June 1, 2021 Illinois Baptist

Illinois Baptist

Moore departs

Will

Nashville, Tenn. | After leading the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission for eight years, Russell Moore announced his departure from the Southern Baptist Convention’s public policy arm. Moore will join the staff of Christianity Today (CT), headquartered in Carol Stream, as public theologian and director of its new Public Theology Project.

“Russell has established himself as one of the most significant evangelical voices of our time,” said Timothy Dalrymple, president and CEO of CT, in a news release about the hire. “He illuminates the relevance of the gospel to the whole of life, from everyday matters of faith to the great debates in our society and culture.”

Christianity Today was founded in 1956 by Billy Graham to provide news and perspective from an evangelical worldview. Its footprint now includes multiple online resources for pastors and ministry leaders,

3 ways my kids learn Scripture

P.

The Illinois Baptist staff

Editor - Eric Reed

Managing Editor - Meredith Flynn

Graphic Designer - Kris Kell

Contributing Editor - Lisa Misner

Administrative Assistant - Leah Honnen

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

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

POSTMASTER: The Illinois Baptist is owned and published every 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

Illinoisans on the mission field

Pray for Sammy and Michelle Simmons and their children Sara Grace and Jay as Sammy serves with the North American Mission Board in Georgia. As Send Relief National Project Director, he will coordinate mission trips across the country.

Pray the news: Campers encamped

Jan and Don Kragness have been busy for a year planning the Campers on Mission national rally in DuQuoin. You may know them from Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief, but the couple from Johnston City are also active in construction work that blesses churches and ministries across the region. Pray for COM as they meet June 9-11. And pray for new opportunities to serve in Illinois.

Your Cooperative Program gifts at work

NATE ADAMS

Enduring value

Each year across our nation various professional associations recognize the top performances or achievements in their respective fields. The two primary peer groups for a Christian newspaper like the Illinois Baptist are the Baptist Communicators Association (BCA) and the Evangelical Press Association (EPA). As their names indicate, one consists of Baptist publications, while the other is a broader association that includes multiple denominations, and also independent publishers such as my former employer, Christianity Today

To our delight, when BCA and EPA each announced their annual recognitions last month, both associations named the Illinois Baptist best overall newspaper. This is an unusual double honor, though the paper received both top honors in 2016 as well. These were in addition to the annual recognitions received in numerous individual categories such as news or feature writing and design.

What makes the excellence and effectiveness of our 115-year-old state Baptist paper especially noteworthy today, I think, is that there are many publications that print more pages, pay for nicer paper, or publish more frequently. On the other hand, there are also many Christian organizations that have given up on print periodicals entirely, some after more than a hundred years, either due to the expense or because of the undeniable migration by many readers toward electronic media.

In continuing to publish the Illinois Baptist, and in seeking to do so with high quality and yet moderate cost, we are seeking to deliver optimum value to our network of churches, and to actively engage them in shared cooperation and mission. Our annual survey of churches tells us that print publication is still the preferred method of communication by about half of respondents, while almost as many cite our website or some other form of non-print communication. Through the support of your church’s Cooperative Program gifts, we seek to communicate in all these ways with quality and frugality.

Stewarding our trusted, treasured resources.

By the way, this principle of balancing quality with frugality in order to deliver enduring value to churches drives more than just the decision to publish a top-quality newspaper. Our Baptist network here in Illinois has sustained at least two other resources of enduring value that I’ve noticed other church networks ceasing or reevaluating.

For example, several state conventions or local associations are divesting themselves of their camps or retreat centers. Others are selling their physical office properties. In many cases, these may be wise or necessary decisions under the circumstances.

But thus far, by God’s grace and through the generosity of Illinois Baptists and careful stewardship, we have been able to continue the enduring value of these resources. Both Lake Sallateeska and Streator Baptist Camps have received updates and renovations, and prior to the pandemic both camps were experiencing annual, double-digit growth in use by churches and associations. Our Springfield office and conference building has been renovated for efficient and frequent use by both our staff and church network.

In fact, this fall we will celebrate 50 years since Illinois Baptists first moved into the iconic “Baptist building” at the corner of Stevenson and Dirksen. During its 2011 renovation, our architect told us it would cost $10 million to build today. Yet not only is the building debt-free, our secondfloor tenants share a large portion of its annual operating costs. That’s enduring value!

Giving by IBSA churches as of 5/14/21 $2,218,162

Budget Goal: $2,265,389

Received to date in 2020: $1,952,115

2021Goal: $6.2 Million

It’s your church’s Cooperative Program and Mission Illinois Offering gifts that allow us to continue delivering the enduring value of high-quality print publications, spiritually-transforming retreat centers, and conferencefriendly office buildings. Thank you. These days especially, resources that are 50 or 115 years old and yet as good as ever are hard to find, and worth celebrating.

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

An IMB missionary greets children outside of Streams of Living Waters School in Lusaka, Zambia. IMB photo

From the front: MOORE EXITS ERLC

Continued from page 1

along with The Exchange blog by Ed Stetzer, a former vice president at Lifeway and current executive director of Wheaton College’s Billy Graham Center.

In announcing the move, Moore lauded the ERLC staff and noted their advocacy for human dignity, religious freedom, and civility in the public square, as well as their efforts to seek racial reconciliation and prevent church sexual abuse.

“I am always amused by people who assume that we have a staff of hundreds,” he said, “just based on everything this team is able to accomplish, when in reality we have a small team of brothers and sisters who are peerless in their gifting, excellence, commitment, and who love each other and Jesus.”

Divergent views

In December 2019, then-CT editor Mark Galli wrote an editorial calling for the removal of President Donald Trump from office amid impeachment proceedings. The magazine’s position elicited criticism from Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham, and other evangelical leaders.

Similarly, Moore’s views on Trump often put him at odds with some Southern Baptists. During the 2016 campaign, he wrote in The New York Times that for evangelicals to support Trump, they had to repudiate everything they believe. He later apologized, but a few churches temporarily escrowed gifts through the Cooperative Program (CP). At the 2018 SBC annual meeting, a motion was made—and defeated—to defund the ERLC.

In 2020, a group appointed to study the ERLC reported the entity’s current direction “is a significant source of division” and obstacle to reversing decline in CP giving. The report likely would have come up during the SBC’s June meeting in Nashville. Now, though, the meeting may serve as a farewell to Moore’s leadership, if not the leader himself. His tenure as president ends June 1.

The ERLC’s future, though, could become a matter of discussion. Mike Stone, a candidate for SBC President, chaired the recent ERLC study group. Stone told The Christian Index that messengers to future annual meetings “are going to have to decide if an ERLC, led by anyone, is the best and most effective means of addressing the public policy concerns of the Convention, especially when its current leadership has placed multiplied millions of mission dollars in jeopardy.”

After Moore’s announcement, David Prince, chairman of the ERLC Board of Trustees, thanked him for “eight years of principled, energetic and prophetic ministry” and said trustees will begin the process of searching for the ERLC’s next president.

– Meredith Flynn

PRO-LIFE

High court to hear ‘landmark’ case

Washington D.C. | The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case that could have a significant impact on states’ abortion laws, and pose a challenge to the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized the practice nationwide.

In their term that begins in October, the High Court will consider whether Mississippi can ban abortions before an unborn baby is viable. Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant signed a law in 2018 to ban most abortions after 15 weeks’ gestation. In 2019, a threejudge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the law. The Supreme Court has granted certiorari, agreeing to review a lower court decision in the case. Pro-life advocates cheered the decision. Elizabeth Graham of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) said it could be a “generationally significant” case. “All Americans of goodwill want the state to protect their neighbors from harm, and yet, just as Jesus told us, we will argue among ourselves about who really counts as our neighbor,” said Graham, the ERLC’s vice president of operations and life initiatives.

“The question our nation must wrestle with is whether or not a child in the womb is, indeed, a preborn child and, therefore, our neighbor. As Christians, knowing the answer is not a reason to feel moral superiority, but to lament the abortion industry’s legal lies and to work to undo them. This case could be instrumental toward that end.”

Following the Supreme Court’s order, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker expressed his

disagreement with the decision and referenced his state’s Reproductive Health Act passed in 2019 “to enshrine reproductive rights into law.”

“No matter what happens on the federal level, the Reproductive Health Act protects Illinois women and their fundamental right to make their own healthcare decisions,” Pritzker said in a Facebook post. “And we will stand strong with women across the country and continue to fight with you for your right to choose.”

Amy Gehrke, executive director of Illinois Right to Life, encouraged “cautious optimism” for pro-life advocates. “Over the coming months we will be promoting the case for life in hopes that the U.S. Supreme Court will make Roe v. Wade nothing but a terrible memory,” she said.

“Sadly, here in Illinois, the 2019 Reproductive Health Act eliminated our state’s ban on abortion. Our work to educate the people of Illinois and win our state back for life will continue.”

– With info from The Christian Post, Baptist Press, Illinois Right to Life

Arson displaces pregnancy center

Peoria | A Women’s Care Center in central Illinois suffered $250,000 in damage after a fire was intentionally set May 3. No one was injured in the fire that destroyed a large room at the center and caused extensive heat and smoke damage throughout the building, Women’s Care Center posted on Facebook.

The pro-life pregnancy center provides ultrasounds, medical testing, parenting classes, and baby gear for hundreds of families each year. The center’s founder, Christine Dennis, said after the fire the

center has 500 women currently on its client list whose babies are due in the coming months.

Women’s Care Center has 33 locations across the U.S. Immediately after the fire, the headquarters in South Bend, Ind., sent a mobile unit to serve clients in the Peoria center’s parking lot. The center is seeking a temporary location while its original building is rebuilt. “We take care of our women No. 1,” Dennis said. “And when we take care of them, everything else falls into place.”

– Peoria Journal Star, Christian Post

RUSSELL MOORE

2021 program highlights

Ordinations crystallize debate

Over women’s roles ahead of Nashville convention

Lake Forest, Calif. | A Southern Baptist church ordained three women as pastors in May, renewing the conversation over gender roles and the church. When Saddleback Church, led by Pastor Rick Warren, posted about the “historic night” on the church’s Facebook page, some Southern Baptist leaders responded on social media.

“While I have long respected Saddleback’s ministry impact and heart for getting the gospel to the nations,” Southern Baptist Convention President J.D. Greear wrote in a blog post, “I disagree with their decision to take this step, and would even say I find it disappointing.”

The Southern Baptist Convention holds in its statement of faith that “while both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.” The statement was added to The Baptist Faith and Message when it was updated in 2000 by a committee including SBC presidential candidate Albert Mohler.

Debate around the ordinations is likely to come up in Nashville related to possible action by the SBC Credentials Committee. The committee is tasked with considering whether a church is in “friendly cooperation” with the Convention according to the SBC Constitution. Article III of the Constitution states that a church in friendly cooperation with the SBC “has a faith and practice which closely identifies with the Convention’s adopted statement of faith.”

Each of the four announced candidates for SBC president shared with Baptist Press their positions on The Baptist Faith and Message’s section regarding women and the office of pastor:

Randy Adams, executive director of the Northwest Baptist Convention: “Southern Baptists clarified their position on women pastors in the BFM 2000. This clarification was founded on Scripture and has been the

common belief and practice of our churches historically.”

Ed Litton, pastor of Redemption Church in Saraland, Ala.: “Without hesitation or reservation I am a complementarian and I wholeheartedly affirm the BF&M (2000). The Bible clearly teaches that the office of pastor is reserved only for qualified men, and I also want to encourage my sisters in Christ to be equipped, using every gift God has given them for the church and its mission with the gospel.”

Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary: “The Baptist Faith and Message rightly states our biblical conviction that the office of pastor is limited to men as authorized by Scripture, and this means both the teaching office and the function of preaching before the congregation. Southern Baptists have been tested over this conviction before, and we will be again, but this is the clear teaching of the Bible and we cannot compromise this commitment.”

Mike Stone, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Blackshear, Ga.: “The BFM is clear that Southern Baptists do not believe in women serving as pastors. Churches which ordain or call female pastors are not acting in friendly cooperation with the SBC and should either change, withdraw, or be subject to our disfellowshipping processes.”

In 2020, Saddleback was the 4th largest congregation in the U.S., according to a top 100 list compiled by Outreach magazine, Lifeway Research, and Exponential. It was also the largest SBC congregation on the list, which reported Saddleback’s attendance as 23,494. The women ordained recently by the church are longtime staff members who serve in the areas of pastoral care, children’s ministry, and student ministry.

– Illinois Baptist, with reporting from Baptist Press

Illinois Baptists nominated

To fill posts on national SBC boards, committees

Illinois Dessert Reception

Nashville, Tenn. | The Southern Baptist Convention’s Committee on Nominations has selected nominees to serve on the boards of SBC entities. This year’s slate of nominees, to be considered at the SBC annual meeting in Nashville June 15-16, includes several Illinois Baptists:

Michael Allen, Uptown Baptist Church, Chicago, is nominated to serve as a trustee of GuideStone Financial Resources, with term to expire in 2024.

Sharon Carty, Emmanuel Baptist Church, Carlinville, and Adron Robinson, pastor of Hillcrest Baptist Church in Country Club Hills, are nominated to serve a second term on the SBC Executive Committee.

Scott Nichols, pastor of Crossroads Community Church in Carol Stream, is nominated to serve as a trustee of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, with term to expire in 2026.

Andrea Powell, Alpha Missionary Baptist Church, Bolingbrook, is nominated to serve as a trustee of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, with term to expire in 2025.

David Seaton, pastor of Heights Community Church in Collinsville, is nominated to serve as a trustee of the North American Mission Board, with term to expire in 2024.

Chris Winkleman, pastor of First Baptist Church in Harrisburg, is nominated to serve as a trustee of the International Mission Board, with term to expire in 2025.

Vision 2025 set for SBC

Challenging goals require ‘all hands on deck’

Nashville, Tenn. | A new set of five proposed strategic actions to unite the denomination around the Great Commission will greet Southern Baptists convening at the 2021 SBC annual meeting.

“This is our opportunity for our generation of Baptists to stand tall together with a passionate vision, and it begins now,” Ronnie Floyd said of the Vision 2025 plan he will present in Nashville. Floyd is president of the SBC Executive Committee. He outlined the five strategic actions in a February commentary for Baptist Press. They include new goals in church planting, evangelism, and cooperative giving, to be accomplished by the end of 2025.

Strategic Action #1: Increase full-time, fully funded missionaries by a net gain of 500, giving the SBC 4,200 full-time, fully funded missionaries through the International Mission Board.

Strategic Action #2: Add 5,000 new SBC congregations to the Southern Baptist family, giving the SBC more than 50,000 congregations. An increase of 5,000 churches would require 1,250 annually, Floyd said, or 600 new church plants, 200 replants, 100 new campuses, and 350 new church affiliations each year.

Strategic Action #3: Increase the total number of workers in the field through a new emphasis on “calling out the called” and then preparing those who are called

New nominees

California pastor Greg Davidson will be nominated for president of the 2022 SBC Pastors’ Conference. He leads Trinity Baptist Church in Vacaville and has served in several roles in the California Southern Baptist Convention. Davidson is also the state coordinator for the Conservative Baptist Network.

The nomination will take place June 14 as part of the pastors’ track during the Send Conference in Nashville that precedes the SBC annual meeting. New Mexico pastor Matt Henslee was previously announced as a candidate for Pastors’ Conference president.

John Yeats will be nominated to serve a 24th term as the SBC’s recording secretary. He is executive director of the Missouri Baptist Convention and previously served at the Louisiana Baptist Convention and as editor of state Baptist papers in Oklahoma and Indiana. Yeats also has served churches in six states during 40plus years of pastoral ministry.

out by the Lord. “I believe that pastors and churches of all sizes, universities, seminaries, conferences, and conventions should regularly call out the called to go to the nations in gospel ministry,” Floyd said. “Then, we prepare and equip them for the call God has placed on their lives.”

Strategic Action #4: Turn around the ongoing decline in reaching, baptizing, and discipling 12- to 17-year-olds. The SBC is baptizing 38% fewer teenagers than in the year 2000, Floyd noted. In partnership with Vision 2025 efforts, he said, the North American Mission Board will invest an additional $5 million to support student evangelism efforts across the continent. A portion of the funds will be sent to state conventions to use in more localized student evangelism events, strategies, and resources.

Strategic Action #5: Increase giving through the Cooperative Program and surpass $500 million in annual giving. Noting the challenges of the last year, Floyd said the goal is to increase giving in successive years and “establish a new path of growth” for the Cooperative Program.

“In order for us to accomplish this grand task, we must have all hands on deck,” Floyd said, calling on churches of all sizes, local associations, state conventions, and Baptist entities. “Vision 2025 is for everyone.”

– Baptist Press

Speakers added

The International and North American Mission Boards announced additional speakers for the Send Conference June 13-14 in Nashville. Added to the lineup for the pastors track are: Nick Floyd, Cross Church, northwest Arkansas; Miguel Núñez, Iglesia Bautista Internacional, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republican; Kevin Smith, Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware; Hershael York, Buck Run Baptist Church, Frankfort, Ky.; and Christian Ramos, Family Church, West Palm Beach, Fla.

A Spanish-language celebration will take place Sunday evening featuring Samua Calderón of First Baptist Church, Orlando, and Ramón Medina of Champion Forest Baptist Church in Houston.

Speakers announced for the women’s track include Katie McCoy, a professor at Southwestern Seminary, author and podcast host Jamie Ivey, and Bible teacher Sheila Walsh

The full Send Conference schedule is available at sbcannualmeeting.net.

Bible teacher and author Jen Wilkin will speak during the annual Ministers’ Wives Luncheon June 15. Tickets are available at Lifeway.com.

Doctorate awarded

To IBSA’s Mark Emerson

Wake Forest, N.C. | IBSA’s Associate Executive Director Mark Emerson graduated in May with a Doctor of Ministry degree from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Emerson’s doctoral ministry project was on “The Development of an Online Pastor Search Training Module at the Illinois Baptist State Association.”

Emerson pastored Living Faith Baptist Church in Sherman for 18 years before joining IBSA in 2009 to lead in missions and mobilization. He and his wife, Tammie, are members of Western Oaks Baptist Church in Springfield, where he serves as an elder and she is worship leader. The Emersons have two daughters, two sons-in-law, and a granddaughter.

Lifeway relocates After finalizing building sale

Nashville, Tenn. | Lifeway Christian Resources has completed the sale of its building in downtown Nashville for $95 million. The new owners of the 9-story building are two investment firms, but the Southern Baptist publisher will continue to occupy part of the building until it determines a location for its new workspace.

Lifeway CEO Ben Mandrell called the sale “a highly strategic decision for Lifeway’s future.” The entity’s new work environment will offer a mix of meeting spaces and drop-in workstations. Employees will continue to work remotely the majority of the time.

“We are moving away from the idea of a ‘headquarters’ to a fully mobile and agile workforce that intentionally gathers to build strong relationships, celebrate what God is doing, and share ideas,” Mandrell said.

Lifeway moved into its headquarters in November of 2017. A recent study found the organization was using the building at only 60% occupancy.

– Lifeway Christian Resources

RONNIE FLOYD

JOHN YEATS

GREG DAVIDSON

Trends from nearby and around the world.

Culture: $1 billion in marijuana sales predicted

Illinois keeps breaking its own records. Adults spent $110 million on “recreational cannabis products” in March alone. That’s more than $3.5 million a day spent at statelicensed dispensaries.

Legal marijuana sales here may reach $1.5 billion in 2021. In the first quarter of the year, tax revenue from marijuana surpassed alcohol tax collections, Newsweek reported.

“Frankly, I’m kind of tired of talking to the governor of Illinois,” neighboring governor Tony Evers said. “He thanks me for having Wisconsinites cross the border to buy marijuana.”

Global: Street preacher arrested

An elderly pastor was arrested in London in April for causing “alarm and distress” while preaching on biblical marriage. On a street corner in Uxbridge, police ordered 71-year-old John Sherwood to come down from a step ladder after three people complained about homophobic hate speech. He was handcuffed and jailed overnight.

– Christian Post

Numbers: Another baby bust

Despite predictions of a pandemicinspired boomlet, the number of births in the U.S. in 2020 dropped to 3.6 million. That’s the sixth consecutive year of decline, and the lowest number of births since 1979, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Faith: Getty calls lyrics ‘dangerous’

“Over 75% of what are called the great hymns of the faith talk about eternity, Heaven, Hell, and the fact that we have peace with God. Yet, less than 5% of modern worship songs talk about eternity. Many worship songs are focused on this Earth. I believe that the modern worship movement is a movement for cultural relevance. It’s a de-Christianizing of God’s people. It’s utterly dangerous. I have no quibbles saying, ‘Enough is enough.’”

– Keith Getty, composer of “In Christ Alone,” interviewed by Christian Post

Pro-Life: Gap widens over abortion

Ministry: Pot shots

18% of Protestant pastors in the U.S. favor legalized marijuana sales, but only 7% of Baptists. Also surveyed, this statement:

Disagree

17% 78% 5%

People: Mental health

44% of American adults ranked their mental health at 7 or below on a 10-point scale in February, a year into the pandemic. While analysts were cheered by the 56% who gave their wellbeing an 8, 9, or even a 10, the Barna survey from February shows 4-in-10 people you meet are not so upbeat. Vulnerable leaders who confess their feelings “will be transformative in this era,” trauma specialist Anita Phillips told Barna, “and I encourage leaders to do it, even if they’ve never done it before.”

Midwest: Teacher firing upheld

59% of American adults say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, compared to 39% who say not. The Pew survey from April shows the gap is widening among those who identify with a particular party, or say they lean toward that party.

A Catholic school in Indianapolis was within its rights in dismissing a teacher because of his same-sex marriage, according to a state court there.

Analysts forecast a “demographic winter.” For churches, it’s time to revisit the nursery as an intentional center for outreach. Biological growth within the church family won’t keep baby beds full.

80% 63% Democrats in favor Republicans in favor

4% 39% 2007 2021

“If the First Amendment means anything, it means the government can’t punish the Catholic Church for asking Catholic educators to support Catholic teaching,” said Luke Goodrich, an attorney for Becket law firm that supported the Archdiocese.

Cathedral High School teacher Joshua Payne-Elliot filed suit when the school declined to renew his contract in 2019, but the suit was dismissed in May.

– Christian Post

35%

IN FOCUS

Law threatens equality

Churches and individuals face challenges if Equality Act is passed

BY LISA MISNER

A bill awaiting passage in the U.S. Senate will redefine sex and require accommodation of divergent views of sexuality by institutions and individuals—likely including churches and Christians—if passed into law. The Equality Act promises tolerance and neutrality for gay and transgender people, but a Chicago law firm specializing in religious freedom cases says the proposed law is neither tolerant nor neutral—for Christians.

HR 5, called the Equality Act, was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives Feb. 25. The vote was 224-206, almost completely along party lines. The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing March 17, and the Act could be brought to the floor for a vote at any time. Some wonder if that vote will come in June, the federally designated annual “LGBT Pride Month.”

If the controversial legislation becomes law, it will eliminate the legal distinctions between males and females, amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include LGBTQ peoples, and take away religious liberty protections provided by the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). The Act

could also bring expanded federal abortion funding, diminish protections for women, and negatively impact the hiring practices of Christian organizations.

Richard Baker of the Chicago law firm Mauck and Baker said HR 5 “calls for a vast broadening of the meaning of the term ‘public accommodation’ to include almost everywhere where people gather.” The Act could deny Christians and other people of faith the right to claim exemption under religious freedom if such a claim applies to a person protected by the Equality Act.

The Family Research Council says the law could have some troublesome practical outcomes, including:

Women and girls would no longer have privacy in publicly accessible bathrooms, locker rooms, showers, and even battered women’s shelters; Medical professionals could be ordered to perform abortions or procedures related to “gender transition” against their moral or medical opinions;

Religious employers could be forced to offer their employees insurance coverage for procedures related to “gender transition” and abortion; and Churches and houses of worship could be prohibited from requiring that some of their leaders and employees abide by their doctrines about marriage and sexuality.

“Frankly, it’s impossible to guess all of this bill’s impacts until long after its passage, when the damage has already been done,” the attorney said.

Why should Christians be concerned about passage of the Equality Act in the Senate? Baker points to contemporary conservative Catholic ethicist George Weigel for an answer:

“To the Left, equality means freeing those oppressed from the bonds of an oppressive society. And in the end, this will require ‘political will’ or government cohesion. And here it is: the Equality Act is designed to bring the full weight of civil rights law down

Over-REACH State presses troubling sex ed plan

Springfield | Action in the Illinois General Assembly slowed in mid-May, delaying debate on a controversial attempt to mandate sex education for students in kindergarten through grade 12. But the possibility of an extended spring session could give lawmakers time to vote on the measure critics say would likely promote abortion in public schools.

“For the first time in Illinois history, not only do we see an actual promotion of sexual activity for students, but we also see the removal of any teaching of abstinence whatsoever in the proposed legislation,” said Molly Malone, assistant director of legislative affairs with the Pro-Family Alliance.

At issue is Senate Bill 818, which now includes an amendment created from the REACH and Healthy Youth Acts. The bill was originally a shell bill, Malone said, meaning it contains meaningless wording and is void of substantive legislation. Such bills are assigned to House Rules Committees to wait for something of substance to be added.

REACH was originally supported by Planned Parenthood and proposes sex education in public schools. For kindergarten through grade 2, lessons would focus on personal safety, respecting others, and identifying trustworthy adults. In grades 3-5, students would study anatomy, sexual orientation, gender identity, local resources related to reproductive health, and gender expression. In grades 6-12, the curriculum includes abstinence, abortion, birth control, and how to prevent getting STDs.

Ralph Rivera, a lobbyist for the Pro-Family Alliance, has called the act an effort to indoctrinate children against their beliefs and those of their parents. “And that’s very important because that’s where we come from,” Rivera said in a virtual hearing on the legislation, according to Capitol News Illinois. “This is a religious belief for us.”

Malone described the Healthy Youth Act, supported by the American Civil Liberties Union, as “very similar to the REACH Act, except it originally included private schools.” Proponents of the bills worked together to include parts of both in the newly amended SB 818.

“It’s not really important which components came from which,” she said, “what matters is that the resulting bill will promote abortion, the LGBT lifestyle, and will sexualize students.”

She further explained how, if the legislation were to pass, it could be a serious threat to individual and religious liberty. The bill could “cause discrimination against students and their parents who believe that homosexual and transgender lifestyles are wrong and that abstinence until marriage occurs is spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally the safest, healthiest choice for sexual activity,” she said.

“Those children and parents who choose to believe what Scripture teaches about sexuality will be ostracized and labeled as bigots in their own schools should SB 818 as amended pass.”

At press time, the bill was still in committee but could move to the Senate floor any time for a vote.

– Lisa Misner

Continued from page 7

on any religious institution—Catholic, Protestant, Jewish—that believes itself bound by Genesis 1:27. Which means that you are criminalizing biblical faith...”

Many Baptists would agree.

Where this road leads

American culture has rapidly shifted from a society based on traditional JudeoChristian values to a permissive, almost anything-goes society. Paraphrasing the Book of Judges, there is no truth except that of the individual. The most noticeable shift was the passage of same-sex marriage by the Illinois General Assembly in 2013, followed by the U.S. Supreme Court agreement in 2015’s Obergefell v. Hodges

Christians who haven’t publicly supported same-sex marriage have paid a stiff price. Two business owners are the lead examples. Jack Phillips of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Colorado has been sued multiple times by LGBTQ individuals demanding he “bake the cake” for their weddings, despite his objections as a Christian.

Southern Baptist Barronelle Stutzman was sued when she refused to make floral arrangements for a same-sex wedding. She lost her case in the Washington State Supreme Court but has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In Texas last month, Baylor University, formerly affiliated with Southern Baptists, announced it is considering a request for recognition by a gay student group.

And in the heartland, a man dressed as a woman delivered the sermon at a United Methodist Church in Bloomington. He is a candidate certified for ordination to ministry by his district, appearing as “Penny Cost,” his drag queen name.

Outside the U.S., the “equality” movement is having more direct effect on local churches, and on Christians individually.

Last month in Finland, Juhana Pohjola, Bishop Elect of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese, was charged with “incitement against a group of people” for the publication of a booklet 17 years earlier. The 2004 booklet espoused traditional Christian teachings on human sexuality. Member of Parliament Päivi Räsänen faces six years in prison for speaking publicly about marriage, and citing the Bible and that same booklet.

And in the United Kingdom, a Church of England priest was fired as a private school chaplain and labeled a terrorist after telling concerned students they could hold different views from a schoolwide pro-gay advocacy plan.

Whether HR 5 would have the same effect on speech in the U.S. is unknown, but as to the “broader risk of coercing speech, the answer is yes,” said Gregory Baylor, senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom. “There’s no doubt that many applications of the Equality Act would violate the First Amendment.”

At the very least, it will have a chilling effect. “There’s a lot of ambiguity about whether current protections of religious employers would help a church if they were faced with a claim of sexual identity or gender discrimination under the Equal-

ity Act,” Baylor said.

He acknowledged the Act would “coerce uniformity of thought and speech on issues like marriage and sex and what it means to be male and female.” By doing so, it would regulate what happens in schools and workplaces including religious institutions which would have lost their protection under 1993’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

What churches can do

How can local congregations be prepared right now? Baylor said churches should be “particularly mindful and thoughtful of the employees” they hire. They should also be “mindful that everything they say and do” might be taken down or recorded. He advised if a church should encounter a situation where they think a dispute might occur, they should immediately contact their legal counsel.

Churches should ensure their constitution and bylaws are current. One good policy is to identify in your church constitution with over 47,000 sister Southern Baptist churches by affirming The Baptist Faith and Message (2000). Additionally, all in-house documents should match policies. If a church claims religious exemption in a lawsuit, their documents must back up their practices.

There’s no doubt that many applications of the Equality Act would violate the First Amendment.

Finally, church leaders could be encouraged to see this time of gender confusion and debate over tolerance as ministry opportunity. The story was told recently of a deep-South church that planned to meet the rumored arrival of a transgender person with a request to leave. He had been attending as a man, but let his desire to attend dressed as a woman be known. The pastor wanted to know if a request to leave was legal.

In contrast, almost a decade ago, a Chicago Baptist church welcomed a transexual man in women’s clothing into the ladies Sunday school class. After a year attending, appearing and identifying as a woman, he showed up to Bible class in a man’s suit with a man’s haircut. He told the ladies his real name, and his plan to return home to his family, to live again as a man. He had heard the truth.

The Alliance Defending Freedom is a ministry partner of IBSA, providing assistance to member churches on legal issues and reviewing church’s legal documents to assess strength if faced with religious freedom challenges. Visit ADFChurch Alliance.org/IBSA to learn more about their service to IBSA member churches and discount for Church Alliance membership.

– Gregory Baylor, Alliance Defending Freedom

Home improvements

Illinois churches, ministries benefit from Campers’ investment

BY MEREDITH FLYNN

DuQuoin | Dick and Karen Mowers decided more than 40 years ago what they wanted to do once they retired. Even before they were married, the Quad Cities couple agreed they wanted one day to serve as mobile missionaries. They’ve made good on that promise, investing in a group known in Illinois and across the country as Campers on Mission.

The mission volunteers, many who are retired, are “a perfect match” for them, said Karen, who now serves as secretary for the Illinois chapter of Campers on Mission. Over the past seven years, the couple has served with their fellow volunteers across Illinois. Some projects take volunteers outside the state.

Much of the Campers’ work throughout the year is behind the scenes, said the

Illinois chapter’s president John Lindeman. He likens the group to “a cog in the wheel” of the ministry going on around them. But even if they don’t get to see the end result, the Campers value the opportunity to do work that helps others share the gospel, he said.

“We just thrive on that knowledge, that we’re part of the picture.”

Mobile missionaries

The Campers’ 2020 mission project schedule was different due to the COVID19 pandemic, and 2021 is too because they’re preparing to host the Campers on Mission National Rally June 9-11 in DuQuoin. But they’ve still found time to help churches and ministries across

P. 10

Campers on Mission National Rally

DuQuoin State Fairgrounds, June 9-11

Campers on Mission from around the country will gather in southern Illinois in June for a 3-day National Rally. The meeting schedule is full of missions training and worship, plus messages from IBSA pastors and ministry specialists.

Registration opens at 9 a.m. June 8, followed by pre-rally festivities that evening and throughout the day Wednesday. The rally officially begins at 6:30 p.m. June 9.

The National Rally is open to Campers on Mission members. To join, contact John Lindeman at (618) 559-9375.

Continued from page 9

Illinois. They set aside one week a month from April through October to assist with construction projects and other needs.

Most of the volunteers travel to their project sites in their own campers and stay there during the week. Some volunteers don’t have campers, so they make other arrangements or stay at the church where they’re serving. Illinois Campers on Mission currently has 46 active members, plus more than 80 others who serve occasionally and support the group financially and with prayer.

“The heart of every one of our folks is to promote the kingdom of Christ,” said Lindeman, whose background in construction includes 16 years as a teacher at a youth boot camp in Murphysboro. After he retired, he and his wife, Francie, joined Campers on Mission.

The group celebrated its 45th year of service last year. Over the years, they’ve completed 273 work projects, including annual work weeks at the Baptist Children’s Home in Carmi and at Lake Sallateeska and Streator Baptist Camps. At the camps, they help prepare the grounds and facilities for campers who will come to hear the gospel.

The Campers also serve individual churches, like Road to Freedom B.C. in Galesburg. In 2020, volunteers put in new ceilings in the church’s sanctuary and a large Sunday school classroom. “They put in over 2,000 square feet of sheet rock, did all the finishing of it, and the painting,” said Pastor Marvin “Bull” Shultz

The Campers also put in new lighting. “And they did it all in a week,” he said. Plus, they helped Road to Freedom host a community outreach.

The projects they worked on at his church were things that had to get done to maintain the building, Shultz said, noting the Campers bring very specific, God-given talents to the table. “We supplied the materials,” he said, “they provided all the labor.”

One of the group’s strengths, Mowers said, is their variety of skills and experiences. Some have backgrounds in business and some in construction, like Lindeman. Women often focus on painting, cleaning, and sewing projects, handcrafting “As You Go Bears” and “Salvation Dolls” to share the gospel with children. Campers carry frisbees with the plan of salvation printed on them so they can share as they go, and they’ve also helped churches host block parties and revivals focused on outreach to their communities.

The desire to serve others is what brings the Campers together, and has helped them build a close-knit family of people from across Illinois. The Mowerses arrived at their first work week

not knowing anyone. “By the end of the week, we had some lifelong friends that we’re still close to,” Karen said.

She and her husband were out 15 weeks last year on Campers projects. They tell their children they’re safer on the road with their friends doing mission work than they are at home.

“We pray for each other, check on each other, love each other, and gladly serve the Lord with each other. I personally have never been part of another group like this in my life, and we’ve become so close that this long state becomes pretty small with friends everywhere.”

For more information about serving with Illinois Campers on Mission, go to comil.org.

FRIENDS ON MISSION

– The close-knit group of Illinois mission volunteers known as Campers on Mission spend several weeks a year together working on projects to help churches and ministries across the state. Some members specialize in construction, others in sewing. Volunteers take the lead in their specific areas. “I think that’s one of the strengths of the group,” said Karen Mowers, a long-time Campers on Mission volunteer. In June, the Illinois contingent will host fellow Campers at the group’s National Rally, held this year in DuQuoin.

Desperate to see God move

New Illinois WMU president invites women into her calling

BY LEAH HONNEN

You could hear tears in Lindsay Wineinger’s voice as she pledged to pray daily that Illinois Baptist women will follow God’s call on their lives. “It is a joy, it is a privilege, it is humbling to serve you,” said the newly elected president of Illinois Baptist Women WMU (Woman’s Missionary Union). “And I am here for it.”

The mother of three runs a feed store in Princeville, Ill., with her husband, Nathan. She is also the granddaughter of former North American Mission Board missionaries George and Leona Davis, and the daughter of Mark and Shelley Davis, who serve at Woodland Baptist in Peoria where he is director of education and administration.

“I am going to pray for each one of you every day,” Wineinger told women at IBSA’s recent Priority Conference, “because I am desperate to see God move in our state in a very, very big and powerful way.”

Princeville | Two years ago, Lindsay Wineinger was bothered by the idea that her daughters could grow up without realizing the world is bigger than their corner of Illinois. The mother of three asked herself what she could do to help her girls see outside of themselves.

“How can I align our family life so we are going, doing, and taking those opportunities so [they] will see Jesus first, then the world?”

For Wineinger and her husband, Nathan, part of that answer is giving her daughters a missional upbringing like the one she had. Wineinger was involved in GA’s (Girls in Action) and Acteens, missions education programs facilitated by Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU). Wineinger didn’t know what “WMU” stood for, but she knew the programs.

Meet Lindsay Wineinger

Favorite female Bible teacher: My high school Sunday school teacher, Miss Wendy, never shied away from any subject, which was so valuable as I fumbled through high school. She helped me differentiate between a religion and a relationship with God.

How you take your coffee: With a little bit of coffee (I put plenty of cream and sugar in, then coffee!)

Favorite candy or candy bar: Snickers

If you could have a superhero power, what would it be? Teleportation. It sounds so simple, but it would cut travel time and cost!

Favorite woman in the Bible: Ruth. Everyone around her noticed her character. Being different in a good way…that’s something I want to be and what I want to teach my girls. God tells us to do that and Ruth showed us how.

“I really started developing a ‘Holy-moly! God’s bigger than the United States’ mindset in GA’s for sure,” she said. When missionaries to Africa visited her GA group and shared items from the country they served, Wineinger was amazed. It was as if a switch flipped. She realized the world extended farther than she could ever see.

Now, she’s using her own experiences to shape plans for her children. The Wineingers are laying an early foundation of serving others and prioritizing missions. “The best thing I can give my kids,” she said, “is to remind them that everything’s about Jesus and everything’s about loving on other people.”

In April, Wineinger was elected to lead Illinois Baptist Women WMU as president. Former president Jill McNicol introduced her at IBSA’s Priority Women’s Conference, noting both Wineinger’s missions heritage and the on-mission life she leads at home and work. “She uses her everyday life and their business to reach others for Christ,” McNicol said.

She’s also ready to apply that mindset to her tenure as WMU president.

“I’d like to see where the working moms, the busy moms, the mom that’s barely got a weeknight to herself…how she can be a part of WMU,” Wineinger said. We’re called in Acts 1:8 to serve as we go. She is encouraging women to consider what that looks like in their current stage of life.

As a business owner, podcaster, and blogger balancing work and home life, Wineinger also has a heart for entrepreneurs. “They live on a different brainwave,” she said, and take big risks. Her family will soon open a new venture of their own, a farmto-table restaurant called The Feed Store. Wineinger and Carmen Halsey, leadership development director for IBSA, have been working hard to find a niche for entrepreneurs, and hope to develop unique leadership opportunities for them.

At 35, she understands her tenure as president will look different from other state WMU leaders. “It feels good to be WMU president, but also intimidating, and super humbling. I am proud to call Jill McNicol, Missy Doyle, and Sandy Wisdom-Martin my predecessors,” she said, naming recent Illinois missions leaders. “These women are top-notch.”

Speaking of top-notch women, Wineinger has no lack of support. She lovingly calls one group her “super-cheerleaders.” They’re friends of her grandmother, Leona Davis, who retired from the North American Mission Board and reached many for Christ on the University of Illinois campus through the years. Wineinger cherishes the notes, phone calls, and emails from the prayer warriors supporting her in her current role.

Looking to the next generation, she also hopes to take her daughters on an international mission trip in the next couple of years. She recognizes the risk, but also wants to show her daughters to trust God by example. “That’s the whole point. God’s the protector. God’s the provider. And God will tell us where to go.”

– Emily Carpenter Photography

Congratulations, scholarship recipients!

Baptist Foundation of Illinois awarded 36 college and seminary scholarships for the 2021-22 academic year. For more information about the scholarship program, visit baptistfoundationil.org

Madilyn Berry | Red Hill Church, Edwardsville Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville

Josiah Blan | Families of Faith, Channahon

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Madeline Campbell | Delta Church, Springfield

Mississippi College

Ryan Casey | Immanuel Baptist Church, Benton

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

James Collins | Steeleville Baptist Church

New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Lilyanna Conkle | First Baptist Church, Metropolis Freed-Hardeman University

Nicholas Dimauro | First Baptist Church, Anna George W. Truett Theological Seminary

Rhett Ellis | Logan Street Baptist Church, Mt. Vernon

Rend Lake College

Holly Farrow | Temple Baptist Church, Champaign

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

Arielle Fisher | Eastview Baptist Church, Springfield University of Illinois-Springfield

Tyler Gallion | First Baptist Church, Petersburg Southwest Baptist University

Alli Goering | Vale Church, Bloomington Greenville University

Greg Gomez | Bethel Church, Troy Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

Grace Hafner | Lighthouse Fellowship Church, Frankfort University of North Alabama

Andrew Hannaford | First Baptist Church, Carmi New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Haleigh Harpole | Logan Street Baptist Church, Mt. Vernon Eastern Illinois University

Haley Johnston | First Baptist Church, Valier Boyce College

Trevor Johnston | First Baptist Church, Valier Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

William Jones | Ten Mile Baptist Church, McLeansboro Liberty University

Andrew Lawrence | Fellowship Baptist Church, Vienna Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

Austin Lee | First Baptist Church, O’Fallon New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Kayla Lockhart | First Baptist Church, Coal City Joliet Junior College

Jack Lucas | Western Oaks Baptist Church, Springfield Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

needed

IBSA’s Nominating Committee and Committee on Committees are seeking nominees to serve on the Association’s three boards and six committees. Josh Monda, pastor of First Baptist Church in Washington noted the boards and committees are an opportunity to follow Christ’s example of service.

“I personally found joy in serving on the Credentials Committee as it opened the door to build relationships with others on the committee, as well as with other churches affiliating with IBSA,” he said. Illinois Baptists may recommend candidates at IBSA.org/ nominations, or by emailing BarbTroeger@IBSA.org to request a printed form. The deadline for submitting nominations is August 6.

“My understanding of the work of Illinois Baptist State Association has grown tremendously through committee service,” said Susan Full of Havana Southern Baptist Church. “I enjoy getting to know the other committee members and learn of the work of their churches—we have such variety, and yet so much in common.”

Positions are currently open on IBSA’s boards and committees: Boards

Illinois Baptist State Association Board of Directors

Baptist Foundation of Illinois Board of Trustees

Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services Board of Trustees Committees

Constitution Committee

Credentials Committee

Historical Committee

Nominating Committee

Committee on Order of Business

Resolutions and Christian Life Committee

Go to IBSA.org/nominations for more information.

Jason Plumer | First Baptist Church, Litchfield Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Matthew Scheibel | Mosaic Church, Highland Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

David Siere | First Baptist Church, Brookport Gateway Seminary

Keith Shedlebower | Eastview Baptist Church, Springfield University of Illinois-Chicago

Faith Stallard | Freedom Baptist Church, Noble Illinois College

Michael Stroud | First Baptist Church, Carterville Liberty University

Jonathan Timm | Pleasant Grove Baptist Church, Iuka Oakland City University

Sara Timm | Pleasant Grove Baptist Church, Iuka University of Illinois

Bethany Toler | First Baptist Church, Harrisburg Southern Illinois University

Abigail White | Logan Street Baptist Church, Mt. Vernon Lincoln Christian University

Kimberly Williams | Anna Heights Baptist Church, Anna Southern Illinois University

Samuel Winkleman | First Baptist Church, Harrisburg Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville

Rachel Zimmerman | Unity Baptist Church, Vandalia Indiana State University

table talk

GROWING

Build a bigger table

Investing in young leaders benefits everyone

When our team is working on a project or event, it often becomes apparent we need other voices in the process. We identify a gap in our collective knowledge about a particular topic or task. Then we need to expand the table to make room for a leader to bring her own skills and experiences.

These gaps are themselves cause for celebration, because they give us opportunities to find new and younger leaders. They are on-ramps for us to bring someone new into the leadership circle. What follows is more challenging: creating an intentional process to help that leader develop personally and as part of God’s larger work around her. Here’s what we’ve learned so far:

1. Invest for the longterm. Young leaders want to be part of something bigger than themselves. They lean into opportunities to be better at what they’re trying to do. They want to learn from more experienced leaders, but they also want opportunities to take chances. That makes our task a delicate balance between letting them run and running alongside them.

I’m learning not to pass the baton too quickly. There is legitimately a time for micromanagement. Experienced leaders have the responsibility to get to know enough about the person, their competency for the task, and their “want-to,” in order to assess their readiness for the opportunity in front of them.

2. It’s already personal. Because we’re dealing with people. And people need to know we’re interested ultimately in their journey as followers of Jesus and participants in his work in the world.

I try to establish two types of contact with a new or younger leader: one is about the specific project they’re partnering with us to complete. This is where we can

celebrate wins and evaluate challenging areas. The other type of investment is about them personally. Sometimes, we need to meet just to talk about how they see God at work and what he’s teaching them at that moment.

When we get to know leaders on both these levels, we learn what motivates them and how we can prepare them for the next step. We also give them a safe space to talk about what God is doing in their lives. For me, this often happens when I travel to and from conferences. It’s rare that I go to an event on my own. More often, I take people with me. The road trip lets me get to know other leaders.

When we show young leaders we care about them and not just a specific task, we put them in a better position to stay connected once the project is done. Devel-

oping young leaders can’t be just about what’s in it for our ministry.

3. Fix processes, not people. Too often, new leaders walk away from a project that didn’t work out like they’d hoped feeling like the whole experience was a failure. Or worse, that they were, resulting in a hesitation to try again. If indeed there is room for improvement, experienced leaders can often look at the processes we followed to get to a certain outcome and tweak them, instead of laying blame on the people involved.

I’ve found it helpful to let a young leader know up front that we routinely do quality checks of our processes. This helps them to see this is a proactive step.

Young leaders are often attuned to the culture in ways I am not. They are eager to be in community. They look for opportunities to help deliver something bigger than what they could do on their own. They’re willing to take the reins. And they’re teachable.

Let’s make room for them at the table and prepare ourselves to make a long-term investment.

The Learning curve

reading & recommendaTions

On Preaching

H.B. Charles Podcast

In addition to thoughts and tips on preaching and sermon preparation, Pastor Charles also interviews various pastors to share their background and approach to the sacred task of preaching.

Know What You’re For

Jeff Henderson

This book has some really valuable concepts and practices for organizations and businesses, but for me, it has definitely helped shift my thinking in how I approach social media management and marketing.

Among Wolves

Dhati Lewis

I read this book while leading a small group of students to study God’s word and serve others amid the chaos in some of our neighborhoods. Lewis’s call is to make disciples in whatever culture and climate we find ourselves.

– Vaughn Sanders, pastor, First Baptist Church, Bolingbrook

– Mindy Dilg, Immanuel Baptist Church, Benton

– Edgar Rodriguez, pastor and church planter, New City Fellowship, Chicago

“While we’re there, I thought I’d try out for the Opry.”

Carmen Halsey is IBSA’s leadership development director.

Pastor and futurist Carey

Nieuwhof sees a growing divide after the pandemic. Not your typical church split, he sees a gap widening between churches that will be effective in accomplishing their mission and those that won’t be. Pre-pandemic, Nieuwhof summarized the divide as between the 15% of churches that are growing and the 85% that are plateaued or declining.

Looking forward, the split is in these four areas:

Online-optional vs. fully hybrid Bringing people back vs. moving people forward Churches that embrace vs. churches that judge Ideologically-driven vs. Gospel-driven

Read his description of these growing distinctions at careynieuwhof.com/the-comingchurch-split-its-not-what-youthink/

reporter’s notebook

Two scoops of courage

Afriend of mine opened an ice cream shop in May. She dreamed a dream, a big dream, and made it happen during a pandemic. She wrestled with construction, permitting, sourcing, bidding, hiring, marketing, and taste-testing. She cultivated relationships with local officials, churn experts, shop owners, potential staff, and her community. No one told her she couldn’t, so she did it.

That was bold. I wish all of us in the church would be so bold right now.

As we move into the early stages that we may dare to call “post-pandemic,” everyone seems to want everything the way it used to be. We want to meet in-person, in small study groups, in worship large groups, with all our seating, and without limitations. We want to print the bulletin, pass the plate, and share the cup. Facebook broad casts may survive, but Zoom groups may not, we have heard some speculate. It’s possible in the effort to

recapture what we used to have that we will lose what we just created. What did we create in the lockdown year? We quickly developed a deeper appreciation for community. We demonstrated desire to go the extra mile to achieve it. We even drew in some people who had been on the margins of church life. We all understood how the shut-ins felt. Now, as all our on-campus activities resume, it’s possible some people won’t return—and no one will notice. If we’re not careful, 2021 will become the year of the dropout.

As worship services went online and pastors preached from their dining rooms last year, we saw in tangible ways the potential of the internet.

“Look how many people are watching and liking and commenting,” we heard last spring and summer. “New people!” And that fostered a new kind of interest in outreach to our neighbors. As they just might be listening, we more intentionally spoke up in the places they tuned in.

became the new back fence. The topic of conversation was the availability of disinfectant supplies, food distribution, emotional support, and sermon watch parties from the church sometimes ignored by the community. But as the neighbors’ calendars get booked again with kids sports and vacations and all the stuff that kept them busy pre-pandemic, connecting with them will not be so easy. Our push to reach the neighbors will subside, if we are not careful.

Overall, we experienced willingness to break the mould and openness to experimentation. Like my friend, the creamery entrepreneur, nobody told us we couldn’t, so we did it.

Will we be able to say that again a year from now?

– Eric Reed

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

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

We can help your church prepare itself for these changes.

IBSA covers half of your church’s cost for the first year of membership.

The neighborhood Facebook page

Church opens gathering space

Food distribution aids families

BUILDING COMMUNITY – First Baptist Church in Carterville finished construction earlier this year on its Community Connection Center. Pastor Brad Harlow and his church envision the center, the community’s largest gathering place other than the civic center, as a place where more people will come to know Christ.

dave says

Good news, bad news

QMy wife and I are in our late twenties, we have no debt, and our household income is about $180,000 year. We’re thinking about building a home, but we’re not sure whether to build just for us, or maybe building a multi-family place so we could live upstairs, rent the rest, and make some money. Your advice would be appreciated.

AIf you’re looking strictly at quality of life considerations, like privacy and having a little room to yourselves, a single family home is the way to go. But, if making extra money is important to you at this point, a multi-family structure might work. The good news is your tenants would be right there. The bad news is your tenants would be right there!

single family route—specifically because of the quality of life. Looking at the other side, you’ll make money with a multi-family construction, but it’ll probably be a pain. You’ll be giving up some things if you go that route.

SATURDAY SERVICE – Bible Community Church in Freeport partnered with Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief to distribute food to 1,260 people May 15. At the other end of the state, First Baptist Church in Red Bud planned a May 22 food giveaway after giving groceries to 400 families in April.

3 ways to engage God’s word BRIGHTER DAY

Ten years after our premarital counseling, the piece of advice that sticks out above the others is a Bible verse. I wish I could report that Paul’s encouragement in Colossians 3:16 to “let the word of Christ dwell richly among you” has seasoned all of my speech for the past decade.

DAVE RAMSEY

Let me put it this way. I’ve owned a ton of investment real estate in my life, and my wife didn’t want to live in any of those properties. Still, there’s nothing inherently wrong with either decision. Just make sure your mortgage is a 15-year, fixed rate loan, and the monthly payments are no more than 25% of your combined take home pay. Save up for a down payment of at least 20% to avoid PMI, too.

I can’t. But we have found speaking to one another out of the overflow of God’s word is a worthy goal. Especially once we added two daughters to our family, and particularly when statistics show biblical literacy and engagement are relatively low.

The American Bible Society reported last year that only 9% of Americans used the Bible every day. That’s the lowest percentage since the annual State of the Bible survey launched 10 years ago. The survey pointed to specific challenges in 2020, but we’ve personally experienced other factors that were in place long before the pandemic: we tend to be overscheduled, without margin, and apathetic about prioritizing the Bible every day.

MEREDITH FLYNN

Singing Scripture helps it take root in our hearts.

Read it. We’ve used some wonderful storybook Bibles over the years, but we recently realized the value of reading stories straight from the Bible itself. Watching the stories of Joseph or Moses stretch out over several chapters of Scripture, for instance, gives us an opportunity to talk about God’s providence and provision in each part of their lives, and ours.

From a landlord’s perspective, living next to or above your tenants means you can keep an eye on things a little better. Your tenants might also take better care of the place with you around. But those kinds of situations aren’t always beautiful things. When you’re living a floor or wall away from someone, you’re all up in their business, and they’re all up in your business. It’s not for everyone.

If you’re planning to have kids soon, I’d recommend going the

Take a hard look at the numbers, and make sure you and your wife have a long, long talk about everything. You two should be in complete agreement about every aspect of this situation before moving forward!

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

But recently, our family has stumbled into a few new ways to engage with God’s word together. These methods, helpful to us because our children are young, can be adapted for any context:

Sing it. Our girls recently discovered the Slugs and Bugs series of songs based on Scripture. The lyrics are straight from the Bible and some songs have a generous helping of silliness. (“Deuteronomy 6:5,” for example, features verses sung by monsters and bumblebees.) For adults, worship leaders Shane & Shane have two albums based on the Psalms.

Tell it. Ahead of Palm Sunday, our kindergartener wanted to tell us the story of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. That spurred our 3-year-old to tell us the story of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. Their retellings reminded me of that piece of biblical advice from a decade ago.

“Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.”

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

Join

EVENTS

Edge Online Training

What: Become a sharper leader right where you live and serve. Multi-week courses are instructor-led, fully online, and highly interactive.

When: New courses start June 7 Register: IBSA.org/ibsa-online-courses

June 15-16

Southern Baptist Convention

What: Baptists will gather under the theme “We Are Great Commission Baptists.” Ancillary meetings begin in Nashville June 13.

Towns, churches may benefit A new migration THE NEW REALITY

As many as 23 million Americans say they intend to relocate to a different city or region, now that they can work at home. The survey taken at the height of the pandemic period showed many favored communities with a cheaper cost of living. And 38% of employers are open to it. That could be good news for small towns and midsize cities. And it could benefit churches.

June 14 • 8 p.m.

See page 4 for details.

Where: Nashville, Tenn.

Info: sbcannualmeeting.net

Bounce Kids Camps

What: IBSA’s camps for kids and teens are back in 2021 at Lake Sallateeska and Streator. Register: IBSA.org/kids

June 29-July 3

Super Summer

What: Turning teens into disciples and leaders

Where: Hannibal-LaGrange University, Hannibal, Mo. Register: IBSA.org/students

July 5-10, July 24-31

Illinois Changers

Go to IBSA.org/kids to sign up.

Week 1: June 7-11, Streator, grades 3-12

Week 2: June 14-18, Streator, grades 3-12

Week 3: June 20-24, Lake Sallateeska, grades 3-6

Week 4: June 28-July 2, Lake Sallateeska, grades 3-6

Week 5: July 12-16, Streator, grades 3-12

neTworking

What: Challenging, hands-on mission projects for students who have completed grades 6-12

Where: July 5-10: Ten Mile, McLeansboro; July 24-31: Woodland, Peoria Register: IBSA.org/il-changers

July 15

IBSA Online Tech Conference

What: Get church technology training you won’t find anywhere else. Help staff create an attitude of worship, from the bulletin to the preaching. Info: BenJones@IBSA.org

July 19-23

Rebound Student Camp

What: A week designed for students in grades 7-12

Where: Lake Sallateeska Baptist Camp Register: IBSA.org/students

Find more information on ministry positions at IBSA.org/connect Send NetworkiNg items to IllinoisBaptist@IBSA.org

Tilden Baptist Church is prayerfully seeking a bivocational associate pastor. This opportunity would involve mentorship and the opportunity to grow and to develop in Christian ministry. Working with youth and worship to assist in the growth of the church would be a big part of this ministry. For more information, email trippins66@msn.com.

First Baptist Church, Dupo, seeks a part-time worship leader. The primary responsibility is leading the Sunday morning worship service. Salary negotiable. Send resumés to FBC Dupo, P.O. Box 219, Dupo, IL 62239, or email resumes to fbcdupo@htc.net, Attention: Pastor.

Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Buncombe is a small, rural, mission-minded church in search of a bivocational pastor. Send resumes to Robert Prater at praterbob6@gmail.com or call (618) 521-8052 for more information.

Hoosier Prairie Baptist Church in Louisville seeks a pastor. Contact Cole Hildebrand at hoosierprairiepastorsearch@gmail.com, (618) 665-4404, or 488 Titanium Rd., Louisville, IL 62858.

First Baptist Church, Gibson City, seeks a Godloving, Bible-preaching bivocational pastor to help this small (but mighty for the Lord) church grow. Email resumés to hd4Christ@att.net.

About 20% of those planning to move live in a major city. More than half plan to move two hours away or even further. United Van Lines reports a 32% increase in interest in moving compared to a year ago. Customers said the pandemic made them want to be closer to extended family and friends.

Much of Illinois is within two-hours driving distance from Chicago and St. Louis. That may mean “exurbs” will see noticeable growth.

Exurb – (noun) A district outside a city, especially a prosperous area beyond the suburbs. They tend to be situated in more rural areas, near farmland or even the beach.

Impact on local churches

Look for newcomers. Use a service that provides addresses for new residents. Both Lifeway and Outreach.com offer new resident lists. The “windshield survey” works too. Ask church members to note moving trucks and stacks of U-Haul boxes.

Rev up the Welcome Wagon. Newbies want to know about their new home. Supply area food specialties, restaurant coupons, info on local attractions, and church info.

Focus on community. Settling into a new group isn’t always easy. The “home folks” may need help making new people feel welcome. Encourage overt invitations to worship, classes, and Sunday lunch. Make it easy to join in.

Specialize in remote workers’ needs. Single adults who returned when their offices reopened said they missed their work friends, because many had no one at home. As families relocate, they will need new relationships too. And sometimes a quiet place to get away to “work.”

– Eric Reed

“This is an early indicator of the much larger impacts that remote work could have in increasing efficiency and spreading opportunity.”

– Economist Adam Ozimek of Upword, a freelancing platform.