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September
2003
BCA News
President's
Message: Dishin' with Doug
New
Members
Grapevine
Professional
Development
Get
Involved
Training
How to Submit News Items
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Dishin’ with Doug
2003-2004 BCA President
December
15, 1953. Most likely, it’s not a date that stands out in your mind. But it
was on that cold Tuesday in Nashville almost 50 years ago that nine Baptist
communicators met at the now demolished Sam Davis Hotel, with one purpose in
mind – to consider the possibility of forming an organization made of
professionals like themselves. Six months later, 13 men and women descended on
St. Louis, Missouri, to attend an organizational meeting, and Baptist Public
Relations Association was born.
By
the end of 1954, 24 members had joined; all were considered charter members.
Today, that number has increased to more than 300 and the name has changed to
Baptist Communicators Association, but the organization’s purpose has
remained the same: to provide its members with opportunities for professional
growth, fulfillment, fellowship and recognition.
In
Deuteronomy 6:10-11, God tells His people what they can expect when they
finally reach the Promised Land. He says it will be a “land with large,
flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good
things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive
groves you did not plant.” (NIV)
Granted,
you may not feel like you’re living in the Promised Land right now, but I
think each of us knows what it’s like to enjoy the shade of a tree we
didn’t plant. We have the opportunity to benefit from BCA because of God’s
grace and the vision of nine Baptist communicators who saw the need to dig a
well that we now drink from. And as grateful as I am to those nine, I’m also
reminded that we have a responsibility to the Baptist communicators of 2053.
What we do now helps form the foundation of ministry for the generations to
come.
God’s
words in Deuteronomy 6 came with a warning: “Watch yourself, lest you forget
the Lord.” Our anniversary year provides us with a good opportunity to heed
the reminder that we remember the Lord – in BCA, in our ministries and in our
lives. Let’s not ever get so busy that we lose sight of what our
communication is all about – telling a lost world about Jesus Christ.
This
is going to be a great year of celebration. Your officers are already hard at
work preparing for one of our best workshops ever, to be held next April in St.
Louis, the city where BCA first took shape. If you’re a new or inactive
member, this is the perfect time for you to invest in BCA. Become involved, and
say “yes” when asked to serve. If you’ve been active in past years,
maintain that high level of involvement. And don’t forget to look around you
for new members who can be recruited into our organization.
It’s
an honor and a privilege for me to serve as your president during this
significant year in BCA’s history. I join with you in looking forward to what
God has in store for this year of celebrating our past and dreaming about the
future!
Doug
Rogers is Communications Coordinator for the Alabama Baptist State Board of
Missions and has been a member of BCA for HOW MANY YEARS? Contact him at drogers@alsbom.org.
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NEW
MEMBERS
While
you were out on vacation this summer, look who joined us!
DAVID
AMAN is a graphic designer for the SBC
Annuity Board in Dallas.
BRYAN
BARROS serves as a graphic artist for
the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma.
JUDY
BATES is a communications coordinator at
the SBC Annuity Board.
JEFF
JONES is director of annual giving at
Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary.
DANIEL
KASSIS is an electronic media editor for
LifeWay Christian Resources in Nashville.
TAMMY
MADDREY works as the senior graphic
designer for the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.
JACQUELINE
PRESTON is public relations director for
Brentwood Baptist Church in Tennessee.
BLAKE
RAGSDALE is communications associate at
the Baptist Children’s Home of North Carolina.
DAVID
WAGNER is the associate executive
director of communications for the Missouri Baptist Convention.
TERESA
YOUNG works as the director of
communications at Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, Texas.
GRAPEVINE
RUTHIE
CRITTEN has left Hannibal-LaGrange
College to pursue freelance writing and seminary next year.
MICHAEL
LEATHERS is now working as the external
communications coordinator at Memorial Medical Center in Springfield, Ill.
Leathers had previously worked as a news writer for the Illinois Baptist State
Association.
SCOTT
VAUGHAN has left the South Carolina
Baptist Convention to pursue a new ministry as a church marketing consultant.
PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
Hungry
to rise above the mundane? The BCA Web site has tips and how-to’s
specifically for the BCA professional communicator. You’ll find learning
events and articles geared to your interest (management, PR, editorial, etc.)
at http://www.baptistcommunicators.org/prodev.htm.
The Big
10: How to Evaluate Your Communications Efforts
-
Timing
matters.
-
Audiences
should remain informed and involved
-
Make
news.
-
Communicate
via relevant tools.
-
Maximize
every effort
-
Engage
in deliberate relationship-building.
-
Influence
the “Influencers.”
-
Communicate
relationship advantages.
-
Earn
peoples’ trust through credibility.
-
Protect
your identity.
Read
the article online. Go to http://www.baptistcommunicators.org/dev/pr.htm.
FEATURE:
“A Duck Without Feathers is Just a
Pillow.” As many stories as there are in the world, there are that many ways
to tell a story. Some are told in a chronological fashion, while some are told
non-linearly in no apparent progression of order. But I suggest to you that
underlying every well-told story is a structure as simple and as fundamental as
DNA is to living creatures. Read John Grable’s story written just for BCA
members – especially those interested in Electronic Media. Go
to http://www.baptistcommunicators.org/dev/emedia.htm.
Send
your thoughts for other professional development ideas to Mark Snowden at msnowden@imb.org.
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GET
INVOLVED
Do
you have a great idea for a BCA project or event? Do you have a question about
something? Would you like to be a part of a committee this year? The first
place to start is with this year’s officers. Here’s who they are and where
you can find them.
President
Doug Rogers
Communications Coordinator
Alabama Baptist State Board of
Missions
drogers@alsbom.org
President-elect
Jan Kelley
Information and Communications
Manager
Arkansas Baptist State Convention
jankelley@absc.org
Program
Co-Vice Pres.
Paul Huse
Director of Marketing
Missouri Baptist College
huse@mobap.edu
Program
Co-Vice Pres.
Ruthie Critten
Freelance
Writer (Mo.)
rcritten@socket.net
Program
Co-Vice Pres.-elect Allen
Spencer
Communications Director
Editor, Rocky
Mountain Baptist
aspencer@cbgc.org
Membership
Vice Pres.
Randy Cowling
Editor, Baptist
Digest
rcowling@kncsb.org
Communications
Vice Pres. Sara
Horn
Corporate Communications Writer
LifeWay Christian Resources
sara.horn@lifeway.com
Missions
Vice Pres.
Joe Conway
Mission Education Organizations
Manager
North American Mission Board
jconway@namb.net
Awards
Chairman
Cathy Humphrey
Director of Public Relations
& Development
Georgia Baptist Developmental
Disabilities Ministries
mail@gbddm.org
Professional
Development
Mark Snowden
Coordinator
Communications Director
International Mission Board
msnowden@imb.org
Treasurer
Jerilynn Armstrong
Communications Project Manager
Annuity Board
jarmstrong@absbc.org
Historian
Chip Turner
Director, Marketing &
Distribution
FamilyNet
cturner@familynet.com
TRAINING:
CHECK 'EM OUT
Looking
for training to come to you? Or at least nearby? The Church Communication
Network (www.ccnonline.com) offers CCN
Online, a satellite network offering training such as Henry Cloud, Dick Towner,
and James Dobson in the upcoming months. For an annual subscription fee, your
church can enroll or take advantage of an existing church such as Broadway
Baptist Church in St. James. For more information on their upcoming schedule,
call Phil Rector at the Dixon Baptist Association office at 573-646-3454 or
email him at prector@socket.net. (Note:
CCN’s privacy policy does not allow them to release a list of other
churches.)
Baptist
Press is holding its 2003 Student Journalism Conference, October 9-11. The
theme this year is “Set the Standard.”
Jerry Jenkins, author of the Left Behind series, will give the keynote
address. Other general session speakers include Dr. David Clark (FamilyNet
Television/National Religious Broadcasters/Palm Beach Atlantic University),
Rudy Kalis (sports director/anchor, WSMV Channel 4, Nashville), Barbara Bradley
(National Public Radio) and Eric Metaxes (author and creative development
writer for Big Idea Productions.) For those of you in communication positions
at universities, make sure your journalism students know about this great
conference! Deadline for registration is Oct. 1. Contact Will Hall (BCA
member), Baptist Press, at 615-244-2355 or whall@sbc.net
for more information.
HOW TO SUBMIT NEWS ITEMS
Send items for the BCA newsletter to Keith Beene at bca.office@att.net
or newsletter editor Kristi Hodge at kristi_hodge@pba.edu.
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