December 18, 2017 Illinois Baptist

Merry Christmas from all of us at IBSA

Celebrating

Legal challenge

Pro-life groups sue to stop abortion bill

Springfield | Illinois officials are facing a lawsuit aimed at halting the planned Jan. 1 implementation of taxpayerfunded abortions in the state.

The Thomas More Society, a Chicagobased law firm, filed suit in December on behalf of several legislators and prolife groups who oppose House Bill 40, which provides for coverage of abortions through Medicaid and state employees’ health insurance plans. Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner signed the bill into law in September after initially pledging to veto it.

The lawsuit argues that the General Assembly has not set aside funds in the state’s budget to pay for the abortions and remain within the Balanced Budget

CONVENTIONAL WISDOM

Snapshots from the world of Illinois Baptists

“There’s a gap between who evangelicals say they are and what they believe.”

Scott

WHO WE REALLY ARE

LifeWay research asked people four questions about the Bible, Jesus, salvation, and evangelism. Those who strongly agreed with all four are considered “evangelical by belief,” compared to those who self-identify as evangelical.

Nationwide, 15% of Americans are evangelical by belief, while 24% of Americans self-identify as evangelicals. The numbers by region: 10%

Self-identify as evangelical

– LifeWay Research, December 2017

the cooperative program

Giving by IBSA churches as of 12/08/17

$5,538,416

Budget Goal: $5,936,539

Received to date in 2016: $5,570,558

2017 Goal: $6.3 Million

The Illinois Baptist staff

Editor - Eric Reed

Managing Editor - Meredith Flynn

Graphic Designer - Kris Kell

Contributing Editor - Lisa Misner Sergent

Multimedia Journalist - Andrew Woodrow

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

NATE ADAMS

Not waiting to worship

Aworship service I attended recently was like no other I’ve ever seen. And I have seen quite a few.

When I arrived with the pastor and three other leaders, 10 minutes before the service was scheduled to begin, no one else was there. Then, precisely on time, about 70 worshipers arrived.

The first 10 minutes or so were “fellowship time,” as each and every worshiper joyfully entered, hugging the neck or shaking the hand of the pastor and leaders, including me as their guest.

As they did so, many of them volunteered to serve or lead during the service. The pastor noted each of their offers, and told some of them they would have to wait until next time, because we only had two hours to worship.

Those who did join us in leading the service shared special music, or recited passages of Scripture they had memorized, or gave brief testimonies of God’s grace and goodness in their lives. One especially memorable man apologized for taking so long to slowly walk to the front, assisted by his cane. He said he was 71 years old, but more alive today than when he was 18, because of the Lord’s work in his life. He then sang a moving and joyful spiritual that had all of us clapping and joining in.

The open prayer time was passionate. One man transparently thanked God for recent victory over a temptation in his life, while another prayed through tears, thanking God for a healing contact from his ex-wife, the first one in 34 years.

When the pastor gave me an opportunity to speak, I found myself citing a passage from my own devotional time that week, rather than a more carefully rehearsed message. As I spoke from my heart and sought to apply that passage to their lives, the worshipers gave me their eager attention, and encouraged me with their amens and other signs of agreement.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing to me about that worship service, however, was that I was told there is a “waiting list” to enter it that is about four times larger than the room can hold. You see, that unusual worship service was within the walls of one of our Illinois prisons on a Saturday night, and those worshipers were its residents. The leaders were from one of our Baptist churches that has led a ministry there for over 20 years.

As Christmas now approaches, I am reminded that the good news of Jesus’ birth came first to a humble group of shepherds. They were in many ways “confined” themselves, in poverty, in low social status, with limited freedom or opportunity, and with little hope of a brighter future. Yet the Bible tells us they were also men who were “abiding” and “keeping watch.” When the good news about Jesus invaded their darkness one night, they eagerly received the news and ran to meet him.

That’s what I felt in prison that Saturday night. There was certainly a darkness, a sense of oppression as I walked through multiple security checkpoints. But inside, the good news had arrived, and those who had received it now enjoyed a freedom to worship and celebrate that is all too rare outside the prison walls.

As we encouraged those worshipers to share the good news about Jesus with others, as did the shepherds, their enthusiastic responses told me they already were. I guess that’s why there is a waiting list for the Saturday night worship service. And I guess it’s why we should all receive the good news humbly this Christmas, grateful that we do not have to wait to worship him.

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

The good news has arrived, and those who have received it are free to celebrate.

–

McConnell, LifeWay Research

From the front: Governor faces fallout from HB40 approval

Continued from page 1

requirements of the Illinois Constitution. It also contends that the law cannot become effective until June 1 because it missed a May 31 cut-off date for General Assembly action.

“We’ve got $1.7 billion more appropriations than we’ve got revenue coming in,” said Peter Breen, special counsel for the Thomas More Society. “I don’t see how we’re going to find the money to pay for these elective abortions.”

Initial arguments were heard in the Seventh Judicial Circuit Court Dec. 6 at the Sangamon County Courthouse in Springfield. When Breen asked when the state planned to implement HB40, attorneys representing the state replied they were not prepared to answer the question.

Associate Judge Jennifer Ascher set the next hearing for Dec. 28. If the state does not intend to implement HB40 on Jan. 1, the Dec. 28 hearing will most likely be rescheduled due to the holidays.

“Based on numbers from the Health and Family Services Department, it costs $750-1,000 per abortion, [and] you’re looking at between 2030,000 abortions [being performed],” said Breen,

who is also a state representative (R-Lombard). Were HB40 implemented, the total cost would be $15-30 million, he said—from funds not reimbursed by federal Medicaid.

“Regardless of your feelings about abortion, it is incredibly fiscally irresponsible to enact a law designed to spend millions of dollars that Illinois does not have,” Breen said in a press release about the suit.

After the initial hearing, he was asked about the religious liberty implications of HB40. “This lawsuit is very specifically about public funds,” Breen said. “We don’t have moral argument in court. We’re just looking at the misuse of public funds.”

Rauner’s approval of the bill angered some lawmakers in his own party. State Rep. Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton) is working to get on the Republican primary ballot against Rauner in March.

“He lied to us,” Ives said in an Associated Press article last month. “None of us trust him anymore.”

If implemented, HB40 also would amend the Illinois Abortion Law of 1975 to remove language declaring that an unborn child is a human being

Baker gets High Court hearing

Washington, D.C. | Religious liberty advocates left the U.S. Supreme Court Dec. 5 with some hope that the justices would rule in favor of a Colorado cake artist who refused to design a wedding cake for a samesex wedding celebration.

Jack Phillips, the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Co., and a Christian, declined in 2012 to design a wedding cake for a same-sex ceremony, offering instead to sell the couple a premade cake or any other baked item. After the men filed a complaint with the state, the Colorado Civil Rights Commission ordered Phillips to create custom cakes for same-sex ceremonies or quit designing wedding cakes. The commission also ordered him to re-educate his employees on

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complying with the Colorado Antidiscrimination Act, which includes sexual orientation as a protected class.

During the Supreme Court oral arguments, Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy, a frequent swing vote on the court, provided encouragement to lawyers supporting Phillips with some of his questions and comments.

“…Tolerance is essential in a free society,” Kennedy said, speaking to Colorado’s solicitor general. “And tolerance is most meaningful when it’s mutual. It seems to me that the state in its position here has been neither tolerant nor respectful of Mr. Phillips’ religious beliefs.”

The Supreme Court’s decision is expected before its term ends next summer.

– Baptist Press, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission

from the time of conception, and would allow Illinois to continue to perform abortions should the U.S. Supreme Court overturn Roe vs. Wade.

In November, messengers to the IBSA Annual Meeting passed a resolution calling for the repeal of HB40, pledging support for “the rights of the unborn,” and claiming, “all human life is God-given and sacred, and should be protected by moral and righteous government.”

– Lisa Misner Sergent

Fewer Christians vote Moore

Montgomery, Ala. | Judge Roy Moore’s narrow defeat in a special election Dec. 12 was attributed by one Southern Baptist leader to lower turnout by evangelical voters.

Even though 80% of white evangelical (self-identified) voters chose Moore to take over former Sen. Jeff Sessions’s seat, fewer of them actually voted, said Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

“[Moore] lost because so many evangelicals didn’t show up,” Mohler said on CNN after the election was called for Moore’s opponent, Doug Jones. “That’s the big story…what didn’t happen. You didn’t have any major pastors or evangelical leaders [in Alabama], not a single one, willing to support Roy Moore.”

According to exit polls, Christianity Today reported, 44% of Alabama voters Dec. 12 were white, selfidentified born-again or evangelical Christians. In 2008 and 2012, their

share was 47%—making them “the only group showing slight signs of slippage,” according to The Washington Post.

The election included 22,819 write-in votes for other candidates, nearly 40% of which likely came from conservative Republican voters, CT reported. Jones won by 20,715 votes.

During his campaign, Moore was accused by several women of sexual misconduct. The allegations raised divisive questions for Republican voters forced to choose between Moore and Jones, a pro-choice Democrat.

“Given the percentage of evangelicals in Alabama, it’s inconceivable that a candidate supported by them could lose,” Mohler said.

“An incredible amount of evangelical Christians said this was a bridge too far.”

– IB staff, from Christianity Today report

BREEN

PHILLIPS

Christians divided on Jerusalem decision

President Donald Trump’s announcement that the U.S. will begin the process of recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital was met with strong reactions from Christians on both sides of the issue.

“As a Christian I’m grateful America is playing a decisive role in the story of God’s chosen people Israel by recognizing Jerusalem as the eternal capital and our embassy will move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem,” tweeted Jack Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, and one of Trump’s evangelical advisors.

Other religious leaders expressed concern over Trump’s decision, indicating it could increase hostilities in the Middle East. Travis Wussow, vice president for public policy and general counsel at the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, wrote about the potential impact on Arab Christians.

“Arab Christians, wherever they live around the world, are religious minorities,” Wussow wrote. “Sectarian tensions are already high....Several Middle Eastern Christian leaders in Jerusalem, Jordan, and elsewhere sent letters to President Trump asking for a delay or for caution in making this move.”

disaster relief

Hurricane recovery continues in Texas

Volunteers aid homeowners after year of historic storms

Generation gap on Israel views

While a majority of Americans with evangelical beliefs express at least some measure of positivity about Israel, many younger evangelicals are indifferent in their support for the country. A new survey by LifeWay Research found 77% of evangelicals 65 and older say they support the existence, security, and prosperity of Israel, but the number drops to 58% among those 18 to 34. And 41% have no strong views about Israel.

Darrell L. Bock, a board member for Chosen People Ministries, which helped underwrite the survey, said that when younger evangelicals think about the Middle East, they’re more likely to think about Iraq or Iran or the impact of terrorism in the world.

“The terror attacks on 9/11 changed the Middle East equation, and young people just aren’t sure where Israel is supposed to fit.”

The survey also found 59% of evangelicals believe Christians should do more to love and care for Palestinian people, with younger evangelicals being most likely to say so.

– Baptist Press, LifeWay Research

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

Springfield | A difficult year for many people in the U.S. meant Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief (IBDR) volunteers were hard at work in 2017.

The most extensive callout was to Texas, where Hurricane Harvey left many homeowners displaced in August. Two childcare teams were the first Illinois units to deploy. They were stationed at the Dallas Convention Center, where they attended to children while their parents— refugees from flooding in Houston—stood in lines to meet with insurance companies and government agencies.

IBDR: In 3 states and Puerto Rico

man hours worked

All other ILDR teams were sent to serve in the Vidor, Texas area. Two shower and laundry trailers from Franklin and Macoupin Associations were deployed. They provided 8,700 showers, and volunteers completed approximately 2,320 loads of laundry. Glenn and Sharon Carty spent three weeks in Vidor working with a laundry/ shower trailer team. “You feel for the people and all they’re going through,” said Sharon. “But it’s the children who break your heart.”

Also in Texas, a 26-person mobile kitchen team based out of Living Faith Baptist Church in Sherman was staffed by volunteers from around the state and used to prepare over 40,000 meals.

As the callout continued, IBDR was asked by national Send Relief to take on a greater role. Dwayne Doyle, IBDR state

coordinator, said, “IBDR incident command led the First Baptist Church, Vidor, Texas, joint ministry site between the new Send Relief program of the North American Mission Board and Southern Baptist Texas Convention Disaster Relief. During this time, our volunteers gave leadership to more than over 500 students from churches and universities across the nation.”

Illinois teams are continuing the work in Vidor, with more workers scheduled to return in January.

Earlier in the summer, heavy rains led to record flooding in Lake County, near the Illinois-Wisconsin border. Volunteers worked on nearly 150 homes, doing mold remediation in an effort to help homeowners get ready to rebuild. Their efforts have resulted in a church plant in Round Lake, as local Disaster Relief volunteers have followed-up with homeowners.

Disaster Relief volunteers also served in Illinois after early spring tornadoes in northern and southern parts of the state.

Volunteer Don Kragness worked in the southern Illinois town of Vergennes. He summed up the motivation of many Disaster Relief volunteers when he told local television station WSIL, “We are here, basically, because we love Jesus and we want to serve him, and the best way we know how to serve him is to help people when they’re in need.”

Illinois has nearly 1,600 trained Disaster Relief volunteers. Their ministry is made possible through the generosity of churches and individual donors, and the volunteers themselves, who help provide equipment, supplies, and fuel for travel. To learn more about the callouts, training, and how to donate, visit IBSA.org/dr.

CARTY

CALLED OUT – Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers prepare a meal for Hurricane Harvey victims in Vidor, Texas. The Illinois volunteers prepared over 40,000 meals during their callout. Facebook photo

– Lisa Misner Sergent

MISSION

Crafted with care

On a trip to New York City, a group of Illinois women saw up-close how work programs are making a difference for at-risk families.

Graffiti 2, a community ministry in the Bronx, teaches women and men job skills and offers a venue to sell the goods they make through a partnership with WorldCrafts, the fair-trade division of Woman’s Missionary Union.

WorldCrafts items are available online at worldcrafts.org and at parties hosted by individuals, churches, and mission groups. The Graffiti 2 artisans make a variety of products, including key chains, oven mitts, and the “Little Birdie” pincushion.

Along with career training and temporary jobs, the Graffiti 2 Works program offers life skills, Bible study, and mentoring to help people in their community build relationships with one another, and to point them toward a relationship with God.

Building them up

New York, N.Y. | For Illinoisans who live outside the Chicago city limits—or don’t often visit—the hustle and bustle of New York City would likely bring on a good dose of culture shock.

For Terry Kenney, a pastor’s wife in Beardstown, her recent mission trip to the Big Apple brought back memories of her childhood in Chicago.

“New Yorkers do not think anything about walking” to get from place to place, said Kenney, whose husband, Brian, pastors First Southern Baptist Church in Beardstown. For the team of seven pastors’ wives from Illinois, navigating the city streets and the subway and taxis was a new, stretching experience. But a positive one.

“I never had a desire to go to New York,” Kenney said, “but now I’m going to take my husband back and let him see it.”

City reachers

The Illinois team was in the city to partner with Graffiti 2, a community ministry based in the South Bronx. Started a decade ago, Graffiti 2 is an offshoot of Graffiti Church, a Southern Baptist church planted in the early 1970s. The Graffiti ministries are grounded in a mission to meet the physical and spiritual needs of New Yorkers.

Toward that end, Graffiti 2 runs an afterschool program for kids in the neighborhood, and also has started a jobs program that gives people the skills they need to learn and succeed in a career.

Standing in front of an intricate stained glass window in Graffiti’s new headquarters, the Illinois women watched one of Graffiti’s artisans at work at her sewing machine. The goods produced by Graffiti 2 artisans are sold through WorldCrafts, a fair-trade ministry of Woman’s Missionary Union.

KENNEY

Photos: In September, a group of seven Illinois pastors’ wives navigated the New York subway every day to get to the Graffiti 2 headquarters in the Bronx, where they assisted with behind-the-scenes work needed to facilitate outreach programs for kids and adults. Photos by Andrea Hammond

Herself a seamstress, Kenney said it was nice to climb upstairs in the old church building and see where the artisans work, and hear about their needs. The Illinois team also helped Graffiti 2 with some administrative tasks resulting from their recent move to the building.

“We prayer-walked around their neighborhood in the South Bronx before meeting artisans and touring their new location,” said Andrea Hammond, a pastor’s wife from Grace Southern Baptist Church in Virden. “We experienced how they impact their community for Christ by finding out what their needs are, meeting them, then sharing Christ through those needs.”

Calling in common

Carmen Halsey came up with the idea for the New York mission trip as she was brainstorming ways to help pastors’ wives connect with one another. Inspired by the concept of “destination weddings,” Halsey, IBSA’s director of women’s missions and ministries, wanted to find a place that would let wives retreat to an attractive location, while also working together to fulfill a mission.

As they worked together on a large mailing project for Graffiti 2, Halsey said, the women had an opportunity to hear each other’s stories, and share their own. That was the special part, she said, watching the multi-generational group support each other and get to know one another.

“It’s a lonely job,” Terry Kenney said of being a pastors’ wife. There aren’t too many people you can confide in, she said, and the New York trip let the women open up to one another. That part of the trip was helpful for Ailee Taylor, who serves with her husband, Derrick, at NET Community Church, the congregation they planted in Staunton last year.

“I have not been a pastor’s wife for very long, and it is a group of women that

I have not been around before,” she said. “In addition to learning and serving alongside the team at Graffiti 2, I was able to connect and grow alongside other women that share the role of pastors’ wives.”

The trip also had benefits that are transferrable to her own ministry in Illinois.

“Even though New York is an urban environment, I learned things that apply to my rural environment,” Tay-

lor said. “I also learned that we have a lot of things that we easily take for granted in Illinois.”

The mission trip was a renewing experience, she said, using decisive words for how she felt about returning to Illinois: “Filled, challenged, and fired up.”

For more information about upcoming missions opportunities for adults, students, and kids, go to IBSA.org/missions.

Trinity

Will

MINISTRY AT WORK – At the Graffiti 2 headquarters in the Bronx, artisans create fair-trade products and learn career skills. Photo at left: Illinois pastors’ wives learn about the urban ministry from Graffiti 2 Works Director Kerri Johnson (center).

Refugee simulation shines light on global crisis

Annual conference aims to engage students in helping persecuted people around the world

BY ANDREW WOODROW

The lights in the room dimmed. Suddenly, there were loud, wailing sirens and the sounds of hovering aircraft and explosions. Shouts could be heard from each corner of the room as the girls yelled out, eagerly looking to find the rest of their lost family members.

The IBSA Building was transformed into a refugee camp Nov. 5 for the annual AWSOM conference for young women (AWSOM stands for “Amazing Women Serving Our Maker”). Through an intensive, simulated overnight experience, this year’s AWSOM focused on helping the 222 students in attendance understand the plight of the refugee, and how they can help. Attenders also heard the stories of Christians who have lived with persecution (see boxes).

Alina Aisina – Central Asia

Aisina was born in a gospel-sensitive country in Central Asia to a Christian mother and an abusive, atheist father.

Aisina, her sister, and her mom eventually fled their city because their lives were threatened for what they believed. Aisina grew up with a lot of fear, she said, “Not knowing what tomorrow was going to bring and being afraid for my life.”

After receiving a shoebox from Operation Christmas Child, however, Aisina described the change in her life. While her physical life didn’t change, she said, her attitude did because she knew she wasn’t alone. She felt a loving Father looking after her by using strangers from another country to demonstrate Christ’s love for her through the shoebox.

After the simulated war broke out, the students, grouped in “families” of five, were instructed to find refuge in a neighboring country. They could only travel with limited items, however, and had to leave the rest of their belongings behind.

When the girls reached their temporary shelter, a setup of makeshift tents representing a refugee camp, they were given minimal supplies. Current and former missionaries dressed as border guards spoke only the language of the countries they served, to represent the foreign atmosphere to which refugees must adapt.

In the end, the family had to make the decision either to return home to their war-torn country, navigating elements such as land mines, or to apply for citizenship in the new country in hopes of building a new life.

The crisis is real

Prior to the simulation, International Mission Board missionary Christopher Mauger showed a brief aerial video clip documenting the plight of the Rohingya Muslims as they fled from Myanmar, formerly called Burma.

Mauger, who serves in Southeast Asia, described the situation as “desperate” and “unbelievable,” and as a crisis that “needs prayer.”

“If they have to go down [to Bangladesh] for refuge, it’s really bad,” he said. “There’s nothing there.”

Mauger explained how “hundreds of thousands” of Rohingya Muslims have been exiting the country as a result of persecution from Myanmar’s government, which is Buddhist.

“For those who have a place to live, they are living in camps with plastic for roofing,” Mauger said. “They are crowded in small areas, food is scarce, and they don’t have any hygienic necessities.”

Rockie Naser – Jordan

Naser’s devout Muslim family lived in Jordan for several years before moving to Chicago. By the time Naser was 22, her father had arranged for her to return to Jordan and marry her first cousin. When she refused, she was estranged from her family. Her father even threatened her life when he discovered she’d become a Christian.

Naser fled the city where she lived and joined the U.S. military to help ensure her protection. She now serves as a women’s ministry director at First Baptist Church, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.

Mauger described how easy it is to get distracted with a situation like this by blaming the evil in this world. But by changing their perspective, he said, Christians can help. “We can tell these people about God,” he said, “by giving and supporting the Christian organizations that are helping in that area.”

Wendy – China

Wendy lives in China, where she partnered with Ronny and Beverly Carroll while they served as missionaries with the International Mission Board. The Carrolls now live in Illinois, and Wendy visited Springfield to speak about the ministry she coordinates to help people long oppressed because of their beliefs.

During the Chinese Revolution in the 1960s, Wendy said, all forms of religion were repressed. While many Chinese Christians fled, others, including a man named Su, were imprisoned. After Su’s release 20 years later, Wendy’s ministry found him and helped him rediscover Christ. This was Su’s first encounter with a Christian in more than two decades.

Becki McNeely, a leader from Lakeland Baptist Church, said AWSOM “opened the students’ eyes to an increased awareness of the state of refugees.”

Several students echoed McNeely. One young woman described how it “must be hard to live in a persecuted country” after hearing the accounts of the speakers. Several more expressed their increased awareness of the refugee crises and were “saddened” at its reality.

Carmen Halsey, director of women’s ministry and missions, said IBSA is securing resources to inform churches about refugee issues. She added that she hoped the experience helped students to be able to “feel the psychological anguish caused by separation and flight” and to “see what forces people into refugee situations,” as well as adopting a more welcoming attitude towards refugees in their own country.

Go to vimeo.com/IBSA to view video from this year’s AWSOM conference.

Lake Sallateeska celebrates 75 years

Beloved camp integral to spiritual growth for current church leaders, and those yet to come

Pinckneyville | Every summer, Judy Halter takes a busload of elementary schoolers from Anna, Ill., to Lake Sallateeska Baptist Camp, where they spend a week learning about Jesus and what it means to tell other people about him.

She even got her commercial driver’s license so she could drive the bus. Halter understands well the value of investing in young lives.

“I was saved when I was six years old,” said Halter, a member of Anna Heights Baptist Church. “But finally, at eight or nine years old, after I came to Lake Sallateeska and the missionaries came and spoke to us, I finally got it. I understood the Great Commission, and that we were called to go, and not just stay when we follow Christ.

“And it was life-changing at that point for me.”

Halter’s “favorite place in the world” turns 75 this year. As Lake Sallateeska marks the milestone anniversary, children and students and adults across Illinois continue to stream to the IBSAowned retreat. They go for the scenery, the activities, the friendships, and the opportunity to grow closer to Jesus and his mission.

“This place has housed missionaries. This place has birthed missionaries,” Halter said. “And hopefully it will continue to birth tomorrow’s missionaries and send them out into all the world as our Lord commanded.”

Transformation place

In 1928, Illinois Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU) began holding youth camps at a lake outside of Pinckneyville owned by Dr. F.B. Hiller. In 1942, WMU bought the 40-acre property for $4,800.

The camp was dedicated on July 7 of that year, and later renamed after a visiting missionary from Oklahoma explained the meaning of her name, “Sallateeska.” The word, which means “keep looking up,” gave the camp its name.

Over the past 75 years, the camp has expanded to 163 acres. Cabins on the campground can sleep 200 people, and the Sallateeska Inn, added in 2000, offers 16 rooms of hotel-style lodging. More recent renovations nearly doubled the size of the dining hall, among other improvements.

Long-time camp attenders and staff speak of the camp’s value as a retreat, a place to get away from distractions and get closer to God.

“I think the camp is a place where you can get away from your normal routine,” said Mark Lee, pastor of Beaucoup Baptist Church in Pinck-

neyville and a former manager of Lake Sallateeska. “You just get to come out here, and your thoughts are a little different, because you’re not thinking about everyday pressures, and everything that’s going on around you. And you can focus on the Lord, your relationship with him.

“You generally sit under preaching every night and teaching. There’s singing. There seems to be more freedom to worship sometimes here [for] kids. I think it just gets people away from that normal routine, and gives [them] an opportunity to get closer to God.”

For many campers who experienced a getaway at Sallateeska, the camp is where they first met Christ.

“I remember being a little girl, and for the first time going to camp being really, really nervous,” recalled Lyndee Joe. “That was the year when I was 10 years old that I was saved.”

Joe, who grew up at Chatham Baptist Church, later served at Lake Sallateeska as a counselor, a program manager, and a camp missionary. She guided others as they made the same commitments she made at camp. She remembered one

EVER IMPROVING – Volunteers completed much of the work during a recent round of renovations at Lake Sallateeska that included a new façade for the game room (above), and an expanded dining hall (left).

FORMATIVE YEARS – While in Lake Sallateeska’s chapel registering kids for Father/Son Camp, Art Atchisson (above), who attends Living Faith Baptist Church in Sherman, saw the exact spot where he accepted Christ as a young camper. Many Illinois leaders, including current National WMU Executive Director Sandy-Wisdom Martin, (center photo) spent their early years learning about missions at Lake Sallateeska.

such story of transformation that happened in Sallateeska’s swimming pool. A young girl came up to her and said, “I need Christ in my life.”

“And she was saved at that pool, right there on the spot,” Joe said. “She didn’t care that we were all swimming around and the kids were goofing off around her.”

Nate Adams attended Royal Ambassador (RA) Camp at Lake Sallateeska when he was eight or nine years old. “It was a week of transformation,” said IBSA’s executive director, who credits his church RA leader, Ray, with getting him to go to camp.

“It was all the things we had been talking about week after week—missions and spiritual growth and what it means to be a godly Christian boy and man,” Adams said. “And in that week at Lake Sallateeska, it all came together, and it was a time of spiritual change for me.

“And I think Lake Sallateeska has been a place of spiritual transformation for many, many, many people like that since then.”

Just the beginning

For many campers, the initial commitment to Christ made at camp is just the beginning. Philip Hall has man aged Lake Sallateeska since 2008, but his experience with the camp started years ago. The son of an RA leader, Hall grew up going with his dad to take the big kids to camp.

When he became a big kid and camper himself, God used Salla teeska to confirm his call to ministry. Now, he’s deeply invested in running the camp in such a way that the next generation of pastors and missionaries and Sunday school teachers can hear from God while they’re at camp.

“I don’t get to be the one sharing the gospel every time,” Hall said. “I’m not necessarily the one preaching every time. But our ministry is just to clear the path of distractions. It’s the whole purpose that they come out to the country anyway.”

Lake Sallateeska is hallowed ground for those who have experienced a new understanding of God, and have sensed a call to join him in his mission. Judy Halter’s days as a camper sparked a missions calling that has taken her on short-term trips to Botswana, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic. For Lyndee Joe, her time at Sallateeska has helped her come full circle in her walk with Christ—from meeting him, to learning to love his Word, to learning to share it with other people.

“We’re seeing people come from this camp who are giving their life to Christ, giving their life to go on the mission field,” said Joe, who served as an International Mission Board Journeyman missionary to South Africa. “We’re seeing people who are going to this camp as a child, and then turning around, getting to high school age and starting Christian clubs in their schools.

“I think [Lake Sallateeska] is vital in the life of Southern Baptists in the state of Illinois because it’s giving our students a passion for the gospel. And they’re taking that passion and they’re running with it.”

As the Lake Sallateeska team embarks on their next season of ministry, Hall said their goal is to continue the commitment and legacy that started 75 years ago.

“My hope for the future is that we just continue to hear from the Lord [and] be faithful with what we have. It’s a stewardship, a talent,” he said, referencing Jesus’s parable in Matthew 25.

“I truly hope, when my time is over, to pass on a facility and a ministry that’s better than it was when I got it, to the next runner, to carry out this race.”

See more about Lake Sallateeska Baptist Camp and the 75th anniversary celebration at Vimeo.com/IBSA.

HALL

‘Well done, good and faithful servant’

Knobloch retires after 38 years, multiple assignments at IBSA

Springfield | Sylvan Knobloch, currently the Illinois Baptist State Association’s longest-tenured employee, will retire at the end of this year after 38 years in the areas of campus ministry, church health, and leadership development.

Knobloch was honored at a Nov. 27 retirement dinner in Springfield, where friends and co-workers celebrated his work over the years—and the nearly one million miles he has traveled as a consultant for IBSA churches.

Bob Dickerson, pastor of First Baptist Church, Marion, and a one-time co-worker of Knobloch’s at IBSA, spoke during the dinner and cited the familiar passage in Matthew—“Well done, good and faithful servant.”

A native of Waterloo, Ill., Knobloch was working as a pastor and volunteer campus minister in Bowling Green, Ohio, when he met then-IBSA campus ministry director Bob Blattner at a missions conference. A few months later, Blattner asked him to consider leading student ministry at Eastern Illinois University. Knobloch, who had been looking for a full-time campus ministry position, sensed God was opening a door.

He worked in Charleston from 1979 until 1988, when he moved with his wife, Kathy, and their two children to Carbondale to direct ministry at Southern Illinois University. In 1993, then-IBSA Executive Director Maurice Swinford offered Knobloch the opportunity to join the Springfield-based staff as director of discipleship, singles ministry, and senior ministry, a job move that later morphed into a long stint in the areas of church/minister relations and church health. In those capacities, Knobloch helped churches and pastors navigate conflict, negotiation, and reconciliation.

He helped establish a severance process by which churches can ease a difficult transition for their pastor. He also aided individual ministries through Rekindling the Call retreats designed to refresh and renew pastors and their spouses.

In 2016, he took on the area of leadership development and helped IBSA continue to establish processes to help churches identify emerging leaders and equip current leaders by making available a spiritual gift and personality profile.

On the eve of his retirement, Knobloch talked to the Illinois Baptist about the joys of 38 years of ministry, the challenges still facing Illinois Baptists, and the journey toward true understanding between pastors and churches.

Illinois Baptist: What have been the greatest joys of your years of ministry in Illinois?

Sylvan Knobloch: One of the most significant joys from my years of campus ministry has been seeing the numerous students from the Baptist Student Union continue to serve faithfully in their respective churches across Illinois.

Another great joy is witnessing church growth and renewal in congregations that I worked with over the years. It is gratifying to know I played a small part in their transition.

IB: How have you seen churches and communities in Illinois change over the past 38 years, as far as how churches do ministry?

SK: There is more diversity in both the types of pastoral leadership and the types of churches. A growing number of pastors today simultaneously serve two churches, while other churches have more than one campus.

The single-staff pastor is not a new phenomenon, but many of these pastors today are serving in declining and aging congregations. Often these churches are resistant to the changes needed to reach younger families.

IBSA is meeting this challenge by encouraging ministers to build relationships with other pastors and to support each other through cohorts.

IB: What are some other challenges facing IBSA leaders today?

SK: Pastors need relationships. Pastors and staff today often are not going away to one of the six SBC seminaries for education like they did 38 years ago. Today’s minister often chooses to take advantage of online seminary degrees; a decisive ad-

vantage is the minister remains in Illinois serving their churches. But on the negative side, these pastors miss out on the relationships that develop naturally on the seminary campus.

IB: If you could tell church members one thing about their pastor, what would it be?

SK: I would ask search committees to spend time getting to know their pastoral candidate before calling him. He will be doing life with you; therefore, consider the iceberg. Don’t merely look at what is above the waterline, but consider what is below, the unseen: character, ministry goals, and dreams. Church leaders should ask the new pastor how they can help him succeed.

IB: If you could tell a pastor one thing about his church, what would it be?

SK: I would encourage him to spend time with church leaders to understand their dreams and goals, both for their church and for their own lives. Pray for ways you can enable each leader to become all he/she is called to be.

The prerequisite for this is for the pastor to have self-awareness, to understand his emotions and their impact on others. In this way, he will become an effective leader.

– Meredith Flynn

TEAM MEMBER – Knobloch (top row, fourth from left) joined the IBSA staff in campus ministry in 1979 and relocated to Springfield in 1993.

HONORED – Mark Emerson (right) led prayer for Sylvan Knobloch and his wife, Kathy, during a retirement celebration in November. Knobloch said he’s not certain exactly what shape life after retirement will take, other than he “wants to be a good grandparent.” The Knoblochs have two adult children and six grandkids.

IN FOCUS

Reconciled

Even now God is at work, drawing sinners to himself

BY MEREDITH FLYNN

Hark! the herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King!”

Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled

At Christmastime, the familiar refrain echoes in our churches, our stereos, even our shopping malls. It’s so familiar, in fact, that the magnitude of the concepts in Charles Wesley’s hymn may be easy to overlook. Even at Christmas.

God and sinners, reconciled. Listen up, the angels say. Lend an ear. This is big news.

Wesley’s original intent was to set his “Hymn for Christmas Day” to a slower, more solemn tune. He also wrote verses we don’t sing today, including one in particular that is steeped in imagery of dark and light, of sin and holiness, of the differences between us and Christ.

Wesley’s verses aren’t very Christmas-y, at least not in a tinsel and trees, lights and presents kind of way. But it’s easy to imagine it sung in a hushed stable, long after everyone should be asleep, when the import of what’s just happened is becoming ever more clear.

Come, desire of nations, come, Fix in us thy humble home; Rise, the woman’s conquering seed, Bruise in us the serpent’s head.

Now display thy saving power, Ruin’d nature now restore; Now in mystic union join Thine to ours, and ours to thine.

The “mystic union” Wesley describes is at work every time a sinner turns to Jesus. We’re reconciled to him in one sense of the word—a broken

The view from above Michelangelo lay on his back 17 years painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, paint dripping on his face as if it were a drop cloth. The result was a masterpiece, and at its center this moment of reconciliation: God reaching down to Adam. In the Second Adam, we see God reaching down to man, not at his creation, but for his salvation.

“So it is written, The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.”

– (1 Cor. 15:45)

Hark!

relationship is repaired—but there’s more.

Our purposes are also aligned with his. Our very nature is back in step with our Creator’s.

Hark indeed.

Once empty, now full

Matt Mevert and his wife, Andrea, grew up going to church. In fact, they went to the same church. They were married there and raising their family there, until recently, when something shifted.

“I started to realize that there was something missing, but I don’t even think I realized it before,” said Matt, who owns an auto shop in Steeleville.

The Meverts came to a place in their lives where they realized worshiping God and praying to him could be personal and dynamic—that they could have a relationship with him.

They were baptized Dec. 10 at Steeleville Baptist Church in front of their new church family and their three sons.

For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly (Rom. 5:6, CSB).

And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation (Rom. 5:11).

“Without Jesus, our lives are empty and meaningless,” Foshie said. “Those of us who know him need to use the Christmas season (and every season) to offer the Good News that we can come to Christ and truly be reconciled to him.”

Partners in reconciliation

In her work at Angels’ Cove Maternity Center, Carla Donoho sees people in need of reconciliation. With their families, and with God. But it often doesn’t come easily.

“Accepting the love of a Heavenly Father is foreign and difficult when many have no father in their lives or the ones they have do not represent love,” said Donoho, who directs Angels’ Cove, a ministry of Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services.

“For those who have come from difficult circumstances, either from their own doing or acts of someone toward them, seeing the love of God through his people is a miracle.”

Apostle Paul describes that miracle in 2 Corinthians, and gives a clear directive to those who have experienced Christ’s reconciliation.

Everything is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18).

“Nothing thrills me more than to see one of ‘ours’ come to know Jesus as the loving Savior who has given himself for them,” Donoho said. “Those who feel so unloved, rejected, and unwanted realize they are a child of the True King. This is true reconciliation.”

Scott Foshie heard the message of reconciliation at nine years old from his grandmother, Lois, when she was suffering from cancer. Even if she lost the battle, she told him, she knew she would be with Jesus because she had given her life to him, and he had forgiven her sin.

“All around us, we are surrounded by people who have a God-sized hole in their hearts,” said Scott Foshie, the Meverts’ pastor. “We are all made to enjoy a relationship with him, but our sin has separated us and we are enslaved by it.”

But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8).

For Matt and Andrea, a host of factors led to their decision to follow Christ. Their oldest son joined a Bible study and started asking questions about the Scriptures. They attended a summer revival and felt God moving them to make a new commitment to him. And they started studying the Bible.

“At that point, you can’t get enough of it,” Mevert said of the Bible. “You start studying and making opportunities to learn more all the time.”

How much more then, since we have now been declared righteous by his blood, will we be saved through him from wrath. For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life (Rom. 5:9-10).

“In Matt’s case, while he grew up in church, he realized that even though he knew a lot about God, he didn’t know God personally,” Pastor Foshie said. “He was lacking the experience of being born again and experiencing the saving power of knowing Jesus.

“The Holy Spirit revealed Matt’s need to be born again, and he responded in simple faith.”

“When she told me that she hoped I had that kind of relationship with Jesus too, I began to think,” Foshie recounted. “That was when I realized that while I knew facts about God, I didn’t really know him. I needed to begin a personal relationship with Jesus.”

The ministry of reconciliation is at work whenever a Lois or a Carla Donoho or a Pastor Scott or a Matt Mevert shares the work of Christ in their own lives.

That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed the message of reconciliation to us (2 Cor. 5:19).

At the manger, God extended reconciliation through his son, Jesus. On the cross, the offer of reconciliation is completed through Jesus’s death for the world’s sins. Charles Wesley married two holy days—Christmas and Easter—and the reconciliation seen in both with another of his hymns for Advent, “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus.”

Come, Thou long expected Jesus

Born to set Thy people free; From our fears and sins release us, Let us find our rest in Thee.

Israel’s strength and consolation, Hope of all the earth Thou art; Dear desire of every nation, Joy of every longing heart.

Mild he lays his glory by, Born that man no more may die. Born to raise the sons of earth, Born to give them second birth.

The Mevert family with pastor Scott Foshie (second from right).

Nativity returns to Capitol

10th anniversary for Christmas display

Springfield | Ten years ago, the Springfield Nativity Scene Committee (SNSC) sponsored a privately funded display depicting the birth of Jesus Christ at the rotunda of the Illinois State Capitol. The first display of its kind in any state Capitol, the nativity scene has become a Springfield tradition in the decade since, and has been followed by similar displays in 15 other states.

Julie Zanoza, chair of the SNSC, opened the most recent dedication ceremony Nov. 28. “We want to be able to celebrate the birth of Jesus, as well as demonstrate the constitutional right we have to publicly meet and celebrate his birth,” she said.

Several guests spoke at the dedication, including a representative of the Thomas More Society, a law firm specializing in religious liberty issues. State Senator Sam McCann (R-Plainview) also addressed the hour-long gathering attended by around 50 people.

“We had very good attendance this year,” Bernie Lutchmann, president of Business Men in Christ of Springfield, said after the ceremony, “but we’re even more excited that 15 other states have adopted our idea too….And we hope that someday, the nativity scene will be displayed in all 50 of our U.S. State Capitols.”

Church takes ‘Journey to Bethlehem’

AT THE SCENE – First Baptist Church, Columbia, invited their community to travel the road to the manger during an outdoor interactive nativity display designed to help people experience the Christmas story.

ZANOZA

ROOM AT THE ROTUNDA – The Springfield Nativity Scene celebrated its 10th year with a Nov. 28 dedication ceremony at the Illinois Capitol.

JOYFUL CHORUS – People gathered at the Capitol sang Christmas carols led by the Ensemble of Springfield. Photos by Andrew Woodrow

What would Jesus do about harassment?

We had to terminate a deacon in a church I once pastored. No one wanted to do it, because he had served for 40 years, and because his wife was one of the kindest, godliest women any of us knew. They were pillars in our church. But it had to be done.

The man would approach young women at church, hug them close, and ask if they wanted to go for a ride. “Would you like to go to the coast?” was code for who-knows-what, because no one took him up on the offer, so far as we knew. But the implication was uncomfortable and the hands-y hugging very inappropriate.

Even then, 20 years ago, we knew what we had to do. After meeting with his accusers, then him and his wife, we removed him from office. What would Jesus do about sexual harassment? Put a stop to it.

It’s surprising how little comment there has been recently from church leaders on the subject of harassment and the Christian’s responsibility. Perhaps because it’s patently obvious that sex belongs within marriage, and no one should harass anyone about anything. But given the proliferation of accusations, from Hollywood to the halls of Congress, perhaps we should review the subject—for ourselves and for our children.

What are we teaching young men about their behavior, and young women about their value?

Jesus has a few lessons:

Jesus was respectful of women. Some of his last words from the cross concerned the salvation of lost men and the future care of his mother. Some of his most tender sayings were to women, “Little girl, arise,” “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.” And in the presence of Lazarus’s grieving sisters, Jesus wept.

Jesus was honest with women. The woman at the well in Samaria is a good example of this. Pointing out the woman’s sexual past would be uncomfortable for most men, but in the context of ministry—especially as it related to her salvation—it was necessary. But we note that Jesus conducted a challenging conversation in a public place. And only as it related to sin, repentance, and forgiveness.

Jesus stood up for women. Jesus was willing to confront the accusers of the woman caught in adultery. As they took up stones to kill her, Jesus issued the warning that caused them to drop the rocks and walk away. The law said stone her, mercy said forgive her. And the truth was that no one in that circle was sinless—except Jesus. In this instance, the boys club was closed. The boys went home mulling their own complicity, and the woman was spared.

The easy answer for men fearful of accusations would be to isolate themselves from women in the workplace. And there is wisdom in the usual precautions: have glass installed in the office door, don’t spend time alone unnecessarily, don’t dine privately with women. Billy Graham’s “Modesto Manifesto” is a good guideline for men today; but it’s not an excuse to exclude women from ministry or leadership.

At the highest levels, with Vice President Mike Pence being a recent example, leaders who exercise caution are as likely to be criticized as those who exercise none. But, with the right motivations, standing up for women means being as concerned for their reputations as we are for our own.

dave says

It’s a dream, not a plan

I’ve been trying to save cash to buy a home, but things always seem to come up that eat away at my savings. I have $130,000 set aside, plus an emergency fund, and I make $120,000 a year. I’m debt-free and renting right now, but eventually I’d like to buy a house in the $300,000 range. I really hate the idea of owing the bank money, so would you advise continuing to save and pay cash, or is it okay to make a big down payment and take out a small mortgage?

AI love your idea, but right now you have more of a dream than a plan. You’ll need $170,000 to go from $130,000 in savings to $300,000, right? So, let’s start planning.

Jesus did not exclude women because of controversy. Here is the difficult part for men in leadership today: how to include women fully in the workplace without being overly familiar. Jesus’ entourage at times included his mother, Mary Magdalene, and several other women. Whether their traveling together was unusual for the time, I don’t know. But I do know that if not for the women, Jesus would have died with almost no one in attendance and there would have been no plans to prepare his body for burial. It was women who anointed his hair, washed his feet, ran to the tomb, and cried out his name upon recognizing him, resurrected, in the garden.

My mother quit a job once after only a month. That was very unlike her. She was excited about the new post at the beginning, but quickly soured on it. “It wasn’t a nice place to work” was the only explanation she would offer to me as a pre-teen. Years later she gave an account that sounds much like the news stories we hear today. No one in management would listen: resignation was her only choice. What followed was months of unemployment and the beginning of a long rough patch for us as a family.

Actions have consequences far beyond the few people most closely involved. How differently it might all have turned out if someone in that scenario had stood up for the woman, and put a stop to the harassment.

Eric Reed is editor of the Illinois Baptist

DAVE RAMSEY

If you save $60,000 a year, it would take you a little less than three years to get there. If you set aside $40,000 a year, it would take a little more than four years. A little division—just divide $170,000 by the amount you want to save each year—and you’ve got the beginnings of a plan. A dream is a good place to start, but I want you to develop this into a plan that focuses on a goal. Break this down, and figure out how to achieve it.

I see three ways to achieve this home ownership goal. One, you do the long division math and save like crazy for however many years it takes to save up $170,000. The second is to put $130,000 down on a $300,000 home, and take out a $170,000, 15-year fixed rate mortgage. This is the only kind of debt I don’t beat up people for having. The good news is, with your income, you could probably pay it off in half that time.

A third possibility is to buy a $130,000 house. Write a check for nice, modest home now, and in five years—saving wildly the whole time, since you’ll have no house payments—move up and pay cash for a $300,000 home. If I’m in your shoes, that’s what I’m doing!

The trend of inappropriate sexual advances demands we turn to Scripture for guidance.

Financial advisor Dave Ramsey is a prolific author and radio host.

“I double-checked, Dustin... Tweeting good news of great joy isn’t part of the story!”

EVENTS people

With the Lord

January 1-31

SBC Call to Prayer

Info: sbc.net/inallthingspray

January 17

Lunch and Learn Webinar Series

Topic: What is Leadership Competency?

Where: Your computer Register: IBSA.org/women

January 21

Sanctity of Human Life

Sunday

Resources: ERLC.com

January 23-25

Midwest Leadership Summit

What: Equipping for leaders from Midwest Baptist State Conventions

Where: Crowne Plaza, Springfield Register: MWAdvance.org

January 27

Disaster Relief Mini-Training

What: Classes in Disaster Relief 101 and flood recovery

Where: Lincoln Avenue, Jacksonville; 8:30 a.m.-noon Register: IBSA.org/dr

February 2-3, 9-10

Unspoken: Men’s Conference Simulcast

What: Teaching from Johnny Hunt, pastor of FBC Woodstock, Ga.

Where: Feb. 2-3: Proviso Missionary, Chicago; Redeemer, Urbana; Liberty, Pekin; Western Oaks, Springfield; Oblong FBC; Bethel, Vandalia; Calvary, Alton; Steeleville FBC; Carrier Mills FBC; Feb. 9-10: Rebroadcast at Machesney Park FBC

Cost: Discounted registration ends Dec. 31: $10 per person for IBSA-affiliated churches, $15 for others; General registration ends Feb. 1: $15 per person for IBSA-affiliated churches, $20 for others; Day-of registration

is $25 per person for IBSA-affiliated churches, $30 for others

Info: IBSA.org/men

February 8

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

Where: IBSA Building, Springfield

Info: TammyButler@IBSA.org

February 12-18

Focus on WMU

Resources: IBSA.org/women

February 16-17

Disaster Relief Training, North

What: Chaplaincy and Intro to DR classes begin Friday; specialty classes offered Saturday

Where: Woodland Baptist Church, Peoria Register: IBSA.org/dr; minimum preregistration of 10 people is required by Feb. 5 for classes in child care, chaplaincy, communications, and assessment. All other classes will be offered regardless of registration.

February 17

Church Technology Conference

What: Technology for outreach and worship

Where: IBSA Building, Springfield; 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Cost: $15, includes lunch Register: IBSA.org/worship

February 18-19

Rekindling the Call Retreat

What: Encouragement and renewal for pastors and wives

Where: IBSA Building, Springfield

Info: RichCochran@IBSA.org

Important Year-End Information

Now is the time to check your records to ensure that gifts given through IBSA have been credited to the proper designations. Any changes or contributions received in our office by 9 a.m. on January 4, 2018 will be included in 2017 giving. Gifts received after this date will be credited as 2018 giving. Reminder: Remittance forms filled out with designations need to be sent in along with your checks throughout the year. If you use a bank or service to produce your checks, make designations in memo line.

Jesus Amaro of Round Lake died December 1 at the age of 72. Amaro led Iglesia Bautista Alfa y Omega in Round Lake Beach. He is survived by his wife of 43 years, Lillian; children Marcela Amaro, Ezequiel (Janette) Amaro, and Daniel (Nora) Amaro; sister Rosa Maria Castañeda; six grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

Virginia Rhodus of Carlinville died December 2 at the age of 75. She served alongside her husband, Ronald D. Rhodus, for 52 years of ministry. Along with her husband, Virginia Rhodus is survived by her mother, Ellen Johnston; children Fonda (Jamie) Newton, Rhonnie (Ron) Schaaff, and Tim (Kathi) Rhodus; seven grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.

Robert E. (Bob) Blattner of Georgetown, Texas, died November 16 at the age of 86. A native of Missouri, Blattner began his career with Baptist Campus Ministry in the early 1960s. He moved to Illinois in 1967, where he served as IBSA’s state director of student ministries until his retirement in 1996. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Marion; children Carol, Steven, and Scott (Nikki); sister Doris; and three granddaughters.

Donald M. Dean of Farmington died November 27 at the age of 89. Dean worked 17 years at IBSA as a graphic artist and printer. He also was an Army veteran of the Korean Conflict. Dean is survived by his wife of 65 years, Carolyn; children Carol (John Allen) Ortery and Valorie (Elliott) Mohler; three grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

“Equality of rights under law shall not be denied…on account of sex.”

The ERA will strip away current legal protections for women by striking down laws that favor/protect one gender over another.

According to liberal U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, (Pres. Clinton appointee), who wrote the report, Sex Bias in the U.S. Code, over 800 federal laws will be changed. She says the ERA will:

 eliminate a widow’s husband’s social security benefits

 remove privacy protections for females in restrooms and locker rooms

 strike down parental notification and consent laws

 require taxpayers to pay for more abortions

 lower age of consent laws

 force women to register for the Selective Services and into front line combat

 eliminate a father’s responsibility to pay child support, and much more…

Church needed here...

Location: Addison

Focus: Hispanic residents

Characteristics: Located in the west suburbs of Chicago, the village of Addison was predominantly white 15 years ago. Today, almost half of the population (37,000+) of largely middle-class residents identify themselves as Hispanic.

Prayer needs: Pray that the Lord would start evangelistic Bible study groups, which Christ will build into new churches that address spiritual and felt needs in Addison.

hurches

devotional

Ultimate servant

Read: John 13:1-20

It is the time of year for self-reflection. For me I ask, “What kind of leader am I?” “How am I serving others?” “Whose interests am I seeking?” “Am I emulating Jesus?”

Pat’s Playbook

Room at the table

QI’ve heard younger people say they don’t want “programs” in the church, but don’t we need a plan for getting things done?

AStrategic planning, setting goals, and establishing a clear vision are all important steps in helping a church grow. Often times, younger people see those things as church bureaucracy because they are not included in behind-the-scenes administration. My advice is to invite some younger members to take on committee or team responsibilities that help the church function. Remember, they’re the future of the church!

Prayer matters

31

Total Participating Churches:

56

Read more about these challenges and register your church for one or more at IBSA.org/pioneering, or contact IBSA’s John Carruthers at (217) 391-3110 or JohnCarruthers@IBSA.org.

Redesigned Resource

The night Jesus was arrested, he had earlier demonstrated what true servant leadership looked like. As he and his disciples prepared for the Passover meal, the great Son of God assumed the role of humble house servant as he washed their feet. Jesus had no problem doing this because he knew who he was, the Son of the Most High God, and soon he was going to return to his Father. However, Jesus wanted to leave a memorable example for his disciples about what it meant to follow him. They were to be servant leaders, seeking the well-being of others above their own desires.

How can I find a prayer partner? I’ve tried a couple of times, and nothing really clicked.Far too many people have tried to start a prayer partner relationship with someone and have seen it fail because they placed too many demands on it. Start slow. Find a time to meet that works with both of your schedules. Perhaps invite a third person, so if one is absent, you still have an accountability partner.

Pray; don’t gather just to fellowship, discuss current events, complain about life, or tell fishing stories. Make sure your prayer time—however long it is— is worth the investment of time.

KEVIN CARROTHERS

ENGAGE NEW PEOPLE – Evangelism 56 MAKE NEW SACRIFICES – Missions Giving DEVELOP NEW LEADERS – Leadership Development 39This is the challenge of servant leadership: giving up our preferences, our comfort, and even our security to make an eternal difference for the Kingdom of God. The work can be wearisome and draining as we invest in others. Often times the return on investment is not as great as we want. Yet to be an effective servant leader, we are called to make sacrifices, to give up something.

As we think about new beginnings, may we consider our service to others. Are we following the example of Jesus? What is it we need to give up?

Learn more about “Pioneering Spirit” in the next issue of the newly redesigned Resource magazine. Plus, outreach ideas and planning tips. For a free subscription go to IBSA. org/Resource or e-mail Communications@ IBSA.org. Resource is also available online at Resource.IBSA.org.PRAYER PROMPT: Father, let us not grow weary of doing good and may we do good to everyone as we have opportunity, putting others ahead of ourselves. Amen.

Kevin Carrothers serves as director of missions for Salem South Baptist Association.

Working vacation

QThe church wants me to attend the Southern Baptist Convention, but count it against my vacation time. Is that fair? (My wife is super steamed.)

Absolutely not! Far too many churches have made that mistake. The Southern Baptist Convention is an early morning to late evening meeting that includes worship, preaching, business, etc. It is far from a vacation, even though it may be in Florida, New Orleans, Dallas, or Phoenix. A church is penalizing a pastor and his family by robbing him of vacation time because he’s attending the convention. If they expect him to be involved in SBC life, they should provide the time off, transportation, lodging, meals, and pulpit supply while he is gone. I agree with your wife!

Pat Pajak is IBSA’s associate executive director for evangelism. Send questions for Pat to IllinoisBaptist@ IBSA.org.

– IBSA Church Planting Team

PAT PAJAK