November 27, 2017 Illinois Baptist

Illinois Baptists pray for Texas, share their suffering

Robinson elected president, BFI & BCHFS report solid years

Gaines ministers to Texas town

Sutherland Springs, Texas | The sanctuary in the small-town Baptist church was painted white from floor to ceiling. White chairs marked the places where 26 worshipers sat, each with a rose and the name of the victim. There was a pink rose for an unborn baby killed there. But there was none of the carnage of the largest church shooting in U.S. history. A week after the Nov. 5 shooting, the pristine sanctuary was opened as a memorial. Recordings of some victims reading Scripture and praying played on speakers.

Earlier in the day, members of First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs gathered for worship in a tent on a nearby baseball field. The pastor of the church, Frank Pomeroy, had stood in front of news cameras after the killings and said his church’s tragedy will exalt Christ.

“Christ is the one who’s going to be lifted up,” said Pomeroy, who was out of

ALSO: Light shining in darkness, P. 4 Continued on P. 3

Is your church one of the ‘vital few’?

Nate Adams P. 2

CONVENTIONAL WISDOM

Snapshots from the world of Illinois Baptists

“Even among worship attendees, less than half read the Bible daily. The only time most Americans hear from the Bible is when someone else is reading it.”

– Scott McConnell, LifeWay Research

People of the book?

LifeWay Research asked American adults, “How much of the Bible have you personally read?”

Why have you not read the Bible more? I

– LifeWay Research, April 2017

the cooperative program

Giving by IBSA churches as of 11/17/17

$5,172,958

Budget Goal: $5,573,077

Received to date in 2016: $5,220,992

2017 Goal: $6.3 Million

The Illinois Baptist staff

Editor - Eric Reed

Managing Editor - Meredith Flynn

Graphic Designer - Kris Kell

Contributing Editor - Lisa Misner Sergent

Multimedia Journalist - Andrew Woodrow

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 three weeks by the Illinois Baptist State Association, 3085 Stevenson Drive, Springfield, Illinois 62703-4440. Subscriptions are free to Illinois Baptists. Subscribe online at IBSA.org

NATE ADAMS

The vital few

Idon’t specifically remember the first time I heard about the “80/20 principle,” but I do recall finding it fascinating. Simply put, the principle states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes, or that 80% of sales come from 20% of clients, or that 80% of the wealth is owned by 20% of the population, and so on.

When management consultant Joseph Juran began popularizing the 80/20 principle in 1941, he more formally named it the Pareto principle, after Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who published his own 80/20 observations in a paper at the University of Lausanne in 1896. Pareto showed that approximately 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population, a principle that he first observed while noting that about 20% of the peapods in his garden contained 80% of the peas.

The 80/20 principle often resonates with pastors and church leaders, too. Not always, but many times, 80% of the work in a church seems to come from 20% of the volunteers, or 80% of the giving comes from 20% of the givers, or 20% of the congregation seems to require 80% of the pastor’s time.

Likewise in associational life, 80% of an association’s support can come from 20% of its churches. In fact, here in Illinois, 20% of IBSA churches currently provide about 80% of Cooperative Program giving. I suspect that further study would reveal many more 80/20 dynamics, both within and among churches.

The reality that the 80/20 principle underscores is that many, many things—from responsibility to productivity to generosity—are not evenly distributed within a group. Many groups have what Joseph Juran began referring to as “the vital few,” who carry the heaviest load in the group.

It’s the urgent need for more of those “vital few” churches here in Illinois that has led us to challenge IBSA churches to four “Pioneering Spirit” commitments during our state’s bicentennial next year. Between now and next November, we are praying for at least 200 churches who will register fresh commitments to church planting, evangelism, missions giving, and leadership development.

We call this going new places, engaging new people, making new sacrifices, and developing new leaders. Details, as well as registration information, can be found at the new IBSA.org/pioneering website. Two hundred churches would not only match our state’s bicentennial, it would represent just over 20% of our churches. These Pioneering Spirit challenges are simple, but they’re not easy. They challenge us to pray for, or partner with, or plant one of the 200 new churches that are needed in Illinois today. They challenge at least 200 churches to set a baptism goal that exceeds their previous 3-year average, and then focus intently on sharing the gospel. They challenge at least 200 churches to percentage missions giving through the Cooperative Program that increases each year toward 10%. And they challenge 200 churches to intentional processes that develop tomorrow’s pastors, church planters, and missionaries.

Apparently, at times, Joseph Juran referred to the 80/20- or Pareto-principle as “the vital few and the trivial many.” But later in life, he was said to prefer “the vital few and the useful many,” indicating a newfound appreciation for the necessity of the whole and not just the few.

I really appreciate that distinction, because I see value and uniqueness in every IBSA church, and understand there are many factors that influence what a church chooses or is able to do in a given area. Still, I think we have yet to see the impact we could have on our 200-year-old mission field, if at least 200 churches would step up and join the vital few.

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

We’re praying for at least 200 churches to make fresh commitments in four key areas.

lost

Continued from page 1

town at the time of the shooting. “That’s what I’m telling everybody. You lean into what you don’t understand. You lean into the Lord...Whatever life brings to you, lean on the Lord rather than your own understanding.”

Pomeroy’s 14-year-old daughter was one of those murdered. “I don’t understand, but I know my God does,” he said. “And that’s where I’ll leave that.”

Peace in the storm

Immediately after the Sunday morning massacre, Southern Baptist leaders and churches rallied to support the small congregation. Southern Baptist Convention President Steve Gaines had been slated to speak at the IBSA Annual Meeting and Pastors’ Conference, but traveled instead to Sutherland Springs to minister to the church and community. He was joined by SBC Executive Committee President Frank Page, himself a former Texas pastor, at a Wednesday evening prayer service hosted by the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention.

An estimated 2,500 or more area residents attended the service, which also included Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Ted Cruz, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and several congressmen.

Page quoted from John 10:10, telling the crowd, “Three days ago you saw the work of the evil one to steal and to kill and to destroy, but in a moment you’re going to hear about life,” referring to the gospel invitation to be led by Gaines. “As the nation is watching, may they hear words of life and life abundant,” Page prayed. “We know it is found through Jesus Christ.”

Gaines preached extemporaneously from the Sermon on the Mount. “Jesus was telling these precious people he dearly loved that storms are going to come, the rain is going to fall,” he said. “Storms come. Winds blow. They slam against your life,” he said, adding, “That’s exactly what happened at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs—a storm slammed against their church.”

Offering further comfort, he added, “I don’t know what last thing those people saw, but I do know the moment

their spirit and soul left their body they saw the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. They won’t be able to come back to us, but you can go to them....

“How can this tragedy in any way lead to anything good?” Gaines asked. “What if you gave your heart to Jesus Christ?” in offering a gospel invitation to which several came forward in professions of faith and others for prayer and counseling.

Not in vain

Despite media reports to the contrary, First Baptist has yet to make an official decision about what to do with its building going forward, said Mike Ebert, a North American Mission Board employee who attended the church’s Nov. 12 worship service. He noted Pomeroy had raised the possibility of tearing down the facility at some point in the future, but that was a personal reflection, not a statement of the church body’s decision. Worship and Sunday school will be held on the church property in a temporary structure, the church has announced.

The North American Mission Board conveyed to all 26 victims’ families Southern Baptists’ offer to cover funeral expenses. The precise combination of funding sources that will pay for each funeral is being determined by the families amid a plethora of government and private assistance offers, NAMB told Baptist Press. Yet, on behalf of Southern Baptists, NAMB is prepared to cover the full cost for each victim whose loved ones desire the gift.

Pomeroy told the Southern Baptist Texan that the 26 parishioners killed did not die in vain because their testimonies are shining the light to a dark world in need of Christ. “I know everyone who lost their life that day, some of which were my best friends, and my daughter,” Pomeroy said. “And I guarantee without any shadow of a doubt they are dancing with Jesus today. God gets the glory.”

– From Baptist Press reports

“The days ahead will be awful for the grieving community of Sutherland Springs. But one thing is certain: come Sunday, they will be gathered again, singing and praying and opening the Word. That church will bear witness to the truth that shaped them: eternal life cannot be overcome by death. And over that church will be a cross.”

– Russell Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, in The Washington Post

“Whatever animated the evil that descended on that church Sunday, if the attacker’s desire was to silence the testimony of faith, he failed. The voice of faith, the witness of faith, in that small church in that small town now echoes across the world.”

From the front: Brokenhearted church mourns 26

– Vice President Mike Pence, at a Nov. 8 prayer meeting in Sutherland Springs

GRIEVING PARENTS – Frank and Sherri Pomeroy (left to right), whose daughter was killed in the Nov. 5 church shooting, speak with SBC President Steve Gaines and his wife Donna Texan photo

Darkness, light at Sutherland Springs

High Court to hear pregnancy center case

The Supreme Court announced this month it will rule on a California law requiring pro-life pregnancy centers to inform clients of abortion options available elsewhere.

The FACT Act, passed in 2015, shares some similarities with an Illinois law that requires pregnancy centers and pro-life physicians to discuss abortion as a legal treatment option and, if asked, to refer clients to abortion providers. Multiple pregnancy centers in Illinois sued Gov. Bruce Rauner earlier this year over the law, and were granted a preliminary injunction.

Mauck & Baker, a law firm helping to represent the Illinois pregnancy centers, said in a statement that the Supreme Court’s decision in the California case “will undoubtedly determine” how courts handle their Illinois cases.

Marriage vote won’t change Hillsong’s views

While Australian voters decided in November to legalize same-sex marriage, the pastor of Sydney megachurch said his view of marriage as between a man and a woman “will not change.”

Brian Houston, pastor of Hillsong Church, said he hopes his country can “move forward in unity and love, viewing one another without labels,” and stressed that Hillsong’s focus will remain the same—“to point people to Jesus.”

Houston, whose church has locations on five continents and a global worship attendance nearing 100,000, also called on lawmakers to protect the religious liberty of churches. “Freedom of religion is a fundamental part of a democratic society and must be upheld,” he said. “Any attempt to force Christians to compromise their faith would be wrong.”

Apostle Paul gets big-screen treatment

Jim Caviezel, who played Jesus in “The Passion of the Christ,” will star in another biblically-themed film slated for release next Easter. “Paul, Apostle of Christ” tells the story of a persecutor of Christians who became the world’s most famous missionary and martyr. James Faulkner stars as Paul, and Caviezel portrays Gospel-writer Luke, who accompanied the apostle on some of his missionary journeys.

The movie is produced by AFFIRM Films, the company also behind “The Star,” an animated version of the nativity story now playing in theaters.

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

Editor’s note: Gary Ledbetter is editor of the Southern Baptist Texan, the newsjournal of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. In this column, he reflects on the Nov. 5 shooting at First Baptist Church, Sutherland Springs.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created. Life was in Him, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it” (John 1:1-5, HCSB).

John’s prologue in the Gospels is my favorite Christmas passage, showing us in theological outline what happened in Bethlehem’s stable. We know that Jesus is “the Word,” the light that shines in the darkness. With somber joy we read that “the darkness did not overcome it.”

I thought of that passage as I’ve considered the darkness manifested at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs Nov. 5.

As I write this, pundits are talking in the background about causes and solutions— “coming together” as a nation, gun laws, and our culture of violence. In due respect to those wiser than I, there is no solution by means of inspiration or policy. The darkness hates the light; the darkness hates life; the darkness really hates churches that celebrate the risen Savior. That is not new. And it will not change.

Yet we grieve. My heart lurches within me at the grief of a pastor and his wife who lost their precious daughter to the darkness or the grandparents who lost their pregnant daughter and never met their unborn grandchild. I try to imagine the picture of an entire congregation shot down—wounded or killed. It’s just too horrible. I think of the grief the entire congregation will experience for years, even decades, as a result of this day.

But we do not grieve as those who have no hope. Our pain is not without consolation, or without end. These brothers and sisters had gathered on the first day of the week because our Savior rose, victorious over death.

The apostle Paul calls death “the sting of sin.” Sin is another word for the darkness, the root cause of the darkness. Even so, the darkness cannot overcome the life that is the light of men. The believers killed on Nov. 5 were at church because they were expressing a heavenly hope that death is defeated by resurrection. Jesus is the proof and the first fruits of those who would rise after him.

That’s you and me, because we will die. This church has sung songs about their hope in Jesus and heard sermons about their hope of eternal life in Christ. They are joined with you and me because we believe what they believe, celebrate what they celebrate, and look to the same God for comfort and consolation as the darkness closes in around us. We grieve, but only for a time, and not out of despair.

I don’t gainsay the work of those who try to keep us safer. Policies and protocols help hold the darkness back in some limited ways. Paul calls those who serve our communities in these ways servants of God for good. It’s important work and a great benefit to God’s people.

But these magistrates are servants of the light, whether they know it or not; they are not that light. Human, political answers have the same expiration date as this world— sooner every minute. Those who look to laws or psychology or even first responders for answers to the darkness are not looking to the source of true hope.

Thousands grieve the losses of Sutherland Springs, and Las Vegas, and New York, and Nice, and London. And many will try to respond in ways that provide real comfort and healing to those who are most personally affected.

Implicit, and very explicit, in our comfort, however, is that promise that Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us so that where he is, we may be also. It’s a place where there is no darkness, no grief, no sin. Come quickly, Lord Jesus. – From Baptist Press

We grieve, but not as those who have no hope. Our pain is not without consolation, or without end.

IN FOCUS

In this section

Step into 1818: Log cabin houses early Baptist history

Pastors get ministry check-up

Ministers’ Wives

Wings & things, lighter fare

Churches join the quest for ‘200 or more’

Sign up at IBSA.org/Pioneering

Brave Souls

Like our ancestors, today’s Baptists take up the challenges on a troubled frontier

BY THE ILLINOIS BAPTIST STAFF

Decatur | The 111th Annual Meeting of the Illinois Baptist State Association, timed to coincide with the start of Illinois’ Bicentennial celebration, might have been overshadowed by killing of 26 worship attenders at a Texas church the preceding Sunday, if not for the awareness that God is at work in everything.

Southern Baptist Convention President Steve Gaines was scheduled as featured speaker for both the Pastors Conference and the Annual Meeting, but the gravity of the Texas massacre required that he be there to represent Southern Baptists and to minister to the community. Replacement speakers had to be found on a day’s notice.

Randy Johnson, pastor of the host church, Tabernacle Baptist, filled in ably at the Pastors Confer-

ence. And Tom Hufty, pastor of Maryville First, was an apt substitute for the Wednesday night presentation, given the church’s own experience with a fatal attack in its sanctuary.

With the reality of martyrdom fresh on their minds, the messengers appeared to accept the four new challenges for IBSA churches with a renewed understanding of their importance. More than slogans, the four commitments were presented as four key elements in advancing the gospel—and leading lost souls to Christ—before it’s too late.

Tragic scenes from a small church in a small town like so many in Illinois served to verify what we already know: following Christ is dangerous and costly, and our witness is desperately needed right now.

Churches prepped for ‘uphill climb’ to new ministry frontiers

Texas massacre sheds somber light on need for gospel urgency

Two days after a mass shooting at a Texas church, Randy Johnson stood in his church’s pulpit and pleaded with leaders gathered for the IBSA Pastors’ Conference to preach every message like it could be their last opportunity to deliver the gospel. Or the last opportunity for their hearers to respond.

“They don’t know when it’s going to be....You’re going to have people who don’t want to hear what you’re going to say,” said the pastor of Tabernacle Baptist Church in Decatur. “Consider their last moment. What are you leaving them with? What are you turning their hearts toward?”

The news of the shooting at First Baptist Church, Sutherland Springs, Texas, was fresh in the minds of many speakers at the Nov. 7-9 IBSA Annual Meeting and Pastors’ Conference. During the business meeting’s opening session, IBSA President Kevin Carrothers led messengers in prayer for the congregation who lost 26 people on Nov. 5.

Ed Stetzer opened the first of his two Pastors’ Conference messages by noting the extra security personnel present at the meeting. Live and minister in light of eternity, he told pastors, and be honest about the contrast between where we are now, and where we will be one day.

Every believer is groaning for heaven, for an eternal, better place, said Stetzer, who holds the Billy Graham Chair of Church, Mission, and Evangelism at Wheaton College. Preaching from 2 Corinthians 2, Stetzer said pastors are called to groan for heaven too, along with their people; otherwise, “your ministry won’t make sense.”

He told his listeners they need to talk to their churches about events like the Texas shooting, even when they don’t have answers.

“Teach and lead your people to follow Jesus faithfully, because their best life comes later.”

During the Wednesday evening session of the Annual Meeting, Tom Hufty spoke honestly and simply about his church’s journey since a gunman killed Pastor Fred Winters in the pulpit of FBC Maryville in March 2009.

Hufty told meeting attenders he remembers exactly where he was and what he thought when he heard the news about Winters: What must it be like to have been in that building, and how difficult it would be to lead the church through the aftermath.

“Even in that shape,” Hufty said, speaking of churches that have endured tragedy, “the church is still the heartthrob of the bridegroom,” of Christ. Ministry isn’t rocket science, Hufty said. “It’s loving God. It’s loving people. It’s making disciples.”

Reject the status quo

The urgent need to get the gospel to more people was a driving theme of both the Pastors’ Conference and the Annual Meeting, which challenged churches to make four “Pioneering Spirit” commitments in the areas of church planting, evangelism, giving, and leadership development. (See pages 8-9.)

Moving from our current “flatland” to new heights in those areas will require a steep uphill climb, IBSA leaders said, but it’s the only option.

“We can’t be satisfied with the status quo, because the status quo is decline,” said Carrothers during his president’s message.

Preaching from the book of Numbers, Carrothers said no one remembers the names of the naysaying Israelites who didn’t want to go into the Promised Land. Instead, the real legacy of pioneering spirit was left by Joshua and Caleb, the two spies who trusted God to provide.

“They recognized the will of God was more important to obey than the whims and the desires of men, even if the majority won,” Carrothers said.

In the meeting’s final session Thursday morning, Pastor Sammy Simmons offered an annual sermon full of encouragement for those weary from a difficult season of life and ministry. Rely on the Lord, said the pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Benton. And keep taking bold steps for the sake of the gospel.

“The conditions are too rough, the lostness is too great for us to continue to do business as normal,” Simmons preached. “The cause of the gospel causes us to make bold sacrifices for King Jesus.

“I’m all in for this pioneering spirit. Oh, how much our church needs it. Oh, how much I need it. Oh, how much our state needs it.”

New challenges

During his report, IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams gave messengers a progress report on IBSA’s four key goals:

• Develop leaders: So far in 2017 more than 500 pastors and leaders have participated in IBSAsponsored leadership development events, Adams said. About half that number are engaged in more in-depth leadership cohorts.

• Inspire cooperation: Adams reported that giving through the Cooperative Program and the Mission Illinois Offering is up slightly from last year, and through October, IBSA staff has had direct connection or consultation with 70% of all IBSA churches.

• Stimulating church health and growth: So far in 2017, IBSA staff has trained over 5,800 participants from 527 churches. Children’s camp offerings have grown from three weeks to seven, Adams said, and IBSA has made major capital investments in both IBSA camps. The 75th anniversary of Lake Sallateeska Baptist Camp was celebrated with a special video presentation during the Thursday morning session.

• Catalyzing evangelistic church planting and missions: It’s been a busy year for Disaster Relief, Adams said, with volunteers responding to

CONVENED – Tabernacle Baptist Church was the host for the IBSA Pastors’ Conference (above) and Annual Meeting, called into order Nov. 8 by President Kevin Carrothers. The “New Design gavel,” made of wood from a tree outside the first Baptist church in Illinois, highlighted the meeting’s “Pioneering Spirit” theme.

“These tragedies remind us there’s an urgency to share the gospel.”

– Tom Hufty,

pastor, First Baptist Church,

Maryville

“The conditions are too rough, the lostness is too great for us to do business as usual. Brothers and sisters, we’ve got to evangelize.”

“The afterlife is a sighted life, but life now is not. You don’t know everything. But you have a confident hope, because you know Jesus does.”

– Ed Stetzer, executive director, Billy Graham Center

– Sammy Simmons, pastor, Immanuel Baptist Church, Benton

in-state disasters and hurricanes elsewhere in the country.

IBSA anticipates long-term involvement in the Houston area hard hit by Hurricane Harvey.

Fourteen new churches were planted in the state in 2017, Adams reported, and IBSA welcomed 17 new churches for affiliation during the Annual Meeting. Pat Pajak, associate executive director for evangelism, is planning for “One GRAND Sunday” in 2018, asking churches to plan a baptism service for the Sunday after Easter (April 8), to share the gospel passionately, and to pray that IBSA churches might see 1,000 baptisms that day.

Adams also pointed to other measurements, including membership, Sunday school attendance, baptisms, missions volunteerism, and missions giving, that have remained relatively flat over the past several years. He ended his report by encouraging churches to embrace one or more of the four “Pioneering Spirit” commitments designed to challenge IBSA to courageously depart from the status quo.

In other business:

- Messengers approved the 2018 IBSA budget of $8.7 million, with projected Cooperative Program giving of $6.3 million. IBSA forwards 43.5% of Cooperative Program gifts on to national SBC causes, the eleventh-highest among 42 state conventions.

- Messengers approved a motion brought by the IBSA Board of Directors that all property currently held by IBSA for Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services be conveyed by deed to BCHFS in its entirety. This includes 17 tracts of property (744.9 acres) that were acquired for use and are used by BCHFS, but are currently titled to IBSA.

- IBSA’s ministry partners gave video reports throughout the business meeting, including Illinois Woman’s Missionary Union

(WMU) and President Jill McNicol. God has advanced the work of WMU and given them new opportunities to reach new people, McNicol said, noting three places—Bangladesh, the Bronx, and Cairo, Ill.—where Illinois women have served on mission in the past year.

“To the women of WMU, missions is not just a thing. It’s people. It’s lost people needing a savior. And it’s teaching Christians how to live on mission for God, to reach those lost people.”

We resolve…

The Resolutions and Christian Life Committee brought six resolutions before messengers. All were approved with no discussion.

The “Resolution on Illinois House Bill 40 Providing Tax-Payer Funded Abortions” is a response to Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner’s signing of a law “which provides tax-payer funded abortions through Medicaid and the state employees’ health insurance plan.” Through the resolution messengers called upon Rauner and state lawmakers to repeal the bill, “believing taxpayers’ money should not be used to fund abortions in any circumstance.”

The resolution adds: “Illinois Baptists will continue to support the rights of the unborn with prayer, ministry actions, and…that all human life is God-given and sacred, and should be protected by moral and righteous government.”

SIMMONS

- IBSA’s four officers for 2018 were elected by acclamation: Adron Robinson, president, pastor of Hillcrest Baptist Church in Country Club Hills; Adam Cruse, vice president, pastor of Living Faith Baptist Church in Sherman; Robin Mayberry, recording secretary, member of Bluford Baptist Church; and Sharon Carty, assistant recording secretary, member of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Carlinville.

- The next IBSA Annual Meeting is Nov. 7-8, 2018, at First Baptist Church, Maryville. Tom Hufty, pastor of FBC Maryville, will bring the annual sermon, and Michael Nave, pastor of Cornerstone Church in Marion, will serve as

The “Resolution on the Recent Nashville Statement on Biblical Sexuality” supports the Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood’s statement on biblical marriage, gender, and sexuality. It urged churches to consider signing and promoting it.

The “Resolution on U.S. House Bill 610 Known as the Choices in Education Act of 2017 and No Hungry Kids Act” urged messengers to “affirm the parent’s right to send their children to public schools with appropriate meals from home and affirm the current practice of public schools providing healthy breakfast and lunch programs for students.”

The resolution in “Recognition of Four IBSA Churches Founded in 1818 and Before” honored First Baptist Church, Elizabethtown (1806); Shiloh Baptist Church, Villa Ridge (1817); Bankston Fork Baptist Church, Harrisburg (1818); and First Baptist Church, Jonesboro (1818).

Two additional resolutions expressed appreciation for meeting host Tabernacle Baptist Church and to IBSA staff member Sylvan Knobloch, who is retiring in December after 38 years of service.

the alternate speaker.

THIS HOPE – The worship collective originally from Alaska brought tight harmony, a cappella numbers, and favorite old hymns to the Annual Meeting stage.

IN APPRECIATION – Sylvan Knobloch (middle) received recognition for 38 years of service to IBSA. Knobloch, whose wife Kathy appeared with him onstage, will retire in December.

NEW OFFICERS – Each of IBSA’s four officers were elected by acclamation: (Left to right) Sharon Carty, assistant recording secretary; Adron Robinson, president; Adam Cruse, vice| president; and Robin Mayberry, recording secretary.

– Meredith Flynn

What is Pioneering Spirit?

Churches urged to take lessons from Illinois’ early settlers

ou know the pioneer in the video you made, Stephen Stilley?” the woman said.

“I’m his great niece. Seven greats.”

Stilley was a veteran of the War of 1812 who returned home to Illinois to continue the church planting work he started before joining the army at age 47. Stilley’s name is on a plaque outside First Baptist Church of Elizabethtown, founded in 1806. It’s IBSA’s oldest continually operating congregation, and one of four IBSA churches that predate Illinois’ statehood in 1818.

“When I heard his name, my ears perked up,” said Sheila Jessen, assistant for the Baptist Foundation of Illinois. “My maiden name is Stilley.

“I went home and looked it up in our genealogy,” she continued. “My great-great-great-greatgreat-great grandfather John was Stephen Stilley’s brother. I’m the niece of a Baptist pioneer,” she said, her eyes welling up a little. “It’s beginning to make sense why I’m at IBSA.”

The descendant of one of the pioneering forebears was having a moment that could be common to all Illinois Baptists: realizing that we are descendants of hearty stock, both spiritual and literal, and in their pioneering DNA we find the fortitude to inhabit the land and build the Kingdom.

With the observation of Illinois’ 200th anniversary set to begin in 2018, IBSA offered a new call to spread the gospel across the state.

“What are we going to do to get off of the flat line we are on as Illinois Baptists?” Executive Director Nate Adams asked at the Annual Meeting. Adams outlined a four-fold plan to engage churches in new commitments to church planting, evangelism, missions-giving, and leader development. “We think these are at the very core of what it means to have a pioneering spirit.”

As with the pioneers in the early 19th century, the need of the 21st century is brave souls willing to do whatever it takes to stake new territory, taking the gospel where it has never been before. The goal is to have 200 or more churches committed to each of the four challenges.

Roles and role models

Throughout the meeting, the theme was interpreted with a series of interviews. First up, a couple who found in her family tree inspiration to go to a new place to plant a new church.

Bryan and Marci Coble moved their family from Texas, where he was in seminary, to Chicago. After briefly considering planting a church in Portland, Oregon, the Cobles felt led to explore Marci’s home state. Her grandmother sent them a clipping

Go New Places

from the Illinois Baptist saying more churches are needed in Chicago.

But there was another influence. Marci, who grew up in Chatham, is the granddaughter of former IBSA executive director Maurice Swinford (1988-1993). “He was like a second father to me,” she said at the meeting in Decatur. “He encouraged me and invested in my life. He planted those seeds of leadership in my life.”

Answering the call to church planting led the couple to the Irving Park neighborhood of Chicago, a diverse community of Anglo, Hispanic, African American, and Asian people on the city’s north side. The location explains why Bryan wore a Chicago Cubs cap for 30 days during their exploration process. Could this diehard Cards fan from Missouri minister successfully in the heart of Cubs territory? During that month, Bryan felt a growing love for the city and its lost people.

Across Illinois, there are more than 200 places and people groups in need of an evangelical church. There are many places similar to the Cobles’ neighborhood. Many are in highly populated urban areas. Many are in small towns and rural crossroads. In all of them, gospel-teaching Baptist churches are needed.

The church planting challenge is for churches to pray for new congregations, partner with a church planter to assist his work, or to lead in the planting of a new congregation.

Talking about Jesus

Pat Pajak shares Christ everywhere—even in the hospital where he had open-heart surgery. Pat told his story to show the pioneering need to engage people with the gospel. “We need to believe that God can do a marvelous thing in our church,” Pajak said. “There are lost people all around us.”

Pajak described two emphases that will be part of his work as IBSA’s Associate Executive Director for evangelism in 2018. One of them is part of a larger project led by the North American Mission Board: Gospel Conversations. Talking about Jesus is the simple calling of every believer, but many are shy to speak up. NAMB’s goal is to register one-million gospel conversations prior to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in June. NAMB has created a website where church members can report their personal conversations with lost people. There are also short videos from people sharing their “con versation” experiences. (GCChallenge.com)

Pajak announced an IBSA project to baptize 1,000 people on April 8, 2018. “One GRAND Sunday” follows Easter, with the intent that witness

training and gospel conversations will lead to baptisms. “We have 8 million-plus people in the state of Illinois who don’t know Jesus,” Pajak said.

This is an evangelism challenge.

“We’re praying that 200 of our IBSA churches will baptize 12 people next year,” or more than the church’s previous three-year average. The hope is that churches will turn the decline in baptisms by setting evangelism goals and equipping members to share their faith, and by engaging lost people through evangelistic events and mission trips.

The commitment is for IBSA churches to become “frequently baptizing churches.”

Walking the walk

Lindsey Yoder charmed the crowd with her account of walking from Arthur, Illinois to Nashville, Tennessee: 300 miles in 27 days. The teenager first learned about human trafficking at an AWSOM weekend for teen girls, led by Illinois Baptist Women. Then, a movie on the subject convinced Lindsey that she must do something to help free young women, girls, and boys caught in the sex trade worldwide. Even in Illinois people are forced into sexual subservience. The most common route for bringing them into the state is along I-55 from St. Louis to Chicago.

Lindsey’s story is one of sacrifice.

A 14-year-old girl from central Illinois doesn’t often take on such a massive and awful cause. But this one did, one step at a time.

“It felt like I wanted to quit a lot. I refused to quit. I don’t like to quit. Sometimes putting one foot in front of the other is a lot harder than it sounds,” Lindsey said. And yet, she kept walking. On the journey she raised enough money to sponsor two “rescues” in a South Asian country.

Such sacrifice is what it takes to save people

Bryan and Marci Coble told IBSA’s Van Kicklighter about the church they are planting in Chicago. For the downstate couple, this is taking the gospel to a new and different place, like early scouts in Illinois.

The Cooperative Program is Southern Baptists’ best channel for supporting life-saving missions. With regular, systematic, percentage giving from its offerings, each church makes the sacrifice each week. The need calls us to greater sacrifice.

Here’s how Nate Adams described this missions-giving challenge. “We’re asking churches to make missions-giving a higher priority in your budget. We’re asking would your church be willing to make CP a greater percentage of your budget—if the Lord would lead you to make new sacrifices to give through CP.”

The Pioneering Spirit commitment is for 200 or more churches to increase CP giving (for example, 1% per year) with a goal of reaching at least 10% of undesignated offerings.

Follow the leader

Roger Marshall said in his first 10 years as pastor of FBC Effingham, he conducted 150 funerals. Raising up new leaders was not an option, it was imperative. So he began to pray. “God really

Make New Sacrifices

does identify new leaders,” he said. “It’s not just about finding new slots. It’s really about finding God’s person.”

Roger was on the platform with his brother, David, who recently retired as associate pastor at Mt. Zion, and their father, Frank, a 63-year veteran of ministry who is 94.

“Be the kind of leader someone ought to follow,” David said. “That’s what my father was.”

The senior Marshall’s advice for leader development: help people identify their spiritual gifts and put them to use. And “don’t blame someone else for what you are…. Live your responsibility.”

This is a leadership challenge. IBSA’s Mark Emerson urged pastors to commit to leadership development for current members and potential young leaders. The goal is for 200 or more churches to have intentional development processes in place.

During the Annual Meeting, 53 IBSA churches made one or more of these commitments.

As Illinois itself turns 200, it’s clear the work of Baptist pioneers, begun by Stilley and others, is as much needed today as when the state was founded.

WATCH IT

See the video about four early Baptist pioneers in Illinois. Two current pastors tell the stories of the first church planters, starting with New Design near the Mississippi River in 1796.

vimeo.com/ibsa/earlypioneers

Plus, watch the videos about the ministry of the Cobles (“Heart for the City”) and Pat Pajak (“Sharing Christ Everywhere”).

vimeo.com/ibsa/city

vimeo.com/ibsa/sharingjesus

TAKE THE CHALLENGE

Read more about the four Pioneering Spirit challenges and how IBSA can help your church with training, goal-setting, and ministry partnership. Register your church’s commitment online.

IBSA.org/pioneering –

Develop New Leaders

High school student Lindsey Yoder, 15, described her 300-mile walk/fundraiser to help end human trafficking. Her story shows how lives are changed when ordinary folks make extraordinary sacrifices to support missions.

Frank Marshall (right), 94, served as an example of a pastor who raised up the next generation of leaders, including his sons Roger (far left) and David (second from right) who both became pastors. IBSA’s Mark Emerson interviewed the trio and challenged churches to school leaders.

Eric Reed

baptist foundation of illinois

Legacy of stewardship

Givers make lasting impact

Stories of Christian stewardship were at the center of Baptist Foundation of Illinois Executive Director Doug Morrow’s report to the IBSA Annual Meeting.

Brothers Cliff and Delmar Vail served in the U.S. Army, are both Purple Heart recipients, and Delmar earned a Bronze Star for his service in the Korean War. Now in their late 80s and living in a nursing home, they farmed and raised cattle after their military service.

They have put together a legacy giving plan that will support both the Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services and the Mission Illinois Offering in the future.

Morrow said that it was Delmar that gave him one of his favorite stewardship quotes. When Delmar was asked about their commitment, he said, “God gave us this farm many years ago to take care of Cliff and me. I think it’s about time we gave it back.”

Morrow also shared the story of a couple who were dedicated to ministry and missions in northern Illinois and beyond. Michael Brown served as pastor of First Baptist Church, Winthrop Harbor, for more than 20 years with his wife, Virgie, by his side. Through their congregation, they started 12 other churches.

The couple, who retired to North Carolina, first met while doing missions work in college, Morrow said. They married in 1967, and just two years later they headed for Alaska as missionaries. Virgie died unexpectedly last summer while they were in Alaska on a mission trip.

“Because of their planning,” Morrow said, “Virgie and Mike will invest heavily in missions offerings both here in Illinois and in North Carolina, church planting, and various Asian mission ministries.”

Morrow recently spoke with Brown, who told him, “We have been blessed beyond measure and we discussed making an investment after we leave this world to continue planting churches.”

Morrow told messengers, “For those who follow Christ, we know the truth. Our love is a reflection of One who loved first. Our generosity is motivated by One ‘who loved the world so much that he gave.’ And our sacrifice is a mere echo of One who sacrificed first and gave it all.”

In other business:

- BFI set a new record, awarding $78,500 in scholarships to 37 students in 2017.

- Messengers approved the 2018 budget of $1,418,413.

- Board of Trustees officers are Ted Zimmerman, chair; David Howard, vice chair; and David Chumley, secretary.

BAPTIST CHILDREN’S HOME AND FAMILY SERVICES

Remembering what God has done

Families’ investment results in a century of service

ne hundred years ago, there were 20 families who risked home and farm to take out a loan for $3,000,” Denny Hydrick, executive director of Illinois Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services, told attenders of the IBSA Annual Meeting.

“On July 4, 1917, that money was used to purchase 40 acres of dirt in Carmi, Illinois.” Hydrick held up a small vial of dirt from the rich southern Illinois farmland on the Carmi campus of the Baptist Children’s Home.

“Today, we get to see their fruit.”

Reminiscing about his organization’s history, Hydrick said, “From that commitment in 1917, Illinois Baptists rallied to pray for and contribute toward the establishment of what would become the Baptist Children’s Orphanage in 1918.…Thousands of lives stand as a testament to God’s provision of hope and life which was born out of a gift of 40 acres of dirt.”

Hydrick told about some of the lives that had been changed, including former Children’s Home resident Ronnie Rogers. He lived at the home in Carmi from 1959-1966 and was killed while serving in the Vietnam War. Hydrick was recently invited to Roger’s 50th class reunion, where he was presented with an American flag. Rogers’s brother told Hydrick, “Ron nie always considered the Bap tist Children’s Home his home.”

Another is life changed is Desiree’, a former resident of Angels’ Cove Maternity

Center and now a believer in Christ, who is two years clean from substance abuse and living with her two little boys. She told Hydrick that because of BCHFS, “I have be come exactly who I knew I was supposed to be.”

In Joshua 4, the Israelites took memorial stones from the Jordan River to remember what God had done for them. As the 100th anniversary of Baptist Children’s Home approaches, the organization is doing the same, and handed out special memorial stones at their booth in the exhibit hall. “Our stories are for the same purpose—not to take credit for the work we’ve done, but to give credit to the Lord,” Hydrick said.

In other business:

- Hydrick reported that in the last year, BCHFS provided care for 1,237 children and families.

- Messengers approved the 2018 BCHFS budget of $3,235,941 and capital improvements including renovations to the administration building and a 15-passenger van for Angels’ Cove.

- BCHFS Board of Trustees officers are Ron Daniels, chair; Jacob Gray, vice chair; and Wesley Hahn, secretary.

IBSA welcomes 17 new churches

HYDRICK

FAMILY PHOTO – Ten of the 17 new churches affiliating with the Illinois Baptist State Association were recognized during the Wednesday evening session at the Annual Meeting in Decatur. The churches are a representation of the state’s diverse people groups and geography.

It’s time for a spiritual physical

Leaders urged to take the Great Commission personally inistry can be chaotic, said Belleville pastor Curtis Gilbert. In fact, it definitely will be. What pastors are called to is not a calling of ease or of superficial comfort, Gilbert told leaders at the 2017 IBSA Pastors’ Conference, but one that will call everything out of you.

The pastor of The Journey’s Metro East campus opened the conference with an encouragement to pastors to acknowledge the chaos, and to assess their lives and ministries in four key ways described by the apostle Paul in Titus 1:5-9. The Scripture passage was the foundation for the conference and its theme, “Time for a Check-Up.”

Gilbert urged pastors to evaluate their own love for Jesus, for the gospel, for their family, and for God’s people.

“Even the sheep that bite you are precious souls,” Gilbert said, adding that pastors can become arrogant and impatient when they stop viewing church members as God’s children, and when they forget that they themselves are every bit as much a sinner as their people. Don’t delegate all the shepherding to other people, Gilbert told pastors.

“Be with the sheep; it gives your preaching credibility,” he said, emphasizing that a pastor needs his people as much as they need him.

Joe Valenti spoke after Gilbert and smilingly accused him of stealing his message. “What he preached to you is what I’m going to preach,” said the student and missions pastor from Cuyahoga Valley Church in Broadview Heights, Ohio. “Namely, that if you would fall in love with the God of the gospel, if he would be your everything, then everything else comes out of that.”

Valenti, whose church is engaged in reaching unreached people groups with the gospel, quoted pastor and author John Piper, who has said, “You cannot commend what you do not cherish.” When pastors treasure the God of the gospel, Valenti said, relying on him for everything and never forgetting the first day they experienced his grace, “missions comes out.”

There are more than 11,000 people groups in the world, Valenti said, and more than 7,000 are still unreached with the gospel. That’s not a problem for the International Mission Board or for missionaries or for the Cooperative Program, he said. Rather, “We need to see the completion of the Great Commission as a personal problem.”

In light of eternity

The mass shooting at First Baptist Church, Sutherland Springs, Texas, just two days before the conference began lent a heightened urgency to the meeting and the messages. Randy Johnson,

From the pulpit

pastor of Tabernacle Baptist Church in Decatur, preached on how to share the gospel as if it’s going to be your last opportunity, while Ed Stetzer, executive director of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College, told pastors the world they minister in is only getting darker.

The Christian worldview decreases a few percentage points every year, said Stetzer, former executive director of LifeWay Research and a long-time analyst of church and religion trends. And it’s probably going to get worse before it gets better, he added.

“I’m convinced that one of the reasons Southern Baptists are declining is that we have hidden our light under a bushel,” Stetzer said. But as aliens and strangers in the culture—as exiles—can we love people in the midst of cultural change, he asked. “If we can’t, we have a lot of explaining to do to Christians who have—for 2,000 years—done that.”

The 2018 IBSA Pastors’ Conference is Nov. 6-7 at First Baptist Church, Maryville. Officers are Bob Stilwell, president; Ben Towell, vice president; and Rayden Hollis, treasurer.

IBSA PASTORS’ CONFERENCE

“The old Baptist hellfire and brimstone preacher has gotten a bad rap. If we don’t preach it, then there’s no need to quench it.”

– Joe Valenti

“If they (your church) keep putting a cape on you, and you keep letting them, then you need to be rebuked. Because you are nobody’s Superman.”

“It is your responsibility to stand before your people in your church and tell them what is right, what isn’t right, and how to get right.”

– Randy Johnson

RECOGNIZED – Brad Pittman (middle), pastor of Grace Fellowship Church in Davis Junction, received the IBSA Bivocational Pastor of the Year award as Mike Durham (left), director of missions for Sinnissippi Baptist Association, looked on. Bottom left: Joe Miller, worship leader at Grace Baptist Church in Granite City, led music for the conference with a band of fellow IBSA musicians.

–

Curtis Gilbert

STETZER

MINISTERS’ WIVES

Hope for now, hope for always

od has put you in this special place in this special season,” speaker Jennifer Mathewson-Speer told ministers’ wives gathered Nov. 8 for the annual IBSA Ministers’ Wives’ Conference and Luncheon at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Decatur.

“I love pastors’ wives,” Mathewson-Speer, herself a pastor’s wife, said. “I think there is a pressure on us to be all ‘together,’ a pressure on us to look the part.

“There is hope for the present. There is hope for the future. If you are breathing, there is hope for you.”

Mathewson-Speer is the wife of Allen Speer, who served on the IBSA Board of Directors and pastored churches in Golconda and Cobden before moving with his family to Florida to head up a Christian aviation ministry. She is the mother of two and widow of pastor Dana Mathewson, who was killed in a car accident. She later married Speer, a widower with three children. MathewsonSpeer is the founder of Word of Joy Ministries.

From the perspective of Mary Magdalene, she shared how Jesus is our hope for the past, present, and future. She pointed out that Mary was one of the women who traveled with Jesus. “Mary, from whom seven demons had been cast out.…Her life

shone so brilliantly as she was traveling with Jesus. It was the sweetest, most wonderful thing when she was traveling with Jesus and she never wants that season to end but it does. We see Jesus on the cross and she watches that hope die.”

When Mary went to the tomb with the anointing spices, she saw it was empty. She ran to Peter and John to tell them the news and they went back together. After the men left, Mary stood outside “wailing with a sobbing that cannot be consoled,” Mathewson-Speer said.

But then Mary saw Jesus resurrected. She heard a man’s voice telling her Jesus was not there, and not to look for the living among the dead. “Jesus is going to give her hope for the future as well,” said Matthewson-Speer. “He says, ‘Mary, stop clinging to me. It’s not going to go back. I have a new purpose for you. A new future for you. You go back and tell my disciples.’”

No matter what has happened in our past or is happening in our present, the speaker reminded her listeners, “Romans 8:28 says, ‘All things work together for good. He can take our past and he can

even take the consequences of our past and use them for hope and for good.”

In other business:

- Illinois Woman’s Missionary Union President Jill McNicol gave a presentation at the luncheon, and Erin Falloon led in worship.

- Ministers’ Wives’ Conference officers for 2018 are: Stevi Smith, president; Emily Emery, vice president; and Brianna Trowbridge, secretarytreasurer.

- The 2018 Ministers’ Wives’ Conference and Luncheon will be held Nov. 7 in Maryville.

Thank you for your supporT!

The following ministry partners participated in IBSA’s 2017 Annual Meeting:

Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services

Baptist Foundation of Illinois

Bruce Kugler with God’s Courtroom

Cedarville University

Gearhart Church Insurance Group

Guidestone Financial Resources

Hannibal-LaGrange University

International Mission Board

Judson University

Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

North American Mission Board

Shared Hope Ministries

MATHEWSON-SPEER

BUILDING HISTORY—Lake Sallateeska Camp Manager Philip Hall and Mark Emerson, IBSA’s associate executive director for the Church Resources Team, were among those who helped construct the exhibit hall’s log cabin. Ministry opportunities around the state were also on display in the exhibit hall, including church planting and Illinois Baptist Women (above right).

SISTERHOOD – Women gathered at round tables in the Tabernacle Baptist youth room for the IBSA Ministers’ Wives Conference and Luncheon, an annual opportunity to share ministry experiences and to pray together

PROUD CHURCH FAMILY – Many members of Hillcrest Baptist Church traveled to Decatur on a charter bus to congratulate their pastor, Adron Robinson, on his election as IBSA president.

– Lisa Misner Sergent

Relationship builders

Young leaders discuss gospel friendships, missions engagement at annual gathering

After the first day of the IBSA Pastors’ Conference concluded Tuesday evening, leaders in their 20s and 30s gathered for what has become an annual conversation about issues pertinent to their lives and ministries.

Over Buffalo wings, IBSA’s Rich Cochran, director of leadership development, and two Illinois pastors led a discussion about gospel friendships, personal engagement in missions, and the spiritual life of a leader.

As leaders ate and talked at round tables, Mark Mohler, pastor of Second Baptist Church in Marion, encouraged them to develop authentic friendships. “I’m not referring to that accomplice who can help you accomplish your goals,” Mohler said.

“I’m talking about finding that true friend who will be candid with you regardless of your emotions.” His words echoed Belleville pastor Curtis Gilbert, who earlier in the evening spoke to Pastors’ Conference attenders about developing gospel-centered friendships.

Rayden Hollis, pastor of Red Hill Church in Edwardsville, said those kinds of friendships are more often built than simply found. “By building it, you don’t put up boundaries in that friendship,” Hollis said. “You have to make yourself vulnerable; leave nothing in the dark.”

Hollis opened the second topic for discussion by asking the crowd how they personally engage with missions and what joys and barriers they have encountered. The leaders suggested praying for and e-mailing mission-

aries to encourage them; loving and impacting their local community; and being intentional about everyday interactions.

“After all,” Hollis concluded, “we can change an atheist who hates God and the church to an atheist who hates God but decides, based on your interaction with him, that maybe this one church isn’t so bad.” While the fruits of missional labor aren’t always apparent, Hollis encouraged the young leaders to never fail in making missions a habit.

Mohler concluded the session with one last point: the necessity of a personal devotion life. The pastor encouraged his listeners not to feel ashamed about excusing themselves from a day of work to spend needed time with God because, Mohler said, as a pastoral leader “your first job is to get right with God.”

After closing the session by thanking everyone for their participation in the discussion, Mohler reminded them to “find that friend who is ahead of you in his walk with God” and learn from him.

DOOR YOU OPEN TODAY DETERMINES THE DOORS THAT WILL OPEN TO YOU TOMORROW. At Judson, we understand the importance of providing you with opportunities — for knowledge, experiences, spiritual growth, and

the door to Judson.

a minute there, I thought I was going to have to sit in the Cards section.”

LEADING LEADERS – (From left) Mark Mohler, Rayden Hollis, and Rich Cochran facilitated the discussion among IBSA’s next generation of pastors and leaders at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Decatur.

– Andrew Woodrow

dave says

Be a giving example

QWhat are some ways to teach preteens the value of giving versus getting during the holiday season?

AAs a parent, one of the best things you can do is be a living, breathing example of the importance of giving and caring about others. There’s nothing wrong with having some stuff, but many of today’s marketing messages can lead kids to believe it’s all about them. And the sad truth is advertising firms are often more aggressive with their teaching than parents are in theirs.

Our radical, often-martyred ancestors

Editor’s note: The 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation collided with the reality that there are still martyrs today. Ron F. Hale, a former IBSA director of evangelism, examines the Anabaptist movement that catalyzed a second Reformation of sorts, and gives Baptists another piece of their spiritual heritage.

Michael Sattler became important to the movement as the writer of the Seven Articles, the first Anabaptist declaration of faith. The articles, now referred to as the Schleitheim Confession of Faith, became widely circulated and accepted. However, Sattler became a marked man.

On May 20, 1527, he was tortured prior to being burned at the stake. A part of his tongue was cut out, his flesh was burned with red-hot tongs. His faithful wife, Margaretha, was drowned eight days later.

I would encourage you to find giving experiences in which you can participate as a family. Volunteering for a day at a homeless shelter is a wonderful example of giving that requires absolutely no money. Or maybe you could pull out your wallet, and spend the day shopping for groceries and Christmas gifts for families who are financially less fortunate.

On the heels of the Reformation came the Radical Reformers, who questioned everything that didn’t have scriptural authority. Infant baptism and the observance of Mass caused the greatest angst for Anabaptists. And like shooting stars against the backdrop of the Dark Ages, many forces came forth to snuff out these bright lights.

DAVE RAMSEY

Make sure your kids are involved physically, mentally, and emotionally in the entire giving process. Let them experience the grateful, and sometimes ungrateful, responses that go along with giving. With a little thought and planning, you can create some incredible teaching and family bonding experiences that will change everyone’s lives forever!

Trust is trust

QI have a medical condition, and I finally got an appointment with a specialist I’d like to see. The office requires credit card, debit card, or bank account information be kept on file. Having this kind of information out there with them makes me uncomfortable, but I really want to see this doctor. What should I do?

AIf you’re uncomfortable with this practice having your financial information, then you should also be uncomfortable with any medical opinions they would render. If you don’t feel they’re trustworthy enough to professionally handle something like a debit card or bank account number, then they’re not trustworthy enough to treat you—period. I hope that wasn’t unclear.

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

Sixteenth-century Anabaptists were put to death by state-church authorities as they launched the most revolutionary act of the Reformation. Thousands died—burned at the stake, drowned in the rivers of Europe, run through with swords, or starved in putrid prisons.

The wheels of this revolution began turning as young intellectuals gathered around the Swiss reformer Ulrich Zwingli in serious study of the Greek New Testament. Some of the young theologians became convinced that Zwingli and others lacked sufficient reforms in purifying the church and recovering New Testament practices.

On the evening of Jan. 21, 1525, several men who became known as the Swiss Brethren met without Zwingli in the home of Felix Manz in Zürich. After earnest prayer, George Blaurock (a Catholic priest) begged Conrad Grebel to baptize him with true Christian baptism upon his confession of faith in Jesus.

After Blaurock received his own baptism, he baptized the others as they came humbly, promising God and each other to live separated from the world and to preach the gospel. The next morning, these young men hit the streets preaching and baptizing new believers as they boldly lived out the Great Commission of Jesus.

Thousands executed

The Zurich council vigorously suppressed this movement and established an ordinance that the teaching or preaching of Anabaptism was against the law. The radicals were derisively labeled “re-baptizers.”

Withholding your baby from the baptism font or re-baptizing citizens upon their profession of faith became illegal. Sam Storms, a pastor and former professor at Wheaton College, indicates that more than 5,000 Anabaptists were executed in Switzerland by 1535.

Felix Manz was the first person to be executed from the tiny group that met in his home on that historic night. With the support of Zwingli, Manz was taken from the Wallenberg prison tower on a cold winter day. He was taken to the fish market by the Limmat River to be read his death sentence. He was forced into a boat and escorted to a little hut in the middle of the river by a pastor and his executioner. Felix Manz was shackled and pulled from the top of the fishing hut, disappearing into his watery grave.

George Blaurock, the first to be baptized that fateful night, was later burned at the stake on Sept. 6, 1529, in Klassen (now Austria), after winning and baptizing hundreds to Christ.

The movement continues

The Anabaptist movement would grow to be important beyond the issues of Mass and infant baptism. It became a new paradigm of doing church. The old parish concept of every baby being baptized as a new member of the church was being replaced by a “free church” model where only those mature enough to confess Christ as Lord and follow him in believer’s baptism would be regenerate members of the local church. These members would observe the Lord’s Supper as a memorial meal without sacramental and medieval trappings.

Sola Scriptura…

If biblical authority was the major issue between Magisterial Reformers (those associated with Martin Luther and John Calvin) and the Roman Catholics, believers’ baptism became that between the Anabaptists and the Magisterial Reformers. Anabaptist historian William Estep said, “Believers’ baptism was for the Anabaptists the logical implementation of the Reformation principle of sola Scriptura.”

Dr. Balthasar Hübmaier of Friedberg became the ablest defender of the Anabaptist position on believers-only baptism in the 16th century. Estep called him the Simon Peter of early Anabaptists.

Hübmaier saw that the regenerate nature of the church presupposes a certain degree of maturity, personal faith, and volition. Since infants cannot confess sins and believe, then infant baptism had to be dismissed as unscriptural. Since neither John [the Baptist], Jesus, nor the apostles taught or practiced infant baptism, Hübmaier never tired of denouncing this practice. He saw no saving power in church water. Nor could he find any New Testament evidence of a godfather or spiritual sponsor being able to believe for the infant undergoing baptism.

Hübmaier and his wife were martyred in Vienna in 1528. Baptists owe a debt of gratitude to them and other Anabaptists who stood firmly—even unto death—on Scripture, rather than church tradition, as the final authority on matters of faith and practice.

Ron F. Hale has served as a Southern Baptist pastor, denominational leader, and religion writer. He currently ministers on the pastoral staff of a local SBC congregation in his hometown of Jackson, Tenn.

In all this Reformation talk, don’t forget the Anabaptists.

table talk

EVENTS

December 3-10

Week of Prayer for International Missions and the Lottie Moon Christmas

Offering

Info: IMB.org

January 1-31

SBC Call to Prayer

Info: sbc.net/inallthingspray

January 21

Sanctity of Human Life

Sunday

Resources: ERLC.com

February 2-3, 9-10

Unspoken: Men’s Conference Simulcast

What: Teaching from Johnny Hunt, former Southern Baptist Convention President and pastor of FBC Woodstock, Ga.

Where: Feb. 2-3: Broadview Missionary; Redeemer, Urbana; Liberty, Pekin; Western Oaks, Springfield; Oblong FBC; Bethel, Vandalia; Calvary, Granite City; Steeleville FBC; Dorrisville, Harrisburg

Feb. 9-10 Machesney Park FBC

Cost: Early-bird registration by Dec. 31 is $10 per person for IBSA-affiliated churches, $15 for others; general registration by Feb. 1 is $15 per person for IBSA-affiliated churches, $20 for others

Info: IBSA.org/men

Prior Grove marks 125 years

Oblong | On Oct. 8, Pastor Jeff Monroney’s church celebrated a milestone anniversary with preaching, music, and testimonies of answered prayers.

Prior Grove Baptist Church was established in 1892, and still meets in the building dedicated just two years later. The church has been updated and added to since then, but the original wood ceiling is still intact, including the hooks used to hang kerosene lamps before the building got electricity in 1948.

Monroney, a bivocational pastor who has served the church for

16 years, also works as a substitute special education teacher in the area.

IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams presented a plaque to the church and preached in the Sunday morning worship service, followed by a fellowship meal. Then, the church gathered again for the anniversary celebration, featuring special music by current church members, and testimonies and memories from former members.

Jan. 23-25, 2018

Springfield, Illinois Crowne Plaza Hotel

Focused equipping for leaders from Baptist state conventions across the Midwest

MWAdvance.org

“In ministry, whether academic or pastoral, we need to dig the well deep to serve the people of God over the long haul. Our programs have been designed to help our students not only dig deeply into the Bible, theology, and practice, but also to leave with a deeply dug well from which they can draw water for a lifetime of ministry.”

Graham A. Cole, Dean of TEDS

At Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, our programs challenge you to a greater depth of understanding and scholarship. We provide the opportunity for you to go deeper in your study of God’s word, as you get equipped to meet the demands of ministry today.

Our gospel calling shapes our identity as an institution, and it will shape your experience as a student at TEDS.

Full-tuition scholarships available. Learn more at teds.edu.

Outside the building sat another historical artifact: a Ford Model A owned by Harlan Sholders, who drove it to church every Sunday from 1931 until 1970. His great-grandson, Gary Wolverton, attends Prior Grove now and drives the car to church on special occasions.

“Equality of rights under law shall not be denied…on account of sex.”

The ERA will strip away current legal protections for women by striking down laws that favor/protect one gender over another.

According to liberal U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, (Pres. Clinton appointee), who wrote the report, Sex Bias in the U.S. Code, over 800 federal laws will be changed. She says the ERA will:

 eliminate a widow’s husband’s social security benefits

 remove privacy protections for females in restrooms and locker rooms

 strike down parental notification and consent laws

 require taxpayers to pay for more abortions

 lower age of consent laws

 force women to register for the Selective Services and into front line combat

 eliminate a father’s responsibility to pay child support, and much more…

Make vision a reality

QOur pastor is leading a vision process—for the third time. We spend three years talking about vision, but nothing comes of it. I’m ready to quit my leadership position because I don’t want to waste time, but I don’t want to leave my church. Any advice?

Church needed here...

Location: Bartlett/South Elgin

Focus: Residents of this community experiencing new growth due to housing and retail development

Characteristics: The region is home to 66,000 people, but there are only 11 evangelical churches.

Prayer needs: Pray for supporting churches to come together and start a new church to serve Bartlett and South Elgin.

religious landscape

PAT PAJAK

AHopefully, as the pastor meets with the church’s leadership team, he can be encouraged in the vision he is trying to share. But there is nothing wrong with asking about action steps and goals. In other words, clearly define the metrics that will be used to measure the success of the vision. Consider what steps need to be taken, what assignments need to be given, what results should be expected, and what timetable is realistic. Those are all reasonable questions when inviting others to invest their time and energy in a vision. A vision involves much more than just saying “let’s go someplace;” it also means saying “let’s do something!”

Where’s your focus?

QI heard Bill Hybels say that in church, when push comes to shove, evangelism is the first thing to go. What does he mean by that? Is it true?

ALooking at a church’s budget will reveal what’s really important to the church. It’s hard to argue that evangelism is a priority when the church has $200 designated under evangelism for the entire year, for example.

Another indicator of a church’s priorities is the calendar. How many things in last month’s bulletin and schedule of events had to do with things inside the church instead of outside the church?

If the church is not careful, its focus will shift to becoming a “hotel for saints” instead of a “hospital for sinners.” Of all the purposes for why the church exists, evangelism must be the number-one priority or it will, as Bill Hybels says, “be the first thing to go!”

Pat Pajak is IBSA’s associate executive director for evangelism. Send questions for Pat to IllinoisBaptist@ IBSA.org.

Without a doubt

Read: Luke 1

The heavenly messenger delivered a humanly impossible message. First, there was the declaration that this young virgin Mary was favored by God, chosen by the Almighty Father to be the mother of the Messiah. Then there was the proclamation that she would conceive and give birth to a son who would rescue men from their sins.

4.1% At half as many people in Illinois identify as Baptist as the national average of 8.2%

Overall, 55.7% of adults in Illinois consider themselves “religious,” compared to 44.9% in the U.S. – Sperlings

WANTED! C hurches with a...

KEVIN CARROTHERS

Mary’s reaction could have been one of obstinate reluctance and objection. This was going to change her life. People would forever look at her differently. Some would view her with judgmental scorn. Others would see her as an unworthy choice because of her youth and poverty. It’s no wonder that she was troubled, confused by the message. How could this be? Surely this must be a dream? She needed clarification for something that was going beyond the natural order of things.

Gabriel explained that God would wonderfully and powerfully work in Mary’s life to bring forth this holy child, pure from the taint of sin. As Mary heard the answer, she recognized that the Sovereign Creator was using her as an instrument of his glorious redemption plan. She was to give birth to the one who would fulfill God’s promise that originated in the Garden of Eden after the fall of humanity (Gen. 3:15).

Her humble obedience is an exemplary model of servant leadership that has been remembered throughout the years.

PRAYER PROMPT: Heavenly Father, may Mary’s response be our response, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word...” (Luke 1:38). Amen.

Kevin Carrothers serves as director of missions for Salem South Baptist Association.

As Illinois turns 200 in 2018, IBSA is seeking to engage at least 200 churches in each of these challenges. Is your church one of them?

As of November 27

GO NEW PLACES – Church Planting 35

Churches

ENGAGE NEW PEOPLE – Evangelism 51

Churches

MAKE NEW SACRIFICES – Missions Giving 28

Churches

Goal: 200

DEVELOP NEW LEADERS – Leadership Development 35

Churches

Total Participating Churches: 53

Read more about these challenges and register your church for one or more at IBSA.org/pioneering, or contact IBSA’s John Carruthers at (217) 391-3110 or JohnCarruthers@IBSA.org.

– IBSA Church Planting Team