Rev. Dr. Charles Lee Williamson

April 24, 1927 – October 21, 2014

Born on Sunday morning, April 24, 1927, while his pastor-father was preaching the morning sermon, he was named for his grandfathers, Charles Williamson and John Lee. Rev. M.E. Williamson and Myrtle Lee had five other children: Mary Cage, Dixie Jean, Billy James, Gerald McKinney and Kenneth Layne. His parents and three siblings preceded Charles Lee in death.

Charles Lee was ordained January 20, 1948. During schooling he pastored Old Independence Baptist Church, Black Jack Baptist Church, Milan County, and Peoria Baptist Church, Hill County. After his marriage to Patsy Ann Cypert of Hillsboro in 1953, he pastored Highlands Baptist Church in LaMarque and Magnolia Avenue Baptist Church in Beaumont, Texas. In 1961, he entered denominational Baptist life as Director of Missions in Southeast Texas Baptist Association. He also served Waco Baptist Association. In 1968 he began serving Texas Baptists as Missions Division Director, where he served until retirement in 1992.

Among his many endeavors, he directed Strategy Planning Conferences in almost all of the 112 Baptist Associations in Texas; in some of them, four or more times. He estimated that in twenty years he has led conferences with over 4000 individual pastors in attendance. With his staff he completely reworked the church starting strategy of Texas Baptists. Much of that strategy was adopted by other State Conventions. In connection with the International Mission Board, he was instrumental in the design of PACT, a strategy for helping struggling inner city churches. In 1992, he was named PACT consultant of the year by the Baptist Home Mission Board. As a growth of his conference leadership, many churches requested his assistance in their strategy planning. Many weekends were spent this way.

After retirement, he formed Creative Church Consultations, Inc. and continued his consulting work. In 1993, the Baptist General Convention of Texas asked him to train as an Intentional Interim Minister and then to qualify nationally as an Intentional Interim Faculty member. With Dick Maples and Jan Dahnert, hundreds of pastors were trained in interim ministry and hundreds of churches benefitted. A fitting climax to this ministry came in his eightieth year when he served his local church as Executive Administrator more than two years in interim.

Charles Lee never quit learning. He earned a B.A. Degree from Baylor University, a B.D. and Doctorate of Ministry from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, an Honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree from Dallas Baptist University and on May 18, 2013 an Honorary Doctor of Christian Education. He had many graduate hours at U.T. Arlington and the faculty at UTA called him a “Grandma Moses in Sociology” because of his intuitive application of sociological principles to Baptist life.

His pursuits have included twelve years as a Trustee at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary where he was vice-chairman of the Board and Chair of the Executive Committee. He served eighteen years as Trustee of Baptist University of the Americas; twice as chairman and once as Interim President. He served several years as an adjunct professor at Dallas Baptist College.

He was something of a world traveler. In his fifties he was given a trip to the Holy Land. Midway through he told Patsy, “I’ve been watching the leader of this trip and I can do everything he does.” He began organizing trips and across the years they traveled to more than forty countries and six continents, as well as all fifty states. A special love was Australia. He led church conferences in all but one Australian state. He trained over fifty Australian ministers as Intentional Interims. He marveled at everything there and absolutely loved the people. In the Southern Baptist Convention he was accounted a premier missiologist and was widely used as a consultant in State Conventions and Associations.

His office wall has many plaques. Two meant the most to him. The M.E. Williamson Family was named Family of the Year by the Baylor Alumni Association in 1991. He was named an Outstanding Alumna by Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Alumni in 1992. At that time he and his father were the only Father-Son combination so honored.

Charles Lee was a very busy man. He loved his church, he loved his work, he thrived on being a servant, but he loved his family most of all. He never lost the family of his birth. He adopted whole- heartedly the family of his marriage. He was a sort of patriarch Chaplain to both. He adored his children and grandchildren. Of his wife, he often said that he out-married himself. In his book dedication he said of her, “whose Christian character, unselfish spirit, incomparable friendship and wifely charm…have been an inspiration for every good thing I have done.”

He is survived by his wife, Patsy, of 61 years; his sons, Mark Edward Williamson and wife, Marty; John Robert Williamson and wife, Jo Nell; his daughter, Jane Elizabeth Cully and husband, Doug; grandchildren, Joni Rene White and husband, Tyler and their daughter Acie Jo; Jace Charles Williamson and wife, Lexie; Rachel Marie Muzkiz and Daniel Lee Muzkiz; brother Billy James Williamson and wife, Sarah; sister-in laws, Betty Williamson and Ann Karaffa; and by numerous nephews and nieces.

Visitation will be held Friday, October 24 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at Grove Hill Funeral Home, and Funeral Services will be held Saturday, October 25 at 10:00 AM at Shiloh Terrace Baptist Church, 9810 La Prada Dr, Dallas, TX 75228. Interment will follow at Grove Hill Memorial Park.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of C.L. Williamson for Missions to Shiloh Terrace Baptist Church, 9810 La Prada Dr, Dallas, TX 75228.