May 1, 2020 Illinois Baptist

Illinois Baptist

Conference grows online

With

Springfield | Almost 1,100 people registered for IBSA’s annual Priority Women’s Conference April 24-25. Registration for the meeting, which became a virtual event due to the Coronavirus pandemic, topped last year’s attendance by more than 300. Registrants represented at least 185 churches, 22 states, and seven countries.

The Priority conference, renamed Priority Now for 2020, focused on the unique calling women have to bring necessary support and strength. “Could it be any more relevant to what’s going on in our world today?” asked IBSA’s Carmen Halsey

Throughout the meeting, attenders connected on the Illinois Baptist

Why grief is complicated

Our counselor’s take

‘Feeling the pressure’

Early reopening in other states and ‘quarantine fatigue’ test patience

Across Illinois | Governor J.B. Pritzker’s extension of the shelter-athome order until May 30 was met with approval by some and dismay by others, even as many other states began relaxing restrictions designed to combat spread of Coronavirus—including limitations on church meetings. In Illinois, enforcement of the group meeting ban has been uniformly enforced across the state, including forbidding parking lot gatherings billed as “drive-in church” soon after the ban began March 15. Until now.

“I think the pressure is increasing on pastors, dealing with death and loss on one hand, and the desire to reopen on the other,” said Kevin Carrothers, associational mission strategist for Salem South Baptist Association.

Churches in several southern Illinois towns acknowledged a desire to return to regular worship meetings ahead of the May 30 deadline. And news that churches are successfully opposing government enforcement in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kansas prompted some to ask, “Why not here?”

Baptist leaders are dealing with the tension between good citizenship, protection of vulnerable populations, and religious freedom. At the center for Baptists: local church autonomy.

“As Southern Baptists, our churches are autonomous,” said IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams. “They each make their own

COVID-19 response

10 questions to consider before your church reopens

Mark McCormick in focus

CONVENTIONAL WISDOM

Snapshots from the world of Illinois Baptists

Churches prioritize hope

As the U.S. neared the end of its first month of intense response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Barna asked pastors to identify their church’s top priority: Communicating a message of hope and faith to people in the middle of the crisis

61%

Putting in place technology solutions for streaming our services and/or online giving

Collecting and distributing needed items like food/supplies/emergency funds

Offering ongoing digital or distance ministry options for our children/youth

CHURCH NEEDED HERE

Location: St. Jacob

Focus: Residents of this community in southwest Illinois

Characteristics: St. Jacob combines the peace and quiet of a rural, family-oriented community with close proximity to downtown St. Louis.

Prayer needs: A church plant in St. Jacob would thrive with a bivocational planter who understands rural life in a small town

– IBSA Church Planting Team

the cooperative program

Giving by IBSA churches as of 04/24/20 $1,608,068

Budget Goal: $1,938,462

Received to date in 2019: $1,905,266

2020 Goal: $6.3 Million

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 627034440. Subscriptions are free to Illinois Baptists. Subscribe online at IBSA.org.

NATE ADAMS

Family devotion

Ionce saw a cartoon that depicted a middle-aged man and an older woman sitting in a kitchen looking bored. Each had a cupcake in front of them, and the caption simply read, “Billy’s 25th homeschool reunion.”

During this season of Coronavirus pandemic, many of us are spending much more time at home with our families. Good naturedly, we joke about getting on one another’s nerves, or needing to find our own personal space. Familiarity, they say, breeds contempt.

At the same time, health precautions are requiring a new, physical distance from our church families, and that can be uncomfortable too. We may not fully realize how much our spiritual health and growth depends on being together, until we can’t. Absence, they say, makes the heart grow fonder.

If both these dynamics are true, that family members can grate on one another and yet spiritual families need one another, I believe there is a solution that is tailormade for Christian families during this unusual season. This is a great time to refocus on family devotion.

Perhaps your family already practices a regular family devotion time. But most families, even Christian families, don’t. Most are relying primarily if not exclusively on their church for their spiritual health and growth. And this neglect weakens both families and churches.

A few years ago, I wrote a book for Revell publishing titled, “The Home Team – Spiritual Practices for a Winning Family.” Each of the book’s 12 chapters outlined a spiritual “practice” that Christian families can do together to disciple their children and keep their family spiritually grounded. Chapter one was the practice of having a consistent family devotional time.

Read Chapter 1 at https://bit.ly/chapterteam

If you’d like to read that chapter, you can find it online (see address below). But the suggestions it offers are not complicated. Find the right book. Find the right time. Make it fun. Keep it simple. Be interactive.

Throughout the years we were raising three sons, our family devotion times had the same basic elements. We read the Bible together. We talked about what the Bible passage meant, and how it applied to our lives. We prayed together.

In the process, we established a family culture of open conversation about spiritual life and truth. Too many families only talk about spiritual things at church. Deuteronomy 6 reminds us that God’s word is to be part of our daily, family conversation.

I would be the first to admit that our family isn’t perfect, and our children weren’t and aren’t perfect. But I will say, without reservation, that my children are the most deeply discipled Christians my life will produce, if only because of the consistent practice of family devotions, and the spiritual conversations that flowed from them, and still do. We’ve been members of some good churches over the years that had some great influences on our kids. But none could disciple my children as deeply as my wife and I could over the days and weeks and years we invested in their spiritual growth.

What if we as families used this “shelter at home” time to create new, spiritual shelters in our homes—the shelters of a renewed family devotional time? I believe it would keep us from grating on one another as families in close quarters. I believe it would significantly strengthen our churches when we come back together. I believe it would fulfill the partnership God intends between the family and the church in making strong, mature disciples of Jesus. And I believe those kinds of disciples will stand strong, even during times of crisis, and boldly take the gospel to the world.

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

This season can create new spiritual shelters in our homes.

From the front: Churches face difficult decisions as pressure mounts to reopen Continued from page 1

decisions. While region, context, and church size are all issues that should be factored into their decisions, we all want to look out for the wellbeing of our church families and neighbors. And IBSA’s role is to provide resources churches may use to make wise decisions.”

IBSA will help facilitate a discus sion later this month for church leaders as they handle the challenges associated with reopening. Information about an online forum will be publicized ahead of the virtual town hall-type meeting.

The needs of churches in dif ferent parts of the state are noteworthy. Church leaders in the hard-hit Chicago metro area have dealt with many more cases of COVID-19 and resulting deaths, while downstate, cases are relatively fewer. Still, with the number of confirmed cases statewide over 50,000, including more than 2,200 deaths, the pandemic is felt everywhere.

Carrothers cited the outbreak reported at an assisted living facility in Mt. Vernon, affecting at least 23 residents and staff. One Baptist church there suffered three deaths

among its memberhip. And in Effingham, an IBSA pastor shared that he conducted a “virtual funeral” for a 102-year-old church member, because in-person attendance was prohibited, hardly a fitting memorial for a saint who taught Sunday school for 90 years, he noted.

“The whole grieving process has been derailed,” Carrothers observed, both about the nature of funeral services during the pandemic restrictions, and the rising urgency of crisis management in its wake.

Even as Illinois witnesses increased illness and death, state representative Darren Bailey filed suit in Clay County to end the extension of Gov. Pritzker’s sheltering order until May 30. “Enough is enough!” Bailey told the Southern Illinoisan newspaper.

“I filed this lawsuit on behalf of myself and my constituents who are ready to go back to work and resume a normal life.”

Caught in the tension between these opposing viewpoints: pastors and church leaders who want to minister faithfully in what could be a long and difficult season.

– Eric Reed

Kids encourage isolated seniors

Churches challenge meeting restrictions

Lawsuits aim to protect gatherings

As states continue to limit in-person gatherings, some churches are challenging the constitutionality of restricting religious meetings. Churches in several states have defended their right to hold drivein worship services, and some have filed suit when those gatherings were restricted.

In Greenville, Miss., members of Temple Baptist Church were fined $500 for attending a drive-in service April 8, but legal group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed suit on their behalf. Greenville officials eventually reversed their previous decision and allowed the services, as long as attenders keep their windows rolled up. Mayor Errick Simmons also rescinded the tickets.

ADF, a partner of the Illinois Baptist State Association, also represented a church in Chattanooga, Tenn., that was unable to hold a drive-in service, even though nearby businesses didn’t face the same parking lot restrictions. The city subsequently reversed its policy against the drive-in services.

Some IBSA churches were among those across the country who halted drive-in services amid heightened restrictions on gatherings. First Baptist Church, Grayville, held drive-in worship in the church parking lot in March before discontinuing the services in April. But the church restarted its drive-in ministry April 26. “We can safely gather in the parking lot,” Pastor David Smith posted on Facebook. “We will need everyone to comply. Please keep your windows rolled up and stay in your vehicles.”

There are churches across the country that have continued to meet in-person. In Kansas, ADF filed suit on behalf of two small churches that were told to discontinue their in-person meetings. A judge issued a temporary restraining order against Gov. Laura Kelly’s mass gathering ban, allowing the churches to continue meeting for now.

“A global pandemic does not erase our constitutional rights,” wrote ADF’s John Harding. “It’s important for government officials to understand that their authority has limits, and those limits are found primarily in the original meaning of the U.S. Constitution.”

facebook.com/illinoisbaptistwomen

WELL-WISHERS – Finley, Owen, and Grant Gajewski are among the kids in Nashville, Ill., participating in Lighthouse Community Church’s adopt-a-grandparent initiative. Through the ministry, kids have committed to send letters, cards, and handmade gifts to dozens of seniors at two local nursing facilities.

– Facebook/Temple Baptist Church in Greenville, Mississippi

KEVIN CARROTHERS

with the lord

Wilma Booth, 1938-2020

Wilma Booth of Elgin died from Coronavirus complications April 10. A lifelong Southern Baptist and leader in Baptist circles, Booth, 81, is being remembered fondly for decades of service to her church and to Illinois Baptists.

“Wilma was a rare jewel,” said Nate Adams, executive director of the Illinois Baptist State Association. “She loved her Lord, her husband and family, her church, her teaching profession, and her community. She was so active in service and leadership through her church and denomination, even in retirement. I’ve never known a more devoted Illinois Baptist.”

Wilma and her husband, Jack, were active members of Larkin Avenue Baptist Church and later at Calvary Baptist Church in Elgin and leaders in Fox Valley Baptist Association. On the state level, both of them served in a variety of leadership positions on the IBSA Board and committees. Wilma was an active musician, worship leader, and conference leader. She was an advocate for Southern Baptist missions and ministries.

“I’ve known Wilma since I was a teenager,” Adams said. “Throughout my life, she has been not only a personal encourager to me, but also a model of church leadership, integrity, generosity, and excellence. She leaves a great void in many lives, including mine, but I am so grateful for her lifelong relationship with Jesus that she now enjoys in eternity.”

Booth is survived by her husband, Jack, and two daughters, Jannea Booth and Melana Beyer.

Isaac Siprian, 1948-2020

Isaac Siprian, pastor of First Baptist Church of Elk Grove Village, died April 7 at the age of 72. He and his wife, Petra, had previously tested positive for COVID-19, according to a report from the Fox Valley Baptist Association.

Mark Inman, Fox Valley director of missions, said Siprian grew up in South Texas. He began his pastoral ministry at the age of 18, and served a church in Detroit before moving to Chicagoland. He served 20 years as pastor of the Elk Grove Village church. Petra Siprian heads up a sewing ministry that produces children’s clothing for distribution at mission points worldwide.

“It’s a personal loss to me,” Inman said. “He was a fine pastor and, with his congregation, a great supporter of missions.”

Siprian is survived by his wife, Petra, and two children, Velvet Siprian and Larissa Rico.

“This is an especially sad day for Illinois Baptists,” said IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams, “when the pandemic takes someone in our ministry family. We urge all Illinois Baptists to be in prayer for Petra, their family, and First Baptist Elk Grove Village as they deal with their painful loss.”

Pastors find a way forward

Edwardsville | Students of chess sometimes train by taking the queen off the board, so they can learn how to win without their most powerful weapon.

The illustration, shared with Pastor Rayden Hollis from a recent webinar hosted by church consultants Auxano, has resonance for churches navigating the Coronavirus pandemic. COVID-19 has temporarily dispatched the church’s queen—its Sunday morning gathering. “Pastors and churches that learn how to leverage the other pieces they have are the ones who are going to be the most effective,” said Hollis, who pastors Red Hill Church in Edwardsville.

Pastors and churches across Illinois are ramping up to meet unique needs with less-used pieces. Streamed services and virtual meetings have replaced in-person gatherings, and phone calls are more feasible than hospital visits.

“Pastoral care has been tough because of COVID-19,” said Adron Robinson, pastor of Hillcrest Baptist Church in Country Club Hills. His church has responded to the challenges by mobilizing the pastoral care team to check in with members over the phone. They’re also dropping off care packages to seniors who live alone.

Red Hill is similarly checking in with attenders, and also holding a weekly Zoom call for members. “We’re trying to focus especially on the shepherding aspect of things, because we can still do that,” Hollis said. Even if the method has changed.

According to research by Barna, church leaders across the country are feeling fairly positive about how their churches are operating within the crisis. Research released in April found 66% of U.S. church leaders say their church is doing “very well” or “somewhat well” at providing one-on-one discipleship, and almost all pastors (98%) say they at least somewhat understand their congregations’ needs.

Only 30% of pastors feel well-equipped to help churchgoers with mental and spiritual health issues, Barna found, but 39% report they or another staff member have preached on those topics in the last month.

At Red Hill, Hollis said leaders are working to remind people that grief is normal in this season. There’s also comfort, he said, in trusting that God is not surprised by the Coronavirus pandemic.

“The truth is that before the foundations of the world were laid, God knew I was going to be in this moment,” he has counseled his church. God could have put anyone here, Hollis said, but he chose us. “That’s got to mean something.”

Encouraging connections

Just over half of church leaders are finding time for their own spiritual development, but that may be similar to other ministry seasons, Barna reported, based on previous research. Almost three-quarters of pastors currently rate their spiritual well-being as “excellent” or “good.”

Heath Tibbetts pastors First Baptist Church in Machesney Park. He said the lesson so far for him as a pastor is simple: “chill out.”

“I’ve had to repent of so much focus on self-effort through all of this,” Tibbetts said, noting the temptation to try to do everything he sees another church doing. “We do need to take up every prompting the Lord is giving us right now to make that call, send that text, drive by that house and wave, but pastors need to simply work to activate their people and not attempt to shoulder all the pressure of church care.”

At Arthur Southern Baptist Church, Pastor Doug Davis is seeing connections happen that might have seemed impossible a few months ago. His central Illinois congregation has been streaming services for several years, but recently found out a group of 30 in Chicagoland have started a watch party to tune in every week. And a few weeks into virtual services, the pastor received a letter from a child more than two hours from Arthur, who felt compelled to send an offering after worshiping online.

“Thank you for your message,” the letter read. “I’m sending an offering. Please use it to reach the lost in your community for Jesus.” Davis’s voice broke as he recounted the story of the young man’s $2 contribution.

“The widow’s mite had never quite been as clear to me as it was when I got that letter,” Davis said. “I may never meet this young man on this side of eternity. But God allowed him to minister to me.”

– Meredith Flynn

WILMA BOOTH

ISAAC SIPRIAN

As churches respond to pandemic with necessary changes

Pandemic delays church launches

Planters build community during stay-at-home season

Woodstock | Gospel Grace Church has been renovating a building in northern Illinois since last year, preparing for their official launch this spring. A statewide stay-at-home order March 21 halted in-person gatherings for the new church, and most across Illinois, until further notice.

“Everything’s on hold,” said Pastor Nate Praytor, “but we also realize this is part of the Lord’s plan. It’s not caught him offguard.”

Praytor’s church is one of dozens across the state engaged in the church planting process—now, amid a global pandemic. Illinois church planters are adapting their plans and trusting Christ to fulfill the promise from Matthew 16: he will build his church.

“Has it disrupted our rhythm? Sure,” said Mt. Vernon church planter Dustin Haile “But I really have been encouraged about how the church has responded. How they’ve leaned into Jesus, and have leaned into each other.”

Haile’s congregation, Gateway Church, is planning to launch public worship services this fall, but the pastor realizes that date could be pushed back. He and his core team have talked about how, decades from now, the COVID-19 pandemic will be part of church’s early history.

The story, Haile said, will be that the pandemic didn’t destroy the church, but that the church came out stronger on the other side.

‘God has you here for a reason’

Lighthouse Community Church had planned to canvas the community of Okawville March 22, ahead of a March 29 launch of the church’s second campus. (Its original site is in nearby Nashville.) Instead, the meet-the-neighbors effort was canceled, and the would-be launch was streamed from a nearly empty building (pictured above). Since then, the church has modified Sunday worship to fit the current circumstances.

“Our services don’t look normal right now, and we’ve done that on purpose,” Pastor Danny Donato said. Instead of an opening song, he introduces the service, urging people to stay online and stay engaged, because “We believe God has you here for a reason.”

After the sermon, Lighthouse leaders host a brief Q&A session. The church’s online audience has grown from 400-700 views a week, to 3,500, Donato said.

“He gave us way more influence that Sunday than we ever would have anticipated,” Donato said of the planned Okawville launch. The church is watching the gospel go forward, he added, through people who are inviting their friends to worship online.

They’re also looking for ways to help people in both communities. In Nashville, Lighthouse kids are sending cards and handmade gifts to residents of local nursing facilities (see page 3). In Okawville, a member of the church’s team is part of the effort

to deliver meals to kids who would usually eat at school.

“Hope isn’t as evident when everything’s calm,” Donato said, “but it can shine into chaos.”

‘The gospel is the only answer’

Amid the pandemic, training and preassessment of church planters is continuing, said IBSA’s mobilization director Brad Lovin. “Most of [the North American Mission Board’s] development tools for church planting and churches are web-based,” Lovin said. “Potential planters are also being moved through the pre-assessment process virtually so that they can be ready to assess in the future.” Currently, no assessments are scheduled before the final quarter of 2020.

In Woodstock, “We’re all kind of living life right now in the question mark,” Praytor said. But his church is planning for the day they’ll be able to meet in-person, and

Window of opportunity

Missionaries sing gospel to neighbors

Editor’s note: In late 2019, Caleb and Carina Beaty moved from Bloomington, Ill., to Madrid, Spain, to serve as missionaries with the International Mission Board. Below, Caleb describes how a song sung at their commissioning service last year still resonates today.

“O praise the name of the Lord, our God. O praise his name forevermore.”

When we sang those words at a missionary sending celebration in 2019, we had no idea that nine months later we would be confined to the four walls of our 900-square-foot apartment in the heart of Madrid. This city in particular and Spain in general have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unable to do many of the things we had planned to do in our first year, my wife, Carina, began to think of ways that we could continue to be a faithful presence for our neighbors during this time. What does missions look like in the midst of a pandemic?

adapting their plan for a post-Coronavirus audience.

“What’s the best way we can make the gospel land right where people are?” is a question the church is asking now, the pastor said. They’re praying every day for the pandemic to end, but also recognizing the potential for the gospel to go forward in this unprecedented time.

“We do know that it does open a door, when we face our own mortality,” Praytor said. “The gospel is the only answer for that.”

In Mt. Vernon, Haile is working to balance meeting needs in the community with continuing to develop his church’s core team so that they’re ready for an eventual launch.

“You’re seeing a lot of communities and community leaders that are just more open to receive assistance right now,” he said, “and that’s where churches and plants need to be willing to step in.”

For virtual discipleship, Lovin recommended NAMB’s Multiplication Pipeline as a valuable resource for church plants and existing congregations. The online leadership development tool is designed to help church members discover their calling, equip them to serve, and deploy them on mission.

For more information about Multiplication Pipeline, or how to partner with a new church in Illinois, contact Lovin at (217) 319-3131.

John Piper famously said, “Missions exists because worship doesn’t.” If that is true, then we ought to be bright lights of worship for those around us to see in this time. We have found daily opportunities to do this during our time at home, simply by sticking our heads out of our windows.

Our next-door neighbor, along with her three children, puts on a small concert of classical music every day around lunch time. Our building fills a city block, with a spacious courtyard in the middle. The 7-story brick building carries the sounds of the flute, oboe, and viola beautifully. Almost all of the neighbors in our building lean out of their windows each day to enjoy this social “gathering.”

During Holy Week, we asked our neighbor if we could share a song on Resurrection Sunday during the normal music time. She gladly agreed, so on Easter Sunday, my wife and I had the humbling experience of singing “O Praise the Name” from our windows to our neighbors in Madrid.

It was humbling in part because we are not professional musicians. I’m not a professional Spanishspeaker. It was humbling also because God had so clearly opened doors for us. He put us in this particular building with this particular neighbor during this particular moment in history. He gave a sunny day in the middle of a week of rain, and he paused the sirens and helicopter noises that often interrupt music time. He even provided a neighbor to video and photograph the song!

In a time when many typical missions activities are on hold, worship isn’t. We worship in response to what God has done for us in the gospel. Because of this gospel we have come to Madrid. Because of this gospel, Baptists across the U.S. have given generously and sacrificially to send us. Because of this gospel, we worship.

– Meredith Flynn

– Caleb Beaty

– Photo by Carlos Guijarro

From the front: Priority goes online, expands audience

Continued from page 1

Women Facebook page, encouraging the Priority leadership team and applauding the effort to take the meeting online.

“This was my first time of attending Priority,” posted Sarah McVaigh of North Side Baptist Church in Fairfield. “I was so blessed to take part online. Thank you for everything that was done to make this possible. May God keep moving among us!”

Over the last year, Halsey and her team had developed a Priority meeting focused largely on a Hebrew term found only twice in Scripture. Ezer kenegdo refers to someone who brings strong and necessary support, explained featured speaker Chrystie Cole, a women’s discipleship leader from South Carolina and author of “Biblical Femininity.”

In the creation account in Genesis, Adam needed that kind of aid, Cole said, someone to help him accomplish the mission God gave him. And like Eve, women today share that unique calling from God.

“This is why God created us, to bring strength in the context of relationship, so that others are bolstered. So that they can accomplish things that they would not have been able to accomplish apart from their aid.”

It’s a vision for an outwardly focused life, one that is especially relevant now, Halsey said during her closing remarks.

“How can we be the ezers?” she asked. “We have all kinds of opportunities to undergird and bring the strength to our communities.

“And we don’t have to be anybody special. We just have to be us, who God created us to be.”

Let’s all stay on mission.

Cooperative Program support is more important than

DISTANCE LEARNING – IBSA’s Aubrey Krol (upper left) and Carmen Halsey (center) work with Andrea Hammond of Living Faith Baptist Church, Sherman, to facilitate Priority Now, the online 2020 edition of IBSA’s annual women’s conference. The team posted photos of women attending the meeting across Illinois, including Paula Joy of Mt. Vernon (above) and Ashton and Linda Williams of Fillmore.

Photos from Facebook

Priority Now sessions are available online at IBSA.org/prioritynow-live.

ever.

As our churches seek to recover from the current crisis, please remember those who share the gospel worldwide on behalf of Southern Baptists.

IN FOCUS

Why go back to normal?

“Let’s not go back to normal,” Trevin Wax wrote recently. “Let’s come away from this challenge with a new vision of what normal could be.”

Wax, an editor at LifeWay Christian Resources, said life before Coronavirus was “a world with less and less in-person interaction, looser commitments, increasing polarization, and, above all, loneliness.” Amid the current crisis, he said, we’ve had time to reconsider habits and order our lives according to what matters most.

He’s not the only leader predicting—and encouraging—long-term change, when life goes back to a semblance of what it was before the Coronavirus pandemic. “If we finish this season and the only thing we have to show for it is that we got through it, what a waste,”

Rayden

, pastor of

Hollis

Red Hill Church in Edwardsville. “If the only thing that we are on the other side is two months older, what a missed opportunity.”

Redeeming the time is a tall order for churches and leaders tasked with responding to the distinct phases of the pandemic:

1. Short-term: In the early days of the pandemic in the U.S., we reacted to the immediate crisis, dealing with everything that was suddenly not normal. Churches streamed services and moved small groups online. Even outreach became a virtual effort.

2. Intermediate: This is the stage we’re moving toward now, as we begin to take intentional steps to recover some of our previous norms. The 10 questions beginning on this page will help identify the mid-range issues many churches will navigate in the near future.

3. Long-range: Though we’re not here yet, this is the phase where we will apply the lessons learned from crisis. Prognosticators have many ideas about what the future could hold, but it will likely be a long time before we see how Coronavirus will affect the church in the long-term.

Now is the time to begin to address the middle phase, and bring together people that can help make decisions. The plan we’re moving toward isn’t a deacon- or elder-only recovery plan. Make a list of people with strengths your church staff or elected leaders may not have—church members in the medical or education fields, or those with expertise in systems. Bring them together, work through these questions, and then, move to the long-term future.

– The Editors

10 questions for reopening

Now is the time to develop strategy for health, safety, and ministry

As tempted as we may be to throw open the doors and declare our churches ready for business, pastors and church leaders should take cues from restaurants, doctors’ offices, and supermarkets about safe ways to resume operations. Everyone’s health is at stake.

Please consider these questions as church leaders meet, to protect the people who frequent your facilities—but also to plan now for effective ministry as the pandemic and its aftereffects linger. Identify a Coronavirus Response Team, including staff, elected leaders, people with medical experience, and good organizers.

Innovative gospel advance depends on insightful planning now, before our churches reopen.

1. How will we strategize for reopening, considering safety and encouraging unity, while allowing for unique concerns?

It might be said we’re all in this boat together, but in reality, our vessels are of many sizes and sail on a variety of ponds. Safely navigating this crisis means identifying the common issues surrounding prevention of spreading disease, while recognizing the unique factors, such as location and church size, which will determine the extent and duration of adjustments to ministry.

On top of that, leaders may wish to discuss how to develop congregational support for the measures proposed and the influence of community expectations.

LifeWay’s Ken Braddy has developed a congregational survey that will aid in the development of reopening strategy.

Download it at https://bit.ly/covidsurvey7

Continued from page 7

2. How will we practice social distancing in our facilities?

The obvious issues here are space between worship attenders, elimination of seating, and creation of traffic patterns that reduce personal contact in aisles and hallways. The one-way lanes at the grocery stores may serve as a model for discussion.

3. How will we adapt basic church practices that involve communal touching of objects?

It’s surprising how many things we touch that others have touched before us. Consider replacement of worship bulletins or paper Sunday school curriculum with electronic versions. The practices in some churches that eliminate passing plates may become more widely practiced, including placement of offering boxes beside the entrances, and disposable pre-packaged bread and juice sets for the Lord’s supper. And this may be the time to eliminate the traditional greeting time.

In addition, consider placing hand sanitizer stations throughout the building and propping open doors, so doorknobs need not be touched.

Leaders may ask whether to cancel coffee service, or close the nursery except for family members caring for their own children.

4. How will we limit group sizes, or the number of meetings on site, to reduce risk of disease transmission?

The answer to this question depends on CDC recommendations. If groups are limited to 10, then home meetings may be advisable for many church functions. If groups fewer than 50 are allowed for a while, some churches may need to plan multiple services.

And for churches that are already comfortably full in the auditorium, overflow seating in the fellowship hall or classrooms with video monitors may be needed to guarantee six-foot distancing between worship attenders.

Overall, churches will likely need to ask which meetings are misson criticial (such as worship services) and which meetings can be moved or canceled to allow more time for disinfection and unimpeded traffic flow.

5. How will we adapt large summertime activities (such as Vacation Bible School, cookouts, or revivals) for smaller groups?

LifeWay is already publishing adaptations of its VBS curriculum for a variety of settings, from the traditional all-church format to neighborhood meetings, to family small groups at home. This may be the year to revive the Backyard Bible Club, or to adapt the format for a variety of ministries. Before choosing to cancel events, ask whether they can be divided into multiple venues. Doing this will also require that all events be mission critical and gospel focused. Summer 2020 will not be the year for any ministry activity that does not expressly advance the gospel.

6. How will we limit contact with people at risk while still encouraging gospel ministry?

We want to make guests feel welcome, but we also need to carefully guard the safety of all involved. It will be important to make the new guidelines for behavior in the church facilities public and obvious. Post it everywhere so guests know what to expect.

And we want to continue ministry to at-risk people groups whenever feasible. Leaders will want to ask authorities how to safely engage people in shelters or senior centers. Gospel dissemination will require new methods of delivery.

9. How will we engage our community in new ways they may be open to for the remainder of 2020?

While our doors have been closed, our communities’ needs have been growing. Upon returning, the church will have immediate opportunity to reach out to front line workers and first responders, but also to those who have suffered loss through death or unemployment. People will have physical needs that can be met with groceries or help with errands.

More important, the community will have deep and ongoing spiritual needs. Local churches will be needed in the chaplain role, especially as the pandemic morphs. As rescue operations sometimes turn to recovery of bodies, the COVID-19 rescue will produce a long period of spiritual and emotional recovery.

10. How will we explain our strategy to the church family and the larger community?

Not everyone will understand or agree with the local church’s plans for operation after reopening—not church members, not the neighbors. As with the handling of the pandemic itself, everyone has their own ideas about how to resume “normal” life. But the congregation will need a cohesive plan that everyone will live with. Both church members and the surrounding community will need to understand the reasons behind your decisions.

7. How will we continue or initiate ministry to socially isolated people?

Some of the more heartwarming stories during the pandemic have been about people who reached out to the quarantined—singing from their balconies or delivering groceries. Now that we all know what it feels like to be shut in, the church is better motivated to enhance its ministry to people who are isolated, whether by lack of family nearby, health condition, or fear.

8. How will we build on the technology and ministry lessons we learned by virtual worship and online meetings?

Our April crash course in technology will be handy. If smaller meetings are recommended, then off-site meetings are one alternative. Technology is another. Many churches’ Zoom meetings have proven effective, especially for people who are constrained by time or distance. The future will likely include more and briefer online meetings that replace whole evenings spent around a folding table in the median adults’ classroom.

This will require three things from leaders: backbone, diplomacy, and compassion.

Now is not really the time to bend to public opinion or polling. Pastors and church leaders will need to make decisions that are for the safety and health of the flock. A key part of successful implemention of these plans will be careful communication of the strategy and the reasons.

Plan to communicate, both within the church and in the larger community. Plan to overcommunicate. Say it until you’re tired of saying it. That’s when the listeners are just beginning to understand it.

Finally, may we recommend, steep your strategy process in prayer. Consult the experts. IBSA has plenty of resources online. And beyond our own Church Helps page, there are volumes of resources available from reliable providers and ministry partners. Just as important, the Lord will provide wisdom for those who seek it.

Now that we all know what it feels like to be shut in, the church is better motivated to enhance its ministry to people who are isolated.

Pre-packaged communion cups limit touches.

SBC: COVID-19 IMPACT

Seminaries make cuts

At their spring trustee meetings, Southern Baptist seminaries announced budget cuts and shifts in strategy resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Southern Seminary in Louisville, Ky., will lower tuition fees and reduce its budget by 30%. The plan also includes some cuts in seminary staff. In Wake Forest, N.C., Southeastern Seminary’s trustees authorized the seminary to participate in the federal Paycheck Protection Program.

“By participating in this program,” said Southeastern President Danny Akin, “we hope to ensure that those employed by Southeastern are able to remain employed with their benefits intact.”

The pandemic has forced or accelerated cuts to some existing seminary programs, including the archaeology department at Southwestern Seminary in Ft. Worth, and seven extension centers of New Orleans Seminary that have seen several years of declining attendance.

LifeWay reduces costs

The Southern Baptist Convention’s publishing house will cut $25-$30 million of recurring expenses from its operating budget in response to the financial hit the organization is taking due to COVID-19. “LifeWay stands to lose tens of millions of dollars of revenue that the organization would normally generate over the summer months from camps, events, VBS, and ongoing curriculum sales,” said CEO Ben Mandrell. The organization, which has seen steep sales declines since mid-March, will implement a series of budgetary freezes, cutbacks, and staff reductions. In addition, LifeWay’s executive leadership team will give up one month’s salary beginning in May.

LifeWay also recently announced it would explore the sale of Ridgecrest Conference Center and Summer Camps in North Carolina. In an FAQ on its website, LifeWay said it would welcome ownership interest from other Southern Baptist entities, state conventions, and ministries.

Pastors’ focus for 2021

The now-canceled 2020 SBC Pastors’ Conference in Orlando sparked controversy due to some of its slated speakers and performers. Conference president David Uth says the 2021 event will unite Southern Baptists around the Great Commission. The North American Mission Board will plan and produce the conference, scheduled for June 15-16 in Nashville. Uth’s church, First Baptist, Orlando, will retain financial responsibility for the meeting.

“Nothing is needed more than a movement of God in our churches to engage our people in reaching the lost world with the lifesaving gospel of Jesus Christ,” Uth said, “especially in the aftermath of COVID-19.”

– From Baptist Press, LifeWay Christian Resources

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

cooperative program

Commitment not hindered by virus

IBSA pastor: In worst circumstances, God is in control

Editor’s note: Freedom Baptist Church, an IBSA congregation in Noble, was recently featured in a Baptist Press series on missions giving through the Cooperative Program.

Noble | Picture an old-style, white, wooden structure with a bell tower capped by a steeple, set in the middle of corn fields, alongside a cemetery. The church looks to be far from Coronavirus and yet is as affected by it as any church in America.

But the people at Freedom Baptist Church, organized by 10 people in 1852 who wanted freedom to worship according to God’s word in what was then a heavily Roman Catholic area, are not discouraged.

Since at least 1980, the 50-75 people who gather for Sunday morning worship have allowed their annual giving to missions through the Cooperative Program to dip below 10% of undesignated offerings only four times. The Cooperative Program is the way Southern Baptists work together in fulfilling the Great Commission in state conventions, across North America, and throughout the world.

“Being a smaller church, we recognize the importance of churches gathering together,” said Pastor Rob Windes (pictured at right with his wife, Darla). “The money we give to missions through the Cooperative Program is multiplied by some 47,000 other churches, and as a result, we can accomplish more together than we can separately.

“The wealth of opportunities for training the state convention provides for us is an example of that,” Windes said. “We’re a small church in a small association of seven churches. The VBS and leadership training we receive, the invaluable Midwest Leadership Summit, and the liaison with the state convention who tells us what training and resources are available are an invaluable benefit to us. We couldn’t do all that on our own.”

Freedom Baptist’s total missions giving comes to 52.4% of the church’s offerings, including 15% through the Cooperative Program, 5% to the Olney Baptist Association, and special offerings for the International Mission Board, North American Mission Board, and Baptist work in Illinois, as well as direct support of Illinois ministries and of missionaries in Argentina.

Freedom Baptist is located about four miles outside of Noble, a village of about 650 people in southeastern Illinois. Sunday morning worship services were suspended in mid-March because of Coronavirus, and though internet capability in the county is too thin to stream services, every service has been recorded, edited, and

posted on the church’s website, freedomchurch1852.com.

“We believe in the sovereign God over all things, Romans 8:28,” Windes said. “Yes, we’re separate physically but we’re still together as a church. Even though we’re going through difficult times, I believe he is helping the church to grow, the members to grow. I’m hoping this pandemic will help people across the nation open their eyes and turn to God.”

‘The little church that could’

“We don’t know how long the present situation with the Coronavirus will continue, but if it extends further than a couple of weeks it is going to affect our giving, at least for the short term,” Windes said March 18. “We have to trust God. Even in the worst of circumstances, he’s still in control.” The pastor said the church family knows that. He expects any shortfall will be made up once the church restarts its Sunday morning services, Wednesday evening Bible studies, and Sunday evening classes.

Freedom Baptist has a well-established commitment to God, the Cooperative Program, and “determination to spread the gospel not only in our community, but to be ‘the little church that could’ and have a global impact,” Windes said. “Even though we’re now isolated because of the virus from the community, we have been and are still working to be engaged in the community.”

The church’s outreach committee and Sunday School classes plan local outreach events regularly. Freedom Baptist sent a mission team to Argentina earlier this year, and also sends volunteers once a year to Chicago. Members and other individuals supported by Freedom have gone on mission in India, Africa, Haiti, and other places.

“To really know the church, you have to know the people, and Freedom has the most loving and friendliest people around,” Windes said. “Not because of ourselves but because of the love that has been shown to us by our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.”

– Karen Willoughby for Baptist Press

Urgent needs COVID-19 has affected communities around the globe. SEND

Relief, an arm of the North American and International Mission Boards, is seeking to meet needs, buoyed by support from the Cooperative Program.

THE cooperative program • 1st quarter report jan. 1 - march 31

This report includes contributions received by the Illinois Baptist State Association through the first quarter of 2020. For questions about this report, contact the IBSA Church Cooperation Team at (217) 391-3106, e-mail JeffDeasy@IBSA.org, or write to P.O. Box 19247, Springfield, IL 62794-9247.

228,000

SEND Relief and Southern Baptist Disaster Relief have donated more than masks and protective suits to hospitals and first responders.

Top 100 Illinois churches in Cooperative Program support through the first quarter of 2020

Additionally, Southern Baptists have distributed meals at ministry centers in New York City, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, and Puerto Rico.

Top 100 Illinois churches in per capita CP support through the first quarter of 2020

Churches 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49

50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75

New Beginnings, Streator 35.01

Washington First, Washington 34.82

Cutler First, Cutler 34.12

Redeemer, Urbana 34.02

Lovington First, Lovington 33.61

Bethel, Vandalia 33.10

Machesney Park First, Machesney Park 32.86

Mt Zion, Piasa 32.85

New Prospect, Broughton 32.68

Jackson Grove, Benton 31.89

Red Hill Church, Edwardsville 31.48

Pocahontas First, Pocahontas 30.76

Flat Rock First Missionary, Flat Rock 30.73

Ava Missionary, Ava 30.56

Charity, Carlinville 30.09

Jesus is the Life, Park Forest 30.00

New Heart Fellowship, Nashville 30.00

Casey First, Casey 29.77

Wisetown, Greenville 29.73

Highland Avenue, Robinson 29.61

Steeleville, Steeleville 29.54

Roe’s Dale, Pinckneyville 29.45

Mascoutah First, Mascoutah 29.27

Ozark, Ozark 29.19

The Lord’s Church, Naperville 29.17

Winkle, Coulterville 29.09

76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100

Emmanuel, Sterling 29.04

Collinsville Community, Collinsville 28.70

Effingham First, Effingham 28.53

Mt Olive, Dongola 28.45

Grace, Granite City 28.37

Nashville First, Nashville 28.30

Calvary, Pittsfield 28.11

Lighthouse Fellowship, Frankfort 27.91

Altamont First, Altamont 27.83

Sandy Creek, Tamms 27.75

Bethalto First, Bethalto 27.67

Woodson, Woodson 27.61

Tinley Park First, Tinley Park 27.52

Pleasant Dale, Girard 27.51

Evanston, Evanston 27.27

Immanuel, Chicago 27.27

Grace Fellowship Ashton, Ashton 27.03

Zion Hill, Centralia 27.00

Louisville, Louisville 26.90

Immanuel, Benton 26.42

Liberty, Harrisburg 25.89

Calvary, Monticello 25.83

Grace Fellowship Amboy-Sublette 25.69

Crosswinds Church, Plainfield 24.72

Bearing burdens

While most International Mission Board missionaries are sheltering in place, they’re sending updates of how the gospel is going forth despite the pandemic.

Missionary families are working to share Christ in creative ways that bring hope to their neighbors.

Missionary Hugh Johnson* thanked Southern Baptists for their continued support in challenging times:

“Even though your families are also suffering during this time of global fear and uncertainty, you continue to bless us in many practical ways by your generosity of spirit and your sacrificial gifts.”

* Name changed

First, Carterville 36.28

Front lines

684 healthcare chaplains endorsed by the North American Mission Board are critically important during this global pandemic.

A recent New York Times story described the vital role of medical chaplains this way: “Few run toward the dying. Even fewer run toward the contagious. But chaplains do.”

Florida chaplain Guillermo Escalona said COVID-19 is a challenging opportunity to serve God and people.

“It heightens our awareness of how much we need one another and how vitally important the presence of God and the spiritual life is.”

– Info from North American Mission Board, International Mission Board, Baptist Press

RESOURCE

LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITY

Leading change in the aftermath Crisis reduces our resistance and prepares us for a fresh start

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall near New Orleans, creating the greatest natural disaster in the history of the United States. The levees protecting the city were breached, and 70% of the city, including the campus of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, went underwater for weeks. In the blink of an eye, life changed completely for the people of New Orleans and the nearby Gulf Coast.

Today a far greater catastrophe has come. The COVID-19 virus has changed life completely for our nation and the entire planet. This crisis affects us all, everyone in the whole world.

As I look back on leading the seminary through the Katrina disaster, I see what could be ahead for the church and its leaders in the aftermath of the Coronavirus. One of the lessons we learned is that when everyone is overwhelmed, everyone knows change is both necessary and inevitable.

The director of missions for New Orleans gathered the pastors of the city together after the storm. He began the meeting with a profound insight that changed the perspective of everyone in the room.

Joe McKeever reminded the men of how often they dreamed of what they would do if only they could start their churches all over again with a clean slate. “Congratulations, men!” he said. “That day you longed for and dreamed of is here!”

What a terrific insight!

The grief, anger, fear, and despair brought on by catastrophic loss are real and life-altering. However, buried in the midst of catastrophic loss is a seed of opportunity for a fresh start.

Without exception, every church in New Orleans began doing church differently. The questions driving change were: What do these circumstances require the church to do? Who do they require us as Christians to be? What

opportunities do these circumstances create? Although catastrophe does steal, often forever, the way things were, it also brings the opportunity to correct, to do things differently, to start anew.

People are more ready to move ahead than you might think because catastrophic circumstances reduce the resistance to change.

Throughout our recovery from the storm, the most important lesson I learned, one that I cherish to this day, is profoundly simple: do not be afraid! Never in my wildest imagination could I conceive of an event as dreadful as Hurricane Katrina. The death, the destruction, the loss, the pain, the despair: emotions that I had never experienced to that degree before, and problems for which I could not conceive solutions, rocked my world at a depth in my soul that I did not know existed. However, my Katrina experience is not about what I lost. It is about what I gained. I gained an unshakable certainty that God is able to guide me, carry me, and sustain me through whatever life brings my way, no matter how terrible or overwhelming it may be.

Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid of the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging the world in 2020. Your heavenly Father is able to care for you. What he has done for me, he will do for you!

Chuck Kelley retired in 2019 after 23 years as president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He is online at drchuckkelley.com. Read his full column from the Summer 2020 issue of Resource magazine at Resource.IBSA.org.

Two views on crisis leadership

“And now, again, is the minister’s time; and now is the time for all of you who love souls. You may see men more alarmed than they are already; and if they should be, mind that you avail yourselves of the opportunity of doing them good. You have the Balm of Gilead; when

their wounds smart, pour it in. You know of him who died to save; tell them of him. Lift high the cross before their eyes.”

– Charles Spurgeon, 19th century English Particular Baptist preacher

“The sacrifice you show as a leader will bring out the sacrifice in others. Unfortunately, so will the selfishness. I’m not saying you shouldn’t feed your family or wash your hands thoroughly and often. I’m doing both. But that can’t be your only or primary response.

Time to pivot

New issue dedicated to season of innovation

The Summer 2020 issue of Resource magazine is all about the adjustments churches and leaders are making to address issues brought on by the Coronavirus pandemic. Chuck Kelley’s article, excerpted here, is just one of the leadership perspectives featured in the issue, online now at Resource. IBSA.org. Other features include:

4 ways to frame the future Tactics for leading in challenge Turn crisis into innovation Plus, planning space and ideas for the summer months.

E-mail Communications@IBSA. org to sign up for a subscription.

The world sometimes gets the gospel better than pastors do. They celebrate people who give their lives in service of others. Historically, so do we. Self-protection and selfdefense may be some other religion. It’s not Christianity.”

– Carey Nieuwhof, pastor, Barrie, Ontario

Coronavirus and Christ

John Piper

I recommend this book because it is one of the better, theologically-sound resources I have seen related to the current COVID-19 situation. It offers hope in an especially difficult, fearful time.

It’s been more than 20 years since I lasted attended school, but the Lord recently opened a door of opportunity for me to pursue a Master’s degree. It has been a daunting but rewarding journey. I have completed hours of reflective observation, as informed by the Holy Spirit, and I’ve discovered a few things. Increasingly, I find that the Holy Spirit informs my thinking, and I view the theories and concepts I’m studying through the prism of my Christian walk.

The Root of Righteousness

A.W. Tozer

I’ve read and re-read this book, and each time I find new nuggets of truths and gentle reminders to let Christ rule and reign in my inner most being, so that his light motivates and propels me forward.

As a Christian learner, I study to acquire knowledge, understanding, and to expand my mind. In turn, the Holy Spirit uses my mind and life experience, along with his wisdom and perspective, to inform my thinking and actions. I have been so encouraged by the insight and illumination of the Holy Spirit. That old Baptist Training Union verse has taken on new meaning and significance for me: “Study to show thyself approved . . .” (2 Timothy 2:15).

In my Adult Development class, we learned about the three dimensions of happiness described by psychologist Martin Seligman. His theory says human happiness is experienced in three ways: the pleasant life, the good life, and the meaningful life.

According to Dr. Seligman, the pleasant life is all about satisfying our immediate needs and appetites, or doing that which gives us pleasure. In other words, the focus is on us. The good life finds us using our skills and

The Gospel Driven Church

Jared C. Wilson

While every pastor dreams of numerical growth, that may not be the most important metric. Wilson helps churches orient themselves around the gospel while advocating for healthier, more biblical church metrics.

talents for success and achievement. It emphasizes character, reputation, and success, but the focus is still squarely on ourselves.

The third dimension of happiness touched my heart, and the Holy Spirit used this concept as a teachable moment about our faith. In the meaningful life, we use our strengths to help others and improve the world. The focus isn’t on us, but on the betterment of humankind. In the Christian context, the concept describes the yielding, surrender, and performance of our giftings in God’s service, toward the ultimate betterment of humankind and fulfillment of the Great Commission.

When I use my God-given talents and giftings in his service, that’s the meaningful life.

Ephesians 4:12 says ministry gifts are “for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” As a young person, that struck a chord with me. Growing up in Detroit, I dreamed of singing in one of those R&B girl groups. My musician parents had four kids, so we became an instant quartet, conscripted to sing at church services and family gatherings.

At church, I loved to sing in the choir. I was living the pleasant life, and as I gained experience and solos, it turned into the good life. But although I was singing for the Lord, I didn’t yet realize that for me, there was something more meaningful to come.

God began to draw me into a closer walk with him through daily Bible study and prayer time. After a particularly rich time of prayer, I was impressed by the Holy Spirit to stop singing in the choir and spend more time in his presence.

My immediate response was to reject what I was sensing, but over a few weeks, I began to feel condemnation and realized that singing was no longer what the Lord wanted me to do. So, I sat down for a year and only taught my Sunday school class.

During that year, as I sat in obedience and listened to others sing “my” leads, the Lord began to teach me about, guide me in, and enrich my prayer life. After a year of prayer, study, and sweet communion with him, the Holy Spirit prompted me to start an intercessory prayer group at our church.

When the Lord released me to sing in the choir again, the purpose of singing now was to usher us into the Lord’s presence as we prayed. Teaching others about prayer and intercession became a new, fulfilling area of ministry for me. And through it, I have experienced the meaningful life. What’s yours?

Cheryl Dorsey is prayer coordinator for the Chicago Metro Baptist Association. Her husband, Rick, is pastor of Beacon Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago Heights.

Living a meaningful life isn’t really about me

We’ll find true meaning when we use our gifts in God’s service.

– Josh Parsons, lead pastor, Western Oaks Baptist Church, Springfield

– DeWanna Oliver, ministry leader, Twin Oaks Baptist Church, Sleepy Hollow

– Eddie Pullen, IBSA church planting director

“Don’t think of it as an audition... think of it as just playing your music while we carefully assess your true ability and potential by listening...to...every...single...note.”

the counselor

NeTworkiNg

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

Q

As a pastor, I’ve walked with families through grief many times. But not ever this much at once. I’m struggling to keep my own head above water. Any insights?

We should probably refer to the emotions we are feeling now as “griefs,” rather than simply grief. The griefs we feel related to COVID-19 are complicated; we are grieving the loss of our way of life, the loss of loved ones, and unknown future loss. The most overwhelming grief of all is anticipatory grief, and anticipatory grief is really anxiety.

Why is it so important to have names for our emotions? If we can name a feeling and identify its source, we can begin our work of healing and recovery. A friend of mine has come to accept the losses he anticipates this year by naming this “the year of loss.” That’s truly sad, but I think it can be helpful to give context to the times we are in. After all, people are doing that all around us.

How many times in the last few weeks have you heard “these unprecedented times” or “our new normal?” We have all heard the phrase “desperate times call for desperate measures.” These are desperate times, and desperate measures have been taken. Both of which beg to be grieved.

In your question you say, referring to your current level of grief, “not ever this much at once.” Correct you are. Many of us have not experienced grief so complicated as this. Those who have had more than their fair share of past suffering know all too well how long it

With the Lord

takes to recover. You say you are struggling to keep your head above water. It is important to remember that your head is being held above water for one reason only: you are doing the Lord’s work, the work he has called you to do. He is sustaining you, and protecting you in your service to others, right this minute.

To keep fighting that good fight, we must take care of our bodies and minds. We know we can rest in Jesus, and find support from those he has placed in our lives to prop us up. I appreciate you for setting an example here by reaching out and asking for help. I know how hard that can be. This is an opportunity to help and receive help from your fellow pastors. After all, who would know better what you are going through? And who could benefit most from your help?

Pathways Counseling is currently offering IBSA pastors and their wives three structured Telehealth sessions of anxiety counseling free of charge to help meet their immediate needs. Contact us at (618) 382-4164.

Mark McCormick is director of clinic operations for Illinois Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services. Send questions for Mark to IllinoisBaptist@IBSA.org.

people

Ila Grigg died April 12 at the age of 94. A native of Illinois, Grigg served alongside her pastor husband, Archie, who spent the last 35 years of his ministry at Calvary Baptist Church in Decatur. He preceded her in death after 59 years of marriage.

Ila Grigg is survived by four children and many grandchildren.

Delbert Kirkpatrick, 80, died March 15. He started his Christian life and service in Chicagoland and served churches there as a deacon and leader for the rest of his life. Most recently, he was a member of Friendship Baptist Church in Plainfield for more than a decade, serving as a trustee and prayer team leader. His wife, Ruth, said the family will plan a memorial service in late spring or early summer.

Friendship Southern Baptist Church in Charleston seeks a full-time pastor. Send letter of application (including personal statement, contact info, previous work, education, and ministry experience) and info for three professional references to friendshipbaptistchurch2019@yahoo. com.

First Baptist Church in Bethalto seeks a senior pastor. Candidates should uphold The Baptist Faith & Message (2000), have completed a Master’s degree or higher from a Southern Baptist seminary, and preferably will have five or more years of pastoral experience. Send resumes to pastorsearch@fbcbethalto.org.

Chatham Baptist Church is seeking a part-time minister of preschool to lead preschool ministries on Sundays and Wednesdays, as well as our child development center. Submit resumes to chathambcoffice@gmail.com by May 1.

Bridging the gap

QMy husband and I have six months of expenses saved for an emergency fund. How should we determine when something is actually an emergency?

A

There’s no shame in using your emergency fund if you really need to. That’s what it’s there for. Just remember to ask yourself a few questions anytime something pops up to make sure you’ve got a real reason to use it.

Is the expense really unexpected? Christmas happens on December 25 every single year.

You know your semi-annual car insurance payment is coming, too. Make sure things like this are part of your regular, monthly budgets. Some examples of unexpected expenses might be a job loss or pay cut. Emergency medical expenses and car accident repairs might fall into this category, as well.

Is it absolutely necessary?

Most people say they know the difference between a want and a

Is it urgent? Practice the art of patience whenever possible. If your home’s air conditioning unit goes out in the middle of summer, that’s probably an urgent fix. But hearing about the “sale of the century” at your favorite retail store? Grabbing the newest, hottest cell phone when yours works just fine? Nope!

Your emergency fund is all about long-term security, not instant gratification. Don’t blow it impulsively, but don’t be afraid to use it when it’s really needed. Be wise, and ask those three questions. Check yourself so you don’t wreck yourself—or your budget!

Financial

dave

says

advisor Dave Ramsey is a prolific author and radio host.

Ministry innovation for uncertain times

online EVENTS

Church Helps Webinars

What: Guidance for churches and leaders navigating the COVID-19 pandemic

When: Every Tuesday and Thursday at 11 a.m. Register: IBSA.org/church-helps

ReVision Revitalization

What: Helping pastors prepare to lead change and revitalization

Upcoming sessions:

May 13: Create and cast a compelling vision

June 17: Creating a culture for change

July 15: Preparation, process, and practice Register: IBSA.org/leadershipdevelopment

Four options for VBS

LifeWay offers resources for rethinking summer outreach

What: On-the-job training for new pastors, or a refresher for any leader in need of it

Upcoming sessions:

May 7: The basics of funerals

June 4: Topic TBA

July 2: Topic TBA Register: IBSA.org/leadershipdevelopment

Leading to the Next Level

Nashville, Tenn. | In response to the Coronavirus pandemic, LifeWay Christian Resources is rolling out four Vacation Bible School options for churches who will likely need to adapt their plans. The “Concrete and Cranes” theme for 2020 will be carried out in the four options, which include:

Traditional VBS, provided it’s safe to meet as usual Neighborhood VBS, conducted in small groups in driveways, porches, and backyards

Alternate VBS, held later in the year, or one day a week over several consecutive weeks

VBS at Home, held in individual homes with churches streaming worship rallies

“We need to think of VBS as a content-based experience, not necessarily as a gathering. It’s fundamentally about connecting kids to the gospel through music, Bible teaching, and activities,” said Chuck Peters, director of operations for LifeWay Kids.

“Ultimately, those things do not require a large gathering. Once we realize that VBS might look different than we are accustomed to, we can come up with all sorts of creative ways to accomplish the heart of its ministry like we have never done before.” LifeWay’s free e-book, “4 Ways to Do VBS This Summer,” is available at lifeway.com/4Ways.

– From LifeWay Christian Resources

What: Equipping leaders in all areas of influence— relationships, marketplace, and the local church Upcoming sessions:

May 14: Leading and managing change

June 11: Topic TBA

July 9: Topic TBA Register: IBSA.org/leadershipdevelopment

IBSA has canceled summer events requiring in-person participation through the month of June. This includes summer camps at Lake Sallateeska and Streator Baptist Camps, and the Super Summer leadership development week for students that was planned at Eastern Illinois University.

A decision about July events will be announced in mid-May. Check IBSA.org for updates.

THE NEW REALITY

Virus fuels persecution

The COVID-19 pandemic has had historic impact on churches and Christians around the world, but for people persecuted for their faith, the effects can be even more drastic, said one persecution watchdog group.

“Their situation is going from bad to worse,” said David Curry of Open Doors USA. In countries where Christians are already viewed as second-class citizens, they are more likely to face discrimination when trying to access basic provisions and supplies.

At least 25 countries with confirmed cases of COVID-19 are on the list of the world’s worst persecutors of Christians.

Open Doors shared reports from Christians around the world suffering amid the pandemic, including:

Syria, where war has left hospitals ineffective, and some Christians live in displacement camps where the virus can spread quickly

India, where a nationwide lockdown can mean no escape for believers who face persecution and abuse from their families

North Africa, where Christian converts who already face economic discrimination have now lost their jobs

Along with praying for persecuted Christians around the world, Curry said believers in the U.S. are in a unique position to understand their persecuted brothers and sisters.

– Fox News, Open Doors USA

“As many churches worldwide are canceling services or holding them online, more Christians are experiencing what it’s like to worship in isolation. In this newfound reality, Christians in the United States have a unique opportunity to connect with the ongoing experience of persecuted Christians who are worshipping in secret.”

– David Curry