October 1, 2022 Illinois Baptist

Illinois Baptist

Table Talk with Heath Tibbetts

Nashville, Tenn. | Brent Leatherwood says he senses a new spirit of cooperation among Southern Baptists. Previously “people were quick to criticize…to assume the worst,” he said. “My sense is that may be diminishing…. I think Baptists are realizing we can work together and be a voice that helps improve the situation” in the current culture.

If that’s the case, it will benefit Leatherwood as he takes the reins permanently at an SBC entity whose previous leadership was called fractious. Leatherwood was elected to head the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission at the ERLC Trustees fall meeting in Nashville, Tenn. on Sept. 13.

His nomination and approval came after a year as Acting President following the resignation of Russell Moore. Moore had

opposed leaders of the SBC Executive Committee (EC) over their handling of sexual abuse claims in SBC churches. Before that Moore drew fire from pastors and leaders who opposed his political positions on immigration and other Trump administration policies.

Leatherwood will spend his early days rebuilding relationships. “I’m actually going to be speaking to pastors across the SBC to listen to them, hear from them” before speaking on behalf of 14 million Southern Baptists, he told Baptist editors.

Leatherwood came to the ERLC staff in 2017 after four years as Executive Director of the Tennessee Republican Party. He was first Director of Strategic Partnerships, then Vice President of External

The Illinois Baptist staff

Editor - Eric Reed

Graphic Designer - Kris Kell

Contributing Editor - Lisa Misner

Copy Editor - Leah Honnen

Team Leader - Ben Jones

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The BIG Baptist family album

Our Illinois mission field

Eric Groce and his wife, Jennifer, planted Gospel Life Bible Church in Genoa in 2019. Eric meets his neighbors while working at the hardware store. And the church partners with local schools. “As hard as this calling is, experiencing God at work in the lives of people around me tells me there’s nowhere else I’d rather be!”

Pray the news: Election Day

Voters head to the polls Nov. 8 for the general election. As you study the candidates and issues, pray for wisdom, for the turnout, and for God’s will to be done from Illinois to Washington.

Cooperative Program at work: Pro-life

As the grandparents of two 2-year-olds, my wife and I now find ourselves doing what many grandparents do—whatever the grandkids want. So, when we serve them ice cream, or give them a new toy, or play the same game or read the same book a hundred times in a row, we often hear one of their parents ask them this familiar question: “What do you say?”

Of course, “thank you” is the polite response they’re trying to coach into their offspring. They want it to become natural, even heartfelt. Because sometimes, unless we’re reminded both to be grateful and to express it, we can take people or the things they give us for granted. I’m confident that was the origin of Pastor Appreciation Month. Like parents and grandparents, our pastors and church staff love, serve, give, sacrifice, and repeat week in and week out. Ironically, their very consistency and faithfulness may lull us into presumption—until October reminds us to be thankful by asking, “What do you say?”

This year especially, we should remember that many pastors are weary and discouraged. Even if the pandemic is largely behind us, it has taken a heavy toll on most churches, and left many shepherds with doubts about their own effectiveness, or the future, or even their calling. The outward pressures of a declining culture and a down economy, and the inner stresses of hurting church families weigh heavy. To keep from growing weary in well doing, pastors need to hear from us that they are appreciated.

Whatever tangible gifts you or your church may be considering, let me strongly recommend that this year you write your pastor a longer than usual and very specific note of appreciation. More than just a phrase or a sentence at the bottom of a greeting card, write him a personal letter. But what do you say?

First, take a few minutes to list the specific character qualities, ministry skills, and acts of service that you have observed and value in your pastor. Then use that list as an outline and add to it personal examples of when he has blessed you or your family. Tell him how much those times have meant to you, and that you love him, and that you’re so grateful to God that he is your pastor.

I was recently talking with a pastor who was facing some serious challenges in his church and had hit a pretty low point. To try and help him regain a longer-term perspective, I simply started listing, from my somewhat distant point of view, the things I saw him doing right, and the significant impact he had made both in his church and in his community over the years I had known him.

A couple of days later he texted: “Thank you for being my friend. No one ever talks to me how you talked to me Friday.…Those might have been the most meaningful words anyone has ever spoken to me. It meant more to me than you realize.”

Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission posted, “Thanks to your generous donations to our Psalm 139 Project, we placed another ultrasound machine last month on a mobile medical unit for New Hope Family Services in Syracuse, NY!” CP funds ERLC, while private donations place ultrasound machines in pregnancy resource centers.

Giving by IBSA churches as of 09/20/22 $3,821,943

Budget Goal: $4,411,547

Received to date in 2021: $4,079,999

2022Goal: $6.2 Million

My words of encouragement to this pastor were simply true, specific, personal, and heartfelt. The thought that no one in his life is talking to him that way broke my heart. It also reminded me how powerful even simple expressions of appreciation can be. Yet they are evidently all too rare, perhaps especially with our pastors.

It may take most of us 30 minutes or so to sit down and write a truly heartfelt, personal note of appreciation to our pastor this month. But it may very well mean more to him than we will ever realize. So what do you say?

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

‘What do you say?’

NATE ADAMS

Let’s offer a word for those who minister to us.

State association’s ‘forward posture’ for 2023

IBSA Board previews ‘shifts,’ sexual abuse prevention plan

Springfield | The key word for 2023 is “shift,” IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams told the Board of Directors in their fall meeting Sept. 13—shifts in posture, processes, platforming, and a leadership pipeline. Adams also reviewed new recommendations for sexual abuse prevention and for the 2023 budget year.

“We’re not changing the main focus of IBSA’s work or the priority of the gospel,” Adams said, “but we recognize that programmatic answers alone are not as strong as they once were. Our teams need to listen and offer diagnostic tools to help bring answers.”

IBSA is completing a three-year analysis of its work with strategic planning for the future. “We certainly had some opportunities for improvement,” Adams said, “and this was money well spent.”

Central to the plan is a shift from plug-and-play ministry programs for Illinois churches to offering new process solutions more customizable to specific churches and communities.

The “next step” consultation process unveiled at last year’s Annual Meeting will be expanded from 100 to at least 150 churches in 2023.

The long-range planning study started just before the Covid pandemic hit with its effects on church attendance and giving. Covid accelerated the trends already in place in churches: declining numbers that extrapolated over another ten years would leave Baptist work in Illinois significantly weaker.

“We are in a ‘climate change’ that I would describe as both cultural and generational,” Adams said. “We are in a shifting culture that demands shifts in how we do ministry” both at the state level and in local congregations. From a posture of humility, listening to the needs of churches, IBSA seeks to multiply its ministry by “platforming” more of the network’s leaders.

That will be required if approximately 900 churches have any hope of reaching more than 9 million lost people in Illinois. “We are seeking to define and model what it means to be

an effective state network of churches for the future,” Adams said.

He pointed to recent successes, including more than 100 salvations at packed summer camps, and the Mission Illinois Offering that urges “each church” to see itself as a missionary. That will also be the theme of the upcoming Annual Meeting.

“We’re not going to be caught being irrelevant,” Adams said. “We’re going to be as ready for the changing times and changing climate as we possibly can.”

Abuse prevention proposals

A state plan for sex abuse prevention in IBSA churches and ministry to survivors will be reported to messengers at the Annual Meeting.

The SBC’s Sexual Abuse Task Force (SATF) made five recommendations to messengers at the national SBC Annual Meeting that included proposed actions by state conventions. IBSA, which already had a task force at work, quickly pivoted to address the national convention’s concerns.

“I want to reassure you that IBSA has studied abuse prevention and is being proactive,” Adams said.

Included in the IBSA proposal, which was developed by a staff team of six with input from outside professionals, are recommendations for training, identifying trauma-informed counselors, development of a self-assessment mechanism for churches to evaluate their abuse ministry, and actions the network can consider should a member church not deal responsibly with credibly accused perpetrators.

IBSA President Heath Tibbetts previewed for Board members his plans to appoint an ad hoc committee consisting of members from the IBSA’s Board, Credentials Committee, and Constitution Committee that would give the Credentials Committee more specific guidance on “good standing as a cooperating church” when it comes to effectively preventing and handling claims of abuse. Biblical expectations are already present and agreed upon in Article XV of the Baptist Faith and Message 2000. This

approach would allow action much sooner and more flexibly than a constitutional change.

The Board agreed. The quicker alternative will be presented to messengers in November. The full report is posted on IBSA.org.

Giving and givers

The Board approved a proposed 2023 budget and Cooperative Program ratio to be presented to messengers. The budget sets a CP goal of $6 million and maintains a CP ratio of 56.5% for use in Illinois and 43.5% to be forwarded to the national SBC, excluding shared expenses not to exceed 10% of the CP goal. CP monies received beyond the budget goal would be distributed at a ratio of 50-

50. The percentage that Illinois currently sends to the national SBC for missions is 13th highest among 41 state conventions.

Board members re-elected Jeff Logsdon of Wilmington to serve as Board Chair and Bruce Kirk of Bolingbrook as Vice Chair. Current Board Secretary Terry Foster rotated off the Board with Paul Cooper of Marshall elected to take his place. Members rotating off the Board were Jeanette Cloyd, Bob Dickerson, Terry Foster, Don Hannel, Luke Henry, Mike Jameson, John Mancha, and Darryl Williams. Nominees to replace them will be presented at the Annual Meeting, Nov. 2-3, at Metro Community Church in Edwardsville.

Illinois at a Crossroads

Church leaders from Nine Mile Association traveled from Pinckneyville to Springfield Sept. 8 to pray at the state capitol complex. While Paul Hahn of FBC Tilden read Scripture nearby, Mike Whitworth of Lakeland Church in Carbondale prayed with a giant cross. Pastor Phil Nelson has traveled widely with the cross, praying for our state, and starting gospel conversations.

SBC Executive Committee

DOJ funds allotted

Robinson reports on CEO search

Nashville, Tenn. | The SBC Executive Committee earmarked up to $500,000 from EC investment accounts to costs related to an investigation by the Department of Justice. DOJ subpoenaed documents related to the EC’s handing of sex abuse claims within the denomination, but no further actions have been reported since the investigation started in August.

The transfer of funds is “for areas impacted by increased costs related to the Department of Justice investigation and potential relocation expenses related to new incoming staff,” according to actions approved by messengers at the EC fall meeting Sept. 19-20. The allocation came with approval of the 2022–2023 EC and SBC operating budget of $8,335,000.

New EC chair Jared Wellman maintained a streamlined and upbeat approach to the meeting attended by 75 of the 84 EC trustees, 26 of which are new, after last year’s tumultuous resignations.

“Our dream in this new day in the EC is to be safe for the vulnerable and unsafe for the abusers,” Wellman shared in his opening address. “(We are) hunting abusers down and letting them know there is no place for them in a Southern Baptist church. Our Southern Baptist messengers deserve an EC that doesn’t live for itself but for Jesus Christ.”

Pointing to the EC’s decision last year to waive attorney-client privilege related to the investigation

Continued from page 1

Affairs and Chief of Staff under Moore.

Leatherwood’s election to the ERLC presidency was welcomed by leaders in Illinois and in the national SBC. “Southern Baptists need a biblically grounded, winsome, effective ERLC in these challenging times,” ERLC trustee Scott Foshie from Illinois said, “I believe Brent is the leader that God has called to lead in carrying out this exciting ministry assignment that is also fraught with challenge.”

In a news release posted by the ERLC, SBC President Bart Barber said Leatherwood “loves Southern Baptists—who we have been, are, and hope to become. Such a man as that can rise as a statesman to speak for Southern Baptists. Such a man can also come alongside Southern Baptists and gently speak to us as a brother.”

a federal discussion [is] significantly more a state-level discussion. And so in Illinois, partnering with Illinois Baptists is going to be a priority,” he offered as an example.

“We want to come alongside our state convention partners and have conversations with their legislators about specific changes to their state code,” Leatherwood said. He cited tax changes in Utah that involve fathers and Georgia legislation that controls of abortion-related medications.

That is especially relevant in pro-abortion states where even small pro-life moves represent progress.

Improved transparency

into its previous handling of sexual abuse cases, Wellman said, “An EC that tries to save its own life for its own sake is not truly living.… Sacrifice is God’s design for the Christian life.”

Two churches were disfellowshipped: College Park Baptist Church in Greensboro, N.C. because of “open affirmation, approval and endorsement of homosexual behavior,” and Amazing Grace Community Church in Franklinville, N.J. for “lack of cooperation demonstrated by the church to resolve concerns regarding alleged discriminatory behavior.”

Trustees approved a Caring Well Sunday be added to the SBC calendar for the last Sunday in September and assigned its implementation to the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. Pastor Keith Myers of Salisbury, Maryland who made the motion in June was in Nashville to speak for it. “Pastors don’t know what they need to know about abuse and this is an opportunity to learn about it,” he said. “I’m excited they are going to implement it….It’s encouraging.”

Providing an update on the search for the next EC president, chair Adron Robinson of Illinois said the search team currently is vetting 11 “quality candidates who have the capacity we are looking for.

“There is much work to be done and God knows who the next EC president is,” Robinson said, noting 14 of the 25 nominees declined to be considered. “All we have to do is stay in tune and walk with him until he raises that candidate up for us…Our wish and hope and goal is to present a new president early next year.”

– reporting by The Baptist Paper

“Brent has led wisely and courageously as the interim president during what can only be described as a tumultuous and strident period in our nation and our convention,” said Richard Land, who served 25 years as ERLC President.

Leatherwood’s year as Acting President was not without controversy. His stance on abortion regulation angered some Southern Baptists who favor a hard line and demanded criminal punishment for women who terminate a pregnancy. That included SBC presidential candidate Tom Ascol, who called for Leatherwood’s dismissal in May.

Ahead of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, Leatherwood signed an open letter drafted by the National Right to Life Committee, along with 75 other evangelical leaders, that urged compassion for women who have had abortions, calling them “victims of abortion.” Ascol tweeted in response, “the SBC has a rogue entity in the ERLC” and urged the firing of Leatherwood. Ascol holds a “no compromise” position on abortion, not supporting any legislation short of a total ban.

At the same gathering, Leatherwood asked messengers to turn aside an effort to defund the ERLC. Instead, he pointed to a renewed mission post-Roe to have impact on pro-life legislation on the state level.

In an interview with Baptist news editors after his election, Leatherwood said, “Our state conventions are now at the forefront of this discussion because overnight

Leatherwood was not among a large field of candidates at first, according to search team chair Todd Howard, but he “became the top candidate by virtue of his leading well through the various challenges facing the commission during the interim season. He has intangible leadership qualities that we could not ignore.”

On his professional biography at Linked In.com, Leatherwood calls himself “a bridge-builder who values the importance of institutions in our nation’s civic life.” What became clear in the last two years is the considerable bridge-building that must be done by ERLC within the denomination and with the people in the pews.

Leatherwood has mostly stayed away from issues that seemed to distance Moore’s ERLC from grassroots Southern Baptists. And he has operated more openly with ERLC trustees.

“Over the last year, Brent has worked to develop processes to enhance communication and transparency for our board,” said Foshie, former pastor of Steeleville Baptist Church and now IBSA Health Team Leader.

“This leads us to have a high level of trust and optimism as we think about the future of the ERLC under Brent’s leadership.”

“He has done an excellent job stepping in as interim,” said Sharon Carty, an Illinois representative on the Executive Committee.

“He is a strong man with a gentle nature which is so beneficial in roles of leadership.”

Leatherwood is a 2003 graduate of the University of Central Florida. He served as a legislative aide to Florida congressman Connie Mack on Capitol Hill, among other political and campaign positions. He and his wife, Meredith, have three children. They live in Nashville.

– Eric Reed

From the front: ERLC names president

PRAYERFUL BEGINNING – ERLC trustees pray over Brent Leatherwood and his wife, Meredith, following his Sept. 13 election as President of the SBC’s Washington, D.C. presence. – BP photo

Adron Robinson of Illinois updated the EC CEO search.

Abortions increase in Illinois

Pastor objects, calls for prayer as clinics relocate here

Carbondale | “A land of milk and honey.” God promised the Israelites he would take them out of Egypt where they were slaves into a land flowing with milk and honey (Ex.3:8). The phrase has become synonymous with a place overflowing with abundance or plenty. It’s not how pro-life Christians think of abortion-friendly states as such as Illinois.

But that’s exactly how Jennifer Pepper, the chief executive at Choices, a Memphis-based chain of abortion clinics, referred to the state of Illinois’ welcoming attitude toward those seeking and those performing abortions in an interview view St. Louis Public Radio. Choices is setting up a new location in Carbondale, also the location of Southern Illinois University, which is near the state’s southern border.

“Illinois feels a little like the land of milk and honey for us,” Pepper said. “Being surrounded by hostility is not new to us. It’s something we manage and deal with because our patients need access to abortion, and we’re committed to providing that.”

Immediately following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe, Governor J.B. Pritzker held a press conference announcing to women, “Illinois will be a safe haven for the exercise of your reproductive rights.” He and other elected officials flung open the floodgates to abortion practitioners and there they have remained.

Abortion advocates continue to point out how easy access to interstates 24, 55, 57, 64, 70 and an Amtrak station make Carbondale and the entire southern Illinois region ideal for women and their partners coming from southern and midwestern states where abortions are banned or more heavily restricted. Some Illinois Baptists are joining with fellow Christians and pushing back. “Abortion is not a natural thing to do. It’s against the nature of humans to take another human life” said Phil Nelson, pastor of Lakeland Baptist Church in Carbondale. He’s pastored in the Carbondale area for nearly 47 years, in addition to campus ministry at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. Nelson believes to swing shut those floodgates Christians need to “pray to see awakening in their churches” to “get out into their communities and share the gospel.” He sees it as the only way to turn from the “loss of respect for [human] life we’re becoming hardened to. If we don’t have awakening, abortion will die as an issue. We must spend as much effort sharing the gospel.”

Choices isn’t the only clinic moving to Carbondale. Alan Braid, a Texas-based abortion doctor announced in July he would be closing his San Antonio Alamo Women’s Clinic to reopen it in Carbondale. He also closed a clinic in Oklahoma and will relocate it to New Mexico.

Nelson along with church and other pastors went to city council meetings where they spoke out against the abortion clinics being zoned and licensed in the city. Unsuccessful

in that effort, they now attend the meetings but sit and pray silently. He and a coalition of pastors along with lay leaders also sent letters appealing to local businesses to not assist in the construction and setup of the new abortion clinics which have temporarily slowed their progress.

Measurable Midwest influx

Clinics in the Metro East St. Louis area have already seen an increase in out of state abortion traffic. According to a report from KMOV-TV, the Fairview Heights Planned Parenthood Clinic saw an increase of 38% in out-of-state patients coming from Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Florida in July alone. The clinic also announced it expanded its hours from 8- to 10-hour days except for Saturdays. Plus, officials said if demand increases, they could go to 12-hour days and open on Sundays. Hope Clinic in Granite City also reported performing a higher number of abortions.

Strict new abortion laws in Wisconsin have caused Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin to team up with Planned Parenthood of Illinois to work together at a clinic just inside the Illinois border in Waukegan. The Illinois clinic, open only a few years, has now doubled up on staff from both states to serve women from those states and others.

Kristen Schultz, Planned Parenthood of Illinois’ chief strategy and operations officer, said in a media release it was “the perfect pairing of supply and demand. They had capacity without local demand, and we had the opposite.”

Quad Cities media outlets reported an abortion doctor from Milwaukee would be moving his practice to Rockford where he bought two buildings—an old veterinary clinic and an acupuncturist office—to set up practice.

Meanwhile, when the Indiana General Assembly voted in August to ban most abortions in that state, Jennifer Welch, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Illinois Action, expressed outrage in a media release and reminded women about the strategically placed Planned Parenthood Clinic in Flossmoor, Illinois. Welch stated the clinic, which opened in 2018 near the Indiana border, was placed there “in anticipation that our neighbors would likely lose abortion access after the fall of Roe.” She said the clinic had already “seen its out-of-state abortion patients triple in the weeks following the Supreme Court’s ruling in June.” Indiana’s ban takes effect September 15.

The situation in our society is a “spiritual issue,” said Nelson. “God has put us all here now to live in this point in history for his purposes to bring the gospel to people.”

“People are afraid of dying. The only hope they have is Jesus,” he said with urgency. “People need to be out on the streets praying and sharing the gospel.”

– Lisa Misner

Fire chief fights firing

A Stockton, California fire chief, dismissed more than a decade ago for attending a Christian leadership conference, has filed suit against his former employer.

Ron Hittle was told to participate in leadership training, and he chose to attend the annual Summit produced by Willow Creek Community Church. Hittle contended that the conference that has included renown business leaders and U.S. Presidents in addition to megachurch pastors provided quality training. The city disagreed and terminated Hittle after complaints that he was a “religious fanatic.”

ADF called ‘hate group’ in DOJ social media post

A Department of Justice official labeled Alliance Defending Freedom a “hate group” in a social media post, and others have pushed back. When a former assistant U.S. attorney in Massachusetts posted that he was honored to participate in an ADF event in August, a DOJ director, Eric P. Bruskin, wrote back, “…this is a hate group…. Are these the beliefs you hold? If so, then it’s time we end our professional association.” A former employee of the American Civil Liberties Union, Bruskin was accused of violating official DOJ policy on social media use.

Assisted suicide rule blocked

California doctors are protected temporarily from forced participation in assisted suicide. A judges’ injunction allows physicians to opt out, although a recent law had removed their right to object for reasons of conscience.

The original 2015 law made California the fifth state with legalized physician assisted suicide. The Alliance Defending Freedom (an IBSA ministry partner) represented 19,000 Christian doctors in the suit. “Our clients seek to live out their faith in their medical practice, and that includes valuing every human life entrusted to their care. Participating in physician-assisted suicide very clearly would violate their consciences,” said ADF’s Kevin Theriot. ADF expects to win the case on First Amendment rights.

– information from Christian Post

Pastors’ pay steady

Only staff keep up with inflation

As inflation stretches most Americans’ budgets, Southern Baptist pastors may be feeling the pinch more than most. A new Lifeway study found compensation for full-time SBC senior pastors has remained flat over the past four years.

While the Consumer Price Index has jumped 17.6% from 2018 to 2022, compensation, which includes salary and housing, has increased 0.2% for full-time senior pastors at SBC churches during the same period. Their pay package, which includes compensation plus any retirement or insurance benefits, fell 2.1%. A previous study found 41% of pastors say they’re worried about their family’s financial security. Additionally, 18% say financial stress is one of the greatest concerns they have in ministry.

Other full-time staff ministers have seen compensation increase since 2018, but not in line with inflation.

Full-time ministers who are not the senior pastor saw a 7.5% compensation increase in the past four years. Full-time office personnel are the only SBC church employees who had increases closely aligned with the Consumer Price Index. Since 2018, their compensation increased 17%.

On average, a Southern Baptist church spends close to half of its budget (46%) on employee compensation and benefits. The percentage increases slightly with the size of the congregation.

On average, for each additional resident member of their church, a pastor earns $14 more each year. For each additional attendee, their pay goes up $33 on average.

Perry shines light on Jesus

Matteson | “I need some exciting music.” Jackie Hill Perry paused on stage to ask the keyboardist playing softly behind her for a new tune to accompany her message on David and Goliath.

“I need some exciting music,” she said, “because we’re talking about God fighting.” This particular fight was on behalf of his people the Israelites against their enemies the Philistines. “David has a weapon that Goliath doesn’t have and it’s a name,” Perry told 1,100 women gathered for the Chicagoland stop of her “Glory” tour with Lifeway Women in August. That name is the Lord of Hosts, a God willing to fight cosmic and earthly battles on behalf of His people.

The gathering was the second in a multicity series of “Glory” events scheduled through 2023. The bestselling author of Gay Girl, Good God and Holier Than Thou taught from two familiar stories in the Old Testament—Abraham’s near-sacrifice of his son Isaac and young David’s battle with mighty Goliath. Perry also drove home the main point of every “Glory” event: We will know God when we know his Word, and the aim of every passage of Scripture is Jesus.

be in the valley most days,” Perry said. Acknowledge it’s unrealistic to expect to always feel on fire for God, she said, but also interrogate your life. Are you bearing fruit? Perry also suggested practical steps: go to church, be in a community of saints that can stir up your faith, read your Bible and have a strategy about it.

“Maturity is when you know that God loves you and that you love God even when it doesn’t feel like it’s true,” she said.

Britni Crider drove three hours to attend the event. “I’m a little new in my faith, and I’m hearing all of this for the first time,” said the 23-year-old from Indianapolis. “What stuck out with me the most is her talking about idols.” Perry’s teaching encouraged her to fully submit to God and trust him with the idols lingering in her life, Crider said. “I definitely needed to hear this message.”

Tenure is also a factor. For each year of ministry, on average, a pastor earns $382 more. For each year he stays at his church, pay goes up $124 on average. However, for each year a pastor ages, he typically earns $635 less.

Pastors in the South and West earn similar amounts, but those at Southern Baptist churches in the Midwest earn $4,765 less, while those in the Northeast earn $21,511 more.

Most SBC churches do not provide medical insurance for their pastor, but as the size of the congregation increases so does the likelihood the pastor will receive those additional benefits. Overall, 59% of Southern Baptist churches do not provide medical coverage, while 18% pay for the pastor and his family, 14% pay for the pastor and his wife, and 9% pay for the pastor alone.

The SBC Compensation Study of 6,671 respondents was conducted between April-June 2022 by Baptist state conventions along with GuideStone Financial Resources and Lifeway Research. The study can be accessed at lifeway.com/compensationsurvey.

Women who know the Word

“Hey saints. And a scattering of aint’s.” Perry met the crowd gathered for Saturday morning’s Q&A with her trademark greeting from “Thirty Minutes with the Perrys,” her popular podcast with her husband, Preston. She candidly answered questions about the Bible, choosing a seminary, dating, parenting, social justice, and more.

“How do you learn to study the Bible?” asked one audience member.

“Prayer is a non-negotiable,” Perry answered. Positioning yourself as a humble reader of Scripture is a game changer, she said. “We want to be women who know the Word so we can know God.”

Another attender asked, “When your fire for Jesus has dwindled, how do you ignite the flame again?”

“You won’t always be on the top of the mountain, but more than likely, you will

Perry’s focus on seeing Jesus in the Scriptures, even Old Testament stories, resonated with Patricia Ells from Plainfield, Ind. “When we try to look at the Bible intellectually as a moral code, then it becomes exhausting,” Ells said, “versus when we know and meet and live for the person of Jesus, it’s actually freeing and beautiful. And we have the ability to live with power that isn’t available when we look at Scripture as an academic pursuit, or as a moral pursuit to make me a better person.”

As she wrapped up her message on David and Goliath, Perry’s request for more exciting music was met with immediate response from the keyboardist. A brighter, louder melody began to build in the sanctuary as she connected the account to Jesus, God’s deliverance of his people against their enemies, then to Christ’s deliverance of his people over sin and death forever.

“It may seem like all you have is a slingshot, but in reality, you have a name. The Lord of Hosts is with you,” Perry said. “The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus has set us free. And if this battle is truly the Lord’s, let’s live like it.”

– Meredith Flynn for Lifeway

‘Glory’ in God’s unchanging nature, speaker says

Photo by Kate Neelly

SAINTS AND AIN’TS – More than 1,000 women gathered in Chicagoland to participate in Jackie Hill Perry’s Glory event.

MISSION

New neighbors

Changing demographics in Illinois call for ministry across people groups.

BY BEN JONES

Elmwood Park | “Why would you live in Chicago?” It’s a question Sean and Lydia Stevenson are regularly asked. For those familiar with Chicago, and by extension, Illinois, it’s a reasonable question. Fair or not, Chicago has a reputation. Carl Sandburg wrote about it over a century ago. “Come and show me another city with lifted head singing so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning.”

The reputation still exists. Mention Chicago and common perceptions run to high crime, higher taxes, and less than honest politicians. For most people, the picture painted isn’t one of the promised land. However, for the Stevensons, church planters in Elmwood Park, none of these impressions of the Windy City swayed them one bit.

“Why live in Chicago?”

“Why wouldn’t you live in Chicago!” responds Lydia Stevenson when asked. “The whole world is here, and the whole world needs the gospel.”

Elmwood Park, a village bordering Chicago, is more like its goliath neighboring city than the sprawling suburbs to its west. It’s historically a city of immigrants. That hasn’t changed. But as the Stevensons discovered when they arrived in Elmwood Park, where those immigrants are coming from has changed. And that’s not just true for their neighborhood, it’s true of many cities, large and small, across Illinois.

Around the turn of the twentieth century, the wave of people seeking opportunity in Illinois came from across the Atlantic. At first, they came from Ireland, Germany, and Scandinavia, then later from Italy, Russia, and Eastern Europe. That second wave found a home in Elmwood Park, especially people from Italy and Poland who would shape the identity of the neighborhood for decades.

Fast forward to 2018. Sean and Lydia Stevenson were praying about where God might send them next. The couple had served as IMB missionaries in Poland

FOOD BEGETS FRIENDSHIP – Church members stock the food pantry shelves at Elmwood Park Community Church as part of their plan to reach out to a diverse community.

for eight years, sandwiched between seasons of church planting in Ohio and Montana.

“We had met John Yi and Chris Wright, former Send City missionary here, and had been praying with them about how we could get connected with work in Chicago,” Sean said. Those prayers led to an invitation to move to Elmwood Park to replant a former non-denominational congregation who had reached out to the North American Mission Board and IBSA for help.

“I can remember where we were in Montana at a taco truck when we got the telephone call. We just looked at each other, and we’re like, ‘We’re moving to Chicago,’” Lydia said. “We knew it. We’ll still pray about it, but the fact is that there were Polish people there whom we dearly love.”

When the Stevensons arrived to replant the newly renamed Elmwood Park Community Church, they fell in love with the faithful 22 remaining members as well as the community. However, what they found was a church at the geographic center of the community, but invisible to the people of the community. They needed to know their neighborhood and the people of Elmwood Park needed to know them.

So, they began to lead the church to change their posture. “They used to close the parking lot off with barriers through the week, so no one could park there,” Sean said. “Now all the people in leadership in our community, the school, use our parking lot. The Village uses our parking lot a couple of times a year for events.”

“It says a lot that the people in our church who were a part of that from the beginning, the 22 left, put a stake in the ground and said this church is going to be a witness in the community, and we want this. We’re willing to make all these changes we’re willing to do whatever it is to see Elmwood Park come to Christ.”

The open parking lot was the first step. As the parking lot opened to the neighborhood, their hearts opened up to their neighbors. That led to inviting the community to be served by the church. Now they host a food pantry every Saturday morning and a clothing closet two Saturdays each month.

The Stevensons discovered these ministries are a real barometer for the make-up of their community, especially in identifying who is new and what residents are on the margins. And what they discovered is not what they expected. They expected a mix of eastern Europeans with a few Hispanics,

but Sean said that 65% are from Latin America. And that was a surprise.

It’s a story that has been slowly unfolding across the state.

New people groups everywhere

By 1980 immigration patterns in Illinois had started to change. This was the first year since the early 1900s that most foreign-born Illinoisans were not from Poland. Mexico had become the new immigration leader. This Hispanic growth trend has continued steadily statewide. Hispanic ethnicity has grown from 8% of the population in 1990 to 18% in 2020. Ten percent growth over 30 years among the total state population may seem modest, but that now equals 2.3 million Hispanic residents living in Illinois.

In many communities across Illinois, the change has been even more substantial. Elmwood Park is one of these communities. Since 2000 its Hispanic population has grown from 11% to 34%. This presents communities and churches with a mix of challenges and ministry opportunity. Many of these are first generation Americans. They come from countries across Latin America, bringing their culture and language with them. They face the difficulties of trying to navigate a new culture and find their identity, while still feeling deeply connected to their heritage.

Jonathan de la O knows this well. He pastors Starting Point Community Church in Chicago, one of about 40 Hispanic congregations in IBSA. “The demand of fitting in—in either Latino or American culture—can be overwhelming and exhausting,” he said. For the past eight years, through his regular preaching and his annual celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15-October 15) he has sought to connect those who left Latin America for Chicago to their greater identity, an identity found in Christ.

“We tackle themes such as what it means to be a foreigner in a new land; how God can use a sojourner; where our citizenship truly lies; and

how God can use the outcast, the uneducated, the poor, and the marginalized all for his glory,” de la O said.

In Elmwood Park, Sean and Lydia Stevenson are still navigating the beginning stages of this. They were expecting to conduct ministry in two languages, English and Polish, but now they’re learning a third, as their food pantry flyer in English, Polish, and Spanish bears witness.

Sean grew up in New Mexico and has spent his whole ministry immersed in Catholic influenced cultures, so he’s up to the task. He’s learning Spanish while the church offers Spanish translation of Sunday preaching through headsets. And Lydia is preparing to launch ESL classes soon. They have a list of people who are ready for a Spanish language Bible study.

But the continued growth of the Hispanic population has Sean thinking bigger. “To have a real thriving Hispanic work, we need a Spanish speaking pastor. Being a church replant, we’re not there financially yet. I have this feeling if we started a Hispanic work, it would outpace the English work within a couple of years.”

As they pray for God to provide, they see him faithfully grow the church and reach people in their neighborhood. A church that felt invisible just a few years ago—closed off from its community and the world—is now known as the church that helps people in Elmwood Park. It increasingly reflects the new ethnic diversity of the Village. “I’m usually the only white guy on stage,” said Sean. “It’s usually me and some Puerto Ricans and a couple of Indians or Russians.”

“And the really cool thing about Elmwood Park, going from a Bible Church to now a Southern Baptist Church, is before, they felt like they were on an island.” Lydia said, “Now they’re part of this IBSA and Southern Baptist family. They’re passionate about missions, and they want to go, and they’re on fire.”

And they don’t have to go far, because the whole world is coming to them.

Immigration patterns have shifted, not only in Chicago, but across Illinois as Eastern Europeans yield to Hispanics as the most populous group.

THERE IS! Discover Walk Thru the Bible’s otLIVE and ntLIVE events

We unpack the big picture story of the Old and New Testament in a fun, interactive, unforgettable way! After our live events, people are inspired to dig deeper into the Word of God, to grow in their faith, to fall in love with the Word … and its Author. Find out more about our otLIVE and ntLIVE events: walkthru.org/bibleexperience

*On that page, download our free gift to you: Chosen: When God Calls Your Name ebook

What if there was an event that would make the Bible come alive in a fun and creative way that would inspire people to read it every day?

From your Christian home to our Christian campus

Christian Heritage 50% Tuition Scholarship

We understand the investment you’ve made in your education and how unique your needs are when it comes to choosing a college. Let us partner with you in developing your passions!

Apply today at hlg.edu/apply

Bolder. Wiser. Closer to Christ.

Undergraduate students at Cedarville will spend roughly 1,000 days on our campus, surrounded by Christian friends and godly, mentoring professors. We’ll encourage them to make the most of every one of those 1,000 days, equipping them through excellent education and intentional discipleship to live their lives aware that EVERY DAY MATTERS.

GROWING

Learning curve recommendaTions

Bible engagement is the most significant contributor to spiritual growth. Through the course of the year, host John Ross reads the entire Christian Standard Bible in about 30 minutes a day. Episodes release Monday through Friday, major holidays excluded. Learn more at commuterbible.org.

– Noah Lee Senior Pastor Tremont Baptist

Boundaries

Henry Cloud and John Townsend

This is the book I have recommended most in my 25-year practice as a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor. Dr. Cloud and Dr. Townsend teach what the Bible says about boundaries and clear misconceptions about the role of boundaries in a Christian’s life. This books helps Christians balance being responsible to others and for ourselves. Boundaries is a game changer, a strength builder, and truth seeker.

– Denise Wilburn Women’s Bible Study Leader, Island City Baptist, Wilmington

Literal Word app

This is a New American Standard Bible quick reference for Hebrew or Greek words used in the biblical text. It has enhanced my personal study time as well as my teaching preparation.

– Jared Pryer Adult and Youth Teacher Ten Mile, McLeansboro

table talk

The right we don’t have

When did American Christianity decide it had the right to be angry? We enjoy plenty of rights in this nation to worship freely, but sometimes it’s valuable to remember what we don’t have the right to do. We don’t have the right to love selectively. We don’t have the right to withhold forgiveness. And we certainly don’t have the right to be perpetually angry.

Andy Stanley recently spoke at the Global Leadership Summit on the theme of his new book, Not In It To Win It. I had the opportunity to hear his session and appreciated this takeaway on the current climate of angry Christianity: “You get to choose to follow Jesus. You do not get to choose what following Jesus looks like, acts like, or sounds like. It’s been prescribed for us.”

As a younger Christian I found most conversations on anger revolved around the principle of Ephesians 4:26, “Be angry and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger.” Lately I see a shift as more Christians point to Jesus flipping tables as their example of how to handle political, interpersonal, and church frustrations.

A few things to note in Jesus’ anger here. First, it was focused on preserving the temple for prayer and not any political or theological focus. Second, he did it twice over a 3½ year ministry. It’s also good to note that we’re not Jesus. We should never pre-

sume that we and the sinless Savior are operating with the same motivations.

Anger has a place, but Jesus demonstrates it as an infrequent response and not the default.

today, but through Christ can be family tomorrow! Remember, you were once an enemy as well in your lostness and separation from God. Was it the angry voice of a parent, pastor, or friend that won you to Jesus, or a voice that expressed love and forgiveness they had received themselves?

What’s worth fighting for Jesus didn’t come to save the nation of Israel. He came to save the people of Israel. Many heralded Jesus as a political messiah coming to expel the pagan government of Rome. Instead, he came as a personal messiah to expel the guilt of our sin.

Many American Christians make a similar mistake. We are not called to fight for the soul of America, but for the soul of Americans. That fight is not won with anger and arguments. My evangelism professor in seminary often said, “You’ll never argue anyone into the kingdom of heaven.” It was a reminder to us that we aren’t fighting the unbeliever in front of us, but the spiritual enemy working behind the scenes (Eph. 6:12).

The angry Christian is arguing with people who may be enemies

Angry Christianity is defined by monologue instead of dialogue. It focuses more on winning the argument than winning the soul. It fails to treat people as individuals who have different questions and fears when it comes to faith and eternity. Jesus took time to preach, but more often he took time to listen and ask questions.

Letting it go

Christian, we do not have a right to anger. Instead, we heed the words of Oswald Chambers, “The only right a Christian has is the right to give up his rights.” In Christ we give up the right to our instant reaction, but instead take up the call to renewing our mind against the old attitudes that conceal our Savior.

If anyone had the right to be angry, it was Jesus. The sinless, holy Son of God walked among the sins of the world, but didn’t leave ashes in his wake. He had conversations with people. He listened. He challenged. He loved.

The example of Jesus is the medicine that Andy Stanley says has been “prescribed” for us. We have been called to study the thoughts, words, and actions of Jesus and to allow his life to have full reign in ours. It is possible to hold strong convictions while also engaging in civil conversations. The world has no shortage of angry voices, so let our attitudes stand in contrast to the world, claiming the truth of James 1:20: “The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”

Commuter Bible Podcast

Heath Tibbetts is pastor of First Baptist Church of Machesney Park and elected president of IBSA.

“Are you sure the visitors will like the ‘Red Carpet’ welcome?”

with the lord

Hillsboro native James R. Hayes, 68, died Sept. 4. He was pastor of St. James Baptist Church since 2006. He had served first as a deacon beginning in 1994. Hayes’s wife, Cecilia, preceded him in death by four months. He is survived by their daughter.

Jane Frances Steed, 67, of Mt. Vernon, died Sept. 5. She was the widow of pastor Michael Steed. They were married 38 years before his death in 2012. She was a member of Logan Street Church where she sang in the choir and played handbells. Steed is survived by her daughter and son, and their families.

Gerald Ray Steffy, 90, was remembered in services Sept. 9 at Woodland Baptist Church in Peoria. Formerly Director of Missions for Metro Peoria Baptist Association (19931997), Steffy was saved in a tent revival at age 10 and baptized at Flat Rock Church. Called to ministry at 17, he served numerous churches with his wife, Betty Lou, who survives him. Steffy was preceded in death by a son and daughter.

neTworking

Send NetworkiNg items to IllinoisBaptist@IBSA.org

Charity Baptist Church in Carlinville seeks full-time pastor. Set in a rural community, Charity has a growing church family. Please send resumé to charitybcpastorsearch@ gmail.com or 21964 Charity Church Road, Carlinville, IL 62626.

New Life Baptist Church of Waverly seeks bivocational pastor Submit resumé to 341 East Elm, Waverly, IL 62692. Contact Gloria Henning at (217) 414-5849.

Plainville Baptist Church seeks bivocational pastor. Send inquiries to Allen Flynn, pulpit search chairman, at allen.1968@yahoo.com or (217) 242-9182.

Steeleville Baptist Church seeks full-time senior pastor. Send inquiries to 1315 West Shawneetown Trail, Steeleville IL 62288, or steelevillebaptistsearch@gmail.com. Learn more at steelevillebaptist.com.

Winstanley

marked

Rochester First Baptist Church celebrated its 50th anniversary Sept. 18. IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams (r) presented a plaque to Milton Bost (l), who is serving as transitional pastor. Also sharing memories were former pastors (starting second from left) Kevin Carrothers (2009-2017), Bob Fulkerson (1999-2008), Gary Davenport (1982-1986), and Delbert Penrod (1972-1973).

Baptist Church in Fairview Heights

its 115th anniversary on Sept. 11. The church was founded in 1907, the same year as IBSA. Gene Erlinger, who at 95 has attended since he was 2, received a plaque on behalf of the church from IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams. Timothy Gibson is pastor.

October 9

Youth Encounter

Where: Tabernacle Church in Decatur and Cornerstone Church in Marion

When: 3-9 p.m.

Cost: $35 each plus $11 T-shirt

Info: IBSA.org/youth-encounter/

October 21-22

Disaster Relief

Chaplain Training

Where: Lake Sallateeska Baptist Camp Info: IBSA.org/dr

October 29

Illinois Kids Ministry Conference

Where: IBSA Building, Springfield Info: TammyButler@IBSA.org

Nov. 1-2 • IBSA Pastors Conference

Nov. 2-3 • IBSA Annual Meeting

Where: Metro Community Church, Edwardsville Info: IBSAAnnualMeeting.org

November 4-5

AWSOM Conference for teen girls

Where: Tabernacle Church, Decatur Info: IBSA.org/awsom-conference/

November 7-9

IBSA 2022 Streator Experience (Men’s Winter Bible Study)

Where: Streator Baptist Camp

Cost: $100 per person (includes 2 nights lodging, 6 meals, snacks)

Contact: Ric Worshill at chaplain@shomreem.org or Don Evans at pastordon63@gmail.com

Info: Facebook.com/StreatorExperience

BRIGHTER DAY

My audience with the Queen

ould you like to meet her?” The guard at Westminster Abbey approached our group of bedraggled college students waiting for a glimpse of Queen Elizabeth.

I imagine our eloquent answer was something like “Um…OK!” before we ran down the sidewalk to grab a bouquet of yellow daffodils from a train station. (Yellow flowers are her favorite, he told us.)

We’d been waiting several hours for the Queen to come outside after a Commonwealth Day ceremony at Westminster Abbey. We hoped for a quick sighting as she walked to the motorcade waiting out front. Instead, we got to stand over on her side of the barricade, clutching droopy flowers and asking if we should curtsy. (To his credit, the guard didn’t roll his eyes and instead just said that wouldn’t be necessary.)

When she arrived, smiling the only smile I ever remember seeing on her face, she nodded graciously to us and left the talking to Prince Philip. He asked where we were from and patiently waited while we babbled something about “college” and “Mississippi” and “the States.” I don’t remember if we handed her the flowers, but I do remember our squeals as soon as her car door closed.

It was probably par for the course for the royal couple, meeting yet another group of star-struck commoners. For us, it was the story we told for the next two months of study

Tracker

Trends from nearby and around the world

Culture: Tearing it down

“Deconstruction” is a trend theologians and pundits are talking about. It’s the systematic dissection of a person’s faith, often resulting in rejection of long held beliefs. pastors have heard of it, but only 1-in-4 have seen it in their own churches.

Lifeway Research asked 1,000 Protestant pastors, “Are you familiar with faith deconstruction?”

21% 27%

somewhat familiar

11% 72%

of pastors in the Midwest say they are completely unaware of deconstruction.

in London, and for months afterward once we got back home. It’s a 20-year-old memory now, so the details are a little faded, but what I do recollect is that she looked us in the eye and didn’t rush into the car. She moved at a steady pace and lent a bit of her own dignity to the dripping crowd gathered to greet her. That steadiness is the subject of a recent addition to our family’s picture book library. Queen

Elizabeth II: The Queen Who Chose to Serve is the story of a young princess’s rise to the throne, and how she served not just her famous subjects, but also the hundreds of thousands she helped over a lifetime of charitable pursuits. There are also bits of quotes from the Queen herself about her faith, including the 2012 Christmas message in which she quoted Mark 10:45: “This is the time of year when we remember that God sent his only Son ‘to serve, not to be served.’”

Millions are mourning Queen Elizabeth because they’ll miss her steady service, her commitment to duty and country and people. I’m thankful to have this small story to share, but more for the reminder of small gifts: a pause, a meeting of eyes, and a gracious nod.

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

of Baptist pastors have not reported seeing the trend in their churches.

Social: 3 WAYS...

the world dismantles hope, joy, and faith

1. Too many choices. Fear of missing something better reduces the number of meaningful choices we make.

2. Commodification of loneliness. Increased screen time has cut deep friendships from three to two for most people.

3. Apocalyptic spectacle of politics as entertainment. Steady negative reporting makes us expect the worst.

Faith: Building it up

Pastor Terry Young challenged his Louisiana congregation to read the Bible through in a year, as he does every January. But this year, he had 50 new study Bibles on hand to give those who accepted the challenge. The next week, he had to order 50 more In all, 150 people started the journey.

“You can feel the difference it’s making in the church,” Young said. “The Scripture passages we’re reading are coming up naturally... in prayer times and in offline conversations.”

Some keys to success:

1. Provide tangible resources.

2. Give permission to “get through the story.”

3. Start with leaders prior to the commitment Sunday.

4. Develop a follow-up plan.

– Carey Nieuwhof’s blog