April 1, 2022 Illinois Baptist

Illinois Baptist

Litton declines

Springfield | Illinois leaders expressed surprise that Ed Litton chose not to seek the customary second oneyear term as SBC president. Litton’s announcement marks only the second time in forty years that an incumbent president has not pursued a second term.

The church Litton serves in Mobile, Alabama posted a YouTube video March 1 explaining his decision. Litton wants to spend the next five to ten years of his ministry working toward racial reconciliation. Litton said he believes he can better engage that work from a pastoral position than from an elected office.

“The announcement by President Litton really caught me by surprise,” said Adron Robinson, an Illinois representative on the SBC Executive Committee and pastor of Hillcrest Baptist Church in the Chicago suburb of Country Club Hills. “Dr. Litton has

Until the bombs

Nate Adams

The Illinois Baptist staff

Editor - Eric Reed

Graphic Designer - Kris Kell

Contributing Editor - Lisa Misner

Copy Editor - Leah Honnen

Team Leader - Ben Jones

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The BIG Baptist family album

Our Illinois mission field

Tae and Faith Hwang are planting Beautiful Church in Evanston. With 74,000 residents, the city has 21,000 students from all over the world. The Hwangs say they hope to witness by being, living, and engaging gospelcentered holiness, fellowship, and missions for all generations.

Pray the news: Ukraine

As millions of people fled Ukraine, SBC missionaries were relocated to nearby countries to assist the refugees, such as this little girl on a train to Poland.

Cooperative Program offerings at work

NATE ADAMS

Handling history

Alittle more than a year ago, a main sewer line backed up into the basement of the IBSA building here in Springfield. Though the primary blockage turned out to be well outside our building, the plumbers also discovered a break in a secondary line. It was directly beneath the section of basement where IBSA’s Historical Library and Archives have been housed for decades.

In a typical year, the contents and maintenance of that museum-like room don’t require a great deal of time, except from a few devoted volunteers. But when a sewer line break demands that you carefully empty the room of its historic contents, seek to protect and organize them for an orderly reentry, then tear up the floor tile, jackhammer through the foundation’s concrete, dig a six-foot hole to find and repair the break, and then sanitize and renovate the room before returning its contents, well, let’s just say it’s one more way this past year hasn’t been typical.

Super-volunteers Susan Full and Deb Bier, both trained librarians and archivists, led the project to rescue and reorganize artifacts of Illinois Baptist history, with help from IBSA staff members like Barb Troeger and Jeff Deasy. In the process, practically every item was reevaluated, deduplicated, and either purged or restored into a new and orderly system for continued preservation and easier retrieval.

One of the final tasks in this restoration project was sorting through a stack of miscellaneous items that Susan and Deb set aside for my personal review. These included a large stack of ledger sheets from the 1960’s and earlier, where Cooperative Program and missions offering gifts from individual churches had been meticulously recorded by hand. There were also boxes of training materials that in themselves represented multiple generations of communication technology.

Are we creating anything worth keeping?

One box contained extra copies of IBSA Annuals from over the years. I expected to be able to discard most of them, until I noticed the handwritten names on some of the covers, and several notes and markings on the inner pages.

One was the personal desk copy of Dr. Jim Smith, who was IBSA’s Executive Director when the staff and office moved from Carbondale to Springfield in 1971. As we celebrated at the 2021 IBSA Annual Meeting, the move was an intentional missional effort to plant and serve churches throughout the entire state. But it wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t popular among many at the time.

Other Annuals belonged to Dr. Robert Hastings, editor of the Illinois Baptist newspaper for the better part of two decades, and my father’s friend and mentor. Still others bore the names of long-time servant leaders Janet Craynon and Melissa Phillips.

With more cannabis dispensaries and breweries than churches, Denver is a lonely place, says Brianna McKinney. The recent college graduate is serving two years as a NAMB Journeyman missionary. She assists church planters building relationships and works at a magnet school for refugees from 40 countries.

Giving by IBSA churches as of 03/25/22 $1,199,899

Budget Goal: $1,550,003

Received to date in 2021: $1,412,986

2022Goal: $6.2 Million

It’s probably no surprise that I decided to hold on to those “extra” Annuals, even if I have to convince my wife that we need to find a place for them at our house. There in that basement, alone among those boxes that day, I realized I wasn’t just analyzing artifacts or organizing records. I was handling hallowed history. And it is a history that includes sacrificially giving churches, evolving technology and training techniques, devoted servant leaders, and the daily tools they used to communicate and cooperate.

Someday we will all be part of that history. And we should all hope that something with our name on it will be worth keeping, because it somehow represents those same things for our era of history.

Our network of Baptist churches here in Illinois and the Kingdom work we do together span not only the geography of miles between churches but also the generations of time between leaders. In the words of songwriter Steve Green, “May those who come behind us find us faithful.”

Nate Adams is executive director of the Illinois Baptist State Association. Respond at IllinoisBaptist@IBSA.org.

HLGU faces financial challenges

Leaders remain optimistic about Missouri school’s future, seek $2.2 million before July

Hannibal, Mo. | Hannibal-LaGrange University is appealing to supporters for $2.2 million by June 30, following reports that the school is facing a serious financial crisis. Of that, $690,000 will be applied to immediate debt reduction.

“We are viable,” Transitional President Rodney Harrison assured supporters in an email. “Our goal to continue the mission of (HLGU) is not uneducated enthusiasm,” he wrote, emphasizing prayer and divine guidance as they leaned into the budget shortfall and the adjustments it will require. The university held a ten-hour prayer meeting March 10, followed by a trustees meeting the next day to discuss the situation and make plans for a balanced budget to start July 1. “This Solemn Assembly is in an environment of deep challenge at Hannibal LaGrange University,” John Yeats told the Illinois Baptist. Yeats is the executive director of the Missouri Baptist Convention, with which HLGU is affiliated.

Yeats urged calm and issued reassurance about the university’s future. “The Lord is fully aware of the HLGU situation. He did not call an emergency session of the heavenly hosts,” he said. “He has already promised an open ear to his children calling out to the Father with intercession for faculty, staff, students, and administration of HLGU.”

“I anticipate HLGU to emerge from this present situation as a healthier, stronger, and greater institution than it has been,” said Tom Rains. The pastor of Quincy First Southern Baptist Church served on the HLGU Board of Trustees from 20102020. He currently serves on its strategic planning

committee. “I do not believe that God is finished with the school,” Rains said. “He still has plans to touch the world for his glory through HLGU.”

The school situated near the Mississippi River draws from Illinois as well as Missouri for enrollment, which was 746 in Fall 2019, according to U.S News & World Report. That figure was down from 1,191 in 2011. The school offers 30 majors, with degrees in ministry, education, and nursing among the most popular.

Rodney A. Harrison, head of Baptist Homes & Healthcare Ministries in Missouri, began serving as Transitional President of HLGU March 7. The former president, Anthony Allen, resigned January 21 citing health reasons.

In his email, Harrison identified as needs during a period of transition “changes to academic areas that include aligning curriculum to better reflect the needs of our current and prospective students,

and receiving accreditation renewal from the Higher Learning Commission.”

HLGU vice president Ray Carty remains positive despite the current crunch. “(HLGU) has been and continues to be focused on making a Kingdom impact,” he said. “That is what we always have done and will continue to do through our students. We will continue to teach our students how to have a ‘biblical world view’ so they can make a Kingdom impact wherever God has them.”

“When individuals and institutions come against an impassable issue, there are usually three initial responses: denial, humanistic manipulation to kick the can down the road with hope for a silver bullet, or start with humble repentance and confession,” Yeats said. “Gratefully, the participants recognized the value of turning our hearts toward our Lord.”

Illinois trustee leads Executive Committee search

Nashville, Tenn. | Illinois pastor Adron Robinson was elected to chair the search team charged with identifying the next President and CEO of the SBC’s Executive Committee. Robinson, one of two Illinoisans serving as EC trustees, was among eight people elected to the committee. Robinson and EC chairman Rolland Slade of California served on the previous search team that brought the nomination of Ronnie Floyd of Arkansas. Floyd resigned after two years as an independent investigation into the EC’s handling of sex abuse claims involving SBC churches was initiated at the request of messengers to the 2021 Annual Meeting.

“We hope that God would sanctify our hearts as a committee and as a convention,” Robinson said,

as the team asked Southern Baptists to participate in a 21-day prayer emphasis in March “There are many things trying to divide us as a convention, but seeking God will sanctify and unify us. We want to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace and work together to fulfill God’s will.”

“The entire Southern Baptist Convention should join in this prayer initiative” to find the next head of the Executive Committee, Robinson said, “and we hope our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world will also join this effort.”

EC Vice President Willie McLaurin was named interim EC President in February. The Executive Committee is responsible for disbursing Cooperative Program funds collected by the 42 Baptist

state conventions and forwarded to the national SBC for international and North American missions and theological education through six SBC seminaries.

National CP giving to missions for the fiscal year ending in September 2021 totaled $192.2 million, almost $5.4 million above budget.

SOLEMN ASSEMBLY – Experiencing God co-author Claude King led an all-day prayer meeting for HLGU students and faculty on March 10, prior to the trustees’ meeting to address a funding shortfall.

ALLEN HARRISON

SLADE ROBINSON

McLAURIN

Westbrook to join IBSA church planting

Paul Westbrook will join the Illinois Baptist State Association staff as Church Planting Director after three decades of pastoral ministry at the church he planted near St. Louis. Westbrook has served as Senior Pastor of Metro Community Church in Edwardsville for 31 years. The church has been instrumental in starting new congregations in Illinois since it was first planted in 1991.

“Paul has led this church to consistent growth and multiplication,”

IBSA Mission Team Leader Scott Harris said, “and he is passionate about seeing churches planted across Illinois.”

“The opportunity to join a team and partner with churches with the potential to impact the entire state fires me up,” Westbrook said. “I’m praying that God would lead us to turn the tide and see churches planted all across Illinois.” Starting new congregations in underserved areas and among people groups not reached with the gospel is one of the chief goals of IBSA.

Westbrook and his wife, Melody, moved from Oklahoma and started the church in a duplex along with six couples. Metro Community Church grew to more than 1,000 worshippers. With a desire to reach beyond their immediate community, Westbrook and the church engaged in house church ventures, financially supported several church planters, and started its Vandalia campus in 2007.

Metro Church will host the IBSA annual meeting in November.

New to IBSA

John Calio will serve Zone 3 as IBSA’s new Zone Consultant. Calio was pastor of First Southern Baptist Church of Mattoon for 18 years until his retirement, and before that he served FBC Romeoville for 10 years.

For the past year, he and his wife, Julie, have lived in Louisville, Kentucky, while she completed a Master of Divinity degree at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Calio holds a Master’s from Southern and a D.Min. from Trinity International University. They are relocating to the Bloomington/Normal area. They have three children.

Lisa Harbaugh joined the Missions Team as Administrative Assistant. She comes after seven years as financial and church secretary for First Baptist Church of Litchfield. Harbaugh is a graduate of Blackburn College. She previously served on the staff of FBC O’Fallon. She and her husband, Dave, have seven children.

Jay Simala will be the new zone consultant for Zone 2, serving Lake County and Fox Valley beginning April 15. An author, professor, and teaching pastor, Simala holds a Ph.D. in higher education and masters degrees in divinity, business, and counseling. He has taught adults in leadership and theology. Jay and his wife, Lyndsey, have four children.

IBSA Board Report

Covid effect called ‘moderate’

Churches are generally upbeat in new survey

Springfield | About 75% of IBSA churches considered the overall negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic “moderate” according to a recent survey reported by IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams in the IBSA Board Meeting March 29.

The figure was from the Church Needs Survey based on polling in late 2021. As evidence of their estimation of Covid’s impact, giving to IBSA churches in 2021 rebounded from both 2020 and 2019 levels. However, Cooperative Program (CP) giving as a percentage of undesignated giving dropped from 6.7% to 6.1% across all churches.

In his updates on 2022 so far, Adams noted while CP recovered somewhat in 2021, “giving through the first quarter 2022 slumped to just above 2020 levels to about 10% below 2019.”

Adams reported as 31 members of the IBSA Board of Directors gathered in Springfield, while two joined by phone. In addition to the financial reports, the Board welcomed new members, voted on committee recommendations, and heard Adams’ report on the Annual Church Profiles (ACP). A notable high 97% of IBSA member-churches completed their ACPs. Among the takeaways:

Encouraging signs in 2021 included increases in professions of faith (31%), VBS enrollment (+52%), and participation in state (+3.4%) and international (+2%) missions. Last year also saw 14 new churches started, and 16 others affiliating with IBSA.

Few ACP benchmarks have returned to their pre-pandemic levels. Overall, 2021 was the second straight year of accelerated declines in worship and Bible study attendance, and mission participation.

Members and monies

The Board welcomed new members: Paul Cooper, Marshall Baptist, Marshall; Jim Hanger, Logan Street Baptist, Mt. Vernon; Jonathan de la O, Starting Point Community, Chicago; Curt Lipe, Faith Baptist, Galesburg; Robert Strong, Meadow Heights Baptist, Collinsville; and Jill McNicol, First Baptist, Patoka.

Two vacant positions on the Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services Board of Trustees were filled with the appointment of Ron Daniels, Belle Rive Missionary Baptist, and Rick Layne, Elm Street Baptist, Murphysboro.

The Board approved a recommendation brought by the Resource Development Committee to amend the make-up of the Investment Committee. According to Chair Josh Bledsoe, the move will allow the committee to add two members with more knowledge in the area.

The Investment Committee is comprised of the Board officers, Resource Development Committee Chair plus an additional

member of that committee based on investment experience or expertise. The Committee serves in an advisory role to the Executive Director and Operations Team Administrative Director.

The Board also approved the 2021 IBSA audit by Capin Crouse.

Renovations to the east wing of the IBSA Building’s first floor are expected to begin in the next few months. The wing, which has seen few alterations since it was built in 1971, will be remodeled into meeting space using reserve funds.

What churches need

In addition to the estimation of Covid’s impact on their churches as “moderate,” the two most frequently requested post-pandemic needs requested were in “re-engaging effectively with their communities” and “re-mobilizing for mission involvement.” The areas in which IBSA churches expressed the most need were evangelism, leadership development, revitalization, and discipleship.

Adams told Board members that 356 respondents, including 283 pastors or staff, participated in the Church Needs Survey. Among the results:

• A majority of churches felt IBSA’s new strategic measures were “most effectively impacting their health,” with fewer churches yet to see “breakthroughs in their health.”

• Survey respondents indicated IBSA should give “more” emphasis to “collegiate ministry, revitalization, and missions opportunities” within the state while suggesting “less” emphasis be given to “church planting in Chicago and St. Louis, missions outside Illinois, and planting among ethnic/language groups.”

• A majority 73% saw “revitalization needed in their church in the next year or two” or sooner.

• Consistent with the last several years, a majority preferred the CP allocation—43.5% national SBC/56.5% state— to remain the same (60%) or for more to remain within Illinois (30%).

• The Illinois Baptist newspaper remains the most common means by which respondents reported receiving IBSA communications. The IBSA.org website followed at a close second.

– Lisa Misner

Ukraine is close to home for new Illinois missionary

IBSA staffer urges prayer for former mission field

Shannon Ford chokes up easily and often as he talks about Ukraine. Ford, his wife, Katie, and their sons Cameron and Carson lived in Kyiv 18 years, while he was catalyzing church plants through the International Mission Board. “Ukraine in many ways is home,” he said. “Our boys grew up there…. You see a picture in the news of a place under attack, and you think ‘I know that place, I’ve been there,’” he said.

The Fords concluded their service there in 2016, but their friendships have remained deep and constant. “My phone notifications have been beeping like crazy since the Russian invasion,” Ford said.

“The Baptists in Ukraine are incredibly genuine,” he said. “There is a real sense of unity, of reverence and respect. They don’t tease,” said the missionary, who returned to the United States in February and joined the Illinois Baptist State Association as Missions Director.

Some of the friends he hears from have fled cities that are being bombed, while others have stayed. Most are asking if they have made the right choice.

“There are people who have stayed and are seeking to help anyone they can,” he said. “And there are people who felt led to flee to a place of safety because sheltering in place was not an option. I have written many messages saying, ‘You prayed about it, you sought counsel, and you can have peace about it.’”

Many people are concerned about the opinions of others, especially young men who stayed or returned to fight. Vitaly* is one example. The young father of three was advised by the government to take his family to a place of safety. Vitaly and his small children huddled with thousands at the border as he texted Ford. He felt pressure for his choice.

“In IMB life, we told people in these situations that no one gets to be a hero because they stayed, or a coward because they left,” Ford said. “What we seek is to be obedient.”

Yulia* is a woman in her mid-thirties who chose to stay in her western Ukraine town of Lviv. One of the first people who was baptized under the Fords’ ministry, she

has since become a strong leader in Baptist work, leading student groups and discipling young adults. Today she is helping refugees inside the country, which Ford calls “internally displaced peoples.” Some 10 million people have fled their homes.

Yulia welcomed one couple from Kyiv to Lviv, 300 hundred miles away. “They heard there were these people who would help them, give them a place to sleep, give them provisions, and help them move on,”

Baptists aid refugees

Chelm, Poland | Bus after bus arrived at the border, filled with women and children, separated from husbands and fathers. Most men stayed behind, now needed in cities and towns throughout the Ukrainian countryside. The grief of those who fled was palpable.

It is one of many scenes International Mission Board President Paul Chitwood can’t forget after a trip to eastern Poland, 20 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. While there he met with IMB personnel and humanitarian groups and saw Baptists step into a role desperately needed during a historic refugee crisis.

“From the very moment this crisis began, we had missionaries and relief workers on the ground providing resources and offering help,” Chitwood said. “Our people were there and ready. It speaks to the incredible work God has allowed Southern Baptists to be a part of and the generosity that makes that work possible.”

Approximately 4 million refugees have crossed from Ukraine into neighboring countries since Russia’s invasion, in what’s been called “the fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.” The European Union is calling for nations to brace for some 5 million refugees.

Ford said. “These people” were Baptists, including Yulia. The couple, not believers, insisted repeatedly that they should pay for the assistance. Yulia refused. “The only thing we ask as you leave is that you tell us how we can pray for you,” she told them.

Most people in Ukraine have connections to Orthodox Catholicism with its formal approach to prayer. But the genuine belief of the Baptists was made real, Ford said, when Yulia and the group took their hands to pray for the refugees’ wellbeing as they left for the Polish border.

The woman promised to keep in touch. From Poland she wrote back, “Will you please keep my contact? I want people like you in my life to keep praying for us.”

“The only people who prayed for them on the way were our Ukrainian Baptists,” Ford said. “Who knows how God will use that to lead to their salvations…. So we are thankful.”

Ford said many of the military chaplains posted with Ukrainian troops are from the Baptist churches there. They are endorsed and placed, much like American chaplains who serve with our military. Ford encouraged prayer for the Baptist chaplains, as they serve in a vital capacity right now.

His own prayer extends to Russian troops as well. “We don’t hate those who are bringing the aggression.We have pity for them, we want them also to know Christ.” There are Russian soldiers who are dying as are Ukrainians. “They are souls, and we are concerned for them.”

Ford urged churches in the United States to support the SBC’s Send Relief, which is working with IMB and Ukrainian Baptists to provide emergency aid for displaced people. Send Relief is operated by the North American Mission Board. Sendrelief.org.

(* Names changed)

The visit to the border brought the crisis up close. On a cold day where a cutting wind joined temperatures in the 30s, things remained orderly with Polish military and police on hand. Chitwood and others spent a few hours greeting people coming off the buses.

Back at Chelm Baptist, Chitwood met with the church’s pastor, Henryk Skrzypkowski, who is also a member of the council of the Polish Baptist Union. Chelm Baptist resembles a typical mid-sized American church. About 200 cots were purchased and put into any bit of floor space that could be found.

A reception area with coffee, tea, sandwiches, and desserts welcomed refugees. The smell of meals heavy with potatoes and meat rose from the extra stoves in the fellowship hall downstairs. Washers and driers continuously kept linens clean for those needing a night or two of rest before moving on.

Polish Baptists are working to meet those types of needs and others. “They are people with limited resources and are giving everything they have to care for total strangers,” Chitwood said. “Out of compassion, they’re wanting to help and show the love of Christ.”

– Eric Reed

UNDER FIRE – Refugees from Irpin, Ukraine fled as Russian missiles destroyed their city. On Page 1, Ukrainian Baptists prayed in Kharkiv’s Freedom Square 2,920 consecutive days, until the bombs fell.

HOME IN UKRAINE – Former IMB missionaries Shannon and Katie Ford, and their sons Cameron and Carson, lived and served in Kyiv 18 years. This photo was taken in 2007. Today the Fords live in Illinois, where Shannon joined IBSA as Missions Director.

SHELTER – IMB President Paul Chitwood and missionaries serving in Europe pray over the pastor of a Baptist Church of Chelm, Poland. The church’s sanctuary has been converted into a makeshift shelter for Ukranian refugees. – photo by IMB

– Scott Barkley, Baptist Press

reporter’s notebook

Missionaries report tragic acts of war, then and now

Sunday, December 7, 1941: Charles Maddry was preparing for three worship services that morning with the fifteen missionaries serving through the Hawaiian Baptist Mission. Dr. Maddry was head of Southern Baptists’ Foreign Mission Board. He was in Honolulu for a three-day conference to plan missions on the islands.

“My room in the hotel looked out toward Pearl Harbor,” he wrote in a lengthy report published in the Illinois Baptist a month later. “At exactly 7:55 Sunday morning the treacherous and murderous attack began…wave after wave of Japanese bombers diving out of the clouds upon (the airfields) where many of the families of naval officers lived.

“For nearly two hours it was a veritable hell of noise, fire, smoke and death.”

Maddry saw the battleship U.S.S. Arizona ablaze and its sailors swimming through burning oil. He saw the bombing of the city in six waves. In all, 2,700 service personnel “were suddenly hurled into eternity without a moment’s warning,” he wrote. But it was the refugees that moved him most of all.

“By ten o’clock on Sunday (morning), the refugees from all the airfields and naval and military areas had begun their tragic flight into the city. The public school buildings, hotels, churches were soon crowded. Many mothers had fled with their little children without even a change of clothing.

evangelism

I had read of the horror of seeing refugees fleeing from burning homes and murderous war. Now I have witnessed it all.”

We have seen the same. How ironic it was that Maddry was on Oahu for the attack on Pearl Harbor. And how ironic that our new missionary colleague Shannon Ford, who served in Ukraine 18 years, had as his first day with IBSA March 1, a week after Russia launched its horrific attack.

This month we have witnessed war in real time on our screens in much the same way Maddry did from his hotel window. We have seen the bombing and the tanks and the resistance.

But it was when the missionary was sitting in the office with my colleague, Lisa Misner, that the tragedy was most real. He told us stories of his friends still serving in Kyiv and Lviv, who were helping the mothers and children run for their lives. He showed us pictures on his phone. And he put us in contact with IMB missionaries who asked for prayer, even as they stayed in the line of fire to serve in the name of Jesus.

Please forgive our presumption writing from safety half a world away, but as Maddry wrote of his gut-wrenching experience eighty years ago, “The heartbreak and sorrow of it all will follow me as long as I live.”

Eric Reed is editor of IBSA media.

Johnny Hunt urges personal connections in Illinois stop

O’Fallon | We must believe God can save people, if we are to witness to them, Johnny Hunt told evangelism leaders in Illinois March 6. “The reason we don’t witness is because we see people in actuality instead of possibility,” he said. Hunt led a Sunday night worship rally at First Baptist Church of O’Fallon as part of a two-day “Who’s Your One?” evangelism workshop. His message was pointed: “Do we still believe that apart from Jesus, people who die spend eternity in hell?”

The North American Mission Board’s tour bought pastors and church leaders together for inspiration and equipping. FBC O’Fallon’s music team led worship, and Hunt preached from John 1. The Georgia pastor and now NAMB’s Vice President for Evangelism quickly focused on the necessity of person-to-person invitation to faith. A personal invitation from a friend, family member, or

neighbor has always been the most effective way to win people to Christ.

“Somebody told me,” Hunt said, “and I’ve never gotten over wanting to tell somebody else what God has done in my life.”

With a witnessing plan originated by former SBC President J. D. Greear, the tour inspires people to pray for and invite at least one person to church consistently, until that person comes to faith in Jesus. It begins with committing to that one name–your “one.”

The O’Fallon tour stop concluded with sessions equipping church leaders in evangelism, prayer, and outreach strategies.

IBSA Evangelism Director Scott Harris said Hunt’s personal story and strategy can inspire Illinoisans to share their faith. “So many of the people our churches need to reach are just like Johnny before he came to faith,” Harris said.

Hunt told the congregation how he, as a high school dropout, descended into alcoholism. He managed a pool hall and worked part-time at a hardware store. At that job, his boss asked him to come to church. Hunt repeatedly said no, but the man persisted. Hunt finally said yes, and eventually came to faith in Christ.

Harris has partnered with NAMB to bring the “Who’s Your One?” tour back to Illinois with a stop in Chicago in 2023.

Harris initiated a similar two-day event in Illinois last year, with regional versions starting this month. IBSA’s Ignite Evangelism Conference will equip leaders and churches to reach their communities for Christ. This series of Sunday night rallies and Monday morning workshops kicks off April 3 at Logan Street Baptist Church in Mt. Vernon. Register at IBSA.org/ignite.

– Ben Jones

EERIE FAMILIARITY – This copy of the Illinois Baptist from January 1942 was unearthed in a recent renovation of the IBSA archives. An eyewitness account of the bombing of Pearl Harbor by a Southern Baptist leader on the scene echoes the stories from IMB missionaries in Ukraine today.

From the front: litton won’t run again

Continued from page 1

done a good job of leading the convention through a very turbulent year, and I was hoping that his second term would be more peaceful,” Robinson said.

IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams agreed. “He came into the SBC presidency at a difficult time, and I’m grateful for the grace with which he has led during his time in that office,” Adams said. “I certainly wish him well as he now sets out to pursue this new ministry of racial reconciliation.”

Litton himself said “that it’s been a difficult year,” and took responsibility “for mistakes I made in the preparation and delivery of particular sermons.” He quoted from sermons by his immediate predecessor J.D. Greear, which Litton said he did with permission, but without proper citation. That became an issue immediately after his election.

While in office, Litton appointed a task force to oversee an investigation of the SBC Executive Committee as it faced accusations of not appropriately handling claims of sex abuse within the

SBC Preview

denomination. His tenure also coincided with the resignation of Ronnie Floyd as President and CEO of the Executive Committee, which was connected to the mishandling allegations. The EC had several long and tense meetings over contracting the thirdparty investigation and whether to surrender attorney-client privilege in the probe, and 18 members resigned.

“Dr. Litton’s compassion and insight have helped us navigate some tough decisions during the last few Executive Committee meetings,” Robinson said. “Dr. Litton had the courage to address two of our convention’s greatest problems, racism and sexual abuse. I pray that the next SBC President will continue this Great Commandment work.”

Litton has talked about “the stains” of racism and abuse in recent months, notably at the Midwest Leadership Summit. He has been active in racial reconciliation in Mobile, and with church leaders from Montgomery, Alabama, and Charleston, South Carolina.

Litton has a reconciliation plan in development and has conferred with prominent Dallas pastor Tony Evans and the SBC’S only African American president, Fred Luter of New Orleans. Litton has not revealed the details of his project. Prior to his announcement, it was anticipated Litton might unveil it in time for the 2022 Anaheim convention.

“I look forward to learning more about his plans and program at the SBC Annual Meeting in June,” said Sharon Carty of Carlinville, also an Illinois representative on the EC. “I was surprised to learn of Dr. Litton’s decision to not seek a second term as the SBC president. I do respect his decision to return to the local church and pursue his plans at that level.”

– IB staff

June 12-15

California adventure

Three-man race and sex abuse report

The Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting in Anaheim had promised to be interesting enough: the findings on the handling of sex abuse allegations by Executive Committee leadership are to be presented, and messengers will be hearing from the temporary heads of two significant SBC entities who are leading through trying times.

Then Ed Litton dropped a bombshell.

The SBC president would not seek a second one-year term—something that hasn’t happened since the last time the convention met in California 40 years ago. Suddenly Anaheim became very interesting. And even more since the presidency has become a three-candidate race—so far.

Off-year elections and conventions far outside the SBC’s southern stronghold usually mean smaller attendance; 1981 was an exception to that rule. Adrian Rogers declined to run a second time at the Los Angeles convention, allowing

evangelist Bailey Smith to secure the first of two terms. Smith repeated as incumbent in the 1982 convention in New Orleans with more than 20,000 in attendance. The move clinched the conservative hold on the presidency and the nominating process for SBC entity trustees.

Litton’s decision not to run may also have political motivations, as his reelection was not certain. No incumbent in the modern era has been defeated. But Litton may have been less convinced that his interest in pursuing racial reconciliation would be as fully supported as he hoped in a second term.

Certainly the politics surrounding the presidency have emerged again with the announcement of three candidates for the top office. Four men ran in 2021, including the first appearance by a candidate representing the new Conservative Baptist Network (CBN). Georgia Pastor Mike Stone lost to Litton, who

SBC President Ed Litton at the Midwest Leadership Summit.

Anaheim Convention Schedule

June 15

2:30 Worship & prayer

2:50 Committee on Order of Business Report (4)

2:55 Election of 2023 Convention Preacher

3:00 Committee on Resolutions Report (Part 2)

3:30 Previously Scheduled Business

3:45 Jesus, the Center of Life: On the Road to Roe50

4:15 The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission Report – Brent Leatherwood

4:30 Lifeway Christian Resources Report –Ben Mandrell

4:45 Presentation of Officers – Willie McLaurin

5:00 Closing Prayer

was described by secular press at the time as a more moderate choice. Southern Seminary President Al Mohler and Northwest Baptist Convention Executive Director Randy Adams were eliminated in the first round. The CBN has expressed concern about a drift in the SBC toward what some of its members have called “woke” theology, a focus on social justice issues and broadening the role of women in the denomination and in local church leadership.

Hats in the ring

Willy Rice: The morning after Litton’s March 1 statement, the pending nomination of Clearwater, Florida pastor Willy Rice was announced.

“Willy Rice represents who Southern Baptists are at their best,” North Carolina pastor Clint Pressley told Baptist Press. Pressley will nominate Rice. “He loves Southern Baptists, believes in Southern Baptists, and has demonstrated at every level of our convention his ability to lead Southern Baptists.”

Rice is a current trustee for the North American Mission Board and served as president of the Florida Baptist Convention from 2006-2008, among other leadership positions.

“In his convention sermon at the 2021 SBC Annual Meeting, Willy Rice issued a prophetic call to our Convention, warning us of the dual threats of theological drift and of a pharisaical spirit of pugilism and condescension,” Pressley said. “He is more than a statesman—he’s a man who understands the times, sees the challenges before us clearly, and has the vision, wisdom, and courage to lead us. I can say with all confidence that he is the man to meet the challenges of this moment.”

According to its Annual Church Profile statistics, Calvary reported 218 baptisms in 2021 and giving through the Cooperative Program (CP) of $532,533.41 (7.5% of its annual budget). Prior to the pandemic, the church averaged more than 3,600 people in weekly worship attendance across three campuses.

Tom Ascol: Another Florida pastor, Tom Ascol, announced his intention to run for SBC president in late March in a story published by conservative news site Daily Wire. Ascol has pastored Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral since 1986.

“I believe we are in need of a course correction so that regular Southern Baptist churches can have a voice and can help hold our institution and entities accountable to the churches that own them,” Ascol told Baptist

Press. “If we don’t do this, then we will lose many opportunities to be united to spread the Gospel of Jesus around the world.”

Ascol is president of Founders Ministries, an organization he helped start in 1982 that is “committed to encouraging the recovery of Gospel and the biblical reformation of local churches.” According to its website, Founders holds to the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith as its doctrinal confession.

Ascol’s nomination announcement also posted at the Founders website was signed by nearly a dozen Southern Baptists—many of whom are leaders in the CBN—including current SBC First Vice President Lee Brand and 2021 presidential runner-up Stone. Grace reported 280 in weekly worship attendance with $725,110.02 total undesignated receipts and $30,660.94 (4.23% of its annual budget) given through CP.

Robin Hadaway: Former IMB missionary and current Midwestern Seminary missions professor Robin Hadaway is the third announced candidate. Hadaway pastored churches in California and Arizona before leading church planting in Tanzania, Northern Africa, and South America.

“Robin Hadaway has a passion for missions, evangelism, and church planting,” said fellow missionary Wade Akins who will make the nomination. “He believes thousands of Southern Baptists—men and women, pastors and laypersons—need to drop what they are doing and seek a career in home and foreign missions.”

Akins also said that, if elected, Hadaway would strive to “see 1,000 new WMU chapters started,” saying “WMU has the backs of our missionaries by providing what’s often lacking—prayer and financial support.”

Hadaway is a member of New Song Community Church in Oceanside, California, where he moved a year ago after nearly two decades at Midwestern Seminary. New Song reported 26 baptisms in 2021, undesignated receipts of $1,648,176.96 and giving through CP of $16,750.02 (1.02% of undesignated receipts).

– by IB staff with additional reporting from Baptist Press

ASCOL HADAWAY RICE

SBC sex abuse report almost complete

Nashville, Tenn. | Guidepost Solutions is drafting its final report based on an investigation of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee’s (EC) handling of sexual abuse complaints, the Sexual Abuse Task Force said in an update March 11. “Of note, Guidepost has begun drafting its final report, including its independent recommendations, in preparation for the publication of the full report and recommendations prior to the SBC Convention in Anaheim in June 2022,” the update posted online said.

Guidepost Solutions investigators have met with the SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission leaders and are reviewing archived ERLC documents. The ERLC interviews and document reviews were “within the scope of the EC investigation process,” said Task Force Chairman Bruce Frank, pastor of Biltmore Church in Ashville.

Former ERLC President Russell Moore had complained about the EC’s handling of sex abuse allegations in the denomination, according to published reports. Under Moore’s leadership, the ERLC provided platform opportunities for speakers advocating on behalf of abuse victims after the first claims were published by the Houston Chronicle in 2019.

As of the March 11 update, Guidepost Solutions had interviewed 133 current and former EC trustees and employees, and up to 34 additional interviews were expected.

“These interviews are essential in conducting a full, fair, and comprehensive investigation and assessment,” the Task Force said. “The interviews also provide an opportunity for interviewees to offer recommendations and provide feedback as to how the SBC EC can create a safer community going forward.”

With more than five terabytes of data collected, Guidepost Solutions has continued to meet with abuse survivors who contacted the company to provide information, has received remaining documents requested from former EC legal counsel Guenther, Jordan & Price law firm, and has reviewed EC presidential papers and ERLC documents on file at the Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives, the Task Force reported.

Guidepost Solutions had received approximately 4,230 documents from Guenther, Jordan & Price as of its Feb. 8 update. The law firm, which held a long-term role as legal counsel for the EC, severed its relationship with the SBC shortly after the EC voted to waive attorney-client privilege in the investigation, a move recommended by Guidepost Solutions to open up the investigation.

“Additional updates will be forthcoming as the investigation proceeds,” the Task Force said in its update.

As messengers to the 2021 SBC Annual Meeting voted, Guidepost Solutions must submit its report to the Task Force at least a month before the 2022 SBC Annual Meeting. The Task Force will review it and release it publicly in advance of the 2022 meeting in June.

Guidepost Solutions “has become a go-to consultant for evangelical groups facing allegations of sexual harassment, misconduct, and abuse to assess its response to issues of harassment and misconduct,” according to a report by Religion News Service on a similar investigation involving employees of Christianity Today. In that case, a March 15 report revealed complaints against two men by eight women, said to have happened over the past decade. Guidepost Solutions provided extensive directions for the publishing organization to handle such accusations in the future, and to provide reliable means for staff to report inappropriate comments or actions.

Similar recommendations are expected in the investigators’ report to the SBC.

SBC leaders hired Guidepost Solutions after considerable disagreements between Task Force Chairman Bruce Frank and then-President and CEO of the EC, Ronnie Floyd over which group had the right to hire an outside investigating firm. Frank proceeded to contract Guidepost Solutions and Floyd resigned not long afterward. – adapted from Baptist Press with additional reporting by Illinois Baptist staff

The Executive Committee distributed this chart to help messengers in Anaheim understand SBC reporting relationships.

Here’s how it works.

Salt and life

Iowa planters partner with Illinois church to reach ISU campus

Bloomington | 24,000. That’s the number of students on three college campuses in Bloomington-Normal who need to be reached for Jesus. Jonah Christiansen estimates that many students are not attending a local church. Christiansen is part of a team from Ankeny, Iowa that is planting Salt Church near the campus of Illinois State University (ISU) this fall.

Planting Pastor Daniel Nemmers admits the number and the life stage are daunting. “It’s the first time college students are independent and thinking about what they believe. They’re at a crossroads of tons of cultures on a university campus, and it’s a secular culture. People are telling you that the world and sin is actually going to satisfy you. So most people do what sinful people do, they choose the world.”

Nemmers has a passion to see the church reach lost college students. He also wants to ignite a spark in students who grew up in church but are in danger of dropping out once they leave home. “We spend two decades pouring into them from birth to 18, and the second they’re 19, they’re not in church anymore.”

According to a 2019 Barna Research study, two-thirds of 18- to 29-year-olds who were active as children and teens dropped out of church once they reached college age. That number has been growing for decades, seeing a five percent increase since 2011.

“If the church had grabbed the baton when they were 18, they would have created a disciple for a lifetime,” Nemmers said.

These two energetic church planters want to see God birth a vibrant church at ISU. They’ve seen it in their own church in Ankeny, Iowa. They have faith God will do the same here, so much faith that they will uproot their young families and bring them to Illinois.

was to connect with students and invite them to a preview worship service at ISU’s Bones Center.

On an unseasonably warm Thursday afternoon at an intersection of sidewalks in front of Jesse Fell Hall, the team chatted with students passing by their white pop-up tent emblazoned “The Salt Company.” Some students kicked a soccer ball around in the grass while music played in the background. Others handed out packs of gum with a QR code linked to the church plant’s Instagram account, featuring information about the preview service that night. If it happened.

As the team talked with students, Christiansen worked the phones. ISU’s approval to hold the preview service on campus hit a snag. Permits submitted weeks earlier now required additional documentation and review. “This could have been really emotional,” said Nemmers. “To hear back on the ‘morning of’ that it might not happen.” They pleaded for grace and prayed for approval.

This service was the primary reason the team of 60 traveled from Iowa, to give ISU students a taste of what Salt Church was all about. The student team came from six different colleges in Kansas and Iowa. Each had given up their spring break to serve the church. Each had a Salt Network church plant as part of their discipleship story.

Salt Network is a Baptist collegiate church planting ministry working in strategic partnership with the North American Mission Board and Baptist state associations, including IBSA. Their goal is to see “churches planted, communities strengthened, and gospel witness extended to the ends of the earth,” starting with the 400 major university campuses in North America.

try to connect them with other churches and pastors in the area,” said IBSA Church Planting Director Kevin Jones, who focuses on collegiate ministry. “I knew how important that would be and how much they wanted those connections.” Journey Church in Normal is one of those churches, serving as local sponsor for the church plant at ISU. Executive Pastor Clark Killingsworth said they have been in connection with Nemmers for over a year. Journey Church has provided prayer and encouragement, as well as help for planting team members looking for homes and jobs.

The local cooperation also extends to East Central Illinois Baptist Association. ECIBA is providing support through their Kingdom Growth Fund. Killingsworth, who also heads the association’s Lead Team, said this two- to three-year partnership has been a real blessing to Nemmers and the planting team.

Christiansen and his wife, Sierrah, are expecting their first child in May. They hope to relocate in June. Nemmers and his wife, Kayla, are expecting another child in August, shortly after their move to Bloomington. That will make four children under age four for the young couple.

During two days in March, Christiansen and Nemmers led a group of nearly 60 college students in outreach efforts at ISU. Their mission

The network’s strategy emphasizes the formation of a local church, not just a collegiate ministry. “(Our goal is) to connect them to the local church. If we don’t connect them to the local church, then they don’t have a place to stick or to stay or to be led by elders in the church, interacting with other generations,” Christiansen said, “To see mothers and fathers parenting their children and have healthy marriages.”

That emphasis on the multi-generational local church extends to their work with existing local churches.“One of the first things I did when Salt Church came to Bloomington the first time was

The partners’ prayer support proved essential on Thursday afternoon. At the last hour, ISU approved the preview service.

“Almost 90 students came that night,” Nemmers said. “Then two students placed their faith in Christ after the message. We got over 100 students’ info who were interested in Salt Church. Looks like God answered our prayer for momentum leading up to this fall.”

Jones said he prays that God does big things on campus in Bloomington, and that God will repeat it on college campuses across Illinois.

– Ben Jones

CAMPUS CALLING – Visiting church planters worship at ISU along with leaders Jonah Christiansen and Daniel Nemmers (top photo, right side). IBSA’s Kevin Jones (above, left) talks with Christiansen and a member of the student planting team from Iowa.

MISSION

Finding joy again

After the loss of a loved one, healing can happen. But not alone.

BY ERIC REED

Carmen Halsey went to her first GriefShare meeting as a spectator. Almost two years after her husband, Keith, died of a heart attack on a Sunday morning in April, after her mother’s death less than a year later, and in the middle of a pandemic, she was looking for answers. Not so much for herself maybe, but for other women she had recently encountered who had lost a spouse.

“I remembered a woman had mentioned GriefShare to me in the receiving line at my husband’s funeral, so I found it online.” A session had just started at a church in Springfield.

Seated socially distanced with everyone wearing masks, she watched the meeting of the grief recovery group unfold. Some people spoke up, others didn’t. Some had lost spouses, others mourned parents, children, or friends. Some were recently bereaved, others’ loss was years old.

It wasn’t until the facilitator dimmed the lights and started the video that Halsey felt drawn in.

“I watched as Nancy Guthrie and pastors and others started talking about the things I was feeling but never talked about—would I have enough money to live, changed relationships, how long grief continued—but it was all grounded in Scripture,” she said.

“I didn’t speak up, but others did. I saw that when someone’s grieving, there’s a brotherhood there.” Halsey returned each week over the next three months for the group meetings. “I saw that grief is a journey—we’re either going to be intentional or we’re not.”

She chose to be intentional, both personally and professionally.

As a Leadership Development Director for IBSA, Halsey knew the ministry could be a valuable tool for her church and many others. First, she explored the organization that started GriefShare 35 years ago, the Christian ministry that had founded DivorceCare. Then she went to her pastor, the man who succeeded her husband as pastor at First Baptist Church of Raymond.

GriefShare

Many churches use specialized small groups to open doors and heal hearts. This nationwide Christian ministry created in 1998 combines video teaching, a workbook with daily assignments, and discussion opportunities over 13 weeks. Participating churches are listed on their website along with enrollment information and an archive of videos on grief recovery.

GriefShare.org

They soon started the church’s first GriefShare course. And Halsey began telling others about the opportunities it offers for personal healing, specialized small-group discipleship, and open doors for evangelism in the community.

Will we ever laugh?

Lila Speidel wasn’t really looking for a counseling group when she heard about GriefShare. During the four years after the death of her husband, Mike, Speidel had scoured the library for books on grief recovery. The best help she found came from a co-worker who occasionally offered to listen. “She made a safe place where it was OK to talk about Mike,” Speidel said. “After 35 years and five days of marriage, it wasn’t like his memory was just wiped off the face of the earth.”

Then her oldest daughter called. “You have to try this,” she said. Her pastor’s wife had led a group at their church in Naples, Florida. “It’s the best thing I’ve done to deal with Daddy’s death.”

So she did. She visited one session at a church in another town and her pastor did some exploration online. “You have to do this, Lila,” he told her, as did several other people. She eventually embraced the calling and started GriefShare at Logan Street Baptist Church in Mt. Vernon, offering the 13-week small group meetings with videos and workbooks.

long after her own loss. “Then we stopped by her ice cream shop and she brought it up again.” Halsey opened the small store in a former barber shop building where her husband had taught Bible studies, in part as a tribute to him.

“She was talking about how powerful it was,” Troeger said, so he decided to look into the ministry. “During Covid, a lot of people have lost loved ones. It just seemed like it would be a good fit.”

And it was.

“You don’t realize how much (grief recovery) is needed until you go through it yourself, to know how a person feels and to understand their pain,” she said. Mike was a bivocational pastor, and Speidel now recalls with some chagrin her earlier attempts to comfort the grieving. “Even pastors tell me, ‘Lila, I just don’t know what to do.’” Making a safe place to process their sometimes-overwhelming feelings is the best first step.

Speidel found people willing to drive considerable distances to attend, sometimes because there’s not a similar opportunity in their community, and sometimes because they need the distance.

“A woman said she could not do this in her own town because of the circumstances of her son’s death,” Speidel said. “He was murdered.” That woman was in Speidel’s first group seven years go. “Lord, I’ve never had to go through what this person has suffered,” she said. And yet, she understands their pain.

Speidel said she tells every group, “I see how bad you feel especially at the beginning, but I see how you share needs and help each other.”

“Eventually they share a laugh, when they weren’t laughing at the beginning. I watch as they are healing, and that’s the greatest blessing of all.”

When hearts are open

Kip Troeger was looking for a way to minister to his community during the pandemic. “As a church we had been trying to find a way to heal from the tremendous loss that we have experienced due to Covid,” he said.

The pastor of Riverton First Baptist Church first heard about GriefShare from Halsey, not

With his full-time work as an Army chaplain and a master’s degree in counseling, the bivocational pastor knew the need for skilled help during mourning. But he’s quick to point out that facilitating GriefShare doesn’t require a degree. In fact, it may work best for the unskilled.

“When I took their training, I was a little bit surprised that they stressed for the workers not to take a counselor role,” he said. “I was reminded that there’s power in people’s willingness to sit in each other’s pain. When people are willing to share in someone else’s grief and sorrow, that’s the power of the whole program.”

“Someone who has no background in counseling can feel comfortable facilitating a group,” Troeger said. “Sometimes you can just sit back and watch the conversation unfold among the people in the room. I’ll ask, ‘What really spoke to you in that video?’ and boom! it just takes off.”

Boarding the roller coaster

Grief is a challenge for everyone, but perhaps more difficult for men. “Guys really struggle with showing emotions, but a lot of guys have commented that they’re thankful to be in a safe place to let down their guard and share at a deeper level,” Troeger said.

Speidel agreed. “The men that go through the group are so grateful they did.”

Generally, more women than men participate. “Not everyone works so well in a group,” Speidel said. Some men at Logan Street Church have referred their friends to Lila. “I’ve had some men come just to see what the group is, to consider starting a group in their own church, for themselves as much as for others. And I say good. Good, good, good.”

Speidel often gives those who express interest a workbook and encourages them to visit the GriefShare website to watch videos and sign up for daily devotions—“just a daily tidbit, to get them

started,” she said.

For everyone, one GriefShare stipulation is vitally important: Everyone grieves in their own unique way. “There’s no judging other people’s experience,” Troeger said. Whether the loss is for a spouse, a child, or a friend, grief is universal. But for each person, the experience is different.

“A person whose loss was a year ago might wonder why a person who lost someone five years ago is still grieving,” Troeger said. “They might think, ‘Get over it already.’ But there’s no judging. Everyone grieves on their own timetable and in their own way.”

Troeger said when starting the ministry at his church a year ago, he found he had unprocessed grief from his mother’s death 25 years earlier.

“Grief is a crazy thing,” the pastor said. “It’s not a linear thing. The grieving person doesn’t go from A to B and then it’s over. Grief is up and down, it comes back around. It’s a roller coaster.”

Salvation stories

The Riverton church started a GriefShare ministry to help the community with Covid losses. What they found was open doors to even deeper spiritual conditions, specifically lostness.

“One person who lost a spouse was so angry at God. During the course of the 13 weeks, there was amazing healing toward God,” Troeger said.

Another person was invited by others in the group. “You could almost see visibly the Lord working in her life. She heard the gospel message through Griefshare.” The plan of salvation is presented clearly and concisely during the course, and again in the sessions on heaven.

Troeger talked with her about accepting Jesus as Savior, and she indicated she had. I said, “Are you saying straight up that you’ve accepted Jesus as your Savior?”

“I have! He is my Savior,” she replied.

“Then you need to be baptized!” a man in the group piped up.

Halsey and Speidel have similar stories, as a recovery group becomes community, and community becomes an open door to the church and for the gospel. Very few participants have balked at the faith aspect, Speidel said. “They either grow in their faith, or they come back to their Christian faith. At least they think about it.

“The more I do it, the more I’m glad to share the gospel through GriefShare.”

Grief is a crazy thing. It’s not a linear thing and then it’s over.

GROWING

Learning curve

recommendaTions

Randy Alcorn

A quick read full of truth from God’s word. Most people tend to lean more towards grace than truth or vice versa. For me, I noticed that I was leaning more towards truth than grace. Alcorn shows how Jesus was full of both–100% grace and 100% truth. Alcorn helped me learn to show the world Jesus without compromising grace or truth.

table talk Bud still cries when he sings this song

My neighbor, Bud, was ancient to me as a 12-year-old boy. We’d gone to his small country church a couple of times, and after my mom’s work schedule prevented it, he asked permission to bring me along if I was willing. Having no father or grandfather in my life, I jumped at the chance to accompany Bud to Sunday evening church. The country drive to church was filled with me talking and him listening.

Bud led the singing on Sunday nights before the faithful 20 or so

formed into a picture and I placed my faith in Jesus Christ. The next time we sang “Because He Lives,” I cried. Even as a young, teenage boy, I felt the weight of my sins lifted from my shoulders. My imperfections were still clear, but I had found what real love was.

Recently I was able to share my testimony with a barista at my favorite coffeeshop. Her fears of a distant God and personal imperfections were answered by my testimony of a Jesus who not only died, but because he lives, has given all hope for my future. She’ll be at church soon, and I’m praying she fully surrenders to Jesus.

If Bud were here, I know he’d encourage you to just read the words of “Because He Lives.”

Because He lives I can face tomorrow.

Because He lives,

Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund

Many are searching for purpose in life. We try to find identity in our careers, church roles, etc. Both books help us see our identity is solely found in knowing who God really is. Don’t read both books back-to-back as I did. It may cause you to shout and run around your house celebrating a God who is both holy, holy, holy, and gently and lowly.

– Belafae Johnson Lead Pastor,

Mondays with Mark

Facebook Live

Mark Clifton relates well with pastors of small size congregations. Each week he addresses different challenges that the church is facing and then gives advice on how to handle those challenges. After listening I am both challenged and encouraged. Recently Mark went over the four foundations of church revitalization. That really provoked my thoughts.

– Isaac King Pastor, Hillview Church

who would come out. While we sang different songs each week, one came up for him on repeat— “Because He Lives.”

Though I didn’t grow up in church, I loved the music and especially this song that was so dear to my friend-father-grandfather Bud. The upbeat tempo was certainly better than “Just As I Am,” And something about that third verse and crossing the river from earth often gave me chills.

And Bud’s tears would flow. Bud sang this song too often to be surprised by the words. So why did he cry nearly every time?

After a few weeks of this, the puzzle pieces of the gospel finally

Though you could perhaps recite them from heart, read them from the page of a Baptist Hymnal or a quick Google search.

Be struck fresh by the message not just of our Jesus who came to earth, and died a death, but who rose from the dead to prove every promise and give us a hope.

Allow your hope to be your message of hope to others. Be Bud to someone this Easter.

Heath Tibbetts is pastor of First Baptist Church of Machesney Park and is serving his first full term as president of IBSA.

Passion for art

Set up an art gallery at your church. Ask local artists to submit art inspired by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Invite the community to view the creations and interact with the artists to hear their stories and perspectives. This can convey the emotion of the Passion story in new and different ways. Tabernacle Church in Decatur turned their lobby into a gallery a few years back, and it proved to be very popular.

The Grace and Truth Paradox

Holier Than Thou by Jackie Hill Perry

Purposed Church Mascoutah

– Rachel VanBebber Meadowbrook Church, Auburn SWBTS Student

‘...an empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.’

All fear is gone.

Because I know He holds the future, And life is worth the living

Just because He lives.

–Bill and Gloria Gaither

RA Congress April 30

Tabernacle Baptist Church in Decatur will host an RA congress on Saturday, April 30, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Illinois churches using Mission Journey or RA curriculum are invited. For those who may not have race cars, turtles, etc., Tabernacle Church will have several that may be

borrowed. The gathering will feature IBSA missionary Shannon Ford and more. The Congress is free. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. Participants may also register for a Mission Run to support work in Illinois. Contact (217) 877-5653 or chrism@TBC. church for an information packet.

Keynote speakers

people

Alexander to lead Heartland

Springfield | Heartland Baptist Network, based in Sangamon county, appointed former IBSA staff member and IMB missionary Greg Alexander to serve as Director of Missions. His first day was March 1.

Alexander said he planned to develop a sense of community among the network’s pastors and churches “eventually involving training depending on what the needs are.” He also hoped to use his knowledge and experience to assist churches in reaching young people

Joel Newton celebrated 20 years as pastor of Woodland Baptist in Peoria Feb 27. A quartet of Newton’s children and their spouses sang and Newton’s mentor, Mike Keppler, brought a message on faithfulness.

and “developing a mission strategy that is local as well as global.”

Alexander served as IBSA’s State Supervisor of Baptist Collegiate Ministry from 1990-2005. He helped start five student church plants using a missions-immersive experience to develop leadership.

After four years in a similar role in Virginia, Alexander and his wife, Roslyn, were IMB missionaries until 2021. Alexander served as Student Strategist for European Affinity and Supervisor for European Diaspora, living in Toronto, Canada and Bristol, England. There he developed church planting among student nationals.

At a potluck lunch, church members expressed appreciation for Newton, his wife, Cheryl, and their family. IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams presented a plaque honoring Newton’s leadership and Woodland’s generosity in cooperative missions through the years.

Your IBSA Ministry Partner

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With over 24 years of service, at all court levels, Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) has seen the cultural and legal trends clearly shift against the Church.

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Kimberly Sowell

BRIGHTER DAY

Getting engaged

My current parenting nemesis is an Australian cartoon dog named Bandit. The patriarch of the Heeler family on my daughters’ favorite show, Bluey, is practically a perfect parent. His young daughters—Bluey and Bingo—can count on him to join in whatever game they’ve made up. He provides just the right mix of guidance and space for them to learn and grow.

Bandit reminds me of areas where my own parenting doesn’t always measure up. He’s so present. He’s never too attached to his phone. Even on a busy day, he prioritizes the well-being of the people he loves over lesser concerns. Every 7-minute episode delivers a powerful punch to those of us prone to get distracted or simply dulled into shallow engagement with the people around us. There is a clear call to presence.

I find it increasingly hard to come by, and a growing number of Americans appear to agree.

A 2021 survey found one-third of people admit they are addicted to being online. That number might be inflated because of the pandemic, but even before 2020, Barna found more than half of teens and young adults feel bad about their amount of screen time.

Technology is one culprit of our tendency toward distraction, but certainly not the only one. Growing polarization

pushes some of us to our own corners and make us less likely to engage, not to mention the human tendency to seek to satisfy ourselves first.

But Scripture is full of stories about Jesus intentionally engaging with people, and the call to love our neighbors as ourselves. In this season, I’m convinced loving my neighbor (and my children) means running away from some of the distractions that could separate me from them. For me, that means a commitment for a season to use my phone only as a phone during large chunks of the day. Results are pending, but I’m hopeful I’ll be less likely to reach for an easy distraction when I could look for ways to engage with the people around me.

In life and on Bluey, presence makes a difference. One of my favorite episodes is when Bandit takes time to complete every part of an exhaustive school drop-off routine, and in the process sets up his daughter to be a better friend to a lonely classmate. It’s a powerful reminder that of being present inspires others to follow suit.

Meredith Day Flynn is a wife and mother of two living in Springfield. She writes on the intersection of faith, family, and current culture.

FBC McLeansboro marks 150 years

First Baptist Church of McLeansboro celebrated 150 years with a special service Feb. 27. IBSA Associate Executive Director Mark Emerson preached and presented a plaque in appreciation of the church’s partnership to Pastor Mark Byars (pictured left with his wife, Becky). The church also marked its 1872 founding with a day-long opportunity for selfguided prayer walks through the building earlier in the month.

Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services seeks a full-time Director of Accounting. This senior management position reports to the executive director. A Bachelor’s degree is required with 5 years’ experience. The location will be determined at the time of hire. Send resumè and application to BCHFS Human Resources. Contact (618) 382-4164 ext. 1111 or hr@bchfs. com for more information.

Havana Southern seeks bivocational pastor. Seminary training is preferred, but not required. $26,000 annual salary. Interested candidates must send resumè to Jay Hance at 214 West Jefferson, Havana, 62644 or call (309) 573-3999 with questions.

FBC Le Roy seeks a bivocational pastor

Submit resumè to 611 W. North Street, Le Roy 61752. Contact Ann Malcom for more information at (309) 532-1576.

Galatia FBC seeks full-time or bivocational pastor for a small town church in southern Illinois. For inquiries or to apply, please contact khank.kh@gmail.com or P.O. Box 220 (104 East Church Street), Galatia, IL 62935.

New Life Baptist Church of Waverly seeks a bivocational pastor. Submit resumè to 341 East Elm, Waverly, IL 62692. Contact Gloria Henning for more information at (217) 414-5849.

Trends from nearby and around the world.

Church: Missing persons

1-in-4 worship attenders still have not returned after Covid. Comparing January 2020 to January 2022, attendance averaged only 74% of pre-pandemic numbers. A positive note, 98% of churches were meeting in person again, two years after the lockdown.

Gospel: Who’s curious?

– Lifeway Research

51% of American adults say they’re curious as to why some people are so devoted to their faith, including 60% of the religiously unaffiliated.

Most curious:

This study reveals that most Americans are open to talking about faith. It really isn’t about religious liberty, people not wanting to hear, or religion being off-limits. The reason conversations are not happening about the Christian faith is that Christians are not bringing it up.

– Scott McConnell, Lifeway Research

Gospel: Scrambled eggs

A conservative student group was slammed on social media for spreading the gospel through Easter eggs on their campus. Fellow students at the University of North Texas in Denton complained on the school Facebook page about 250 plastic eggs hidden on the grounds last year. They contained slips of paper with Bible verses about faith, Jesus, and the Resurrection.

Christian Post

Culture: LIES

spread up to

10 x faster than truth

MIT traced eleven years of Twitter posts. False stories got far more retweets that true ones.

“So then, have I become your enemy because I told you the truth?”

– Paul to the Galatians (4:16)

EVENTS

April 9, May 21

Disaster Relief Training

What: Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief has over 950 trained volunteers who serve as part of the third largest relief agency in the U.S. Train to join us.

Where: April 9 Emmanuel, Carlinville; May 21 Streator

Info: IBSA.org/DR

Contact: Skcarty72@gmail.com

April 28-29

Chaplaincy Training

What: Earn certification to provide immediate psychological and emotional support in Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM).

Where: IBSA, Springfield

Info: IBSA.org/DR

Contact: Skcarty72@gmail.com

April 29-30

What: Annual Women’s Conference

Where: Springfield Convention Center

Cost: $55 person

Info: IBSA.org/Priority

Contact: AubreyKrol@IBSA.org

(See ad on page 14)

May 14, July 9,

August 20

What: Pastor plus one church leader develop a practical plan for disciple-making in their church.

Where: May 14 Love Fellowship, Romeville; July 9 Williamson Baptist Association, Marion; Aug. 20 IBSA Building, Springfield

Cost: $50 per church

Contact: FranTrascritti@IBSA.org

June 4

Camps Opening Day

What: IBSA camps open to serve churches for the summer!

Where: Lake Sallateeska Baptist Camp

Info: IBSA.org/Lake-Sallateeska-Baptist-Camp.org

Contact: BrockVandever@IBSA.org

Where: Streator Baptist Camp

Info: IBSA.org/Streator-Baptist-Camp

Contact: JacobKimbrough@IBSA.org

June 6

What: With these online courses, receive a certificate in as little as 12 months in Christian, Deacon, Pastoral, or Women’s ministries.

Cost: $25 per class

Info: IBSA.org/Equip

Contact: LindaDarden@IBSA.org

June & July

Kids and Students Camps

Info: IBSA.org/2022Camps

Contact: JackLucas@IBSA.org

(See ad this page)

June 12-13

SBC Pastors’ Conference

Where: Anaheim, CA Info: sbcpc.net

June 14-15

SBC Annual Meeting

Where: Anaheim, CA

Info: sbcannualmeeting.net

July 22-23

Rise-Up Retreat for Men & Boys

What: A fun, worshipful overnight retreat for boys and a father, grandfather, or father figure.

Where: Streator Camp

Cost: $40 per camper

Info: www.IBSA.org/Growth

Contact: LindaDarden@IBSA.org

July 25-29

What: Youth mission trip for first-hand church planting experience. Includes neighborhood outreach, nightly speakers and more.

Cost: $250 per student (includes food, lodging)

Contact: KevinJones@IBSA.org

BEST WEEK ALL SUMMER!