the typical college freshman, ended up at Baptist University of the Américas. And thriving in a school the trains ministers “from a Hispanic context.”
As a 17-year-old, Keyes left Brooklyn, NY via the United States Air Force, with “no idea what I was doing or really even why. “ That got him to Austin, Texas and with driving distance of a San Antonio cousin who picked him up almost every weekend and brought him to Joshua Baptist Church.
There he met both his mentor and his mate and began a journey to ministry that stretched over several decades. “Pastor Clifton Phillip was like a father to me,” he recalls. “Under his leadership I grew as a Sunday school teacher, deacon and accepted my calling into the preaching ministry while still on active duty.”
The other “divine, life altering relationship” he encountered was Kendra Parther, “the sweet Texas girl who I have spent the last almost 21 years with completely intrigued by.”
Although he remained committed to “planting a successful church,” he was also growing a successful sales career and raising a family. He decided to slow down his ministerial training, remained extremely active in Resurrection Baptist Church in San Antonio, and took advantage of on-line courses, workshops, and books as he found the time.
But the time table altered in June 2005, when he was called to follow his deceased mentor as pastor of Joshua Baptist Church.
“I had mixed emotions of faith and fear,” he remembers. “Faith, because I knew after prayer, fasting and consecration that it was God’s will. Yet, fear because I knew that now there was so much more learning to be gained and I didn’t know how I was going to squeeze it in; working; pastoring, going to school and leading a young family!”
Within two years the congregation decided to support him in fulltime ministry, and he “knew it was time to set my sights on education,” despite a significant case of what he terms “later bloomer nervousness.”
The available options overwhelmed him so did the only thing he could-ask God to lead him specifically where he wanted him to study.
A few months passed and when a third individual mentioned BUA (“a school I had never heard of”), he recalled his prayer and enrolled immediately-and became part of a rapidly growing number of African American students there.
“The connection with the African-American community has been a God thing because I never saw it coming, even though God had blessed us with Dr. Jerry Dailey, pastor of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church in San Antonio, as one of our trustees.” BUA president René Maciel admits. “We started hosting a Black Preaching Conference three years ago and the pastors told us they felt at home there and that it was where they would like their young people to go to college.
“From day one I was met with open arms and warm embraces I wondered if I was at a school or another loving congregation,” Keyes explains. “The Hispanic makeup of BUA inspires me in a huge way because in the past 5 years I’ve seen our own congregation grow from a 5% Hispanic membership to one that averages almost 50%.
He credits the growing ethnic diversity as a key in inspiring a deep unity of vision at what is now called Joshua House of Worship. It also has the congregation overflowing its building and planning new facilities. “BUA has added a dimension and depth to my spiritual life that I had been after for so long but didn’t know when; where or how to get it,” Keyes told the BUA trustees at their meeting last month. “It is amazing to me to consider the various life and ministry lessons that I have learned over such a short period of time. My personal life, marriage, and ministry are all better as a result of my education at BUA."
 Pastor Mel Keyes and his wife, Kendra, give a congratulation kiss to "Mother Dawson" at a Joshua House of Worship event.
(BUA photo by Mel Keyes)06.10.10 Imperfects find each other
for successful ministry
 Larkspur Christian Fellowship went outdoors for its second baptism service in six months when Pastor Jose Gonzalez waded into the Guadalupe River to immerse three individuals who had made recent professions of faith. But he wound up baptized two more bystanders who were attracted to the scene and made their own professions of faith. "After I talked with them about salvation they asked if they could be baptized right then and I said, 'we have water,'" Gonzalez says.
(BUA photo by Naomi Gonzalez)
BUA Communications
SAN ANTONIO, Texas—Life is tough in the Larkspur neighborhood of San Antonio. Surrounded by some of the highest income zip codes in the city, the low income community annually ranks atop city crime rates, according to police statistics.
It’s so tough that, four years ago, both the San Antonio Police Department and the San Antonio Housing Authority pulled their programs out of the “unsafe neighborhood.”
That doesn’t sound like the perfect “first pastorate” for a young theology graduate.
But Jose Gonzalez felt otherwise, probably because he didn’t sound like the perfect ministerial prospect when God saved him from the life of a high school dropout, dabbling in drugs and petty crime, and his pastor browbeat him into enrolling at Baptist University of the Américas.
Gonzalez and Larkspur Christian Fellowship were meant for each other, according to Neil Bennett and René Maciel.
“I can’t say enough about Jose and Mimi (his wife) and the great work they are doing,” Bennett, pastor of Churchill Baptist Church that sponsors the Larkspur work, said. “They do a lot of hard things really well for very little compensation.
“Churchill started doing children’s work there 14 years ago and moved to a church plant three years ago. We had numbers but they would come and go. Now Jose is reaching and retaining families and building a cohesive core group. His gifts and training, combined with his cultural understanding and fluency in Spanish are being greatly used by God in an amazing way.” In 18 months attendance has climbed from 3 to 25-35 and he has baptized seven new believers.
Maciel, president of BUA, sees Gonzalez as the prototype student. “We’re the only school I know of that intentionally recruits ‘poor’ students in both economic and academic terms. We feel called to those not considered college material by others. And we prepare them to be ready to serve bi-vocationally if necessary.
“Jose came here without even a GED and convinced he would fail and be back home in Weatherford in three months. Last fall he graduated cum laude. He began serving at Larkspur his senior year and has turned down fulltime positions at other churches to remain in a tough place doing what God called him to do, working 40 hours a week at his secular job.”
Gonzalez came to the church as associate pastor in September 2008, working with an Anglo student minster who had realized the future was brighter with a Spanish speaking leader. In November, Gonzalez became pastor, pouring himself into the community—20 miles from BUA—on nights and weekends as he completed his coursework.
“The main thing BUA taught me was how to study the Bible, how to understand the context and teach the truth of the scripture instead of just how I wanted to see it,” Gonzalez said. “The high regard for the Bible and the commitment to being faithful to its truths helped me have faith to trust totally in God.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re the greatest preacher if God is not with you. But if God is with you and you know you’re doing his will even in the hardest moments he will give you comfort and strength to continue.”
He has had his share of tough moments.
He wrote letters on behalf of a new Christian member seeking probation-but she was sent to prison. Mormon missionaries descended on Larkspur, drawing away several members with well-funded ministries, Gonzalez couldn’t match. (They have gone now and all but two of those who left have returned.) The life-hardened residents are suspicious of the church or attempt to manipulate the young pastor.
Yet, even when he is discouraged, his sense of call has kept him in place. “I think his background helps him a lot,” Bennett points out. “He’s lived some of what Larkspur people go through, he’s seen the tough side of life so where most young pastors would turn tail and run, he has the patience and strength to stand solid.
“He’s getting a great crash course in leadership because he is discipling new believers in difficult surroundings and counseling people with tough problems.”
But Jose and Mimi and their young son, Joshua, will take a break soon. This summer they are spending two weeks in San Luis Potosi in Mexico—witnessing to Jose’s mother’s family in a mountain village. “They need God and there is no one to tell them except when we go,” Gonzalez explains. “What better vacation could we have?”
05.24.10 BUA to provide alternative teacher
certification for TEA Region 20
by Craig Bird
BUA Communications
SAN ANTONIO, Texas—Baptist University of the Américas course offerings soon will include classes for everyone seeking alternative teacher certification with Texas Education Agency Region 20 under the terms of a just announced agreement between the two institutions.
In addition to its extensive experience and recruitment history with alternative certification, Region 20 will provide the course material and the technological platform to offer online courses. In addition, Region 20 will provide scholarships for BUA graduates enrolled in the program when the next program cycle begins in January 2011.
 Julie Segura, administrative and instructional coordinator for Region 20, right, and BUA President Rene Maciel, signed the agreement that gives responsibility for Region 20's alternative teacher certification training to BUA.
“This is a significant step for a school that was certified by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and received national accreditation just seven years ago,” BUA President René Maciel said. “It is additional recognition of academic quality and administrative capability. It opens more doors for our students while introducing us to the hundreds of individuals who each year take this path to becoming teachers in Texas schools.”
The official agreement of understanding, which was signed as part of the BUA Board of Trustees meeting May 14, advanced BUA’s goal of equipping students for “tent making,” or bi-vocational ministry and completed a “scholastic triple play,” according to BUA Provost Javier Elizondo.
“By definition, areas in great need of new churches have limited resources to pay pastors and this program will open job doors in almost any community our students are called to. Even our Spanish and business majors take 10 courses in Bible and we expect all of them to be capable of planting a church,” he explained.
“Additionally, this is the third significant affirmation of our academic product this year. In the Fall we signed an articulation agreement with Texas A&M-Commerce for complete transferability of courses between the two schools, and in April one of our 2010 graduates became the first BUA student to be accepted for graduate work at a state university, University of Texas-Pan American. Many of our students have been successful at our sister Texas Baptist schools and at seminaries across the nation but having secular institutions recognize our capabilities is something to celebrate.”
“We are very pleased that Baptist University of the Américas has agreed to head up this vital program,” Julie Segura, Administrative and Educational Coordinator for Region 20 said at the signing. “We have been very impressed with the quality of instruction and especially the commitment to training bi-lingual teachers. We gave scholarships to 10 BUA students for this cycle and all of them were very impressive.”
The partnership was a natural fit for one of BUA’s newest degree programs, Spanish, according to Jesus Romero, chair of the department of modern languages and a key in developing the agreement: “One of the major goals of the Spanish program at BUA from the start is related to one of the greatest needs in the Texas school system--qualified Spanish teachers. BUA is intentional about preparing academically strong and effective Spanish educators who are fully knowledgeable and conversant with the culture, language, and literature of Spain and Spanish-America. Whereas before, access to alternative teacher certification was not a reality for our graduates, our partnership with Region 20 finally opens the door fully to them.
“Four of our students in the Spanish Program have recently finished the first phase of their certification process, and should become fully employed professional teachers by the end of 2010. We are grateful about this partnership and truly excited about the potential for more of these collaborative efforts taking place in the near future.”
Six Biblical and Theological Studies students also will complete the certification by student teaching this Fall and expect to move directly into teaching positions.
Region 20, based in San Antonio, encompasses 50 school districts with 300,000 students in 15 south Texas counties.
04.08.10 BUA preaching conference
named for Rudy Sanchez
 The Sanchez Family joins in prayer at the naming dedication.
BUA Communications
SAN ANTONIO, Texas—The legacy of one of Texas Baptists’ iconic leaders was honored March 26 when the annual Hispanic Preaching Conference at Baptist University of the Américas was renamed Congreso Hispano de Predicación Rudy Sanchez.
BUA President René Maciel presented Ruth Sanchez and three of the couple’s children, Reggie, Scott and Rhoda, with a plaque celebrating a “powerful proclaimer, honored husband, fantastic father and magnificent mentor--a man not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Sanchez died in February 2009 after a ministry that included pastorates in Corpus Christi, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston. He was the first Hispanic elected chair of the executive board of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, served three years in the ethnic missions division of the BGCT, and was moderator of Union Baptist Association in Houston and second vice president of the state convention.
 Luis Gabriel Cesar Isunza, pastor of Primera Iglesia Bautista in Mexico City shares a pew with the portrait of the conference's namesake, Rudy Sanchez.
“My father’s passion was a minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour, day-by-day search for one thing—to grasp what moved God’s heart and to perpetuate God’s love for all people,” Reggie Sanchez told the opening session. “Your presence here is proof that God is still using my father to continue this work. In this group are individuals God will use for an exponential multiplication of his almighty Gospel.”
Maciel agreed, noting “Brother Rudy had a passion to preach because he felt the power of God and knew God could do anything and would do anything we ask. He was a man of prayer so he believed the unbelievable.”
Maciel continued “He loved everyone and he especially loved Hispanics. You’ve heard about his mastery of the Spanish language and you’ve seen photos of the ‘iglesias’ he led and the mission trips he undertook. You’ve heard his passion in the recording of his report to the annual meeting of visiting 250 churches seeking ways to share the Gospel with all of Texas, with particular attention to the Hispanic population that often seemed forgotten.”
Rhoda Sanchez Gonzáles described in detail her father’s exegetical method of sermon preparation and reminded the audience “anybody can inspire but it’s the passionate pastor and preacher who can show how the truth of the scripture passage applies to daily life. My father always asked of scripture, ‘What is the main point? What is the life changing action that needs to happen because of this written revelation?’”
She concluded with a challenge. “What are you going to do with the Word of God that will make a difference in your life, in your ministry and in your church?”
04.05.10 Mary Ranjel named
to executive council
by Craig Bird
BUA Communications
SAN ANTONIO, Texas—Mary Ranjel, who has assisted five presidents during her 33-year tenure at Baptist University of the Américas, has been named Director of Enrollment Management and Student Services at BUA.
She becomes the first woman member of the university’s top administrative body, the executive council.
“No one knows more about this school, loves it more deeply, and serves it more faithfully than Mary,” President René Maciel said. “I’ve relied on her historical perspective and spiritual insights ever since I came. She is imminently qualified to oversee these key areas and her insight and wisdom will be a significant benefit on the executive council”
Ranjel came to what was then the Mexican Baptist Bible Institute in August 1976, just after Daniel Rivera was elected president, as a secretary. Later she became the registrar and then director of admissions and campus relations.
“Dealing with students through the application process is almost like going to church sometimes because their stories are so compelling and inspiring, “ Ranjel said. “I’m glad I will still maintain that contact while assuming more responsibilities, especially in the area of recruiting.”
Among her many accomplishments are: author of a short story, “Stories of Hope From a Bend in the Road” in a book published by David Jeremiah; church pianist at Central Baptist Church; and vice president of Anchored Love Ministries.
The San Antonio native and graduate of Edison High School is pursuing a master’s degree in Training and Development from Texas A&M-Commerce. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Education from Wayland Baptist University and has done additional study in Early Childhood Education at Texas State University and San Antonio College.
03.24.10 BUA’s Rondalla hits
right note(s) at BWA
 BUA students, from left, Israel Loachamin, Daniel Tamez, Jehsuan Ramirez,
David Tobar, Carlos Ramos, and Cesar Casasola jump for joy at being at the White House.
BUA Communications
SAN ANTONIO, Texas—The Baptist University of the Américas students who musically represented Latin America at the Baptist World Alliance’s Window on the World Concert March 6 had never been to Washington D.C.
But then, the overwhelming majority at the concert, or at two area churches where the group also performed, had ever heard rondalla style music.
BUA’s Rondalla de las Américas was the only performing group not based in the D.C. area—and obviously the only one to make a 30-hour drive each way to participate in the concert which served as a prelude to a meeting of the BWA executive committee.
“The secretaries over each of BWA’s geographic divisions brought greetings from their part of the world before the music from there was performed,” Mario Monteiro, assistant professor of music at BUA and conductor of the group. “It was especially moving when Peter Pinder, whose area includes Haiti, wept as he reported on the devastation of that country and BWA’s relief efforts there.
Other groups and individuals presented music from Asia-Pacific (Korea), Africa (Zambia), Caribbean (Jamaica and Trinidad), Europe (Latvia, Russia, Ukraine), and North America (Virginia).
 David Tobar, left, and Daniel Tamez take a break from a practice session at Columbia Baptist Church in Washington D.C. where BUA's Rondalla was preparing for a Baptist World Alliance concert. The event program is in the foreground.
At the BWA concert at Columbia Baptist Church in Falls Church, VA, Rondalla performed three two from Mexico and one from Argentina. The next morning they were featured at McLean (Virginia) Baptist Church and Memorial Baptist Church in Arlington, VA.
“Memorial Baptist asked us to include “Lord I Lift Your Name on High” and to sing it in Spanish while the congregation sang it in English at the same time which was really neat,” Monteiro said. “At McLean we were a major part of the monthly Lord’s Supper. We sang six songs and the pastor gave a mini-sermon before each as part of the ordinance.”
There was not a Hispanic in the audience at either church but, Monteiro noted, “a lot of Baylor grads introduced themselves since the program mentioned that I studied there.”
 Carlos Ramos views the Vietnam War memorial
BUA Photos by Brenda Ramos
“I was an unforgettable experience to get to visit the historic places in the capitol and to get to know musicians from so many
other cultures,” said Antonio Santillan, whose wife, son and daughter-in-law also are part of Rondalla de las Américas.
The group, Martha Cadena, Cesar Casasola, Israel Loachamin, Paulita Prado, Jehsuan Ramirez, Brenda Ramos, Carlos Ramos, Antonio Santillan, Martha Santillan, Tony Santillan, Francisco Saenz, Daniel Tamez, David Tobar, and four sponsors, stayed in the homes of McLean Baptist members.
Primera Iglesia Bautista Mexicana and Trinity Baptist Church, both in San Antonio, helped fund the trip, along with BUA.
Rondalla was invited to the concert after Lyuba Dovgalyuk, a member of McLean Baptist Church and part of the Latvian ensemble that represented Europe at the concert, heard them perform a few years ago in Atlanta at the New Baptist Covenant.
“She told us then that we had to perform at the Baptist World Alliance someday and we said she just had to invite us,” Monteiro explained. “She did and we did.”
01.29.10 Prophetic black preaching
featured at BUA Feb. 8-10
by Craig Bird
BUA Communications
SAN ANTONIO, Texas—The 5 th Black Preaching Conference at Baptist University of the Américas Feb. 8-10 will feature the pastors of two of Houston’s largest African American churches—Ralph Douglas West and Joe Samuel Ratliff.
“The Prophetic Voice of the Black Preacher” also highlights ministers with San Antonio ties: Carl Johnson, retired pastor of Greater Corinth Baptist Church and now president of the Guadalupe School of Religion, and Charles Johnson, former pastor of Trinity Baptist Church.
The conference is expected to attract ministers from across the state. BUA is located at 8019 S. Pan Am Expressway.
West, the featured preacher, is the founding pastor of Brookhollow Baptist Church, Houston. The congregation, popularly known as “The Church Without Walls,” grew from an initial membership of 32, to a thriving congregation of over 15,000 families meeting in three locations.
Ratliff, who will lead three workshops on “Effective Pastoral Leadership During Challenging Times,” has been pastor of Houston’s Brentwood Baptist Church for 30 years. During that time it has grown from 500 to 12,000 members with more than 7,000 attending three worship services each Sunday.
Carl Johnson will be the opening speaker for the Feb. 10 session while Charles Johnson will lead a workshop on “The Prophetic Preaching of Martin Luther King.”
The conference begins Monday afternoon, Feb. 8, and concludes at Wednesday noon, Feb. 10.
Registration is $75 by Feb. 4 and $100 on site. The cost is $25 for the Feb. 8 banquet, “A Taste of New Orleans” featuring classic Creole dishes prepared and served by New Orleans/San Antonio Chef Bernard McGraw . Keynote speaker is A. Louis Patterson, pastor of Mount Corinth Baptist Church in Houston and one of the best know preachers in the National Baptist Convention, USA.
Registration and additional information is available on-line at www.bua.edu/bpc
or by calling/emailing Darryl Crooms at (210) 924-4338, ext. 210, dcrooms@bua.edu.
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