Jefferson City, Mo. — The Pathway, a bi-weekly publication from the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC), turns 20 this year. The Pathway publishes news impacting Missouri Baptists as well as Baptists as a whole.
The publication provides news both for and about the various churches aligned with the MBC, which represents about 1,800 independent Baptist churches in the state. The Pathway has grown to the fourth-largest print publication in Missouri.
The MBC is a part of the Southern Baptist Convention, which encompasses more than 47,000 congregations and over 13 million adherents nationwide.
Don Hinkle was appointed the editor of the Pathway by the governing body of the MBC during its creation in 2002. It started as a monthly, online publication but quickly became bi-weekly and in print.
Hinkle, a former military reporter and author, holds a bachelor’s degree in English as well as a master’s in theology. He continues to write for the publication 20 years after its inception.
In the Air Force, Hinkle won multiple awards for his coverage of the Air Traffic Controllers strike during the Reagan administration. After Regan fired the striking workers, Air Force traffic controllers were brought in as replacements.
After 10 years of service in the Air Force, Hinkle returned home to Tennessee, where he worked for various publications in his home state.
Eventually, he pursued an education through seminary school. During his doctoral studies at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Hinkle was approached by SBC executives and was given the opportunity to be an editor for a Baptist-centered paper in Missouri.
Hinkle accepted, and The Pathway was born in 2002.
“I have been a journalist for 50 years, and the most fulfilling have been my 20 years as founding editor of The Pathway,” Hinkle said in a piece that looked back on 20 years of publication.
With 50 years of journalism experience, Hinkle can still narrow in one story he defines as his favorite.
“Of all of the hundreds of columns and articles I have written, my favorite is a column I wrote answering the question, ‘Why do you wear bow ties?’” Hinkle said. “I like it because it actually puts the focus on others and not me. I wrote how people — some of which I did not know — would always spot my bow tie and smile. Smiling is a good thing.”
This anniversary comes at a difficult time for Southern Baptists and organizations affiliated with the SBC, as sex abuse scandals and failures to properly report them have wracked the organization. The Pathway has showed its journalistic chops by extensively covering the sex abuse scandals and the steps the SBC has taken to stop them.
Hinkle was characteristically faithful when asked about The Pathway’s plans for the future during uncertain times, putting the future in “God’s hands.”
Featured Image: Don Hinkle/Facebook
