January 1, 2023 Illinois Baptist

Illinois Baptist

Real ‘respect’ for marriage

Michael Nave

MEREDITH FLYNN

My new debate coach

He’s nicer than you think

P. 16

NATE ADAMS

Lost people

Hidden in plain sight

P. 2

ERIC REED

Taking a gamble

On Illinois’ ‘sure shot’

P. 6

SANDY WISDOM-MARTIN

Sallateeska baptism

How God used multiple SBC connections

P. 15

Carrothers to head BCHFS

Carmi | After a year-long search for a new leader for Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services, the Board of Trustees elected a man with deep Illinois roots as Executive Director. Kevin Carrothers is well known to Illinois Baptists as a pastor, Associational Mission Strategist, and leader in the state association. He’s also a lawyer.

“There are significant cultural challenges facing children and family ministries today,” Carrothers said. “If we seize this moment, we can bring gospel light into spiritual darkness. The opportunity to serve Illinois Baptists by leading BCHFS to carry out the mission of providing Christ-centered care, hope, and services excites me.”

Carrothers was elected in a special meeting Nov. 28, and assumes the position January

1, 2023. He has served as Associational Mission Strategist for Salem South Baptist Association since 2017. Before that he served as pastor of Rochester First Baptist Church (20092017) and Nine Mile Baptist Church (19992009). Before his call to full-time ministry, Carrothers was a lawyer practicing in Pinckneyville. Carrothers succeeds Denny Hydrick who concluded five years with BCHFS in November 2021. In the interim, Hydrick’s predecessor, Doug Devore, returned temporarily as executive director. At the IBSA Annual Meeting in early November, Devore described a challenging year for BCHFS including a depressed economy that has affected giving, difficulty filling some staff positions, the search for a new

PLUS : Newsmakers interview with ERLC’s Brent Leatherwood. P. 10

The Illinois Baptist staff

Editor - Eric Reed

Graphic Designer - Kris Kell

Contributing Editor - Lisa Misner

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

The Chicagoland Prayer Bus Tour is scheduled for February 23. This annual event takes interested Illinois Baptists to meet church planters and pray over some of the city’s 77 neighborhoods. The tour is led by Cheryl Dorsey, prayer coordinator for Chicagoland Baptists, the new name for Chicago Metro Baptist Association.

Pray the news: BCHFS in 2023

As Kevin Carrothers assumes leadership of the Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services, the team enters a season of rebuilding and clarification of their ministry goals. Pray for open doors for BCHFS, for churches that support the mission, and the families they serve.

Cooperative Program at work

“I have read that less than 3% of Oglala Lakota people claim to know the Lord,” said Matt Hadden. A visit to the Pine Ridge reservation changed Matt and Amanda’s plan to become international missionaries. Now serving with the North American Mission Board in Porcupine, South Dakota, he said, “Our goal is to change that statistic and help them experience the hope of a restored life in every aspect.”

Giving by IBSA churches as of 12/12/22 $5,038,956

Budget Goal: $5,842,319

Received to date in 2021: $5,188,284

2022Goal: $6.2 Million

NATE ADAMS

Grateful words

Recently Beth and I joined a group of Baptist pastors and leaders and their spouses for a tour of biblical sites in Greece. For a week we followed the footsteps of Paul from Philippi, through Thessaloniki and Berea, and on to the ancient world crossroads of Athens and Corinth.

It would be difficult to briefly describe the spiritual impact of seeing the river where Lydia was baptized, or the excavated jail where Paul and Silas sang until the walls fell, or Mars Hill where Paul used a statue dedicated to “the unknown God” to tell the philosophers of the day about Jesus. But let me tell you about an experience with one of my fellow travelers.

While we traveled mostly by bus, on our last full day in Athens our group traveled to three small islands. The crew made it clear that at each stop we were all to be back on the boat by the prescribed time, or it would leave without us. We learned they were serious at the very first port, where two passengers not in our group were left behind on the pier to find another way home.

Throughout the trip, our group had grown accustomed to checking on one another before each departure. But the boat’s multiple levels made counting heads more difficult, and on this day one of the wives was ill and had remained at the hotel. Alone on the day’s excursion, her husband wasn’t quickly missed until just after we had pulled away from the third and final port.

Almost everyone aboard was on the ship’s inside cabin, because by then it was late and the upper deck was dark and chilly. While our group leader hurried to check the lower deck, he asked me to check the upper deck. I squinted and felt my way around in the dark until I found our friend, wrapped up and enjoying some solitude under the stars. Relieved, I explained our concern, and returned to the rest of the group to report his whereabouts.

Early the next morning on the bus back to the airport, I heard the person in the seat behind me lean up and speak quietly. “Hey, thanks for coming to look for me last night,” my friend said. “I didn’t feel lost, but it means a lot that someone would come to find me.”

Thanks for coming to look for me. At the end of that very special week, my friend’s words took me back to Lydia and her household, and the Philippian jailer and his household, to Jason and the new believers in Thessalonica, and the many who found salvation in Corinth.

Acts 18 tells us that the Jews in Corinth were so abusive that Paul almost gave up on them. But in a vision the Lord reassured Paul that he still had many people in that city, and so Paul stayed eighteen months to look for them. I wonder if Crispus, the synagogue leader in Corinth who believed, or perhaps a member of his household, ever thought to have a quiet moment with Paul to simply say, “Hey, thanks for coming to look for me. I didn’t feel lost, but I’m so glad to have been found.”

Paul traveled a lot of miles to look for lost people. And together, we still send missionaries to the lost peoples of the world, and start new churches, and equip church members for evangelism, because God is still seeking and saving the lost. Like my group leader, he sends us into the darkness to find them. Some day they may thank us, simply for caring enough to come and look for them when they didn’t know they were lost.

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

‘Thanks for coming to look for me’

From the front: bchfs calls illinois native as executive director

Continued from page 1

other hardships.

Rebecca Whittington, who chairs the BCHFS Board, was pleased to announce the hiring of Carrothers. “I am thankful for God sending BCHFS a leader like Elijah during this important time in our culture to fulfill our commitment to assist with dignity the pregnant mothers, unborn babies, needy children, and adoptive families whose lives BCHFS touches.”

In his report, Devore pointed to the work of GraceHaven Pregnancy Resource Clinic in Mt. Vernon as one of the current highlights in the multi-faceted ministry that originated with an orphanage in far Southern Illinois in 1918. In a challenging season, Devore said, “I can also tell you God is still at work. Women are choosing life for their unborn children because of our work at GraceHaven Crisis Pregnancy Resource Clinic” and “relationships are being restored and individuals are finding healing through our counseling centers.”

Carrothers sees as one priority the encouragement of alternatives to abortion in this a new era when Illinois is being advertised as a destination for the deadly procedure.

“January will mark the first Sanctity of Life Sunday since the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade,” he said. “For Illinois Baptists, we see the continued expansion of the abortion industry in our state.

“As followers of Christ, we have a Godgiven opportunity to demonstrate the value of human life at every stage,” Carrothers said. “I believe that the church and ministries such as BCHFS can shine the light of good works that offers hope and life and ultimately gives glory to God the Father.”

Carrothers comes to the position with a deep appreciation for BCHFS. “As a child at FBC Cutler, I was introduced to BCHFS through the Mother’s Day offering. As a pastor of IBSA churches, the ministry of BCHFS was always an important part of our missions budget. After coming to Salem South Baptist Association, I have had more interactions with the ministries of BCHFS and have been able to serve on site with those ministries,” Carrothers said.

“I have confidence that, with Carrothers’ experienced leadership and his close relationship with God,” Whittington said, “we at BCHFS can expand the depth and breadth of our ministry’s impact to those

Rhodus joins IBSA

Springfield | Tim Rhodus joined the Growth Team Jan. 1. He will serve as a contract worker in the area of revitalization.

“I am encouraged and excited to have Tim serving our churches in this greater capacity this year,” said Health Team Leader Scott Foshie. “He will be helping us to strengthen and to expand our revitalization ministry for Illinois Baptist churches.” Rhodus was already serving several churches and pastors as a Pathfinder on the Health Team.

who are broken, touching lives and moving the ministry forward within God’s dynamic plans for BCHFS for the next one hundred years of service.”

Lawyer, leader, pastor, dad

In addition to his work as a lawyer and more than two decades in pastoral ministry, Carrothers has volunteered his services to the larger Baptist family. He served two years as IBSA President (2015-2017) following two years as Vice President, and terms on the Nominating Committee and more recently on the Committee on Committees.

Carrothers served as Board Chair for the Baptist Foundation of Illinois among other leadership positions. He has served several roles on the administrative team of the Southern Baptist Conference of Associational Leaders, including chair, and is currently the Illinois State Coordinator for SBCAL. Carrothers is a trustee for Gateway Seminary, where he earned a Doctor of Ministry degree.

“Kevin is a long-time friend and experienced partner who recently served IBSA well for two years as its President,” IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams said. “I look forward to working with him in this new capacity and I am confident he will lead the ministries of the Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services well in the days ahead.”

Carrothers taught social studies at Trico Sr. High School in Campbell Hill, while working as a lawyer and pastor. Today he volunteers at Summerville Grade School in Mt. Vernon and is a coach at the Jefferson County YMCA.

A native of Illinois, Carrothers holds degrees from Missouri Baptist University, Southern Illinois University School of Law, and Gateway Seminary. He has been married to Jennifer for 22 years. They have two children.

Rhodus spent 36 years in church revitalization. In 22 years as lead pastor of Cross Church in Carlinville and Staunton, he led growth from 90 to more than 600 regular attenders. Rhodus said 83% of that growth was by reaching what he called the “undecided masses” in the area, unchurched and dechurched people without a personal faith relationship.

Rhodus and his wife, Kathi, have two children.

Leaders to gather

Springfield | The Illinois Leadership Summit (ILS) returns Jan. 17-18 to the IBSA Building in Springfield. The annual gathering brings together leaders from Illinois churches and local networks at the invitation of associational mission strategists and moderators.

“Growing Church Leaders” is the theme. Rodney Harrison, head of Missouri Baptist Children’s Homes and recent interim president of Hannibal-Lagrange University, will be the main speaker. He will focus on four key leadership traits: having a trustworthy character, building comradery, persevering courage, and clear communication.

In addition, 16 IBSA pastors and leaders will present practical breakout sessions.

“Discovering, developing, and deploying leaders within our churches is critical for the future of the gospel,” said IBSA Growth Team Leader Fran Trascritti. “I’m incredibly excited that we get to address some of the leader needs at ILS this year, with the hope that the leaders will continue the work of leader development throughout the year and beyond.” Leaders can join cohorts which directly relate to the topics at the summit, allowing them to take key learnings from the event to a long-term development process.

ILS is held in conjunction with the Midwest Leadership Summit every other year, and as a stand-alone event in the years between the multi-state gathering of leaders.

RHODUS

– Carrothers family, 2020

SBC abuse lawsuit filed

Former Southern Seminary professor David Sills and his wife have filed suit against 10 defendants involved with claims that Sills had an abusive relationship with Jennifer Lyell, formerly an employee of Lifeway. The Executive Committee formally apologized in February for “its failure to adequately listen, protect, and care for Jennifer Lyell when she came forward to share her story of abuse by a seminary professor.”

In addition, the EC acknowledged “its failure to report Ms. Lyell’s allegations of non-consensual sexual abuse were investigated and unequivocally corroborated by the SBC entities with authority over Ms. Lyell and her abuser.”

Sills contends, however, that Lyell initiated and maintained an intimate relationship, and that many of the parties promoted the false narrative of Sills’s guilt to make the SBC EC look better during the investigation into multiple abuse claims. In addition to Lyell, the suit names the SBC itself, former president Ed Litton, current president Bart Barber, interim EC CEO Willie McLaurin, former EC chair Rolland Slade, Southern Seminary President Al Mohler, Lifeway, former Lifeway executive Eric Geiger, and Guidepost Solutions.

says Johnny Hunt’s restoration not complete

Antisemitism on the rise

Illinoisan encourages response to prejudice and violence

Evanston | Ric Worshill remembers the beatings he endured his eighth-grade year. They always happened in the same place as he walked to Hebrew school. He remembers the perpetrators who “were supposed to be Christians.”

Worshill identifies as a Jew who recognizes Jesus as the Messiah. He is a North American Mission Board-endorsed chaplain and executive director of the Southern Baptist Messianic Fellowship. He also serves with Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief. “I’m affiliated with Southern Baptists because I saw the love Southern Baptists have for Jewish people,” he said. “Southern Baptists started a Messianic fellowship near my home in 2000, and all the pastors in the local associations just welcomed us in and adopted us. It was amazing.”

A worldwide rise in reports of antisemitism should concern Southern Baptists, he said. In its most recent annual report, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) recorded 2,717 antisemitic incidents, a 34% increase from 2020 and the most since the group began keeping track in 1979. That’s an average of seven incidents of harassment, vandalism, or assaults per day.

close attention to violence at houses of worship. The Tree of Life Synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh in October 2018 killed 11. Another shooting in 2019 at a California synagogue claimed one life and injured three others. In January 2022 a man took hostages at a Texas synagogue and later died in a shootout with police after the hostages escaped.

As recently as Dec. 5, the ADL reported a father and son wearing yarmulkes in Staten Island were shot at with a BB gun.

“I go to synagogues and teach them about security,” said Worshill, who retired in 2015 and is a NAMB chaplain to law enforcement. “I’m a Jewish person who is a Christian, but (synagogue leaders) respect me and contact me.”

BARBER

SBC President Bart Barber rejected claims by a team of four pastors that Johnny Hunt was adequately restored for a return to ministry. Hunt was terminated from a VP position with the North American Mission Board, which he held for a short time, after revelations that he had groped a pastor’s spouse while on vacation in Florida. The allegations were uncovered during the investigation of abuse claims in the SBC by Guidepost Solutions, a private firm engaged by the Sexual Abuse Task Force in 2020. Hunt was pastor of FBC Woodstock, Georgia, when the encounter occurred in 2008. He held that post 33 years.

In his blog post, Barber said that he would “permanently ‘defrock’” Hunt if he had the authority to do so. “In a fellowship of autonomous churches, I do not have the authority to do so,” he wrote. “Yet it must be said that neither do these four pastors have the authority to declare Johnny Hunt to be restored.”

Matt Chandler returns after ‘texting’ break

Pastor Matt Chandler returned to the pulpit of The Village Church in Texas Dec. 6 after a three-month investigation into his texting relationship with a female church member. Chandler said that both parties’ spouses knew about the texts and that there was nothing in the communications that went over the line, but the church elders came to a different conclusion. “We asked a lot of Matt, including time spent in study and prayer, personal reflection, and multiple intensives with trusted outside experts,” the elders reported. “Matt has completed everything asked of him…” Chandler receive a standing ovation on his return, which coincided with the church’s 20th anniversary celebration.

– with info from Baptist Press and Christian Post

Antisemitism is prevalent in American pop culture too. NBA star Kyrie Irving was suspended from the Brooklyn Nets without pay in early November after tweeting the trailer of a movie accused of having antisemitic tropes. He was reinstated weeks later after issuing an apology. He still lost an endorsement by Nike.

And rapper Kanye West’s praise of Adolf Hitler in an interview with Infowars’ Alex Jones followed a string of social media posts and statements viewed as antisemitic, costing him several business partnerships including those with Adidas and Gap.

The rise in antisemitism points back to a simple source, Worshill said: “Satan. He hates the Jewish people and wants to do everything he can to destroy them,” he said. “We as Christians need to understand that our faith comes from that faith. There are something like 327 references to Jesus that I’ve found in the Hebrew translation of the Old Testament.”

After thirty years as a police officer in north suburban Evanston, Worshill pays

A desire to reflect Christ should be important to those wanting to push back on violence, he said. He told the story of a reporter who was impressed by a Messianic Fellowship meeting at First Arabic Baptist Church in Phoenix. The worship included praise songs delivered in both Hebrew and Arabic, with some Spanish mixed in. The reporter, who identified as an atheist, later accepted a ride home from organizers of the meeting. She heard the gospel from them and prayed to receive Christ.

“Southern Baptists should be against all forms of prejudice, bigotry, and hatred,” Worshill said, adding that there are Jewish people all over the world being mistreated by people of other religions, including those professing Christ. “We should be like Christ and love on them,” he said.

“There needs to be an urgency in us to share the gospel with every single person we meet.”

– Scott Barkley for Baptist Press

Security training offered March 11

O’Fallon | First Baptist Church of O’Fallon will host a church security training conference March 11 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The conference will be led by James McGarvey and a team from The Church Safety Guys, a non-profit ministry group based in Columbus, Ohio, that stages training events across the nation. McGarvey has 30 years’ experience in both ministry leadership and as a first responder.

The team will address starting a security ministry, de-escalation, ministry mindset for security, and handling church social media security.

The cost is $59 per person with lunch included. Discounts are available for groups of three or more. Information and registration are available at firstofallon.com/ church safety.

Barber

Inadequate protections identified in ‘Marriage Act’

New law allows suits against Christian businesses, more

Washington D.C. | Even as the U.S. Congress was working out differences in versions of the Respect for Marriage Act (RMA) passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives, religious liberty advocates said the law to enshrine same-sex marriage was doing little to protect the rights of churches and institutions that hold a traditional, biblical view of marriage. At the same time, new polling shows a majority of American adults now support same-sex marriage, but half are also concerned about RMA’s impact on religious freedom for dissenters.

The House voted 258-169 for RMA Dec. 8, following Senate approval ten days earlier. The action repeals the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defined marriage as being between a man and a woman. RMA does not require states to legalize same-sex marriage, but it requires all states to recognize the legality of a same-sex marriage performed in any other state where it is legal.

Ahead of the vote, IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams notified two U.S. Congressmen from Illinois about concerns for protection of the rights of churches and Christians who hold to a biblical definition of marriage.

“While the amendments added by the Senate (in November) make some progress in addressing those concerns through language offering limited protection to religious non-profit organizations,” Adams wrote, “the bill still invites an increase in litigation aimed toward faithbased organizations and espe cially individuals attempting to live out sincerely held religious beliefs in ways beyond ‘solemnizing and celebrating marriages.’”

Adams pointed out several resolutions passed by messengers at IBSA Annual Meetings in recent years that support biblical marriage, and he pointed to the force of 175,000 Illinois Baptists who bring faith to their political decisions.

Republicans Mike Bost, Mary Miller, and Darin LaHood voted against the final version of the measure. Adam Kinzinger did not vote. The remainder of Illinois’ representatives, Republican Rodney Davis and 13 Democrats, voted for RMA.

“This result is a disappointing end to months of dedicated work against the Respect for Marriage Act,” Hannah Daniel, policy manager for the SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), told Baptist Press. “Though we had sincerely hoped that this vote would fail, we will move forward with continued fervor in our work to protect religious liberty…. As Southern Baptists, we will continue to live out the gospel

Creatives rally in D.C.

to a confused and watching world in need of hope and clarity.”

There were several attempts in the Senate to beef up language to protect religious institutions. The final version passed by both houses and sent to President Biden’s desk says nothing in the bill “shall be construed to diminish or abrogate a religious liberty or conscience protection” available to a person or organization under the U.S. Constitution or federal law. It also says nonprofit organizations, including churches, will not be required to provide services “for the solemnization or celebration of a marriage.”

But that language, however tepid, leaves Christian business owners in the cold. RMA allows private individuals as well as the U.S. attorney general to bring civil action in federal court. Recent cases involving creative services providers such florists and bakers who turned down LGBTQ customers show how they might be sued under RMA in the future.

After the bill passed the Senate in November, Ryan Bangert of the Alliance Defending Freedom said the bill “undermines religious freedom everywhere and exposes Americans throughout the country to predatory lawsuits by activists seeking to use the threat of litigation to silence debate and exclude people of faith from the public square.”

Rasmussen Reports polled 1,000 voters on that statement, and while 62% expressed support for RMA, 50% agreed with Bangert’s statement that RMA undermines religious freedom and opens the door for lawsuits to silence people of faith; 39% disagreed, and 12% were unsure.

The move to “enshrine” same-sex marriage with a new law came after U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas said the high court’s ruling that overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion decision might make way for reversing Obergfell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage. More than 60 Christian institutions, universities, and non-profits opposed the Respect for Marriage Act when it was first filed. Some notable organizations switched sides after some religious liberty language was added, including the National Association of Evangelicals and the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities; however, the SBC’s ERLC, ADF, and Religious Freedom Institute maintained their opposition, as did the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Ethics and Public Policy Center, and Family Research Council.

– IB Staff with reporting by Baptist Press and Christian Post

Religious liberty advocates rallied outside the U.S. Supreme Court Dec. 5 while inside Justices heard arguments in a case that could have major implications for freedom of expression. Christian designer Lorie Smith (below, at the rally) declined to make websites for gay weddings. Alliance Defending Freedom says a Colorado “anti-discrimination” law that would require her to do so violates Smith’s First Amendment rights.

Cake baker Jack Phillips won a similar case 7-2 at the high court. Now he is being sued again for refusing to make a cake celebrating a gender transition. Phillips told the crowd he had cut staff by more than half and has received death threats. “My family and I have suffered enormously,” he said. LGBTQ activists attempted to drown out the speakers by chanting through megaphones, blowing whistles, broadcasting sirens and profane songs, Christian Post reported.

A ruling in Smith’s case is expected by June.

Snake displayed at Capitol

A Satanic group installed a “holiday” display at the state Capitol Rotunda Dec. 6. It’s a handcrocheted serpent and apples. Their display has received pushback in previous years, but as the Rotunda is a public space, officials said, the messages cannot be censored. There’s also a menorah, with a light added for each of the eight days of the Jewish holiday.

The handcrafted Italian manger, installed a week earlier, has been displayed for 14 years. A 1989 court decision allowing a Nativity scene at Daley Plaza in Chicago set the precedent. “Free speech applies to everybody,” said Tom Brejcha, president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Society and member of the Springfield Nativity Committee. “And I think, frankly, it only underscores the beauty of the message of the Christmas Nativity display, which is a message of hope and care and renewal.”

DoorDash-type pot delivery?

Gov. J.B. Pritzker says cannabis delivery, which is legal in other states, is an idea worth considering in Illinois, Crain’s Chicago Business reported. “At first blush, as long as it’s regulated— and as long as we make sure the person who is ordering it gets it, and they’re legally allowed to— it would seem to me the same as someone coming into a store,” Pritzker said. The Governor took questions during a visit to Ivy Hall, a marijuana dispensary that opened recently in Bucktown on the North Side. Pritzker was present to mark the opening as a “social equity” achievement, the first of two minority-owned dispensaries in Illinois.

–The Christian Post / Nicole Alcindor

Why gambling is getting

n the days when Baptists didn’t “smoke, drink, or chew, or go with those who do,” our list of don’ts included playing cards. It wasn’t because there was something inherently wrong with pinochle, canasta, or Old Maid, but because overfamiliarity with jokers and aces might eventually lead to gambling.

Go Fish may not be the cause, but gambling is on the increase in Illinois. Our state is now number two in gambling revenues, right behind Nevada. And with 44,000 video poker terminals statewide—the equivalent of 36 casinos—you don’t have to go to Las Vegas to lose your money.

I saw it played out at a convenience store one Sunday morning, a block from a church where I was to preach. I stopped for a soft drink. While at the counter I watched an elderly lady enter the store, shuffle to an ATM where she extracted some cash, and disappear into a back room lighted only by the glow of video poker machines. She’s gambling away her fixed income, I surmised.

The scene reminded me of something a hospital housekeeper told me a couple of years ago while she swabbed the floor.

“My son tells me I could retire if I’d quit playing slots,” she explained. The diminutive woman

dragging a mop bucket behind her was excited about payday. “But it’ll all be gone in a couple of days,” she said. Then she admitted her son was keeping her afloat.

“Why do you work just to throw your paycheck away?” I asked.

“It’s fun,” she said.

But this “fun” comes at a high price. As reported by the Chicago Tribune, gaming “expansion is expected to create more jobs and tax revenue for the state. Watchdogs warn that it’s also likely to lead to more problem gambling and economic hardship, sometimes for people who can least afford it.”

The state collected a record $1.9 billion in tax revenues from gambling last year, a 39% increase. The big jump was due to recovery from Covidrelated declines, more video terminals, and the second full year of legalized sports betting, which is drawing a younger slate of gamblers.

Another six casinos are planned to join the eleven already in operation in Illinois. They’re approved for locations in Chicago and the south suburbs, Rockford, Waukegan, Danville, and near Carbondale.

The result: 4% of adults in Illinois have a gambling addiction, and another 8% are said to be at risk, according to a statewide study reported by

the Tribune. That’s 761,000 people. “It’s going to be everywhere,” said Shane Hartman, a pastor from Illiopolis. He heads Illinois Church Action on Alcohol and Addiction Problems. “I can’t imagine being an addict. It’s on your phone. There’s no escaping it,” he told the Trib. Messengers to the 2022 IBSA Annual Meeting identified the problem in a resolution on gambling. “The hope of large financial returns can blind financially strapped communities to the true long-term costs of tax breaks to gambling institutions,” the resolution said, pointing out that government leaders have resorted to gaming as an easy financial fix. But “the introduction of gaming establishments into our communities brings with it more crime, causing additional financial and operational burdens to law enforcement agencies.”

The resolution called on Illinois Baptists to stand against gambling and allowing more gaming products into Illinois. A good place to start that stand may be in church.

Now, in Super Bowl season when office pools and casual betting are at their highest, this may be the time for teaching the value of honesty, that coveting is a sin, that we trust in God not chance, that we should not gain from another person’s loss, and how the slide into addiction begins with a few simple wagers.

If I were a betting man, I’d say it’s a sure shot: We should preach against gambling again.

– Eric Reed

IN FOCUS

Unexpected opportunity

Life advocates prepare for new challenges in post-Roe Illinois

BY MEREDITH FLYNN

“Pregnant? We will help!”

The blue and white billboard for First Step Women’s Center towers over a major thoroughfare in Springfield, designed to reach women in the state’s capital who are facing an unplanned pregnancy. The ad is also for out-of-staters who may be seeking an abortion in Illinois, home to the most permissive abortion policies in the Midwest.

For 15 years, First Step has worked to show women abortion isn’t their only option. When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, returning abortion to individual states to decide, the center’s audience shifted to include women from other states. Advocates for abortion rights are urging women to seek abortions in what they call “haven states” like Illinois by funding travel and accommodations.

The ruling that overturned Roe effectively shut down abortion in many states across the South. But in Illinois, lawmakers codified Roe into law in 2019, ensuring abortion would remain an option in the state regardless of Supreme Court action. On a map showing abortion policies, Illinois is the lone permissive state surrounded by states with more restrictions.

“We are getting requests for appointments from far away,” confirmed Elmi Patton, executive director of First Step. The center has recently seen patients from Missouri, and has referred patients from further away to clinics closer to them. First Step doesn’t provide abortions or refer women to abortion providers, but the center may pop up in a Google search for abortion in Illinois.

Patton and other life advocates are meeting the new normal of a post-Roe world with the same message as before, just for a wider audience. Her pregnancy center hasn’t seen an influx in patients yet, but they’re prepared to, she said. Along with the billboard, First Step is putting its printed materials in local nail salons and are working on getting them into hotels.

“They are predicting that Illinois will have a lot more abortions, but whether they would find us first…that’s what we pray.”

Preparing for more patients

“What do we do now?”

Valari Veteto fields many calls that come down to that one question. Veteto directs adoption ministry for Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services (BCHFS), headquartered in Carmi and near southern

Sanctity of Human Life Sunday is January 22, 2023 in SBC churches.

Starting points

Pray for life

Make prayer for pro-life issues in Illinois a priority on your church and personal lists.

Speak up

The Illinois General Assembly holds responsibility for abortion regulation in our state. Let your lawmakers know you support life and the rights of the unborn.

Support local organizations

Find and engage groups in your area that provide abortion alternatives. Invite speakers to share with the church.

Explore new ministries

Read up on Embrace Grace and learn how to create a church environment where women facing unexpected pregnancies are welcome.

Hold a baby shower

A church or class can hold a “baby shower” to gather supplies for the BCHFS ministries that assist pregnant women, mothers, and their babies.

Continued from P. 7

Illinois communities likely to be affected by new abortion clinics. In fact, Veteto said, Carbondale is getting six new abortion clinics, including a mobile unit.

So, what do we do now? First, she said, increase visibility. Like First Steps in Springfield, life advocates in the southern part of the state are trying to get their name out there so that their services are a go-to.

“We need more signs, we need more connections. I need to come talk to your youth groups,” she said. Christians need to leverage community relationships and resources so that BCHFS and other ministries are able to talk with women about options other than abortion. “Everybody’s got something they can offer this cause,” Veteto said.

She also believes there may be opportunity to work with abortion providers, in a sense. “I do expect an increase in birth moms as the clinics start opening because not every girl who goes in for an abortion will qualify for an abortion.” In Illinois, abortion is restricted to the time period before fetal viability, generally around 24 weeks.

Veteto said a 14-year-old in Illinois recently went to an abortion provider but was too far along in her pregnancy to go through with the procedure. She connected with BCHFS after she found their information through a friend. “They can’t deny the fact that they can’t do an abortion on every girl that comes in,” she said. “In a sense they’re going to need us.” Veteto wants to be a resource for abortion providers, an option they can offer to women in a crisis.

“The Lord will use anything that he has to for his glory, so if it comes down to turning the tables on that relationship and them using us, then I think that the Lord is absolutely capable of that.”

At GraceHaven Pregnancy Resource Clinic, project manager Regina Thompson is adamant that women understand the truth about abortion. The Mt. Vernon clinic, also a ministry of BCHFS, opened in November 2020 to offer alternatives to abortion—pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, STI testing and treatment, and parenting/ labor and delivery classes. GraceHaven also provides post-abortion recovery classes.

“We don’t refer for abortion, we don’t support abortion, we want a woman to know what she’s saying yes to if she’s considering a chemical abortion or the actual abortion procedure,” Thompson said. “If a woman is contemplating abortion, or asks about the abortion pill, or wants to know if we will make a referral for abortion, here’s what I say to her: Would you consider another option?”

GraceHaven is ready to support women who choose another option, with training designed to help parents that also earns them credit to spend at an onsite boutique filled with baby gear. Thompson estimates 70% of women who visit the center intend to parent their baby. But she also expects abortions to increase in Illinois.

Thompson noted GraceHaven’s close proximity to Fairview Heights, home to one of the state’s largest abortion clinics, and to Carbondale, where several new clinics are expected to open.

For GraceHaven and ministries like it, day-to-day operations haven’t changed much since the Roe decision—yet. But the increase of abortions in Illinois requires preparation now for a potential new onslaught of clients.

“We don’t want any client to ever come in and feel judged,” Thompson said. “We want them to know they’re loved. God has created them and he has created the baby inside.”

Engaging at the local level

What do we do now? For some churches and ministries in Illinois, the answer isn’t very different than it was before Roe was overturned. For them it’s business as usual, with the recognition that shifting national dynamics may mean more opportunities to take a stand for life here.

When Crossroads Church in Centralia connected with their local pregnancy center in 2020, they heard about a need for a Bible study group. Based on curriculum called Embrace Grace, the small groups are for women facing an unexpected pregnancy. Crossroads has since hosted four of the 12-week studies and will launch the next phase, Embrace Life, in early 2023.

Through the studies, Pastor Ronnie Tabor’s church has ministered to 13 women, two who accepted Christ. Three have been baptized at Crossroads. “Our church just really rallied around this,” he said. After the 12-week study, they host a churchwide baby shower for the momsto-be.

“We’ve seen, over and over again, they’re just blown away by the love they’re experiencing,” said Tabor’s wife, Carrie

Amanda Neibel directs Angels’ Cove Maternity Center in Mt. Vernon. While not a pregnancy resource center, the home offers expectant mothers a safe place to stay during pregnancy. Once the baby arrives, the mom and her child can prolong their stay while she gains skills and training needed for independence. The staff provides help with paperwork and college enrollment, Bible study, parenting education, and counseling that helps residents work through past trauma.

“We want to help them work through those things so they can help their children too,” Neibel said. In the year ahead, she hopes churches will partner with Angels’ Cove to build relationships with the residents, which happened less frequently during the pandemic. “Let’s get some mission teams in to spend time with us and the ladies and the kids.” There is one even more pressing need, though.

“The biggest thing is prayer. We need all the prayer we can get.”

NECESSITIES OF LIFE – BCHFS’ GraceHaven Pregnancy Resource Center in Mt. Vernon (above) offers counseling, guidance for adoption services, and needs for new born babies.

Navigating the journey home

Adoption agencies’ work is difficult and rewarding

Rochester | Misty Lucas applied for one job when her family moved to the Springfield area a few years ago. Madison Adoption Associates was looking for a director, and Lucas somehow knew the job would be hers. “Now I know it’s because of Angie,” she said.

Misty and her husband, Jack, who serves on IBSA’s Growth Team, welcomed their daughter Angie into their family through adoption three years ago. But when the Lucases initially moved to Springfield, adoption wasn’t on their radar, at least not for their family. Instead, Misty (with Jack, left in photo) started working with the adoption agency to help other families. The agency started a program in Colombia in 2018, and that’s when Misty met Angie.

“I knew at that point she had stolen my heart and I had a special place for her, but I honestly thought it was more that I had to find her a family.” That family turned out to be her own. Angie was almost 12 when the Lucases hosted her in their home for a summer visit. A few months later, she relocated to the U.S. and became an official member of the family. (Angie is pictured above, far right, as an attendant at the wedding of the Lucas’s son Brooks).

Misty now directs her agency’s adoption programs in Latin America, helping families work through issues associated with adoption, including some more recent challenges. “China still has not opened their borders to adoptions since the pandemic started,” she noted. For families who have been matched or are hoping to adopt a specific child, it’s a waiting game with an uncertain end.

Getting paperwork through the U.S. immigration system is also taking longer, she said. And while an increased emphasis on mental health is beneficial for Amer-

icans, it may not translate well in some other countries where counseling or medication for mental health raise red flags for adoptive families.

On top of those newer issues, there’s the inevitable loss that comes with adoption.

“This child is an individual who has a story before us. That story is a part of them and we have to honor and respect that story, no matter how painful it is,” Lucas said.

“Adoption is a huge blessing, but it also is very hard, and it doesn’t matter if you adopt an infant or if you adopt a teenager. There is always grief and loss involved, and there are always blessings involved.”

On the other side of the adoption equation, birth parents face a different set of challenges. “A lot of girls get more support in their decision to abort than in their decision to adopt,” said Valari Veteto, director of Faith Adoption Ministry for Illinois Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services. Adoption isn’t the easy way out, she said. Birth parents who choose adoption willingly put themselves in the middle of an uncomfortable situation. But the benefit is the picture of restoration it provides.

“My goal has always been the take the ‘scary’ out of adoption,” Veteto said. “It’s a very beautiful process.”

Nashville, Tenn. | In 2020, the Psalm 139 Project set an ambitious goal to place 10 ultrasound machines in pregnancy resource centers within the first six months of 2021. The project, sponsored by the SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), met that mark and more, leading to a new goal to place 50 ultrasound machines before what would have been the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade

The project met that goal too, but as states adjust to life after the overturning of Roe, Psalm 139 director Rachel Wiles said the team isn’t letting up. They’re continuing to place machines funded totally through donations, which also go to train staff to perform the life-changing exams.

“We really just wanted to come alongside pregnancy centers and meet them where

we could step in and take a financial burden off them,” said Wiles of the project, which started in the early 2000s. “In those early years, we were placing maybe one or two machines a year as funding became available.” Over the years, the project has gained name recognition and donors as varied as individual givers, Sunday school classes, and Baptist state conventions.

Most pregnancy centers that have made the conversion to a medical center have ultrasound machines, Wiles said, but many are working with outdated technology. As early heartbeat detection becomes more important in some states, better technology will better serve their clients.

None of the project’s machines have been placed in Illinois yet, but Wiles said the Psalm 139 effort is praying to change that soon. “We would love to be placing machines in more abortion-permissible states. We’re praying towards that end.”

ERLC President Brent Leatherwood affirmed that goal during a visit to Illinois last year. “You’ve heard this time and again— Illinois is an abortion destination. People are coming here to end lives. We need to meet them at your state borders with a message of life and with the tools to save lives.”

For more information go to psalm139project.org.

THE MINISTRY OF PRESENTS – Embrace Grace is a national ministry offered in local churches. As part of their training for expectant mothers, church groups shower moms with love, biblical wisdom, and baby gifts.

news makers

Brent Leatherwood, ERLC President

When the SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission mailed a Giving Tuesday appeal for their Psalm 139 Project, which places ultrasound machines in pro-life pregnancy centers, Illinois was the first of three states mentioned where the ministry would like to place a new machine. The year-end goal was $100,000. Brent Leatherwood feels strongly about that.

Leatherwood was elected to lead the SBC’s public policy entity in September. He had served a year as Acting President, following four years in senior leadership with his predecessor Russell Moore. In 2021, Moore resigned after strained relations with the Executive Committee over their treatment of sexual abuse victims and with pas-

Q: From your recent experiences talking with Midwesterners, do you have a sense that your work outside the Deep South is somehow different?

A: One of the commonalities that I detected both in Illinois and Michigan is because of the culture that’s in those states kind of pushing on and even squeezing our churches, you all are very purposeful about keeping the main thing, the main thing. And that is sharing the gospel and living out the gospel to those who are all around you.

Across the SBC, there is a renewed focus generally on cooperation and the cooperative spirit is building once again. Because I think over the last few years it’s been such a tumultuous time in general. At all levels of the SBC, I think folks are saying, ‘You know what, it’s time to link arms again, because we need to project and to advocate for and advance the gospel in this culture that’s kind of closing in around us.’

Q: One comment you made here referred to Illinois as an abortion destination and meeting women who are coming here at our state borders. How might ERLC help churches and the state association here?

A: A couple of studies have shown that in a good number of states, like Tennessee for example, the number of abortions is certainly lower post the Dobbs decision. A portion of that lowering is due to women who just aren’t seeking abortions here. Instead, they’re driving to a state like Illinois.

We’ve got to be purposeful about meeting these mothers, and letting them know that they have options. There are ministries and resources available to come around them to help them choose life and succeed when they do so.

We started our end-of-year campaign to attract folks who might want to come alongside us to fund three ultrasound machines. Because when we work through our Psalm 139 project, we don’t use Cooperative Program funding for that. That’s all through the additional giving of donors and supporters. Every single dollar that comes into our Psalm 139

tors of churches where his opposition to some Trump Administration policies was unpopular.

As president, Leatherwood is rebuilding relationships with pastors and churches that withheld funding. And in November he ventured to the Midwest to speak at two state conventions, including the IBSA Annual Meeting.

His interest in Illinois is both missional and familial. His wife, Meredith, is from Illinois. As we began the conversation, he described their trips from Tennessee across I-24, eventually to I-39, waiting for Ottawa to “rise from the cornfields” where their children visit their grandparents.

This interview by Illinois Baptist media’s Eric Reed was edited for length and clarity.

Project account goes to either buying a life saving ultrasound machine or training a person at that pregnancy care clinic to operate that machine. A number of the clinics that we partner with, are very interested in these mobile units (that travel to the women.)

And I think that’s probably what it’s going to take in a context like Marion or Carbondale, because we’ve got to be mobile to meet these women where they are.

We want to do this in partnership with Illinois Baptists and anyone else who might be interested.

Q: In your time leading ERLC, there has been a return to pro-life issues publicly and less discussion about race or immigration. What can we expect ERLC to be talking about under your leadership?

A: (The issues are) reflected in our ministry assignment (from the SBC). We talk about life. We talk about religious liberty, marriage and family, and human dignity.

The focus on life, if you will, has kind of been a function of the calendar because we knew that this January was at one point going to be the 50-year mark since the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision. Thankfully, the Court has taken away Roe…But I would contend that the Dobbs decision, while it did lead to the downfall of Roe, has actually only ushered in the next chapter of the pro-life movement. Now, instead of a lot of our attention being focused on our nation’s capital, it’s now going to be focused at the state capital level and in our backyards and neighborhoods where it is incumbent upon Baptists and our fellow Christians to be carrying forth a message about life and human dignity.

At the same time, you mentioned other issues…. Religious liberty is obviously very important to Baptists. That’s the thing that I’ve told individuals in these early few months of my presidency. I’ve really been purposeful and thoughtful about reconnecting with pastors all across the country in our SBC churches. And I think that’s important because as we are more closely aligned with our churches, we

have a dual mission: to be alongside our churches and assisting them so they understand the complex issues that we’re facing in the public square. And as we speak from that experience, we bring a uniquely and distinctive Baptist voice into the public square.

Q: You’ve gotten good reviews on increased transparency with trustees (compared to Moore’s record). How might ERLC’s relationship to its board become a model for other SBC entities?

A: Our trustee board has pastors and professionals and ministering leaders from all across the country, and I think that body is a source of immense wisdom for our work. They make sure that we are within the bounds of our (SBC) ministry assignment and that’s how they hold me and this team accountable.

The more that we communicate with them, the better that relation-

theology? Are you our leading lobbyist? Are you the chief spokesman?

A: Well, you know as well as I do there’s no one person that can say they speak on behalf of Baptists. No. Look, I am a Baptist layperson who has been given the extraordinary privilege of guiding this Baptist institution that’s existed for 100 years. I want to build a team that ensures it exists for an additional 100 years. When I think through building out our team, first on my list is identifying a person to be our chief of staff. I want to make sure we have somebody who can help me bring a uniquely Baptist voice into the public square. Next is the person who will run our Washington, D.C. office. A number of our operations turn on what Congress and the Administration are doing on any given day. So I want an individual there who is as passionate about public policy as I am, but also wants to approach it from a Baptist perspective. I’m looking for a person who just oozes Baptist theology and wants to approach those issues from that perspective.

ship and that oversight will be, the healthier it will be. We’ve implemented small things like making sure that they have a monthly report from us so they understand the work were doing. We’ve instituted a second trustee meeting each year…making sure that they have a second point of in-person feedback.

We’ve recently completed an exercise where every member of our trustee board does a sexual abuse background check. It’s the first (time) for us. It might be the first amongst any of the entities. We have sexual abuse (prevention) in our ministry assignments. We want to hold ourselves accountable with best practices we would recommend to our churches.

Q: Your predecessor identified himself as a public theologian. How do you define yourself if you’re going to surround yourself with other people who handle

Q: You were at the White House recently. As former executive director of the Tennessee GOP for four years, how are you received by a Democratic Administration?

A: Well, I would go back a little bit further in my resume to when I worked on Capitol Hill because I understand the unique pressures and anxieties that those staff members or their bosses working in Congress have. I can speak the same language as them.

I want a team that (they can) call upon it and say, “Hey, what are you all thinking about this public policy issue?” I want us to be a source for that sort of analysis and feedback. And at the same time, I want us to be seen as people who are ministers of the gospel. I’m always telling the team to be attuned to the way in those conversations God may be opening a door for you to share the gospel with some of our nation’s policymakers. We’ve got to keep doing as you all are doing in Illinois. We need to make sure that we keep the main thing. We should never lose sight of that.

I’ve been purposeful about reconnecting with our SBC churches.

MISSION

Gospel on tour

Multi-church service project aims to open doors in Chicagoland

BY ERIC REED

“I remember attending an IBSA Annual Meeting several years ago in Chicago,” Sammy Simmons said. “After the meeting I took a small vision tour that afternoon with a church planter catalyst…. That vision tour touched my heart for the struggles of our church plants and the need for more churches in Illinois’ largest city.”

At the time, Simmons was pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church of Benton. He began exploring ways to help support church planting work in Chicagoland. Today Simmons lives in metro Atlanta. He is National Project Coordinator for Send Relief, a joint ministry of Southern Baptists’ North American Mission Board (NAMB) and International Mission Board (IMB).

And right now, he’s neck deep in plans to bring the Send Relief Serve Tour, the SBC’s

newest hands-on mission venture, to northern Illinois. “Our heart is to partner with IBSA, Chicagoland Association, and local pastors in a way that blesses residents of Chicago” through compassion ministry of volunteer mission teams, the NAMB missionary said.

“We would love to have every Illinois church say, ‘Let’s go!’” said IBSA Missions Director Shannon Ford. Together with a coalition of Chicago leaders on the ground led by project manager and church planter “Q” Mahmud of Reborn Ministries, the mission partners are organizing the August 4-5 event that will target multiple hands-on projects. The Serve Tour will start at one of four hub locations in Chicago and disperse across the area. The goal is to open doors and to create partnerships in places where Southern Baptists have struggled to keep a foothold.

Send Relief Serve Tour August 4-5

Register online at servetour.org

“We hope the timing of the event—before school starts—will allow people to use some of their summer vacation to come to the city and make an impact for the gospel,” Ford said.

The key to this event is involvement of churches from across Illinois and the U.S. Send Relief launched the first round of Serve Tour ministry last summer in cities including Baltimore, Dayton, Memphis, Tulsa, Meridian (MS), and Jacksonville (FL). More than 4,800 volunteers travelled to those cities to serve meals, clean yards, paint buildings, pack food and care supplies, host block parties, and most important, share the love of Christ.

“If I’m honest, I was hopeful Chi-

cago could be included in the cities chosen last year. I am very excited to partner with IBSA for Serve Chicago for 2023,” Simmons said.

“I am hopeful that many churches in Southern and Central Illinois come alongside their brothers and sisters in Chicago to serve the city and shine the light of the gospel together.”

Chicago is “an important city for the gospel,” Simmons said. “You literally can reach the nations right in Chicago.”

And it’s an important opportunity for partnership among Southern Baptists in Illinois. “IBSA, NAMB, and the local association are synergizing in new ways,” said Nathan Carter, who assumed leadership of a church plant 18 years ago. In 2022 he added Chicagoland Baptist Associational Mission Strategist to his responsibilities. “This Serve Tour will help us keep the momentum going forward as it brings churches together around a common goal and opens up more doors for the gospel here,” Carter said.

So far, more than 750 people from 40 churches

have expressed interest in coming to Chicago in August. Simmons has seen strong partnerships develop from the interaction between churches and the teams of volunteers who come to serve with them.

In Memphis, for example, partnerships were intentionally across racial lines. A project leader from suburban megachurch Bellevue connected his groups with an inner-city congregation. Participants “paired up with another person from the other group to spend time in prayer and service together,” he reported. “They wanted to show the love and reconciliation of Christ tangibly.”

For those who are reached by the service projects, the ministry can be lifechanging. The 2022 Serve Tours blessed 17,000 people directly and reported 363 salvations. The 2023 slate includes eight cities, with focus on northern and international destinations. Chicago and Philadelphia join New Orleans, Owensboro (KY), and Montgomery (AL), along with Athens (Greece), Nairobi (Kenya), and Bangkok (Thailand).

As a former pastor in Southern Illinois, Simmons was candid about

the challenge a mission trip to Chicago represents for some people. Simmons said he hopes participants “will put aside their politics and fears” for the sake of the gospel.

“I believe that we are at our finest when we partner together to meet needs, share the gospel, and see lives changed,” Simmons said.

Leaders from interested churches can complete early access registration at servetour.org. Look for the box marked “Chicago.” Hotel recommendations will be sent to those churches in mid-spring, Simmons said, along with cheaper housing options. On June 19, registration will open for churches and individuals to pick their exact projects based on their skillsets and passions.

FIVE READY FIELDS: Plan your church’s missions for 2023 and beyond

With most travel restrictions caused by Covid behind us, churches are resuming missions, including trips to share Christ’s love with unevangelized people. The IBSA Mission Team has identified five areas that are ripe for mission work by Illinois congregations. Some are in the state, others are around the world. All are good venues for the gospel.

1. Serve Tour in Chicagoland. As described above, the Send Relief Serve Tour is a good opportunity for churches to see and engage ministry in Chicago. With about three dozen projects to choose from, volunteer teams can see the city from a new perspective and establish relationships with churches and pastors.

2. Support for church planters. New churches across Illinois need longer term relationships with established churches who will bring prayer and skills to their mission field. “Sometimes its hard for planters to realize they don’t have to go it alone,” IBSA Mission Director Shannon Ford said. The team hopes to mobilize 10 or more new projects and ongoing relationships.

3. Going worldwide. Pastors who have engaged in international missions find the experience creates passion for a particular people group, both for themselves and for their congregations. Especially for pastors who haven’t had that experience, IBSA will help facilitate international missions.

4. Help at home through Disaster Relief. Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief engages new and existing teams of volunteers with training in chainsaw teams and flood recovery, meal preparation and childcare, and chaplaincy. IBDR is always open for people who will be trained for specialized service.

5. More Buckets of Blessings. The collection of ministry supplies at the IBSA Annual Meeting was a great success. New opportunities are coming to bless children and families in Illinois.

To learn more, contact ShannonFord@IBSA.org

– Dayton, Ohio, 2022

– Tulsa, Oklahoma, 2022

– Dayton, Ohio, 2022

– Memphis, Tennessee, 2022

GROWING

MEET THE TEAM

table talk

Respecting marriage

Here’s another moment when we feel like Dorothy, convinced she’s not in Kansas anymore. We might say, “I’ve a feeling this is not the world it used to be, and I don’t like it!”

This time it is passage of The Respect for Marriage Act by the U.S. Congress. It sure feels like another “nail in the coffin” of our country abandoning biblical ethics and God’s design for humanity.

Hometown: Marshall, Texas

Family: Married to Lindsay for 15 years. We have three kids: Ace, 10; Miles, 8; Lorelei, 7

Higher ed: Master of Divinity from Southwestern Seminary

Ministry experience: Young adults

Life verse: “For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Phil 1:21)

Favorite Bible person (besides Jesus): OT, Asa, underrated King of Israel. NT, John Mark. You see his growth through Acts and the letters of Paul, and you see discipleship happen through Barnabas.

What I discovered about Illinois: The real nature of the people—you know where you stand with people and they are not going to beat around the bush. Also, I found out that we hibernate in winter. It’s kind of fun.

Go-to snack food: Nutter Butters

Book: The Cross of Christ by John Stott

Movie or character: William Wallace (of Braveheart)

Desert island disc: Coldplay or Red Hot Chili Peppers

Superhero I’d like to be: Wolverine

A quote I say often: “What I have come to understand…”

My secret talent: I’m good at impersonations.

Reality show I’d like to appear on: The Mole

From the Creation account in Genesis until Jesus returns for his Bride in Revelation, marriage is the beautiful gift from God for one man and one woman till death. But now federal law fails to recognize and protect God’s design for marriage.

As believers living in Illinois, we grieve that state law fails to recognize and protect life. In the womb and all the way to the tomb, we declare the sanctity of human life and the dignity of each human being made in the image of God. Thus, we are horrified when state leaders and legislators celebrate Illinois being an “abortion destination.”

In this new world, I offer three thoughts and a challenge.

Thought 1—Followers of Jesus should feel out of place. “Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers”

(1 Peter 2:11). “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil. 3:20). And as the old hymn declares, “this world is not my home, I’m just passing through.” I humbly submit that

some of us got a little too comfortable: We intermingled being a good American with being a devoted Christian.

Thought 2—This is how democracy works. The laws of our country should reflect popular opinion. I was reminded by our local school superintendent how effective it can be for voters to express concerns to elected officials. Over the years, he has advocated quite effectively for our public school system. I celebrate the freedom and responsibility we have to vote and advocate.

At the same time, please allow me to say, our legislators are elected to represent popular opinion. We now live in a country where the overwhelming majority of Americans (72%) support same sex marriage rights. (It was 27% in 1996 when Gallup first surveyed that question.)

Though many of us are missing “Kansas,” the laws in Illinois and the USA express the democracy we treasure. While many of us still disagree, the right to “marry” a person of the same sex and receive equal recognition and benefits as heterosexual couples comes because that is the overwhelming popular opinion.

Notice that I used quotation marks around the word “marry” because a relationship between two members or the same sex can never be a biblical marriage. And at the same time, popular opinion demands that our country’s laws should recognize it as marriage.

We live in this tension between valuing democracy and adhering to Scripture without wavering.

Thought 3—Learn from church history. Having the law “on our side” has not contributed to the health of the Church and the spread of the gospel. The Church of Jesus has flourished, and the gospel has spread rapidly during seasons of persecution and oppression. The Church has stumbled, and the spread of the gospel has stagnated when it has had favor and power. If I’m representing history correctly, the horrifying shift of culture has the potential to create an environment where the Church of Jesus will again flourish and the gospel will again spread rapidly.

A challenge—Identify our real hope. The hope of America is not American or in the majority opinion of Americans. Right laws and cultural values will not save anyone. Prohibiting a gay couple from securing a government sanctioned contract does nothing to move them closer to a genuine experience of the gospel.

Most Americans are now convinced that they find “their truth” and their “authentic selves” by looking within their own feelings and experiences. Americans are dramatically rejecting God’s authority and absolute truth. Thus, when we contend that our country should remain faithful to God, they reject the premise of God’s authority. They only hear us as followers of Jesus trying to impose our worldview upon them.

Thankfully, we do know The One who saves: “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Today, we have the incredible opportunity to clarify where we have placed our hope. We have the privilege of living in such a way that others see the Truth setting us free! We have the privilege of inviting others to discover salvation in Jesus.

Michael Nave is lead pastor of Cornerstone Church in Marion and is serving as IBSA President.

When public opinion doesn’t respect biblical truth

Kevin Jones

Church Planting Director with emphasis on campus ministry

“God’s fingerprints are all over our Children’s Ministry—along with Trevor’s, Sophie’s, Myron’s, Dakota’s, Tyler’s, Scarlet’s, Marcie’s, and Blair’s.”

people EVENTS

NeTworkiNg

January 12

Tax Seminar

Where: IBSA Building, Springfield

Contact: FranTrascritti@IBSA.org

January 17-18

What: Ministry training for pastors and church leaders on character, comradery, courage, and communication

Where: IBSA Building, Springfield

Contact: FranTrascritti@IBSA.org

Register: IBSA.org/ils23

January 30

Online Courses

Winter Term Classes begin

Cost: $25 fee per course

Contact: LindaDarden@IBSA.org

Info: www.IBSA.org/equiponline/

Bring your team to the 2023 Vacation Bible School Clinic

VBS is your church’s best evangelism opportunity all year. Explore the theme and fun teaching options with breakouts for directors, crafts, music, children, and preschool.

February 25

Chatham Baptist Church, Chatham

March 25

Brainard Avenue Baptist Church, Countryside

Jasper Paul Taylor was called as senior pastor of Broadview Missionary Baptist Church in the west Chicago suburb starting Jan. 1. He served as executive pastor for St. Paul and Greater Mt. Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago, executive director of Calahan Foundation NFP providing scholarships and mentoring, and has extensive experience in choral leadership. Taylor holds degrees including an M.Div. from Northern Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Valerie, have one son.

with the lord

Robert H. Stuckey, 91, died Oct. 31 in Naples, Fla. He was a native of Dupo, Ill., and served on Baptist state convention staffs in Illinois and Iowa. A graduate of Southern and Golden Gate seminaries, Stuckey pastored churches in Ewing, Cairo, and Marion, before he and his wife, Suzi, were appointed as SBC missionaries in Indonesia, beginning in 1962. They served there 14 years. Later he pastored in southwest Florida. The Stuckeys had five children. Mrs. Stuckey, known as a musician and Christian educator, preceded her husband in death in 2018.

Send items to IllinoisBaptist@IBSA.org

Rosiclare First Baptist Church seeks bivocational pastor with good biblical knowledge and desire to see the church grow. Send resumé to courtm82@gmail.com or to Wendell Robinson, P.O. Box 8, 201 Charles St., Rosiclare, IL 62982.

First Baptist Church of Dupo seeks church secretary Contact Pastor Matthew Pinckard, fbcdupo@htc.net, or write to 620 Godin Avenue, Dupo, IL 62239.

Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services is looking for Christ-centered people to come on mission in the following positions. Visit bchfs.com/employment for more information.

• Development Officer

• Multimedia Marketing Specialist

• House Mother, Angels’ Cove, Mt. Vernon

• Baptist Children’s Home Campus Program Manager

• Licensed Counselor, Metro East Outpatient Location

• Administrative Assistant, GraceHaven, Mt. Vernon

• House Parents or Single House Mother, Residential Care, Carmi

March 11

Pleasant Hill Baptist Church, Mt. Vernon

Contact Tammybutler@IBSA.org for more information.

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 5, 2023 will be included in 2022 giving. Gifts received after this date will be credited as 2023 giving.

Reminder: remittance forms filled out with designations need to be sent along with your checks throughout the year. If you use a bank or service to produce your checks, make designations in memo line.

Contact Jeff Deasy at 217-391-3104 or email jeffdeasy@IBSA.org if you have questions or need assistance. Thank you.

Growing Church Leaders

PASTORS & STAFF

Deepen your character and skills, develop new relationships.

Attendees will receive OVER $200 worth of resources!

IBSA.org/ils23

Sallateeska baptism shows SBC connections

Sandy Wisdom-Martin shares a salvation story five decades in the making

(Ed. Note—In our July issue, we reported that Illinois’ very own Sandy Wisdom-Martin told the story of her brother’s recent baptism during her WMU presentation at the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Anaheim. We thought you would appreciate this longer account that shows God’s fingerprints through multiple SBC connections. It’s too good to miss.)

Nashville, Ill. | When Sandy WisdomMartin watched her brother, Doug, get baptized last year, it represented a story of God’s faithfulness and Southern Baptist cooperation.

After her mother shared the good news, Wisdom-Martin rearranged her travel schedule to be there. The Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU) national executive director-treasurer was traveling through the Midwest enroute to another obligation at the time.

The baptism took place at Lake Sallateeska Baptist Camp near her family’s childhood home in rural southern Illinois.

Her family attended a small Southern Baptist church when Sandy was growing up, and it was there her brother, Doug, had walked the aisle as a child. By his own admission, Doug never made a true profession of faith.

This was until Doug and his wife began attending a campus of Lighthouse Community Church in Nashville, Illinois during the Covid pandemic. It was there he would profess faith in Christ and seek baptism.

Wisdom-Martin said it was an

“overwhelming” experience seeing her brother’s baptism take place at the very same lake where she attended camp and surrendered to a call to ministry.

“It’s such a special place in my life as it’s where I heard God’s call on my life and I responded,” Wisdom-Martin said.

“Just the place itself is special, but nothing could have prepared me for my mother calling to say my brother was getting baptized. It was so incredible. It was a story six decades in the making.

“The story of my brother doesn’t happen in isolation; it happens because of the community of Southern Baptists. I’ve always been a strong advocate of what we do as Southern Baptists, but that day it was even more personal because it was my brother. I was amazed at the

connections, but also the time span of everything that had to happen for decades for that moment in time to happen.”

Doug’s salvation is laced with Southern Baptist connections, which begin with Danny Donato, former pastor of Lighthouse Community Church.

Donato was attending a small college in Lexington, Ky., in the late 1990s, but it closed and he transferred to Boyce College in Louisville. While there he started attending Highview Baptist Church. At that time, the youth pastor was Jimmy Scroggins and the senior pastor was Kevin Ezell.

Scroggins currently serves as lead pastor of Family Church, a network of neighborhood churches in South Florida. And Ezell, who also pastored First Baptist Church of Marion, is now head of the North American Mission Board (NAMB). While at Highview Church, Donato interned with Scroggins. This gave Donato the opportunity to grow not only under Scroggins, but under Ezell as well. “He was the first younger pastor that I got to sit under. I got to see Highview launch their second campus, and to see what went into that before church planting was really a ‘cool’ thing to do.”

It was there “I really learned how to be bold and courageous in leadership,” Donato said.

“It’s been a unique experience to be that close to guys who have been so impactful for the Kingdom and been such visionary leaders.”

Years later, as the pastor of Lighthouse Community Church, Donato would continue this philosophy of church planting. Lighthouse receives some financial support from NAMB, and a few years ago the congregation started its second campus in Okawville, Ill.

This is where Doug Wisdom and his wife, Becky, met Donato. They were invited to visit the church by folks who were already attending. When the couple went through the new members’ class, Donato said he talked with them about the gospel and what it meant to be saved. “You could tell God was gripping Doug’s heart, and it was very evident that God was doing something,” Donato said.

It wasn’t until Doug’s baptism sometime later at Lake Sallateeska that Donato would make the connection about Doug’s relation to Sandy of the WMU.

“It’s the beautiful mosaic of the Kingdom,” Donato said. “God is constantly working and doing things that will bring him glory.”

Wisdom-Martin said it is amazing that her support of NAMB was actually going to the church where her brother would come to faith and be baptized.

“For as long as I can remember I have supported the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering,” Wisdom-Martin said. “Everything that I’ve given over the last 50 years has been worth it and I would give it all over again, because it helped lead to my brother’s faith. I want that for all of us and our friends and family members. I think that’s the power of what we do together.”

– Timothy Cockes for

Baptist Press

THEN AND NOW – Sandy Wisdom-Martin and her brother, Doug, as children in the top photo are joined by their sister, Pam (lower left), for Doug’s baptism at Lake Sallateeska Baptist Camp in 2021. Pastor Danny Donato (left in top photo) performed the baptism. Photos from BP

Tracker

Trends from nearby and around the world

5 key questions in 2023

Settling attendance

We’re sick of the phrase “the new normal,” but it is true. Here, mostly post-pandemic, worship attendance for most churches has settled at 85% of pre-pandemic levels, according to a Lifeway phone survey in September. The median U.S. church attendance is half what it was 20 years ago. The decline was steady, so we can’t blame Covid for everything. The current number is our new baseline.

BRIGHTER DAY

Breaking the fourth wall

A

Have we rightsized our ministry, budget, and goals

Sliding scale

More than 8-in-10 churches have dropped a size or two. While that’s good for dieters, it’s difficult for pastors. Leading a church at the size it is now requires different skills from the size it was before. Whether the church is a family chapel, normative, medium, or mega, now may be the time to revisit those “breaking the barrier” lessons. Size changes how a church operates—and how it’s pastored.

Facebook won’t fix it

Pundits said a hybrid church model— both in person and online—would be the standard after the pandemic. Maybe so, but after two years, we’re learning that Facebook members aren’t really members after all. We’re glad some are still watching, but absence from the meeting house limits their participation and ministry impact.

recent study by Barna had good news and bad news for increasingly polarized Americans. More than 90% of U.S. adults say they welcome different ways of thinking about important topics. But 51% also say their ideas are usually better than other people’s ideas, up from 31% who said so in 2015. And 36% say they tend to feel threatened when others disagree with them on topics that are close to their heart, up from a quarter of adults in 2015.

It’s getting harder to avoid talking past or over each other. Our discourse is more often used to build walls than tear them down. Maybe that’s why when I ran into an instance of wall-breaking in an unlikely place, it was glaring—and welcome.

I have hidden for years the fact that I’ve never read The Chronicles of Narnia, relying on the movie adaptations whenever the topic came up. (As a Christian Millennial, it comes up a lot). So late last year, I embarked on “Narnia November” in an attempt to get through all seven of C.S. Lewis’s novels chronicling the journey of four siblings to a magical world.

Based on current weekly attendance,

Should we pursue people who used to be here, or people who never were here

Divided or indivisible?

Now that the election cycle is never-ending, we lean more steadily into this issue: Will the local church be defined by its politics? The answer will determine who attends a particular church and how comfortable they are, according to a Lifeway survey taken just ahead of the midterm elections. Everything is political, it has been said, but not everything must be partisan. Collaboration, cooperation, and social choices involve debate and development of consensus. To avoid engagement is to forfeit our obligation to represent Christ in the public square.

#1 ? ?

is

The future is young

“Data tells us that today’s teens may be one of the strongest reasons for hope when it comes to preserving a vibrant expression of Christianity in the United States for generations to come,” Barna researcher David Kinnaman wrote in USA Today. He found lots of encouraging data in a new study of “The Open Generation.” Half of teens identify as Christian, and of those 67% said, “I want to help the church keep the priorities Jesus intended.”

#3 #4 #5

As Kinnaman said, Will we humble ourselves to hear the rising generation and engage in a way that’s transformative for them—and the church

?

“I prefer to attend a church where people share my political views.”

9 % not sure

55%

“My political views match those of most people at my church.”

#2 ?

41 23 22 55

22 % not sure

Is our church able to engage important issues without fretting over party politics

23% disagree

Narnia November is running well into 2023, it turns out, but the thing I’ve enjoyed most so far is how Lewis turns aside from the story he’s telling to talk directly to the reader. Modern media calls it “breaking the fourth wall.” While he doesn’t do it very often, it happens enough that each time I thought, “Well, he’s talking right to me! We probably would have been friends if I’d known him!” There is an affection for his readers Lewis communicates when he breaks the fourth wall, and also a shared wonder at the story he’s telling. It reminds me of the last verse in John’s Gospel, when the disciple steps back to tell us there’s so much more he could say about Jesus, but there aren’t enough books to hold it all. Isn’t Jesus amazing? he says to us and with us. Isn’t God, as seen in the allegorical lion Aslan, worthy of both fear and love? Lewis writes.

It’s not easy to break the fourth wall. It can mean turning aside from the point we were making to consider the needs of someone else. But in a divided world, it’s a refreshing, surprising sacrifice born out of love for one another.

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

– By Eric Reed, with data from Lifeway Research, Christian Post USA Today

MEREDITH FLYNN

Cam Triggs said that at the IBSA Pastors Conference. We added “almost,” because Lifeway found 1-in-4 pastors in the Midwest reported higher attendance than before the pandemic.

“(Almost) everybody has a smaller church.”

what

our next growth barrier and how do we lead past it

C.S. Lewis