john mark New HBU provost
seeks to embrace "a golden chance"
Houston Baptist University does not need me, but the Church and I need Houston Baptist University. That is one of the first things I realized when I saw the vision statement of President Sloan and the Board of Trustees. This place, and this calling, is bigger than I am, but I trust the same God that brought me has also prepared me. God gave me a family that rooted me in Jesus. My father is a pastor from a long line of pastors and the most honest man I know. My mother taught me to follow the truth
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we ARE THE ONLY PLACE WITH THE LEADERSHIP IN OUR PRESIDENT, THE STABILITY IN OUR HERITAGE, AND THE VISION IN OUR FACULTY TO CONSERVE THE GOOD WHILE FOLLOWING A PROGRESSIVE VISION TO MAKE THINGS BETTER.
wherever it led, however long it took. My brother is pure of heart and a faithful friend. I remember being 8 and hearing my Dad preach the Second Coming and wanting to be ready. I climbed into his lap after church and he led me to Jesus, baptizing me a few weeks later in a cold West Virginia river. Later, during graduate school, when my obedience to God was in doubt and my future in peril, both my parents, but especially my mother, loved me but firmly held the line for godly standards. I could not deny or explain away the reality of their faith. God gave me a wife who is gentle and forgiving. She is tender but strong in wielding that mighty sword: forgiveness. When other women would have despaired, she