Haggai Institute CEO Honored With Endowed Chair in Christian Scriptures at Baylor

The Paul and Jane Meyer Family Foundation honored the vice chairman and CEO of one of the largest and most effective Christian training organizations in the world with a permanently endowed chair at Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary, according to an announcement made last Friday.

In honor of the Haggai Institute’s Dr. William M. "Bill" Hinson, the Meyers established The William M. Hinson Chair in Christian Scriptures with a $1.5 million gift that will provide compensation for a professor to teach the Christian scriptures "from now until the Lord comes again."

Hinson is a 1953 Baylor University graduate and longtime pastor.

"This chair honoring Bill Hinson would not have been possible without the generosity and Christian stewardship of the Paul and Jane Meyer Family Foundation," said Dr. Paul W. Powell, dean of Truett Seminary, in a statement released by Baylor University on Nov. 11. "The Meyer family practices what we preach, and they are examples for all of us."

Earlier this year, Paul J. Meyer presented Hinson with a framed certificate during a meeting of the Haggai Institute in Pasadena, Calif., that also coincided with a celebration of Hinson's 75th birthday.

"At the occasion...I had the honor of sharing the influence Bill Hinson has had on my life," Meyer said on July 13, as he presented two endowment funds set up in Hinson's name.

"Suffice to say, he was overwhelmed. And, much to my joy, five minutes before I spoke, Bill's whole family came out - about 15 people - wearing Baylor football jerseys," Meyer said, according to Baylor. "They were sharing Bill's loves of his life: his Lord and Savior, his ministry and the various churches he served, his family, Baylor University and the Haggai Institute."

A high school All-American in his native Florida, Hinson came to Baylor on a football scholarship. According to Baylor, Hinson’s passion for preaching came when, as a sophomore, he was selected by his fellow Baylor students to speak at a campus-wide revival. He went on to earn his bachelor's degree in religion and psychology from Baylor in 1953, a master of divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and his doctor of ministry degree from New Orleans Baptist Seminary.

In 1995, Hinson was named president of the Haggai Institute - one of the largest and most effective Christian training organizations in the world - and currently serves as vice chairman and CEO.

During his lifetime, Hinson has also served as pastor of several large Baptist churches, including Wayside Baptist Church in Miami and First Baptist Church, Fort Lauderdale. He also has served as special assistant to the president at Baylor and as executive assistant to Meyer, the founder of Success Motivation Institute Inc.