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  • January 31, 2013

Archives For January 31, 2013

Tuesday News Briefing: Missions in Chicago, Pope Benedict, the influence of athletes

Meredith Flynn —  February 12, 2013
Nanette Franks (center) and Judy Rinkenberger (right) share information about a women's luncheon with a Chicago resident.

Illinois WMU volunteers share information about a women’s luncheon with a Chicago resident.

THE BRIEFING | Meredith Flynn

A volunteer mission team braved cold temperatures and gusty winds yesterday to bring a little warmth to Chicagoans. Eight women representing churches across the state and Illinois Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU) worked in the name of Chicago’s Uptown Baptist Church during the annual trip.

Several in the group stood outside Uptown, handing out gloves, hats scarves and socks. Others worked inside the church’s kitchen to prepare an evening meal for more than 100 people.

“It just really opens my eyes [to needs] that I read about, but don’t ever see in my everyday life,” said Nanette Franks, a Harrisburg resident, as she worked on table decorations for the Valentine’s Day-themed meal. Uptown hosts a free dinner every Monday evening.

Along with the meal and clothing giveaway, the women helped organize Uptown’s clothes closet and hosted a women’s luncheon. They also worked with a neighboring missions organization, and visited local nursing homes and hospitals. For more information about the trip, see the March 4 issue of the Illinois Baptist.

Evangelicals: Pope Benedict has been a ‘friend of life’
(From Baptist Press) As the world reacted to the unexpected news that Pope Benedict XVI would become the first pope in six centuries to resign, evangelicals acknowledged major theological differences while citing Benedict’s commitment to human dignity as a key part of his legacy. Chuck Kelley, president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, located in a heavily Catholic region, told Baptist Press that Benedict “is a man worthy of our respect and appreciation.”

“Although there are profound differences in Baptist and Catholic perspectives on faith, we shared a commitment to the sanctity of life and other biblical values.” Read the full story at BPNews.net.

Athletes have more influence than clergy, survey says
A new Barna survey found 64% of Americans think professional athletes have more influence in society than faith leaders, and 61% of respondents favor athletes talking publicly about their faith. Read more at Barna.org.

Frost to lead NAMB’s Midwest region
(From Baptist Press) New York pastor Gary Frost has been named the North American Mission Board’s new Midwest Region vice president. Frost spent 18 years as pastor of Rising Star Baptist Church in Youngstown, Ohio, and plans to locate near Cleveland for his new role.

“I love the Midwest and I came from Ohio, so we are excited about the move. And people in Cleveland face many of the same issues we face in New York. I hope I will be able to draw on those experiences and apply them to reaching new people and helping plant new churches in the Midwest.” Read more at BPNews.net.

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Making prayer ‘a glorious time talking to God’

Meredith Flynn —  February 11, 2013

pull quote_BLACKABYHEARTLAND | Meredith Flynn

Richard Blackaby is the author of numerous books and a former pastor and seminary president. He also has spent his entire life in a ministry family; his father, Henry Blackaby, co-wrote Experiencing God and has a long-time ministry to pastors and leaders, which Richard now leads as president of Blackaby Ministries International.

On a recent visit to Springfield, Ill., he spoke with the Illinois Baptist about the discipline of prayer.

Illinois Baptist: During your teaching sessions here in Springfield, you talked about how easy it is to fall into shallow praying. Is prayer hard work?

Richard Blackaby: Yeah, I think it is. It must be, because so many Christians struggle with it. I mean, it’s not really hard to do, but it is a discipline because you’re talking to someone that’s invisible. You don’t hear His voice, and you’re busy, and you start thinking of all the other stuff you should be doing.

IB: Sure.

RB: It’s not hard, anybody can pray, yet rarely have I every talked to a Christian who said they felt like their prayer life was what it should be. Rarely have I talked to a pastor who felt that; I don’t know if I’ve ever talked to a pastor who said, “Yeah, I wouldn’t change a thing in my prayer life.” And I wouldn’t say that about mine.

But I think the problem in part with prayer is that it’s something we keep trying to teach, instead of model. I could teach you until I’m blue in the face about why you should pray. I could give you all kinds of acronyms and books to read. But at the end of the day, if I just every day met with you and just prayed, and just had a glorious time talking to God, you’d probably want to pray that way too eventually, whether I was there or not.

IB: In your own life, what has helped you go deeper in that discipline?

RB: My dad always talked about unhurried time with God, and he said you have to carve out enough time that it’s unhurried. That when you start to pray, you don’t even have to look at your watch to be worried that your next appointment is coming up. You know you’ve got enough time to just relax with God. So for [my dad] for years, that meant he got up at 4:00 in the morning.

IB: What else?

RB: The other thing that was kind of interesting for me – I kind of go in and out where I try this – I would write my prayers down. Not my prayer requests, like write Bill’s name down [and] pray he gets a job, but actually writing out in sentence form what I was asking God to do….It was amazing what that did, because when you pray, you can pray out loud, but a lot of times you’re just praying silently. Your mind is thinking these thoughts and you’re saying these things, but it just seemed to be more… I’d get my hands on it better when it was written out.

For more from Blackaby, go to ibonline.ibsa.org to read the February 11 issue of the Illinois Baptist.

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The unseen danger of same-sex marriage

Meredith Flynn —  February 7, 2013

pull quote_WARNOCKCOMMENTARY | Mark Warnock

At first glance, the fight about same-sex marriage appears to be over whether to “normalize” homosexuality. But there is a more chilling danger lurking unseen: legalizing same-sex marriage will change the government’s posture toward religion from neutral to antagonistic.

Marriage is a universal, God-given institution, which is set up to provide the best environment for the nurturing of children. Marriage fuses the private interests of romance and sex with the public interest of seeing that children are cared for.

Marriage was not created by either the state or the organized church, but both administer it.  More importantly, both have long agreed on its definition: a permanent joining of a man and woman, which authorizes their sexual congress and makes them responsible to parent any children they might have.

Now, however, our government wants to usurp marriage for its own, and change it to include homosexual couples.

Many Christian churches, including Baptists, are bound by Scripture and doctrines to the original, time-honored understanding of marriage. They simply cannot recognize same-sex marriage as legitimate. Redefining marriage will put government and religion on opposite sides of an unfriendly divide.

The state will soon find it necessary to enforce its new definition of marriage, and to protect those marriages from discrimination. Churches and synagogues that refuse to recognize same-sex marriages will risk the state’s wrath. Imagine if a church secretary enters a same sex marriage and wants to add her partner to her church-funded medical coverage. Or what if a gay couple wanted to rent the facilities for their ceremony? Would the law allow a church to say yes to some non-members, but no to others?

We have already seen the government force individuals and their businesses to recognize same-sex marriage in violation of their own religious convictions. All assurances that religious people have nothing to fear are coming from advocates of same-sex marriage, who view religion as an essentially private matter. The “assurance” they offer is that religious people can think whatever they want about same-sex marriages, but will still be forced in practice to acknowledge and accommodate them.

In this contest, the state has all the power. It can legislate, fine, remove tax exemption, and seize property. If same-sex marriage becomes law, religious people and institutions will find themselves no longer in a neutral, free, protected place in our society.

This may in fact be the sinister goal of same-sex marriage legislation. Under Illinois civil union law, homosexual couples already have all the rights that marriage would confer. The only meaningful difference is that legalizing same-sex marriage will increase the government’s power over religion.

The first American freedom may be about to fade away.

Mark Warnock is associate pastor at First Baptist Church of Columbia, Ill., and is studying for his Ph.D in Christian Philosophy at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.

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Tuesday News Briefing: Southern Baptist Convention sees 66% jump in diversity

Meredith Flynn —  February 5, 2013

THE BRIEFING | Meredith Flynn

The number of non-Anglo congregations in the Southern Baptist Convention has increased by more than 66 percent since 1998, according to data from the convention’s agencies. Of the SBC’s 50,768 congregations, just over 10,000 identified themselves by an ethnicity other than Anglo in 2011, up from 6,044 in 1998.

SBC President Fred Luter, elected last year as the convention’s first African American president, rejoiced over the shift.

“I remember at one time I was the only [African American pastor] in my city who was Southern Baptist,” Luter said. “I caught a lot of flack as a result of that. Thank God I’m able to see some of the fruit of my labor – not only at my particular church but in the associations and conventions across the country.”

In Illinois, one-fourth of Southern Baptist churches, missions and church plants identify either as an ethnicity other than Anglo, or as a multi-ethnic church.

“Having been Southern Baptist since 1969, and to see the changes and see the increase, it’s simply exciting to me,” said Don Sharp, pastor of Faith Tabernacle Baptist Church in Chicago. “I really get a good handle on it when I go to Black Church Week at Ridgecrest, N.C., and see the gathering of close to 2,000 who come there who are Southern Baptist.

“I remember some years ago when we went there, and there weren’t enough of us to fill up one little room.”

The largest jump in non-Anglo congregations within the SBC has predominantly come from an 82.7 percent increase in the number of African American congregations, but Hispanic congregations also have seen a significant increase over the same span – nearly 63 percent. And the number of Asian congregations affiliated with the SBC has grown by 55 percent. Read more at BPNews.net.

-From Baptist Press, with additional reporting by Meredith Flynn

Other news

Richard Blackaby says prayer is hard workWhile in Springfield to speak to directors of missions and associational leaders, author Richard Blackaby sat down with the Illinois Baptist for a Q&A on prayer and character development. Blackaby, who comes from a famously prayerful family (his father Henry co-authored “Experiencing God), said prayer is hard work.

“It must be, because so many Christians struggle with it. I mean, it’s not really hard to do, but it is a discipline because you’re talking to someone that’s invisible. You don’t hear His voice, and you’re busy, and you start thinking of all the other stuff you should be doing.”

The solution? Carving out unhurried time with God, to start with, Blackaby said. He also suggested writing out your prayers. “Not my prayer requests…but actually writing out in sentence form what I was asking God to do.

“I’d get my hands on it better when it was written out.”

For more of the IB‘s interview with Richard Blackaby, see the next issue of the Illinois Baptist, online Feb. 8 here.

Stanford opens religious liberty clinic
One of the country’s most prestigious law schools has opened the first legal clinic exclusively for religious freedom cases, Baptist Press reports. “It’s not needed because the U.S. is uniquely persecuting – it’s not,” said Stanford Law professor Michael McConnell. “I believe we are the freest and most welcoming country in the world … But we still be to fight and to think and to litigate and protect.” The clinic works like a small law firm, where students handle real cases under the supervision of a professor. Read full story at BPNews.net.

Help from above?
A survey by the Public Religion Research Institute found 27% of Americans believe God “plays a role in determining which team wins” in sporting events. And 53% believe God “rewards athletes who have faith with good health and success.” Institute CEO Robert P. Jones told CNN that many Christians believe in “a God that is very active in their daily lives and very concerned about the things that matter to them. So far as sports are one of the things that matter, it stands to reason that God is playing an important role.” Read more on CNN’s Belief blog.

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Why we went to a Super Bowl party

Meredith Flynn —  February 4, 2013

SPE_034HEARTLAND | Nate Adams

Recently our neighbors invited us to a Super Bowl Party at their home. This isn’t the first year they have invited us, but it is the first time we said yes. I have to admit, though, that there were several reasons I wanted to say no.

First, of course it was on a Sunday. The afternoon game time meant I could easily get home from the church where I was speaking. But Sunday afternoon is usually a time when I can relax a little, have some personal time, and maybe even take a nap. I kind of wanted the option of falling asleep in front of the game, rather than socializing through it.

Second, the people that were inviting us aren’t very much like us, and we both knew that. Before offering the invitation, our neighbor asked, “Do you mind being around people who are drinking?” The invitation itself then came with assurances that there would be soft drinks available as well. I guess we’re known as “the Baptists on the block,” and most of our neighbors know I’m in full-time ministry.

Third, I wasn’t sure exactly what kind of position we might find ourselves in at this party. Who else would be there? Would we even find we had much in common to talk about? Would others wonder why we were there, especially after not coming in previous years, and would they be watching us for ways we might not fit in?

Finally, I wondered what kinds of other commitments might be asked of us as a result of this party. Did they need new workers for the neighborhood workday or workday? Would we now be asked to buy more wrapping paper or Girl Scout cookies from their kids?

I know, all those suspicions and phobias don’t sound very trusting, or even mature, do they? And yet as I reflected on all the reasons I wanted to tell our neighbors no once again, I realized that many of those same thoughts probably run through the mind of anyone who is invited to church by his or her neighbor.

When we invite our neighbors to church, we may feel like we are inviting them to a wonderful place where we have the richest worship experiences and deepest friendships of our lives. But in their minds we may be asking them to take a big slice of their most personal time and spend it with people they suspect are not very much like them, and who may press them for changes they’re not ready to make.

So instead of saying no to the Super Bowl party this year, we said yes. It wasn’t just because we empathized with how hard it is to invite someone to something. It was because our neighbor taught us something about the art of a sincere invitation.

First, she has gradually but consistently built a closer and more trusting relationship with us. I now believe she wouldn’t intentionally put us in an awkward or compromising position. She obviously knows we’re different than many of those who will be at the party, but she respects our values and looks for ways to accommodate them. She seems interested in us personally, and not with whether we will conform to others. And she has persistently and warmly invited us, even when we’ve always said no. Her invitation came from her heart.

There was one more thing. In saying yes this time, we also knew there would be at least three couples present for whom we’ve been praying, and looking for opportunities to share Christ. In fact one of those couples is our host. And in an ironic way, God has used the very neighbors for whom we’ve been praying to show us the art, and the heart, of a good invitation.

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