December 16, 2013 Illinois Baptist

‘Tell me the story of Jesus’

Washington | Bill and Shirley Sadler and their daughter, Valerie, were at church when a tornado swept away the top of their home Nov 17 Two bedrooms and a bathroom, completely gone

Shirley said they haven’t recovered anything from that part of the house

Across the state, homeowners like the Sadlers are picking up the pieces a month after 24 tornadoes touched down in Illinois A photo of the Sadlers’ destroyed house ran on the front page of the Nov 25 Illinois Baptist, but the scene is different now

Instead of a lonely structure atop a mountain of debris, what used to be a home is now a hole in the ground Bill and Shirley are staying in a senior living community in East Peoria, but it’s

a temporary arrangement They plan to build again on the same property

“I don’t know how we would go through something like this if you didn’t have faith in God, and church friends and family,” Shirley said Eight families that are members of the Sadlers’ church, First Baptist in Washington, lost their homes to the tornado, said Pastor Joshua Monda He has been on call constantly since the storms for anyone in need of help Shirley Sadler said he’s had his hands full “I just can’t tell you how much we love him ”

Across town from Monda’s church, Roland Manor Baptist served as an incident command center for Disaster Relief teams that came to help in

Allen named Send coordinator

Chicago | Uptown Baptist Church pastor Michael Allen has been named Send City coordinator for Chicago by the North American Mission Board (NAMB)

He succeeds IBSA’s Tim Cotler, who moved from the local coordinator position to a Midwest regional role in NAMB’s church planting strategy that targets 32 major metropolitan areas in North America

The local “Send” strategy committee identified 184 areas and people groups in Chicagoland that need churches The city itself has 77 neighborhoods Allen says his goal is to plant 77 new churches, one in each of those neighborhoods, in the next five years Allen has a big job ahead of him, helping coordinate the work of churches and church planting partners, including IBSA

“Just as Allen has adopted Chicago as his hometown, his heart is to invite a new generation of Southern Baptists to adopt Chicagoland as their mission field,” said Van Kicklighter, IBSA’s associate executive director for church planting

“It’s like what politicians say about Iowa,” Allen said “All roads to the White House go through Iowa Chicago is like that when it comes to church planting We’re such a key crossroads of our country and the world Just about any ethnic group you

High court considers healthcare

The U S Supreme Court will soon consider whether business owners can exercise religious freedom by objecting to the abortion/contraceptive mandate in President Obama’s healthcare reform package. Christian-owned craft retailer Hobby Lobby is one of the businesses at the center of the dispute over the mandate, which requires employers to cover abortion-inducing drugs in their employee health care plans

The Supreme Court consolidated cases involving Hobby Lobby, its sister corporation Mardel, and a Mennonite-owned business The court will hear oral arguments next year, with a decision expected by their summer adjournment, reports Baptist Press

“Business owners should not have to choose between violating their faith and violating the law,” said Hobby Lobby founder David Green

Rice to keynote Judson forum

Condoleezza Rice, former U S secretary of state, will speak at Judson University’s 2014 World Leaders Forum The event March 19 is fourth in a series that has featured Geor W Bush, Mikhail Gorbachev and To Blair “We are honored to welcome an innovative leader with a unique global perspective to Judson,” said Gene Crume, president of the Elgin university

Satanists want capitol statue

An ongoing dispute over a Ten Commandments monument at the Oklahoma capitol got a new wrinkle this month, when a group called the Temple of Satan lobbied to get their own statue “We feel like the Satanic Temple has a very strong argument to say that, if the state allows one religious monument, you have to allow others,” Brady Henderson of the American Civil Liberty Union told CNN The ACLU currently is fighting for the removal of the Ten Commandments monument approved by Oklahoma lawmakers in 2009

Poll measures end-of-life views

Pew Research found 66% of Americans still say there are circumstances where a patient should be allowed to die, but a growing number of people believe medical staff should do ev thing possible to save the life of a patient

circumstances Among Christians, 42% of evangelical Protestants and black Protestan a person has a moral right to suicide if he or she is in a great deal of pain with no hope of improvement

Pastor explains ‘fiction’ Bible pic

A California pastor who tweeted a photo of the Bible labeled “fiction” didn’t intend to set off a social media firestorm, he said After Caleb Kaltenbach found the Bible and others labeled like it in Costco, he snapped a picture and posted it on social media “It was never my intention to crusade against Costco or their CEO (who is a devout Catholic),” Kaltenbach explained on EdStetzer com “My sincerest hope is that many conversations will be had about the Bible and that people will start to consider the evidences for the reliability of Scripture ” Costco apologized for the mistake, reportedly made by the products’ distributor, and re-labeled the Bibles

Disaster Relief quick to respond after tornadoes

Continued from page 1

Washington, East Peoria and Pekin Assessors worked here and in other parts of the state the day after the storms came through, determining where volunteers would be most effective

“This is the largest response since I’ve been here,” said Rex Alexander, IBSA’s Disaster Relief coordinator since 2010 Not only did the response include some 200 volunteers, but they also served in more capacities than in an average callout The tornado response included a feeding unit, multiple chainsaw teams, chaplains, and childcare volunteers Geography was also a challenge, Alexander said “Usually in a storm, you have one location that you’re dealing with, such as the Harrisburg tornado [last year] ” But this response sent volunteers to three different areas

Chainsaw teams were called to Brookport and Unionville in southern Illinois, where they removed damaged trees and ministered to residents shaken by a tornado that killed three people and destroyed several homes A team from Kaskaskia Association also served in New Minden, a town of 200 where two were killed

In Washington, where the damage was worst, clean-up

READY TO GO – Disaster Relief volunteers in Peoria prepared more than 15,000 meals over 14 days The meals were packed into red cambros and delivered by the Red Cross

was a slow process Police kept neighborhoods blocked off to everyone but residents for nearly a week after the storms Disaster Relief teams did eventually begin to serve in the area, with some even working on Thanksgiving They com-

pleted their work in the area

December 7

Throughout the callout, Disaster Relief volunteers working at Woodland Baptist in Peoria prepared more than 15,000 meals over 14 days for storm victims and responders.

At the Multi-Agency Resource Center (MARC) in Washington, various organizations offered help to residents Disaster Relief childcare volunteers also worked at the MARC, watching kids while their parents signed up for assistance A team currently is serving at a similar center set up by FEMA in East Peoria

The tornado recovery effort involved many newly trained Disaster Relief volunteers, Alexander said, and that’s a good thing for future callouts “Volunteers who get immediate opportunities to serve are more committed to the ministry, and their skills have grown because of their experience during a major disaster response ”

To donate to Illinois Disaster Relief, go to www IBSA org

Pray through the news

Pastor remembered for missions involvement

Cutler | Pastor Blu Berner died Nov 24 at the age of 43 Berner had led First Baptist Church in Cutler since 2008 He was trained in Disaster Relief, and participated in the first ever Illinois Changers project in October 2012 Berner also was active in World Changers, a national Southern Baptist ministry for youth Several of the messages left on his Facebook page focus on the time he spent in-

vesting in young Christians.

“Blu made a big impact on my walk with God at World Changers!” one person wrote “His impact on students’ lives across the country will continue to change the world,” posted someone else “What an awesome life legacy!”

Allen to lead Send Chicago

Continued from page 1

want to reach with the gospel, you name it, they’re here ”

Allen has served as pastor of Uptown Baptist Church since 2005 He will continue as senior pastor at the church, whose work among an eclectic population includes weekly outreach to homeless and hungry people, as well as those living in highrise condominiums on Lake Michigan

“Our neighborhood is the most diverse in Chicago,” Allen said, “in any way you want to measure diversity, whether it’s educated and uneducated, rich

and poor and then the various ethnic groups – those who are living in multi-million dollar homes and those living on the streets [Uptown Church is] right in the middle of all of that, and it gives me a great learning perspective ”

Allen was born in Jamaica but moved to Florida with his family when he was 9 He first moved to Chicago to attend Trinity Evangelical Divinity School He also became the first African-American staff member of Chicago’s famous Moody Church, pastored by

Berner was born in Kingston, New York, and married in Florida in 1994 He also was a veteran of the U S Marine Corp

He is survived by his wife, Christine; children Bradley, Lilian and Emili, all at home; mother Martha; brother Brian; and sister Alison A funeral service was held Nov 30 in Steeleville; the preferred form of remembrance is a memorial to the family

Erwin Lutzer.

After three years on staff at Sagemont Baptist Church in Houston, Allen returned to Chicago He was also a NAMB missionary there while serving as pastor at Uptown Chicagoland is the thirdlargest metro area among NAMB’s 32 Send cities, topped only by New York and Los Angeles With 308 Southern Baptist churches in the metro’s four associations, Chicagoland has only one SBC congregation for every 32,000 residents

– Pray for churches in the regions affected by recent tornadoes, that they would express God’s healing love and hope with acts of kindness and community rebuilding projects

Just keep praying

South Asia – “The lean years ” That’s how members of First Baptist Church in Centerton, Arkansas, describe 2008-2011

The church had adopted South Asia’s Bedia people in 2007, committing to pray for the group of more than 100,000 that had no known exposure to the Gospel FBC Centerton prayed that many Bedia would be baptized, and that a church would be planted among them

But after one encouraging year of partnership, came three years of near silence

“There was a lot of persecution in 2010, causing our ministry partners to leave the Bedia villages,” Pastor Stuart Bell wrote in a first-person account for Baptist Press “The church continued praying We committed to this and we trusted God, even if we didn’t know where to go from here ”

And then, a breakthrough International Mission Board workers moved into the area Bell connected with Clifton Melek,* who hadn’t realized he was teaching five Bedia Christians in a discipleship class Bell and a group from his church went to southern Asia and met Sahaji*, the first believer baptized among the Bedia since FBC Centerton started praying for the people group And they went to church

“We worshipped with OUR people for the first time,” Bell wrote “As we heard the first Bedia praise and worship song, we cried I preached and when Melek offered an invitation, eight Bedia professed a new faith in Jesus ”

*Names changed – With info from Baptist Press and IMB org

UNREACHED NO LONGER – The Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, collected in many Southern Baptist churches this month, supports missionaries working among people groups like the Bedia of South Asia Photo from IMB org

Recently the national news media drew our attention to the 50th anniversary of President John F Kennedy’s assassination, on Nov 22, 1963 This year it fell on a Friday, as it did 50 years ago And so over the course of that weekend before Thanksgiving, I found myself drawn into several TV documentaries Some were about Kennedy himself, and some featured the Kennedy family or his longsuffering wife, Jackie A surprising number told the story of his now notorious assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald.

Many in the Christian media recognized the historic anniversary, but also observed that another noteworthy death occurred that same day A quarter of the way around the world, Christian writer and apologist C S Lewis died quietly, one week shy of his 65th birthday

Fifty years later, we think of Kennedy’s flashy lifestyle, near-tragic handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and untimely death We know Lee Harvey Oswald’s name, not because he wrote or did anything of lasting value, but because he murdered a President Meanwhile Lewis’s books more than 200 million copies a enced countless Christian lea thinkers “Mere Christianity,” Lew sic Christian apologetic work, sol copies just last year

In 1982, philosopher Peter K wrote “Between Heaven and Hell: Dialogue Somewhere Beyond Death,” in which he imagined a conversation between Lewis, Kennedy, and “Brave New

Pray through the news

Pray for the requests below and pass them along to your pastor or prayer leader to use as a guide for weekly prayer meeting, Sunday School classes or fellowship groups: – Disaster Relief after Illinois tornadoes, page 2

– Kingdom-minded churches, page 8 Prayer prompts are provided by Phil Miglioratti, IBSA’s prayer consultant Contact him at phil@missionamerica.org.

The ILLINOIS BAPTIST Staff

One life’s impact

World” author Aldous Huxley, who also died on Nov 22, 1963 It leaves little doubt which man’s life and philosophy is standing the test of time

My mom and I were talking on t about the almost simultaneous d these three men, and what a rema day in history it was She aske “Well, do you remember where you that day?” I had to admit that the little 5-year-old Nathan had grown tle fuzzy in my mind

“We were leaving Kentucky a moving to Illinois I remember yo and your dad were driving togethe in one car, and your brother and the cat and I were in the other So November 22 marks 50 years since you moved to Illinois ”

The picture of my dad and I driving together to Illinois for the first time, and to stay, has stuck with me What a huge move that must have like for him and my mom, to a new church and new mission field, with a young family

And how life altering that already historic ate became for me personally The state that

adopted us has become my mission field And the churches and pastors and people who live and serve here have become my Baptist family years have passed I can watch ntaries and critique the comof Kennedy, Oswald, Lewis and the 50 years since they entered ve also been the 50 years I’ve vest my own life Suddenly I so critical.

ll, as 2013 comes to a close, I m hopeful Nelson Mandela just completed his race at age 95 Billy Graham is 95 and counting Perhaps the Lord will continue to tarry, and we will all have some more time o see the spiritual breakthrough our state that we long for

Yet as we punctuate another year with Christmas, it’s the life of only one Man that gives us supreme hope He didn’t need the privileged birth, social status, or political position of Kennedy He didn’t need to write the intellectual works of Lewis or Huxley He didn’t even need 50 years My hope of impact or significance, and yours, whether it’s over the past 50 years or the next 40, won’t be found in our life’s work It will be found in His Merry Christmas

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

Born into a messy world

A nativity scene? In the Capitol?

“Can they do that?” a co-worker asked as I went to cover the annual unveiling of the display

Even for those celebrating Jesus’ birth his season, the baby and his earthly parents seem out of place in the Capitol’s rotunda Maybe even more so this year, which found many churches and state lawmakers at odds over the definition of marriage Jesus’ teachings were largely ignored when the legislature redefined marriage, most conservative Christians believe So, it does seem strange that it’s permissible to celebrate his birth here

But it’s the right of all to express their religious beliefs in the public

square, several speakers stressed at the display’s opening ceremony Christmas carols, led by the worship team from Springfield’s First Baptist Church, echoed throughout the rotunda, putting a period on that point

Christians aren’t the only ones expressing their beliefs The nativity sits next to a menorah with electric lights and also a sign celebrating the winter solstice, placed there by the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation The same group placed an 8-foot-tall letter “A” in Chicago’s Daley Plaza in recognition of atheists and agnostics

Our world is messy, but Jesus’ was too, one speaker reminded the small crowd gathered in the rotunda Scripture tells us that much of the political hostility of Jesus’ day focused on Him Jealous King Herod ordered all the boys in Bethlehem around Jesus’ age killed

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Some people in our world also are angry with Jesus and the church Others will pass by the Capitol nativity without a passing glance this season Or, they’ll be distracted by the variety of religious options.

But we take heart in this: The messiness of Jesus’ world didn’t prevent Him from coming into it, nor did competing ideologies about who ought to lead His people He brought fresh hope to a dark place, and our world isn’t any messier than His Jesus, Mary and Joseph in the Capitol? Yeah, they can do that

The question is, how much longer will they?

Southern Baptist pastor Rick Warren (below), told CNN’s Piers Morgan that he doesn’t see a day in the future when he will espouse same-sex marriage

“I fear the disapproval of God more than I fear your disapproval or the disapproval of society,” Warren said in front of a studio audience, a few of whom applauded

The pastor of Saddleback Church also talked about tolerance in the Dec 6 interview, saying the word “used to mean we treat each other with mutual respect even if we have major disagreements

“Today, tolerance has been changed to mean all ideas are equally valid Well, that’s nonsense,” said the best-selling author of “The Purpose-Driven Life ”

Morgan told Warren they would keep talking about the topic for years to come and, “eventually, I’ll beat you down,” the host said with a smile

Warren laughed and replied, “Oh, ye of little faith ”

– From video on CNN com

Our hope for significance won’t be found in our life’s work, but in Jesus

Nate Adams

On CNN, Warren stands firm on marriage

NO MORE ROOM – A Christmas tree, a menorah, and a winter solstice sign (on easel) stand next to Baby Jesus at the Capitol

Voices

How much shall we give the pastor?

By Thom S Rainer

I received a query from a person recently who indicated his curiosity and perhaps concern about how pastors are treated at Christmastime On topics similar to this, I typically hear from one or two persons who are eager to point to pastors who feel entitled or who are treated too lavishly

Please hear me clearly Those pastors are the clear exceptions Most pastors receive little and expect little They see their clear call to serve and to care for the congregation.

On Twitter, I then asked a simple question: What do you do for your pastor at Christmastime? For pastors, I asked what their congregations gave them at Christmas Having long been concerned about how congregations treat pastors, I thought the issue of the Christmas gift would at least be an indicator of such concern

Though my survey was not scientific, it was nevertheless revealing

There were two dominant responses, each at about 40% of the total One of those came from pastors or church members who shared with me that they indeed did give a gift to their pastor during the Christmas season

The most common gift noted was a cash gift equivalent to one week of salary The pastors who received such a gift expressed deep appreciation for the thought. I sensed no attitudes of entitlement in their responses

A second dominant response, from both pastors and church members alike, was that the pastor received nothing at Christmastime Church members were more likely to comment on this attitude than pastors One person said: “If it’s anything like pastor appreciation month, they won’t even know it’s Christmas ”

My heart broke as I read many of those type of responses My pain is not so much related to the failure of a church to give a monetary or material gift; rather, it’s the failure of a church to acknowledge the gift that a pastor is during this season

There are few hundred thousand pastors in America The vast majority of them sacrifice and give for the sake of their congregations and for the glory of God Many of them struggle financially and, often, emotionally

A gift of some sort would do wonders for the pastor and the pastor ’s family The amount or cost of the gift is not the issue here; it is the encouragement the pastor receives when he knows he is loved and appreciated

As we approach the Christmas season, please remember your pastors and staff Please let them know in some tangible way how much you truly value them

Thom S Rainer is president of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention This column from Baptist Press is adapted from a post at his website, www ThomRainer com

Table Talk: Theology, ministry, and things that matter

The diagnostic and the cure

By Matt Chandler

What is the role of God’s law in our lives? What does it do? What does it not do?

The law has every right to tell me what I must do: I must love God. I must love my neighbor I must obey my parents unto the Lord I must not worship things that are not God I must not covet another man’s wife

The law, however, has no ability to save me from my failures to obey the law The law is the diagnostic; it is not the cure

On Thanksgiving morning 2009, I got up and poured myself a cup of coffee I fed our 6-month-old, Nora, her bottle and put her in her Johnny Jump Up. I turned and headed back to my chair and woke up in the hospital I had a grand mal seizure in front of my three kids

I got to have my first MRI that day The doctor came in and scooted his chair right next to my bed and said, “Man, you have a mass in your right frontal lobe You’re going to need to go see a neurosurgeon ” When the neurosurgeon pulled up the results of my MRI and saw that glowing red

and yellow golf ball in my right frontal lobe, he said, “This looks really bad We’re going to need to do surgery immediately ”

Eight days later, I went in for an eight-hour craniotomy, in which they removed the tumor and as much tissue around it as they could while still allowing me to continue to be me My doctor laid out both the diagnosis and the prognosis and said, “You have anaplastic, or malignant, nonencapsulated oligodendroglioma, WHO grade 3 You’re going to die in the next two to three years ”

Behind him on the screen was that MRI with that glowing red and orange the profusion creates. We laid out the battle plan the next day: six weeks of radiation and chemo, a month to recover and then 18 months of being pounded with high-dose chemo For the next two years, that’s exactly what we did, and God was unbelievably gracious and merciful through all of it

I don’t tell this story a lot because I don’t want to be “the cancer guy,” I want to be “the gospel guy ” But here

“It’s unanimous All 27 church members think we should delay ordering the Jumbotron screen ”

A slice of life

Just in time for holiday feasting: How does your current weight compare to your ideal weight?

Over ideal weight

At ideal weight

59%

Under ideal weight

opinion/undesignated

is why I’m telling it now: The MRI showed I had a problem, but the MRI was powerless to cure me No matter how many times I got in that machine, no matter how many times I got scans, the MRI wasn’t going to heal me It was simply going to diagnose that something was wrong

The law is like that MRI: a holy, divine, diagnostic tool that shows us something is wrong But the law will never save you Never

The law is diagnostic, but Jesus Christ is the cure When Christ imputes to us His righteousness and takes on God’s wrath toward us, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of us We are in Him; He is in us. Our scan is clear because Jesus perfectly fulfilled the requirements of the law on our behalf This is why the Bible says that when we are in Christ, God sees us as perfect, spotless and blameless We get His scan results instead of ours

When we understand that the law is the diagnostic and Jesus is the cure, we are set free to pursue obedience be-

cause the diagnostic is no longer telling us that we’re too sick and too sinful to come before Him When we become aware of the grace of God in the cure of Christ, it leads us to repentance We seek to line ourselves up with the law because the law displays how God created us to function, showing what is good and righteous

Are you living and walking in accordance with the diagnostic or in accordance with the cure? Your obedience can never earn you a clean scan Christ has already done that for those who are in Him “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases ” Let the joy of the clean scan fuel your efforts to obey the law out of gratitude, as a means of glorifying the One who secured your cure

Sharing comes naturally at Christmas time

People seem especially open to consider matters of faith at this time of year In a chapel service, several IBSA team members told of their recent witnessing experiences Their stories were so inspiring to us, we thought you would also be encouraged by them – the Editors

enyatta’s face brightened as she read the words aloud: “For God so loved the world ”

Tell me the sto of Jesus, Write on my heart eve w ord

We had read together verses from the Romans Road And we had lingered over the word “sin ” Sharing the plan of salvation with the teenage girl, I found that some of the words that are familiar to me were not well known to her Making our communication more challenging is that Kenyatta is deaf

While living at Angels’ Cove, she had visited the church where I am currently serving as interim pastor She indicated a desire to know more about faith in Christ and church membership, so my wife, Angie, and I followed up on her request. Dora, a staff member at the Baptist Children’s Home facility, joined us She helped us understand Kenyatta’s responses as I shared from Scripture about sin and our need for repentance and confession

From her previous religious background, Kenyatta knew the words, but when we got to the matter of grace, she seemed tripped up Faced with personal difficulties and the consequences of sin, she expressed a desire for a new, godlier life But it was more a sense of “turning over a new leaf” than trusting in Jesus Christ as her savior But when I asked her to read John 3:16, the Gospel became clear A light came on for her

Soon I asked, “Would you like to be saved today?” and she nodded eagerly

few weeks ago I attended the State Directors of Evangelism Meeting in San Diego When the meeting was over, I was ready to get back home My flight was scheduled to leave San Diego at 3:30 p m with a stop in Denver before arriving in St Louis

When I got on the plane I was tired and didn’t feel that great because I had a sore throat I just wanted to put my earbuds in, lean back in the seat, and relax While boarding the flight, I noticed there was some kind of girls’ sports team on the plane, and the man next to me was wearing a shirt with the same logo I asked him about it and he said he was the coach of their college soccer team The team was on its way to St Louis to play in the Women’s Division 3 soccer play-offs We began to talk and I found he was an intellectual who knew about Jesus, but didn’t believe in Jesus We had a 2½-hour conversation about the Gospel and it was one of the most challenging discussions I’ve had in a long time I’d like to say he accepted Christ, but in end, he did agree that I could send him a modern translation of the Bible so we could talk further about it

This may not sound like an amazing story, but it was The meeting I attended in San Diego had originally been scheduled to be held in Baltimore I was at that meeting only because four years ago God gave me the

Over the course of our one-hour conversation, I saw that others had planted seeds for her conversion, and that Angie, Dora, and I got to share in the harvest What a blessing For my part, keeping the message simple proved important After all, the Gospel itself is wonderfully simple “God loved gave whoever believes life ” In sharing, we need to listen as much as tell – to make sure we have two-way conversations And with Kenyatta, who is hearing-impaired, I needed to be certain she understood.

“Read this verse,” I said to her, “ and tell me what comes to your mind first when you read it ” My method of sharing Scripture and asking open-ended questions clarified both “sin” and “salvation” for Kenyatta

“I feel I’ve been changed,” she said, after we prayed together I was glad to hear that Jerry Day is IBSA’s leadership development consultant

few months ago when I was ministering in South Dakota following a blizzard, I shared the gospel message through a Salvation Doll with 9year-old Mallachi Thomas, his 6-yearold twin brother and sister, a cousin, and two aunts I told them about the hurt side of the doll, then I showed them the side with a whole heart and joy on its face I said, “God created us to have a relationship with us, but sin broke that ”

Then, Mallachi read the Gospel message printed on a Frisbee I told him he was old enough to pray to receive Jesus if he wanted to.

“I want to do this now,” he said “Is it time? Am I big enough to ask Jesus into my heart?”

“Do you believe in Jesus?” I asked him

“Oh, yes Miss Jan, I believe in Jesus,” he replied

His grandma was thrilled and his aunts were thrilled

opportunity to become the state evangelism director in Illinois My flight on Frontier had been canceled I had flown out on a later flight, on a different airline, with a stop in Phoenix instead of Denver on my way to St Louis

So, I had been sitting on a flight I was never supposed to be on, so I could sit next to this women’s college soccer coach, so I could tell him about Jesus –for such a time as this

Tim Sadler is IBSA’s director of evangelism

I called outside to the men on the team who were cutting the trees that were down in the yard, “You cut those logs dinner plate size if you have to, so I can have more time to share Jesus!”

Mallachi’s aunt Lonnie re-dedicated her heart to Jesus and we talked about how she could share Jesus with her 14year-old son God has good timing

Jan Kragness is a Disaster Relief volunteer from Williamson Association

Tell me the sto most precious, S weetest that ev er was heard

MAGI – Mick Aten prepares for his part as a wise man/tour guide in Journey to Bethlehem, a community event put on by Western Oaks Baptist in Springfield Director DJ Shultz told the cast and crew during dress rehearsal: “You are a part of the bigger story, and you’re part of the Gospel ”

MARKETPLACE – Jordan McCann, 6, tries to sell eggs and jewelry to Journey to Bethlehem tourists Her parents and four-year-old twin sisters also are part of the production

his is so out of my comfort zone

Karen and I have been meeting for several months for one-onone Bible study, and it’s been pretty awkward at times Mostly for me

As a soldier, Karen knew my husband, Kip, a military chaplain He started preaching at our church, and she came to hear him We weren’t sure if she was a Christian, and after a few months, we lost touch But I sensed God saying, you need to text her and ask if she wants to do a Bible study.

Really, God? Are you kidding me?

When she said yes, it kind of freaked me out Interpersonal relationships are not my strength, I thought Case in point: We’ve lived in our neighborhood

for 10 years, and only know a few of our neighbors

We started to study Ephesians together After several weeks, Karen said she wanted to keep going That blew me away too She said her favorite Bible character was King David, so I picked two studies about him A third jumped off the shelf at me, a study focused on Jesus. I took them to her and asked which she’d like to do

She picked the Jesus one!

She doesn’t have a personal relationship with Him yet, but Karen and I meet every week to talk about Jesus I know there’s something there, but I’m not sure why the hold up If it had been my plan, she would have accepted Christ

three weeks after I shared with her But

I’ve gotten to know her; she comes to dinner beforehand Now I can call her a friend

This isn’t about me or my timing; that’s the biggest thing God has taught me through my meetings with Karen This whole thing has just been the craziest, weirdest, most uncomfortable, awkward thing ever, but I’ve never felt more in God’s will

Barb Troeger is a ministry assistant for IBSA’s missions team and a member of Living Faith Baptist Church in Sherman

It’s a practice of ours to pray for servers in restaurants We say, “We’re going to ask God to bless our food and as we pray, we’d like to pray for you.” We’re rarely ever told no and most of the time, they’ll give us a request

But I don’t think we’ve ever had anyone pull up a chair and sit down with us

It happened a few weeks ago My wife, Jackie, and I were able to share the Lord with a waitress who was in tears

We just don’t realize the burdens people carry She probably encounters hundreds of people every day, but when we asked if we could pray for her, that was enough for her to sit down with us

She didn’t accept Christ then and there, but we were able to sow some seeds and direct her to one of our local churches

John Mattingly is IBSA’s church planting director for northwest Illinois

It happened when I said something about the Illinois legislature and the recent legalization of same-sex marriage “The world sees things differently from Christ followers,” I said The sermon wasn’t even about the change in the law or homosexuality, but only a moment after I made that reference, a woman who had been attending our church for nearly a year got up and left the room

“Did you see her leave?” I asked my church planting partner, Matt Of course, he did Everybody did Our church is not so large that we didn’t all see she was angry

“Did you see her Facebook page?” Matt responded.

She had posted her dissatisfaction with the sermon and with me, saying I went “all homophobic” in the service

In earlier days, I might have become angry about that But somehow, this time, I saw the situation differently In the months she had attended our church, I watched as she came sporadically, then regularly, first sitting in the back, then moving up closer to the front My heart had been softened toward her In the way Jesus saw the crowds with compassion, I began to see how she needed a shepherd too – specifically she needed a touch from the Lord

“I need to call her,” I said to Matt

“Don’t let it fester,” he warned

I wanted to get to her quickly and talk about what she had posted, but who likes making that kind of phone call? I knew I couldn’t back off my position, even when there’s tension between what the Bible teaches and what the other person believes I knew I needed to present the truth, but it had to be done

with love and grace Broken people don’t need to be hurt any more than they already are

“If you run away from every person or every group that disagrees with you, you will be running your whole life,” I said to her

“Come back,” I said “You were being blessed here, so come back and continue to journey with us – we love you ”

The phone call lasted about 15 minutes And soon after that she changed her Facebook post It was more positive “I’m going to go back, even though I disagree with their stance,” she wrote And she has

The next Sunday, there she was And our church family greeted her warmly as always – maybe even more so. She continues to attend and more recently,

she has brought friends to visit It’s pretty cool Many people would not have come back, but she did I have to give her credit: she knows what we believe, and she’s still coming I respect that

We have e-mailed about this and continue to communicate with one another Soon my wife and I will have lunch with her and hear more about her life and her relationships And I hope we will continue to love her unconditionally, until she knows just how much Jesus loves her

Eddie Pullen is an IBSA church planting strategist and teaching pastor for Mosaic Church in Highland, Illinois

Tell how the angels in choru s Sang as they welcomed His birth, Glo to God in the highest!

Peace

– Fanny J Crosby

SOLDIER – Alec Saebeler, a stern Roman guard, practices his part while Betsy Monke, playing “Journey woman” Anna, studies her script in a Western Oaks classroom Photos by Meredith Flynn

and good tiding s to earth.

ZECHARIAH AND ELIZABETH – Jim and Lora Vickroy bring the couple to life with lively banter

AR OUND OUR STATE

In Memory

Terry Davis of Ashmore died Nov 25 at age 69 Davis was a trustee of Ashmore Baptist Church and a Disaster Relief volunteer with the Westfield Association team He served on callouts to Moore, Okla , and Washington, Ill , this year, and completed training as a “blue cap” supervisor Davis is survived by his wife of 51 years, Karon; children Tracy and Mark; and five grandchildren

Updates

James Smith, who served as IBSA’s executive director from 1967 until 1979, had mitral valve replacement surgery this month Smith, 92, reports that he teaches a Bible class at his retirement community in Bartlett, Tenn., still drives, and reads the Illinois Baptist Write to him c/o IBSA, 3085 Stevenson Dr , Springfield, IL 62703

Notices

Needed: 100 Baptist hymnals (1991 ed ) for a new church start; willing to pay shipping costs. Call Pastor Alan Jahn at (563) 242-0307

‘It’s not just about us’

Nashville church seeks Kingdom growth

Lighthouse Community Church has a two-part planting plan: First, they want to be firmly planted in their town Second, they want to help church planters start other Gospelcentered, biblically based churches

“It’s not just about us, it’s about the Kingdom,” is how Pastor Danny Donato describes Lighthouse’s vision

And they’ve seen God work in 2013, Donato says The 13-year-old church is growing, and many of the newcomers are new believers in Christ At least 35 people have been baptized at Lighthouse in the past two years, but not in a baptistery The church meets in a community center, so they hold baptisms wherever they can find enough water

“We’re seeing a lot of conversions, and that’s not just us, that’s been the history of this church,” Donato said about his time at Lighthouse He estimates 70% of the members were baptized in the church

God is providing resources too, the pastor said After pledging gifts well

Pray through the news

– Pray for a Kingdom mindset in churches across Illinois, and that God would move them to work together so that more might hear and respond to the Gospel

– Ask God to show your church how to best support a new church in your area

Churches

surpass Mission Illinois Offering goals

above their yearly operating budget toward a new church building, Lighthouse’s members gave a “first gifts” offering of almost $60,000 on a single Sunday Donato said he started laughing when he heard about the offering “There was just so much joy ”

The offering was a confirmation of the vision to be a visible presence in their community, a “faith marker” like the reminders Israel experienced in the Old Testament, Donato said The church’s focus isn’t just on Nashville Lighthouse also is helping

planter Jacob Ketchens as he starts Sojourn Church in Belleville, 40 miles to the northwest.

“Every time I meet with Pastor Danny, my spirit is refreshed in the fact that he truly seeks to help other churches succeed,” said Eddie Pullen, an IBSA church planting strategist in the Metro East region “As I have presented him with opportunities to help other churches, he has always accepted and stepped through the door in a big way ”

Merry Christmas

from

the IBSA staff

OUTSIDE THE BOX – Without a baptistery, Lighthouse Community Church has to get creative “We don’t care if it’s a river, a lake, a pool, or a horse trough, as long as it has water and we can dunk them, we will use it,” said Pastor Danny Donato (left)

Five stories that shaped the year

Marriage redefined

Will the church stand firm?

Seven states including Illinois approved gay marriage in 2013, giving huge momentum to the movement to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide But the battle over marriage may be played out in a different arena from here on out

“Just about all the blue states that can pass same-sex marriage have already done so,” said Andrew Walker, director of policy studies for the SBC’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission “ So, legislatively, same-sex marriage advocates with have to rely on the courts to peel back the constitutional amendments that exist in over 30 states that protect the natural definition of marriage,” he told Baptist Press

Illinois’ marriage debate started in the courts, when 25 couples filed suit after they were denied marriage licenses in Cook County The state was poised to become the tenth to legalize same-sex marriage when the Senate in February approved HB 10, the “Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act ”

Calvin compromise

The measure stalled in the House Meanwhile, California, Delaware, Minnesota, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Hawaii all affirmed gay marriage, making Illinois the 16th state to do so when the House approved it during their veto session

“Regardless of the passage of SB10, we’ll always believe that marriage is between one man and one woman,” Larry Trotter told the Chicago Sun-Times after the vote

Mind your manners, leaders say

Etiquette was the watchword for Southern Baptists divided over theology this year SBC Executive Committee President Frank Page issued a stern, but fatherly, message at the convention in Houston: “We need to start acting like believers ”

In word and deed Two wellknown leaders on opposite sides – Southern Seminary President

Al Mohler and Mississippi pastor

Eric Hankins – recently modeled mannered discourse on the topic for seminarians They also talked about working together across the theological divide

“The concept of cooperating together to do the work of missions and evangelism is beautiful and it’s brilliant,” Hankins said

The conversation still is free-wheeling on some Southern Baptist blogs But most Calvinists and non-Calvinists agree there are bigger fish to fry – and they have to fry those fish together

“ We’re going to be looking around for any Southern Baptist who will stand with us on religious liberty issues and other kinds of things,” said Jason Duesing, a vice president at Southwestern Seminary “I don’t think we’re going to have a lot of time in the future to really let Calvinism be as divisive as perhaps it appears to be right now ”

Graham gives final sermon

Leaves us with the truth

People asked, “Who will be the next Billy Graham?” long before the 95-year-old evangelist preached his last planned public sermon in November Millions of Americans watched Graham present “My Hope America,” but instead of an arena, they sat in living rooms across the country

Graham’s sermon on cross was broadcast on sev TV networks and available line “Our country’s in g need of a spiritual awakenin he preached “There have been times that I’ve wept as I’ve gone from city to city and I’ve seen how far

NBC finds The Middle

And it’s huge

A political survey commissioned by NBC News discovered there’s a vast territory between the left-leaning coasts and the right-leaning Southern extremities in the United States

They identified it as “The Middle ”

Trotter, pastor of Sweet Holy Spirit Church in Chicago, worked with a group of pastors against the bill

To those who say conservatives are fighting a losing battle on marriage, one Baptist leader countered that Christians have strayed from a biblical definition of the institution ERLC President Russell Moore decried the church’s “pathetic marriage cultures” that have normalized divorce and wishy-washy parenting

“The dangerous winds of religious liberty suppression means that our nominal Bible Belt marrying parson ways are over Good riddance,” Moore blogged

“This means we have the opportunity, by God’s grace, to take marriage as seriously as the gospel does, in a way that prompts the culture around us to ask why ”

Luter visits Illinois

Pollsters found 51% of Americans are in the center That number is far greater than other assessments of the nation’s political identities, which tended to pigeonhole most people as either liberal left or religious right In this new categorization, more people (especially in the Midwest) self-identify as conservative on fiscal issues while leaning liberal on social issues This includes some people of faith

If the survey is accurate, then those who are truly “Gospel left” or “religious right” are less likely to be courted by candidates because their ranks are smaller and their views, contrasted with the newly discovered centrist faith-views, will appear even more out of the norm The bulging middle will serve to push those who have felt marginalized in the last couple of election cycles even further toward the margins

Attorney and culture analyst David French wrote in the National Review, “Religious conservatives decided (decades ago) that they had to win elections, while secular Leftists decided to win the culture ”

Now we’re losing both

SBC President aims for lasting impact

Fred Luter’s two years as president of the Southern Baptist Convention will end in June with many people asking what the legacy of the first African American to hold the denomination’s top office will be The New Orleans pastor has been candid about his history-making election, and the doubts that accompanied it

people have wandered from God ”

Before the telecast, a billboard in Times Square featured his face and a quote: “With all my heart, I want to leave you with truth ”

Graham himself may have answered the heir apparent question 40 years ago Wheaton College’s Chris Castaldo recently blogged a story aham at the 1974 Internangress on World EvangeWhen asked who would he next Billy Graham, it’s said that the he pointed to the crowd of young leaders surrounding him and said, “They will ”

“Why would a black man want to be president of a denomination that started over a fight over slavery?” Luter said he is often asked, especially by other black pastors “Listen guys, all of us got a past,” he responds. “I’ve got a past, you’ve got a past There’s nothing we can do about our past, but there’s a lot we can do about our future Why leave this convention when we can shape its future?”

Visiting Springfield with his wife, Elizabeth, in April, Luter demonstrated his ability to build bridges through warm hugs, broad smiles, and frequent laughs “As a kid, I had a drug problem –

my mama drug me to church ”

But Luter is serious about his role in convention history, bringing people together while breaking down barriers He pledged to encourage greater ethnic representation in SBC leadership in his second year as president

While in Illinois, Luter was asked about cooperation involving divergent

theological stances. “We have to get the pastors together,” he advised ahead the convention’s anticipated debate over Calvinism “We need some pastors to take off the masks, take off the halos, and start working together for the kingdom of God rather than building our kingdom, because there are too many people going to hell ”

Luter expressed concern that SBC leaders and churches were being distracted from their main tasks of missions and disciple-making “If we ever get on one page we can have a revival,” he said “Let’s work together to carry out the Great Commandment and the Great Commission

“We cannot have revival in the nation until we have revival in the churches ”

OVERRULED – Advocates for a biblical definition of marriage rallied at the Capitol days before lawmakers approved gay marriage in Illinois

UNIFIER – Fred Luter has brought diverse Southern Baptists together around the Great Commission

FOR

LEADERS

Training Oppor tunities

Drumming up business

Q: A church member who is an investment counselor hands out his business cards at church Would you let him do that?

A: This situation is so common in churches that it warrants having a policy in place before it ever becomes an issue In your case, it could be awkward to ask the man to refrain from passing out his business cards, since he’s already doing it But explain to him that the church has used car salesmen, beauticians, dentists, florists, bakers, funeral directors, lawyers, ditch diggers, plumbers, etc , and it’s not fair to promote one product or service and not the rest.

He almost certainly doesn’t mean to pressure church members or make guests uncomfortable, but his actions could unintentionally lead to both For the future, ask the church to adopt this policy: Distributing business literature, selling candy bars to support the high school band, recruiting attendees for a Tupperware party, and any other similar activity, are not bad things But it isn’t appropriate to corner people in the parking lot, hall-

way, or as they’re walking into worship to sell, invite, distribute, or recruit Those kinds of things need to be done by phone at home, by e-mail, with a visit, etc

Once the policy is adopted by the church, print it on a few simple signs and post them on bulletin boards or in highly visible places

Another idea would be to print a Yellow Pages-style directory of businesses and services offered by church members

Good help is hard to find

Q: These new parents today won’t sign up for nursery duty They think we owe them free babysitting If there’s no worker in the nursery, they bring crying babies into the worship service Help!

A: Not everyone should be involved in keeping the nursery, at least right away Nursery workers need to have background checks and some level of childcare training

Many churches require volunteers to attend 4-6 weeks of infant and preschool training before they are allowed to serve in the nursery

While it is an added expense, it might be wise to recruit workers from a local college or university that would like to make a minimum wage Make sure they go through a background check and can be scheduled to help on a rotation basis If your church is small, recruit volunteers (not necessarily from new parents only), and put together a schedule that asks them to help once every 8-10 weeks

Be sure to have the leaders of your nursery attend IBSA’s infant, preschool and childcare training classes offered at the Churches of Strength Conferences in order to stay current on the laws and best practices

Nursery service is an area that can open up a church to various lawsuits, so never give a 12- or 13-year-old the responsibility of watching the babies because an adult wasn’t available to do it If you have any questions about this area, contact Cathy Waters at Cathy Waters@IBSA org or (217) 391-3124

Pat Pajak has pastored churches of all sizes across Illinois He presently leads IBSA’s Church Strengthening team Send your coaching questions for Pat to IllinoisBaptist@IBSA org

WE TRAIN LEADERS FOR THE CHURCH

December 27-28: Youth Encounter, Prairie Capital Convention Center, Springfield Featuring Brian Burgess, 33Miles, Citizen Way, Loudmouth, 321 Improv and Bryan Drake Cost is $45 until midnight Dec 26, and $50 at the door All ticket prices include a Youth Encounter T-shirt www IBSA org/ ilstudentz

January 1-5: January Bible Study; for Colossians curriculum, go to www LifeWay com and search January Bible Study 2014

January 6, 11: Tax Seminar at Second Baptist, West Frankfort (Jan 6) and Pleasant Hill Baptist, Mt Vernon (Jan 11) Tax information and federal requirements for ministers, church treasurers and other leaders www IBSA org/Church Health

January 19: Sanctity of Human Life Sunday

January 25: All State Choir Auditions at Rochester FBC; Logan Street, Mt Vernon; Calvary, Elgin; and Emmanuel, Lemont For students in grades 9-12; DebbieMuller@IBSA org, (217) 391-3126

New devotionals

1 No Cape Required: 52 Ways to Unleash Your Inner Hero by Kristen Parrish (Thomas Nelson)

2. Jesus Calling: Devotional Journal by Sarah Young (Thomas Nelson)

3 Grace for the Moment: Morning and Evening Devotional Journal by Max Lucado (Thomas Nelson)

4 My Daily Pursuit: Devotions for Every Day by A W Tozer, edited by James L Snyder (Regal Books)

5 The Listening Heart: Hearing God in Prayer by Judy Gordon Morrow (Regal Books)

6. A Confident Heart Devotional: 60 Days to Stop Doubting Yourself by Renee Swope (Fleming H Revell Company)

7 Everyday Wisdom from the Gospels (e-book) by Warren W Wiersbe (Baker Publishing Group)

8. Hoy, Dios Quiere Que Sepas: Inspiracion para el alma de la mujer (e-book) (Barbour Publishing, Inc )

9 Prayer, Praise & Promises: A Daily Walk Through the Psalms by Warren W Wiersbe (Baker Books)

10 Walk Through the Word: A New Testament Devotional (e-book) (Thomas Nelson) (LifeWay com, Dec 2013)

CHRISTIAN LIFE

Red and green and blue

“I think there must be something wrong with me, Linus Christmas is coming, but I’m not happy I don’t feel the way I’m supposed to feel ”

Charlie Brown is in a holiday funk By the end of his half-hour special, his spirit is lifted by a spindly tree and a retelling of the mas story by his fri Linus, with blue blank in tow of course

It’s not always tha easy, or that quick For millions struggling with the holiday blues, Christmas joy is hard to find Bu there is hope, Dav Jeremiah wrote in a column titled “Wonderful Counselor ”

“Our Lord Jesus is the Christ of Christmas present, and He wants to deliver you from the Christmas blues, too ”

Thanksgiving at Christmas

Holidays are difficult for people for a number of reasons, Christian counselor Molly Ondrey said Some may be overwhelmed by busyness or the financial pressure of the season Others who have lost loved ones face a “new normal” at Christmas Unmet expectations of what the holidays should look like can bring on the blues

DAVE Says Financial advice from Dave Ramsey

Paying for the privilege

Q : S h o u l d I p a y a n o m i n a l f e e t o b e e nrolled in a mortgage accelerator program?

A: No, you should not. Mortgage accelerator programs are similar to the biweekly mortgage deals floating around out there Paying on your mortgage biweekly is fine Paying for the privilege is not

In the biweekly mortgage program, you make a half-payment every two weeks By doing this you will pay off the typical 30-year note in about 22 years It works because there are 26 two-week periods in a year, and 26 half-payments equals 13 whole payments It pays off your mortgage early because you’re making an extra payment every year There’s nothing magical about every two weeks; it’s the fact that you’re paying extra principal

Instead of paying your mortgage company an unnecessary “nominal fee,” just make an extra payment each year Or, pay one-twelfth of a payment as a principal reduction with a separate check, in a separate envelope, every month By doing that, you’ll pay off the loan just as quickly as with a biweekly arrangement

If you’re just now taking out a mortgage and your lender can do a biweekly setup at no cost, then that’s

great Take them up on the offer But we’re not going to pay them an additional fee so you can make extra payments on the principal

CD money vs. market

Q: Is it better to keep your emergency fund in a certificate of deposit or a money market account?

A: Right now, a short-term certificate of deposit (CD) pays about the same as a money market account The problem is you’re only going to make about 1% with either one The good thing about a money market, though, is that there are no early withdrawal fees attached

In my mind, an emergency fund isn’t there for the purpose of making money It needs to just sit safe and sound until it’s needed It should also be in a program where it’s easily accessible and there are no stupid fees or penalties for simply using your own money

Remember that interest rates aren’t the end game when it comes to your emergency fund You want 3-6 months of expenses just sitting there, waiting for life to happen Trust me, it will!

For more advice from Dave Ramsey, go to www IBSA org

“They think back to a happier, merrier time,” said Ondrey, who works at Pathways Counseling in central Illinois If the usual traditions of gathering around the Christmas tree or opening gifts together have changed, she added, people ask, “Now nd it may not be obvious meone is struggling.

“A lot of times, what people do is isolate when they’re depressed,” Ondrey said They might need a iend to reach out A hurch family can help with the loneliness of the olidays by creating new memories Offer to be a listening ear, or to help someone put up a Christmas tree, or invite someone to be part of your Christmas celebration, she advised

Some churches plan a “Blue Christmas” or “Longest Night” service as a time to remember loved ones they’ve lost, and to focus on the hope Jesus brought into the world

Finding a new focus is important in combating holiday depression, Ondrey said Falling into “automatic negative thinking” happens frequently when people are feeling down Focusing on the blessings God has given, new memories that can be made, and the birth and hope of Christ might help improve a perspective

I’m just stressed

Charlie Brown’s complaint – “I don’t feel the way I’m supposed to feel”

can result from holiday busyness too The American Psychological Association reported in 2011 that up to 69% of people feel strapped for time and money during the holidays, and 51% feel pressure about the gifts they give and receive

Create memories that are cost-effective, Ondrey advised Watch a Christmas movie, go caroling, read the Christmas story in Luke 2, go on a drive to check out holiday lights, or attend a special church service

She also gave some practical tips for fighting off the holiday blahs For example, eat healthy and stay active And take charge of your schedule by saying no when needed

Consider reaching out for extra help if holiday depression is interfering with your normal, everyday functioning at work or home, Ondrey said, if your depression occurs for an extended period of time, if you have thoughts of self-harm, or if your support system is limited

For more information about Pathways, a ministry of Illinois Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services, call:

• (618) 624-4060 | Metro East

• (217) 483-2222 | Central Illinois

• (618) 382-3907 | Southeastern Illinois

Potluck Blogger

Turtle Bites

Three ingredients and 20 minutes or less – that’s all you need to make these simple candies for a last-minute Christmas gift

Ingredients: (equal number of each)

Pecan halves

ROLO caramel candies, unwrapped Pretzels (small twists)

To prepare: Preheat oven to 250° Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper Place pretzels in rows, and top each with a ROLO Bake for seven minutes (no more) Press a pecan halve onto each candy, and let cool completely For a holiday variation, use red and green M&M’s instead of pecans

Send your favorite recipes to MeredithFlynn@IBSA.org.

For many at Christmas, ‘merry and bright’ doesn’t come easy

@ the Crossroads

@ the Crossroads

Where ministry meets real life

NO-el? No way. Atheists start ‘churches’

Lonely unbelievers are starting something that looks like church Three dozen godless congregations have sprouted up in Australia and the U S , the most recent in Los Angeles in November

The “Sunday Assembly,” as it is called, was started by two British comedians One of them, Sanderson Jones, got the idea after he attended a Christmas carol concert six years ago

“If you think about church, there’s very little that’s bad,” he told AP “It’s singing awesome songs, hearing interesting talks, thinking about improving yourself and helping other people – and doing that in a community with wonderful relationships What part of that is not to like?”

Apparently the God part

“There’s something not OK with appropriating all of this religious language, imagery and ritual for atheism,” wrote blogger Michael Luciano, an atheist He called the movement “an offense against sensibility ”

One analyst says these self-described “atheist mega-churches” attract people who left their faith, but miss the community church provides Presently 20% of Americans have no religious affiliation, up from 15% five years earlier, according to Pew Research

Connection: Tr y Lumpy Mail

There’s still time to promote your Christmas Eve or New Year ’s even Church marketing expert Evan Courtney recommends putting a little something in the envelope to make it enticing:

“People open lumpy mail Don’ you always open that piece of mai even when you know it’s junk m because you know there is someth different inside? This could simply throwing in a small candy cane something that is branded with y Christmas teaching series name ”

ney suggests these stuffers: balloons, invite cards, Lifeite by the same name “lumpy mail” gets doue-digit response rates, compared to the usual response of 025% eir web graphics seem ply you can mail a wamelon, but we aren’t uggesting that A candy cane will be cient

mission illinois

Pray for a new church

Location: Trenton, Clinton County

Target: Urban commuter families

Characteristics: Single detached homes with a small town atmosphere and big city amenities; a short drive from St Louis and Scott Air Force Base

Prayer Needs: That the 2,715 people living in this community will be reached with the Gospel

– From the IBSA Church Planting Team

Budget Goal: $6,000,000

Received to date 12/06/13: $5,851,454

Received to date in 2012: $5,842,542

Trending...

compiled by Eric Reed

Natural Disasters

“How do you feel about God when suffering occurs that appears unfair?” LifeWay Research asked after the Moore, Oklahoma tornado Given our recent tornados in Illinois, the responses offer fresh insight for talking with our neighbors:

33% 16% 25% 11%

5% 7% 3%

“I trust God more”

“I am confused about God”

“I don’t think about God in these situations”

“I wonder if God cares”

“I doubt God exists”

“I am angry toward God”

“I am resentful toward God”

Pollsters found Southerners, frequent church attenders, and those without a college degree are likely to trust God more during disasters, while younger Americans are more likely to doubt God exists Overall, 57% said their interest in God increases after a natural disaster

– L feWay Research (May 2013) te

POSTCARDS

Missionaries:

Barnicio and Lucretia

Cureton (with Christian and Chloe)

Church Plant: Light of Christ, East St Louis

Focusing On: African-American urban families

Pray: For more partners as we seek to reach our community