June 1, 2023 Illinois Baptist

Illinois Baptist

THE Effect

Advice for Dads: Let go!

Table Talk with Michael Nave

Summer of Love

Churches plan for August mission in Chicagoland

Chicago | Several churches are hosting block parties to meet their neighbors. One church is partnering with a city alderman to clean and paint a viaduct in an area that needs a facelift. Other groups will reach out to homeless people and refugees in the city, host a free medical clinic, and serve tacos in the park. And, of course, there’s lots of paint up and fix up for church facilities and meeting spaces for church plants.

The big ministry weekend is August 4-5, as the North American Mission Board (NAMB) brings the multi-city Serve Tour to Chicago, in partnership with IBSA, Chicagoland Baptists, and NAMB’s Send team in the metro area. The Chicago partners have coordinated the project list.

Whichever project they choose, the work comes with opportunity to share Christ in Chicagoland this summer. And multiple churches in Illinois and across the U.S. are signing up.

“I’m encouraged to see the number of churches across Illinois and the SBC who are expressing interest in partnering together to serve the most vulnerable and

The Illinois Baptist staff

Editor - Eric Reed

Graphic Designer - Kris Kell

Contributing Editor - Lisa Misner

Comm. Coordinator - Nic Cook

Team Leader - Ben Jones

The general telephone number for IBSA is (217) 786-2600. For questions about subscriptions, articles, or upcoming events, contact the Illinois Baptist at (217) 391-3127 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 month by the Illinois Baptist State Association, 3085 Stevenson Drive, Springfield, Illinois 62703-4440. Subscriptions are free to Illinois Baptists. Subscribe online at IBSA.org.

The BIG Baptist family album

Our Illinois mission field

Maurice Gaiter is planting Empowerment Community Church in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood. Motivated by the compassion of Jesus in Matt. 9:36, the pastor said, “We have been called to labor and recruit laborers where crime is rampant, mindsets need to be renewed, families long for a present hope, and the gospel needs to be on display.” Gaiter and his wife, Coretta, have seven adult children.

Pray the news: Intercession in N.O.

The SBC will be bathed in prayer with multiple prayer meetings for messengers and others to join in New Orleans. Join them in spirit with intercession for the Convention meetings and the missions work of the denomination. Pray for unity and direction for the SBC.

Cooperative Program at work

Good Community Church in Torrance, California is an Asian American congregation that builds relationships with IMB missionaries. The church takes 20 mission trips each year, often holding Vacation Bible School in north African and Asian countries (above). “The IMB is very effective, biblical, and systematic in its approach and strategy to reach the lost around the world,” Pastor David Kim said. “We definitely want to partner together for the effectiveness of our ministry.”

Total giving by IBSA churches as of 4/30/23

$1,897,709

2023 Budget Goal to date: $1,895,567

2023 Goal: $6 Million

NATE ADAMS

A view from the living room

Your IBSA building in Springfield has a new living room. When I write “your,” I really do mean it. While the IBSA building provides office space for your IBSA staff, 3085 Stevenson Drive also serves Illinois Baptists from all over the state, throughout the year. It’s your building, and you are welcome!

And by “living room” I’m referring specifically to an inviting new space in your building that has been designed to enhance that welcome. Just recently, inside the main entrance and to the left as you enter the building, we have renovated previously vacant office space and a 50-year-old kitchen into a café, a casual seating area, a modern kitchen, and a large meeting room designed and equipped especially for the dozens of IBSA committee meetings and conferences that will now gather there.

This renovated space also now opens onto an attractive patio, where meeting goers can step outside during breaks, or where mild weather events can be hosted. When we dedicated the area following the last IBSA Board meeting, I spontaneously referred to it as our new “living room” for Illinois Baptists, a gathering place for those who desire to join their lives together on mission for years to come.

A few days later, I was sitting in the new meeting room, enjoying the view of the accessible new patio. I realized that the spot where I was sitting was once in my first office at IBSA, and my thoughts flashed back to what used to be.

At that time overgrown ground cover surrounded the building, and I was told that we didn’t open the heavy sliding doors to the old patio because mice, snakes, rabbits, and who knows what else lurked just outside, and apparently in the past had come inside. That’s why, when a main sewer line broke just beyond the patio a few years ago, we took the opportunity to tear out the hip-high jungle and replace it with grass and an irrigation system.

Also, back when your new living room was my office, our IBSA staff worked on three of the building’s four floors, in many cases much closer to tenants than their co-workers. So about ten years ago, we took the necessary steps to move our staff onto one floor, and then remodeled the first floor into its current conference and meeting space, providing new technology to serve it.

Continuing my mental stroll down memory lane, I recalled the IBSA Board telling me in my early days that the building’s entire air conditioning system would soon need replacing. Also, there were no exterior building signs. The front steps were starting to crumble. The parking lot needed resurfacing. Oh, and we should talk about the needs of both IBSA camp properties.

Sitting there in what’s now your new living room, I remembered with gratitude that over several years, one step at a time, sometimes one problem at a time, we had gradually addressed each of these challenges, and renewed each of IBSA’s main gathering spaces. The new living room was simply one of the final touches.

It was a good moment for me, not just to remember how far we have come by God’s grace in stewarding our physical facilities, but in how much resolve and determination and time it often takes to repair, to renew, to revitalize. It’s true in our churches, and in our cooperative mission together, and even in each of our spiritual lives. Sometimes the progress we desire can seem painstakingly slow, and the problems we must solve can seem painfully expensive. That’s why, every now and then, we need to sit and look out the window for a minute, and recall how things used to be, and how far we’ve come.

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

From the front: summer outreach to open doors

Continued from page 1

share the gospel,” said Sammy Simmons, formerly a pastor in Benton who is now National Project Director for NAMB’s Send Relief. “We may see as many as 75 different churches partnering together potentially representing over 1,200 volunteers.”

The Serve Tour is in its second year. In March, IBSA Mission Director Shannon Ford traveled to Montgomery, Ala. to see how the weekend works.

“I joined a group from North Carolina to paint an elementary school across the street from the neighborhood Baptist church,” he said. “We got to meet teachers and administrators. It was really good community.”

In May, the first international Serve Tour stops were in Bangkok, Thailand and Nairobi, Kenya. Ahead of the SBC Annual Meeting, teams will serve in New Orleans June 9-11. Athens, Greece and Philadelphia, Penn. will round out the 2023 itinerary in September.

In Chicago, the teams will work out of four hubs covering regions in the metro: Ashburn Chicago on West 83rd St., Starting Point Community Church on W. Wrightwood Ave., Send Relief Ministry Center at Chicago West Bible Church/ Lake Ave., and Faith Tabernacle Baptist Church on S. Cornell Ave. Churches began signing up for their specific projects on May 30 at servetour.org, choosing from

among 45 planned service opportunities.

“I’m so excited about these projects that I’m bringing my wife and son to serve as well,” Simmons said. “It’s not too late for churches to partner with us.”

NAMB is providing a list of recommended hotels for the two-day stay, although some accommodations can be made for groups that wish to “camp out” at a local church. Ford emphasized that volunteers can sign up for just one day. Individuals or small teams can partner with larger groups.

“We hope that churches from central and Southern Illinois will come partner with churches and church plants in the Chicago area,” Ford said. “They can develop relationships so later the churches in Chicagoland can do ministry downstate with their new partners there.”

There’s also opportunity for churches in the suburbs to invest in the city. “It’s an easy crosstown mission trip,” Ford said.

IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams said he and his wife, Beth, and IBSA staff will be joining the Serve Tour to open doors for the gospel. “This summer let’s not be content to stay home and sit in the comfort of our routines and safe relationships. Let’s find ways to deliver love and service and the gospel message to those who are still far from God.”

Oswego | It was a sea of yellow shirts at the funeral for Wayne Laechelt as Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief (IBDR) volunteers gathered at Crosspointe Church to honor their friend May 20. Laechelt, 67, died tragically when a tree that he and a co-worker were removing from the property at Streator Baptist Camp fell on him. The accident was simply without explanation.

What could be said, and was repeatedly in the weeks after his death, was Laechelt’s love for the ministry that became his passion in retirement. “Wayne and Bev are among the best examples I can name of Disaster Relief volunteers, representing Illinois and Christ well in every situation,” said Shannon Ford, IBSA Missions Director. “Wayne was always making certain that flood recovery, or tornado recovery, or work at Incident Command led to conversations about Christ. He told all the volunteers, ‘That’s why we do this.’”

Laechelt served on the IBDR Executive Leadership team. Since 2012, he had completed ten training modules, including chaplaincy. And as a former high school teacher, he turned his gifts toward training new DR volunteers.

“Wayne was an articulate teacher who stressed correct methods and procedures without being too technical or overbearing,” State DR Director Arnold Ramage said. “If a volunteer had questions, he would always answer them in kind and caring manner.”

One standout moment was his service after a mass shooting at the Independence Day parade in Highland Park in 2022. Drawing on their connections with other relief groups in Chicagoland, the Laechelts helped organize ministry to families shaken by the shootings, traveling three hours round trip daily for more than a week to serve in the north suburban community. “It’s hard work, but we know we’re supposed to be

there,” Wayne said of their servant ministry at the time.

“This is a tragedy that is difficult to process, concluding a life so devoted to the Lord and to service,” IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams said, in a message that resonated with the state’s more than 400 trained IBDR volunteers. “We as a Baptist family join Wayne’s wife, Bev, and the family in their grief.”

Laechelt was featured in a 2021 news story during a callout after Hurricane Ida in Louisiana. With DR co-worker, Ken Cummins, former

school teachers from opposite ends of the state became good friends and a stellar ministry partners. “We’re a comedy team,” Cummins said of the joy they found in their labor. “We have a lot of fun.”

Laechelt’s friends honored him with an ice cream fellowship after the service. “I will always remember Wayne’s love of ice cream,” Ramage said. “Since he and Bev were often the first to arrive at a callout, he would always visit local ice cream shops before other teams arrived. We have many fond memories of eating ice cream together.”

Laechelt remembered as deeply caring and joyful

FAITHFUL – Wayne and Bev Laechelt were featured in a promotional video for the Baptist Foundation of Illinois’s Life Stewardship Program in 2017.

New Orleans June 11-14

At a glance

More action

There’s more time for questions and discussion over business items and resolutions, Bart Barber tweeted. “We have tried to pay attention to the ongoing requests from the people who attend the annual meeting as messengers to make sure that we give enough time for messengers to be able to conduct the business that they want to do.”

Less chatter

There are no panel discussions—other than what may be included in entity reports—and the report from the Committee on Resolutions has been expanded from two to three parts.

Important elections

The SBC President election happens on Tuesday afternoon. Growing online discussion of the differences between incumbent Barber and challenger Stone shows the pivotal nature of this election.

Overview: Candidates for SBC President

Stone campaigns on women and abuse issues, Barber is mostly quiet

The candidates for president of the Southern Baptist Convention are taking decidedly different approaches to the election in the short time before the SBC Annual Meeting in New Orleans.

The newcomer to the race, Mike Stone is on the road and raising his concerns about volatile issues facing the denomination, while the incumbent, Bart Barber, tweeted May 3 that he would be unable to participate in panel discussions, interviews, or podcasts prior to the convention. That has left Stone free to set the agenda for public discussion, especially on social media. And it has left reporters searching through Barber’s earlier interviews and posts to reiterate his views on key issues.

In his nomination announcement, Stone identified three urgent issues: evangelism, sexual abuse reform, and the “unsustainable” economic trajectory of the SBC Executive Committee, which spent half its $12.2 million in assets in a single year. He announced a commitment to a national evangelism strategy. He expressed support for the dismissal of Saddleback Church over its ordination of women pastors. And more recently he has expanded on his views of women.

Stone described his Georgia congregation as “the strictest of the strict complementarians” in a forum at a Baton Rouge church May 16, one of several stops he is making ahead of the June 13 election. And he equated “soft complementarian” that he said is creeping into the SBC with egalitarianism.

“I don’t think that every church has to necessarily adopt that strict of a [complementarian] policy to be in cooperation with the SBC, although I

would encourage them and wish that they would, but certainly at the pastoral level our Baptist Faith and Message has been very clear on that,” Stone said in the forum streamed online. Stone favors a proposed constitutional amendment to make it clear that women cannot serve in pastoral roles.

Stone also advocates appointing a new sexual abuse task force that will stop “just automatically believing and publishing all accusations” and “stop claiming responsibility for things that happen in independent, autonomous Southern Baptist churches.”

Without naming names, he was critical of some appointees and direction of the Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force, which was appointed by incoming SBC President Barber last summer as a successor to the task force that explored the EC’s handling of abuse claims and began to implement their recommendations. That includes a tracking system and continued involvement of Guidepost Solutions through a new organization, which SBC messengers are expected to consider in New Orleans.

This is Stone’s second run for president, the first in 2021 against Ed Litton and Al Mohler. Many of his criticisms are aimed at incumbent Barber, an avuncular Texan who is eligible for a second one-year term. It has been

customary for incumbents to run unopposed.

Barber’s May 3 tweet took him out of pre-election debate. But as the issues have not changed since the pivotal February EC meeting, his previous comments on women, Saddleback, and abuse tracking and reform will have to suffice.

Barber has stated previously that he agreed with the EC decision to dismiss Saddleback and the other churches that had women as pastors. As for clarifying the definition of pastor in relation to gender, he supports a process to update the Baptist Faith and Message (2000), whereas Stone favors a constitutional amendment as a more direct approach.

As reported by TAB Media, Barber said in a May 10 video on Twitter he expects motions to be made at the annual meeting asking the next SBC president to appoint a committee to review the SBC’s constitution and bylaws and suggest changes regarding the definition of “cooperation.” This also could lead to a review of the BF&M for updates or clarifications.

“I’m supportive of the idea of having a task force and reviewing these things, particularly when it comes to the structure of our governing documents and the meaning of cooperation,” Barber said.

With a high regard for the congregational nature of Southern Baptist polity, Barber supports allowing messengers to vote on an amendment initially proposed last year that would add wording to the constitution disqualifying from “friendly cooperation” a church that affirms, appoints, or employs a woman as a pastor of any kind.

3 churches to appeal their dismissal on convention floor

Nashville, Tenn. | Three churches have filed appeals of their dismissal from the SBC by the Executive Committee (EC) by the May 15 deadline and will take their cases to the messengers at the New Orleans annual meeting. Time for a vote has been allotted in the Tuesday afternoon session, June 13. Two churches were disfellowshipped for having women in lead pastoral roles, while the third was deemed “not in friendly cooperation” for its failure to resolve claims of an abuse allegation.

The EC disfellowshipped the churches in February by affirming recommendations from the SBC Credentials Committee, which is tasked to “consider questions that arise concerning whether a church is in ‘friendly cooperation’ with the Convention.” That committee was given broader powers to make recommendations in 2019 after the sexual abuse scandal broke.

Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., ordained three women as pastors in 2021. Retired pastor and founder Rick Warren cited several reasons for leading the appeal, including his con-

cern for women in the SBC overall “whose Godgiven spiritual gifts and leadership skills are being wasted.” Warren says he has been contacted by 300 pastors who have women serving on their staffs, who fear their churches will be ousted.

“We believe a decision this critical to the SBC’s identity and future should be decided by the messengers, not a committee,” Warren wrote in an email to a religious news organization. “The messengers must decide if they want the Executive Committee to act like a Catholic magisterium.” Warren said he wants to “spark the thinking of messengers regarding direction of the SBC.”

The other SBC church which will appeal its dismissal is Fern Creek Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky. Linda Barnes Popham has served as pastor there since 1993. The church is a member of its local association and state convention.

Freedom Church in Vero Beach, Fla. denied the charge that it had failed to act on a claim of sexual abuse, and said that the Anglican Church in North America had cleared the church in the matter after making the initial accusations known to Southern Baptists. The local association and state convention both severed ties with Freedom Church last year. The schedule for the Tuesday afternoon session of the Annual Meeting has been adjusted to allow messengers to vote on the appeals. In each case, if a majority of messengers vote “yes,” the action by the EC to disfellowship that church will be upheld; a “no” majority will overturn the EC action, and the church’s SBC membership will be reinstated. Three other churches that were dismissed in February, which have women pastors, chose not to appeal. They are Calvary Baptist Church in Jackson, Miss., New Faith Mission Ministry in Griffin, Ga., and St. Timothy’s Christian Baptist Church in Baltimore.

– With information from Baptist Press, Baptist News Global, and The Tennessean

STONE BARBER

WARREN

Executive Committee

Wellman nod fails, so search starts over Robinson respects decision, but SBC rumor mill is a problem

Adron Robinson is disappointed with the failure of his search team’s nomination to win SBC Executive Committee approval, but he’s content with the outcome. “I’m glad it’s over. It’s been 16 months of hard work, of intense work,” the Chicago area pastor said. “I’m disappointed in how it all ended, but I trust in God and his sovereignty.”

Robinson chaired the search committee seeking a replacement for Ronnie Floyd who resigned as EC President and CEO under a cloud in October 2021. And when word leaked their nominee would be Jared Wellman, a 36-year-old pastor from Arlington, Texas who was serving as EC Board Chair, the nomination ran into strong headwinds from the well-connected and social media active.

EC trustees voted down Wellman’s nomination 50 to 31. That had never happened before.

“We did our job and the board did its job and I’m fine with that,” Robinson said.

But an active rumor mill which produced plenty of negative comments before the nomination was officially made public was a factor in tanking the nod. Another was the popularity of the Interim EC President and CEO Willie McLaurin.

‘Hot mess’

In a May 1 meeting held behind closed doors in Dallas that was described by some in attendance as “a hot mess” of argument and criticism, the 81 EC members present heard the search team’s reasoning for presenting Wellman and his vision for the EC. Wellman was a key figure in demanding that the previous EC leaders be held accountable for their handling of sexual abuse claims in the denomination. And he succeeded California pastor Rolland Slade as EC Board Chair, with South Carolina pastor David Sons as his vice chair.

After the EC’s February meeting, where several controversial announcements were made, a groundswell began forming.

In that meeting, it was reported that the search team was not ready to present a candidate. The possibility was stated that a subsidiary of the controversial Guidepost Solutions company was likely to be employed to create and operate a database of credible abuse accusations, despite complaints about some Guidepost employees’ public support of LGBTQ causes.

It was also reported that the EC had lost half its $12.2 million in assets in the past year, raising questions about leadership, future financial cuts, and the possible sale of EC properties to cover losses, which was suggested by the auditors.

That audit has not been made public yet. It will be up to Board Chair Sons and Interim CEO McLaurin to explain it all to messengers in New Orleans.

Wellman recused himself from the search team Jan. 26, then stepped down as Chair in a confidential letter to EC leadership April 17; then Sons assumed the Chair. The Board learned about it two days later.

ERLC urges border action

The SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) urged Congress to take action quickly to end the immigration crisis at the southern U.S. border. Congressional efforts to enact a comprehensive measure to address the problem have repeatedly failed.

Leatherwood pointed to the work of Baptist churches and conventions in border states, and the NAMB’s Send Relief. He quoted from a 2018 SBC resolution that called for immigration reform that includes “an emphasis on securing our borders and providing a pathway to legal status with appropriate restitutionary measures, maintaining the priority of family unity, resulting in an efficient immigration system that honors the value and dignity of those seeking a better life for themselves and their families.”

Sills files second suit

Rumor mill

In online debate ahead of the May 1 vote on Wellman, McLaurin’s popularity was raised. Some asked why an African American was not being nominated, when McLaurin, in his interim capacity has been the only minority to lead an SBC entity, and none permanently.

“The board had heard so much other information with so many narratives going around, we wanted to make sure we answered all their questions and gave them the information they needed to make a decision,” Robinson said.

“Some people have their narrative and they’re going to believe what they believe. That’s part of the culture influencing the church,” he said. “People assume the worst.”

Robinson has seen it firsthand through this process. Confidentiality in the search process was nearly impossible, as Robinson received contacts from people asking about the candidates. “Some of their lists were out in left field, but others were exactly correct,” Robinson said. Such violations of confidence in the search process make it hard to get quality candidates.

Most of the differences between the search team and the Board were over the process of arriving at Wellman’s nomination. “It’s the search team’s job to find a candidate they believe is best suited for the position and present that candidate to the board. But it’s the board’s job to elect the candidate—or not,” Robinson said. “I trust the decision of the board.”

Illinois’s other trustee, Sharon Carty of Carlinville, is also satisfied with the outcome. “I can honestly say, I did not know who the candidate was until he was announced as was the proper protocol we were given.

“I searched for God’s answer,” she said. “I know in my heart God heard the prayer of the EC.” While respecting the process, Carty also contends for greater transparency. “Transparency is absolutely necessary for strong leadership and stability within the EC.”

With a new search team selected immediately as required by EC bylaws, Carty hopes “we will have new permanent leadership sooner than later.”

Former Southern Seminary professor David Sills and his wife, Mary, filed suit May 11 in Nashville, Tenn., against various SBC Entities and leaders and Jennifer Lyell, the woman who claimed Sills abused her. An earlier suit was filed in Alabama because former SBC President Ed Litton of Mobile is one of the defendants. Filing in a Tennessee court, which covers the SBC offices, Lifeway, and others, was expected. The suit says claims by Lyell which were repeated by those named in the suit including the SBC Executive Committee are untrue. It alleges defamation, conspiracy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence.

The EC publicly apologized to Lyell in 2022 for not taking seriously her claims four years earlier and for failure to report her accusations against the seminary professor. Sills says the abuse never happened.

McRaney, NAMB seek court interdiction

Both parties in a lawsuit involving the North American Mission Board (NAMB) have asked the court for summary judgments prior to an August 7 trial. NAMB petitioned to have the entire case dismissed, while the plaintiff, former executive director of the Maryland-Delaware Baptist Convention Will McRaney, is seeking to have two of NAMB’s six defense claims dismissed. McRaney claims that actions by NAMB negatively impacted his separation agreement with his state convention, thereby impeding his subsequent income.

A dispute between McRaney and NAMB personnel escalated into a suit that has continued for six years. As reported by The Baptist Paper, “…while NAMB officials do acknowledge NAMB personnel referred to McRaney as ‘delusional,’ ‘nutcase’ and ‘liar’ in private communications, it contends McRaney was the one who chose to publicize the comments.”

The case was first dismissed in April 2019 on First Amendment grounds. That dismissal was reversed in 2020. A U.S. District Court in Oxford, Miss. will hear the case, since one of the parties cited in the suit who lived in Maryland at the time of the alleged claims later moved to Mississippi to pastor a church. – summarized from Baptist Press

ROBINSON

MCLAURIN CARTY

JARED WELLMAN

Largest SBC membership drop in 100 years

Nashville, Tenn. | For the second straight year, baptisms and giving increased among Southern Baptist congregations. In-person worship service and small group attendance also rebounded, but total membership and the number of congregations slid.

The Annual Church Profile (ACP) compiled by Lifeway Christian Resources paints a complicated picture for the SBC but contains some positive news. In 2022, baptisms increased by more than 16%, in-person worship attendance climbed by more than 5%, small group attendance grew by 4% and giving to SBC churches ticked up by almost 2%.

What will keep us together, SBC?

If The Captain and Tennille were correct, love will keep us together. To employ an even more dated reference, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Jesus said that, and John wrote it down about two thousand years ago.

But do we dare ask, beyond the love that all Christians should have for each other, what cements us together as a denomination? Is love enough? A history of schisms would say it is not. As we watch other denominations come apart at the seams, we should examine what has us stitched together. And if it’s holding.

In a surprising development this spring, an incumbent SBC president is being opposed in his bid for reelection to a second term. In an unprecedented development, SBC EC trustees rejected their search committee’s nominee for EC President and CEO. A national reporter attending the online press conference after that nomination failed asked if the vote was somehow indicative of other political strains in the denomination. A valid question.

The total membership continued its downward trajectory losing 457,371 members, the largest single-year numerical drop in more than 100 years. Membership declined about 3% annually over the past three years. The SBC saw 416 fewer churches and 165 fewer church-type missions in 2022.

Total reported giving to SBC churches was $9.9 billion in 2022, an increase of 2%.

– Summarized from Baptist Press

The United Methodists are consciously uncoupling over the issue of LGBTQ marriage and members. So far about one-third of their churches have left for a new denomination that holds to its historic orthodox positions. A similar unraveling is happening in the Anglican Communion, mostly along geographic lines as conservative bodies in Africa and Asia disassociate from liberal European and Western branches.

Theirs is not our issue. We are largely in agreement on social issues and theology. We will likely come to consensus on the definition of “pastor” and the role of women in church leadership, if not in New Orleans then soon after, so that further disfellowshipping of churches—as the SBC Executive Committee dismissed five churches in February for having women as pastors—will not be necessary. But other disagreements could start popping the stitches.

When churches in the Charleston and Sandy Creek traditions came together in 1845 to form the Southern Baptist Convention, it wasn’t worship style that brought them together—they disagreed over worship—or their view on immersion or a handful of Baptist distinctives. Although separation from northern Baptists over slavery was the precipitating event, ultimately it was commitment to missions and evangelism that birthed two mission boards at that first meeting in Augusta. Dedication to gospel witness and the salvation of lost people worldwide has held us together for nearly two centuries, even when we disagreed over core theology.

When they meet in New Orleans, messengers may take actions that test the tension between strong leadership from the top and guidance from the grassroots. They will probably seek to balance protection of vulnerable people with protection of historic local church autonomy. But whatever they do, our Convention must affirm again a return to our first love—for the gospel.

That’s the kind of love that will hold us together.

– Eric Reed

The Illinois Baptist news team is grateful for the recognition of our peers in the Baptist Communicators Association.

Among the honors we received for news reporting, publication design, and video production was this very special award. Our multi-page coverage of the 2022 SBC Annual Meeting in Anaheim was recognized for “exceptional achievement in religious newswriting.”

MISSION

Northwest Frontier

How this church is keeping the light on in the Quad Cities

BY BEN JONES

Rock Island | “The best surprise is no surprise.”

This was the promise of the Holiday Inn hotel chain in the 1970’s and 80’s. During the early decades of nationwide travel in the post-war era, an evening spent at a hotel felt like a roll of the dice. Good expectations were often met with a miserable experience. The Holiday Inn promised a consistent, pleasant night’s stay. No surprises.

But today, a visit to the hotel chain’s downtown Rock Island location might leave a traveler surprised to find a thriving church meeting on its first floor.

“It was definitely different. When you think, Oh, it’s at the Holiday Inn. Is it in a room or is it in a small office? But when you go there, we have plenty of space. I have to explain to people when I tell them, come to my church, it’s at the hotel,” Amanda Dominguez, a member of six years, said.

A Holiday Inn doesn’t immediately bring to mind preaching, or worship, or life change. Memories of a sleepy late night desk attendant or a continental breakfast are more likely. However,

for residents living near downtown Rock Island, Destiny Baptist Church has seen lives changed at the Holiday Inn for fifteen years. But it didn’t begin there.

God called a planter

Donald Johnson is a fixture in the Quad Cities Baptist Association. The genial pastor in his mid-seventies is a whirlwind. He exudes boundless energy and optimism. No one stays a stranger with him for long. When his magnetism draws others into his orbit, he’s quick to share about the vision God has given him for Destiny Baptist Church and for reaching people of all walks of life in Rock Island.

Johnson spent his teen years in the city, just a few blocks from his present home. He left to attend Bible college in Nashville and eventually seminary in Louisville with no plans to come back. His involvement in the civil rights movement during those early years, along with his easy going, dynamic personality, garnered the sincere young pastor opportunities to work with

The area from Peoria northward to the Wisconsin border and from the I-39 corridor westward to the Mississippi represents a great challenge for Illinois Baptists. It is here that the need for evangelical witness meets the continual call for church planters. This is the story of one planter who has answered the call for thirty years.

ILLINOIS’ UNREACHED CORNER

the Home Mission Board, now called the North American Mission Board.

Recruited to help Bill Hogue and Emmanuel McCall with efforts to increase Southern Baptist work among African Americans in northern Illinois, Johnson spent years working to connect pastors and plant churches in Chicago, Joliet, and Rockford. Eventually, he found himself temporarily without a pastorate and in need of work to support his wife and seven children. The promise of a job connection through a relative in Rock Island brought him back to the city, but the job never materialized.

With his whole family living with an uncle, an opportunity to preach in view of a pastoral call clarified in Johnson’s heart what God really wanted. This church was someone else’s church, he knew. God had something different in store for him in Rock Island.

With only about 15% of Rock Island claiming an evangelical faith, the need for a new church was there. The Illinois side of the Quad Cities is one of the least reached areas of the state, especially for Southern Baptists. Church planting efforts still struggle to gain a foothold in Illinois’ northwest sector.

So, Johnson stayed and began to pray and plan to start an intentionally multi-ethnic church. This would become Destiny Baptist Church.

Finding room at the Inn

In summer 1993, Johnson was looking for the church’s next location. The expansive Holiday Inn, three blocks off the Mississippi River, had unused conference facilities. What initially sounded like a longshot resulted in real possibilities.

The church could lease room for worship as well as office space. It could be their own, dedicated solely for church use. This would allow them to decorate and use it for ministry seven days a week. And it was just a few blocks from residential neighborhoods. The long-established “Hill” community was less than a mile to the south. Johnson’s own home sat just a few blocks to the west.

That was the last move.

Moving, moving, moving

In 1993, at the invitation of a member of the dwindling Christian Science church, Johnson and his wife, Rhonda, looked at shared space in a mammoth domed limestone building, now on the National Register of Historic Places for its Palladian architecture. The fledgling church made a verbal agreement, but shortly after Destiny’s first few gatherings, an investor struck a “better” deal. Soon the new church was in search of their next meeting place. This story would be repeated many times over the next 15 years.

“Once we got the church going,” Johnson said, “we’ve been in nine different locations.”

The YWCA, community rooms, and a former Walgreens have all been homes for Destiny through the years. “Rick Warren said when he was starting Saddleback that sometimes it was Sunday morning before they knew where they were going to meet. Well, we lived that,” Johnson said.

Each move was different and difficult in its own way. Some were limiting and spawned immediate prayers for a next new location. Others had space and possibilities, leading to hopes it might be the last move. But with each shift in location, people were lost due to a new distance from existing members’ homes. It would have been easy for discouragement to set in.

The last decade and a half were not without challenges, but the consistent location and proximity to a diverse neighborhood has allowed the church to grow into the vision that Johnson had years earlier. His dream of a multi-ethnic church has been realized here.

“We are a mix of about 45% white, 45% black, and 10% Hispanic,” Johnson said. This is reflective of the make-up of their downtown commu-

nity. Their closeness to Augustana College, less than two miles east, has also meant that a mix of global college students have called Destiny home for a season.

“We’ve had Nigerians, Kenyans, Ghanaians, Liberians, a woman from Benin, a young man from Sweden,” Johnson recalled.

He is quick to credit the people of the church for its growth and its cultural mix. “They did that. They’re reaching their families and their friends.”

People reach people

And they continue to reach them. Through the first four months of 2023 the church has baptized six new believers from the neighborhood. Baptisms take place at the hotel pool, with the congregation singing songs of celebration as robed converts are dunked under the blue tinted chlorinated water.

This passion to help people new to the church reach their own family and friends has created a church body that feels like real family. Dominguez, and her husband, Silver, came to the church at the invitation of her sister. Despite the church’s location in a hotel, they have found a home there. “Our church has definitely become like a family to us, and that’s one of the reasons why we stayed. They kind of drew us in and made us feel so welcome that we couldn’t leave,” she said with a laugh.

She explained that the time church members spent getting to know her and her husband, checking on them, and investing in them were things she had never experienced at any other church. “I thought we just went (to church), heard the message and went home. But when we went to Destiny, we found out it was a lot more than that.”

For Dominguez, finding family at Destiny Baptist Church has also led to an unexpected extended family through IBSA. “I had no idea that this would be a part of our lives, spending weekends away with our church and just learning things,” she said. Dominguez has attended Priority Women’s Conference and, with Silver, the Illinois Leadership Summit. I had no idea that things went on like this.

“For the pastor to get us involved, at first, I felt nervous about it,” she said. “But when I realized what I would get from it and what our church would benefit from (training events), I want to go every time. And I’m so thankful.”

HOME – After meeting in multiple locations over 15 years, Destiny Baptist Church made a hotel in Rock Island their home. The unusual facilities have proven ideal for reaching their neighbors, including the swimming pool that serves as their baptistry.

Gospelife Church honors law officers with barbeque

Wheaton | “One question that was asked repeatedly was ‘Why?’” pastor Scott Nichols said. The law officers from DuPage County who attended a community barbeque in their honor wondered why a church would host such an event. Gospelife Church did so gladly.

“The Scriptures teach that God empowers law enforcement as agents for good in society,” Nichols said. “So Gospelife wanted to serve those who serve us.”

What they served was barbeque prepared by a world class grill master who volunteered his skills. “Mike was part of the Grill Gone Wild Iowa BBQ Team that won the World Series Royal Championship of BBQ,” said Director of Care Ministry Dennis Parrish. “I was really struggling on what we were going to serve and God pretty much answered those questions and prayers.”

About 75 people attended the cookout, representing local police and sheriff’s departments. The officers receive giftbags, including the K-9 team. Afterward, church members packed up dinners for delivery to the late shift.

A representative of the Fellowship of Christian Peace Officers USA was on hand. “It’s vital for the brave men and women serving in law enforcement to know that they are honored, loved, and not alone, especially during these times,” Retired Sgt. Dino Heckermann of FCPO Chapter 75 said.

One officer shared how he had recently transferred to the suburbs after a four-year stint in the city and a season in the military. “No one has ever done anything like this for me before.”

“The culture we live in often paints the police with a broad negative brush leaving many officers feeling alone, isolated, and unappreciated,” Wheaton Police Sgt. Dan Saltzman said. “While we don’t do what we do for the gratitude, a little appreciation can make all the difference in an officer’s life to remind us of the good in humanity. Thank you for making a concerted effort to remind us that we are not alone.”

“God always blesses when a church stretches to share Christ outside of their four walls,” Nichols said.

Central team takes VBS to nursing home

Decatur | Vacation Bible School is a vital part of summer for many kids, and a fond memory for many adults. But at Imboden Creek Senior Living and Rehabilitation Facility in Decatur, VBS is more than a memory. Nine volunteers from four churches in Central Baptist Association led a three-day VBS for residents complete with crafts and Bible stories.

The team had been advised to expect only six students, because afternoons aren’t a good time to have programs in a nursing home, but 19 attended the first day. “The Activities Director said she knew her residents liked the program because they came to every session,” said Jane Courtnay, one of the organizers. “She made sure to get our contact information so she ask us to come back.”

Just like the kids’ version, this VBS had a theme: “Bible Heroes All Grown Up.” They focused on Paul, Daniel, and David, complete with a paper version of Goliath that was 9 feet, 10 inches tall. “When we saw him, our memory verse reminded us, ‘When I am afraid, I will trust in you’” (Ps. 56:3).

Most of the residents stayed after the Bible

lessons to make suncatchers, a prayer reminder, or a bracelet with a message that we should be content wherever God has placed us. One man told the team he planned to give the bracelet to his wife.

The volunteers were from Tabernacle, Emmanuel, Summit, and Oreana Baptist Churches. “I find Nursing Home VBS one of the most fun things I do all year,” Courtnay said. “Best of all was a student who was saved during a presentation of the gospel.”

Just like kids’ VBS!

– Photos by Dan Sutton

GRATITUDE – Officers in DuPage County received gift bags along with their barbeque dinners as expressions of thanks. Even the K-9 crew received goodies. Award winning Pit Master Mike from Iowa prepared the meat. “It was one of the most rewarding experiences I have had,” he said. “I want to do this every year from now on.”

Harold Booze reaches across generations through missions

(Editor’s note: Judson University, a school with historic Baptist roots, has enjoyed good relationships with a variety of Illinois Baptists, including many of our own IBSA churches and members. Judson provided this article about one of them, whose mission work extends far and wide.)

Harold Booze is no stranger to mission work. After a successful career in human resources at a major manufacturer, he and his wife, Judy, prayed to retire early so that they could serve the Lord full-time. In 1999, their prayers were answered. He began volunteering with the Illinois Baptist State Association at various levels. He was part of strengthening churches in Bulgaria, working with Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief, serving as the assistant state director for the Northern State Region. He works on construction projects and shares the gospel as part of Campers On Mission—all in addition to their active membership at Woodland Baptist Church in Peoria.

At the same time, the Boozes approached Judson University to establish an endowment to assist college students in doing mission trips. As a Baptist school, Judson welcomed their participation in the global outreach trips already established at the university that send students and advisors to weeklong service projects in the United States and internationally.

In March, Harold again joined the Judson Global Outreach to Belize. During the trip held over Judson’s spring break, he helped install a new tin roof and painted the outside of a church building in the Central American nation. This was his second year joining Judson’s team. That first year Harold saw that the church needed to replace the roof but didn’t have the resources. When he returned, Harold invited his Peoria congregation to help the church, so Woodland Baptist raised funds to replace the roof this year during his trip.

“I’ve served as a Judson University Trustee for 10 years and focused on the Academic Life Committee. I love young people, being around them and with them,” he said. “They took me in without question and we had a lot of fun together. We talked about their generation and my generation.”

Judson has had a special relationship serving Templo Evangelico el Buen Pastor in Belize and has taken many students and alumni each spring to work alongside church members. Each year volunteers break into teams to provide Vacation Bible School and sports camps, and to work on projects that have included installing bathrooms, building roofs and floors, and constructing an outdoor patio.

Harold participated in visits to leaders within the Belize community and was touched by one home visit with an elderly woman known as a lady of prayer. “Spending an hour in the home with her, you felt like you’ve known them your whole life. You felt God in that experience,” he said.

During the week, the work mission team worshipped with the church community in multiple languages. “You see God at work in bringing all that together, in it being such a joyous time,” he said.

“One of the ways I saw God is the love toward each other. It permeates among the students themselves. There wasn’t one centile of discontent,” Harold noted. “The bounce as each one interacts with the kids and adults; the love of the people there; the ladies that cook for us and treat us like royalty. It’s the love that you feel and the genuineness of it.”

“We hear in our [Judson] board meetings about the campus atmosphere and the spiritual life of our students, but on a trip like that, you see it first-hand—you see it in action,” Harold said. “You know it is being fed into them, in part through the campus life and their studies. It is that spiritual wrap that is around everything that goes on at Judson.

“Judson’s a big family.”

– Mary Dulabaum for Judson University

DR. ADAM C. WRIGHT president of Dallas Baptist University, Commencement Speaker,

HAROLD BOOZE Judson Trustee and Member, Woodland Baptist Church in Peoria, Ill.

REV. DR. JEFF REYNOLDS First Baptist Church, Bowling Green, Ky. and Judson Chapel Speaker

IN FOCUS

Priority Effect

IBSA’s annual women’s conference is a launching pad for mentoring and ministry

BY MEREDITH FLYNN

Springfield | As hundreds of women searched the convention center for the right breakout room, it became apparent that Room B9 was a hot ticket. A crowd packed into the room for Stephanie Shouse’s session on strengthening personal Bible study. It was 10:30 on a Friday morning, but not too early to dig into a spiritual discipline.

“When I go to Priority, I feel like I’m being mentored,” said Lisa Tennyson from Immanuel Baptist Church in Benton. She and her daughter, April, have attended the conference together for several years. The wisdom she’s heard there, Tennyson said, has guided her through circumstances she couldn’t have imagined.

Priority 2023, held April 28-29 at the Bank of Springfield Convention Center, invited women to hear God’s word, learn from ministry practitioners, and leave equipped to “represent hope” in

their own context. Just over 700 people participated in this year’s conference, including those who watched from churches serving as simulcast locations.

For Tennyson and others, the invitation to “Come thirsty. Leave refreshed. Live differently,” is an ongoing result of participating in the annual conference. “I always come back just so energized and hopeful and excited after a Priority,” she said.

Wisdom for the moment

Tennyson and her daughter were new to a Baptist church when they first heard about Priority. They weren’t women’s ministry leaders, she said, so they called IBSA to ask if they could attend. After hearing a welcoming yes, they went to their first Priority, where Tennyson said their minds were blown. Mother and daughter went back to

THE WOMEN

Everyone has a story at Priority. God challenges them at the yearly gathering to do something important back home. Along with our coverage of the event, these women (above, in cameos) tell their stories: April & Lisa, Cami & Heather, and Ida Mae.

their hotel after the first day, talking about what they’d heard and how God was speaking to them in a different way.

“We both said we could go home right now, our cup was so full,” said Tennyson, who works as a development officer for Illinois Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services.

Over the years at Priority, Tennyson heard a few women speak about the tragedy of losing a spouse and how God carried them through. “At that time, I didn’t know that was going to be my story to be a widow,” she said. “But those ladies, I clung to their words and I saw their faith.”

She lost her husband, Bob, to cancer last year. At the most recent Priority, she was still soaking up counsel from women who walked that road before her. Kathy Litton, who spoke in one of the main sessions, said she wanted to steward her pain from losing a spouse for God’s glory. “That was very powerful to me and that sums up the way I do want to walk through this season of my life,” Tennyson said.

“If you talked to a hundred women, they would all have a different story. But it just shows me how Priority has spoken to me in my mountaintops and in my valleys. Some of it’s what I need in the moment, and some of it’s what I need in the future.”

Practical encouragement

Heather Marshall described Priority as an opportunity to “take things in and take things back.” Alongside fellow youth leader Cami Motl, Marshall helped lead the charge in promoting Priority 2023 to others at their church, Bethel Baptist in Troy. Jill Finley, women’s minister at Bethel, said she didn’t even have to promote the event because of these “Priority ambassadors.”

“It’s kind of one of those things I don’t want to keep it to myself,” Marshall said. “If I have a good thing, I want others to be able to experience it as well.”

Marshall and Motl have both benefitted from breakout sessions on connecting with a Gen Z audience, their primary ministry area at church.

This year’s slate of Priority breakouts included practical advice for a variety of ministries, plus wisdom for drawing closer to Christ in different seasons of life. For example, Motl said she wasn’t sure why she was drawn to Amy Richards’s breakout “Clean Your Plate”—until she attended the session.

“It was just what I needed,” said the mom of three about the session focused on Psalm 119. “It made me get a new perspective on changing the way I see being a stay-at-home mom.”

Marshall served as a room host, assisting different breakout teachers and attenders as they rotated in and out. She didn’t choose her sessions this year, she said, but felt like God still orchestrated what she was in the room to hear. Priority is a valuable time for women at their church to worship together, build each other up, and get to know each other better, Marshall said.

“I keep coming back, and I want to bring others with me.”

Hope for each season

Ida Mae Leach was at a low point when God used a speaker at Priority to give her a new sense of purpose. “I was feeling like I was useless,” said Leach, a member of Charity Baptist Church in Carlinville. She had recently moved into an assisted living apartment. Her new living arrangement coincided with the pandemic to create a lonely season for the 87-year-old.

At Priority a few years ago, Leach heard Richard Blackaby speak about how God works in different seasons in a person’s life. When she got home, she ordered his book, “The Seasons of God.”

LASTING EFFECTS – The crowd of 700, attending both in person and online, were encouraged to “represent hope” in their daily lives.

1. IBSA’s Carmen Halsey and Illinois Baptist Women president Lindsay Wineinger led attenders in prayer.

2. Missionary Julia B* asked, “Will you go? Will you pray? Will you be that person who God wants to go to the ends of the earth to tell about him?” (*name changed)

3. For foodies it was all about Fair Food at the food truck meal breaks, including Illinois favorites pork tenderloin sandwiches and lemon shake-ups.

“I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, I thought I was in the autumn season and the winter season of my life,” Leach said. Right in front of her, though, was an opportunity for a new start. She went back to her community and asked the staff if she could bring in her pastor’s wife and others from her church to have a “Cookies & Devotions” time one afternoon each month.

“She told me to go for it,” Leach said. “I had been scared to ask and now I was filled with excitement I had not felt for a long time.”

That spark of courage ignited by the Holy Spirit at Priority helped Leach launch a lasting outreach to her community. The group meets on the second Wednesday of the month for devotions led by her pastor, John Truax. At a recent meeting, Leach said, “They started asking questions, and he did a wonderful job explaining what the Bible said about certain things they wondered about.

“It just blesses my heart to be able to reach out to these people, and it gives me hope. It gives me something to live for.”

The next Priority Women’s Conference is April 26-27, 2024.

“If we don’t start to believe God is going to do greater things in us, how is he going to do greater things with us?”

– IBSA Leadership Development Director Carmen Halsey

GROWING

table talk

The joy (and pain) of letting go

A father’s task is to prepare his children to leave

MEET THE TEAM

Hometown: Oklahoma City, Okla.

Family deets: Married to Katie for 34 years, with two adult children, Cameron and Carson, whom the Lord has also seen fit to bring to Illinois

Higher ed: M.Div. from Midwestern Seminary

Previous ministry: IMB Missionary in Eastern Europe, including church planter and operations director

My call story: I came to faith after finishing university and being invited to Sunday dinner by my roommate’s mother. This implied going to church first. Later at the SBC annual meeting in Houston, Texas in 1993, the call for people to come to the former Soviet Union was made and I said, “Yes, I’ll go.”

Favorite verse: “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” Psalm 133:1

Favorite Bible person: Barnabas, the “son of encouragement.” My father was a wonderful encourager and I have striven to be the same.

Illinois discovery: Starved Rock State Park

Book: Now, Discover Your Strengths by Clifton and Buckingham

Desert island disc: Toby Mac’s The Lost Demos

A quote I find myself saying often: “Not my monkeys, not my circus.”

It is hard to believe this is my 26th Father’s Day—as a father. It seems like yesterday I was changing Zachary’s first diaper. Ironically, I was much more confident in my parenting, say 10 years ago.

Having two children grow up and move out confronted me with all the things I failed to get done while they were still in my home. Foster parenting and adopting introduced new dynamics and challenges. Shifting values in our culture expose my children to new “truths.” Social media platforms make that exposure faster and more frequent than ever before.

Whatever the challenges, the truth remains: parenting our children to follow Christ is the most important responsibility we are given as fathers. It is imperative that we get this right.

In a real sense, God’s design for marriage and parenting are completely opposite. From the moment we say “I do,” the challenge of marriage is to hold fast. Leave our family of origin, forsake all others, create the permanent life relationship of the husband and wife. Husbands, hold fast to your wife!

The goal of parenting is precisely the opposite: Let go!

It’s easy to overlook this truth because at first, and for years, parents make all the important decisions for their kids: food, bed, schedules, people, faith, etc. However, from the moment we first lay eyes on our children, we are beginning the multi-decade

process of letting go. First, they choose a toy; in time, they choose career, spouse, and their faith. As fathers our goal is to let go well. Deuteronomy 6 provides profound insights.

“These words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand…” (vv. 6-8).

Step 1 – Choose God’s commands for your family. Make them the truth and reality of life in your home. Moses declares faithful fathers are responsible to teach their children God’s commands and model them.

As followers of Jesus, we are responsible to establish truth and practice in our homes. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will obey my commands” (John 14:15). When your child is young, you have the incredible responsibility and privilege to position them to love Jesus by aligning your commands with God’s commands.

Step 2 – Increasingly explain the “why” behind those commands. Later in Deut. 6, Moses shares, “When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of

the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the Lord our God has commanded you?’” (v. 20). Moses warned us of that dreaded question “why?” It is impossible to avoid that three-letter word. And it is a profound opportunity.

When a child is very young, “Daddy said so” is the right response to why they have to put up toys or get ready for church. But as a child develops and genuinely wants to know the why behind our commands, taking time to explain allows them to reflect and own the reason behind the command. If we fail to answer the why, our child will likely leave our commands because they were only our commands.

Moses instructs Hebrew fathers to tell the story of God delivering them from slavery in Egypt and establishing them as the nation of Israel (vv. 21-25). He answers why it was necessary to obey the commands of God: because God set the people free and claimed them as his own.

Today, we have the same responsibility. Because Jesus set us free from sin and death and claimed us as his own, we obey his commands!

Fathers, our children desperately need to hear the why. Those questions create a lot of anxiety for us because we don’t know all the answers and we haven’t perfectly modeled obedience. We tap out by saying “because I said so,” but allow me to be candid: If you don’t provide the “why,” your child will likely leave the faith when they leave your home because it was only your faith. The good news: your child does not expect perfection. Your faith and the truth of God’s word shared in genuine love will go a long way to passing your faith on to your child.

Step 3 – Let go! Arguably, it’s never been more difficult to follow these three steps—or more important.

Michael Nave is lead pastor of Cornerstone Church in Marion. He is serving as IBSA president.

Shannon Ford IBSA Missions Director

IBSA offers Renewal Weekends

IBSA has partnered with a North Carolina ministry to encourage a new movement of church renewal across the state. Church Renewal Journey weekends are a Bible-based approach designed to help people discover how God is working and to understand how they can joyfully live out their redemptive potential.

Highland Avenue Baptist Church in Robinson held a Church Renewal Journey Weekend in March. Pastor Dwight McDaniel likened the experience to a revival. Leaders divided members into small groups to discover their spiritual gifts, which will help further the church’s goal of “wanting to get more people involved and plugged in, serving in the community.”

“It pulled our church family closer together. It revitalized our church,” McDaniel said.

Most events begin on Friday evening with small group sessions. Saturday includes several small group and general sessions seeking spiritual renewal, with a break provided on Saturday afternoon.

Sharing action plans for evangelism

“We are blessed to have Bob Foy and his wife, Phyllis, along with North Carolina’s robust team of volunteers, helping us in Illinois,” said Scott Foshie, IBSA Health Team Leader. “I encourage every church to take advantage of this unique opportunity as we seek a fresh move of God in our midst.” The Foys were lay renewal coordinators with the North American Mission Board for several years before retiring and serving in a volunteer capacity through the North Carolina Baptist Convention.

Sunday concludes the weekend with team members leading Sunday school classes and worship services. The highlight of the process is the Sunday evening worship service, where church members share, evaluate, and celebrate what the weekend meant to them, and how they will take what they learned into their homes and personal marketplaces.

To learn more about having a Church Renewal Journey team at your church, e-mail ScottFoshie@ IBSA.org, or visit churchrenewal journey.org.

IBSA Evangelism Director Scott Harris hosted a series of roundtable meetings in May with pastors of churches leading our state in baptisms. The three meetings brought together leaders from the top-15 baptizing churches with worship attendance of three different sizes. Pastors in each group discussed ways their churches are sharing the gospel that result in salvations and baptisms.

“We are looking for ways to utilize the movement that these leading baptizing churches are

seeing and how to harness it to help plateaued and declining churches with few or no baptisms to get traction,” Harris said. He pointed out that two-thirds of IBSA churches reported one or zero baptisms in 2022.

“We want them to start seeing some movement which we believe will breathe new life into these churches,” he said.

Pastors met in the newly renovated space on the first floor of the IBSA Building in Springfield. (See “living room” story on page 2.)

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

We can help your church prepare itself for these changes.

The Foys

BFI awards 42 scholarships

The Baptist Foundation of Illinois (BFI) awarded scholarships to 42 recipients for the upcoming academic year. The grants totaled $86,500, with $55,000 going to undergraduate students and $31,500 to seminary students.

BFI Board Chair Newlin Wollaston (top left) presented certificates at a banquet May 19 in Springfield.

Seminary students

Josiah Blan | Hurstbourne Baptist Church

Zach England | FBC O’Fallon

Clifford Gale II | Lincoln Southern Baptist Church

Andrew Kim | Korean Baptist, Schaumburg

Austin Lee | FBC O’Fallon

Jack Lucas | Western Oaks, Springfield

Bachelors students

Macy Alexander | Tabernacle Church, Decatur

Emily Ballard | Vale Church, Bloomington

Audrey Bosse | Calvary Baptist Church, Alton

Stefanie Byrd | Lincoln Avenue, Jacksonville

Lilyanna Conkle | FBC Metropolis

Rachelle Cox | Joppa Missionary Baptist Church

Allison Dennison | Dorrisville Church, Harrisburg

Emma Eberhart | Lighthouse Church, Nashville IL

Rhett Ellis | Logan Street, Mt. Vernon

Toby Gallion | FBC Petersburg

Bryce Henry | Harvest Church, Anna

William Jones | Western Oaks, Springfield

Kiersten Kennedy | Pleasant Hill, Mt. Vernon

Sydney Klemish | Breese Community Church

NeTworkiNg

Andrei Marinho | Cornerstone Church, Marion

Emily Morgan | FBC Columbia

Marcus Schomburg | Red Hill, Edwardsville

Seungyeul Kim | Gospelife Church, Carol Stream

Joshua Steely | Chatham Baptist Church

Barb Troeger | Together Church, Springfield

Rachel Lands | First Baptist Church of Harrisburg

Alyssa Mann | First Baptist Church of Bethalto

Reid Martin | First Baptist Church of Metropolis

Colin McClure | Logan Street, Mt. Vernon

Caitlyn Ozee | Journey Church, Kankakee

Devan Powell | Together Church, Springfield

Addison Seidel | Northside Missionary, Grayville

Avery Seidel | Northside Missionary, Grayville

Andrea Sexton | FBC Petersburg

Reagan Webb | Logan Street, Mt. Vernon

Joseph Whiteside | Christway Church, Godfrey

Molly Wieigus | Unity Baptist Church, Granite City

Kimberly Williams | Anna Heights, Anna,

Samuel Winkleman | Rooted Comm., Lebanon

Sophia Winkleman | FBC Harrisburg

Irina Yeakley | Tabernacle, Decatur

Send items to IllinoisBaptist@IBSA.org

Together Church on North Grand in Springfield seeks a Music and Discipleship Pastor for a growing congregation in an economically challenged area. This is an elder position in a church that is congregationally governed and led by a plurality of elders. Staff experience is not required, so long as calling and gifting are evident. Job description is posted at Church Founders.org. Contact Joann Emerson, joann@tconng.org.

Living Faith Baptist Church seeks a full-time Senior Pastor to provide spiritual and administrative leadership and fulfill pastoral duties typical of a Southern Baptist church. Resumés will be accepted through June 30. Pastor Search Committee, P.O. Box 185, Sherman, IL 62684 or pastorsearch@ livingfaithbaptist.org.

New Life Baptist Church of Waverly seeks highly motivated bi-vocational preacher. Must have knowledge of the Bible and be willing to share it with others. Send resumé to 341 East Elm, Waverly, IL 62692.

Cornelia Avenue Baptist Church in Chicago is looking for a highly motivated, seminary-trained, growth-oriented, dynamic bi-vocational pastor to reach Lakeview community and beyond. Send resumé to corneliabaptistchicago21@yahoo.com or to Pastor Search Committee Chair, 1709 West Cornelia Avenue, Chicago, IL 60657.

Fellowship Baptist Church in Shelbyville is searching for a bi-vocational pastor. Call 217-273-3403, email marklash2324@gmail.com or send resumé to 411 West North Fifth Street, Shelbyville, IL 62565.

Search more church openings at IBSA.org/pastor-search or scan this code.

Nic Cook joined the IBSA Communications team in May. He is the Communications Coordinator and specializes in graphic and web design. Cook is a graduate of Lincoln Christian University and has served in ministry roles in central Illinois for over 22 years. Cook said he looks forward to equipping IBSA and its churches through the digital and print resources the Communications Team provides. He is married to Susan and they have a son named Levi. The Cooks live in Auburn.

Bob Burton retired from the North American Mission Board in April. Burton has been a NAMB missionary since 2001. Burton served with his wife, Dana, in Illinois for the first seven years before multiple assignments across the nation. “I can break down anywhere in North America and call someone I know for help,” Burton said of the special relationships he’s developed. He concluded his NAMB service as Midwest Regional Equipper for the SEND Network. Burton continues to serve in Illinois as transitional pastor for Lighthouse Fellowship in Nashville/Okawville. On Easter Sunday, the church celebrated the baptism of seven new believers.

Marshall marks a century

Mt. Zion | Retired pastor Frank Marshall celebrated his 100th birthday on April 21. IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams visited with him at First Baptist Church in Mt. Zion on May 1 and presented a personalized newspaper page from his birth year to mark the occasion.

Marshall pastored his first church in 1948, Concord Baptist Church in rural Pinckneyville, where he earned $15 a week. He moved to Ft. Worth, Texas the following year where he attended seminary for four years. There he pastored a church 150 miles away and earned $15 a week to start, later receiving a $5 a week raise. It wasn’t until he returned to Illinois in 1952 that a pastorate at First Baptist Church in Golconda led to the “big money” paying $65 a week to start. Marshall served his most recent interim in 2011.

Before retiring, Marshall pastored or interim pastored for over 65 years in 25 congregations—one in Missouri, two in Texas, and 22 in Illinois. He performed 878 baptisms, 254 weddings, and 213 funerals. In the 1950s he wrote a regular column for the Illinois Baptist newspaper, “Minute Mes-

sages.” He also served as interim Director of Missions for Central Baptist Association from 19931994.

He and his wife, Jeanne, have three children, Roger, David, and Valerie (Pafford). Both Roger and David followed their father into ministry. David pastors FBC Mt. Zion. Roger pastored at FBC Effingham before retiring, and also served as a zone consultant for IBSA.

IBSA nominations due soon

The Nominations Committee will draft a slate of candidates for 30+ elected positions in IBSA leadership. In addition to IBSA’s six committees, they recommend people to serve on the Association’s three boards: IBSA, the Baptist Foundation of Illinois, and Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services. The deadline to receive nominations is August 7, 2023. Instructions are posted at IBSA.org/nominations.

Let’s be honest about church

My daughter said, “I don’t want to go to church tomorrow.”

Nothing quiets post-dinner chatter quicker than a 7-year-old’s honesty. Eyes wide, my mind reached for the right response. It was the first time I can remember one of our girls admitting ambivalence about church, but it wasn’t that surprising. It had been a full weekend amid a particularly busy season for our family. Plus, I remember feeling the same way when I was her age. Some Sundays, going to church felt like a box to check; expected, but not all that exciting.

Still, hearing it from my own child made me wonder if we’re doing enough to show her why we prioritize showing up on Sundays.

In God’s providence, around the same time I was also working on an article about the downward trend in church attendance in the U.S. As part of my research, I interviewed Megan Hill, an author who has written on developing a love for the local church. When we spoke, I was still thinking about my daughter’s words, so I mentioned them to Megan. She gave me a piece of wisdom I’ve thought about many times since.

Parents have a huge role to play in encouraging their children to love

EVENTS

June 11-12

SBC Pastors Conference

Theme: Character Matters in Ministry

Where: Convention Center, New Orleans

Info: SBCPC.net

June 13-14

SBC Annual Meeting

Theme: Serving the Lord, Serving Others

Where: Convention Center, New Orleans

Info: SBC.net

June 27

BCHFS Golf Scramble

Where: Kokopelli Golf Course, Marion

When: 9 a.m.

Cost: $400 per team, hole sponsorship $100, lunch $12 (checks to Herrin Second Baptist)

Info: Josh Wehrmeier at 618-319-3731

June 27-July 1

church, she said. That happens as parents communicate the beauty of the church with their kids, but also when they acknowledge it’s not always easy. Grown-ups aren’t always comfortable at church either; we feel awkward sometimes, or like we don’t quite fit in. Parents can smooth the way for their kids to be honest and, in doing so, paint a fuller picture of the church’s true value as a community. In other words, we can try to match our zeal for Sunday attendance with the encouragement to see the church for what it truly is—a place to hear God’s word and worship him. A place where people support each other, offer loving correction, and invite one another to know and love Jesus more.

Church attendance is a habit, and sometimes that’s what gets us out the door on Sunday. But as we look for ways to help our girls love the church, I think the answer lies in broadening the stories we tell about it and the experiences we share.

We want church to be a priority, but more than that, we want our kids to know why.

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

Sign up for summer camp!

June 5–9 – Week 1 STUDENT Camp

Lake Sallateeska • Grades 6-12

June 12-16 – Week 1 SUMMER Camp Streator • Grades 3-12

June 18-22 – Week 2 KIDS Camp

Lake Sallateeska • Grades 3-6

June 19-23 – Week 3 SUMMER Camp Streator • Grades 3-12

June 25-29 – Week 2 STUDENT Camp Streator • Grades 6-12

June 26-30 – Week 4 KIDS Camp

Lake Sallateeska • Grades 3-6

July 10-14 – Week 6 SUMMER Camp Streator • Grades 3-12

July 17-21 – Week 3 STUDENT Camp

Lake Sallateeska • *Grades 7-12

(*Completed grades 7-12)

Trends from nearby and around the world

Tithing

Time to teach

“Giving 10% of your earnings to God is still a widespread standard among churchgoers. The small decline in considering tithing a command (down 6 points since 2017) appears to be more from a lack of teaching on the subject than a rejection of such teaching.”

77%

13% 10% Disagree Uncertain

How are we giving? Lifeway reports 62% give cash or check, while 38% give online.

Agree – Lifeway Research

Pastors Work load

63%

60% Sabbath Take a break

10 days

55%

Theme: Elements of the Faith

Where: HLGU, Hannibal, Mo.

When: Tuesday 2 p.m. to Saturday 11 a.m.

Cost: $235 for IBSA students

Info: IBSA.org/supersummer

Cost: $175

Register at IBSA.org/2023camps

The average annual paid vacation in the U.S.

U.S. workers who don’t use all their vacation days

– Zippia, career website

“One of the most convicting things I have recently come to realize about Jesus is that he was never, not once, in a hurry.”

– Pastor and author Mark Buchanan

MEREDITH FLYNN

– Scott McConnell, Lifeway Research