Archives For November 30, 1999

Trucks, trailers and gators. Oh my!

Lisa Misner —  June 19, 2012

Posted by Lisa Sergent

Holding a baby alligator at the Louisiana Baptist Convention's exhibit

You never know what you will find in the SBC Exhibit Hall. This year it was an alligator at the Louisiana Baptist Convention’s exhibit.

One of the best things about the SBC Annual Meeting is the Exhibit Hall. You never know what you will see. One year, a seminary graduate who had become an animal trainer was there with a lemur and a vulture.  Another year, messengers got to take turns riding a Segway around the North American Mission Board’s exhibit.

NAMB exhibit

The 2012 NAMB exhibit features Send North America.

This year has not disappointed. From the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission’s exhibit where children can make balloon animals and have their caricatures drawn, to LifeWay’s test of strength challenge, to the International Mission Board’s interactive exhibit that gives messengers the opportunity to hammer a nail into a large, wooden cross as an expression of their commitment to the Great Commission.

Cross at the IMB's interactive exhibit

A young woman hammers a nail into a cross at the International Mission Board’s interactive tent inside the SBC Exhibit Hall. The exhibit prompt reads, “I place this nail in the cross as a commitment to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth.”

Disaster Relief has large tractor-trailers, a Ford F550 Western Hauler truck, sample mud-out and other equipment, a shower/laundry unit and more. WMU is there with World Crafts on display and for sale. FAITH Riders have a Harley on display and Mid-Continent College as a great classic car.

Disaster Relief Tractor-Trailer

One of the North American Mission Board’s Disaster Relief Tractor-Trailers on display in the SBC Exhibit Hall in New Orleans. Southern Baptists have the nation’s third largest disaster relief response organization behind only the American Red Cross and Salvation Army.

Mid-Continent College's classic car

The exhibit hall also houses an entire LifeWay Christian Bookstore. You can find anything they sell in their regular book store and probably more. With a quick glance around the convention center’s corridors, it is easy to see messengers carry LifeWay bags full of their newly found treasures.

LifeWay Christian Bookstore

Messengers shop at the LifeWay Christian Bookstore in the SBC Exhibit Hall.

But the most unusual display this year was hosted by the Louisiana Baptist Convention.  Convention-goers had the opportunity to hold a live, baby alligator and have their picture taken with it.  Never one to shy away from a challenge, I stepped up, held the alligator and smiled at the camera.  His mouth was bound shut, so there was no worry of being bitten. I also noted the alligator’s skin was surprisingly soft.

I texted the photo to my husband and parents who couldn’t believe I held and petted a “gator.” My mother immediately started calling me “Gator Girl.” Thanks mom.

So now I’m thinking, what could we do at the IBSA Annual Meeting in November? The Illinois state bird is a red Cardinal (what do Cubs fan think of that?), the state animal is white-tailed deer (I’m sure hunters could help us with that), our state amphibian is the Eastern Tiger Salamander (I don’t want to hold a salamander), and, finally the state fish, a blue gill (do we want to pose with a dead fish?).

And don’t forget, our state reptile is the painted turtle and our state insect is the monarch butterfly.

Being the Land of Lincoln, maybe we should have a large cut out of President Lincoln. Do you think the Presidential Museum would lend us his wax figure? If they agree, maybe they could include Mrs. Lincoln and the children, too.

Think about it. What should we have in the IBSA Annual Meeting Exhibit Hall this year? Just don’t call me Gator Girl.

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Hot weather, hot coffee and a ‘mighty wind’

Lisa Misner —  June 18, 2012

Posted by Lisa Sergent

You know you’re at the SBC Pastors’ Conference when the line at the convention center’s Starbucks kiosk snakes down stairs and around a corner. It may be hot outside, but inside it’s hot coffee for all!

Messengers wait in line at Starbucks for hot coffee and caffeine.

Messengers wait in line at Starbucks for hot coffee and caffeine.

The conference kicked off Sunday evening with messages from Josh Smith, Don Wilton, Ronnie and Nick Floyd, and Tony Evans. Monday morning began with a message from Johnny Hunt followed by Wayne Robertson, Phil Hoskins and David Jeremiah.

Hoskins spoke from Acts 2 focusing on the wind and fire of Pentecost. Calling the Holy Spirit, “a mighty wind” he shared, “The greatest need of the hour is for the Holy Spirit to breathe a mighty wind over us, over our churches and over our nation.”

“Gone with the Wind” was the message’s catch phrase.

  • “Gone with the wind will be a coldness in worship. I possess in my heart a joy unspeakable.”
  • “Gone with the wind will be a contention in the walk.  On the day of Pentecost ,the believers where all in one accord.” 
  • “Gone with the wind will be complacency in God’s Word.”

He had other words directed specifically to Southern Baptists:

–     “It remains to be seen what could be done in our churches if everyone just did their duty not be concerned with who gets the credit.”

–          “Will be a great day when Southern Baptists stop enduring their Christianity and start getting excited about Jesus.”

–          “You cannot fish and fight at the same time. The importance of unity is seen throughout the New Testament.  Major works of spirit of god is to bring us to unity in the faith.  The only way the church can experience the harmony of the Spirit is a fresh filling of the spirit of God.”

Dennis “Swanee” Swanberg is expected to bring some levity this afternoon, then David Platt and Herb Reavis, Jr. will take the platform.

Tonight’s featured speakers are Jack Graham, James MacDonald, and the man of the hour – Fred Luter, Jr.

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Where else could we be?

Lisa Misner —  June 16, 2012

By Nate Adams

On the cover date of this issue, I should be in New Orleans at the 2012 Southern Baptist Convention. A number of you will be there too, and I look forward to seeing you following the Pastors’ Conference Monday night, at the IBSA reception for Illinois Baptists and friends.

But I’ve also talked recently with people who will not be with us at the Southern Baptist Convention, and for pretty good reasons.

For example, our middle son Noah will be a senior next year at Judson University. He serves part-time during the school year as youth minister at Calvary Baptist Church in Elgin, and this summer he is doing a 10-week internship there.

During the week of the SBC, Noah will be leading his first World Changers youth mission trip to Owensboro, Kentucky. His three-van caravan will stop here in Springfield to pick up four students from his home church, Western Oaks Baptist Church, and to spend the night at our house. The next morning they will head out for Kentucky at the same time we leave for New Orleans.

I asked Noah if he would like to attend the national SBC with me, and then found that for a number of reasons that was the only week his group could participate in a World Changers project. He grinned at me and asked, “Missions or meetings, Dad – which is more important?”

In another conversation with a leading pastor in our state I asked, “Will I see you in New Orleans?” He too replied that his church’s summer missions plans would find him in Chicago that week. For several years, his church has partnered with smaller churches in the Chicago area. This pastor personally leads a sizable group of all ages from his church to lead VBS, perform manual labor, and assist fledgling church plants.

I think my pastor friend may have thought I was implying that he should make the SBC a priority, and so he started to explain why they needed to do the mission trip that same week. “No explanation necessary,” I assured him.
And then, remembering the conversation with my son, I followed up with my own grin. “I mean, which is more important, right?”

I don’t mean by either of these examples to imply that attending the national SBC is not important. I mean, that’s where I’ll be, and important things transpire there. But important things will transpire in Owensboro and in Chicago that week too. And part of me wishes I were going to be in one of those places as you read this, instead of New Orleans.

Maybe it’s a good question for us to ask ourselves this summer, as we plan our various conferences and vacations and weekends and even our church activities at home. Where else could we be? Is where we’re planning to go simply serving ourselves, or our families, or even our churches, or are we going somewhere to actively carry the Gospel or serve someone in the name of Christ?

I’m going to conclude that it’s reasonable and even potentially important for me to be at the SBC in New Orleans as you read this. The relationships and decisions that take place there can significantly impact our work together as Illinois Baptists. But while I’m in those meetings I may occasionally be looking out the window and praying for the groups I know that are doing something that perhaps is even more important.

Nate Adams is executive director of the Illinois Baptist State Association.
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We’re Blogging Now. Why Should You Care?

Lisa Misner —  June 16, 2012
Hello, Friend. 
 
Thanks for visiting our new blog. In the era of the 24-hour news cycle and instant journalism, you need news more often than the Illinois Baptist newspaper’s publishing schedule allows. We hope this will become a frequent stop for news junkies, cultural observers, and Christian thinkers alike.
 
Southern Baptist life in the Upper Midwest is different from the deep South version: We are far outnumbered. There’s not an SBC church on every corner in every town. Our theology and polity have to be explained, and they are not readily embraced by the masses. Early church planters called this pioneer territory. The North was the Baptist frontier. 
 
It still is.
 
So to encourage and bolster your ministry, we launch this blog, a community of people called to reach the cities and towns and rural communities that represent one of the edges of Southern Baptist work. 
 
Visit the blog regularly, and look for — 
  • Tuesday News Briefing, news of interest to IBSA church leaders and members. 
  • Breaking news, when it really qualifies as breaking news. (We’ll update as merited, and we’ll try not to abuse the term “news alert.”) 
  • Commentary on happenings in our state, our denomination, and the world from the pages of the Illinois Baptist newspaper. (You’ll often get it here before the print edition reaches your mailbox.) 
  • New voices and fresh perspectives on ministry from people who may not have appeared in the paper often. We’ll explore faith and culture, and the challenge of living and leading Christianly in challenging times.  
We hope to share with you good reporting and invigorating discussion.
Thanks for stopping by. Come back soon. 
 
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