Belton, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor announced today that the 2008 McLane Lecture has been set for 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, February 14, in the Lord Conference Center on campus. Kirbyjon Caldwell, Senior Pastor for Windsor Village United Methodist Church in Houston will be the guest speaker this year. The McLane Lecture is free and open to the public.

Caldwell started his pastorate at the Windsor Village in 1982 with 25 members. Today the 14,000-member congregation is the largest United Methodist Church in the nation. The church includes over 120 ministries which serve the community seven days a week.

Under Pastor Caldwell’s leadership, the Windsor Village Church Family and the Pyramid Community Development Corporation developed the 104,000 square foot Power Center, a comprehensive multi-purpose complex designed to address the needs of the Southwest Houston Community. The Power Center houses numerous services and entities, including The Imani School; J.P. Morgan Chase Bank; Houston Community College System’s Business Technology Center; The University of Texas-Hermann Hospital Clinic; W.A.M. Inc.; 27 business suites; 7,000 square feet of commercial lease space; The WIC Program; support groups; and The Jesse H. Jones Ballroom, the fourth largest banquet facility in Houston.

Caldwell earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics from Carleton College in May 1975 and a Masters Degree in Business Administration in Finance from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business in May 1977. He then worked as an investment banker at First Boston in New York and at a bond firm in Houston. He earned a Masters Degree in Theology from Southern Methodist University-Perkins School of Theology in December of 1981 and was appointed to the pastorate at Windsor Village during this time. Caldwell continues to sit on numerous corporate boards including Continental Airlines and Reliant Energy.

Caldwell is author of the best seller The Gospel of Good Success, published by Simon and Schuster in January, 1999. He is also the co-author of Entrepreneurial Faith, published by Water Brook Press. Pastor Caldwell, Windsor Village Church, and the non-profit organizations have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, U.S. News & World Report, Fortune, Texas Monthly, The Dallas Morning News, The Houston Chronicle, EMERGE, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) News, the Smithsonian Institute, the NBC Weekend Today Show, and on NBC Nightly News. Moreover, NEWSWEEK identified Pastor Caldwell as a member of The Century Club, NEWSWEEK’s list of 100 people to watch as America prepares to pass through the gate to the next millennium.

Considered a spiritual confident of President George W. Bush, Caldwell met Bush while he was Governor of Texas. Bush spoke at the grand opening of the Power Center in 1996. Caldwell, himself an Independent, introduced Bush at the 2000 Republican National Convention. Caldwell also offered the prayer at Bush’s inauguration in both 2001 and again in 2005.

The McLane Lecture brings nationally recognized speakers to the university to promote awareness and information about issues concerning business. It is sponsored by Temple resident, Chairman of the McLane Group and CEO of the Houston Astros Mr. Drayton McLane, Jr. and hosted by the College of Business.