March 7, 2016 Illinois Baptist

faith in action

Pastor combats violence

Takes to airwaves to save kids and streets P.

Chicago | An IBSA pastor appeared on the “Steve Harvey Show” last month to bring attention to rampant gun violence in his city. Corey Brooks, who pastors New Beginnings Church on Chicago’s South Side, was part of a four-person panel on Harvey’s Feb. 15 episode, the whole of which was dedicated to violence in Chicago.

It’s a problem Brooks has been fighting for years, most notably during his 2011 campaign on the roof of a motel across the street from his church.

“I was just tired of it,” Brooks said of the crime that riddled the motel. With only a tent to protect him from the Chicago winter, Brooks spent 94 days on the roof, until he had raised $555,000— enough money to buy the hotel and tear it down.

CONVENTIONAL WISDOM

Snapshots from the world of Illinois Baptists

“There can be no doubt that evolution can be squared with belief in some deity, but not the God who revealed himself in the Bible, including the first chapters of Genesis.”

– Albert Mohler, Jan. 2014

Culture: Where did we come from?

Eleven Portraits

Visitors to the IBSA office building in Springfield sometimes take note of eleven portraits displayed there, acknowledging the men who have served IBSA as executive director since its formation in 1907. Those portraits used to hang in the entrance lobby, and since our building renovation a few years ago they have been on display in our first floor Resource Room. While it’s hard for me to believe, by God’s grace I have just celebrated 10 years in that executive director role. That milestone recently led me to a few reflective moments in front of those portraits. Four of those men are simply historical figures to me, but I’ve had the privilege of meeting the other six personally. They each served in different times and faced different challenges, but together they form the legacy of leadership on which I now gratefully stand.

Church: Some Christians espouse evolution

38% of evangelicals say humans evolved over time, but they differ on how:

I’ve been told by others around the Southern Baptist Convention that 10 years seems to be about the typical length of service in the state executive director role. Since years of service are noted on a little plaque beneath each of the IBSA portraits, I did the math and learned that indeed the average term of service here in Illinois has been just over nine years.

There are, however, two distinct groups of IBSA executive directors among my 10 predecessors. Six men served less than seven years, and four served 12 or more. The smaller, longer-serving group were four of the first five executive directors, all of whom completed their service by the 1970s. The larger, shorter-serving group represent the more current trend. And at 10 years’ service, I now stand in the middle.

There are many reasons why leaders stay in roles for a short time, including some which are beyond their control. So I wouldn’t second guess the Lord’s leadership or providence in any of the shorter terms of service. But after investing 10 years here at IBSA, I have a new appreciation for the men in the longer term group.

It takes time to establish relationships, and to build trust. It takes time to learn the many systems and traditions and landmines inherent in a thousand diverse churches working together. It takes time to learn the regional and ethnic and generational uniqueness of churches and their leaders. It takes time to take necessary risks and make unavoidable mistakes, and then to recover and learn from them. And I’m now discovering that it takes time to do it all again and again, as new pastors and leaders come on the scene.

The Illinois Baptist staff

Editor - Eric Reed

Contributing Editor - Lisa Sergent

Graphic Designer - Kris Kell

Editorial Contributor - Meredith Flynn

Administrative Assistant - Andrea Hammond

For questions about subscriptions, articles, or upcoming events, contact the Illinois Baptist at (217) 391-3110 or IllinoisBaptist@IBSA.org

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After 10 years, I feel in some ways I’m just getting started and just beginning to figure some things out. Yet by the law of averages I’ve already had as many years as most executive directors ever get. It makes me admire the men who stayed 12, or 17, or 19 years. And it makes me want to sprint right past this 10-year mark and see what might be possible in the company of these long-tenured men that preceded me.

It’s certainly possible to overstay your welcome, or to outstay your effectiveness. And it’s always best when a leader can recognize that time long before anyone else does. But for the most part, it can be very good for an organization and its mission when a leader finds favor and stays.

So if you are wondering whether to stay and persevere where you are, let me encourage you to do so if at all possible. One day you will take your place among the portraits of former leaders in your place of service. It may be less and less common for leaders to stay long in one place. But if God gives you grace and favor to do so, I believe you will find a unique influence that only comes with time.

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

NATE ADAMS

In some ways I’m just getting started and just beginning to figure some things out.

From the front: chicago gun fight

Continued from page 1

His church is now raising money to build a community center in its place.

In 2015, Chicago had 468 homi cides, the Chicago Tribune reported, the most of any U.S. city. More than 2,900 people were shot. Already in 2016, there have been 467 shooting victims in Chicago.

Brooks’s church sits in a neighborhood that one newspaper labeled in 2014 the city’s most dangerous. But when New Beginnings moved in to the location, they were looking for a place they could make a difference.

“We wanted an area that really needed the gospel, an area that really needed a lot of help,” Brooks told the Illinois Baptist. “God has really been good to us, and we’re doing the best we can do in that area. It’s difficult, but we’re working really hard.”

disaster relief

5 teams respond to water crisis

Flint, Mich. | Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief teams will join a national effort to provide clean drinking water in Flint, Michigan, which made headlines last year after contaminated water sickened residents.

For six months, Southern Baptist volunteers will travel weekly to Flint to install water filtration systems in individual homes.

“This is very different than most disaster responses,” said IBSA’s Rex Alexander, who heads the state’s Disaster Relief ministry. “But because Southern Baptist Disaster Relief had such an impact after the flooding in Warren, Michigan, the Michigan Emergency Operations Center is asking specifically for Southern Baptists to help them again.”

Disaster Relief teams from across the country, including five from Illinois, responded in 2014 to the situation in Warren, where more than 1,000 homes were flooded. The opportunity to help in Flint came out of the assistance volunteers provided then, Mickey Caison, executive director of disaster relief for the North American Mission Board, told Baptist Press.

“Here we have government asking Southern Baptists to go into homes to do a specific task, but part of that task is to talk with

the homeowners,” Caison said. “It’s interesting to me that God, in his love and grace, provides the opportunity to step into this environment. God continues to honor our commitment to serve him in this unique way, and he opens the doors for us in other places.”

Five teams from Illinois currently are preparing to serve in Flint, and each project is being organized by regional Disaster Relief leaders. Volunteers must be credentialed DR workers and undergo a background check. Interested volunteers should contact the individual leaders for the week they want to serve:

• March 13-20: Tom Clore (618) 841-4010

• March 20-27: Don Kragness (618) 983-5546

• April 3-10: Myron Taylor (618) 303-3748

• May 1-8: David Howard (217) 303-4699

• May 22-29: Daniel Waters (217) 691-3106

For more information about Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief training and missions opportunities, go to IBSA.org/dr.

The church started a non-profit called “Project HOOD” that focuses on mentoring initiatives. It was Brooks’s time on the motel roof that first introduced him to talk show host Steve Harvey, who gave the pastor his Best Community Leader Award in 2012. Harvey’s foundation has since partnered with Project HOOD.

On the Feb. 15 episode of Harvey’s show, which tapes in Chicago, Brooks’s fellow panelists—a former school principal, a journalist, and a Catholic priest—came from very different walks of life than his own. But to solve the problem of gun violence, Brooks said, people are going to have to work together.

In fact, that’s why his church affiliated with the Illinois Baptist State Association in 2015. “I realized that this issue is a lot bigger than what an independent church can handle,” Brooks said. “You need to be aligned and partnering and collaborating with other groups that believe what you believe” so that you can bring needed resources into communities, he said.

“The thing that will change and solve the problem of violence is the gospel.”

Camp manager named

Former IMB missionary to serve at Streator

Streator | Mike Young is the new manager of Streator Baptist Camp, IBSA’s camp and retreat facility in northern Illinois.

Young and his wife, Wendi, are returning to Illinois following a 9-year assignment with the International Mission Board in Czech Republic. As church planters there, they used a variety of outreach methods to reach people with the gospel, including some—archery classes, kite flying competitions, and nature hikes—that could come in handy in their new role at Streator.

“Mike has a unique skill set that we believe will help us take the ministry of Streator Baptist Camp to the next level,” said IBSA’s Mark Emerson.

The Youngs, whose families live in southern Illinois, both grew up in Belleville and lived in Nashville, Ill., before moving to Czech Republic. They have two children: Tyler, 19, and Emma, 16.

“We have seen, in Czech Republic and in Illinois, what an impact Christian camps can have on the people who attend,” Mike Young said. “Because camps allow a very unique opportunity to share the gospel, especially with youth, we have seen lives changed.

“We’re excited and humbled to be a small part of what God will do at Streator Baptist Camp.”

Young began his role at Streator on March 1.

YOUNG

HARVEY

Greear to run for SBC president

J.D. Greear, pastor of The Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, N.C., will be nominated for president of the Southern Baptist Convention during the annual meeting in St. Louis, Baptist Press reported March 2.

Florida pastor Jimmy Scroggins, who plans to nominate Greear, said he “is God’s man for the hour who models in his church the best of what a Southern Baptist pastor is all about.”

Greear, 42, has pastored The Summit for 14 years, during which time worship attendance has grown from 350 to just under 10,000, Scroggins told Baptist Press. The Summit’s giving to Southern Baptist missions and ministry includes more than $1 million annually to IMB-related causes and more than half a millions dollars to NAMB-related causes.

Greear said, “One of the things God has put on my heart is that my generation needs to take personal responsibility for the agencies and the mission boards of the SBC and not just think of them as the SBC’s, but think of them as ours.”

The Baptist divide

This political year illustrates a divide in the SBC, said Tennessee pastor and Baptist21 leader Jon Akin, over how the gospel influences how we engage the culture.

“…I think every well-intentioned Southern Baptist would say when pressed that the gospel is the only thing that can ultimately change a people or a country,” Akin wrote on the B21 website. “What I mean is our actions and emotions reveal which side of the divide we are on.

“Does the kingdom of God advance through a prophetic, gospel-witness in the culture that transforms individuals and communities all around the globe? Or, does the kingdom advance and (is) change effected through electing the right people who will make America ‘great again’ as a bastion for Christianity and conservative values?”

Abortion clinics close

The number of abortion clinics in the U.S. is on a steep downward trend, Bloomberg Businessweek reports. At least 162 abortion providers have closed or stopped performing abortions since 2011, while only 21 have opened. “State regulations that make it too expensive or logistically impossible for facilities to remain in business drove more than a quarter of the closings,” Bloomberg reported. “Industry consolidation, changing demographics, and declining demand were also behind the drop, along with doctor retirements and crackdowns on unfit providers.”

– Baptist Press, Baptist21, Bloomberg

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

Candidates’ faith matters

And the murky definition of ‘evangelical’

After a year of almost no presence in the political debate, the role of evangelical voters has emerged in the past two months as a hot topic. And some prominent evangelicals are crying foul for the term’s broadening definition and indiscriminate application.

While some analysts are giving self-identified evangelicals credit for wins by both Donald Trump and Ted Cruz in the Super Tuesday Republican primaries, others caution that not all the people pollsters are calling “evangelicals” really qualify for that label. That may be the reason it appears the evangelical voting bloc is split. Trump, a Presbyterian, continues to lead his two closest Republican rivals, Southern Baptist Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, a Catholic who attends a Baptist church when in Florida.

Some evangelical leaders are stepping away from the term “evangelical” for the time being. Russell Moore, president of the SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, tweeted his exasperation: “The word ‘evangelical’ no longer has any meaning. Just call me a gospel Christian.”

Then, writing for the Washington Post, Moore lamented, “Part of the problem is that more secular people have for a long time misunderstood the meaning of ‘evangelical,’ seeing us almost exclusively in terms of election-year voting blocs or our most buffoonish television personalities. That’s especially true when media don’t distinguish in election exit polls between churchgoers and those who merely self-identify as ‘born again’ or ‘evangelical.’”

Over on the other side of the aisle, United Methodist Hilary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, a secular Jew, have made little effort to court evangelicals. Both have campaigned in Black Protestant churches including Victory Missionary Baptist Church where pastor Robert E. Fowler has endorsed Clinton. Both were at the church on Valentine’s Day.

A survey by LifeWay Research and the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) determined last fall that evangelicals (as most Southern Baptists would describe them) hold

four common beliefs: the Bible is their highest authority, it is very important to share Christ with non-Christians, Christ’s death on the cross is the only sacrifice that can remove sin, and only those who accept Christ as their savior will receive eternal salvation

The survey surprisingly found just 41% of self-identified evangelicals hold all four beliefs, and 21% of those who rejected the evangelical label actually agree with all four. Other surveys have defined evangelical in much broader terms, or as LifeWay’s Trevin Wax wrote on The Gospel Coalition’s website, “‘Evangelical’ sometimes means ‘cultural Christianity.’”

Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, has not endorsed Trump, but has introduced Trump at campaign rallies in Iowa and Texas. He told National Public Radio that evangelicals are divided between idealists and pragmatists. “The idealists are the ones who ... would say if we could just get a strong Christian in the White House, perhaps we could return our nation to its Judeo-Christian foundation. But then there are the pragmatists who say, as much as we would like to have a faith-centered candidate, perhaps our country has moved too far to the left for that to happen, and so let’s get the most conservative candidate who is electable. And many of those are going for a Donald Trump.”

Jeffress further explained his thoughts in an interview with American Family Radio. “I was quoting what I believe many evangelicals are thinking,” he said. “I was not agreeing with that position. After the same-sex ruling last June, I think it was such a gut punch to many evangelicals that they pretty much gave up on the idea of depending upon government to uphold biblical values and they’re saying, ‘Okay, let’s let the church do that and let’s just depend upon government to do the other.’”

Trump’s big wins on Super Tuesday served to increase the debate over the role of socalled evangelicals in the election. Illinois voters will go to the polls March 15. – Lisa Sergent

CLINTON

SANDERS TRUMP

CRUZ RUBIO

KASICH

GREEAR

International Mission Board

Over 1,100 missionaries accept buyout

Platt says financial position ‘much healthier’

Richmond, Va. | David Platt’s report to the International Mission Board (IMB) trustees was the culmination of six month’s worth of efforts to undo six year’s worth of overspending.

The IMB president told trustees 1,132 total IMB personnel had accepted the Voluntary Retirement Incentive (VRI) or Hand Raising Opportunity (HRO). The numbers broke down to 702 missionaries and 109 staff personnel accepting the VRI, and 281 missionaries and 40 staff accepting the HRO. The positions of 30 personnel in IMB’s Richmond communications office were eliminated in its mobilization restructure.

The total was nearly twice the minimum number the mission board needed to depart in order to balance its budget. As a result, the number of missionaries on the field is down to around 3,800, a number not seen since 1992 when, according to Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual reports, the year ended with 3,893 international missionaries serving.

Platt told reporters in a telephone news conference Feb. 24, “The numbers surprised me, for which I don’t have an explanation. We’ve put it in the hands of missionaries as much as possible…This is a larger number than I or anyone else was anticipating. We called on people to pray so we’re going to trust in the Lord and his decision.”

SBC President Ronnie Floyd told Baptist Press, “This reset is not regress or retreat. Southern Baptist churches must see this as a fresh calling to reaching the world for Christ. Now is the time to go forward with a clear vision and an aggressive strategy to make disciples of all the nations for Christ.”

IMB reported it had “consistently spent more money than it has received—a combined $210 million more since 2010.” Because 80% of IMB’s budget is devoted to personnel salary, benefits and support expenses, leaders determined a need to reduce the total number of personnel by by up to 800 positions. Missionaries were given until December to take the voluntary buyouts.

The Illinois Baptist asked what his reaction was to receiving almost double the number of resignations needed. “My heart is heavy but hopeful,” he answered. “Heavy in a sense that my heart is not to see less people on the field. My heart is heavy seeing the effects…It’s a hopeful confidence mingled with that heaviness.”

“What does this say about the confidence the missions force has in the new leadership?” the IB asked in a follow-up. Platt replied, “I’m very encouraged to see God working in the middle of all this. I have a hopeful confidence in what the IMB will be able to do in the future.

“I hope Southern Baptists see a serious desire to love and lead the IMB well…This is in no way a commentary on past leadership. Past leadership made a bold decision

to put people on the field.”

After discussing the departures, Platt said, “I want to talk about the number of missionaries who are left. Thousands of missionaries remain on the field, with thousands of years of collective experience. Everyone of them on the field has been placed there by God.”

When one reporter expressed concerns from churches about the departure of so many missionaries leaving a “brain drain” on the field, Platt said, “We encouraged missionaries returning to take their last days on the field to pour into our national partners and other IMB missionaries that were still there.”

“Surely God’s calling tens of thousands more people to the field.”

As part of the mission agency’s board meetings, 26 new missionaries were commissioned in a ceremony in Richmond. Platt anticipates sending “thousands” to serve abroad, possibly as self-funded missionaries. His answer focused on what some would describe as marketplace missions, “limitless opportunities for people to work overseas and retire overseas.” In turn they would be funded by their paychecks and pensions. He also noted mission opportunities for students studying abroad who would not be IMB-funded career missionaries.

“I can’t pray Matthew 7:9 and then tell people who want to serve with the IMB ‘no.’ God’s created these other avenues.”

As for response to the staff cuts from people in the pews, Platt said, “People aren’t happy about it. I’m not happy about it. It’s a hard reality for Southern Baptists to face that we don’t have the resources to keep more people on the field…but God’s leading us to greater financial stewardship.”

upcoming Events Family ministry conference

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary will host a free conference on Family Ministry April 2930 at the Journey Church of St. Louis. Timothy Paul Jones will teach from the material in his book, “Field Guide to Family Ministry.”

The course unpacks how churches can narrow the gap between present reality and the biblical ideal of faith-nurturing families. Jones will provide a plan for equipping parents to be the primary faith trainers in their children’s lives, moving beyond programming into genuine spiritual transformation. Go to sbts.edu/ alumniacademyspring for more information.

Bikers plan ‘Executive Ride’

The Illinois chapters of the F.A.I.T.H. Riders motorcycle ministry are planning their second-annual “Executive Ride” to the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee in Nashville, Tenn.

The ride, scheduled for May 26-28, will start in Mt. Vernon at 9 a.m. The group will tour the Executive Committee building in downtown Nashville Thursday afternoon. Last year, the tour included a viewing of the SBC’s original handwritten charter, a more than 200-yearold Bible, and the Broadus gavel, which is used to call to order every SBC annual meeting.

The group will stay in Nashville Thursday evening and start the trip back to Illinois on Friday, arriving back in Mt. Vernon on Saturday. For more information, contact Cliff Woodman at cliffwoodman@ me.com.

Bivocational pastors to meet in Missouri

The annual meeting of the SBC’s Bivocational & Small Church Leadership Network is May 12-14 at HannibalLaGrange University in Hannibal, Mo. Cliff Woodman, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Carlinville, is currently serving as president of the network.

SBC Executive Committee

President Frank Page and Micah Fries of LifeWay Christian Resources will speak during the national celebration, which will base its theme—“You are not alone”—on 1 Kings 19. Baptist leaders, including IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams, also will lead breakout sessions during the meeting.

SBC data shows small churches and those led by bivocational pastors make up a large share of the denomination. The network exists to support those who lead churches with fewer than 200 worship attenders. Lodging for the May 12-14 meeting is available at Hannibal-LaGrange or area hotels. Go to http://bscln. net/bscln-2016-national-celebration.

SUPRISED – IMB President David Platt said he was surprised more than 1,000 missionaries opted to leave the Board. “This a larger number than I or anyone else was anticipating.” IMB photo

WOODMAN

reporter’s notebook

Scalia’s absence

“The implications of Scalia’s death for the court in the near future are big. Scalia’s absence is significant for cases in the pipeline; cases need four votes to win a Supreme Court hearing. With Kennedy as a wild card, there are now only three conservative justices on the court.”

–

Emily Blez

at WorldMag.com

“Scalia denied that there was any such thing as a Catholic, or a Christian, judge. His job, he emphasized, was merely to ascertain the meaning of the legal text at the time of enactment, using contemporaneous dictionaries and other evidence, and apply it without regard to policy considerations or moral values, including religious values.”

– Thomas Berg, University of St. Thomas School of Law, at ChristianityToday.com

“Scalia is famous (or infamous, depending on one’s view) for his dissent. They were always punchy, often sarcastic, and very often they predicted the future. He could see how decisions made now would have implications for other decisions later on.”

– Russell Moore, Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission

We're excited to announce the launch of four new programs at Trinity College, where we now offer over 70 areas of study. With so many options to choose from, you are sure to find a program that resonates with your academic pursuits. Find out more at tiu.edu/newprograms

A champion for religious liberty

The death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia came as a shock to many, especially at such a critical time in our political cycle. He was a strict constructionist who believed the U.S. Constitution should be read and understood as intended by its framers, which often brought his decisions down on the side of religious liberty.

The Catholic justice’s importance was underscored by Southern Seminary President Albert Mohler who wrote on his blog, “Christians must also remember that Justice Scalia’s understanding of the proper reading of the Constitution as a text is directly relevant to the church’s proper reading of Scripture. The same liberal theorists who propose reading the Constitution as a ‘living’ and ‘evolving’ text also propose that the Bible be liberated from its actual text and from the intention of its authors.”

Scalia’s death on Feb. 13 will affect the outcomes of several upcoming cases for the Court, not to mention debate during the 2016 presidential election. Many of those cases are of concern to conservative Christians, including Whole Women’s Health v. Cole. The case involves a Texas law requiring doctors at abortion clinics to have admitting privileges at hospitals within 30 miles of the clinic, and that the clinics have facilities equal to other outpatient surgery centers.

Opponents of the law argue it imposes an undue burden on women seeking abortions. Another such case is Zubik vs. Burwell, which consolidates seven cases including those of East Texas Baptist University and Little Sisters of the Poor, a home for the aged run by Catholic nuns. The groups are arguing against the government healthcare mandate requiring them to provide contraceptive products including abortifacients, which violate their religious beliefs. Southern Seminary, National Association of Evangelicals, and College of the Ozarks have filed friend of the court briefs on their behalf.

Both cases could cast a chill over religious liberty, a topic Scalia was concerned about. In a speech to students at Rhodes College last September, he commented on the Court’s decision which legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states. “Saying that the Constitution requires that practice, which is contrary to the religious beliefs of many of our citizens,” said Scalia, “I don’t know how you can get more extreme than that…I worry about a Court that’s headed in that direction.”

Scalia was right. We should be concerned about the direction of the Court, and the loss of a great defender of religious liberty. While pundits and politicians argue over the next justice, Christians need to pray a new champion will take Scalia’s place. – LMS

ANTONIN SCALIA

IN FOCUS

The Lost Value of Humility

In our self-centered era, many people think the humble are losers and only the proud win. The Suffering Servant disagrees.

BY ERIC REED

These aren’t humble times. So far, 2016 has produced as much bluster and blow as any year in memory. Not the meteorological kind, rather the political kind.

It is increasingly evident that ours is a land that no longer appreciates the humble man. In most every news report in this election cycle, humility as a value is trounced by pride, promises, and vainglory. Not the videogame Vainglory produced by Super Evil Megacorp (really, that’s the actual name of a game manufacturer); but the inordinate pride in one’s self and one’s accomplishments condemned in the Elizabethan English

of the King James Version of the Bible as “vainglory” (Galatians 5:26, Philippians 2:3).

Prior to the 2008 election, a book was published that proposed “Jesus for President.” In it, the authors took a familiar concept from Charles Sheldon’s famous 1896 book “In His Steps” that first asked the question “What would Jesus do” and applied it to American politics: What would Jesus do—if he ran for president?

Probably lose. At least that would appear to be the answer in 2016.

Continued on page 8

A Monochrome Reality In a Full-Color World

The painting on page 1 juxtaposes the stark reality of the Crucifixion with a whirlwind of color from the world around it. In the image above, artist Andy Rains shows Christ’s humble beauty in simple black and white. Read more about the artist on page 9.

PHOTO:

Read the Servant Songs

Isaiah 42:1-4; 49:1-6; 50:4-9; 52:13-53:12

As part of your preparation for Easter, read these passages from Isaiah. Scholars call them the Suffering Servant passages.

For each selection ask:

What does this teach me about Jesus?

How does this apply to my faith walk?

What can I do that helps fulfill Christ’s servant role on earth today?

– 2 Corinthians 1:5, 7

Continued from page 7

Let’s face it: the humility platform would not prove popular today. The humility platform is not high and lifted up, it doesn’t have room for boasting. Its candidate doesn’t make empty promises. He doesn’t exalt himself, even though in the case of Jesus he rightfully could. He does nothing at the expense of others. And he’s interested in only One endorsement. How could he possibly win here in Braggadocio?

Still, there is much the Humble One can tell the candidates—and the electorate.

A better example

Four passages in the book of Isaiah have been identified as the Servant Songs. The Ethiopian eunuch reading Scripture while sitting in a royal vehicle asked Philip, “Who is the prophet talking about?” He was reading from Isaiah:

“He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living…” (Isa 53:7-8).

“Who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” the servant to a queen asked Philip (Acts 8:34).

Definitely someone else.

He was talking about the Lord’s servant, the Suffering Servant. Jewish interpreters say the passage refers to the nation Israel, since in most of the book God speaks to Israel. But the verses describing an utterly humble servant and his sacrificial and redemptive work cannot be about a proud and unrepentant nation. They are clearly about the Messiah.

The Suffering Servant is Jesus.

In the Gospels, we see his humility in living tableau. He touches the unclean—lepers, lame, and blind people—and heals them as Isaiah predicted he would. He shows willing descent as he assumes the place of the lowest slave in the house and kneels to wash the feet of his followers. Then he stands with the condemned on the killing hill.

In Philippians, Paul sings a little song of the early church that puts Jesus’ humility into theological perspective.

“Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

“And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:6-8).

Jesus’ humility was not only a matter of location but also of position. He let go of all the things God deserves in terms of dominion and stooped down to his own creation. He subjected himself to his own created beings, even though he knew beforehand they would murder him.

He never sought to justify his actions. He never came to his own defense. Neither did anyone else. Was there ever a clearer picture of humility.

The mirror cracked

Today our concept of humility is corrupted. “Lord, it’s hard to be humble, when you’re perfect in every way,” songwriter Mac Davis wrote. Even our contemporary examples become more idols than icons as our culture converts them into celebrities.

Mother Teresa is rushed to sainthood so her musky humility sharpened in Calcutta ghettos can be perfumed for the ages. Pope Francis, hailed for his (relatively) simple lifestyle chides a woman in a parade line. “Don’t be selfish!” he snapped when she pulled him away from a handicapped man he was praying over. Our selfish generation demands something more grand from those who willingly would be lowly. Humility is not fashionable; it’s barely tolerated. Could it be that Billy Graham sitting in a rocker on the porch of his Blue Ridge mountain cabin out of the glare of the Crusade spotlight is the last example of humility in our egotistical age?

The times are louder. The boasts are prouder. And the rhetoric of its claimants is so overblown that their platforms cannot support it. If only our national leaders could learn a few lessons from the Humble One. If only our countrymen would accept from their icons true servant leadership.

A humble servant is silent

“There is a time to speak,” the Preacher says in Ecclesiastes, “and a time to be silent.” The Suffering Servant is more often silent, so much so that silence has become one of his chief characteristics. When he speaks, it is to the glory of God and to the benefit of others; it is rarely if ever on his own behalf.

The word picture drawn by Isaiah is of a lamb about to be slaughtered. The lamb knows something is coming, from its perspective something bad. And yet he offers not a bleat in protest. If silence is consent, then the lamb is offering his tacit acceptance. Likewise, Christ before his accusers offers no defense of himself. His defense could rightly be that he is God and has done all to the glory of his Father. But he keeps his rebuttal to himself and leans in to his mission with the same humble spirit that has characterized his whole life on earth. The day of his exaltation will come, but there before Pilate, Herod, and the Jewish supreme court, it’s still about three days away.

For as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so through Christ our comfort also overflows.... As you share in the sufferings, so you will share in the comfort.

Andrew Murray says, “Humility is perfect quietness of heart.” In this way, a humble servant stands in stark contrast to the leading figures of our time who exhibit little quietude.

In his little book Humility, Murray describes the inner working of this outward silence: “It is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me, and when I am blamed or despised. It is to have a blessed home in the Lord, where I can go in and shut the door, and kneel to my Father in secret, and am at peace as in a deep sea of calmness, when all around and above is trouble.”

Oh, how we need that room, that door, that peace.

He is not vain

Isaiah’s prophetic description of the Messiah says there was nothing particularly attractive about him. Even before he was “marred,” “pierced” and “crushed” at Golgotha, the Servant was a plain man with “no beauty” and a king with “no majesty.” He is not a pretty flaxen-haired Jesus as painted in Sallman’s Head of Christ over grandma’s mantelpiece.

Our generation has bought the Kardashian concept of beauty that requires everyone in the public eye to be “carved out of cream cheese.” By this standard, Abraham Lincoln couldn’t get elected to office today. He was tall enough, but homely people don’t win elections. Nor would Cleveland, Taft, or Teddy Roosevelt. Too fat, bald, or bespectacled.

Appearance is not only about outward beauty. There is the vanity of money, stature, power, and position. The desire for reputation is a form of the vanity of fame. The proud person is concerned about the opinion others have of him. “Pride must die in you,” Murray warned, “or nothing of heaven can live in you.”

This is the dying to self Jesus called for, the laying down of his life.

“Men sometimes speak as if humility and meekness would rob us of what is noble and bold and manlike,” Murray said. The humble are rarely exalted in our times, nor do they win elections. But a wise generation doesn’t judge on outward appearances. To the extent it is possible they follow God’s standard when he sent Samuel to anoint lowly shepherd boy David to replace the high but corrupted Saul: He looked on the heart.

And what does he see there?

As a “man of sorrows,” the Suffering Servant is serious about serious things. Oh, sure, he can be great fun, but he is also sober minded. Jesus enjoys a good time in good company (remember the wedding at Cana), but he handles serious subject matter with the gravity deserved. He is “acquainted with grief.” One charged with so great a task as carrying our sorrows to the cross surely feels them deeply.

The same must be true of those who claim him as Lord: “Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matt. 16:24).

“Humility, the place of entire dependence on God, is the first duty and the highest virtue of the creature, and the root of every virtue. And so pride, or the loss of this humility, is the root of every sin and evil,” Murray said.

For those who follow in the way of Christ, there is an inverse relationship between vanity and a quiet spirit. “Pride must die in you,” Murray warned, “or nothing of heaven can live in you.”

He serves needs over wants

The word “populist” has returned to the American vocabulary, driven largely by the large crowds showing up at campaign rallies. By definition, a populist candidate is concerned with the interests of common

people. He seeks the involvement of ordinary folks in the political process and welcomes into the discourse issues drawn from ordinary lives. But by recent example, populism involves stirring up the desires of the people, then promising to fulfill them whether they are right (and righteous) or not.

A humble servant may be populist by its original definition. He is concerned about the people, but he doesn’t play to the crowd as is the current practice. At times the crowds were with Jesus; at times they were against him; but Jesus never played to the crowds. He never healed to curry favor. He did not feed the 5,000 to increase his poll numbers.

A humble servant doesn’t dispense treats to get public approval. Or health benefits or government subsidies or campaign promises. He accepts the hard job and does the hard work to its completion, even if that causes everyone to turn away.

The challenge for Americans today is to show some maturity by supporting a leader who will do what the nation needs, not necessarily what the people want. That may sound paternalistic, but isn’t God’s kingdom paternalistic? The Father is always doing what is best for his children, even when they don’t understand it or like it.

He lives with the end in mind

A humble servant may live and work from a lower position, but that somehow gives him a higher perspective. Isaiah’s picture of the Suffering Servant is paradoxical: he is lowly but he will be exalted; he is oppressed, yet he is the strong arm of the Lord; he is wounded for the sake of our healing. And there’s this paradox concerning “the will of the Lord”— Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand (Isaiah 53:10).

It was the will of God that the Suffering Servant be crushed, yet the will of God only prospers when this is done. Crushing and prospering would seem to be opposites. One destroys while the other creates. One shrinks and the other grows. One is an ending, but the other is unending.

And in all of this the humble Servant knows there is a higher purpose than his momentary affliction. The purpose in his dying is to make possible our living— forever. His offering is our ransom. His ending is our beginning. In it all he does not object, because the Servant knows that his grief will become our source of joy and our salvation.

There, between the Lord’s will that the Servant be crushed and the prospering of the Lord’s will in the Servant’s hand is the great promise: this lowly Servant will have offspring. That’s us, his children, his followers, his redeemed.

Isaiah, 700 years before hand, describes the centerpoint of history, the cross, where the crushing intent of the Lord’s will is met by the prosperous outcome of the Lord’s will in the salvation and multiplication of his progeny. This is only possible because the lowly Servant is willing to submit to the Lord’s will that he die and that he rise again, that we believing may be born again to new life.

Rising from that moment in history is the way for all who will follow the Suffering Servant. “Here is the path to the higher life: down, lower down!” Murray said. “Just as water always seeks and fills the lowest place, so the moment God finds men abased and empty, His glory and power flow in to exalt and to bless.”

After more than 20 years in children’s ministry, Andy Raines realized he needed a new method for capturing kids’ imaginations—and their short attention spans. He prayed, “God, give me something that will rock this generation.”

When God’s answer was art, the eventual founder of Passion Painter Ministry responded, “Lord, I don’t paint.”

But God has provided the talent and the opportunities. Raines can create a painting in four minutes—perfect for worship events like last year’s Youth Encounter conference in Illinois. Since 2009, he has created more than 6,000 works of art. Last year, he logged 20,000 miles ministering in 14 states.

To find more information about Raines, search “Passion Painter Ministry” on Facebook.com.

About the artist

Taking the church to the people

New Metro East church readies to receive Crossover volunteers

Collinsville | Months away from their official launch, David Seaton’s church is already preparing for a slate of summer outreach projects: community work days, door-todoor visits, and a multi-site VBS ending with a party at the local water park.

Collinsville Community Church may be new, but the core team of leaders is getting a lot of practice building relationships in the city of 26,000. In June, they’ll have help from Crossover volunteers in town for the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting in St. Louis.

Seaton and his family moved to Collinsville last year to plant the church, and already, around 40 kids and adults are involved in weekly community groups. The church has seen nine people come to faith in Christ since last summer, and three people were baptized in January.

But, “It hasn’t happened like I thought it would happen at all,” said Seaton, a Collinsville native who served IBSA churches in Maryville and Benton before moving back to his hometown with his wife, Emily, and their three kids.

Seaton thought the church would grow through the relationships he had already built in the area. “But God brought people to us who I never met until I moved back to Collinsville.”

The move itself also wasn’t something he had imagined, “but God opened up every door for us to come back here, and now it makes sense because we see what God is doing.”

This summer, the church will host one of dozens of Crossover mission projects ahead of the Southern Baptist Convention. They will partner with Crossover volunteers June 11

to go door-to-door in the community, handing out water bottles with the church’s logo and looking for opportunities to share the gospel. They’ll also invite people to attend Collinsville Community’s second preview service, to be held the next day.

By most estimates, Seaton said, 20,000 Collinsville residents have no connection to an evangelical church. That’s a huge problem, said the church planter. In a community where works-based religion is common, there are a lot of misconceptions about what it means to be in a relationship with God, he said.

The church started as a community group meeting in the Seatons’ home, where the group studied Ephesians. The book’s focus on salvation through faith, and not works,

resonated especially with one group member, Seaton’s mother-in-law. She came to faith in Christ a few weeks ago, he said.

The desire to start a new church was planted in Seaton’s heart while serving on staff at Immanuel. Through mission trips he took with the church, he saw the lostness of the world and realized there are lots of people who just aren’t motivated to get out of bed on Sunday morning to go to church. So, the church needs to go to them, Seaton said. His church’s focus is on building relationships, which the planter said they’re trying to do in practical ways and practical places—at the gym, at PTA meetings, and through opportunities to be involved in Collinsville’s community improvement efforts.

In September, Collinsville Community Church will celebrate its first official service at the local Knights of Columbus hall. They’ll take the church to the community, in hopes of reaching some of those 20,000 people. There are people who don’t want to go to church, Seaton said.

“I want to reach them.”

For more information on the Crossover evangelism outreach, go to namb.net/crossover. Go to meba.org/crossover-st-louis-2016 for a full list of Crossover projects in Illinois.

SBC Countdown See you in St. Louis

The theme for the 2016 Southern Baptist Convention is set, and online registration is open for messengers planning to be in St. Louis for the June 14-15 meeting. “Awaken America: Reach the World” continues SBC President Ronnie Floyd’s focus on prayer, unity, and revival.

On his blog, Floyd posted highlights of the 2016 convention, including a second SBC-wide prayer meeting, to be held the evening of Tuesday, June 14. Following last year’s revamped business schedule, the program will again include panel discussions on key issues. This year’s topics are racial unity and the church and politics. Plans for the SBC Pastors’ Conference June 12-13 also are underway, with a list of speakers taking shape at sbcpc.net. The line-up currently includes:

David Platt, president of the International Mission Board

Ed Stetzer, president of LifeWay Research

Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship, Riverside, Ca. Jack Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church, Plano, Tex. James MacDonald, pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel, Chicagoland Byron McWilliams, pastor of First Baptist Church, Odessa, Tex.

Pre-registration for messengers (those who can cast a vote for SBC officers, resolutions and other business matters) is open at sbcannualmeeting.net. Due to changes in the SBC constitution and bylaws, every cooperating church that contributed to convention causes during the last fiscal year can now send two messengers.

In addition, the SBC will recognize up to 10 more messengers from churches. Go to sbc.net/annualmeeting for details.

PLANTED – David Seaton and his wife Emily returned to their hometown with their children Joslyn, Abram and Colton to launch Collinsville Community Church this September.

MISSION

Adoption Ad-vantage

Illinois mom speaks up for adoptive families – and her own

BY MEREDITH FLYNN

Athens | Ginger Newingham didn’t watch the Super Bowl. But she did see a commercial that ran during the pre-game show, after friends in her online adoption group posted about it.

In the ad for Priceline.com, a couple uses the company’s services to book travel to Eastern Europe, where they plan to pick up their adoptive son. In the next scene, they’re back home, without a child and glad they were able to go check things out before committing to the child. (It turns out, he was a grown man.)

The attempt at humor rang false to Newingham, an active blogger and member of the adoption community who, with her husband, Chance, has adopted two sons from Eastern Europe. She was bothered by the lighthearted tone Priceline used to depict a family that had

decided not to adopt. The Newinghams know people who have traveled internationally to adopt, only to come home without a child because the child’s medical needs were so high, or the parents didn’t think they could provide the services and resources needed.

The Newinghams became parents to three sons in three years: They adopted Nasko, now 9, from Bulgaria in 2012. A second son, Louis, was born in 2013, and their family grew to five in 2014, when they adopted Edward from Latvia.

“Obviously our heart is for adoption,” said Ginger, whose family is active at Delta Church in Springfield. She was afraid the ad could scare off potential adoptive families.

Continued on page 12

Social media protest works A Priceline.com commercial (above) is no longer in circulation after adoptive mom Ginger Newingham campaigned for its removal.

Top: Ginger and Chance with their son Nasko

Mom uses social media to protest negative ad

continued from page 11

She noticed a few people had expressed their dislike for the ad online, but had been ignored by Priceline. “One or two people complaining about it isn’t going to get anywhere,” she recognized. “They’re not going to listen until a bunch of us say something collectively.”

On Wednesday after the Super Bowl, she posted on her blog, ourmomentsdefined.com, about the ad, and asked readers to let Priceline know that the ad was offensive and harmful, and to urge the company to remove it. She also posted an online petition at change.org, which has since gotten more than 2,000 signatures.

And she told her family’s adoption story—how Nasko didn’t match his medical report or paperwork. “Mostly, his adoption file just mentioned he ‘had social delays,’” she blogged, adding later, “We now know he has autism, tourettes, and a sensory processing disorder.”

She described their first meeting with Nasko, how he moved around the room at the orphanage with lightning-fast speed. “On the same day that he bit my husband’s arm, stole my dad’s hat, and almost broke the only pair of glasses I owned, we signed the paperwork to be his parents,” she wrote.

“We could not bear the thought of what might happen to him if he were never adopted.”

Using the hashtag #shouttogether, Newingham’s readers inundated Priceline’s Facebook page with the stories and photos of their own adopted children. They posted on the ad’s YouTube page, giving the commercial a “thumbs down” and asking for its

THE ALL NEW 81 HOUR MDIV.

removal. Popular Christian author Ann Voskamp tweeted her support. Media outlets picked up Newingham’s story.

And Priceline noticed. The day after she published the initial blog post, the company called Newingham. “We’ve been having meetings and talking about you,” the VP of Communications told her.

“How funny is that?” Newingham says now—to think of executives in their corporate offices talking about a blogger in Illinois. They explained that the ad was part of a new marketing strategy. (Newingham joked to the IB that maybe the company should go back to long-time spokesman William Shatner.)

Priceline said they wanted to release a statement, and they wanted Newingham’s help getting it out. They planned to suspend the ad, but initially, wanted her to release the statement before it was off the air. But she refused, not wanting to lose the trust of all those who had made #shouttogether a success. So she waited until Monday, a week and a day after the commercial first aired.

“Based on your feedback, we have decided to pause the use of the Baby ad to evaluate messaging,” the Priceline statement read. “Rest assured that we have heard your concerns about the message and content of this ad and we are taking them seriously.”

On her blog, Newingham thanked all the readers who had posted, tweeted, commented and shared, putting their efforts into larger perspective:

Midwestern Seminary’s flagship degree is our primary track for ministry preparation. At 81 hours, the M.Div. offers a complete foundation for full-time ministry leaders, offering all you need for a lifetime of fruitful ministry. We are developing a new culture of discipleship devoted to the local church and committed to taking God’s unchanging Word into a rapidly changing world.

Take

“Because we chose to shout together against Priceline, maybe one more family did decide to take the considerable leap into the process of adopting a child.

“Because we chose to shout together against Priceline, maybe one more child will gain a family.”

FAMILY OF FIVE – Chance and Ginger Newingham pose with their three sons, Nasko, Edward and Louis, outside Delta Church in Springfield.

Study on campus here in Kansas City or online wherever you are.

One of the most competitive tuition rates in the country, starting at just $250 per credit hour.

Smart phones make smart disciples

My faith was greatly impacted in college by a church that challenged me to be a student of the Bible. That love for personal Bible study has motivated me to become an advocate for biblical literacy— a need highlighted by a recent Lifeway Research study that found only 45% of regular church attenders read the Bible more than once a week.

Before becoming a pastor, I always viewed the main responsibility as preaching. But now I understand why the role isn’t called “Senior Preacher.” As a pastor, I have a responsibility to build stronger disciples in Jesus Christ, and that’s an impossible task apart from the Bible.

To help combat biblical illiteracy at our church, we have turned to an app called YouVersion. I think of it as an example of what Paul meant when he wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:22: “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.” YouVersion is a 21st century response to Paul’s approach.

first time, but is now re-reading it to gain a better understanding of the story. He credits his success to the ease of YouVersion.

We’ve used YouVersion with recent converts to Christ. I helped them get the download and choose a reading plan. This has provided these brand new believers with a clear plan and goal for their Bible reading.

Two weeks in a row, highlighted Scriptures from members of my church made their way into the messages I had been working on for that week. They were thrilled to know their personal study of the Bible had influenced my own. Even my 10-year-old daughter switched to YouVersion on her Kindle last year and I use it to monitor and comment on her reading.

fresh ideas

Champion a church plant

Whether you know it or not, you are already involved in church planting. A portion of your tithe to your Southern Baptist church helps plant SBC churches through the Cooperative Program.

Your annual Annie Armstrong Offering helps plant churches.

With over 200 million downloads, the app is a helpful tool that any church can easily use. It’s free, can be carried on any smart phone or tablet (or accessed by a computer at bible.com), and offers valuable opportunities for biblical accountability and community.

A long-time church member stopped by my office last month and said, “I want to grow closer to the Lord.” After listening to his testimony of faith, I inquired about his personal devotional times. He admitted to not reading the Bible much, and so I asked him to pull out his phone. We quickly downloaded YouVersion, and got him started on a daily reading plan through the Gospel of John.

He texted me later that night to tell me he finished the entire book of John! “Should I just go onto Acts?” he asked. Since then, he has not only finished Acts for the

As with other forms of social media, you can “friend” others through YouVersion. As you do, your homepage fills up with news of their progress through Bible plans or verses they highlighted. So I not only learn from my own Bible reading, but that of others in my church. And anytime one of my friends has been offline for a while, I know to check in with them.

I also use my YouVersion newsfeed as a prayer list. As I see the names of friends and passages they’re studying, I pray for their study and usually let them know I’m praying. And watching comments between our members regarding a particular passage is a great encouragement to me as their pastor. We as a church also use the YouVersion live component. This allows us to create “events” for each upcoming sermon. People can read the Scripture passage and interact through polls, or by posting comments or questions. And again, it’s 100% free. I should tell you, YouVersion doesn’t pay me for my advocacy. I’m merely sharing how this Bible app has had an impact on our church. Like many churches, we’re often slow adopters when it comes to technology. And while a digital Bible is no better than a traditional Bible, it’s time we used every opportunity available to us in building biblically literate believers in Jesus Christ.

Heath Tibbetts pastors First Baptist Church, Machesney Park.

But did you know that you— as an individual or small group— can also personally encourage a church planter? Your small encouragements can make a big difference, and it’s simpler than you might imagine! Try some of these fresh ideas:

DIANA DAVIS

Pay attention. Show interest and joy in what God’s doing. Put a photo of the planter’s family in your meeting room as a prayer reminder. Study their website, blog, or Facebook page. Celebrate victories and milestones. Visit the church, if possible.

Share your own talents, contacts, professional abilities, time and spiritual gifts. What unique help could you or your group provide? Could you create their website or help with online surveys? Help find a building site? Staff their Vacation Bible School or sports outreach?

Encourage the planter’s family. A women’s group could send his wife notes of encouragement. Pray for her. Mail her a book with personal notes written inside.

Share monetarily. Set a class goal for this month’s Annie Armstrong Easter Offering. God may prompt you individually to give additional gifts for specific needs of your church plant.

Be a friend. Planters often carry the huge weight (and privilege) of a church loaded with new Christians. Your class probably has many longtime Christians! If the planter likes the idea, challenge class members to connect with one member of the church for encouragement.

Plan a shower. Discover a need—such as audio equipment, portable signs, Bibles—and work with the planter to host a shower to meet that need. If miles separate you, plan an online shower using FaceTime or Skype. When we were church planters, our sponsor church planned a nursery shower, providing needed toys and furniture. It was a turning point for reaching young families.

You can make a difference. Pray for the Lord of the harvest to use you to encourage church planters.

Diana Davis is an author and minister’s wife.

As a pastor in the 21st century, I encourage spiritual growth with an app. My church loves it.

It was one of those churches where you could hear culturally relevant teaching, experience cutting-edge technology, and still encounter the Arts.

meet the team

Meet: John Yi

Second Gen Church Planting Catalyst, Northeast Region

DOMs celebrate milestones

Norman Lockwood Westfield Association

Norman Lockwood was named “Director of Missions Emeritus” by Westfield Baptist Association on Feb. 26. Lockwood has served the association for 22 years.

Family: Gloria, one of the most patient, strong, godly, and sweet women I’ve ever known, is my wife of over 20 years. Case in point, we spent part of our honeymoon in Galveston, Texas, where I had scheduled myself to speak at a retreat. Yet, she did not annul our marriage.

Abigail, one of the finest examples of a young “jack of all trades” who could be tremendous at any number of things she sets her heart on, is my 13-year-old daughter. Jay is our two-year-old foster son, whom we expect to complete adoption of by the end of 2016. We also have a three-monthold foster son, Shawn.

Illinois connections: When I was four, my family immigrated from South Korea to the United States and landed in Chicago on October 31, 1971. Except for three years I spent in Ft. Worth, Texas, at Southwestern Seminary, I have been a Chicagolandian.

Favorite thing about church as a kid: Horsing around!

Favorite thing about church now: Horsing around! Just kidding. Seriously, it’s the people. I have come to more firmly believe that the Family of God is among the greatest “fringe” benefits of our salvation.

Favorite movies: Rocky and Forrest Gump

Illinois/Chicago highlights: The nations have come to Chicago!

Favorite Scriptures: Joel 2:25-26, Ephesians 5:25, 1 Timothy 4:6-8

NeTworkiNg

Find more information on ministry positions at IBSA.org/connect

Send NetworkiNg items to AndreaHammond@IBSA.org

“Bro. Norman has been a faithful servant of churches and a strong associational partner with IBSA for over two decades,” said IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams, who was present at the ceremony (photo below). “It was wonderful to celebrate his ministry along with his dear wife Ann, and the many pastors and leaders from Westfield Baptist Association who gathered to honor him for his years of service.”

Originally from Illinois, Lockwood grew up on a farm south of Pana. He went to The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in

aspects of the association. Even as he faced fading health and energy, Colvin said, Lockwood met regularly with pastors, gathering them at a local restaurant for a devotional and time of prayer for their churches.

Henry Hall Salem

South Association

Henry Hall will retire this month after more than 13 years as DOM for Salem South Baptist Association.

Hall, an Alabama native, came to Illinois in 1983 after attending seminary at Southwestern in Ft. Worth. His first role at Second Baptist Church in Granite City put him over “music and youth and everything else,” he told the Illinois Baptist

people

Welcome

Cory Matthews was installed January 14 as pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Breese. A Missouri native, he spent 10 years in mechanical engineering before hearing God’s call to ministry. Pastor Matthews, a graduate of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, is married to Amy and the couple has seven children.

Keith Winkler is the new pastor of Laramie Street Baptist Church in Peoria. A native of Illinois, he gave his life to the Lord at Laramie Street and was later licensed to preach there. He returns to Illinois after pastoring 18 years in North Carolina. Pastor Winkler is a graduate of Bradley University and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and is married to Kim.

Louisville and pastored a church in Kentucky before returning to Illinois, where he led churches in Robinson, Ramsey and Patoka.

In 1994, he became Westfield’s director of missions. His longevity in the role, said Moderator David Colvin, is valuable because of his connection to the pastors and their churches.

Colvin, pastor of Ashmore Baptist Church, said Lockwood was a hands-on DOM who wanted to be involved in all

In 1985, Hall began his tenure as a director of missions, serving in Bay Creek and Alton Industrial Associations before moving to Salem South. While working as a DOM, he also planted Payson Southern Baptist Church. Each of the associations he’s served has been different, Hall said, and marked by standout experiences. At rural Bay Creek, he walked with churches through the flood of 1993. Alton “has the best of both worlds,” he said, with its close proximity to more urban communities. And Salem South has a strong Southern Baptist heritage.

Salem South will honor Hall and his wife, Carolyn, with a retirement party March 20 at 2 p.m. at Belle Rive Baptist Church. For more information, contact Robin Mayberry at (618) 242-7862.

With the Lord

Kenneth G. Hardway, 96, of Springfield, died January 30. Hardway pastored seven churches in central Illinois over 50 years in ministry, including 30 years at South Cross Baptist Church in Robinson. He also worked as a high school English and speech teacher. Hardway is survived by his wife, Alice; four children; eight grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.

New Song Ministries in Zion has 18, 12-foot church pews to donate to another ministry. Pews are light oak in color with light brown cushions attached to the seat and back. They are in good condition, but the ends could benefit from refinishing after years of use. Contact Pastor Dave Adams at (224) 588-7431 or daveadams@ newsongministries.org.

Second Baptist Church, Granite City, seeks a part-time music director. Pay is $20 an hour for a schedule of 15 hours per week (includes planning time, rehearsals, and weekly services). For more information on the church and position, go to www.sbcgranite.org. E-mail resumes to pastorbrian@ sbcgranite.org or fax to (618) 877-4395 to the attention of Pastor Brian Smith.

Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Fairfield seeks the pastor that God has for us, whether he be full-time or bivocational. E-mail resumes to PleasantGroveMiss BaptChurch@gmail.com, or call (618) 599-5439 with questions.

First Baptist Church, Raleigh, seeks a bivocational pastor. Must be strong in mission outreach for Saline County; must agree with The Baptist Faith and Message and support the Cooperative Program. Send resumes to sba.director@gmail.com.

For Sale: Middle Creek Baptist Church in Dahlgren closed late last year. The 2,880-sq. foot building at 15846 County Rd. 300 E. is for sale, as well as its contents. Building includes baptistery, office, classrooms, kitchen, fellowship room and full basement. Call church clerk Jerry Barr at (618) 736-2340.

March 12

Children’s Ministry Day

What: Mission projects for grades 1-6

Where: Locations across Illinois Cost: $15 per person Register: www.IBSA.org/kids

April 9

Illinois Baptist Women Hispanic Leadership Training

Where: Armitage Baptist, Chicago

When: 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m.

Information: Ana Melendez, (630) 7123106 or Enid Delgado, (847) 265-9313

April 11-12

Resilient Call Pastors’ Retreat

Raising the rent

QI have two small duplexes in Idaho that I rent for $400 a month, each on one-year leases. The rent is about $50 to $75 below similar units in the area. The tenants in all four places are great, so how do you know when—or if—you should raise the rent? If you raise the rent, how do you keep good relationships with your tenants?

March 18-19

Ministers’ Wives Retreat

“Where do I fit in this crazy world?”

Where: IBSA Building, Springfield Contact: BarbTroeger@IBSA.org Register: www.IBSA.org/women

April 8-9, 22-23

Disaster Relief Training

What: Classes in chainsaw, food prep, mudout, childcare, chaplaincy, and more; cost is $30 for new trainees and $10 for renewals

Where: April 8-9 Western Oaks, Springfield; April 22-23: Streator Camp Register: www.IBSA.org/dr

What: A free retreat for pastors featuring Phil Hunter, pastor of West County Community Church in Wildwood, Mo. Where: Streator Baptist Camp Register: www.IBSA.org/church_health

April 29-30

Priority Women’s Resource Conference

What: Ministry and missions training for women; including a special track for girls in grades 10-12

Where: Tabernacle Baptist Church, Decatur

Cost: $25 per person, includes Saturday lunch Register: www.IBSA.org/women

AMy advice with rental properties is to raise the rent a little bit each year. You want to be fair and affordable for your tenants, but you don’t want them thinking the rate is locked in forever. As a business owner, if you don’t have small, manageable increases on a regular basis, you’ll look up in four or five years and realize you’re losing money because your rent is way below market value. Then, if you implement a big rate hike out of nowhere your tenants will have a fit. After that, you could be looking at empty properties.

As a landlord, you’ll be able to retain quality tenants and make more money. As a renter, you’ll have the comfort of knowing your rent isn’t going to suddenly jump sky-high. It’s a win-win!

Ethical dilemma

QI like my part-time job in retail, except for having to pitch the store’s credit card to customers. Like you, I believe debt is a bad thing. Still, my bosses are putting more and more pressure on me to sell the cards. Any advice?

DAVE RAMSEY

When it comes time to renew the leases, try explaining to them that you’ve looked around in the market and other very comparable units are going for $450 or more, but that you appreciate them and what good tenants they are. Then, propose signing

AIf you’ve been in the business for very long, I guess you’ve discovered that most retail stores make more money on credit than the sale of merchandise. Your personal integrity wants you to do a good job for yourself and your employer, but it’s also telling you that credit cards are bad products. That makes you feel like you’ve signed up to sell something that you don’t believe in. For the sake of your own integrity, I would suggest that you find another part-time job. If you feel this strongly about the issue, sooner or later it will start to affect your performance and attitude—both at work and at home. Hang on long enough to land another job before you quit.

Women’s Resource Conference

April 29-30

Tabernacle Baptist Church Decatur • Cost is $25

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“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.”

Hebrews 10:22

Church needed here...

Location: Skokie, Cook County

Focus: Skokie has more than 65,000 people and zero Southern Baptist churches.

Characteristics: This socio-econically diverse, urbanizing suburb in northern Chicagoland is home to an increasingly diverse ethnic population which still boasts a large Jewish population, and is home to the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Educational Center.

Prayer needs: Pray that the Lord of the Harvest would raise up laborers to reach the nations which have gathered in this cultural mosaic known as Skokie.

inspirations

pinterest.com/illinoisBaptist

Opening day for new groups

Churches grow when they start new groups. And believe it or not, March through May is a great three-month window for launching.

“We often fail to realize the importance of new groups in light of a church’s discipleship emphasis,” said Eric Geiger of Lifeway. They “generate excitement...provide a fresh point of focus for the church family.”

There are many kinds of groups. In addition to the traditional small groups and Bible studies, consider these varieties:

Community groups – focused on a particular short-term need nearby such as an elementary school or shelter for abused women

Mission groups – targeting a people group, city, or nation

Relationship groups – marriage or parenting skills

Evangelism workshop – teaching witnessing skills

Outreach groups – recon teams to take water and the Word to warm weather activities

Neighborhood Bible study – for people who don’t come to church

Knitting teams – make blankets for premies or the elderly

Brainstorm with the leadership team 2 or 3 groups your church might start this spring.

Easter Sunday is great for opening day.

“New Groups” is one of the “5 Building Blocks for Kingdom Growth” featured at the 2015 IBSA Annual Meeting. Read about all five commitments at IBSA.org/Five and in the Spring 2016 issue of Resource at Resource.IBSA.org.

i lead

You need a mentor

“I don’t know everything. I need help.”

Those were two difficult things to come to grips with as a young minister.

devotional

What must I do?

“Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17).

Having thought goodness and morality led to eternal life, the young man was stunned at Jesus’ response. “Go, sell all you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.” Sadly, this young man rejected Jesus because he loved and trusted his possessions and morality more than anything else.

CARROTHERS

This is so true in our world today. I made a hospital visit to a dear friend of mine who had just been informed that there was nothing more medically to help him. I listened as his doctor told him that he needed to get his affairs in order and most importantly find peace with God. My heart grieved, for this man had put faith in his own goodness.

Before I could say anything, my friend said, “I have lived my life trying to do the right thing, treating people fairly and with respect, helping where I could. But it isn’t enough is it? What am I missing?”

My answer, “Jesus!”

He confessed his sins and called on the name of the Lord to save him. Then he asked, “What do I do now?” During the remaining three weeks of his life, he told his family, friends, and anyone else how Jesus had saved him from sin.

PRAYER PROMPT: Lord, may we boldly proclaim that Jesus is the only hope for salvation.

Kevin Carrothers serves as pastor of Rochester FBC and president of IBSA.

Pastors, join the IBSA Pastors’ Prayer Room on Facebook. E-mail oweaver7307@gmail.com.

Like many who feel the call to ministry, I was thrust into a leadership role almost immediately. I wasn’t particularly good at leading myself at the time, let alone leading others. Luckily for me, I was blessed with a mentor who was willing to help a young minister learn how to begin to be a leader.

JACK LUCAS

My father-in-law, Michael Davis, spent hours a week on the phone and face-to-face with me in those early years of ministry. He was there to celebrate the victories as well as help me analyze the failures and learn from them.

The greatest thing Mike ever did in his mentorship of me was to answer a question with a question. Rather than giving me the information I needed, he taught me how to discover it for myself.

I remember one example from when I was on staff under Mike’s leadership at FBC Harrisburg. I was working on the sound equipment we used for our youth worship service when a parent gave me $40 to pay for their child to participate in an upcoming event. I stepped away for a moment, and when I returned, the money I had left on the sound board was gone.

I went to Mike, explained to him what had happened, and told him which part-time employee was in the room when I left. I fully expected him to deal with the employee and get the $40 back. Instead, he said, “I took your $40.”

It turned out that he hadn’t, but he used the moment to walk me through a series of questions that helped me understand that it very well could have been him, and that I had no idea who might have been in the room after I left. He then asked me what the real issue was. I realized that it wasn’t the lost money, but that I, as the leader, had not taken care of what God had entrusted me with.

When I spoke that realization, Mike replied, “I think that understanding is worth more than $40.” I agree. A real mentor helps you learn to lead. Mine certainly did.

Jack Lucas is an IBSA zone consultant and pastor of Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in Mt. Vernon.

KEVIN