Beloved Southern Baptist missionary leader and columnist makes final 'Rite of Passage'

A longtime Southern Baptist minister and missionary used his gift as a storyteller and love for people to produce a regular newspaper column that captured the hearts of Oklahoma Southern Baptists and many others for more than two decades.

The Rev. Caleb Moore of Catoosa said his dad, Walker Moore, was dyslexic and yet he managed to write his longtime column entitled "Rite of Passage" for the Baptist Messenger. Caleb Moore said his father admitted that writing didn't come naturally to him but he "labored at it day after day, week after week" to produce columns and several books.

Walker Moore died on Monday at his Tulsa home. He was 71.

Baptist Messenger editor Brian Hobbs said Moore wrote more than 1,200 columns for the official news outlet of Oklahoma Baptists, formally known as the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. The Baptist Messenger was produced in a weekly newspaper format for many years, before adding an online component. It is currently being produced as a monthly magazine.

Caleb Moore said his father persevered "because for every article, he would get at least one email, or one phone call from somebody saying, 'Hey, this article really helped me.'"

"He said as long as it's helping one person, it's worth all the work," Caleb Moore said. "For him, the articles were just another avenue that he could connect and love on people. That was his goal. He just wanted to connect with as many people as possible."

Hobbs with the Baptist Messenger said Walker Moore's column was beloved by the news outlet's readers.

"Walker shared his one-of-a-kind warmth, wisdom, humor, stories and biblical insight," Hobbs said. "He was a blessing to hundreds of thousands of readers through his more than 25 years writing for the Messenger."

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Love for people, Christian missions

Walker Moore was a native of Marshall, Missouri. He was introduced to missionary ministry when he became a member of the Royal Ambassadors program. He became a Southern Baptist minister and served at several churches, including First Baptist Church of Tulsa. He became president and founder of Tulsa-based AweStar Ministries and embarked on a mission to raise up the next generation of missionaries. After his retirement from AweStar he went on to found another missions-focused organization called Back 40 Ministries. In addition to his missions ministry, he was a chaplain at the Tulsa State Fair for many years. He and his wife, Cathy, attended Parkview Baptist Church in Tulsa.

Todd Fisher, Oklahoma Baptists’ executive director-treasurer, said he considered Walker Moore as a personal friend and many Oklahomans felt the same way.

"I always appreciated his heart for the Lord," Fisher said in a statement. "His columns brought joy and encouragement to all who read them. His missions and church ministry impact will be felt for generations."

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The Oklahoman interviewed the longtime missionary leader after he stepped down from the helm of AweStar Missions. At the time, he said he had been a youth pastor at a Baptist church when he created the missions ministry to generate and sustain interest in overseas missions among young people. He said he had orchestrated mission trips involving more than 13,000 students, taking them to 52 countries around the world.

Caleb Moore, who is pastor of First Baptist Church of Catoosa, said his dad was a real-life hero to his family and many others.

"It's easy to be a hero to people who see you for an hour a week," he said. "It's much harder to be the hero for people who see you every day, but my brother and I both agree that it is not an exaggeration to call our dad our hero — he walked out everything that he believed in, and would be the first to apologize if he fell short."

He said his father's legacy was twofold because he had an eternal legacy and an earthly legacy. The pastor said his dad "bragged about Jesus" and told everyone he knew about him and this passion to share God's love was part of his eternal legacy. He said his father's legacy on Earth was the result of his investment in people's lives.

The minister said his dad passed away peacefully.

"We spent a week together as a family on a vacation that we had been planning for a while," he said. "The day he came home from vacation, he went to bed and opened his eyes in glory. You can't get better than that."

Walker Moore is survived by his wife Cathy; son Jeremiah and his wife Erin; son Caleb and his wife Adrian; three grandchildren, Titus, Cohen and River; and his brothers Gary, Scotty and Ronnie Moore.

Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 1, at First Baptist Church of Tulsa, 420 S Detroit Ave. in Tulsa.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Walker Moore considered it a joy to write popular columns about faith