October 16, 2017 Illinois Baptist

Illinois Baptist

Why the SBC needs sharper focus

Jesus

P.

Youth

Trump plan draws praise Justice

Washington | Southern Baptist and other religious freedom defenders have hailed the Trump administration’s new guidelines to safeguard in federal law the free exercise of religion.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memorandum Oct. 6 to executive branch departments and agencies that provides guidance on religious liberty protections. In introducing 20 principles of religious freedom, Sessions said, “…to the greatest extent

First

Tabernacle Baptist Church, Decatur

CONVENTIONAL WISDOM

Snapshots from the world of Illinois Baptists

“There are some significant gaps among the generational groups on what counts as generosity, how it’s practiced, and its overall importance among life’s competing priorities.”

– Barna Research

Different definitions of generosity

Is generosity about more than money?

groups disagree.

– The Generosity Gap study by Barna and Thrivent Financial also includes Elders and Gen X, Barna.com.

the cooperative program

Giving by IBSA churches as of 10/06/17 $4,528,748

Budget Goal: $4,846,154

Received to date in 2016: $4,605,362

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

Family gatherings

Not long ago, the pastor of an already growing church contacted me about “becoming Southern Baptist.” His church was starting to think about planting another church or campus, and had heard about the partnership and resources available through our North American Mission Board.

As I began explaining Southern Baptist polity and structure to him, I realized that those of us who “became” Southern Baptist when our parents enrolled us in the church nursery may sometimes take for granted the way our largest Protestant denomination in America operates and cooperates. In fact, many laypeople in our churches today might have trouble answering this pastor’s question.

Later I wished I had explained Southern Baptist life to him the way I truly think about it—like a family. A local church is like the immediate family you live with every day. You do life with them and know them intimately, in good times and bad, for better and worse.

A local Baptist association is like your family that lives nearby. You might see them every week, or maybe once a month, perhaps for dinner or to help with a project. They would help you move, or loan you their truck, or pick up your kids or grandkids in an emergency. They are your first line of support, and your first line of defense. You trust them, and you count on them, because they’re family, even if they don’t live at your house all the time.

A state Baptist Association or Convention is like a more extended family. The distance between family members keeps you from seeing everyone in person very often. But you talk by phone, and you’re Facebook friends, and you’re aware of what each other is doing. When you’re in their town, you visit them. When their kids graduate or get married, or have a big life event, you’re there. And they’re there for you too.

Illinois Baptists will celebrate their annual ‘family reunion’ Nov. 7-9.

When you are together with extended family, it’s still clear you’re related. The subtle family resemblances are there. Behaviors and preferences may be diverse, but values are largely the same. You know the same folklore. You celebrate the same heritage. You would still do anything for each other, even if Uncle Bill irritates you a little. You would never want to leave or lose this family, even if you’re grateful to get back in the car and go home.

Then there’s the national Southern Baptist Convention, which I might compare to a nationwide family reunion. I attended one of those once, for the Cunningham line of my family, which has gathered every Father’s Day weekend for decades in western Kentucky. We loved going, and met people we had never met before, and it didn’t take long to discover common threads, and certainly common values. I hope to go again someday. And if you ask me, “Are you a Cunningham?” I will proudly say yes, and eagerly help anyone from that family.

I know lots and lots of pastors and church members who have never been to a national Southern Baptist Convention, but who faithfully give to Southern Baptist missions, and who faithfully believe The Baptist Faith and Message. It’s a wonderful, diverse, large family.

And so, with a newfound warmth and enthusiasm for family, I invite you to come to Tabernacle Baptist Church in Decatur this November 7-9 for the IBSA Pastors’ Conference and IBSA Annual Meeting. In fact, bring someone with you who hasn’t been to this extended family gathering in a while. You won’t know everyone, but everyone you meet will be family. They believe what you believe, and they work together at doing the things you know are most important. And at least most of us would do anything for you.

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

From the

front: protecting religious liberty

Continued from page 1

practicable and permitted by law, religious observance and practice should be reasonably accommodated in all government activity, including employment, contracting, and programming.”

Supporters of the guidelines commended them for their interpretation of religious freedom.

Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious LibertyCommission (ERLC), hailed the guidance as “a great development.” He tweeted, “These principles are right in line w/First Amendment.”

Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., a Southern Baptist, applauded the memorandum, saying, “It is not the place of government to determine what a person’s religion requires. The ability to live out your faith, or have no faith, is a First Amendment right; the federal government must honor that as much as possible, especially when there are reasonable accommodations.”

Michael Farris, president of Alliance Defending Freedom, said, “All Americans should have the freedom to peacefully live and work consistent with their faith without fear of government punishment. The guidance that the Trump administration issued today helps protect that First Amendment freedom.”

Sessions issued the guidance to implement a May executive order in which President Trump said his administration’s policy will be to enforce vigorously “robust protections for religious freedom” in federal law.

The memorandum should offer protection at the federal level for religious liberty in its growing confrontation with sexual liberty, especially regarding same-sex marriage and those who object to it on biblical grounds. It also signals an apparent return to the treatment of religious freedom prior to some controversial policies during the eight years of the Obama administration.

The attorney general released the guidelines the same day the Trump administration issued new rules to protect objectors to the abortion/contraception mandate instituted under President Obama. The expanded exemptions for conscience rights came after a six-year battle against a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regulation that required employers to provide their workers with coverage for contraceptives, including those with mechanisms that can potentially induce abortions.

The guidance on the HHS mandate— which was challenged in court by GuideStone Financial Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, four Baptist universities and nearly 90 other non-profit organizations—said the administration decided the government’s interest “in applying contraceptive coverage requirements to the plans of certain entities and individuals does not outweigh the sincerely held moral objections of those entities and individuals. “

Sessions’ religious freedom guidance followed another significant memorandum from his office by two days—this one regarding protection of transgender employment rights.

In his Oct. 4 memorandum to U.S. attorneys, the attorney general announced he was withdrawing and reversing a 2014 guidance from thenAttorney General Eric Holder that ruled a federal ban on workplace sex discrimination encompasses gender identity. Title VII, the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in employment, “does not prohibit discrimination based on gender identity per se. This is a conclusion of law, not policy,” Sessions said.

Advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights decried Sessions’ memorandums on transgender rights and religious liberty.

Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), described the religious freedom guidance as “a sweeping license to discriminate.” He said it “will enable systematic, government-wide discrimination that will have a devastating impact on [LGBT] people and their families.”

HRC is the country’s largest political organization for LGBT rights.

Andrew Walker, the ERLC’s director of policy studies, described the principles as “a historical reaffirmation of government’s posture toward religious liberty” and “a return to normalcy.”

The Obama administration “went out of its way to undermine religious freedom to further the cause of the Sexual Revolution,” Walker wrote in a post at the ERLC’s website.

Tom Strode is Washington Bureau Chief for Baptist Press

Preserving freedoms

Highlights of the new plan

The 20 principles Attorney General jeff Sessions listed in his Oct. 6 memorandum included six regarding the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), a 1993 federal law that requires the government to have a compelling interest and use the narrowest possible means in burdening a person’s religious exercise. The principles on religious liberty included:

“The freedom of religion extends to persons and organizations.”

“Government may not target individuals or entities for special disabilities based on their religion.”

“RFRA does not permit the government to second-guess the reasonableness of a religious belief.”

“RFRA applies even where a religious adherent seeks an exemption from a legal obligation requiring the adherent to confer benefits on third parties.”

“Religious employers are entitled to employ only persons whose beliefs and conduct are consistent with the employer’s precepts.”

– Baptist Press

WELCOME – Since 2011, Immanuel Baptist Church in Chicago has met in a 3,900-square-foot building near the University of Illinois-Chicago. A judge’s September decision denied Immanuel the right to purchase the building, which also houses worship services for two other churches.

Judge issues ruling

Chicago | A federal judge ruled in September that Immanuel Baptist Church cannot yet purchase the building where they’ve met since 2011. The recent decision marked an end—of sorts—to more than a year of legal back-and-forth between the church and the City of Chicago.

In July 2016, the city blocked Immanuel’s purchase of the building on Roosevelt Road. After trying to work out a solution with the city for six months, said Pastor Nathan Carter, the church felt a lawsuit was their last option. The suit claims the city’s zoning ordinance is unfair to churches and a violation of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). In September, Immanuel received the judge’s verdict, one that Carter said wasn’t the win they were hoping for, but not an outright loss either.

“It was a 21-page legal opinion that we are still processing,” Carter told the Illinois Baptist. “The judge basically said he could not rule in our favor based on the arguments that we used, but he invited us to come back and try a different line of reasoning.”

For the church, that would mean extending an already lengthy process. Carter said Immanuel is discussing with their attorneys what is the best way forward.

Parking is the primary point of conflict between the church and Chicago’s zoning ordinance, which requires religious assemblies to have a certain number of parking spaces based on how many people they’re able to seat. Immanuel would technically need 19 parking spots to comply with the ordinance, but the church—like many other establishments in the neighborhood—utilizes street parking.

Mauck & Baker, the law firm representing the church, has argued that the ordinance imposes stricter guidelines on churches, since other assemblies of similar size have no off-street parking requirements. For Immanuel, procuring 19 parking spots would mean buying three city lots, and providing for paving, painting, landscaping, and lighting.

His church is weighing some complicated options, Carter said, “but God never promises easy. He does, however, promise that he will give wisdom to those who ask. Please join us in praying for wisdom to know what to do next.”

Rauner signs abortion bill

Governor’s about-face disappoints Baptists

Springfield | After a summer of phone calls, e-mails, and letters urging Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner to reject House Bill 40, Southern Baptists and Christians of other denominations along with conservatives were dismayed by his decision to sign the bill into law Sept. 28. Many condemned the governor for breaking the promise he made in the spring to veto the bill if it came to his desk.

The new law provides taxpayerfunded abortions through Medicaid and state employees’ health insurance plans. It also amends the Illinois Abortion Law of 1975 to remove language declaring that an unborn child is a human being from the time of conception, and would allow abortions to continue to be performed in Illinois should the U.S. Supreme Court ever overturn Roe vs. Wade.

Reaction was swift. Nate Adams, IBSA executive director, said in a statement, “I join with Illinois Baptists and many others in Illinois who stand for the unborn in expressing great disappointment with the action of Governor Bruce Rauner on Illinois House Bill 40. Taxpayers’ money should not be used to fund abortions in any circumstance.”

He continued, “Illinois Baptists continue to support the rights of the unborn with ministry actions and public resolutions opposing abortion and the Roe vs. Wade U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized it. Illinois Baptists are committed to ministry that pre-

serves life and supports young women who find themselves in problematic pregnancies through the outstanding work of the Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services. And hundreds IBSA churches and pastors teach a biblical view of life and counsel wise decisions by families that affirm life.”

Daniel Darling, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission’s vice president for communications and an Illinois native, told Baptist Press, “It is tragic enough that the extinguishing of the unborn is legal. It’s the height of arrogance to make taxpayers pay for it. Faithful Christians should pray for a day when both parties in Illinois see the humanity of the life in the womb and work to enshrine that dignity into law.”

Ahead of the IBSA Annual Meeting next month, the Resolutions and Christian Life Committee has prepared a resolution urging messengers to, “call upon the Governor and the state legislature to repeal Illinois House Bill 40, believing taxpayers’ money should not be used to fund abortions in any circumstance…” The resolution further calls on Illinois Baptists to “continue to support the rights of the unborn with prayer, ministry actions, and public resolutions opposing abortion… ”Messengers will vote on the resolution during the Nov. 8-9 meeting at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Decatur.

– Lisa Misner Sergent, with reporting from Baptist Press

Housing allowance struck down

Madison, Wisconsin | A federal judge ruled this month against the U.S. tax code’s ministerial housing allowance, which allows clergy members to exclude a housing allowance from their gross income for federal income tax purposes.

Judge Barbara Crabb said the ministerial housing allowance violates the Constitution’s Establishment Clause, which bans government-established religion, “because it does not have a secular purpose or effect and because a reasonable observer would view the statute as an endorsement of religion.”

In 2013, Crabb similarly ruled the ministerial housing allowance unconstitutional. But the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned her decision, ruling the plaintiffs—the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF)—lacked standing to sue.

The FFRF is a plaintiff once again in the current lawsuit, arguing the IRS has violated the Constitution by refusing to permit its leaders to claim the ministerial housing allowance. This time, Crabb wrote in her 47-page opinion, the organization and its leaders have satisfied the appeals court’s requirements to attain legal standing.

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a conservative nonprofit legal group argues Crabb’s ruling is in error.

“For nearly 100 years, pastors, rabbis, imams and other faith leaders—whose jobs require them to live close to their church or

in an underserved community—have been eligible for the parsonage allowance,” Becket stated in an Oct. 9 news release. “This tax provision ensures that faith leaders... receive the same tax treatment as other employees who must live in the communities they service—like military service members, teachers and overseas workers.”

Christianity Today reports that the allowance saves ministers around $800 million every year.

GuideStone Financial Resources, the Southern Baptist entity responsible for providing ministers with retirement and insurance benefits, responded to Crabb’s ruling in a new release. “The housing allowance, far from being a government endorsement of religion, as Judge Crabb contends, actually removes government from the equation,” said GuideStone President O.S. Hawkins. “Were it not for the housing allowance, the government would be imposing a tax on religious employers and their employees that is not imposed on non-religious employers.”

Crabb ordered both sides to submit briefs by the end of October on whether the plaintiffs should receive “additional relief.” GuideStone said it anticipates a final judgment before the end of the year, which likely will be stayed while the case is appealed and have no immediate effect on ministers.

– From Baptist Press

RAUNER

More teams needed in Texas

National SBC commits more funds to hurricane recovery

Vidor, Texas | Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief coordinator Dwayne Doyle traveled to Texas in September to visit volunteers still on the scene after Hurricane Harvey.

“The need here is still vast,” Doyle reported a month after the first Illinois volunteers left for Texas. Since Aug. 31, 14 teams from Illinois have served in Texas, and eight more are preparing to go. The volunteers represent 40 different IBSA churches.

And more teams are needed, Doyle said. “The list of homes needing repair keeps growing. Right now, there are 300 in need, but more keep requesting our help.”

The vast majority of homeowners in the area where the volunteers are working didn’t have flood insurance, and while they’ve faced Hurricanes Rita and Ike in the past, Doyle said, “neither (of those storms) dropped 51 inches of rain over a 3-day period.”

Illinois volunteers are largely serving through mud-out projects, helping homeowners remove damaged items from their homes and fight back mold that can overtake structures after flooding. The state also has sent a mobile feeding unit and

shower and laundry trailers. And chaplains are on the scene to comfort homeowners and point to hope in Christ. Ten people have made professions of faith through the ministry of Illinois Disaster Relief teams.

In the wake of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee voted during their September meeting to use overages in the 2016-17 Cooperative Program Allocation Budget for disaster relief.

The Executive Committee will designate the first $1.25 million of any overage in the SBC’s $189 million allocation budget for disaster relief in Florida and Texas by the Send Relief ministry of the North American Mission Board. And all of the overage that would go to the Executive Committee will be redirected to the International Mission Board for international disaster relief initiatives, Baptist Press reported.

For more information on how to serve on a Disaster Relief team, or how to donate to support Hurricane Harvey relief efforts, go to IBSA.org/dr.

– With reporting from Baptist Press

Crews prepare for wildfire response

Conscience freedom win

Objectors to the controversial “contraceptive mandate” in the Affordable Care Act celebrated after the Trump administration released new rules Oct. 6 that allow institutions and corporations not to include abortion-inducing drugs in their employee health insurance plans.

The new guidelines, which protect organizations and businesses from having to comply with the mandate on the basis of religious belief or moral conviction, are categorized as “interim final” rules and will need to be finalized in court. The contraceptive mandate faced legal challenges from 90 religious nonprofits, including GuideStone Financial Resources, a Southern Baptist entity that provides health and financial benefits.

“We are grateful to God, first and foremost, for this outcome,” said GuideStone President O.S. Hawkins “Today is indeed a good day as we give thanks for the outcome we believe honors the Lord.”

Help for Dreamers

A group of evangelical leaders has asked Congress to find a speedy remedy for 800,000 “Dreamers” who could face deportation after a federal program was rescinded this month.

The Oct. 5 statement asks lawmakers to aid those affected by the end of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), which allowed undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. by their parents to apply for deportation deferral.

Santa Rosa, Ca. | Southern Baptist Disaster Relief crews are poised for relief work amid Northern California wildfires that have killed at least 21 people and burned more than 1,500 buildings since Oct. 8.

Mike Bivins, the state’s Disaster Relief coordinator, said units are ready as soon as state officials call them to assist in the recovery effort. “California Southern Baptist Disaster Relief has been in standby mode with chaplains and volunteers for mass food preparation...and shelter work, including showers and laundry,” Bivins said.

Local churches already are providing housing and helping to feed the 20,000 people forced to evacuate. Some 120,000 acres in California’s wine country have been burned.

First Baptist Church in Clearlake—where fire has destroyed more than 100 homes and blackened the landscape—has helped feed and find lodging for three families in the congregation that were displaced. Pastor Larry

Fanning serves as a police chaplain and was called into action to counsel and pray with fire victims.

After two consecutive years of devastating wildfires in Clearlake, “we almost thought we were going to get through the whole season without a fire,” Fanning told Baptist Press, noting it hasn’t rained in the area since June.

Petaluma Valley Baptist Church in Petaluma, Calif., coordinated with other churches in its area and determined its facility was not needed as a shelter for some 700 local evacuees, pastor Bob Merwin told BP. So the congregation sent its members to other churches that are serving as shelters to distribute food, translate for non-English speakers, and walk dogs among other tasks.

“There’s so much to be done,” said Bob Lawler, mission catalyst for the Redwood Empire Baptist Association in Vacaville, Calif. “Our churches are just trying to figure out how to be as helpful as they can.”

– From Baptist Press

“Many of these Dreamers have stepped forward in good faith, and our government has a moral obligation to deliver on the promises made to these men and women and protect them from perpetual uncertainty,” said Russell Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and a signer of the statement. Other Southern Baptist signers include former SBC Presidents Ronnie Floyd, Bryant Wright, Jack Graham, and James Merritt.

Pastors oppose ‘alt-right’

Southern Baptist Convention President Steve Gaines was among the initial signers of a letter to President Donald Trump asking him to denounce the racism of the “alt right” movement. The letter, drafted by a group of Southern Baptists and others, states that the alt-right gained prominence during Trump’s candidacy, and calls on the President to join them in declaring the movement “racist, evil, and antithetical to a well-ordered, peaceful society.”

At the 2017 Southern Baptist Convention in Phoenix, messengers approved a resolution denouncing “alt right white supremacy.”

– From Baptist Press Get

www.ib2news.org.

DEVASTATED – Side-by-side images from Northern California show how costly recent wildfires have been in the region.

HAWKINS

Making sense of the senseless

How can we respond to what we struggle to explain—or even understand?

When President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, a Fresno pastor climbed the bell tower of the church and began pulling the rope. When he descended much later exhausted from sounding the alarm, he found the sanctuary filled with mourners, looking up to him for a hopeful word. That was on a Friday afternoon. The following Sunday churches everywhere were packed with people who needed help understanding the tragedy. It was called “the Sunday with God.”

On October 8, 2017, we had another Sunday with God.

We’ve had a lot of them, especially in the past two decades. Their names become shorthand for inexplicable tragedy: Columbine, New Town, Wedgwood, Emanuel AME, Boston Marathon, Pulse Nightclub. And the signal event in this category is clearly the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Churches were full the next Sunday and for several months afterward with people asking “Why?” and wondering how God could let this happen. And all these years later we might add—again.

In Las Vegas on Sunday night, October 1, it happened again. A gunman high above an open-air concert killed 58 people with high-powered assault weapons and injured more than 500 others before turning the gun on himself. He left victim’s families, the survivors, and a nation to try to make sense of the utterly senseless.

A retired carpenter from Aurora expressed his grief in the same way he has since his father-in-law was murdered in 1996: he built crosses. His truck loaded with 58 crosses, each with a red heart and the name of one of the 58 victims, Greg Zanis (above) drove from Illiniois to Nevada to install a memorial under the iconic “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign. He has built such a memorial at every mass shooting since Columbine High School. His crosses are indeed welcome in places where people need to be pointed Christ-ward.

A young man who escaped the shooting told a network interviewer, “I was an agnostic going into that concert, but after what happened there, I believe in God. It’s a miracle that any of us survived.” His comment exemplifies the baseline responses to crisis: you either blame God or you embrace him; run from God or run to him.

Las Vegas pastor Vance Pittman was honest with his congregation on the Sunday morning after the killings. “The temptation of our humanness is to run from God in moments of tragedy, but the psalmist reminds us that those are the moments we should run to God.”

Pittman, who founded Hope Church in the city 17 years ago, admitted his own wrestling with the massacre. “Anyone who didn’t simply isn’t human,” he told the crowd in the packed sanctuary. “It’s OK to ask God some hard questions…He can handle it.”

He then pointed to Psalm 62. “Where is God in the midst of tragedy?” Pittman asked. “He’s right there in the midst with us… ‘God is my refuge.’” He cited the experience of two police officers. One said to the pastor, “It’s nothing short of a miracle that more people were not killed. It’s almost like someone spread their wings over that crowd and protected them.”

A thoroughly biblical response to events such as this must address the role of evil, “an act of pure evil,” as President Trump described it two days later in Las Vegas. God created a perfect world, but willful humans introduced sin. Taken to its natural ends, man inflicts that sin on others. Such monstrous evil may seem beyond us, but in all honesty it’s not. Only God restrains lawlessness in any of us. While at times he may not intervene in the ways we wish, God is still on the scene, in the business of saving humanity. In this world where evil is rampant—be it war, massacre, or the aftermath of disaster—God is still working his purpose out.

“Nowhere is this seen more clearly than looking at the cross,” Pittman said to his searching crowd. “The cross of Jesus is the single greatest act of evil and injustice in this world, and yet God—in his sovereignty—has caused it to be now seen as the greatest demonstration of love and goodness the world has ever experienced.”

‘Where was God’ in Las Vegas shooting?

That’s a question Christians must answer in the wake of the Las Vegas shooting, said Russell Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. The answers, he said, aren’t easy to come by, but they shouldn’t be.

“We do not know why God does not intervene and stop some tragedies when he does stop others,” Moore wrote. “What we do know, though, is that God stands against evil and violence. We know that God is present for those who are hurting. And we know that God will ultimately call all evil to a halt, in the ushering in of his kingdom.”

Baptist student among the victims

A Union University graduate was killed in the shooting at a country music concert in Las Vegas Oct. 1. Sonny Melton, who received a nursing degree from the Tennessee Baptist-affiliated school in 2015, was struck by gunfire while shielding his wife, Heather. Melton was president of his class of nursing students. “Nursing was his calling, and he served well as the hands and feet of Jesus,” said dean Kelly Harden. “We are all better for having known him. Even as we grieve his passing, we rejoice in the fact that in Christ we have victory over death.”

Looking for comfort

Americans turned to four Scripture passages most in the wake of the Las Vegas shooting and other acts of mass violence, according to Bible Gateway. The website saw spikes in readership following the tragedy in Las Vegas and 18 others, including Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 and Orlando’s Pulse nightclub in 2016. Two passages in Psalms are on the list: Psalm 11:5 and Psalm 34:18, which President Trump referenced following the Las Vegas shooting. Also included are Romans 12:19 and John 16:33, when Jesus promises he has overcome the world.

– Baptist Press, RussellMoore.com, Christianity Today

“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

– Eric Reed (with thanks for quotes from The Las Vegas Journal-Review, CNN, and Baptist Press)

youth encounter 2017

IN FOCUS Team Spirit

Student event shows the power of cooperation in winning souls

BY ANDREW WOODROW

When an 11-year-old says a worship event drew him closer to God, a youth leader finds his heart warmed. And when the student walks forward at the end of the service to profess his faith in Jesus Christ, the ministry team knows their work was worth the effort.

For almost 50 years, Illinois students and their leaders have gone to Youth Encounter for the music, the speakers, and a chance to worship together. The annual student conference serves up a creative blend of entertainment and evangelism for students in junior high and high school.

WILLIAMS

Youth Encounter met in one central location for most of its history. But three years ago, the conference was revamped to reach more students across the state. Youth Encounter became a one-day event in multiple locations, and this year’s sites were in Decatur and Marion.

“In a day and age where so many things divide our nation...for us [churches] to be able to come together and use cooperative funds to do something that separately none of us could have done, that’s pretty special,” said Chad Williams, family pastor at Tabernacle Baptist Church, which hosted the Decatur gathering.

Enaging Worship

At Youth Encounter, the lead singer of Vertical Church Band guides students in worship. More than 1,300 students attended in Decatur and Marion.

Video from the event will be posted soon at IBSA.org.

P.

Some 81 churches were represented at Youth Encounter’s two locations, totaling almost 1,300 attenders.

“None of us as churches can afford to spend the money it takes to have this kind of day with this kind of quality of worship and speaker,” Williams said. “We can only do that corporately and by cooperation.”

Jimmy Hammond, senior pastor of Grace Southern Baptist Church in Virden and a member of the Youth Encounter planning team, agreed with Williams. “With Youth Encounter, its success is attributed not just to all the cooperative work of the churches that have gone into both planning and executing it,” but also “all the ones that come together to show up and make it happen. It’s just really exciting to see that spirit of cooperative work alive and well and being amplified through what is happening here with Youth Encounter.”

The conference also forges connections between people, Hammond said. “Every year I always have some great conversations with new people that are either new to the area or are just people I’ve never met before.”

Hammond said the connections deepen the sense of fellowship between people, and draw them closer together. Pastors who come with their students to Youth Encounter have even expressed a desire to get together with other pastors in their area and “do things like this more often together as churches.”

‘Why we do what we do’

“At home I don’t have a lot of God-time because of the interruptions,” said Payton Johnson, “so doing this kind of thing is good for me…getting to worship with other people my age.” Johnson, 15, said that despite her “strong heart,” the youth conference had her tearyeyed.

In Decatur, comedic trio 3-2-1 Improv and worship artists Vertical Church Band prepared the crowd for an impassioned presentation by guest speaker, Brian Burgess. Using contemporary

examples from the games Uno and Twister to drive his message, Burgess cautioned the students not to twist their lives with deception and a spiritually compartmentalized lifestyle, but to rely on the one and only “wild card” to save them from a badly dealt hand.

“The way he preached really got to me,” Johnson said. “I’ve already been saved, but when he talked about when you go to church and do all this churchy stuff to impress the people there, then you go home and act like you never went to church before, it touched me.”

Burgess, a traveling youth minister with a Master of Divinity in pastoral studies, centered his two-part sermon on the first chapter of 1 John and the importance of genuine fellowship with God.

His message, along with the contemporary worship band, seemed to give some young teens a new way to experience God.

Tiara Byers, 11, expressed an interest in going to church more, while Hannah Morales, a 14-year-old student from Woodland Baptist Church in Peoria, said this method of learning about God was “less of a lecture but more of an interaction.” Morales said the Vertical Church Band brought her closer to God through their worship than she had ever felt before.

Joseph Wetzel from First Baptist Church of Bethalto said the conference affected him because it offered “a different perspective of learning about God.” When asked if he felt an encounter with God that day, the 11-year-old replied, “Definitely.” Later that evening, Wetzel became one of 83 responders to step forward during the invitation time at both locations; 42 responses were first time decisions for Christ.

In response to hearing so many welcomed to the family of faith, Williams said, “That’s why we do what we do. The ultimate mission of Youth Encounter is to see teenagers saved and that’s the heart and soul of it. That’s why we try to design [Youth Encounter] the way we design it. And I think that’s the best we can hope for. Not only from an IBSA perspective, but from a personal one too.” Look for video from Youth Encounter soon at IBSA.org.

WILD CARD – Speaker Brian Burgess (far left) holds up a card from an Uno deck. He compared the “wild card,” which supercedes all other cards, to the work of Jesus Christ in a believer’s life. Burgess invited students to take a card from the platform steps (top photo) to remind them to trust in Christ in life’s situations. Also shown: last-minute registration, hanging out at the inflatables, prayer at invitation time.

JOHNSON

WETZEL

THE cooperative program • 3rd quarter report jan. 1 - sept. 30

This report includes contributions received by the Illinois Baptist State Association through the third quarter of 2017. 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.

Before CP

Southern Baptists haven’t always relied on the Cooperative Program to fund missions here and abroad.

Before CP, mission societies raised money for missions work by presenting projects to individuals and churches, and asking for donations.

The process wasn’t perfect. For example, in 1883, more than half of every dollar raised by the Southern Baptist Home Mission Board paid for solicitors’ salaries and expenses.

Southern Baptists needed a new plan.

ASSOCIATIONS Total Per Churches CP Capita

In 1919, Baptists tried a new strategy for missions giving—they pledged to raise through a multi-year pledge campaign.

The Seventy-Five Million Campaign was a failure on paper. More than $92 million was pledged, but only was actually given.

$58.6 million

Still, the Home and Foreign Mission Boards received more through the pledge campaign than they had in their whole histories.

And Baptists had learned to give together.

Way, Sparta

Frankfort Second

of the Beloved - Albany Park, Chicago

of the Beloved-Near West, Chicago

Ukranian, Chicago

Belleville

Crossing, Saint Jacob

Gathering, Coulterville

Baptist

Top

100 Illinois churches in Cooperative Program support through the third quarter of 2017

Top 100 Illinois churches in per capita CP support through the third quarter of 2017

Vera, Ramsey 93.32

Effingham First, Effingham 92.54 Golf Road, Des Plaines 91.53

Casey First, Casey 90.79

Lovington First, Lovington 90.55

Mt Pleasant, Medora 90.36

Eastview, Belleville 90.06

Mt Zion First, Mt Zion 89.51

Friendship, Plainfield 89.14

Prairie Grove, Oblong 88.76

Ingraham, Ingraham 87.91

New Hope, Litchfield 87.74

Lakeland, Carbondale 87.59

New Salem, Mc Leansboro 85.48

Lincoln Avenue, Jacksonville 83.02

De Soto First, De Soto 82.94

Louisville, Louisville 82.61

Payson Southern, Payson 82.50

Leansboro 69.06

Blooming Grove, Mc Leansboro 68.80

Mt Olive, Dongola 68.70

Mascoutah First, Mascoutah 68.02

Gone was the old societal approach. Today, only four special offerings help supplement giving through CP:

Annie Armstrong Easter Offering

In 1925, Baptists stepped out again in faith, launching the Cooperative Program and encouraging churches to give to missions through CP at least 10% of their undesignated offerings. And nearly 100 years after its founding, CP still stands as Baptists’ unified method of supporting missions and missionaries.

Lottie Moon Christmas Offering State Missions Offerings (such as our Mission Illinois Offering)

Local Association Emphasis Offerings

– From “The Cooperative Program—then and now” by Randy Bennett, BPNews.net

A cause worth living for

What we have in common

As Southern Baptists, we have one thing that unites us. At our core is the passion to take the gospel of Christ to those who have never heard. We work together toward that common goal. As a child and young adult, my heart was sealed for missions. I am a product of the Cooperative Program.

The CP is Southern Baptists’ unified plan of giving through which cooperating Southern Baptist churches give a percentage of their undesignated receipts in support of their respective state convention and the Southern Baptist Convention’s missions and ministries.

Nearly 40 years ago, my tiny Southern Baptist church in Illinois participated in a World Missions Conference (later called On Mission Celebrations). That was my first opportunity to be up close and personal with missionaries. More than 70% of your national CP dollars are at work in the United States and around the world supporting missionaries.

A new pastor’s wife introduced our church to Acteens and my life changed forever. I felt God’s

call on my life as a youth while serving on the missions camp staff of a state Baptist camp supported by the CP. Statewide youth events helped me mature as a Christ follower. During this time, I met many who served through our state convention office. They took an interest in me. Those heroes of the faith called me by name. It made a difference.

In college, I participated in a CP-funded Baptist Student Union ministry. It was one of the greatest discipling influences of my life. During this time, I also served on an associational WMU council. I developed as an associational WMU leader by attending statewide training events sponsored by the CP.

Every semester of seminary, a receipt showed a portion of my tuition was subsidized by a gift to the Cooperative Program. As a newly appointed North American Mission Board missionary, we

Tell the Cooperative Program story

As Sandy Wisdom-Martin points out, the national WMU doesn’t receive Cooperative Program funds, but some of the state convention leaders for WMU are aided by faithful giving to CP. With their support, Southern Baptists are able to educate and empower women for ministry and missions worldwide.

Half of all giving through the Cooperative Program supports international missions. Southern Baptists send approximately 3,600 missionaries to foreign mission fields through the International Mission Board. In addition, the North American Mission Board has 5,600 church planters and missionaries (including endorsed, but non-paid chaplains) serving in the U.S. and Canada.

The Southern Baptist system of unified giving has produced the most consistent and reliable missions funding pipeline in history, and mobilized the largest missions force in the modern missions era.

And it’s all possible because SBC churches budget a small percentage of their weekly offering for missions through the Cooperative Program.

Every time the offering plate goes by, a portion of your offering is reaching the world with the gospel…starting here in Illinois.

Together Illinois Baptists give about $6 million through the Cooperative Program each year.

56.5% supports evangelism and mission work in Illinois, from Cairo to Chicago and Belleville to Danville, starting new churches where they are needed, strengthening established ones, growing church leaders, and reaching our 8 million lost neighbors.

43.5% supports church planting in North America, international missions for unreached and unengaged people groups, theological education for the next generation, and Christ-centered cultural engagement.

“Many who served through our state convention office…took an interest in me,” says Illinois native Sandy Wisdom-Martin, now the executive director of national Woman’s Missionary Union. “Those heroes of the faith called me by name. It made a difference.”

were challenged to always express appreciation for gifts to the CP. I needed no convincing. For nearly 20 years, I served on state convention staffs in Arkansas and Illinois. I saw firsthand how gifts to the CP meant people had the opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel of Christ. Southern Baptists, I am grateful for the difference you made in my life through gifts to the CP. Thank you for your partnership in my home state, the United States, and the world to proclaim the hope found only in Christ.

– This article by Sandy Wisdom-Martin first appeared on Baptist Press.

Together Southern Baptists in all the states give almost $190 million to missions through the Cooperative Program each year.

1.65% Christian Ethics and Religious Liberty Ministries Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission

2.99% SBC Operating Budget

22.16% Theological Education Ministries Seminaries (21.92%) Library and Archives (.24%)

73.20% Missions Ministries International Mission Board (50.41%) North American Mission Board (22.79%)

Southern Baptist missions through the Cooperative Program

cause worth giving for

Sharpening our focus, renewing our passion

This past June, Southern Baptist Convention President Steve Gaines put together a task force charged with recommending how we might deal with the alarming decline in baptisms in our Convention. What a daunting task it is. Baptisms have declined precipitously for the past 17 years. We have gone from more than 400,000 baptisms per year, to less than 300,000. The needs in America are greater than ever, but our effectiveness in meeting those needs has plunged. This ought to greatly concern all of us who care about the Great Commission and this land in which we live.

The task force’s first meeting, held at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth, Texas, was both disquieting and encouraging. We stared the terrible problem of lostness in the teeth. It is daunting. But we prayed long and hard to the God who is greater than our problems.

Dr. Paige Patterson, chair of our group, called us to prolonged periods of prayer and seeking the Lord’s guidance. The Lord’s power and direction, after all, is what we most need. These times of prayer were so refreshing to my soul.

We heard from all the members of the task force—and there are some outstanding people on this team. Each member spoke about some aspect of evangelism. I was moved by their passion and insight and clarity. We began the process of thinking through what might be recommended to our churches at the convention next June. Subsequent meetings will begin to hone in on those possible recommendations more directly.

Two things have become crystal clear to me. I speak for no one on the task force but myself, but these two things seem obvious to me. First, we have lost our focus on leading people to faith in Jesus Christ. Second, we need a renewed passion for evangelism. I will give my thoughts briefly to each:

1. We have lost our focus on leading people to faith in Jesus Christ. Evangelism is hard. It takes work and effort and intentionality. It doesn’t happen without commitment to it. Evangelism, it seems, is the first thing

that goes when a church faces controversy or problems or challenges. It doesn’t happen unless it is a concerted focus in our lives and churches.

Dr. Gaines uses the term “soul winning.” It comes from the Bible passage I learned in the old KJV as a boy: “He that winneth souls is wise.” We don’t hear that term so often anymore. Come to think of it, we don’t hear about evangelism in any form as much anymore. We are far more likely to hear about church planting or discipleship or worship—all good and important things. But evangelism is spoken of less often in our Baptist circles, it seems to me.

I know this in my own life: If sharing the gospel is not high on my radar it is not practiced in my life. I can fill my life with meetings and sermon preparation and dealing with a myriad of problems.

And, if I am not conscious about it, I can forget about sharing the gospel with those around me. Somehow, evangelism must again become a focus of my church and your church, of my life and your life.

2. We need a renewed passion for evangelism. Passion is a powerful force. Passion changes our thoughts, our dreams, and our actions. It changes our lives and it changes our churches. Let’s get passionate about sharing the message of the gospel. Let’s get passionate about seeing lost people saved. Let’s be so passionate about evangelism that it changes our thoughts, our dreams, and our actions.

I want more passion for evangelism in my personal life and in my church family. As a pastor, I want my church to know that I am sharing my faith and I want my church members to join me in sharing the gospel. Without evangelistic passion, we will just go about the routine business of the church without doing the primary business of the church!

Perhaps that passion will show itself in strategic decisions or training programs or events. But passion always makes a difference. Let’s pray for more evangelistic passion personally and corporately.

Will you pray for the Evangelism Task Force when you think of it? It will take a work of God to turn our Convention to greater effectiveness. But by God’s power we can see that change made. My prayer is that God will use our group toward that end.

Doug Munton is pastor of First Baptist Church, O’Fallon, and a former first vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention.

fresh ideas

Pastor Appreciation ideas for kids & teens

As your church demonstrates love and appreciation to your pastor, which many congregations do in October, parents and teachers can provide opportunities for children to honor him, too. Kids could make a banner. Sign a T-shirt.

Sing a thank-you song. Draw a card. Or try one of these meaningful, fresh ideas:

Photo gift. Print a large photo of children or teens posed on playground equipment holding “Love my Pastor” signs.

Surprise office décor. Use Postit notes to write dozens of things you appreciate about the pastor. With permission, “decorate” his office walls with the notes. Leave a signed card on his desk.

Lawn art. Teens make giant signs with words of appreciation for their pastor. Artfully stake the signs on the church or pastor’s lawn, add colorful helium balloons, and put a signed thank-you card at the door.

Bookmarks. Cut cardstock to bookmark-size. Kids make colorful thank-you bookmarks and sign the back. Laminate them and present them to the pastor.

Poetry book. All teens or children write a “pastor appreciation” poem—a limerick, ballad, acrostic, free verse, haiku, or “roses are red” type poem. It can be long or short, serious or funny. Use a binder to create a poetry book. Facebook explosion. Teens use social media to post appreciation notes on the pastor’s page.

Art wall. Cover a wall in the church foyer with signed works of “pastor appreciation art” by youth and kids. Even preschoolers can color a pastor appreciation coloring page (available online). Use a binder to make it into a book afterward. Candy basket. Each child brings one piece of the pastor’s favorite candy. Supply extras for those who forget. At an appropriate time during worship, kids bring their gift for the pastor to a basket at the front.

Video thanks. Teens create a oneminute video clip to play during worship. Invite all children and youth to surround the pastor as an older teen leads a thanksgiving prayer. Say it. Draw it. Sing it. Act it. Post it. Just do it! Help your kids express sincere appreciation to their pastor this month.

© Diana Davis, Oct. 2012

DIANA DAVIS

The SBC’s Evangelism Task Force has a big challenge: Helping churches recapture their evangelistic zeal.

“I’m Rachel’s non-participating spouse... and the major focus of this morning’s message.”

Love your neighbor

Kids get practical tips for living on mission

Springfield | At Children’s Missions Celebration Sept. 30, kids heard about life in Bangladesh from missionaries and met an Operation Christmas Child shoebox recipient. They saw sleight of hand from illusionist Andrew Anderson and were introduced to the IBSA missions mascot: Missions Mutt. And they learned about tools they can use in their own communities to love their neighbors and share the gospel.

That was the goal of the one-day missions education event for kids, said IBSA’s Carmen Halsey, that attenders would leave with ideas “they could take home to be on mission in their world.”

For example, the kids got a hand bell lesson and went home with sheet music their group can use to minister at a nursing home. They learned how cleaning out and carving a pumpkin can be an object lesson for sharing the gospel. And they heard how a ministry popular in many churches makes an actual difference to kids like them. One of the speakers at Children’s Missions Celebration had received a gift-filled shoebox from Operation Christmas Child (a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse).

“We have done shoeboxes in the past, but hearing a personal story of someone that actually received a box made a huge impression on the kids,” said Ronda Karroll,

children’s minister at First Baptist Church in Carmi.

The next statewide opportunity for kids to be on mission is Children’s Ministry Day on March 10, when hundreds of people will serve in multiple locations across the state. For more information about mission opportunities for kids, teens, and adults, go to IBSA.org/ missions.

Mortgage burning

First Baptist Church, Dupo, celebrated a paid-off mortgage on Sunday, Sept. 17 with a mortgage burning ceremony. The church broke ground on their current building at 620 Godin Avenue on July 9, 2000. The building was dedicated in September of 2003, and the church paid off the mortgage last June, seven years earlier than the loan. Pictured from left are Dean Hudson, Mary Bell, Pastor Roger Reid, and Richard Lay, who served as pastor when the current facility was built.

NeTworkiNg

Welcome

people

Bill Herald is the new pastor of First Baptist Church in Crystal Lake. Herald began his ministry as a youth pastor in Oregon, and has since pastored churches in Kentucky and Illinois, including congregations in Sparta, Pittsfield, and Olney. He and his wife, Phylis, have three children and three grandchildren.

James Williford is pastor of Lincoln Southern Baptist Church after starting in the role in May. Williford previously served as missionary to Russia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, Turkey, and India for several years. He is a graduate of Southwest Baptist University and husband to Rachel.

With the Lord

Evelyn Smith

Galbraith of Granite City died September 13 at the age of 87. Galbraith, a charter member of Suburban Baptist Church in Granite City, married Illinois Baptist minister Lee Galbraith in 1997. The couple was involved in ministry to seniors at Pennsylvania Avenue Baptist in Urbana. He preceded her in death in 2011. Galbraith is survived by two children; 10 grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; and one sister.

Patrick Tyler Stewart, a pastor who served in Illinois prior to his retirement, died September 18 at the age of 66. Stewart pastored First Baptist Church, St. Charles, and also served in leadership roles in Fox Valley Baptist Association. He is survived by his wife, Lori; three daughters; two siblings; his mother; and seven grandchildren.

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

Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Buncombe seeks a bivocational pastor. This small, rural church with a big heart wants to continue efforts to fulfill the Great Commission with a Spirit-filled leader. Please send resumes to praterbob6@gmail.com.

Pleasant Hill Baptist Church seeks a part-time director of youth ministries. The principle function of this position is to build young

disciples for Christ by developing and implementing a comprehensive approach to youth ministry, while serving as a spiritual leader and role model. Please send a resume and cover letter to phbcsearch@ yahoo.com

Athensville Baptist Church seeks a bivocational pastor to lead a thriving rural church. Send resumes to Route 3, Box 79, Roodhouse, IL, 62082. For more info, call (217) 589-5531.

First Southern Baptist of Forest Homes in Cottage Hill seeks a full-time/bivocational pastor to provide leadership, vision, and growth through preaching and teaching God’s infallible word. The candidate must have a heart for the church body and the skills to grow a church of varied ages. Send a cover letter & resume to 1sbcforesthomes@gmail.com or to Pastoral Search, 1437 4th Street, Cottage Hills, 62018.

LEARNING BY DOING – Kids at Children’s Missions Celebration experienced missions through crafts, music, and missionary stories—all geared to help them love their neighbors. IBSA’s Missions Mutt (right) was also on hand to encourage the young missionaries.

EVENTS

October 18

Lunch and Learn Webinar Series - “EQ”

What: Learn how to increase your emotional intelligence “EQ” and relate more effectively with others; 11:30 a.m. – noon.

Where: Your computer Register: IBSA.org/Women

October 28

VBS Preview Event

What: Get a sneak peek at 2018 VBS: “Game On” based on 2 Peter 1:3. Registration: 8 a.m.; event is 8:30 a.m. –2:30 p.m.

Where: IBSA Building, Springfield Register: IBSA.org/Kids

November 3-4

AWSOM (Amazing Women Serving Our Maker)

What: Conference for girls in grades 7-12, including hands-on missions, worship, and missionary speakers. New this year: The Refugee Experience on Friday night, which includes spending the night at the IBSA Building.

Cost: $20, includes lunch and T-shirt

Where: IBSA Building, Springfield Register: IBSA.org/Students

November 7-8

IBSA Pastors’ Conference

What: Spiritual rejuvenation for Illinois pastors, their spouses, and other church leaders under the banner of this year’s theme, “Time for a Check-Up.” SBC President Steve Gaines leads the list of this year’s speakers.

Where: Tabernacle Baptist Church, Decatur Information: IBSAannualmeeting.org

November 8

Pastors’ Wives Luncheon

What: This year’s theme is “The Gift of Togetherness” based on Hebrews 10:24. The event is from 8:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m and includes a program and lunch. Registration is not mandatory, but strongly encouraged by Oct. 24

Where: Tabernacle Baptist Church, Decatur

Cost: $20 per person; send a check written to IBSA Pastors’ Wives to Terry Kenney, 212 W. 10th St., Beardstown, IL 62618

Information: Sisterrykenney@gmail.com, or (217) 491-3880

November 8-9

IBSA Annual Meeting

Theme: “Pioneering Spirit”

The 111th IBSA Annual Meeting will feature SBC President Steve Gaines and the annual sermon by Sammy Simmons, pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Benton.

‘This Hope’ will lead in worship.

Where: Tabernacle Baptist Church, Decatur Information: IBSAannualmeeting.org

November 15

Lunch and Learn Webinar Series - “Lean Forward”

What: Gain an overview of how to live with intention and glean ways to recapture your life; 11:30 a.m. – noon.

Where: Your computer Register: IBSA.org/Women

December 3-10

Week of Prayer for International Missions and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering

Information: IMB.org

Royalton First Baptist Church seeks a full-time or bivocational pastor

Formal education is welcome, but not a necessity. The candidate must have the desire and ability to lead in personal Bible study, prayer, and evangelism, to build relationships within the church and community, and to lead mission work on multiple levels. Send resumes, including your calling and testimony, to P.O. Box 295, Royalton, IL 62983 or searchcommittee00@gmail.com.

Third Baptist Church, West Frankfort seeks a full-time or bivocational pastor. We desire candidates whose ministry contains evidence of diligent work, a heart for the community, seeking God’s will, friendliness, and doctrine consistent with historic Baptist beliefs. Formal education is welcomed, but will not be considered more important than these qualities. Send resumes, including calling and testimony, to 1100 West 6th St., West Frankfort, IL 62896, or 3rdBaptistSearch@gmail.com.

dave says

Help them—wisely

QI graduated from college two years ago, and I have a good job making $60,000. I have about $10,000 in student loan debt, but my mom and dad have a real issue with their roof. It’s leaking in places, and I’ve gotten repair estimates of $3,000-$5,000. They’re good, hard-working, blue collar folks, but they’re less fortunate financially and have more debt than I do. What should I do first—help them fix the roof or pay off my student loan debt?

AYou’ve got a great spirit, man. If I woke up in your shoes, I’d probably help them fix the roof first. The only way I would do that, though, is if they agree to let you help them address the reasons they don’t have any money. If you have the cash, go ahead and pay for the roof. But let them know they must pay you back by getting some financial counseling.

I know you love your mom and dad, and they work too hard to be broke. We’re not talking about you shaming or condemning them. Talk to them in a loving, caring way, but address the situation. If they’ve worked all their lives and can’t come up with $3,000, something’s wrong. The fact they don’t have any money is the symptom. The problem is they’ve mishandled the dollars they earned. Even if you don’t make a lot, you can have cash set aside for emergencies if you manage it well.

Help your folks with the roof, then turn around and knock out that student loan debt. It won’t be a huge burden to you. But remember, you fixing their lives without them fixing their lives will be a burden—to all of you!

Don’t fall for it

QMy husband and I have been saving, and we’re ready to buy our first home. We found a place we both love and can afford if we do a 30-year mortgage instead of a 15-year mortgage. Should we wait and save more for a down payment so we can afford a 15-year mortgage, or go ahead and do the 30-year deal?

AThirty-year mortgages are a trap. They don’t help you build wealth, and they keep you in debt. On the other hand, 15-year mortgages get you out of debt a lot faster, and being out of debt frees up your largest wealth-building tool — your income.

I would never take out a home loan where the payments are more than a fourth of your monthly take-home pay on a 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage. My advice is to either wait and save more money, or maybe look for a less expensive home in a different area.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting your own house. But I don’t want your home to have you. When you get house fever, it’s easy to lock yourself into a bad deal that will follow you around and drain your wallet for decades!

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

Jan. 23-25, 2018

Springfield, Illinois Crowne Plaza Hotel MWAdvance.org

3 days of focused equipping for church leaders. Come ready to learn. Return ready to change your church and community.

DAVE RAMSEY

Pat’s Playbook

Room to grow

QOur church is landlocked. Even with two services, we’re maxed out. The acreage next door is available, but no one supports buying it. The town is growing, but the church is moving backwards. How do I respond to this lack of vision?

AMany churches in your situation have decided it’s time to launch a second or third campus in a new location. We call that “church planting.” If the door is closed for you to purchase additional property or expand your present facility, perhaps starting another work (a second campus) might be the answer.

Church needed here...

Location: Metro Chicago

Focus: South Asians

Characteristics: Chicago’s growing South Asian population is from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. There are very few new churches being started to serve and reach this ever-increasing and overwhelmingly unbelieving group.

Prayer needs: Pray God will send gospel laborers into this field, too, so that soon there might be a New Testament church within easy reach of every Illinoisan.

inspirations

PAT PAJAK

Of course, the membership would need to support that strategy. Explain that you have maxed out your growth potential where you are and that there is an opportunity to reach the unsaved and unchurched in your community with a new campus. There might be a group of people in the church ready to be the launching group for such a move.

Investment strategy

QMy new associate is a great kid, but he seems to need a lot of hand-holding. Everything has to be a group project for him. I just don’t have time to be the pastor and do his job too. Is this a Millennial thing? Can you help me understand this?

AWe all start as a novice rather than a fully developed, mature leader. Carve out an hour a week to invest in him. Make him submit a schedule of activities, a calendar, and a projects report, and hold him accountable. There may be some initial resistance on his part, but in the long run you will be teaching him about accountability and responsibility.

You’ll also be giving him needed leadership skills that will improve his performance. Allow him to make mistakes, then critique but don’t criticize. If you really believe in him, help make him the leader you know he can be by investing your life in him. Whatever you do, make sure you do it in love.

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

pinterest.com/illinoisBaptist

Flu season fist bumps

The advertisements for flu shots remind us that church should be a good place to spread the word, but not the germs. How will you greet guests instead of the usual disease-passing handshake time?

• Fist bump. Popularized by germaphobe Howie Mandel, the tapping of clutched knuckles passes fewer infections than an actual prolonged handshake. But even this might be too intimate if you’re seated by the kid who just coughed into his sleeve.

• Shoulder bump. Today’s he-man hug is a bumping of right shoulders. The handshake held between the bodies is optional.

• Bow. Adopt a new custom. Tell everyone to bow or nod during international missions season. That’s plenty. And Lottie Moon would approve.

• Two-minute warning. As in football, tell the crowd after the closing prayer that the service isn’t over for two more minutes, until they chat with a guest or two. Shake hands at your own risk.

• Skip it. Surveys show the stand-and-greet time is the least popular activity in the whole service. Guests hate it, says LifeWay’s Thom Rainer. Why not skip it altogether?

• Pass the Purell. If your congregation insists on shaking hands, pass the anti-septic wipes afterward. Have fun with it, as you kill the germs.

– The editors

Seeing beyond biases

Read: Acts 10

Peter had seen the empty tomb. He met the risen Lord Jesus. Jesus forgave Peter and restored him with a command to feed Jesus’ sheep. Then the Holy Spirit came to dwell within, empowering Peter to boldly proclaim the gospel to thousands in Jerusalem. As God grew his church, he used Peter in a prominent role.

Yet there remained a deeply entrenched flaw: prejudice. This leader of the apostles had not embraced the truth that Jesus had other sheep from another pen that needed to be brought into the Kingdom of God (John 10:16). Through a dream about clean and unclean food, Peter saw that God could purify the unclean, meaning that he could save people of all ethnic backgrounds from their sins.

KEVIN CARROTHERS

Eventually, Peter went to the home of the Gentile Cornelius where he saw God’s redemptive work on display. It was there Peter confessed that God accepts men from all nations.

What are the deep-seated biases of our lives? With whom is it that we refuse to share the good news of Jesus because they do not look like us, dress like us, believe like us, or live like us? How can we truly be obedient to the Great Commission if we build up unbiblical walls of separation founded upon personal prejudices?

PRAYER PROMPT: O heavenly Father, forgive us of our prejudices and bigotry (racial, socioeconomic, educational, religious) so that we may reach all people groups for Christ. Amen.

Kevin Carrothers serves as director of missions for Salem South Baptist Association and is concluding his second one-year term as IBSA President.

– IBSA Church Planting Team