Calif. director emeritus Bill Hogue dies at 82

BROWNWOOD, Texas — C.B. “Bill” Hogue, executive director emeritus of the California Southern Baptist Convention (CSBC), died Jan. 26. He was 82 and was undergoing treatment for cancer at the time of his death.

Before leading California Southern Baptists, Hogue served as vice president for evangelism of the Home Mission Board (now North American Mission Board, NAMB) 1973–1982 and director of evangelism for the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma 1971–1973.

During his tenure in California, from January 1985 to February 1995, Hogue restructured an executive board staff to emphasize evangelism, missions and church growth.

When he retired, the number of CSBC churches totaled 1,648, an increase of some 40 percent.

It was during Hogue’s 10-year term the convention’s name was changed from The Southern Baptist General Convention of California to the name still in use — California Southern Baptist Convention.

It was Hogue’s motion at the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting in 1993 in Houston that led to the restructuring of the SBC set forth in the 1995 document, “Covenant for a New Century,” approved by messengers to the SBC annual meeting in Atlanta.

Hogue subsequently served on the SBC Implementation Task Force and chaired the incorporators of NAMB that recommended its first president.

Hogue also served as a Baptist World Alliance vice president and chairman of the North American Lausanne Committee for World Evangelism.