Messengers to consider
‘Common Core’ page 2
Nate Adams: Lessons from pirates page 4
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Springfield | Messengers to the Nov 56 IBSA Annual Meeting will be asked to suspend the rules of the IBSA Constitution to vote on changes to the constitution itself The request to suspend the usual two-year process is due to the immediate need for the Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services (BCHFS) to have its own bylaws in order to comply with current Illinois not-for-profit law
By Meredith Flynn
A t l a n t a , G a | In two out of three Southern Baptist congregations, fewer than 100 people gather for worship on Sunday morning Megachurches may get more attention, but small churches are the backbone of the SBC, Frank Page has said
Still, small church pastors often feel overlooked and marginalized, left out and under-resourced A new advisory council assembled by Page, president
of the SBC Executive Committee, exists to communicate the unique needs of these categories of churches with denominational leaders
“I will not allow the Southern Baptist Convention to forget who we are,” said Page during the first meeting of the Bivocational and Small Church Advisory Council. “Part of my goal in this is to elevate the role of the smallchurch pastor and the bivocational
This need was discovered during the review of a land ownership question involving BCHFS and IBSA In the process of reviewing that issue with legal counsel, the need for corresponding revisions to the Baptist Foundation of Illinois (BFI) bylaws and IBSA Constitution also were noted by the IBSA Constitution Committee, as were needed revisions to the articles of incorporation for all three entities
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Arnold, Mo. | His voice crackling with intensity, David Platt painted a picture of the current status of the gospel: With 7 billion people in the world, even the most liberal estimates leave 4 or 5 billion who do not know Christ And a couple billion of those have never even heard the gospel, added the recently elected president of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board
“If that’s true in the world then we don’t have time to play games in the church,” he told the crowd gathered at First Baptist Church in Arnold, south of St Louis
SUFFERING MAKES SENSE – “How will we ever show the world a proper, clear picture of Jesus if everything always goes right for us?” said IMB President David Platt in St Louis
Worshipers of all ages stood and sang before Platt came to the podium
By Marty King
N a s h v i l l e , T e n n | Compensation for full-time Southern Baptist pastors has not kept pace with inflation over the past two years, while salaries for other full-time ministers and office staff increased at a rate higher than national inflation
“We don’t have time to waste our lives on a nice, casual, comfortable, cultural version of Christianity Because, number one, that’s not Christianity Number two, God’s created us for something so much greater than that ”
Hundreds of people gathered Oct 6 for the St Louis-area stop of the Send North America Experience Tour The two-hour service, facilitated by the North American Mission Board, was part of a multi-city effort leading up to the national Send North America Conference in August 2015
He started his message with the bleak reality of billions of people who don’t know Christ Then, he preached better news from the Book of Acts Reading from the end of chapter 7 through the beginning of 8, he told the audience that it’s “ordinary people” through whom the gospel is spread
In a part of northern India known as a spiritual graveyard, Platt said, a chicken farmer and a school superintendent attended a disciple-making training session where they were assigned to go out into the villages and
These findings are part of the 2014 Southern Baptist Convention Compensation Study, an in-depth survey of 12,907 staff members in Southern Baptist churches Baptist state conventions along with LifeWay Research and GuideStone Financial Resources conduct this survey every two years All the data acquired by the study has been compiled into an online tool at www LifeWay com/ CompensationSurvey
Adjusting for church size, the average full-time Southern Baptist senior pastor ’s compensation (salary and housing) rose 1% between 2012 and 2014 That rate of change was significantly lower than the 3 9% inflation rate for the same two-year period, according to figures supplied by the U S Department of Labor ’s Consumer Price Index
According to Scott McConnell, director of LifeWay Research, “While
Platt says Gospel goes forward through ‘ordinary people’The sports page page 6
The Supreme Court’s decision Oct 6 to let stand lower-court rulings on same-sex marriage “means an immediate expansion of gay marriage,” said Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) A subsequent appeals court ruling, combined with the high court’s action, could mean 35 states will soon have legal same-sex marriage, Baptist Press reported The effort to “redefine marriage is perhaps the fastest, most effective social change in our nation’s history,” said the ERLC’s Andrew Walker
“The furthered erosion or deinstitutionalization of marriage that comes by redefining it will re-wire or recircuit how we understand family arrangements ”
S p r i n g f i e l d | IBSA messengers will be asked to approve several resolutions at the IBSA Annual Meeting Nov 5-6, including one which addresses Common Core education standards that have been adopted by Illinois and 44 other states
The new standards are being hailed by groups such as Common Core Illinois, whose website describes them as “more relevant to real life than previous Illinois learning standards in several important ways ” The Common Core State Standards that are currently being intro-
Continued from page 1
duced are in Math and English Language Arts Additional subjects, such as U S History, are in development
But not everyone is happy with Common Core
Some believe the standards, which include setting up a longitudinal database with student demographics and performance data, are an intrusion of privacy
Others object to the federal government’s involvement in what is supposed to be a state issue Still more are unhappy with the special interest groups having created the standards without parental involvement.
The resolution written by the
IBSA Resolutions and Christian Life Committee expresses concerns about parents being left out of the education process, giving the federal government control of education which the Illinois Constitution says belongs to the state, and the negative effects it might have on education
Other resolutions to be presented at the Annual Meeting include such topics as transgender identity, the inclusion of younger leaders in denominational life, holiness and purity, the Palestinian Church, and encouraging prayer for government officials
ew telephone care line opened Oct 1 for ors dealing with crises in their personal , families, or churches
1-844-PASTOR1
-sponsored by the North American MisBoard (NAMB) and Focus on the Fam“Because [pastors] have always been e for others, it’s our privilege to be there em,” said Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family, in a NAMB article about the care line Workers from the ministry’s Family Help Center answer the confidential calls, pray with pastors, and refer the call to a counseling team as needed The care line, open weekdays between 8 a m and 10 p m Eastern time, offers help in English and Spanish
A Bible app developed by a media-savvy Oklahoma church is now available in 1,030 versions and 721 languages And counting A ticker on YouVersion com tracks key metrics like versions, languages and installs currently at more than 156 million The app, developed by Lifechurch tv’s Bobby Gruenewald, reached the 1,000-version mark earlier this month, but there are still more than 1,800 languages that do not have a Bible translation in progress, according to YouVersion
“ The reality on the ground in West Africa is worse than the worst report you’ve seen,” Dr Kent Brantley told an audience at Abilene Christian University this month Brantley, the missionary doctor who contracted Ebola and was successfully treated in the U S , expressed sympathy for the family of now-deceased Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan, The Christian Post reported He also urged listeners to avoid panic “Let’s stop talking about that highly improbable thing and focus on saving people’s lives and stopping the outbreak where it is ”
13% of praying Americans have prayed their favorite team will win a game, according to LifeWay Research (And, as the old joke goes, the other 87% ar lying ) Americans’ prayers are largely personal, according to the recently released data measuring how often people pray and what for “Family and friends” tops the list of things typically prayed for (82%), followed by “my own problems and difficulties” (74%) and “good things that have recently occurred” (54%)
Bob Dyer, IBSA parliamentarian for the 2014 meeting, has stated that parliamentary procedure does allow for such a suspension of rules if a two-thirds majority of messengers approve doing so Amendments normally are brought to messengers to be voted on at two consecutive years’ annual meetings
According to a document titled, “Overview of IBSA Corporate Structure and Status with Recommendations” written by legal counsel Matt Flanigan, who is also a member of the BCHFS Board, the Illinois General Not For Profit Corporation Act requires that each corporation be maintained as a separate entity. “All nonprofit corporations must be controlled by members (that elect a Board of Directors), or by a self-perpetuating Board of Directors (if the corporation has no members) Each nonprofit corporation must have its own bylaws ”
BCHFS has not to this point had its own bylaws, but has referred to the IBSA Constitution as its functional bylaws However, the BCHFS trustees were scheduled to approve a set of bylaws at their Oct 18 meeting, which now needs approval and adoption by the messengers at the IBSA Annual Meeting Flanigan’s overview document continues, “The Baptist Corporations should each have members, with the sole members of IBSA being the cooperating Baptist churches, and with IBSA being the sole member of both BCHFS and BFI In other words, IBSA should be the parent corporation that controls the subsidiary corporations of BCHFS and BFI ”
IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams explained, “IBSA messengers in annual session operate under the IBSA Constitution, and elect Directors to the IBSA Board, and Trustees to the BCHFS and BFI Boards
These boards supervise their respective executive directors, like myself, and oversee the general operation of each entity While the IBSA Constitution governs the IBSA Board, we now understand that separate bylaws are required for the BCHFS and BFI as distinct non-profit entities While the BFI has had separate bylaws for several years, the BCHFS has not And as it turns out, the IBSA Constitution and BFI bylaws also need revision to more accurately reflect the way IBSA’s overall governance works ”
“In addition,” Adams continued, “each entity has its own articles of incorporation, which state whether the entity has any ‘members’ that direct its board. IBSA should be listed as the ‘sole member ’ of both BCHFS and BFI, indicating that the IBSA in annual session can direct their trustee boards But we have discovered that the current articles of incorporation do not list the existence of any members, and that needs to be corrected ”
In plain English, Adams said what the proposed changes to the IBSA Constitution will do is, “Clean up our documents legally to say what has always been IBSA’s intent and practice ”
“These changes do not alter the operations any of the three entities, nor do they alter anything about the entities’ relationship and accountability to the churches,” Adams noted. “They simply revise the legal documents to be in compliance with the law and to be more consistent with the way the association and its entities have already been operating ”
The proposed changes come as a unanimous recommendation from the IBSA Constitution Committee, whose chair is Rod Stalsberg of First Southern Baptist Church, Colona Along with Adams, Doug Devore (BCHFS Executive Director), Doug Morrow (BFI Executive Director), Odis Weaver (IBSA President), and Kevin Carrothers (IBSA Vice President), have all met with the Constitution Committee and been involved in the process Each will be available to answer questions pertaining to the issue at the Annual Meeting
There are six documents relating to changes that are posted online for review: 1) IBSA Constitution, 2) revised bylaws for BFI, 3) new bylaws for BCHFS, and 4, 5, 6) revised articles of incorporation for all three entities They can be viewed after Oct 20 at w w w. I B S A . o r g / I B S A 2 0 1 4 These documents also will be printed in the Book of Reports distributed at the Annual Meeting
The IBSA Constitution Committee will present the motion for changes to the documents during the Wednesday afternoon session, and the vote is scheduled to take place during the Thursday morning session, allowing messengers who have not reviewed the proposed documents online or in advance an opportunity to do so overnight Messengers are of course urged to review the documents in advance. Advance copies of the documents may also be emailed or mailed upon request; contact Sandy Barnard at (217) 391-3107 or SandyBarnard@ IBSA org
Springfield | The annual conference and luncheon for IBSA ministers’ wives will begin at 9 a m on Nov 5 at the IBSA Building Focusing on the theme “Our God is Sovereign,” women will hear from Sue Jones, a minister ’s wife from Tabernacle Baptist, Decatur Cost is $13 per person; and checks should be mailed by Nov 1 to Lyndsay McDonald, 400 East Washington Ave , Casey, IL 62420 Childcare is available; to pre-register, contact Kendra Jackson at (217) 391-3111 or KendraJackson@IBSA org
Vienna, Austria | “I must admit, when organizers told me they were expecting 5,000 to 10,000 people to gather together in Vienna’s main square to proclaim the name of Jesus, I was skeptical,” reported Baptist Press photojournalist Marc Ira Hooks
“And when I was told a march around the central part of the city would conclude with a festival that included Christian music and preaching, I was even more doubtful about the impact this event would have
“How wrong I was ”
The march, organized by evangelical church leaders in Vienna, drew a crowd of 12,000 that reportedly spread out over a kilometer in the middle of the city Many people made professions of faith at the march, according to Christian workers
Hooks wrote he was most impressed by Austrian pastors who urged their congregations to look beyond the march:
“But what will we do today?” asked one pastor from the pulpit on the Sunday morning following the event “What will we do tomorrow? How will we continue to reach our city for Jesus?” –
Excerpted from Baptist Press
munities and cities and to the ends of the earth, we can expect to be met with the full force of hell ”
Continued from page 1
ask how they could pray for the people there The two men didn’t expect success, Platt said, but they went anyway Near the end of their time in the village, they met a man who said he had heard about Jesus, and wanted to know more The man went to get his family so that they could hear the good news too Around 20 people in the village came to Christ A few years later, there are 350 churches in villages in that part of India
“Let’s put aside an unhealthy dependence on places and programs and realize that the gospel in ordinary people has power,” Platt said But it’s not their own power The extraordinary power of the Holy Spirit was at work in Acts and is still at work in Christians today, and through that power, believers proclaim the gospel, Platt said
Many believers say they witness through their lives, by being kind “Hopefully, that’s a given,” he said, as the audience laughed “Nobody gets on a witness stand and smiles They speak They testify And this is why the Spirit is in us, that we might speak the gospel ”
Through the power of the Holy Spirit, early disciples also prayed and fasted, he continued. And they suffered
“How will we ever show the world a proper, clear picture of Jesus if everything always goes right for us?”
Platt asked Suffering makes sense in the life of a believer
“If our lives are on the front lines making the gospel known in our com-
Alan and Jean Lasley sat three rows from the front of the auditorium with their pastor and his wife and another couple from First Baptist Church in Red Bud Platt’s simple delivery was the thing he would take away from the evening, Alan said
“Just be more intent on telling others about Jesus,” Jean said of what she had heard A simple message for sure, and clear As Platt concluded his message, he appealed to every ordinary disciple in the room
“In a world and a time and a place where God has put us, in a city where God has put you, let’s say we consider our lives worth nothing to us if only we may finish this race and complete this task the Lord Jesus has given us
“Ordinary people in this room, every single follower of Christ with extraordinary power wherever God leads you, whether he leaves you here the rest of your life, or sends you to people who’ve never heard the gospel Testify Preach Pray Give Even suffer, for the spread of this gospel, to the ends of the earth ”
Pray through the news
– Declare your faith in the gospel, and pray we will not be ashamed of this good news as our culture becomes more hostile to Christianity
– Ask the Lord for daily opportunities to speak about Jesus
was sitting relaxed in our local movie theater, enjoying a bag of popcorn Our kids were settled in next to their mom and me, excited to see “Jonah,” the first feature-length, animated movie by VeggieTales
Of course Jonah (played by Archibald Asparagus in this case) is the story of the reluctant prophet who did not want to deliver the message of God’s impending judgment and the need for repentance to the people of Nineveh To set up the telling of the Old Testament story, a conversation takes place between “Junior” (Asparagus) and some amusing characters known as “the Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything,” about the importance of compassion
“Compassion is when you see that someone needs help, and you want to help them,” the pirate captain tells Junior He then goes on to tell about the time they took Jonah on a voyage
In the middle of this delightful cartoon movie, however, there was a serious “aha” moment for me The pirates begin by talking with Junior about the compassion that Jonah lacked, and then they move on to talking about mer God wanted to give to the peopl eveh “Mercy is when you give a second chance, even when th deserve it,” the pirate explains
A little confused, Junior asks the story is about compassion about mercy The pirate’s profound answer still penetrates my heart: “You can’t have mercy without compassion ”
I realized in that animated moment that the reason I don’t show mercy more often is that I don’t really have compassion The reason I don’t share Christ more often is that I don’t really care about the lost people I see And the reason I don’t really experience revival in my own heart is that I do ’ really want to admit my own sin
In other words, there is a deep place in me where truly transformational things take place Not only do I rarely allow the Holy Spirit to go there, I rarely go there myself, or even admit that it exists It’s the place where my self still rules my life It’s the place where, deep down, regardless of my words or reputation, I know what I want Maybe I do the right thing out of duty sometimes, even most of the time But I do it without the right motive, without it being from the heart of Jesus in me
That’s the place I need to go for rel It’s the place where I can expose deepest part of me to the deepest ch of God’s transforming power It’s
aha” moment for me: You can’t have mercy without compassion
With Pastor Appreciation Month upon us, you may be wondering how to appreciate your pastor What does he need? Or want?
Not a Bible He has many Bibles on his shelves, and hundreds more on his phone
Not a painting of Jesus, and certainly not on black velvet
Maybe a suit, if only for funerals, but let him pick his own
Giving by IBSA churches as of 10/10/14:
$4,713,883
Budget Goal: $5,076,923
Received to date in 2013: $4,955,830
ILLINOIS
For questions about subscript ons, articles, or upcoming events, contact the Illinois Baptist at (217) 391-3110 or IllinoisBaptist@IBSA org
The Ill no s Baptist is seeking news from IBSA churches E-mai us at IllinoisBaptist@IBSA org to tell us about anniversar es special events and new min stry staff
POSTMASTER: The Illinois Baptist is owned and publ shed biweekly, Jan , March, May, July-Sept , Nov ; month y
Not a trip As a church member, I once gave a pastor and his family a gift certificate for a getaway weekend The smile on his face said, “I’d rather have cash ”
As a pastor, the remembrances that blessed me most (in addition to the occasional love offering) were handwritten cards and letters Once while I was on vacation, a deacon had the congregation fill a three-ring binder with thank-you notes And another time, as the children’s classes presented me with a three-foot tall card they had drawn, a young woman in the choir loft exclaimed, “He’s gonna cry!” I did
Ted Traylor of Olive Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida, told a story that still chokes me up Many years ago during a stormy season in his ministry, Traylor arrived home one night to find three deacons sitting on the curb “Oh, no,” he thought “Here it comes ”
“Pastor, remember when you preached on the mighty men of David?” one of them said, “How when David longed for water from home, they
where, perhaps reluctantly, even fearfully, I can admit my own motives and desires, and with trembling hands give them up to God for His Lordship and control, whatever the cost
I have often heard it said that, for each of us, rei l must begin in “me,” that I should draw a e around myself and ask God to bring real there before I can expect Him to bring nywhere else I guess that silly, profound vie just helped me see where the bull’s of that circle must be.
In just a few days, hundreds of us m churches all over the state will gather Springfield for the 2014 IBSA Annual eeting Whether you are able to attend or not, would you join me, both in your prayers for revival among our churches, and also in drawing that circle around “me” that asks God to begin revival there?
Near the close of the VeggieTales movie, Junior notes that Jonah still seems lack compassion, and asks the pirates what Jonah really learned The pirate replies, “The question is not what did Jonah learn, but what did you learn?” May we each learn to expose to God that deep place in our hearts where revival can truly begin
Nate Adams is executive director of the Illinois Baptist State Association Respond to his column at IllinoisBaptist@IBSA org
snuck across the battle lines and brought it to him?”
Traylor nodded
“Well, we went to your hometown today and we talked with your parents ” It was a twelve-hour round trip
The pastor was astonished to learn they had brought him a sapling native to North Alabama to remind him of home, even as he served hundreds of miles away They fetched a jar of water from the clear mountain springs to remind him of the living water of Christ And they delivered two large stones from the hillside ledge where as a teenager Traylor was called by God to the ministry The men instructed him to place the rocks in his own garden and whenever he felt unsure of himself or his calling, to stand on them as a reminder that he stands on the Rock
And the three mighty men pledged their personal support of their pastor and his ministry, whenever and wherever he needed them, “unless you do something illegal, immoral, or unethical then we’ll take you out ourselves,” he remembered, smiling
That’s what pastors want
Note: The following letter, edited for space, is in response to “Is ‘missional Calvinist’ an oxymoron?” in the Sept 29 Illinois Baptist
My family left Illinois in 2009 to attend seminary and are now in serving the IMB in the Amazon Basin I left a good job and proximity to family and friends These were not decisions taken lightly The Lord called our family to share Jesus Christ with the many UPGs in the Amazon Basin The cost has been high in the eyes of the world, yet Acts 20:24 has remained an important verse during our transition to the mission field It has been worth it I say all this in response to your apparent fear that evangelistic zeal might be in jeopardy With all my heart I want every group in Brazil to hear the message of the gospel and respond affirming their need for Christ However, one day I will return to the United States On that day, I don't want the then current missionaries redoing what I’m investing my life into right now I want those brothers of the villages where we’re working to be active in their faith reaching into the furthest corners of the Amazon to reach every tribe for Christ If that means that baptism numbers don't look as good, so be it
David Platt is a man who has the anointing hand of God upon his life His passion for reaching the lost is incredible While his theology may be different than the status quo, I believe his selection is providential for driving Southern Baptist missions endeavors
Respectfully submitted,
Josh Flowers IMB Missionary, BrazilThe longer we live, the more we realize that actions or decisions have c o n s e q u e n c e s s o m etimes unintended consequences
Scripture instructs the wise person to “count the cost ” This exhortation aptly applies to conversations concerning the continuing value of the Cooperative Program within the Southern Baptist Convention
In recent years, some within our convention have suggested new funding modalities for our mission work I understand why they do so Support for our current methods of cooperative giving and special mission offerings has failed to raise the kind of dollars needed to propel an aggressive global vision while simultaneously maintaining a strong home base of ministry
The question is: Do we give up on a cooperative model which has brought us to this point? The question is being discussed at many levels and among generational and theological groups Let’s look, then, at some issues that may well have unintended consequences
First of all, no one alive today has lived through the anarchy that existed prior to CP. Churches were literally bombarded with funding requests from entities, agencies and individuals so much that they cried out for relief I doubt seriously that churches in the 21st century will tolerate this kind of “freefor-all” for very long
Another consequence of direct giving or “societal methodology” flies under
many people’s radar According to a 2011 study by the Pew Research Center, the overall wealth of Anglo households is approximately 20 times that of African American households and 18 times that of Latino or Hispanic households How does this connect?
When individuals are required to raise their own support they do so by going to friends, family and fellow church members When people in that sphere of influence have fewer resources, mission volunteers have to work that much harder to raise their support The unintended consequence of such a modality is a diminishing of ethnic representation in our mission force over time, a consequence no one would desire
Yet another unintended consequence of a direct-giving model is its impact on the small church When a mission volunteer comes from a small church, it becomes increasingly difficult for that person to raise funds within that setting
A small church would have to make hard decisions about supporting its volunteers Where would that money come from? In my opinion, from the church’s CP giving, to which it has been committed perhaps for many years
I pray that we will all think carefully about these new methods and their long-term impact. They may raise more missions support in the short term, but could have long-term consequences that would negatively impact our convention’s missions and ministries throughout North America and the world
Frank Page is president of the SBC Executive Committee This column was excerpted from Baptist Press
The trend is clear Just over 50% of the world population lives in urban centers That’s up from 9% in 1900 and headed for 60% by 2030 Do we understand that the remaining population is urbanized, though they live outside urban centers? That is, the effect of urban centers on the rest of the world is immediate, direct, profound, pervasive, dramatic and inescapable
An urbanized world is compressed, fast-paced, dominating, pluralistic
It is multi-cultural and mobile. It is sexualized It’s commercialized and politicized It is materialistic, demonized It is promising, punishing Stimulating, stressful Exhilarating, exhausting
We all live in this urbanized world
Do we understand the challenge of living out our faith here?
Paul, the consummate urbanite, a sophisticated cosmopolitan, moves from urban center to urban center with ease, knowledge, sensitivity and influence Nowhere is his spiritual wisdom more on display and more directly to the benefit of the believer
than in Ephesians The well-known outline of the book wealth, walk and warfare, guides us
Through this circular letter, Paul builds up these urban believers emphasizing what they have received God has blessed us, chosen us, predestined us, freely bestowed on us, lavished on us, and made known to us We have nothing less than the riches of God’s glory to draw upon in our daily lives He stresses our being in Him (Eph 1:10, 13) He emphasizes the power of God (1:19) and then brings it home to each believer saying that is the power that works in us (3:20)
How are you going to cope with the forces of humanism, pluralism, and demonized materialism? It certainly will not be from our own knowledge or strength It will be in the wealth of our relationship to God through Jesus
Paul introduces the ministry of the Holy Spirit (1:13, 3:16-20, 5:18) The typical believer will not be just knocked to his knees but knocked flat on his back without supernatural power
The apostle warns us to walk in our new nature, deliberately laying aside the old self and putting on the new
“Ted’s one of those pastors who’s willing to acknowledge mistakes ”
One month before the Supreme Court began its new term, Pew asked Americans about the court and religion
Friendly toward religion
22% 7%
21%
Unfriendly
Don’t know
Neutral 50%
Pew Research Center, Sept 2014
self He warns us against sins that can take hold, corrupt, confuse and disarm, destroying our fruitfulness Charging us to walk in love, to walk carefully In an urbanized culture that assaults healthy relationships, he exhorts us to value, honor, and protect our families
Near the end of the letter, Paul gives us the primary New Testament passage on spiritual warfare. I think he is the leading human authority on this subject
In the first century, Christianity was unsupported by cultural structures, institutional friendliness, or governmental favor New Testament Christianity stands on its own two feet, victorious in the face of opposition Could it be that one of the reasons we see so many Christians falling apart, so many pastors going astray, so many families disintegrating is that they have been illequipped for the spiritual warfare an urbanized world presents?
We are at war The enemy is out to kill us We have the victory However, the victory is in a well-fought battle If there is no battle, you don’t need any armor You don’t need a shield to extinguish the flaming arrows if there are no flaming arrows This is not the religion of “come to church once a week and I’ll give you
a little sermonette on how to manage your nice, little, white life ” This is a blood and guts, battle to the death, spiritual conflict
I love Paul’s approach He focuses on God, not Satan Strength, not weakness; the spiritual, not the physical; the internal, not the external Having very carefully laid the groundwork in the opening of his letter, explaining our wealth and strength, he tells us we will be able to resist in the evil day, having done everything to stand firm
Let’s face it This urbanized world living is eating the lunch of many believers A quick survey of Paul’s urban experiences gives an overview of what we can expect today Godbelievers who will turn on us, heathen who will attack us, demons that will oppose us Yet, everywhere Paul went living a gospel life, proclaiming a gospel message, people were saved, churches were planted, God was glorified, the name of Jesus magnified, and the number of disciples was multiplied
That’s what being a believer in an urbanized world looks like How are we doing?
Charles Lyons has pastored Armitage Baptist Church in Chicago since 1974 This column is reprinted with permission
Illinois Baptist pastor Timothy Najpaver, 57, died September 30 Najpaver pastored Liberty Baptist Church in Pekin for 17 years, and previously had led churches in Kentucky He was a past trustee of the Baptist Foundation of Illinois, and served on IBSA’s Resolutions and Christian Life Committee He also served in several leadership roles within the Metro Peoria Baptist Association He is survived by his wife, Dawn; daughters Carissa and April; son-in-law Justin Virtue; and five siblings.
Condolences to Jake and Leetta Ervin of Dongola on the loss of their 11-year-old son Nicholas on Sept 28 A trumpet player in the school band, Nicholas was brother to Jasmine and a part of Weaver Creek Baptist Church in Metropolis, where his dad is pastor
First Baptist Church, Petersburg, celebrated its 160th anniversary September 21 with a Harvest Homecoming Celebration of praise and worship Rob Gallion has pastored FBC Petersburg since 2011
Clarksville Baptist Church in Marshall, Ill , seeks a pastor to begin in July 2015, upon the retirement of current pastor Jeff Loper Send resumes to Jack L Sims, 20810 N Heritage Ln , Marshall, IL 62441
Park Avenue Church in East Peoria is seeking padded, stackable chairs, 20-30 if possible Contact Diana Morris at morris diana@hotmail com
Send news for People & Churches to MeredithFlynn@IBSA org
Beardstown | Pastor Brian Kenney learned the value of taking care of other people by watching his dad The paper mill supervisor umpired local softball games every Sunday afternoon, taking his son along with him He never accepted payment for calling the games, Kenney said, but instead asked for the game ball and any others the teams had used for practice He then donated those to church leagues in need of the equipment
“He was the first to know there was a need in our community,” Kenney said of his father “He wouldn’t tell somebody about it; he would take care of it.”
Kenney is following in his father ’s footsteps as a Little League umpire in Beardstown, where he has pastored First Southern Baptist Church since 2010 Over the summer, he attended a six-day Little League umpire school in Indianapolis Kenney and his classmates started every day at 7 a m with a Basic 6 Drill on calling balls and strikes, safe and out, and fair and foul balls
“And then we got breakfast,” he said, laughing Along with umpiring, Kenney also serves as a chaplain for District 17 Little League and for the Beardstown Police Department, as well as being an on-call chaplain for Memorial Medical Center.
“When you’re out in the community,” he said, “they know you’re part of it, and that you want to be part of them ”
The IBSA Credentials Committee will recommend these churches for affiliation with IBSA at the 2014 Annual Meeting in Springfield:
• Embassy Church, Arlington Heights
• Faith Baptist Church, Breese
• Harbor Church, Marion
• Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church of Illinois #2, Chicago
• The Resurrection, Granite City
• Redeeming Grace Chapel, Kankakee
• United Faith Missionary Baptist Church, Maywood
Zone: 2 (Fox Valley and Lake County Associations)
Other roles: Oliver serves as Missions Pastor at Lighthouse Fellowship Church in Huntley Since retiring from full-time ministry in 2005, he’s participated in 29 mission trips
Birthplace: Hattiesburg, Miss
Family: Oliver and his wife, DeWanna, have three grown children and nine grandchildren
Years in Illinois: In June, the Olivers celebrated 40 years in Illinois, all in the Fox Valley area
Places you’ve lived here: St Charles, Algonquin
What makes your zone unique: Zone 2 has good people, good churches, and “great potential for growth,” Oliver said The diverse region is home to significant populations of several ethnic groups, including Hispanic, Korean and Filipino peoples
A favorite restaurant in your zone:
The Texan BBQ, Algonquin
IBSA zone consultants work with directors of missions and churches across Illinois For more info, go to www.IBSA.org/zone.
Trinity International University is pleased to announce the inauguration of D S
as Trinity International University’s 15th president.
“Heritage & Hope,” our inaugural theme, rea rms Trinity's wonderful heritage while looking forward with hope toward a blessed and God-honoring future.
Inauguration Ceremony
Thursday, October 23 tiu.edu/inauguration for more information
Trinity International University
Undergraduate Programs Adult Undergraduate Programs
Percentages of SBC churches paying some or all of the full-time senior pastor ’s medical insurance
Continued
inflation has remained moderate by historical standards, average salaries for full-time pastors have not kept pace This is a reversal of the pattern of churches through the recession and post-recession years.”
Overall, the value of the entire pay package (salary, housing and other benefits such as insurance) for the average full-time senior pastor rose by 1 8%
For other full-time staff ministers, however, basic salary and housing compensation increased 6 6% between 2012 and 2014, while total pay package including compensation and benefits rose 8 9% Salary compensation for full-time office personnel increased 10%, and their total pay package jumped 11%
When it came to determining pastors’ compensation rates, education level, tenure at their current church, and higher resident membership and weekly attendance resulted in more compensation
Each additional education degree of any kind adds to a pastor ’s compensation. Seminary graduates receive, on
average, $1,981 more in total compensation than non-seminary graduates and receive more vacation days
“We have seen firsthand that many churches have yet to see their pre-recession giving levels return,” said GuideStone President O.S. Hawkins.
“Even so, it is imperative for churches to keep in mind the real financial needs of pastors and other staff members
“No God-called pastor I know is looking to become wealthy off the ministry he has received from the Lord, but our churches should remember the Biblical admonition that ‘those who preach the Gospel should live from the Gospel’ (1 Cor 9:14) and endeavor to ensure our pastors and their families are able to pay their expenses, have adequate insurance coverage and are able to save for the future, including vocational retirement ”
The survey also revealed fewer fulltime senior pastors receive medical insurance from their churches today than
in 2012 Sixty percent of churches partially or fully pay medical insurance for their full-time senior pastors, compared to 64% in 2012
Eleven percent of Southern Baptist churches provide at least partial medical insurance funding for the full-time pastor alone, while 17% fund coverage for the pastor and his wife, and 32% supply coverage for the pastor and his family all slightly down from 2012
For full-time senior pastors, churches fully or partially pay for life and/or accident insurance (34%); disability (28%); dental (27%); and vision (12%)
“Many Southern Baptist pastors are facing the new medical insurance mandate without their church’s help,” McConnell said “These pastors have no choice over where this portion of their compensation goes and this leaves them with less to live on each month ”
More than half of churches (53%) with weekly attendance above 250 people provide insurance for the pastor and his family Nearly half (49%) of churches that average 50-99 people in weekly attendance do not provide any medical coverage
“With the advent of health care reform legislation, it’s a new world for many churches,” Hawkins said “GuideStone is privileged to come alongside tens of thousands of churches and serve as their trusted advocate, whether through the products we offer, or as a voice for our participants ”
The survey also obtained compensation data for bivocational pastors and part-time custodial and office personnel This data is standardized by the median number of hours worked to allow churches to more easily compare their part-time employees with these averages.
GuideStone makes available many resources for churches seeking to establish, restructure or evaluate pay and benefit packages for their ministers and other staff The free resources can be found at www GuideStone org/ CompensationPlanning Methodology: Southern Baptist state conventions invited each church’s staff to respond to the survey; 12,907 completed surveys were analyzed For the purpose of this article, senior pastor responses were weighted to account for lower response rate among smaller churches and to match the distribution of the size of Southern Baptist churches
When using the online tool, national totals may be somewhat higher than these weighted totals Viewing the results by church size categories within the online tool minimizes this impact When running customized reports online, error can be minimized by selecting criteria that allow for larger numbers of participants
Reprinted from Baptist Press (www baptistpress com), news service of the Southern Baptist Convention
Continued from page 1
pastor, period And that’s going to happen ”
Illinois pastor Cliff Woodman is part of the 21-member council, which will work over the next three years to develop a report on the statistics that define Southern Baptist churches The group, one of several Page has brought together in his first four years as Executive Committee president, represents a large majority of Southern Baptist churches
“Some would say 35,000 of our 46,000 churches, maybe more than that, are in the two categories of small church or bivocational,” Page said at the Sept 11-12 meeting in Atlanta For the council’s purposes, he defined a small church as one with 125 people or fewer in Sunday school attendance
The group also looked at research on the percentages of SBC churches by worship attendance. According to 2013 data, 68% of Southern Baptist churches have 100 or fewer people in worship, compared to 78% of IBSA churches and missions
Woodman, now pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Carlinville, spent more than 25 years as a bivocational pastor at Harmony Baptist Church in Medora He told the Illinois Baptist small church and bivocational pastors (most who also work a second job) often feel out-of-the-loop Sunday school curriculum may feel tailored to larger churches with more people and more classroom space, for example, and large church pastors often are the ones invited to speak at meetings or conferences
But non-megachurches can be effec-
tive churches Woodman, whose Carlinville church reported an average worship attendance of 145 in their 2013 Annual Church Profile, is leading Emmanuel to look closely at what makes a congregation healthy He referenced LifeWay President Thom Rainer ’s 2013 book “I Am A Church Member,” which outlines members’ responsibilities to their congregation
“If a church member ’s not supposed to look at ‘what’s in it for me,’ then maybe churches ought to stop looking at ‘what’s in it for me,’” Woodman said The better question is, “What can I do for the bigger body?”
INTERCEDING – A church’s prayer requests are a good indicator of how they view God, said Cliff Woodman, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist in Carlinville The church has developed a strategy to pray for fellow congregations in their local association
Major shift toward bivocational
Page has used a “fault lines” analogy to describes areas of SBC life where there are rifts between different groups One of those fault lines, he said in the Atlanta meeting, is related to church methodology, or how churches do church The discussion centered on bivocational ministry, a strategy Page called “the wave of the future ” It’s also the wave of the past Southern Baptist churches have long relied on bivocational pastors to lead churches Decades ago, many pastors were farmers; today, they also drive school buses, deliver the mail, and run small businesses
“I’m convinced that in the 21st Century, the best stewardship model is
bivocational,” Page said “We’ve got a lot of students coming out of seminary now who have no intention of being full support ” In other words, they’re prepared to work more than one job to make ends meet
That news was encouraging to Woodman There was a day, he said, when “the underlying current was that the bivocational guy wasn’t good enough to have a full-time church ” Page shared with the group that some Christian universities are now training students to be pastors along with learning another vocation.
While there will always be churches that want their pastor to be full-time, Woodman said, bivocational ministry is imperative if Southern Baptists want to extend the reach of churches into more communities “And we’re going to have to do a better job at it,” he said, and at preparing future leaders for it Because bivocational pastoring is “a different game.”
Small church pastor Job Dalomba posed a pointed question in an April blog post: “We have to ask ourselves an honest question: Do we want to see the glory of God shining from larger churches or do we just want their numbers, resources and notoriety to be our numbers, resources and notoriety?”
The SBC Voices post by Dalomba, pastor of a new, small church in Southaven, Mississippi, called for small church pastors to stop comparing themselves to men who lead larger congregations, and to pray for those big churches too
– National numbers are based on 2013 data and prepared by the Caskey Center for Church Excellence, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary Illinois data is compiled from churches that completed an Annual Church Profile report and reported at least one worship attender Percentages do not total 100 due to rounding
It’s a strategy the congregation at Emmanuel has utilized this year. A church’s prayer requests are a good measure of its health, Pastor Woodman said “Throw them up on the wall, and see what your prayer requests do And when you get done, you begin to think about what does that tell you your view of God is
“And in essence, you’ll find in most churches that he’s healer, a physician;
The divide between big and small Southern Baptist churches got attention on denominational blogs this year, primarily because of a proposed change to the SBC Constitution that some feared would make it more difficult for small churches to be well-represented at the SBC Annual Meeting
The amendment passed easily in Baltimore, but provided fodder for both serious and tongue-in-cheek posts, including “You might be a small church pastor if ” on SBC Voices Some highlights from the list by blogger Unappreciated Pastor:
“At least three times a week someone says to you, ‘I noticed your car was at your house ’”
“You have more deacons than widows ”
“You have more deacons than windows ”
“When the phone rings, you’re just praying you don’t hear the words, ‘Preacher I need to get in the church ’”
“You have a church van YOU have a church van ” – SBCVoices com, April 2014
he’s an employment agency; he’s Triple A But what’s lacking is that he’s a savior.”
Woodman’s congregation was already praying by name for people who don’t know Christ when he arrived as pastor last year To that focus, they’ve added regular prayer for sister churches in Macoupin Baptist Association The prayers are scripted, with a focus on reaching people who don’t know Christ Woodman is hopeful the strategy will help build a spirit of teamwork between his church and others in the community, he told SBC Life earlier this year
“When we started praying for our sister churches, that helped us be healthier If we as pastors and churches would take the same attitude, then we’d stop looking at what others were doing for us, and we’d start doing for others ”
With reporting from Baptist Press and SBC Life
– Give thanks for each IBSA congregation, praying specifically for smaller churches and those led by bivocational pastors Pray for their leadership and members to be open to fresh approaches of loving their community for and with and to Christ
You might be a small church pastor if...
January 1 - September 30
Tensae, Glen Ellyn
This report includes contributions received by the Illinois Baptist State Association through the third quarter of 2014 For questions about this report, contact IBSA Associate Executive Director of the Church Cooperation Team Melissa Phillips at (217) 391-3104, e-mail MelissaPhillips @IBSA org or write to her at P O Box 19247, Springfield, IL 62794-9247
ASSOCIATIONS Total Per Churches CP Capita
A s e r i e s f r o m t h e I l l i n o i s B a p t i s t • V o l 1 1
W e s e r v e i n … E u r o p e T h e d v e r s e e a s t e r n p o r t o n o f t h e c o n t n e n t c a n t b e e a s l y g e n e r a i z e d o r s t e r e o t y p e d , s a d m i s s o n a r y G a r y R o s s , w h o g r e w u p n B e l e v l l e a n d c u r r e n t y s e r v e s n F n l a n d .
G a r y R o s s ’ d e s c r i p t i o n o f h i s r e g i o n ’s s p i r i t u a l c l im a t e s o u n d s l i k e s t a n d i n g b e t w e e n t h e p r o v e r b i a l “ r o c k a n d a h a r d p l a c e . ” T h e r o c k i s t h e d r e g s o f C o m m u n i s t r u l e , w h i c h p r o g r a m m e d p e o p l e t o b e l i e v e t h e r e i s n o G o d . T h e e m e r g i n g h a r d p l a c e i s p o s tm o d e r n i s m , p u l l i n g y o u n g e r E u r o p e a n s t o w a r d p e r c e i v e d h a p p i n e s s b y w a y o f m o n e y , s e x a n d s u c c e s s R o s s a n d h i s w i f e , K i m b e r, s e r v e d i n R u s s i a f o r s i x y e a r s b e f o r e b e i n g u n e x p e c t e d l y s e n t o u t o f t h e c o u nt r y i n e a r l y 2 0 1 4 . T h e y ’ r e s p e n d i n g a y e a r i n F i n l a n d , w o r k i n g w i t h a m i n o r i t y g r o u p o f R u s s i a ns p e a k e r s s o t h a t t h e y c a n k e e p u p t h e i r l a n g u a g e s k i l l s , a n d h e l p s t r e n g t h e n c h u r c h e s a n d l e a d e r s i n H e l s i n k i T h e i r t e m p o r a r y h o m e i s g e n e r a l l y m o r e o p e n a n d m o d e r n t h a n R u s s i a , G a r y s a i d , a n d p e o p l e m o r e f r e e l y t a l k a b o u t s p i r i t u a l t h i n g s . B u t , “ G o d i s n o t r e le v a n t i n m a n y p e o p l e s ’ l i v e s T h e f o c u s i s o n d o i n g w h a t e v e r p l e a s e s y o u r s e l f , o r w h a t e v e r m a k e s y o u f e e l l i k e a g o o d p e r s o n “ I n f a c t , I h a v e n o t i c e d i n o t h e r E a s t e r n E u r o p e a n c o u n t r i e s t h a t t h e l o n g e r t h e y h a v e b e e n r e m o v e d f r o m c o m m u n i s m , t h e m o r e m o d e r n t h e y h a v e b ec o m e . A n d t h e m o r e m o d e r n t h e y h a v e b e c o m e , t h e m o r e ‘ p o s tm o d e r n ’ t h e y h a v e b e c o m e c a r i n g l e s s a n d l e s s a b o u t s p i r i t u a l t h i n g s . ” I n F i n l a n d , t h e R o s s e s a r e d e v e l o p i n g l e a d e r s i n l o c a l c h u r c h e s t h a t c a n s h a r e t h e i r f a i t h a n d l e a d t h e i r o w n s m a l l g r o u p s W h e n t h e f a m i l y r e t u r n s t o R u s s i a , t h e y ’ l l b e g o i n g b a c k t o a c o u n t r y t h a t l i e s o u t s i d e E a s t e r n E u r o p e ’s “ B i b l e B e l t ” I n t h a t r e g i o n s t r e t c hi n g a c r o s s U k r a i n e a n d M o l d o v a , B a p t i s t s e x i s t i n
g r e a t n u m b e r s , G a r y s a i d , a n d h e a l t h y c h u r c h e s a r e s e n d i n g o u t t h e i r o w n m i s s i o n a r i e s t o R u s s i a ns p e a ki n g c o u n t r i e s B u t o u t s i d e t h e b e l t , “ t h e p e o p l e a r e v e r y c l o s e d , ” h e s a i d “ T h e y a r e g e n e r a l l y r e l u c t a n t t o l i s t e n t o s t r a n g e r s a n d t h e i r i d e a s . I f y o u a r e a b l e t o e n t e r t h e i r t i g h t c i r c l e o f f r i e n d s , t h e y a r e v e r y w a r m a n d f r i e n d l y a n d l o y a l . T h e y w i l l a l s o b e m o r e o p e n t o y o u r f a i t h a n d a n y t h i n g y o u s a y a b o u t t h e B i b l e “ B u t i t o f t e n t a k e s y e a r s t o r e a l l y a c h i e v e t h a t l e v e l o f t r u s t w i t h t h i s c u l t u r e ” P r a y f o r m i s s i o n a r i e s l i k e t h e R o s s e s w h o a r e s t a n di n g i n t h e g a p , b e t w e e n t h e r o c k a n d t h e h a r d p l a c e O p p r e s s i o n h a s l a s t i n g i m p a c t i n E a s t e r n E u r o p e
k i n g ( T h e c l o s e s t w e h a v e i n A m e r c a s t h e “ M a g i c K i n g d o m ” h e a d e d b y a m o u s e a n d h s g r l f r i e n d . ) P e o p e w h o h a v e l v e d u n d e r s o v e re i g n , e v e n a u t o c r a t c , r u l e m a y h a v e a b e t t e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f h o w t r u y a m a zi n g i t i s t o h a v e a n e w k i n g s e t u p s h o p i n t h e i r w a r r i n g a n d d e c a y i n g s o c e t y , a n d b r i n g w i t h h i m t h e p r o m i s e o f p e a c e , b l e s s i n g , a n d s a v a t o n T h e n t o s e e t h a t p r o m i s e f u f i l l e d , w h a t a d a y t h a t w l l b e .
W h e n J e s u s d e s c r b e d h s k i n g d o m , h e c o m p a r e d i t t o a h i d d e n t r e a s u r e , a m u st a r d s e e d , a n d a f a r m e r w h o s e g o o d c r o p w a s b e i n g s a b o t a g e d b y r u t h l e s s p o w b o y s a n d w o u l d f i n a l y b e s o r t e d o u t a t h a r v e s t t m e H i s k n g d o m w a s “ a t h a n d , ” h e r e a n d n o w, b u t a l s o b e g i n n i n g t o b r e a k n t o t h e c u r r e n t r e a l i t y E x p l a i n i n g G o d ’ s k i n g d o m w a s t o u g h e n o u g h b a c k t h e n , b u t h o w m u c h m o r e t o d a y a m o n g p e o p l e w h o h a v e n e v e r l i v e d i n a k i n g d o m , o r u n d e r t h e r u l e o f a
T h i s i s a 2 0p a r t s t u d y o n t h e b a s i c b e l e f s a n d m i s s i o n s o f o u r d e n o m in a t i o n I t i s d e s i g n e d f o r n e w b e i e ve r s , n e w B a p t s t s , a n d t h o s e w h o w a n t a r e f r e s h e r C i p i t o u t o f t h e n e w s p a p e r, f o d i n t o a f o u rp a g e e a f e t , a n d s h a r e w i t h t h e p e o p l e w h o w o u d b e n e f i t f r o m t h e n f o r m at o n Y o u m i g h t e v e n l e a d a s t u d y B1 0 1 c a n b e u s e d f o r : • N e w m e m b e r s c l a s s e s • S t u d y o n m i s s i o n s i n I l l i n o i s a n d a r o u n d t h e w o r l d • E x p l o r a t i o n o f d o c t r i n e s i n T h e B a p t i s t F a i t h & M e s s a g e M a k e a s m a n y p h o t o c o p i e s a s y o u n e e d f o r s t u d y g r o u p s , c h u r c h m e m b e r s , a n d w o r s h i p a t t e n d e r s O r d o w n o a d t h e P D F s a t w w w . I B S A . o r g / B 1 0 1 . P r o d u c e d b y h e e d t o r s o f t h e l i n o s B a p t s t : E r c R e e d , M e r e d t h F l y n n L i s a S e r g e n t D e s i g n e d b y K r s K e l
C l ip an d Sha re B10 1 w i t h Pasto r s Chu r c h s ta f f Discip les hip leade r s Miss ions leade r s New me m be r s L o o k f o r B1 0 1 i n e v e r y i s s u e !
W h a t a r e y o u d o i n g o n W e d n e s d a y n i g h t s ?
T h s i s t h e 1 1 t h i n o u r 2 0p a r t s e r e s . T h a t m e a n s m o r e t h a n h a l f t h e e s s a y s o n T h e B a p t s t F a t h & M e s s a g e a r e r e a d y f o r u s e i n a n e w m e m b e r s c a s s , s m a l g r o u p , o r d o ct r i n e s t u d y L o o k o n l n e a n d d o w nl o a d t h e s e t W e ’ v e b u n d l e d t h e m f o r e a s y p r n t i n g a n d d s t r i b u t i o n B y t h e w a y : I f y o u n e e d c o p i e s o f T h e B F & M ( 2 0 0 0 ) , t h e y c a n b e d o w n l o a d e d t o o , o r I B S A w l l p r o v i d e t h e m f o r y o u r n e w s t u d y g r o u p L i s a S e r g e n t @ I B S A o r g
L o c a l a s s o c i a t i o n s t a k e m i s s i o n s l e a d
n o s i n g l e c h u r c h c o u l d d o a l o n e . ” T o d a y , m a n y a s s o c i a t i o n s e l e c t a m o d e r a t o r t o h e l p g o v e r n a n n u a l o s e m ia n n u a l m e e t i n g s S o m e a r e l e d b y a d i r e c t o r o f m i s s i o n ( D O M ) a n d a t e a m o f v o l u n t e e m i n i s t r y c o o r d i n a t o r s . T h r e e R i v e r s ’ S l o v a k i a p a r t n e r s h i p s t a r t e d w h e n a g r o u p f r o m t h e a s s o c i a t i o n a t t e n d e d a m e e t i n g h o s t e d b y t h e S o u t h e r n B a p t i s t I n t e r n a t i o n a l M i s s i o n B o a r d i n 2 0 0 6 T h e r e , t h e y l e a r n e d t h a t E a s t e r n S l o v a k i a h a d n o S o u t h e r n B a p t i s t m i s s i o n s p e r s o n n e l w o r k i n g t h e r e “ I t w a s l i k e e l e c t r i c i t y r a n t h r o u g h t h e r o o m w h e n t h e y b e g a n t o s h a r e t h a t n e e d , ” s a i d B o b D y e r,
I S I N S I G H T T h e o r g a n i z e r s o f t h e f i r s t B a pt i s t a s s o c i a t i o n i n A m e r i c a , e s t a bl i s h e d i n 1 7 0 7 , c o u l d n ’ t h a v e k n o w n n e t w o r k s o f c h u r c h e s w o u l d s t i l l b e f u l f i l l i n g t h e i r v i s i o n t o d a y B u t t h e y a r e S o u t h e r n B a pt i s t c h u r c h e s w o r k i n g i n g e o g r ap h yb a s e d a s s o c i a t i o n s i n c l u d i n g
3 4 i n I l l i n o i s d o m o r e t o g e t h e r t o s h a r e t h e g o o d n e w s a b o u t J e s u s t h a n t h e y c o u l d d o a p a r t .
T h r e e R i v e r s ’ p o i n t p e r s o n f o r t h e p a r t n e r s h i p . S i x c h u r c h e s i n t h e a ss o c i a t i o n h a v e p a r t i c i p a t e d i n m i ss i o n t r i p s t o S l o v a k i a s i n c e 2 0 0 7 . M i s s i o n t e a m s h a v e h e l d c o n v e rs a t i o n a l E n g l i s h c l a s s e s i n a l i b r a r y a n d i n s c h o o l s , a n d v o l u n t e e r s l o o k f o r o t h e r o p p o r t u n i t i e s t o t a l k t o S l o v a k s o v e r c o f f e e , o n w a l k s , o r a t a c o o k o u t . I n t h e s e v e n t h y e a r o f t h e i r p a r t n e r s h i p , T h r e e R i v e r s s a w t h e f i r s t t w o b a p t i s m s t o c o m e o u t o f t h e m i n i s t r y T h e a s s o c i a t i o n , l e d b y D O M
B o b D y e r ( l e f t ) p o s e s w t h a f e l l o w m i s s i o n s
v o u n t e e r a n d s e v e r a l E n g l s h s t u d e n t s a t
S i b i r s k a S c h o o i n P r e s o v , S l o v a k a
T a k e T h r e e R i v e r s B a p t i s t A s s oc i a t i o n . H e a d q u a r t e r e d i n S h o r ew o o d , t h e g r o u p o f n o r t h e r n
I l l i n o i s c h u r c h e s i s e i g h t y e a r s i n t o a m i s s i o n s p a r t n e r s h i p i n S l o v a k i a
D a n E d d i n g t o n , a l s o s e r v e s a s t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l M i s s i o n B o a r d ’s “ v i rt u a l s t r a t e g y c o o r d i n a t o r ” f o r E a s te r n S l o v a k i a , m e a n i n g t h e y n o t o n l y f a c i l i t a t e t h e i r o w n m i s s i o n t e a m s , b u t a l s o h e l p i n v o l v e S l o v a k
T h e y e x e m p l i f y t h e s p i r i t o f t h e P h i l a d e l p h i a B a p t i s t A s s o c i a t i o n , e s t a b l i s h e d m a i n l y f o r t h e s u r v i v a l o f s m a l l c h u r c h e s , w r o t e F r a n k L a y
i n a s e r i e s o f a r t i c l e s m a r k i n g t h e a s s o c i a t i o n ’s 3 0 0 t h a n n i v e r s a r y “ D u r i n g t h e s e c o n d h a l f o f t h e
C h r i s t i a n s a n d o t h e r s i n t h e U . S . i n a s t r a t e g y t o r e a c h t h e c o u n t r y B e c a u s e t o g e t h e r, w e c a n d o m o r e h e r e , a n d e v e r y w h e r e
1 8 t h c e n t u r y t h e P h i l a d e l p h i a a ss o c i a t i o n b e g a n a p p e a l i n g f o r t h e c h u r c h e s t o c o o p e r a t e i n f u l f i l l i n g t h e G r e a t C o m m i s s i o n , ” L a y w r o t e . “ T h r o u g h c o o p e r a t i o n , t h e a s s o c i a t i o n c o u l d a c c o m p l i s h w h a t
P r a y : F o r f r i e n d s h i p s t o b e g i n a n d g r o w s o t h e g o s p e l s s h a r e d , a n d f o r A r a b i cs p e a k i n g c h u r c h p l a n t e r s m i s s i o n i l l i n o i s
P r a y f o r a n e w c h u r c h
L o c a t i o n : B u r b a n k , O a k L a w n & L o m b a r d
F o c u s : A r a b cs p e a k e r s i n C h i c a g o l a n d
C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s : S i n g e h o m e s a n d a p a r t m e n t c o m p l e x e s
–F r o m t h e I B S A C h u r c h P a n n g T e a m
Q: A woman in our church decided at her a g e ( l a t e 3 0 s ) s h e w a s n o t l i k e l y t o g e t married, so she had a baby by artificial insemination Now she wants to participate in the Baby Dedication service. Can I tell you more than a few eyebrows have been raised about this What would you do?
A: While this is an out of the ordinary situation, if an infertile couple decided to use artificial insemination in order to have a child, there would be no question that those parents could and would participate in a baby dedication service Most likely to the joy of many in the congregation
know of no reason she shouldn’t dedicate her new baby before the Lord
While there will be members in the congregation that feel like a father and mother is a better support and childrearing scenario, what she needs is the support, encouragement and love of her congregation, not their criticism or judgment
Q: A lot of people in our church have come from other denominations, or none at all Suddenly I’m feeling out of place, because I’m too “Baptist ” Is it just me?
A: You are what you are, and hopefully you are a Baptist out of conviction, theological agreement and participation in the Cooperative Program method of supporting missionaries Be proud of your Baptist heritage and the strong evangelical stance of Baptists
involved in Baptist life on the associational, state, national and international levels.
Q: The deacons take turns reading Scripture in our service When it’s Bob’s turn, he practically preaches a sermon Any tips for getting Bob to keep it short?
A: First, lighten the reading load when possible If the pastor is preaching on an entire chapter, he should select three or four verses that should be read before the message, and then cover the rest in his sermon
Q: Do you recommend that people continue tithing and giving while getting out of debt?
A: The word “tithe” literally means “a tenth,” as in a tenth of your income If you are an evangelical Christian, what does Scripture say? It says to take the tithe off the top before you do anything else You keep doing it always, not from a legalistic perspective, but because it’s part of God’s instructions on the best way to live It gives you a baseline for giving and generosity
As a pastor, I would discuss with this individual the fact that for years to come, she will have to answer the question about being a single mother, which will require her to explain her choice to others But if she is able to support a child and fully understands the added responsibilities of raising a child as a single mother, and to do so without any sexual misconduct, I
Oct. 24-25: Kids’ Ministry Toolkit Conference
Featuring new resources and the 2015 VBS Preview
Where: IBSA Building, Springfield Web: www IBSA org/Kids
Nov 4-5: IBSA Pastors’ Conference
Revive, Renew, Rebuild
Where: Crowne Plaza, Springfield
Web: www IBSA org/ibsa2014
Nov 5-6: IBSA
Annual Meeting
Where: Crowne Plaza, Springfiel
Web: www IBSA org/ibsa2014
Nov 7-8: AWSOM
For girls in grades 7-12
Where: IBSA Building, Springfield
Cost: $20 per person
Web: www IBSA org/Student
Nov 10, 17: plantMIDWEST
Training for church planters and partnering churches
Where: St Louis, Nov 10; Chicago, Nov 17
Contact: CharlesCampbell@ IBSA.org; DennisConner@IBSA.org
One of the best things you can do is offer a New Baptist’s Course Since you stated you have several new Baptist people, take them through The Baptist Faith & Message (2000), and teach them from James L Sullivan’s “Baptist Polity As I See It.” Help them become familiar with the “Baptist way” of conducting services, beliefs, and traditional church ordinances
Help them to know what makes Baptists distinctive, and how to get
Make an announcement at the next deacon’s meeting, reminding readers that the pastor will explain the text. Their job is simply to read it It might even be helpful to print the text in the bulletin or put it on the screen so the congregation can follow along, and he doesn’t feel the need to stop and explain the meaning of a word or expound on a particular phrase
If that does not resolve the situation, Bob may have to be asked not to participate in the Scripture reading (with a thorough explanation of why the change is being made). Hopefully, though, he’ll get the hint!
Pat Pajak has pastored churches of all sizes across Illinois He presently leads IBSA’s Church Consulting team Send your coaching questions for Pat to IllinoisBaptist@IBSA org
Nov. 19-21: Chicago Vision Tour
For potential planting partners
Where: Chicago, city and suburbs
Contact: DennisConner@IBSA org, (312) 405-6459
Nov. 22-23: International
Student Conference
Host international students in your home and church
Where: Springfield
Contact: DebbieMuller@IBSA org
Dec. 29-30: Youth Encounter
IBSA’s annual student evangelism conference; see ad below for speakers and worship artists
Where: Prairie Capital Convention Center, Springfield
Cost: $40 through Dec 5; $45 Dec 6-Dec 28; $50 at the door Web: www ilstudentz com
Then, get yourself and your household in good financial shape before engaging in other acts of giving, which are called offerings This is the normal process Scripture outlines But remember, God is crazy about you and loves you very much When you give, it’s the act of being unselfish and putting others first
Q: What’s your advice to a couple when they’re both Free Spirits with money?
A: Being a Free Spirit just means you don’t major in details You’re not the number cruncher, and you don’t wear a pocket protector. But being a Free Spirit doesn’t mean you can’t be a grown up Maturity isn’t what I’m talking about here, and neither is initiative I’m just talking about your personality style, and how you address life in general
In my house, I’m the Nerd and my wife is the Free Spirit I’m a naturally detail-oriented person who likes a solid, well-reasoned plan My wife enjoys a plan, and she doesn’t mind sticking to one, but that’s not her default button. It doesn’t mean you’re not a grown up just because your default button doesn’t go straight to spreadsheets And just because you’re like that doesn’t mean you can’t lay out a game plan and say, “Hey, we make too much money to waste it all We have too much coming in every month to be deep in debt and broke!”
Being a Free Spirit just means you have to concentrate a little harder on the details, because those kinds of things just aren’t your nature I mean, you have to pay attention to enough of the basic details if you want to win with money, but that’s true with almost any endeavor
Want to know something else I’ve noticed about Free Spirits? In most cases, they’re extremely generous people When they care about something or someone, they really care And the fact that you’re thinking about these things leads me to believe you’re going to be all right Just be intentional Do it with a goal and a plan in mind, and do it on purpose!
Dave Ramsey is a prolific author and radio host
This mother needs the support, encouragement, and love of her church.
hurch and state are still very separate in most houses of orship, according to the National Congregations Survey
11% Poverty topped the list of causes
of churches had a group focused on voter registration
20%
Nearly had a group focused on getting out the vote prior to an election
Of churches who had a visiting speaker, fewer than hosted an elected government official Voter guides were distributed in of congregations
7%
13%
The Mission of an Evangelist, Compiled by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association
Victory in Spiritual Warfare: Field Guide for Battle, Tony Evans
Developing a Christian Worldview of the Christian in Today’s Culture, Charles Colson
Ruth and Billy Graham: The Legacy of a Couple, Hanspeter Nuesch
12.5%
had a group that met to participate in a demonstration or march (37%), followed by same-sex marriage (29%).
– From the most recent National Congregations Study, Duke University (Survey included 70 Christian denominations, as well as Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, and other religious groups )
Clip and save in a prayer journal, your Bible, or stick on the fridge.
Missionaries: Bob & Carol Evaul
Planting: Iglesia Bautista Mision de Fe
Focusing On: An outreach ministry to the Hispanic community of Clinton County, with the goal of planting an Hispanic church
Prayer request: A focus on prosperity has had a negative spiritual impact on our community Pray the Holy Spirit will touch hearts and convince people of sin
September 30 marked the 244th anniversary of the death of George Whitefield, the preacher who helped advance the Great Awakening in England and its American colonies
These quotes from his sermons ring true today:
“If you are going to walk with Jesus Christ, you are going to be opposed In our days, to be a true Christian is really to become a scandal ”
“It is a poor sermon that gives no offense; that neither makes the hearer displeased with himself nor with the preacher ”
“What! Get to heaven on your own strength? Why, you might as well try to climb to the moon on a rope of sand!”
Relevant com
“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions wi of prayers and requests ”
Which Bible Translation Should I Use?
A Comparison of 4 Major Recent Versions, edited by Andreas J Kosten- berger and David A Croteau
– From Tom Rains, pastor of First Southern Baptist Church, Quincy
More ministry ideas online www.Pinterest.com/ IllinoisBaptist
Take this fall treat to your church’s autumn festival or community outreach event.
Ingredients
Corn Puffs ugar n syrup oda
Ephesians 6:18
The words above come at the conclusion of the Bible’s instruction to put on the armor of God as we struggle “against the powers of this dark world ” The apostle Paul informed the believers at Colossae that Epaphras “is always wrestling in prayer for you ” When I read the letters of Paul, I find that he speaks of our spiritual battles, but he more frequently issues the call to pray Pastor Tony Evans wrote the following: “For many people, even some Christians, prayer is like the national anthem before a sporting event It gets the game started but has absolutely no relevance to what’s happening on the field ”
Across the state of Illinois, we are seeking to push back the darkness that continues to move from the sidelines to the mainstream We know our mission Let us always plead with our Master to go before us and grant the victory
PRAYER PROMPT: Lord, the battle rages within and without Help me to always seek your face before I seek to engage the enemy
Odis Weaver is pastor of Friendship Baptist Church in Plainfield and is currently serving as president of IBSA Pastors are invited to join the online “IBSA Pastors’ Prayer Room” by e-mailing oweaver7307@gmail com
To prepare: Put puffs in a large pan lined with aluminum foil In a saucepan, bring butter, sugar and corn syrup to a rolling boil, and cook for two minutes Add baking soda, stirring quickly (mixture will foam) Pour over corn puffs and mix well to coat
Place in 250° oven for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes Pour cooked caramel corn on wax paper, and use a wooden spoon to break pieces apart Let cool and store in air-tight container
Thanks to Nina Wilson from FBC Machesney Park for this recipe! Send your favorite recipes to MeredithFlynn@IBSA org
