August 19, 2019 Illinois Baptist

Illinois Baptist

September 8

Why J.D. Greear favors same-day baptism

Table Talk P. 10

State of Illinois

Pritzker signs gay history bill

Parents weigh options ahead of 2020 school year

Springfield | Beginning next year, students at public schools in Illinois will study the role of LGBT people in U.S. and state history, after Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a controversial measure into law Aug. 9. The new policy, which goes into effect July 1, 2020, affects students of all ages, although the state’s School Code stipulates that the curriculum be taught before the end of 8th grade.

House Bill 246 passed through the Illinois Senate last spring and was quietly approved May 23 by the House amid a flurry of other legislation, including legalization of recreational marijuana and the repeal of several restrictions on abortion. Pritzker’s signature on the curriculum bill dismayed many Christians and conservatives, with talk online quickly turning to education alternatives.

Beardstown revival

“Reason 157 to home or private school,” one poster wrote on IBSA’s Facebook page. Others expressed resolve to keep their kids in the public school system to shine the light of the gospel there.

“We are very aware that times are changing and more liberal views are entering the classroom,” said Caitlin Konieczka, a Springfield mother of three girls.

The Illinois Baptist staff

Editor - Eric Reed

Managing Editor - Meredith Flynn

Graphic Designer - Kris Kell

Contributing Editor - Lisa Misner

Administrative Assistant - Leah Honnen

The general telephone number for IBSA is (217) 786-2600. For questions about subscriptions, articles, or upcoming events, contact the Illinois Baptist at (217) 391-3119 or IllinoisBaptist@IBSA.org

The Illinois Baptist is seeking news from IBSA churches. E-mail us at IllinoisBaptist@IBSA.org to tell us about special events and new ministry staff.

POSTMASTER: The Illinois Baptist is owned and published every three weeks by the Illinois Baptist State Association, 3085 Stevenson Drive, Springfield, Illinois 62703-4440. Subscriptions are free to Illinois Baptists. Subscribe online at IBSA.org.

Understanding the world where we live and serve

Church needed here...

Location: Thomson

Focus: Residents of this rural river community

Characteristics: Located on the Mississippi River north of the Quad Cities, Thomson is poised for an influx of jobs and people when its federal prison becomes fully operational this year.

Prayer needs: Pray for a church or churches that would catch the vision for a new church to serve the growing population of Thomson and the other river communities in the area.

– IBSA Church Planting Team

CONVENTIONAL WISDOM

Snapshots from the world of Illinois Baptists

“There is no single lens or identifier Americans use to think of themselves. Ironically, that means the personal identity people have or seek may not be what others see in them.”

– Scott McConnell, LifeWay Research

Who are you?

LifeWay Research asked Americans which markers they consider very important to their identity:

My interests or hobbies What I have endured My religious faith

– See the full list at LifeWayResearch.com

Giving by IBSA churches as of 8/09/19 $3,605,067

Budget Goal: $3,696,154

Received to date in 2018: $3,420,718 2019 Goal: $6.3 Million

NATE ADAMS

Mission Illinois: Hearts for tomorrow

Irecently learned of the passing of Mary Lou Cameron at age 99. Mary Lou was the widow of Harold Cameron, who was state missions director and a church planting leader at IBSA for many years.

I didn’t know Mary Lou personally, but her passing reminded me of the only time I remember meeting her husband, Harold, probably in the late 1970’s. He came to speak in the St. Charles church where I was a youth minister, and shared passionately about the need for new churches in Illinois. In doing so, he told story after story of the challenges and opposition he and others faced in getting new Baptist churches established in northern Illinois, including ours.

At that time, our church had well over 200 weekly attenders, several vibrant ministries, and was baptizing new believers regularly. So it was hard for me as a 20-year-old youth minister to imagine a day just 25 years earlier, when our church didn’t exist.

During his one opportunity to do so, Harold convinced me that Illinois is a mission field, that church planting is the missionary task most needed here, that it is not easy, but that it is extremely worthwhile. His transparent heart cared not only for the lost, but for the lost of tomorrow. He knew that he couldn’t personally share Christ with all those lost people, but he could start churches that would. In that moment, I remember being personally grateful to him for starting our church.

Now let me fast forward to today, when I am almost the age Harold was then, and when I ask you to join me in giving generously to the annual Mission Illinois Offering, preferably through your church, or at IBSA.org. Church planting is one of the primary ministries supported by that offering, and church planting is still desperately needed in Illinois. In fact, IBSA church planting staff have identified at least 200 places or people groups in Illinois where a new, Bible-believing church is needed, today.

With current leaders and resources, IBSA is seeing about 20 new churches started each year. But your generous offering can help accelerate the pace at which a New Testament church is established, in or near every community in Illinois.

Someone planted your church, and mine, whether it was 25 years ago or 200 years ago. The question for us today is how generously we will continue to pay our gratitude forward, and establish new churches for both new communities and new generations.

Reading Mary Lou’s obituary reminded me that Harold retired in 1981, just a couple of years after I met him as a young man. Men like my father and other church planting and associational leaders, and women like Mary Lou and my mom, then continued to champion that church planting legacy for their generation. In fact, they helped me plant a church in that same northern Illinois region in 1994, before I moved on to help church planting nationwide at the North American Mission Board. Now I stand on their shoulders, and without reservation ask us to continue planting new churches here in Illinois.

It probably won’t surprise you that Mary Lou Cameron designated any memorial contributions to either the scholarship fund of the Baptist Foundation, or to Illinois Baptist State Missions, or in other words, the Mission Illinois Offering. Mary Lou and Harold clearly had hearts for tomorrow, hearts for church planting, and hearts for tomorrow’s lost in Illinois. Our gifts through the Mission Illinois Offering this year can both honor their lives and echo their hearts.

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

Your giving supports vital church planting efforts across our state.

From the front: LGBT curriculum

Continued from page 1

“We feel that the changes that are happening in the classroom and throughout the world right now are opportunities to share Christ and his message.”

Competing values

Illinois is one of a handful of states to consider curriculum legislation this year, but California lawmakers approved the FAIR Education Act in 2011. According to a Reuters article from May of this year, that state is still struggling to implement the law, and some parents are still protesting it. The article recounts recent fights over textbooks at school board meetings, where one mother expressed concern that her children would read books about transgender people before she’s ready to discuss gender and sexuality with them. “I should be the first one to educate about those things,” she said.

Candi Campbell and her husband, Charles, sent three daughters through the public school system in Illinois, recognizing their decision at the time as a natural way to be “a witness in the world.” The recent legislation would make the decision more difficult, Campbell said.

“As a parent, I believe it is my job to feed, lead, and protect my children. The law signed in Illinois represents a damaging social agenda to our little ones. And, until they can stand on a personal faith in Christ for truth, it is up to me to stand for them.”

A homeschooling mom in Springfield agreed, while acknowledging that homeschooling isn’t for every family. “No matter how we as Christians choose to educate our children, we must help them develop a biblical worldview,” she said. “Our children need our help in discerning truth and goodness through the lens of Scripture.”

Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago), one of the bill’s chief sponsors, has said the new curriculum will help LGBT students feel more accepted and supported in school. Her comments also may sound alarm bells for Christian parents who fear the normalization of sexual values they believe run counter to God’s Word.

“One of the best ways to overcome intolerance is through education and exposure to different people and viewpoints,” Steans said in a news release posted on her website. “An inclusive curriculum will not only teach an accurate version of history but also promote acceptance of the LGBTQ community.”

What now?

Laurie Higgins said the curriculum changes ought to spur Christians to action— and their churches with them. Churches should have been creating affordable Christian schools “yesterday,” said Higgins, a cultural affairs writer for the conservative Illinois Family Institute. While that will indeed take time, she acknowledged, “it doesn’t take time to make funds available.” Higgins urged churches to partner together to create scholarships to Christian schools.

“Parents need to understand if we lose our kids on this [issue], they will think the Bible is wrong on other things,” Higgins said. “We have to start creating affordable alternatives.”

She also encouraged parents to contact school administrators and teachers to ask that their children not be taught about homosexuality or cross-sex identification. Ask them to acknowledge receipt of the e-mail, Higgins added.

While the Konieczka family has made a different decision about school, they’re also planning for future action, Caitlin said. “We are working now to lay a solid foundation before the girls enter school on basic biblical principles and God’s design for creation and life.” Once school starts, she said, they’ll communicate and reinforce biblical truths and establish an environment that welcomes questions.

She acknowledged there could be topics they don’t want presented to their daughters. The couple, both educators, plans to preview textbooks and content and work with teachers and administrators to accommodate their preferences.

“We view this as an opportunity to be a light in the school, and an opening to conversations about our beliefs.”

– Meredith Flynn, with additional reporting by Lisa Misner

‘Dating’ author Harris renounces

faith

Writer and former pastor Joshua Harris apologized in July to the LGBT community for his previous teaching on sexuality and marriage.

The author of “I Kissed Dating Goodbye” also marched in Vancouver’s annual Pride Parade, posting photos on Instagram of the event, including one with a rainbow donut (right).

“To the LGBTQ+ community, I want to say that I am sorry for the views that I taught in my books and as a pastor regarding sexuality,” Harris wrote July 26. “I regret standing against marriage equality, for not affirming you and your place in the church, and for any ways that my writing and speaking contributed to a culture of exclusion and bigotry. I hope you can forgive me.”

Harris, who had earlier announced his separation from his wife of 20 years, also said he’s no longer a Christian. “By all the measurements that I have for defining a Christian, I am not a Christian,” wrote the former pastor of Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Md. “Many people tell me that there is a different way to practice faith and I want to remain open to this, but I’m not there now.”

Baylor students seek LGBT review

Students at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, have asked the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Big 12 Conference to investigate the Baptist school’s treatment of LGBT students and compliance with Title XI civil rights law. The student group includes members of gay club Gamma Alpha Upsilon, which has sought recognition as an official on-campus student group since 2011, The Christian Post reported.

“Baylor is committed to providing a loving and caring community for all students, including those who identify as LGBTQ,” a university spokesperson said in a statement addressing the charges. “We believe that Baylor is in a unique position to meet the needs of our LGBTQ students because of our Christian mission and the significant campus-wide support we already provide to all students.”

Baylor, the country’s largest Baptist university, is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

– Christian Post

NEW LAW – Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation Aug. 9 requiring LGBT history lessons in public schools.

– Christian Post

– Screen shot from Instagram

Village Church sued

A Southern Baptist church in Texas is facing a $1 million lawsuit that claims it hasn’t done enough to resolve sexual assault that occurred at a church camp in 2012. The suit against The Village Church says the church acted with “conscious indifference or reckless disregard” for a woman referred to as Jane Doe. Former Village staff member Matthew Tonne was arrested in January on charges of indecency with a child and is awaiting trial, The Dallas Morning News reported in July.

Village Church pastor Matt Chandler addressed the incident at the Southern Baptist Convention in Birmingham in June, stating, “I guarantee we’re not navigating this perfectly, but we’re doing the best we know how.” He urged churches to seek outside counsel on issues related to abuse.

Seminary denies liability

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit claiming the school has a responsibility to protect students from sexual assault, and to train them to avoid such a risk. The suit was filed by “Jane Roe,” a former student who claims she was raped on campus at gunpoint by a student the seminary employed.

Former SWBTS President Paige Patterson, whose employment was terminated in 2018 amid allegations he mishandled charges of sexual assault at the school, is also named as a defendant in the case.

Film sparks debate

A promo for an upcoming documentary about liberal drift in the Southern Baptist Convention compelled some leaders to distance themselves from the project. The trailer for “By What Standard,” an upcoming film by Founders Ministries, also led to the resignations of three board members from Founders, a Calvinist group with roots in the SBC.

The trailer’s seemingly negative tone toward prominent advocates of sexual abuse survivors and racial reconciliation concerned leaders like Southeastern Seminary President Danny Akin, who was interviewed for “By What Standard” but asked to be removed from it after the trailer was released.

“At this important time in our Convention, we have an opportunity to model what it means to be part of the Kingdom of Christ: peaceable, gracious, and fair, even in our disagreements,” Akin posted on Twitter. “I hope my brothers will reconsider their strategy for communicating our deeply held Southern Baptist conviction that the Bible is our sole foundation and authority for all of life and faith.”

– The Dallas Morning News, Baptist Press

Get breaking news in The Briefing online, posted every Tuesday at www.ib2news.org.

BAPTIST ASSOCIATIONS ‘Let’s do more together’

Leaders talk partnership, revitalization at annual meeting

Springfield | At their annual roundtable meeting this month, leaders of local Baptist associations in Illinois learned what churches around the country value most from their own associations. They also discussed revitalization, an urgent need at a time when many churches across the country are plateaued or declining.

Revitalization is one of three key areas in which IBSA desires to partner with local associations, IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams told associational leaders gathered in Springfield Aug. 5-6. The other two areas are leadership development and training, and mobilization for church planting, missions, and evangelism.

David Hutton leads East Central Illinois Baptist Association, headquartered in Mahomet. Over the past two years, his association has made church revitalization their top priority, followed closely by church planting.

“I’m not a big numbers guy,” Hutton told the Illinois Baptist, “but when you look at the numbers, you start having to ask yourselves questions about why and what can we do to help.” In Hutton’s work with churches, he tries to help them develop a “balanced diet” of the markers of a healthy church, and to assess their own strengths and areas that need improvement.

The roundtable also included a report from Bob Lowman, executive director of the Metrolina Baptist Association in Charlotte, N.C. Lowman also leads the Vision Team of the Southern Baptist Conference of Associational Leaders (SBCAL), the group that completed a study last year exploring the role of associations in the current ministry climate, and what initiatives are most effective in their partnerships with churches. Lowman’s team is charged with helping implement the study’s findings and develop training and resources for associational leaders.

“Association work is all about relationships,” Lowman told Illinois leaders. “If I don’t have those [relational] connections, I can’t get the work done.”

He said the most effective associations are known for leadership development and training, and strong community impact initiatives. As he looks to the future, Lowman said he is especially excited that younger leaders are engaging in associations, and asking experienced leaders for coaching and mentoring.

“Another thing, across SBCAL, is this level of optimism I haven’t seen before,” Lowman added. “It’s like, look at what we can do. Let’s do more together.”

CHANDLER

VALUED PARTNERS – Leaders of local associations meeting in Springfield this month heard from a fellow associational leader from North Carolina, church revitalization experts, and IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams (pictured at right), while their wives saw Springfield and handcrafted beaded jewelry. Photo below: Juanita Philpot and Sherry West model their creations in the IBSA lobby. AKIN

MISSION

Saturday

Community focus

In July, mission teams from more than 20 IBSA churches hosted a back-to-school celebration in Beardstown, a diverse central Illinois city of 5,000 people. At the party, volunteers in blue T-shirts shared Jesus, led children in a gospel-focused craft, served food, and sang hymns and worship songs on a stage in downtown Beardstown.

Dozens meet Christ at Beardstown outreach

Daryl Vermillion’s church knew God was working in their community when an evangelistic event last spring at the high school drew 50 students to make professions of faith in Christ.

“We spent two hours ministering to sobbing, heartbroken children who had every kind of social and family crisis happening in their lives that you could think of,” Vermillion told a Beardstown civic organization this month. The outreach, planned by a national ministry organization, “really opened our eyes to the need in our community.”

Vermillion has pastored First Southern Baptist Church in Beardstown officially for one month, although he has served in an interim capacity since January, and has been a member of the church for more than two decades. His recent presentation to his town’s Kiwanis Club followed his pastorate’s first major outreach—a community block party and back-to-school celebration in July that combined the efforts of more than 20 churches.

Ahead of the block party, 17 people in the community trusted Christ after door-to-door evangelism teams visited their homes. And at the event itself, 36 more made professions of faith.

The July 27 event was part of Missions Spectacular, an annual focus on hands-on missions projects across Illinois. Increasingly over the last few years, Missions Spectacular projects have been planned and led by local churches and associations. The emphasis is made possible in part by the annual Mission

Photos submitted by participating churches

Continued from page 5

Illinois Offering, which supports missionaries and ministries across the state.

The Beardstown outreach started as the brainchild of IBSA’s Carmen Halsey, who envisioned an outreach to the community’s multicultural population.

She began to gather churches interested in an Illinois mission project around the idea of an outreach in Beardstown. The result was a multi-faceted party that included free haircuts, back-to-school physicals, backpacks, music, games, food, and the gospel.

Working together, the churches made “the impossible possible,” said Halsey, director of women’s ministry and church missions. “The work always offers opportunities to connect and build relationships and visualize that the church is bigger than them.

“Several of the churches are already planning other ways they can partner with each other to help with future ministry opportunities.”

Love in any language

The Beardstown church is the only Southern Baptist congregation in town, and runs around 60 in worship on Sundays. But it’s grown over the past few months, Vermillion said. Ministry has been moving in a positive direction—the church has baptized several people in the last two months.

Beardstown is diverse in part because of its workforce. A large meatpacking plant employs Hispanic and French-speaking African residents in the city of 5,000. The July block party featured worship led by Tony Muñoz, an IBSA pastor in Effingham. He brought a team of 13 people from Iglesia Bautista Latina to provide music and help share the gospel with Spanish-speakers.

Muñoz said volunteers were sharing the gospel, following the guidance of the Holy Spirit up to the point of decision. Then, “Un momento, por favor,” they’d say. “One moment, please,” before asking a Spanish-speaking Christian to help lead the conversation. Muñoz helped lead a man to Christ after another volunteer had been talking to him. The pastor was just needed to “tie the knot,” he said.

Nearly everyone in Vermillion’s church was part of the outreach, from grade schoolers to church members nearing 90. Some took part in the preblock party visits, done in partnership with Call of Grace Ministries, an evangelism initiative out

Projects aid CAC, Ava church

of Marion, Ill. Others prayed at the church while small groups went out to share the gospel.

At the party, Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers served hundreds of hamburgers and hot dogs. Steeleville Baptist Church set up a craft table where around 20 children heard and received the gospel, Vermillion said. He has since baptized one of the kids who trusted Christ there.

After the event, the Kiwanis Club invited Vermillion to come tell their members about the block party. His notes from his talk are full of numbers and details—meals served, haircuts given, school supplies received. But he also shared the eternal results of the outreach—for the people who accepted Christ, and for his own church.

“Our church is now very open to reaching out to all people in our community across culture and language barriers, and also to people who have grown up here and lived here their whole lives,” he noted. Looking back, God had been preparing the church—and Beardstown—for a move of his Spirit.

“It’s one of those things you look at and know God was in it before we even got started,” Vermillion said. His church is overwhelmed, grateful, and humbled to have been part of it.

“It’s made an eternal impact on a lot of people’s lives.”

– Meredith Flynn

PUBLIC PRAYER – Volunteers shared the gospel in English and Spanish, resulting in 36 professions of faith at the festival. During door-to-door visits the week before the party, 17 more people made the decision to follow Christ.

‘SPECTACULAR’ MINISTRY – Volunteers took part in additional mission projects at the Christian Activity Center (CAC) in East St. Louis (left) and at Ava Missionary Baptist Church. At the CAC, teams sorted piles of donated school supplies and clothing for the center’s annual back-to-school giveaway. In Ava, Disaster Relief-trained volunteers and others staged a mold remediation process in the church’s basement.

BACK TO SCHOOL – Volunteers offered haircuts for kids, plus school supplies and health exams.

Mission illinois offering

Why Illinois matters

Everyday headlines affirm church influence urgently needed—especially here

Several recent news stories have left us surprised, even stunned. The report that, at the stroke of the governor’s pen, LGBT history will be part of the Illinois public school curriculum starting next year leaves some Christian parents wondering how to handle the controversial subject at home, and other parents contemplating alternate education options.

In an opinion column for USA Today, Jay Keck told how his daughter, who later proved to be autistic, was affirmed by the school system in her sudden desire to identify as male, despite the objections of her parents who were trying to get help. The principal of the Chicago-area school even presented her diploma under her assumed male name at her graduation, again ignoring her parents’ request.

And this story hasn’t made the news yet, but it will probably show up on Facebook. In one quaint Illinois burg, a featured children’s book at the public library is about two worms who want to get married, but they can’t decide which of them will wear the bridal gown. Earthworms are hermaphrodites, which seems by the author’s implication to justify some gender-crossing behaviors in humans. It’s a celebration of love “in all its forms,” the book jacket says—for preschoolers.

The stories that alarm us and dismay us are not only about sexuality and gender and identity. They’re also about the multiplicity of gambling parlors for throwing away one’s pension check, abortions through all nine months of pregnancy, and readily available pot in violation of federal law. The moral decline of Illinois has happened so quickly, and most of it at the hand of the government. Abraham Lincoln wouldn’t recognize this state. Would he even claim it as his own?

When we look across Illinois today, we see issues that once troubled cities are prevalent everywhere. From the smallest farming community with a school house or a bar, to the toughest neighborhoods in the largest cities, to the marble hallways of our Capitol

and courts—the moral rudder is broken. And in those places the work of Illinois Baptist churches is needed like never before. Usually in this space we would publish a feature article based on one of the Mission Illinois videos. Three of these stories were told in the special section in the July 29 issue of the Illinois Baptist, and they’re available online. These churches are taking on the responsibility to bring gospel light to dark places. But what we need to say this year is, like those churches, won’t you focus on our state mission field in a greater way?

Because of sacrificial giving by Baptists in Illinois each September, IBSA is able to help churches grow stronger in evangelism, leadership, and ministry impact. And IBSA helps start a dozen or more churches every year in places where there is little gospel witness. About 420 churches give about $350,000 each year. And IBSA is grateful for the partnership that supports camps and campus and next-gen ministry, church planting and leader development, and more.

But some potential impact of our work is lost, because fewer than half of IBSA churches support the Mission Illinois Offering and Week of Prayer. This annual offering is just as vital to ministry in Illinois as the seasonal offerings for Lottie and Annie are to other SBC missions. And frankly, mission work in Illinois calls for sacrifice on our part.

If your church supports Mission Illinois with giving and prayer, thank you.

If it has been a while since your church had a focus on state missions, please consider the growing need for biblical truth in Illinois. Think about the role stronger churches and more churches would serve in establishing a beachhead against moral decline. A gift to the Mission Illinois Offering is one way to fortify Baptist presence and values in Illinois.

And if you will, please join the Week of Prayer. Illinois needs relentless intercessors right now.

Featured missions stories

Next-Gen Ministries

IBSA trains ministry leaders for students, from pre-K through college. This story from FBC Atwood shows a church that successfully focuses on reaching young people with the gospel, in ways both old and new.

Sharing Christ

At least 8-million people in Illinois don’t know Jesus as their Savior, but when churches train members to share their faith, great things happen.

As in this story featuring a former convict and FBC Metropolis.

Mission Illinois Offering & Week of Prayer

Sept. 8-15

Enlist

The Week of Prayer is September 8-15, but there are plenty of opportunities for prayer throughout September. Please consider these ideas for encouraging prayer.

Devote time to prayer every Sunday or Wednesday in September. Review the statistics about lostness in Illinois. These are not just numbers, they are people.

Pray for salvation. Check Wikipedia for the population of your county or town. According to the experts, more than two-thirds of those people do not know Jesus Christ. You may consider using the “Who’s Your One?” initiative to help church members identify lost people they will pray for.

Pray for Illinois missionaries by name. Use the daily devotions as brief prayer prompts in worship services and in personal prayer. They are in the MIO Prayer Guide/bulletin insert that was mailed to churches in July, printed in the Illinois Baptist special section July 29, and downloadable at MissionIllinois.org.

Schedule a special prayer meeting for state missions. Some churches use the Wednesday during the Week of Prayer, others use Sunday morning or Sunday night. Pick any time that works for you, day or night.

Share the responsibility. Ask Sunday school teachers and small group leaders to focus prayer on state missions during September. Ask the missions team or WMU or men’s group to pray for state missions in their September meeting.

Download the videos and other resources at MissionIllinois.org

Mission studies for children, youth, and adults

Pulpit announcements

Electronic clipart

Worship ideas

Everyone Hears

Many Illinois places have no evangelical witness. IBSA helps churches, such as Immanuel Baptist in Benton, saturate their communities with the gospel, to reach new people and start new churches.

Illinois Focus

State missions is about ministry and gospel advance right here. Nate Adams tells how IBSA missionaries develop leaders, mobilize volunteers for missions, and equip churches to share Christ. And it’s possible because churches, like yours, partner with IBSA to bless Illinois.

Of 13 million people in Illinois, at least 8 million do not have a faith relationship with Jesus Christ.

Lift high the cross

Greg Zanis left his home in Aurora, Ill., and drove to El Paso, Texas, where he delivered 22 handmade crosses—painted white with red hearts and the names of the shooting victims—to a memorial near the Walmart where they were gunned down while shopping on a Saturday morning. Then he headed to Dayton, Ohio, to deliver another nine crosses to mark the mass shooting there.

Two massacres in 13 hours on the heels of a rampage in Gilroy, Calif., the previous weekend are keeping Zanis busy. He has built a cross for every mass-shooting fatality in the U.S. for two decades. And at Christmastime in 2016, he installed on a donated vacant lot a cross for every person who died of gun violence in Chicago that year—more than 700.

It started in 1996 when a grieving mother asked this self-employed carpenter, the son of a pastor, to build a cross to memorialize her son. He had been killed by gunfire in Aurora. Since then, Zanis has delivered crosses to the sites whose names have become litany in the U.S.: Columbine, New Town, Orlando, Parkland, Sutherland Springs, and so many more.

Zanis knows what to do after these senseless episodes. He holds up the cross. But with such violence increasingly frequent, the church has to do more than invoke the cross after a tragedy. To those who Jesus called to be peacemakers, the urgent challenge is to know what to do beforehand.

“Racism, however it is expressed, is a blasphemy against the one true God whose image all women and men bear. The idea that one race is inherently superior to another, whether it is called white supremacy or some other label, is unbiblical.”

– Jim Richards, executive director, Southern Baptists of Texas Convention

“As president of SWBTS, I want to be clear that we condemn in the strongest possible form any and all ideologies of racial/ ethnic superiority/inferiority that fuel the kind of hate evidently motivating the #ElPaso shooter to commit such a horrific act of violence in our state.”

– Adam W. Greenway, president, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

“When these manifestos outline the motive as #WhiteSupremacy, the Church CAN’T be silent in calling this out!”

– D.A. Horton, pastor, Reach Fellowship in North Long Beach, Calif.

“We are facing a very serious mental health crisis, and we now lack the cultural will and for that matter even the legal mechanisms to deal with many of these threats.”

– R. Albert Mohler Jr., president, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary “Pundits will make this political, each blaming the other side’s ideology. But something bigger is happening here. It’s called evil and it’s motivated by Satan himself.”

– Greg Laurie, pastor, Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, Calif.

“Mass murder is not a ‘tragedy.’ A cyclone or an earthquake or a tornado that takes lives is a tragedy. But mass murder is evil. And if motivated by racism, it is evil compounded.”

– Roy Ortlund, pastor, Immanuel Church in Nashville, Tenn.

“I think both El Paso and Dayton represent our most recent illustrations that every person in this world needs Jesus and they need Jesus now.”

– Ronnie Floyd, president, Executive Committee, Southern Baptist Convention

How can you take practical steps to confront abuse in your church?

That’s why the upcoming Caring Well Conference is so important. We’ve designed this event to equip churches with critical information and practical tools that will empower them to confront the crisis of abuse.

Because

we’re family, IBSA churches receive

Churches face legal issues all the time, so they need to be prepared. And when an issue arises, churches need trusted counsel.

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.

We can help your church prepare itself for these changes.

OUR

RESOURCE

Take the long view

Turn back-to-school ministry into a year-round opportunity

Back-to-school season is upon us, offering your church a great opportunity to serve families, teachers, and administrators in your community. Much of our back-to-school outreach often centers around meeting physical needs. School supplies, free haircuts, new tennis shoes—all of those giveaways and donations are wonderful ways to help families in this busy, often expensive season.

But churches can also look beyond August and September for effective ministry to families and education leaders in their communities. In addition to your back-to-school outreach this year, consider adding one or more of these longer-term strategies:

Try to meet unique needs. One school in our community required each student to stock the office by bringing a ream of copy paper at the beginning of the school year. We asked the school what they needed most. Paper, the staff said, so our church provided enough paper for the year, so that families didn’t have to. Throughout the year, check in periodically with schools in your area to ask what unique needs your church can help meet.

Share your space. Another of our local schools had space issues in their gym. We opened our church gym so their teams could practice there, and also hosted school sports banquets in our fellowship hall. Families visited our church who first heard about us after their child met us through school sports.

Work with administrators. You may be surprised at how willing your local principal is to partner with your church. Even with the caution required to keep church and state separate, school administrators often understand churches want to help, with no other agenda in mind. Our church was blessed to build relationships with principals who sent people our way when they had a specific need. Seek out these relationships with school administrators in your community, asking how your church can help.

Don’t forget older kids. Teens in our community responded well to a back-to-school bash at the church. They came to the high-energy

The Learning curve

The Unsaved Christian Dean Inserra

Offers a compelling argument for the existence of cultural Christianity, and teaches pastors to leverage the regular rhythms of church life to reach nominal Christians.

– Rayden Hollis, pastor, Red Hill Church, Edwardsville

outreach to reconnect with their friends, and left with a calendar of events we’d planned for the year ahead. Your church can also do this around holidays, or at the end of the school year as you look ahead to summer activities. Let them know they’re welcome at your church, and that there are specific opportunities for them. Expect a cumulative effect. The best way to sum up back-to-school outreach is that it often moves the needle little by little as your church builds relationships with teachers, administrators, and families. The impact you make will likely share a close correlation with how consistent and sacrificial your ministry is, and how prepared you are to interact with the families that do show up at church.

As you brainstorm ministry opportunities this fall and beyond, ask your leaders and volunteers these questions:

What can we offer teachers and school administrators in the way of resources and encouragement?

How can we position our church as a go-to resource for families in need of support?

Our church had the opportunity to minister to couples and families that we never would have had if we hadn’t provided school supplies for their children, or hosted basketball practice for their student’s team. This year, gear up for long-term ministry that really helps families.

Jack Lucas is IBSA’s director of next generation ministries.

This article is adapted from the Fall issue of Resource magazine, which is available at Resource.IBSA.org

Subscriptions are free to IBSA church leaders. Write to Communications@ IBSA.org

Sing!

Keith and Kristyn Getty

It doesn’t matter if you can carry a tune or not—this book is for pastors, worship leaders, and every member of the congregation. Only about 150 pages, but I find myself going back for more as it inspires me to sing praise!

– Jill McNicol, ministry leader, First Baptist Church, Patoka

Pat’s Playbook

Growing burden

Q

Health insurance costs are forcing me to consider going bivocational. I need benefits for my family, but it’s getting harder for the church (or me) to pay for them. Are there any alternatives?

A

Unfortunately, insurance costs have skyrocketed, and some churches have found they can only help subsidize the cost—or not provide it at all. Many pastors count on their wives’ place of employment to provide their family insurance. Some Christian organizations allow families to join at a reduced rate, and when a medical problem arises, every member pays in a small portion to offset the bill. Taking on a higher deductible may also save money, if you’re able. Contact your insurance agent and ask them to research the best price possible.

Our mission field

QI hear at least 8 million people in Illinois do not know Jesus. That number is overwhelming to a small church. Are we responsible for the eternal fate of 8 million people?

AWe are responsible to share the gospel in our Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Indeed, it is an overwhelming task, which is why we gather together with almost 1,000 other Southern Baptist churches in Illinois, plus 46,000 in America, to support thousands of missionaries around the world. Reach your community with the gospel and continue to give through the Cooperative Program. Then pray for the Lord to raise up new churches all across Illinois and trust many of the 8 million will be reached as believers partner together!

Pat Pajak is IBSA’s associate executive director for evangelism.

Love Thy Body

Nancy Pearcey

Helps me process the biblical response to our culture, in light of today’s increasingly hostile climate to God’s perspective of life and sexuality.

– Sammy Simmons, pastor, Immanuel Baptist Church, Benton

PAJAK

LUCAS

devotional

On

act of discipleship

Read: Galatians 5:22–23 (ESV)

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

In elementary school I always loved show-and-tell. It was exciting to see the hobbies, toys, pets, and even parents of my classmates. Well, for the child of God, every day is show and tell. We should show others the fruit of the Spirit and tell others about Jesus.

Show and tell ROBINSON

There is no such thing as hidden fruit. Fruit is always visible. The people around you will either see the fruit of the flesh or the fruit of the Spirit. We can talk about how much we love the Lord, but the proof is not in our talk, it’s in our walk. Fruit is always visible.

Not only is fruit visible, but fruit always reflects the character of its source. Apple trees always produce apples. Orange trees always produce oranges. And Christians produce love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. And notice the word fruit is singular, that means that the Holy Spirit produces all of these in every Christian. Some may not use patience much, for we still wrestle with sin, but it’s in you and the more you submit to Christ in every area of your life, the more the Spirit will produce his attributes in us.

Finally, fruit is for the benefit of others. I have never seen an apple tree eating an apple. Trees bear fruit for the benefit of others. Likewise, the Holy Spirit produces Christlike character in the Christian for our benefit, but also for the benefit of others around us.

When they see us showing our fruit, they will want to know where this fruit came from. Then we can tell them about Jesus.

Prayer Prompt: Gracious Father, who gives every good and perfect gift, thank you for the fruit of the Spirit. Please help us to submit to your Spirit so that your attributes can be manifest in us, that you may be glorified in our daily walk. Amen.

Editor’s note: Churches in Illinois baptized more than 700 people during One GRAND Month last April. September 8 is Baptism Sunday across the Southern Baptist Convention.

For several years now, I have been greatly burdened by the declining number of baptisms across the Southern Baptist Convention. I believe the baptism numbers serve as one of the best indicators of evangelism in our churches. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost, and that means that proclaiming the gospel is the core of who we are—not only as Southern Baptists, but most importantly, as disciples of Jesus Christ.

That’s why I’m challenging every Southern Baptist church to call for baptisms in services on Sept. 8, the date our SBC Executive Committee has designated as “Baptism Day” on the SBC Calendar.

Baptism Sunday will be an opportunity for thousands of people in our churches to take their step of obedience and faith. Many of them already know they should be baptized, and you can schedule baptism celebrations in advance. Other people in your churches may decide on Sept. 8 that God is calling them to those same baptismal waters.

I know conversations about immediate-response baptism services tend to draw some objections, many of which are grounded in healthy concern about encouraging insincere professions of faith. Trust me, I understand the concerns: I have seen dangerous and irresponsible calls for spontaneous baptisms. God forbid that we ever declare someone “saved” when they aren’t. Not only does this give them false assurance,

but it also makes them that much more immune to future calls to repent and believe.

Our fear of extending these invitations wrongly, though, should never make us shy away from making the invitations at all. After all, every single baptism recorded in the New Testament, without exception, is spontaneous and immediate. For New Testament believers, the pattern was alarmingly simple: believe, confess, get baptized. There was never a gap between when a person trusted Christ and when that person was baptized. Not one.

This follows the example of Jesus’ Great Commission: “Make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). Baptism is a believer’s first act of discipleship, a step of obedience that stands as a witness that we belong to Christ. Baptism is like the wedding ring of salvation. I put on my wedding ring at the moment I decided to publicly declare my

commitment to my wife. Putting on the ring did not make me married. But the demonstration of my commitment to my wife that the ring represents was a crucial first step in marriage. Had I refused to do it, my wife would have had reason to question my intentions.

In the same way, baptism is an outward symbol of an inward covenant we’ve made in response to Jesus’ offer of salvation.

Every one of our churches ought to do everything in its power to ensure that everyone who comes forward to be baptized understands the gospel and the significance of what they are doing. During baptism services at our church, for instance, we individually counsel every person who comes forward. Those conversations take time—often extending into the next service—and we always end up turning some people away. But that moment is important, because it starts a conversation about what it means to follow Jesus.

Baptism is of tremendous importance, but we need to keep the biblical order in mind: Baptism is the catalyst to spiritual maturity, not the sign of having attained it.

When we invite people to be baptized, we are calling them to make a decision. That’s exactly what so many of our people need. They come to our churches as consumers, going along with Jesus but never deciding for him.

Several years ago, our church chose to hold our first baptism service after we noticed the biblical pattern of spontaneous baptisms while preaching through a series in the book of Acts. Starting with that service, we saw three times more people choose to be baptized that year than we’d ever seen! I believe that’s because our church had been faithful in sharing the gospel, and we chose to be faithful in calling for a response to that good news.

I believe God is preparing a harvest of souls. Let’s faithfully call them to respond by publicly declaring faith through baptism!

J.D. Greear is president of the Southern Baptist Convention and pastor of The Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, N.C. For Baptism Sunday resources, go to namb.net/baptism-sundayresources.

Adron Robinson pastors Hillcrest Baptist Church in Country Club Hills and is president of IBSA.

Sept. 8: Our first

When panic attacks the counselor

I think I might have had a panic attack recently. Can you describe what one actually looks and feels like, and tell me what I can do if it happens again?

First, the good news: Even though you may feel as if you are dying, a panic attack won’t kill you. A panic attack occurs when the anxiety response to a situation is disproportionate to the actual triggering event. This can be caused by a history of trauma, such as the case of someone suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder. As those who have suffered panic attacks know all too well, it is frightening.

a counselor. Your therapist will help you identify triggers and reduce distorted thinking. They will also help you with breathing exercises and relaxation techniques. Unfortunately (as you may have noticed) anxiety is often chronic. It is helpful to accept anxiety as something you can manage with God’s help, rather than something that has a 100% cure rate. Nothing is more anxiety provoking than expecting to achieve absolute perfection.

McCORMICK

A true panic attack has some very specific identifiers. Physical symptoms include pounding heart, sweating, trembling, chest pain, dizziness, feelings of choking, and nausea. Psychological symptoms of a panic attack include fear of losing control or going crazy, fear of dying, feeling detached from reality, or feeling detached from oneself. During a panic attack you may feel as if your body has taken over and this physical rebellion cannot be controlled by rational thought. Anxiety is one of the most common reasons people come to

I would suggest you see your primary care physician first to rule out any medical causes for your heightened anxiety. You should also discuss the benefits of seeing a licensed professional counselor if you are indeed suffering from panic attacks.

And what about the spiritual component? Prayer is healing and calming; having God as someone to hand our anxiety to is key to survival in our chaotic world. Having a trusted friend you can talk to, someone who encourages you with grace, will also be enormously beneficial.

Mark McCormick is director of clinic operations for Illinois Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services. Send questions for Mark to IllinoisBaptist@IBSA.org.

dave says

Adjust our emergency fund?

QMy husband and I have been married five years, and we’ve decided we want to have children. We’ve both been working full time since our wedding, and we were wondering if we should adjust our emergency fund and retirement investing to accommodate all the upcoming life changes that go along with having a bigger family.

AWhen it comes to an emergency fund, I’d stick with what I recommend in the Baby Steps. A good emergency fund of three to six months of expenses should be fine. If you feel safer leaning toward the six-month side, that’s fine. As far as investing is concerned, that’s Baby Step 4. This means 15% of your household income going toward retirement. None of that really changes.

Now, with another person in the house, your day-to-day expenses are going to increase. That’ll make it even more important to make sure you’re living on a written monthly budget. What you don’t want to do, is quit your job to come home and be a fulltime mom, then find yourselves dipping into the emergency fund. Being a stay-at-home mom is fine. It’s a wonderful thing if you can afford it. But if that’s the plan you need to budget accordingly, and practice living on just your husband’s income before you quit your job.

God bless you two!

neTworking

Micro investing apps

QWhat is your opinion on micro investing apps like Acorns and Betterment? Are these good vehicles for building wealth in the long term, and are there any major drawbacks to these types of services?

AI’m not saying there’s anything really wrong with Acorns or Betterment, but they do different things. Acorns is more of an invest pennies, round-up kind of program, where Betterment is kind of a robo-investing deal. Here’s the thing. Micro investing is going to create micro wealth. And the big downside is you’re going to feel like you did something important. The way you end up with money is by investing money. The way you end up with more money is by investing more money. You can argue all you want that using things like these create extra money. Yeah, but not really. The returns are still micro. An app doesn’t make two dollars turn into twenty dollars. It’s okay to use apps like that. I’m not mad at them, and I don’t think they’re a ripoff or anything like that. What worries me about these kinds of things, in an investing sense, is they give the illusion that you’ve done something significant with your money.

CLASSIFIED AD people

Find more information on ministry positions at IBSA.org/connect

Send NetworkiNg items to IllinoisBaptist@IBSA.org

Ava Missionary Baptist Church is seeking a bivocational pastor. Must be a Spirit-filled man to fulfill our vision, upholding the unity of our church; strong in The Baptist Faith and Message (2000); and a supporter of IBSA and the SBC. Send resumes to Wanda McDaniel, P.O. Box 357, Ava, IL 62907, or e-mail wayneymac@gmail.com.

Royalton Baptist Church is seeking a director of youth ministries to provide a well-balanced program for youth that will seek to win the lost to Christ, help Christians

mature in Christ, and discover the gifts and abilities with which God has blessed them. Submit resume with cover letter to rbcyouthsearch@gmail. com.

Wayne City Baptist Church is seeking a full- or part-time senior pastor. Send resumes to waynecitybaptistjobs@gmail.com, or mail to Wayne City Baptist Church, P.O. Box 158, Wayne City, IL 62895.

advisor Dave Ramsey is a prolific author and radio host.

With the Lord Phyllis Miller Cummins of Ozark, Mo., died July 5 at the age of 80. With her husband, Doyle Miller, she served in Illinois churches throughout her life, including congregations in Decatur, Carlinville, and Raymond. He preceded her in death in 2001. She is survived by her second husband, Rev. Harold Cummins; two children; and two grandchildren.

John Burnell of Summerfield, Fla., died July 26 at the age of 87. Burnell pastored New Life Baptist Church in Waverly from 1999 to 2014, and also worked as a supervisor for General Telephone in Illinois for 35 years. He is survived by his wife, Barbara; two daughters; and eight grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

DAVE RAMSEY

Financial

Illinois Family Institute is looking to hire a winsome and articulate Christian from central Illinois to lobby at the Capitol in Springfield for pro-life/pro-family values. Interested candidates should e-mail a cover letter and resume to s.david@illinoisfamily.org.

NIGHT & DAY

Choose from 10 breakout sessions on men’s and women’s ministry, worship, students, children, safety, social media, and more.

EVENTS

Trainings

August 24

Where: FBC Fairfield; 8-11:30 a.m.

September 10

Where: People’s Baptist, Rock Island; 6-9 p.m.

September 24

Where: FBC Machesney Park; 6-9 p.m.

October 15

Where: Second Baptist, Marion; 6-9 p.m.

August 29

iConnect: IBSA/Pastors Meet-Up

What: Introduction to IBSA staff, ministries, training, and opportunities, for pastors and church staff members

Where: IBSA Building, Springfield Register: AubreyKrol@IBSA.org

September 8-15

Mission Illinois Offering & Week of Prayer

What: Focus on state missions Info: MissionIllinois.org

September 16-17

Christ, and give to support

Essentials in Women’s Discipleship

What: Training hosted by Illinois Baptist Women for new local church women’s ministry leaders Where: IBSA Building, Springfield Register: IBSA.org/WomensEvents

September 19-20

Crisis Intervention & Stress Management Training

What: Training for chaplains working in crisis situations

Where: IBSA Building, Springfield Info: DebbieMuller@IBSA.org

September 20-21, September 27-28

Illinois Changers

What: Hands-on projects for students in grades 6-12

Where: Sept. 20-21: Streator Baptist Camp; Sept. 27-28: Lake Sallateeska Register: IBSA.org/Students

September 28

Living Proof Live Simulcast

What: Join Beth Moore and worship leader Travis Cottrell for a day of teaching and music simulcast across the country Where: IBSA Building, Springfield Register: IBSA.org/WomensEvents

THE NEW REALITY

Illinois influx?

Not everyone is leaving the state

Three Illinois counties are among the top 40 locations in the nation where young people are moving. American mobility is at its lowest level since 1999. In 2017, the latest reporting year, 32.4 million people moved. Younger people, more footloose than the rest of the population, made up a big chunk of those relocations.

You may be surprised who’s moving to these counties:

young people!

And, of all the places they could have moved, three counties in Illinois ranked among the 40 favorite counties for mobile population ages 18 to 34. All three Illinois counties have a college or university as a significant part of community life.

14

Jackson County, IL

Carbondale is home to Southern Illinois University

Young adults who arrived in 2017: 10.4% of population

Median age: 38.3 (U.S. averages)

Median home value: $108,600

Unemployment rate: 3.8%

Common reasons

Americans move is for their career and cheaper housing. Typical home cost in these counties is less than $193,500, the median home value nationwide.

16

Champaign County, IL

Urbana-Champaign is home to University of Illinois

Young adults who arrived in 2017: 9.7% of population

Median age: 30.1 years

Median home value: $154,800

Unemployment rate: 3.8%

Also on the list

From our neighboring states (counties): #38 Christian, KY #25 Tippecanoe, IN #22 Dunn, WI #21 Pierce, WI #12 Johnson, MO #2 Nodaway, MO #1 Pulaski, MO

32

McDonough County, IL

Macomb is home to Western Illinois University

Young adults who arrived in 2017: 8.4% of population

Median age: 31.6 years

Median home value: $94,600

Unemployment rate: 5.2%

Join churches across the state to pray for the more than 8 million people in Illinois who don’t yet know

missions and ministries that are reaching them.

Students are invited to a weekend of missions and worship at IBSA’s two camp facilities. Cost is $40 per person, and includes lodging, meals, project T-shirt, and materials.