Joe B. Hewitt

Joe B. Hewitt, Background Information

Author Joe B. Hewitt started writing as a newspaper reporter for the Lima, Ohio, News. He covered the police beat, courthouse beat, and was an investigative reporter. He went under cover for three months and published an expose of vice and crime. He served as national and international news editor and “slot” man on the city desk.

He owned and published the following Texas weekly newspapers, Throckmorton Tribune, and Springtown Review, and was a stockholder, editor and publisher of the Richardson Digest.

His newspaper career ended when he was called into the ministry. But he never stopped writing. While still a seminary student he started the Richardson East Baptist Church, Richardson, Texas. By the time he graduated from seminary his new church had bought land on Main Street and built a building. During the first several years at that church he worked as public relations director for a church-supported alcohol and drug abuse education organization. In that capacity he wrote teacher in-service training manuals on drug abuse, designed catalogs, edited a monthly magazine, wrote and voiced public service radio announcements, and appeared on television interview shows regarding drug abuse education, and spoke at high school assemblies and churches. He enlisted others to voice public service announcements including Steve Allen and Dale Evans. He turned down an offer to become associate executive director of the organization and pastored the church full time.

During that time he ghost-wrote a book on Bible prophecy for a famous radio preacher.

For four years he served as a special elections consultant. Of 13 major campaigns, he won 11. He turned down an offer to manage a US Congressman’s re-election campaign.

During the years in the pastorate he wrote a nonfiction book on personal experience that has sold 45,000 copies. He wrote curriculum for Bible study teachers and teachers commentaries for LifeWay, the publishing arm of the Southern Baptist Convention as well as the youth devotional guide, and Open Windows the 1.1 million-circulation adult devotional guide. For 10 years wrote columns for the Rockwall Success, and Rowlett Lakeshore Times, local newspapers. His magazine articles were published in Mature Living, The Baptist Standard, and Leadership magazine (published by the Baptist General Convention of Texas), Faith for the Family, Reproduction Methods, and the Christian Crusader. Photographs have been published by Associated Press, United Press International, Popular Mechanics, and several detective magazines (from the days when he was police reporter.).

His travel articles and pictures have been published in The Dallas Morning News, and the Houston Chronicle's Sunday Magazine. Guest editorials have been published in The Dallas Morning News and Spirit of 76, publication of Fort Worth, Texas, Mensa.

Hewitt served as a temporary missionary in Mexico, Brazil, Russia, Oregon, Idaho, New York, and pastored a church in England for a month in an exchange with the pastor of the English church. He served as volunteer chaplain and coordinator of jail ministries for the Rockwall County Sheriff’s Department for 10 years. He also served two days a month as volunteer chaplain at Lake Pointe Medical Center in Rowlett for 10 years.

On one of his three trips to Russia, Hewitt preached in Muravlenko, Siberia, a city of 40,000, built on 600 feet deep permafrost located 1650 miles east-northeast of Moscow. The nearest airport was 100 miles south at Nyabresk where the Aeroflot plane broke down and Hewitt and his wife were stranded two days.

In addition to the mission trips, Hewitt visited Cypress, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Greece, Italy, France, Portugal, Spain, Belgium, Holland, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, and many Caribbean islands. Hewitt has traveled extensively throughout all 50 of the United States, Mexico and Canada.

After retiring from the Pastorate in 2001, Hewitt began training as a mediator and served Dallas and area courts as a court-appointed mediator to settle lawsuits.

Hewitt received a BD degree from Bible Baptist Seminary, and an MA degree in Biblical Studies from Dallas Baptist University.

He is a member of Mensa, the high IQ society.