2020 Texas Baptists Legacy Awards to honor Charles R. Dooley and D.L. Lowrie

On Sunday, Oct. 11, Texas Baptists will present the 2020 Legacy Award to Charles R. “Chuck” Dooley, former church planter for Texas Baptists, and D.L. Lowrie, pastor emeritus of First Baptist Church in Lubbock.

The Texas Baptist Legacy Award is presented annually at the Independence Baptist Church in Independence, Texas, in recognition of lifelong Christian service. Typically the service is held the first Sunday in June. This year, however, due to COVID-19 restrictions, the awards will be presented to each individual and their families in private ceremonies at the Independence Baptist Church on Oct. 11.

Dooley’s ministry includes six full-time pastorates, 23 intentional interim pastorates, 10 years of ministry with the North American Mission Board and 21 years as a church planter with Texas Baptists. He is the founding pastor of Alamo Heights Baptist Church, formerly Westside, in Port Lavaca; Fellowship of Champions in Spring; Sawdust Road Baptist Church in The Woodlands; and West Conroe Baptist Church.

Dooley felt the Lord’s call to the preaching ministry at 16 years of age, and he preached his first sermon soon after at Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Bible from the University of Corpus Christi and his Master of Divinity from Southwestern Theological Seminary. 

Following five decades of ministry, Dooley retired from Texas Baptists in 2000. He has continued serving the Lord by serving as an interim pastor of eight churches. He is an active member of RiverPointe Baptist Church in Conroe, a church he helped plant. He holds several leadership positions, including Director of the Veteran Christians of RiverPointe (VCRs), Chairman of the Welcome Committee and co-teacher of an adult Sunday School class.

Dooley and his wife, Carole have been married for 65 years. They have three daughters, six grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. 

Lowrie has served as a pastor, convention leader and professor during his over 60 years of ministry. He has spoken at evangelical events around the world and has written articles for a variety of Christian publications. 

Born and raised in East Tennessee, Lowrie surrendered to the ministry as a freshman in college. His first pastorate was at Biltmore Baptist Church in Elizabethton, TN. He has served as a pastor at eight churches, one in Tennessee and seven in Texas, including 15 years of ministry at First Baptist Church of Lubbock.

In addition to his pastoral ministry, Lowrie has also dedicated time to the convention and denominational service. He served as the president of Texas Baptists from 1981-1983. He has also served as a chairman on the Executive Board, Program Coordinating Committee and State Mission Commission. Lowrie also served as Executive Director of the Tennessee Baptist Convention from 1989-1992.

Lowrie obtained his Bachelor of Science from East Tennessee State University. He has a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Dallas Baptist University and an honorary Doctorate of Humanity from Belmont University. 

Since his retirement in 2001, Lowrie has served in several interim pastorates for churches in the panhandle, led numerous revivals and taught seminary courses.

Lowrie and his wife, Alice, reside in Lubbock. They attend First Baptist Church of Lubbock, where Lowrie has been pastor emeritus since in 2001. The couple has four sons, three of whom are Texas Baptist pastors; 14 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.