October 21, 2019 Illinois Baptist

BY LISA MISNER

The Fairview Heights clinic is just 13 miles from St. Louis, where officials have threatened to close the last remaining abortion clinic in their state. While Missouri and other Midwestern states have tightened abortion regulations, Illinois lawmakers have virtually deregulated the industry, making the state a destination for women seeking to terminate pregnancies.

Planned Parenthood confirmed in early October it had built the 18,000-square-foot clinic, after a report by CBS News revealed the purpose of the rehabbed medical facility across from the St. Clair Square Mall. Local officials were uninformed of the specific nature of the center and expressed dismay when it became public. A representative also admitted Planned Parenthood created a shell company to obtain building permits, in order to avoid protests and possible construction delays.

The Illinois Baptist staff

Editor - Eric Reed

Managing Editor - Meredith Flynn

Graphic Designer - Kris Kell

Contributing Editor - Lisa Misner

Administrative Assistant - Leah Honnen

The general telephone number for IBSA is (217) 786-2600. For questions about subscriptions, articles, or upcoming events, contact the Illinois Baptist at (217) 391-3119 or IllinoisBaptist@IBSA.org

The Illinois Baptist is seeking news from IBSA churches. E-mail us at IllinoisBaptist@IBSA.org to tell us about special events and new ministry staff.

POSTMASTER: The Illinois Baptist is owned and published every three weeks by the Illinois Baptist State Association, 3085 Stevenson Drive, Springfield, Illinois 62703-4440. Subscriptions are free to Illinois Baptists. Subscribe online at IBSA.org.

Understanding the world where we live and serve

Church needed here...

Location: Glenview

Focus: Asian immigrants and their families

Characteristics: Glenview is home to immigrants from India, Korea, and China, among others. The community of 47,000 has excellent schools, many options for shopping and dining, and proximity to local expressways and commuter trains, making it one of Chicago’s premier suburbs.

Prayer needs: Pray for church planters who have a heart for the second- and third-generation children of immigrant families.

CONVENTIONAL WISDOM

Snapshots from the world of Illinois Baptists

“One of the best ways you can show your appreciation to your pastor is to commit to walk alongside them as they walk alongside you.”

– Joe Jensen, Barna Group

Our pastors, our friends

Which best describes your relationship with your lead pastor:

NATE ADAMS

I almost quit

This summer my son Caleb and I continued our quest to climb as many of the tallest mountains of Colorado as we can. There are 58 mountains in the state that are 14,000 feet in elevation or higher, and we have now summitted 30 of them together.

There are a number of different ways that “14er” hikes are rated, ranging from the altitude of the mountain to the distance or difficulty of the hike. For example, our hikes this summer included Mt. Harvard, the third highest in altitude but only number 27 in difficulty. Mt. Lindsey is number 45 in altitude, but 18 in degree of difficulty. That’s the one where I almost quit.

There are often different “approaches” to each summit, with differing degrees of difficulty. Caleb and I had researched Mt. Lindsey and decided that, for the last thousand feet of the climb, he would take the more difficult and exposed “class 4” approach up a ridge, and I would take the easier “class 3” approach, up a rock gully.

I knew this already, but I learned it afresh that day. Climbing is much harder when you are by yourself.

The gully I found myself scaling alone was steep, and complicated, and full of loose rock. Each time I climbed to the top of what I could see, I found only more of the same. About the fifth time this happened, I decided I should probably stop. Caleb and I had agreed that if we didn’t meet at the top, that he would descend through the gully and find me. I sat down, exhausted, to wait for him.

That’s when I heard him call my name. I squinted up the gully as far as I could, and saw a tiny Caleb waving to me. When he assured me that he was on the upper ridge of the mountain, and that he could see the summit from where he was, I decided I could keep climbing. He cheered me on, and then we summitted the mountain together.

Back here in the flatlands of Illinois, let me again make this observation. Ministry is a mountain. And it’s much harder when you are by yourself. When you are tired, when there is no end to your struggle in sight, when you are ready to quit, you need the encouraging voice of a fellow climber in your life.

Maybe you just need someone to acknowledge that the climb is hard, but that the summit is worth it. Maybe you need someone to suggest a different route, or to tell you that he’s been a little further up the mountain, and that you can make it. Maybe you just need someone to talk to while you climb.

50%

Friend Mentor Counselor Teacher

19% 13% 11%

– Barna, Oct. 2019

the cooperative program

Giving by IBSA churches as of 10/11/19 $4,638,568

Budget Goal: $4,769,231

Received to date in 2018: $4,418,967

2019 Goal: $6.3 Million

A young pastor recently contacted me about possibly attending the IBSA Annual Meeting and Pastors’ Conference. For a variety of reasons, he doesn’t have many friends in ministry where he is serving. As I encouraged him to come and be with other pastors, and worship, and discover some new resources and perspective, he agreed to make the effort. “Sometimes it’s just good to feel you’re not alone,” he said.

Not alone. For a negative phrase, it holds such positive, reassuring hope. Not being alone is the common principle behind God’s wonderful design for marriage, for fellowship, for church family, and for cooperation and partnership among churches.

So let me encourage you as I did that young pastor this fall. Especially in ministry, it’s not good to be alone. Even though gas and a hotel room cost a little, make the drive down to Marion for the Pastors’ Conference and IBSA Annual Meeting Nov. 5-7. Your fellow climbers will meet you there.

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

The mountain of ministry is much harder by yourself.

– IBSA Church Planting Team

students

‘Step toward Jesus’

Fall rally aimed at all stages of faith

Decatur | IBSA’s annual youth conference needs to reach some distinct audiences, said Jimmy Hammond. Youth Encounter, held in two of its three locations this month, is designed for students who know Christ and those who don’t, for teens in the church and out of it.

At Tabernacle Baptist Church in Decatur, speaker Josh Griffin (pictured on page 1) called teens to take their next step with Jesus, whatever it might be.

“For some, that’s accepting him as Savior,” said Hammond, family pastor at Living Faith Baptist Church in Sherman and IBSA’s student ministry consultant. “For others, it’s a deeper commitment to Christ, or maybe having the courage to respond to something God is calling them to do.”

Youth Encounter is in three locations this fall: Decatur and Marion, both on Oct. 13, and First Baptist Church in O’Fallon on Nov. 10. Each site includes a featured speaker, worship leader, and comedian or improv troupe. Local leaders plan the program at each location.

Angie Alcantara is a youth ministry volunteer at Liberty Baptist Church in Pekin. Her church sent 24 students to Decatur, including some who don’t yet know Christ. One young woman, a Christian who attends another church, traveled with Liberty’s group to the conference. “I remember her saying, ‘I needed this,’” Alcantara

said, recounting how she’d watched a group of girls, plus the guest, pray together at the front of the auditorium.

Alcantara, who attended Youth Encounter when she was a student, said every teen in their large group enjoyed the conference.

“On the way home, everyone said, ‘This was awesome.’”

Some teens brand-new to the group aren’t believers yet, Alcantara said. Their estimation of Youth Encounter 2019: “We can’t wait for the next thing.”

The Nov. 10 event will include speaker Chad Poe, worship leader Sean Curran, and comedian Jonnie W. To register, go to IBSA.org/YE2019.

Faith at school

Subtle testimonies more common

A majority of American teenagers say they rarely or never discuss religion with their friends. They are accustomed to other expressions of faith in their public schools, though, according to a Pew Research survey of teens age 13-17.

Percentage who say they see other students in their school:

Students also reported how common it is for their teachers to lead in religious expressions, including prayer and reading the Bible as an example of literature. Teacher-led prayer is most common in the South and least likely in the Northeast. Of students in the Midwest, 8% say a teacher has led them in prayer (which has been ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court).

Evangelical Protestant teens are more likely to express their religion at school than are Catholic students or mainline Protestants: 43% say they invite fellow students to youth group or worship services, and 39% say they pray before lunch.

– Pew Research Center

CHRIST ENCOUNTER – Students gathered Oct. 13 at Marion’s Cultural and Civic Center (above) and at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Decatur (photo below) for IBSA’s annual conference for students. A third gathering is set for FBC O’Fallon on Nov. 10.

Abortion on campus

California is the first state to require public universities to offer medical abortions to students. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Oct. 11 that requires the 34 schools in the University of California and California State University systems to provide access to prescription pills that induce miscarriage within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The cost of the new initiative is likely to exceed what has been raised through private donations, WORLD magazine reported, meaning taxpayers and students could underwrite the remaining costs.

Pronouns on trial

Virginia teacher Pete Vlaming is suing his former school board after he was fired for refusing to use male pronouns for a transgender student. Vlaming, a French teacher, chose instead to not use any pronouns for the student. But the assistant principal at West Point High School said Vlaming’s “non-use of pronouns was not enough: that he should use male pronouns or his job could be at risk,” the teacher’s suit says.

“There was immense pressure to somehow go along [with school policy], but my conscience was clear,” Vlaming told Christianity Today. “To just go along was to participate in something I knew was wrong.”

Florist pleads her case

From the front: Abortion clinic to open soon in Fairview Heights

Embattled floral designer Barronelle Stutzman (above) wrote a column for USA Today explaining why she’s asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review her case a second time. Stutzman was sued after declining to create floral arrangements for a samesex wedding ceremony. The high court vacated a lower court ruling against Stutzman and sent the case back to Washington’s Supreme Court in 2018, but the state court once again ruled against her.

“I have eight children and 24 grandkids, and I always planned to leave my business to them,” Stutzman wrote. “But I’ve put it all on the line because I know what’s at stake in my case: the freedom to live with authenticity, not just for me and my grandkids but for everyone.

“I can’t give that up without a fight. I can’t betray who I am, and no one should be forced to do so.”

– Los Angeles Times, WORLD, Christianity Today, USA Today

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

Announcing the new clinic, Yamelsie Rodriguez, president and CEO of Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region, said, “The idea and the goal of opening this particular facility is to expand access across the region and to be able to serve not just the unmet needs for services in Illinois, but also Arkansas, Missouri, Indiana, and Kentucky.”

In 2018, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health, 5,528 women came to Illinois from out of state to have abortions. That’s nearly 1,000 more than the previous year. The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (IDHFS) also reported 2,758 abortions were reimbursed by taxpayers through Medicaid.

“Make no mistake: this new mega-facility is not a response to an increased demand, nor is it a gesture of care for women,” Illinois Right to Life Executive Director Mary Kate Knorr said when the center was announced. “This facility was created to fill the gaping hole they’re seeing in their bottom line.”

Knorr concluded, “The increase in pro-life laws across the country coupled with President Trump’s Protect Life Rule has undoubtedly had a devastating impact on Planned Parenthood’s abortion revenue. This is a money-making venture, and Illinois is the most abortion-friendly state in the country.”

The numbers of abortions in the U.S. has declined steadily in recent years. The 862,320 abortions in 2017 is the lowest total since 1973, when there were a reported 744,610 abortions.

The peak was 1.61 million in 1990.

“The falling abortion number is partly due to the ceaseless advocacy and ministry of the pro-life community in neighborhoods around this country,” said Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.

Small victories

On a cloudy mid-October day in Granite City, Angela Michael (pictured on page 1) is standing outside a women’s clinic that mainly provides abortions. Nearby a small clutch of protesters are gathered under umbrellas, praying for the end of abortion in the United States.

Dressed in scrubs, Michael, a former obstetrical nurse, and her husband, Daniel, operate a pro-life ministry called Small Victories Pregnancy Outreach. They have a van equipped with an ultrasound machine which they park outside. The Michaels offer to show pregnant women images of their babies before they enter the clinic.

“It used to be people from all 50 states knew Illinois for its steel industry,” she said. “Now abortion is what Illinois is known for.”

According to the Guttmacher Institute, there were 40 facilities providing abortions in Illinois in 2017, and 25 of those were specifically abortion clinics. Michael expects the Fairview Heights facility will become the largest operator in the nation.

The Michaels have been involved in this ministry for over 25 years. They say nearly 6,000 lives have been saved as a result of the ministry’s efforts. The couple has 13 children; two were adopted from women who chose not to go through with a planned abortion.

She urges others to take a stand for life by standing against the abortion clinics in the state. “You’ve got to come out here,” she said. “Just your presence out here makes a difference.”

The new Planned Parenthood building is fenced, making contact with clients more difficult, but larger protests are predicted once the abortion clinic opens.

Continued from page 1

KNORR

MISNOMER – Called “Hope Clinic,” this privately-owned facility in Granite City actually provides abortion services. It is often the site of prayer vigils and protests.

IN FOCUS

Call to action

One in five children will experience sexual abuse by the time they’re 18. The vast majority are abused by people they know.

A newspaper report last spring uncovered more than 700 victims of abuse in Southern Baptist churches over the last 20 years.

Leaders at the Caring Well conference in Dallas urged the Southern Baptist Convention to repent of the tendency to protect institutions, rather than the abused.

Prevention experts encourage churches to look beyond expected standard of care toward more effective practices.

Survivors and advocates are asking pastors and ministry leaders to embrace a shepherding role in caring for those who have been abused.

SURVIVOR STORIES

The Caring Well conference Oct. 3-5 in Dallas shone a light on the horrors of sexual abuse, and the particularly devastating effects of abuse within a church context. On the panel pictured above, ERLC’s Trillia Newbell (left) moderates a discussion with (from left) Susan Codone, Kelly Rosati, Mary DeMuth, and Andrew Schmutzer

Listen, lament, repent, repair

Baptists seek a way forward after sex abuse revelations

BY MEREDITH FLYNN

Dallas | Sarah Bordewick left Texas resolved to do some things differently at her central Illinois church. The director of family ministry at First Baptist Church in Mt. Zion usually attends a kids’ ministry conference in the fall; this year, she chose one on preventing sexual abuse.

In February, a report in the Houston Chronicle uncovered more than 700 victims of sexual abuse in Southern Baptist churches and ministries. The multi-part series of articles shone a spotlight on the tendency of some churches and leaders to turn a blind eye to abuse, silencing victims and, in some cases, allowing perpetrators to move on to other churches and leadership roles.

In response, the SBC launched the Caring Well Challenge, calling churches to take responsibility for preventing sexual abuse and caring for survivors inside and outside the church. The Caring Well Conference Oct. 3-5 was a training ground for church leaders hoping to protect kids in their ministries and to help heal the wounds of those who have suffered abuse.

In the spring, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission changed the topic of their annual national conference to Caring Well. Bordewick modified her usual conference plans too.

“The statistics show that so many people have experienced this,” she said. “It’s so prevalent that we have to be talking about this.”

Repenting from silence

The Caring Well process in the SBC has revealed that not talking about abuse has long been the norm in many churches. The silence has been devastating to survivors already reeling from the trauma of abuse.

In Dallas, survivor advocates, psychologists, and church leaders called Southern Baptist churches to be accountable—to listen, to report, to prevent, to care—on the difficult, messy road to healing after sexual abuse.

“Only the work is going to work,” Beth Moore said in her keynote address in Dallas. The SBC has earned distrust; now we must earn back trust with humility, said the author and Bible teacher, calling churches to resist defensiveness and deflection. “Take care of the sheep,” Moore said, “and learn how to smell a wolf.”

Over the past several months, survivors of sexual abuse have come forward to share their stories. In Dallas, the audience listened with rapt attention as leaders like Mary DeMuth talked about unthinkable, almost unspeakable abuse.

“I’m tired,” said DeMuth from the platform. “I’ve been talking about this issue for decades, often in empty rooms.” In Dallas, though, a capacity crowd of more than 1,650 registered attendees listened to the author share her story of sexual abuse that, while not occurring in a

Photos by the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission

church setting, has implications for ministry. As a 5-year-old, DeMuth was pushed out the door by a babysitter into the care of teenage boys who raped her.

She eventually told the babysitter, who said she’d tell her mother. The next day, though, the babysitter again let the boys take her away. “There is not one human being on this earth who will protect me,” DeMuth remembers thinking. Her babysitter preferred complacency to decency, she said, and the church does the same today.

The Caring Well Challenge, an 8-step process for churches toward abuse prevention and care for survivors, kicked off in August in a relatively small number of SBC churches. Baptist Press reported just ahead of the Aug. 25 launch that about 750 churches (of more than 47,000 in the SBC) had signed up.

SBC President J.D. Greear has made abuse prevention and survivor care the major theme of his presidency, appointing an advisory team that has created for churches a new training curriculum on abuse. Greear spoke quietly but insistently in Dallas, calling church leaders to look beyond the myths surrounding abuse toward better, more sacrificial treatment of the people in their care.

Greear called by name several abuse survivors, including DeMuth, whose words he said have been mischaracterized as “attacks from adversaries instead of warnings from friends.” It’s wrong to label them as merely bitter, said Greear. When their warnings weren’t heeded, their anger was an appropriate response—and a biblical one.

If that frustration was part of the conversation in Dallas, it was the main headline online. Twitter users posting under #CaringWell called for more action (and less talk) from the Southern Baptist Convention on the topic of abuse, including the creation of a registry of SBC abusers. The concept of an offender database has long been a flashpoint in the discussion around abuse because it comes into conflict with the Baptist doctrine of church autonomy. Without a central governing body handing down policy to individual churches, what does a unified response to abuse look like in the SBC?

Amy Whitfield, a newly appointed associate vice president at the SBC Executive Committee, gave one answer during a panel discussion in Dallas. “Autonomy does not absolve us from accountability,” Whitfield said. “We need to be really clear on that.”

Helping ‘prickly people’

The sexual abuse Andrew Schmutzer experienced as a child didn’t ultimately drive him

Prioritizing repentance

away from the church. But he did have to rebuild his faith from the ground up. His abuser was his father—a pastor. Schmutzer, a professor at Moody Bible Institute, shared his survival story in Dallas. He spoke with the Illinois Baptist after the Caring Well conference about how churches can care for people in the aftermath of abuse.

“Their pain makes them prickly people,” he said. “If we don’t rescue them in their woundedness, they will turn to society. They will find meaning for their pain, whether it’s with a disorganized sexuality, with a very confused sense of self, and God too, probably.”

Schmutzer described a survivor’s likely thought process about God in heart-wrenching detail: Where was God? If he can count the hairs on my head, or catch a sparrow before it falls, why didn’t he stop my abuser? Survivors not only wrestle with complex questions about God and faith, he said, they also often suffer in difficult marriages, disoriented sexual identity, substance abuse, mental illness, and the list goes on. Such a multi-layered problem doesn’t have a simple, “confess it to Jesus” and move on solution, Schmutzer said. Rather, he advised several strategies to churches looking to care well:

1. Work with other churches in your area to host a seminar on abuse with survivor stories, practical teaching, and guidance on updating church policies to prevent future abuse.

2. Start support groups for men and women who are survivors of abuse. Involve fellow churches in this effort too.

3. Find two or three Christian counselors in your area who you can call to help survivors.

4. Invest in books on abuse for your church’s library or resource center.

5. Pastors, preach on abuse.

Schmutzer noted there are a surprising number of biblical texts that identify abuse, rape, or sexual exploitation. “It’s time to pony up here, and start preaching the hard stuff,” he said. “If we as leaders don’t name it, we are forcing that 12-year-old boy or girl to ‘out’ their own story.” Preaching difficult texts gives abuse victims an “on-ramp,” he said, to grieving abuse and healing from it.

Saying nothing is an answer too, and not a helpful one, Schmutzer said. “When it comes to abuse, silence will always help the abuser, not the victim.”

Better ‘wolf’ detection

Carol Hogue remembers feeling “creeped out” by the man hired as organist at the church her husband pastored. But the couple grew to know the man, a retired YMCA director, and adopted him into their family. On a Sunday evening, though, the Hogues’ son told them he had been sexually abused by the man.

“When we hired this man to be our organist, it was through the ‘good ole boy’ system,” Hogue said in Dallas, nearly 20 years later. “That’s a dangerous, dangerous system. We didn’t even have this guy’s resume.”

The family went through a long, difficult, public process, resulting in Hogue’s work with Darkness to Light, a child abuse prevention agency dedicated to educating adults. In their current church, Hogue

SCHMUTZER

It’s not the abused in our churches and outside our churches that are most in need of healing. It is the church.

– Boz Tchividjian, attorney, professor, survivor advocate

Leaders call churches to lament abuse before caring well

He (Jesus) would not hesitate to make a mess of a house, in order to clean a house.

– Beth Moore, author and Bible teacher

The question is whether the church will stand with those who are vulnerable, or with those who would prey on them.

– Russell Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission

PREVENTIVE MEASURES – Many churches have instituted child check-in procedures and background checks, but experts say more effective strategies are needed.

said, “We’ve been able to do it the right way.”

“You have to pay attention to the details,” she advised church leaders at Caring Well. “No one is exempt from any sort of training or any sort of background check. You don’t let anybody slip through.” Everybody should be subject to the same policies, Hogue said. “It doesn’t matter if they’ve been there a hundred years or not.

“That’s going to ruffle some feathers.”

Illinois’ Bordewick acknowledged that introducing new policies, like an application and interview process for volunteers, could be met with pushback because of the extra work required, or the belief that “it can’t happen here.” There can be tension between recruiting and keeping much-needed volunteers, and implementing best practices for keeping kids safe.

But, Bordewick said, “If we can’t keep our kids safe, we don’t need the volunteers.”

Attorneys Kimberlee Norris and Gregory Love founded the MinistrySafe child safety system after decades of litigating sexual abuse cases. They help churches around the country establish better prevention practices.

Child sexual abuse continues to be a problem, Love said, because we don’t understand it, and therefore our efforts aren’t related to the risk. In Love’s words, “We’re building the wrong fence.” The most common protective measures are designed around “stranger danger”—teaching children to avoid people they don’t know. But the vast majority of victims are abused by people they know and trust.

Love and Norris aid churches in building fences to keep out the largest percentage of abusers—those who target specific genders and ages of children.

“Effective screening keeps wolves out of the sheep pen,” Norris said. But the number-one practice churches have in place to protect children isn’t enough, she added. Fewer than 10% of abusers ever encounter the criminal justice system, which means a criminal background check will not flag a large majority of abusers.

Instead of relying solely on background checks, Norris urged churches toward a multistep screening system that understands the grooming process by which abusers identify and target potential victims. She said screening should include an application, interview, references that are checked, a criminal background check, and access to past employment and volunteer history.

Preventing abuse will require a strategic system of continued protection tailored to a church’s unique ministry and context, Norris said. “We’re never going to be accidentally excellent about addressing child sexual abuse.”

In Mt. Zion, Bordewick plans to implement an interview process for volunteers, and to be more proactive about calling references. Her church already uses a check-in and check-out system for children, and background checks for volunteers who work with kids and teens.

It’s easy to say of the new measures, “I just can’t take that on,” Bordewick said. “That’s not true. I can, and I need to.”

Read survivor stories, download training resources, and sign up for the Caring Well Challenge at CaringWell.com.

“Right now, you’re way over here,” attorney Kimberlee Norris said in Dallas, swinging her arm to one side. “You think there’s a pedophile under every rock.” The alternative, Norris said, swinging her arm to the other side, is to stay unaware and unprepared for the potential for sexual abuse in churches and ministries.

In a couple of weeks, she promised Caring Well attenders, you’ll be back in the middle, neither paranoid nor naïve, but ready to act.

– Philip Bethancourt, executive vice president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission

“I want you to take reasonable steps to address a known risk.”

Norris’s words were a balm after two days of horrific stories of abuse, and warnings about how easy it is for predators to gain footing in churches. Even though the cofounder of MinistrySafe had just spent two hours describing danger signs and safer screening processes, she boiled her presentation down to one takeaway for rattled, sobered parents and ministry leaders: take a step.

Or, as she put it in another session, “Don’t do nothing.”

Judging from what was shared at Caring Well and since the conference, Southern Baptists are far from consensus on how to move forward from here. There is much hurt and anger over how allegations were handled in the past, and now. On the other hand, some may be skeptical that abuse is indeed epidemic, or that churches are as vulnerable as experts say they are.

The numbers, though, are hard to ignore. It’s estimated that 20% of people are sexually abused before they turn 18. A larger percentage experience sexual violence involving physical contact at some in their lives, according to statistics in the report released by the SBC’s sexual abuse study group. Shepherding was a major theme at Caring Well— Jesus’ call to pastors to lead precious sheep, to care for them, protect them, and love them well. SBC President J.D. Greear noted that the New Testament shepherd in charge of a hundred sheep leaves 99 of them to go in search of the one who’s lost. Norris’s words weren’t merely soothing amid so much devastating information. They were actionable. When you leave here, take one step toward making children safer at your church. Create an application for ministry volunteers. Institute an interview process. Don’t do nothing.

If it helps one person, it’s a step worth taking.

– Meredith Flynn

‘Don’t do nothing’

reporter’s notebook

When it comes to abuse, silence will always help the abuser, not the victim.

Much of Christendom today is in turmoil, trying to protect its name and reputation. Jesus was not crucified for our systems.

– Diane Langberg, psychologist and trauma expert

Southern Baptists won’t have a future unless we admit that we have often been more likely to condemn the sins of others than to confront the sins among us.

CARE WELL – Survivor and advocate Rachael Denhollander urged Southern Baptists to hold leaders accountable on calling out abuse.

Tracking members, visitors, small groups, sacraments & attendance Sending Bulk Mailings and Mass Emails

Creating Print and Online Directories Scheduling

Volunteers Managing Event Registration and Follow Up Managing Secure Child Check-In Creating E-Statements

Tracking donations and pledges and much more!

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

This report includes contributions received by the Illinois Baptist State Association through the third quarter of 2019. For questions about this report, contact the IBSA Church Cooperation Team at (217) 391-3104, e-mail JeffDeasy@IBSA.org, or write to P.O. Box 19247, Springfield, IL 62794-9247.

Southern Baptists gave more than through the Cooperative Program in 2018-19, exceeding budget projections for the fifth consecutive fiscal year.

When churches give $196 million

Our Illinois mission field

56.5%

In Illinois, of gifts given through CP stays in the state:

Planting new churches

Strengthening congregations

Equipping mission team members

Training new leaders for ministry

43.5%

The other supports Southern Baptist missions and ministries in North America and around the world, plus theological education for the next generation of pastors and missionaries.

Every nation

The Cooperative Program supports missionaries serving around the world through the International Mission Board, providing:

Top 100 Illinois churches in Cooperative Program support through the third quarter of 2019

Top 100 Illinois churches in per capita CP support through the third quarter of 2019

Tabernacle, Decatur 88.41

Beaucoup, Pinckneyville 88.05

Church of the Beloved-Near West, Chi. 88.00

Pelley Road Christian, Rockford 86.84

Nashville First, Nashville 85.44

Carmi First, Carmi 85.41

Tallula, Tallula 85.23

Litchfield First, Litchfield 84.46

Highland Avenue, Robinson 83.97

Waterloo First, Waterloo 83.63

Samaria Missionary, Albion 82.93

Mascoutah First, Mascoutah 82.39

Ten Mile, Mc Leansboro 82.22

Collinsville Community, Collinsville 81.58

Delafield, Mc Leansboro 80.71

Effingham First, Effingham 80.49

Immanuel, Chicago 80.47

Korean Bethel, 80.00

Ronnie Floyd, SBC Executive Committee President

Carpentersville 91.32

Peru First, Peru 91.01

East Union, Manchester 90.00

Eastview, Belleville 89.70

Blooming Grove, Mc Leansboro 88.99

Bethel, Vandalia 88.90

Logan Street, Mount Vernon 88.65

New Hope, Litchfield 88.65

Prairie Du Rocher First 88.56

Celebration Community, Pana 80.00

Farina First Southern, Farina 79.68

Calvary, Pittsfield 78.90

Ozark, Ozark 78.53

Cornerstone Community, Marion 78.46

Springbrook Community, Plainfield 78.08

Swansea, Swansea 77.80

RESOURCE

A word for Mondays

As an introverted pastor and ministry leader, Monday is the toughest day of the week. After a Sunday of ministry where I find myself around lots of people, on Mondays I’m tired, depleted, and sometimes discouraged. (It is rumored that most pastors quit on Mondays.)

I was bemoaning my plight to my wife after a long Monday. “I just feel drained,” I whined.

She looked at me and asked bluntly, “Did you have your quiet time Sunday morning?”

This question would change my ministry perspective and would ultimately raise my game as a pastor.

Ministry in any form is a challenging endeavor. To be a skilled practitioner in any field, time and energy are required, but ministry requires a supernatural, spiritual strength that cannot be manufactured. When faced with the fatigue of ministry, I am often reminded of the prophet Elijah.

Elijah had slayed all the wicked prophets, called down fire, and prayed for rain. If that wasn’t enough, he then outpaced Ahab’s chariot. Most would call this a good day of ministry, but move to the next scene and we find Elijah sitting under the broom tree asking God to kill him.

I stood on Mount Carmel in January. It was the highest vantage point around, but as the guide pointed into the distance, I realized for the first time that the brook where Elijah killed the prophets was quite a hike down the hill. By my estimation, Elijah would have gone up to sacrifice, come down to execute the prophets, gone back up to pray, and run back down the mountain to

beat the chariot. He would have been physically, emotionally, and spiritually depleted.

The highs and lows of ministry are real.

As ministry leaders, God has gifted us individually with skills and abilities to carry out our specific callings. Jesus has given spiritual gifts and natural strengths, both of which can edify and encourage the body. But in and of ourselves we do not have limitless strength.

If armed only with our spiritual gifts and talents, we might think we’re an irreplaceable fixture in our church’s life. We might make ministry about ourselves and not about our Savior. But ministry has a way of quickly bringing us to an end of ourselves—to our Monday. As I contemplated my wife’s question, I had to admit that before serving on Sundays, I would often give myself a pass when it came to my time alone with the Lord. After all, there were sermons to polish, lessons to teach, people to shepherd, and

The Learning curve

Disciple’s Prayer Life: Walking in Fellowship with God

T.W. Hunt and Catherine Walker

A guide to experiential prayer based on prayers in the Bible. Also recommended: Hunt’s “The Life-Changing Power of Prayer.”

The Unfolding Podcast

details to track. I was doing the Lord’s work. Surely, he would understand.

I admitted to my wife that I had not had my quiet time on Sunday. She looked at me incredulously. “But you are the pastor!”

This was a hard pill to swallow. Her surprise was justified; somewhere along the line I had missed the mark. My wife had begged the question: Could time in the word on Sunday really make that big of difference on Monday?

That week my habits began to change. I got up a little early on Sunday to spend time sitting at Jesus’ feet. Any given Sunday you can now find me on the opposite end of the couch from my wife with a cup of coffee and my Bible. My plan is the same that it has been for the last decade: I read through the Bible in a year, but now I utilize Sundays.

I used to think it was the caffeine that helped me get through Sunday, but I have learned that time with the Lord on Sunday gets me through my Monday.

Isaiah 40:31 is still true: “Those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.”

My prayer for ministry leaders is that our utter dependency on the Savior and his word will grow in the midst of ministry rigors. Like Elijah, may we be drawn to the same still small voice that has the power to not only rend the mountains and still the sea, but also strengthen us for today and steel us tomorrow, even if tomorrow is Monday.

Michael Kramer is discipleship pastor at Immanuel Baptist Church of Benton.

Each new episode is “a new chapter in God’s story,” where guests share how God has changed their lives.

Pat’s Playbook

Shift the focus

QThere’s change coming to our church, and while it doesn’t affect me directly, I find I’m not handling it well. Do you have any spiritual advice?

AThe key to accepting change is often to put aside our own preferences and focus on the real reason for the change. Churches often make changes to improve a particular situation or to stay current with the times. Be sure your resistance isn’t based on simply being comfortable with the status quo. Discuss your opinion with your pastor and listen carefully to the explanation as to why any change is being made.

Start something new

QI’m supposed to graduate up to an older class, but the teacher is really boring. After 30 years, she’s going nowhere. Should I try to stay with a group that’s younger than me, volunteer for the nursery, or just stay home?

AMay I offer one additional suggestion? Start a new class! While you might find a teacher boring, after 30 years, there are obviously others who enjoy her teaching style.

Rather than cause dissention (1 Corinthians 12:25), why not consider launching a new unit and inviting others to help you grow a successful class. Work with your pastor or Sunday school director to target an age group, find an empty room, and turn your concern into a class.

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

The Imperfect Pastor Zack Eswine

Eswine argues that enduring pastoral work is often small, mostly overlooked things over a long period of time. A great help to pastors who may feel frustrated or burned out.

– Cheryl Dorsey, prayer coordinator, Chicago Metro Baptist Association

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

– Leah Honnen, administrative assistant, IBSA Church Communication Team

PAT PAJAK

My wife’s question caused me to raise my game as a pastor.

devotional

A thank you note

Read: Psalm 30:1-5

David composed this psalm after God delivered him from a near-death experience. It was a dark time in David’s life when he thought his life would come to an end. This psalm is a thank you note to God for deliverance. David’s prayer for help had been answered, so in return for answered prayer David offers praise to God and proclaims his gratitude.

“I will exalt you, LORD, because you have lifted me up and have not allowed my enemies to triumph over me.”

Our prayer life is the foundation of our praise life. When God answers our prayers, we ought to give him praise. We worship God for who he is and we praise him for what he’s done. So, David praises God for answering his cry for help and delivering him from death’s doorstep. Then David invites the saints to join him in praising God.

ADRON ROBINSON

Celebrations

Churches mark major anniversaries

Welcome

people

Tyler Baggett is associate pastor at Lincoln Avenue Baptist Church in Jacksonville. A graduate of University of Tennessee-Martin and Southwestern Seminary, he comes to Illinois after serving on staff at churches in Tennessee and Oklahoma. Baggett and his wife, aLanna, have two sons.

Todd Lockwood is pastor of First Baptist Church, Galatia. He and his wife, Rebekah, served in churches across the country and the world during his career with the U.S. Air Force, before returning to his home state of Illinois. He previously served on staff at Resurrection Baptist Church in Benton. The Lockwoods have two children.

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Like David, we need to make it a habit to tell God thank you for what he has done for us. You may want to write your own thank you note.

He has delivered us from death and given us the gift of eternal life through faith in the finished work of Christ. He has provided all of our needs according to his riches in glory. His anger is for a moment, but his favor is eternal.

God is greater than our circumstances, so trust in him no matter the circumstance and cry out to him no matter how dark the night; in due time the Son will shine.

As David answers us, weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning!

Prayer Prompt: O Lord, you have delivered us from sickness, from ourselves, and from sin. So, we praise your holy name. Thank you for your steadfast love. Help us, Lord, to praise your name publicly and privately, for you are worthy to be praised. Amen.

Adron Robinson pastors Hillcrest Baptist Church in Country Club Hills and is president of IBSA.

neTworking

First Baptist Church, Cutler, is seeking a full-time pastor. Contact Paula Keelin at cpkeelin86@yahoo. com or (618) 317-8316.

Fellowship Baptist Church in South Chicago Heights seeks a bivocational pastor called by God to be the spiritual and administrative leader. Submit a cover letter, photo, resume, and three references to Resume.FellowshipBaptistChurch@ gmail.com.

Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services is seeking a director of development & communications to administer the financial development, communications, and marketing programs of BCHFS, encouraging support for the agency’s services to children, youth, and families. This role on BCHFS’s senior management team includes planning, budgeting, achievement, monitoring, and evaluation of all fundraising, marketing, and communication activities.

To apply, go to BCHFS.com/employment.

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

First Baptist Church, Woodlawn seeks a full-time senior pastor We will accept resumes October 1 through December 1, 2019. Please send resume and cover letter along with salary requirements to fbcwsearchcommittee@gmail. com, or mail to First Baptist Church of Woodlawn, 301 N. Central, Woodlawn, IL 62898, Attn: Search Committee.

Mission of Faith Baptist Church in Chicago seeks a Spirit-filled bivocational pastor. Applicants must hold true to the beliefs of The Baptist Faith and Message (2000) and demonstrate strong leadership and outreach skills. E-mail letter of interest and resume to info@ mofbc.org.

125 YEARS – Pastor Robert Weaver (right) and Unity Baptist Church in Vandalia celebrated the congregation’s 125th anniversary Sept. 22. IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams (left) presented Weaver and the church with a plaque of appreciation for their years of ministry.

PAST & FUTURE – East Union Baptist Church in Manchester marked 145 years as a church body on Sept. 29. Church members and guests were invited to dress in pioneer clothing for the celebration worship service and potluck lunch. East Union is led by Pastor Kenny Stevens, pictured above with his wife, Linda

Get ahead of holiday drama the counselor

It’s almost Thanksgiving, and I’m dreading dinner at my parents’ house. We have deep political and religious differences, and somehow can’t seem to stay away from those topics when we’re all together. I want to be “salt and light” when I’m with them. How do I know when to speak up and when to keep the peace?

AHave you noticed, when we go home for the holidays, how easy it is to slip back into old patterns of relating and behaving? I sometimes find myself sitting in the same chair at the dinner table that I sat in 40 years ago. You may find this difficult to believe but the problem you’re describing is so common, there’s a counseling technique designed to help you. We call it “taking the observer role.”

MARK McCORMICK

I once had a client who was so consumed with preventing hurt feelings and managing the conversation, his holidays were exhausting. He had become the self-appointed clown in the room. We call this a control distortion. He believed he had the power to control the conversation, that it was his job to save Christmas! I gently reminded him that Christmas was already saved.

When he took the observer role, he watched the family dynamic with some distance and learned to listen more and talk less. He learned to have more grace and less fear of losing control. He left the holiday table in peace, loving his family more. In his words, he stepped out of the center ring of the circus and enjoyed the show as a viewer, instead of a clown himself. Here are a few guidelines: Be more light than salt. Grace is often more convicting than confrontation. Look for common ground; find things you agree on to discuss. There will be more common ground than you expect. Let the people you disagree with do the grandstanding. In the end, our time together as family is precious. We are not guaranteed an infinite amount of time together in this world. Spend the time you have offering support and modeling Christ’s love to those you hold dear. Step out of the center ring.

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

To file, or not to file?

QHow do you know when you should file an insurance claim on a homeowner’s issue, versus just dealing with it and paying cash?

ABasically, it’s when you begin to feel the pain financially. Let’s say you have a $1,000 deductible on your homeowner’s policy. If you have an $1,100 issue, just pay the $100 out of pocket and don’t mess with it. But let’s say you have the same deductible and a $2,000 problem. Depending on things like your overall financial situation, the value of the house, and the cost of the insurance policy, that might just get you to file a claim.

Somehow, lots of people get the idea they can make money on the insurance process. You don’t. Insurance companies make money, and consumers pay insurance companies. You don’t make money on insurance in the long-term. You may have a situation, once in a blue moon, where you come out ahead on a transaction versus what you paid in. But over the scope of your life, you don’t make money on insurance companies.

The point is this: If you turn in the claim, you’re going to experience a rate increase or cancellation somewhere—at some point—that offsets it. I only turn in substantial claims, meaning claims that are far above the deductible.

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

Pass on this deal

QMy in-laws have inherited some money, and they want to invest in real estate. They have offered to help my husband and me buy a home, but they want ownership of some kind as part of the deal. Is this a good idea?

AI’d pass on this offer. It’s not a good deal.

I’m glad they got some money. I mean, that’s great for them. If they want to do some real estate investing, that’s awesome, too. If they want to give their kids a gift out of the inheritance money, that would be a very nice, generous thing to do. But no, we’re not going for a deal where they have ownership in your home. Things like that end up messy, and it won’t get you where you really want to be. Even if it does, you won’t like the trip!

If you take a deep look into this, you’ll begin to understand there are some things involved that will change the nature of your relationship with your inlaws. Every time you see them and they see you, they’ll see dollar signs. Dinners together will start to taste different, and they’ll feel different, too.

Protect your relationships and your family. Please don’t do it.

“Looks like Brother Bill plans on bringing up another one of his pet projects.”

DAVE RAMSEY

dave says

EVENTS

October 26

Illinois Kids’ Ministry Resource Conference

What: Equip your church’s ministry to children with resources and helpful how-to’s, including a preview of LifeWay’s 2020 Vacation Bible School materials

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

November 1-2

AWSOM

What: Discipleship-focused weekend for girls in grades 7-12

Where: IBSA Building, Springfield

Cost: $20, includes lunch and T-shirt Register: IBSA.org/AWSOM

November 10

Youth Encounter

What: IBSA’s annual youth evangelism conference

Where: FBC O’Fallon Register: IBSA.org/YE2019

November 5-6

IBSA Pastors’ Conference

What: Six preachers will explore revival and renewal in ministry

Where: Cornerstone Church, Marion Info: IBSAannualmeeting.org

This year’s Pastors’ Conference also features multiple breakout sessions on overcoming obstacles to revitalization, avoiding ministry burnout, preaching with passion, and more.

With 8 out of 10 Southern Baptist churches declining or plateaued, we need renewal and revitalization. At this year’s IBSA Annual Meeting, churches and leaders will be invited to “ReFocus” for the purpose of reaching the millions in Illinois who don’t know Christ.

November 6-7

IBSA Annual Meeting

Theme: ReFocus

Where: Cornerstone Church, Marion Info: IBSAannualmeeting.org

THE NEW REALITY

Faith and politics

2020 election looms large for Christians

With the country’s next presidential election just over a year away, LifeWay Research and the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission released a report on how evangelicals think about and interact with politics.

Among evangelicals

48% identify as Republicans

31% as Democrats

21% as independents or something else

More than three-quarters of evangelicals said they voted in the 2016 election, with a majority favoring the Republican candidate.

62% Donald Trump

31% Hillary Clinton

7% Another candidate

Evangelicals were divided along ethnic and generational lines in 2016, with 80% of white evangelicals favoring Trump, 82% of black evangelicals favoring Clinton, and Hispanic evangelicals split evenly between the two candidates. Older evangelicals were more likely to say they voted for Trump than their younger counterparts.

A 2017 study by LifeWay Research looked for reasons young adults who once attended church dropped out at some point. One-quarter said they stopped attending because they disagreed with the church’s stance on political/social issues.

– Scott McConnell, LifeWay Research

The current survey found evangelicals are more likely to say healthcare, the economy, national security, and immigration are the public policy concerns most important to them, rather than religious liberty, abortion, providing for the needy, or addressing racial division.

– From LifeWay Research

“Evangelical pastors must recognize that political diversity frequently is present within churches. If civility across these differences is not actively fostered, it can hurt the mission of the church.”

“Fixing our eyes on Jesus,...”

– Hebrews 12:1

Cornerstone Church, Marion

Don’t miss the last YE date this year featuring speaker Chad Poe, worship leader Sean Curran, and comedian Jonnie W.