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  • November 30, 1999

Archives For November 30, 1999

Illinois Baptist State Association

Pioneer Territory

Lisa Misner —  August 10, 2012
IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams and his son, Ethan, at Yellowstone National Park.

IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams and his son, Ethan, at Yellowstone National Park.

ILLINOIS MISSION OFFERING | Nate Adams

Since reading Robert Lewis’s book “Raising Modern Day Knights” several years ago, I’ve been taking special father-son trips with each of our three sons – before high school, after high school, and after college.  Our youngest son Ethan graduated from high school in June, and so last month he and I set out for Yellowstone National Park in northwest Wyoming – the first trip there for either of us. 

Yellowstone was Ethan’s choice.  He said he wanted to go somewhere none of our family had been before, and to see and do some things I hadn’t already experienced with one of his older brothers.  He was looking for pioneer territory. 

And we found it.  Because Yellowstone is the nation’s oldest national park, it has for generations been protected from development, and preserved in its natural state.  Yes, there are roads, and along them a few lodges and campgrounds where carefully restrained visitors can stay and experience the park.  But Yellowstone is still far more wilderness than civilization.

Spiritually speaking, our Illinois mission field is, like Yellowstone, more wilderness than civilization.  And our churches are outposts in what is still very much a pioneer territory, especially for Southern Baptists, but really for all of evangelical Christianity.  The gospel simply has not advanced or spread as far here as it has in other parts of the nation. 

Though Illinois has been a state for almost 200 years and Baptists have been here even longer, the vast and growing population, especially of Northern Illinois, continues to dwarf the number of churches and believers.  Today the ratio of Southern Baptist churches to population in Mississippi and Alabama is 1:1400, and 1:1700 as far north as Kentucky.  Yet here in Illinois the ratio is 1 church for every 12,700 in population.  And of course on average our churches here are much smaller.

That’s why I invite your church to enthusiastically promote the Illinois Mission Offering this fall, and to ask every devoted church member to give generously through it.  Right now Illinois Baptists have 80 new churches in some stage of development or launch, and dozens of additional sites identified where churches are needed.  Your state staff is traveling tirelessly among hundreds of existing churches, equipping them in evangelism, education, leadership, discipleship, worship, student ministry, missions, and more.  And due to lower Cooperative Program receipts and reduced funding from the North American Mission Board, the Illinois Mission Offering is more important than ever. 

Last year the IBSA family of churches stepped up and gave a record Illinois Mission Offering that was almost 17% higher than the previous year.  That $65,000 increase has helped soften the blow of a $265,000 annual funding reduction from the North American Mission Board that began in 2012.  Still it was necessary to trim back staff and ministries that serve churches here in Illinois.  A strong 2012 Illinois Mission Offering will be our primary resource for continuing and strengthening ministries that no longer receive funding from the North American Mission Board.  Your gifts will help us know how much you value those ministries. 

We live in a pioneer territory.  We have chosen to be Biblical, evangelical Christians, to be Illinois Baptists, where there is more spiritual wilderness than civilization.  Unlike Yellowstone, where the natural state is one of beauty and grandeur, the natural state of our mission field is one of spiritual darkness.  Most of the people who live here with us are lost.  They don’t know Jesus yet. 

We’re not tourists here.  We’re more like park rangers who live on site, year round, for the sake of the park’s natural inhabitants.  When the park closes for the winter and most others go home, we bundle up and press on.  We stick together, we cooperate, and we share and sacrifice.  We’re not preserving the natural state of our mission field.  We’re heaven bent on transforming it.

Nate Adams is executive director of the Illinois Baptist State Association.

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Pin trading, fish & chips, and one red phone booth

Meredith Flynn —  July 26, 2012

OLYMPICS | Serena Butler

Even before the Olympics bring thousands of people from around the world to London, it seems as though the world has already arrived here. During our second day of orientation, we learned about the city’s diverse population:

  • 12-14 million people in the greater London area
  • More than 300 languages spoken in the public schools here
  • Less than 10% of Londoners are in church on any given Sunday

You can’t see them, but there are 21 other Americans waiting to take a picture in this phone booth.

We also got a lesson in pin trading, a major Olympic past-time. It’s also an outreach tool used to share the Gospel. We each received some pins to give away, and had an opportunity to purchase pins from past Olympics to help us start conversations with people we’ll meet.

To end the day, we had a traditional English dinner – fish and chips- in St. Margarets, the town where we’re staying. Then we “took a wander” down the main street, enjoying the quaint homes. We found a phone booth and each team member took a turn posing in it. We drew several onlookers. I’m sure it was quite a site to see 22 Americans all excited about one phone booth. As we strolled along, several people asked us why we’re here. We had the chance to tell them we’re here for the Olympics and are working with some churches in the area.

Up next: Heading into the city to meet our host churches and being the ministry part of our trip. We’re excited and ready to get started!

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London Calling!

Meredith Flynn —  July 25, 2012

OLYMPICS | Serena Butler

Editor’s note: IBSA’s Serena Butler is leading a mission team in London this week to help local churches there minister during the Summer Olympic Games, which start Friday. They’ll work in coffee houses hosted by the churches for Londoners and visitors to watch the Games, grab a bite to eat, and engage in conversation with people from around the world. Serena will post regular updates here, so be sure to check back frequently and also visit IBSA.org/Olympics for more from London.

We had a miraculously smooth entry into London –
even with all our luggage.

When I called my mom before we left for London, I said, “Maybe all our flights will be on time and all our luggage will arrive on time.” She said, “That would be a miracle.”

Well, Mom, miracles still happen! We all arrived safely – actually early – into Heathrow International Airport Tuesday morning. We breezed through passport control, found our luggage, and made our way through customs without a hitch. When we came into the main terminal of the airport, there were Olympic volunteers everywhere waiting to greet teams and media people. As we waited for our mini-bus to arrive to take us to our lodging, several folks asked us who we were and what we were doing. Some asked us what sports team we were. I’m not sure what kind of team we look like, but it started some conversations as we waited.

Nelda Smothers, our senior team member, quickly started a conversation with one of the volunteers. As I approached her, I could hear her saying things like, “It’s about a relationship, not a religion.” She learned that the gentleman’s wife attends a church in the Kings Cross area, where half of our team will be serving. As we spoke to a few others they and we explained what we would be doing, one said, “I might just pop in for some coffee at your coffee house one afternoon.” (You need to say that last sentence with your best Mary Poppins impression).

Meeting the Norwegian handball team.
Go Norway! But what is handball?

As we waited outside for our ride, the Norwegian handball team arrived, and our team took advantage of the opportunity to take some photos with some real Olympians. Then, it was time to board our coach and head to All Nations, the Christian college where we’re staying this week. It’s housed in an old manor once owned by friends of William Wilberforce. If you saw that movie “Amazing Grace” that name should ring a bell. The college is a training school for missions. It has lovely gardens and is very nice – and very English.

Our lodging for the week.

Tuesday evening, we had our first orientation session, joining about 200 other volunteers from around the globe. I met Dirk, a young man from Germany, who’s here in London because, in his words, “I attended the Barcelona Games as an atheist and I was introduced to the Gospel by a street preacher there. That is where I began my search for God.” Now he is here, as a believer, to share the Gospel with others. He was raised in East Germany, under communism, so Barcelona was the first time he had heard the Gospel. Those are the kinds of opportunities we’re praying for this week.

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The Briefing: Defending marriage in Illinois, church giving still declining, ‘Choose2’ in the spotlight

Meredith Flynn —  July 10, 2012

THE BRIEFING | Meredith Flynn

Illinois marriage law gets court defender
A Chicago-based legal organization will work to uphold Illinois’ definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman.

The Thomas More Society was granted intervenor status by a state judge last week, meaning they will oppose the lawsuits brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal on behalf of 25 gay and lesbian couples who were not allowed to marry in Cook County.

The couples say Illinois’ 1996 Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (which defines marriage as being between a man and a woman) is unconstitutional, based on the state’s equal protection clause.

Soon after the lawsuits were filed, Peter Breen, executive director of the Thomas More Society, told World News Service the suits would not hold up in court under the constitutional arguments.

“Going around the will of the people is not the right way to change an institution that has thousands of years of history and is sound in its reasons for existing,” Breen said.

The society has filed a motion to dismiss the case, and oral arguments will be heard Sept. 27. Read the full story at BPnews.net.

Other news:

Presbyterian Church USA divided over same-sex marriage
By a very narrow margin, the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA) voted to maintain its definition of marriage as “between a woman and a man,” rather than change it to “between two people.” Delegates to the denomination’s General Assembly voted 338-308 against the recommendation to change the definition. The PCUSA last year lifted its ban on partnered gay clergy. Read more at christianpost.com.

New books focus on Christianity and politics
As campaigns heat up in advance of the upcoming party conventions, at least two authors are addressing how Christians interact with the political scene. Wheaton College professor Amy Black just released “Honoring God in Red or Blue: Approaching Politics with Humility, Grace and Reason.” And pastor and culture writer Jonathan Merritt’s “A Faith of Our Own” focuses on a younger generation’s attempts to reconcile social justice with conservative views. Read an interview with Merritt about the book on pastorsedge.com.

Economy still affecting giving to churches
A recent Barna Group study found 41% of adults surveyed have reduced their giving to non-profit organizations in the last three months, and 11% have stopped giving altogether. That’s an increase from 4% of Americans who said they had stopped giving in 2008. Go to barna.org for the full story.

Purdue QB promotes ‘Choose2’
Caleb TerBush, a senior quarterback at Purdue University, is wearing a blue Choose2 wristband in advertisements for the team’s upcoming season. TerBush’s father Ken is the pastor of Elm Ridge Missionary Baptist Church in East Peoria, Ill. Choose2, a ministry of the Illinois Baptist State Association, asks participants to pick two family members or friends who don’t know Christ and pray for them twice a day. Read more about the initiative at IBSA.org.

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Nate Adams: Follow-up notes from New Orleans

Meredith Flynn —  June 28, 2012

By Nate Adams, IBSA Executive Director

I can usually measure the value of a meeting by the follow-up actions I note for myself as a result of it. If I don’t write anything down, the meeting was probably pretty pointless. If the meeting moves me to action or change, it may have been worthwhile.

So let me share with you a few of my follow-up notes from the recent Southern Baptist Convention in New Orleans, at least as they relate to the major issues discussed at this year’s annual meeting. You can read about these issues in the July 2 of the Illinois Baptist or at IBSA.org.

My notes about the informal name “Great Commission Baptists” as an alternative to “Southern Baptists” could be summarized simply by the phrase “wait and see.” Clearly a large number of churches feel that having an alternate name, even an optional one, is not a positive thing. But the majority that voted to endorse the alternate name gave those who wish to try it out a new tool to potentially reach people for whom the term “Southern” may be a barrier.

For now, I plan to “wait and see” how many churches embrace the new name, especially here in the Midwest. I suspect we will continue using the “Illinois Baptist” identity in our communications more than either of the others.

My notes about the various issues that have the Calvinist vs. Arminian theology debate at their root simply say, “stay above the fray.” Both outgoing President Bryant Wright and SBC Executive Committee President Frank Page served us well, I thought, when they essentially stated that the Baptist Faith and Message is big enough for both strains of theological thought, and that there is more danger in our heart attitudes about either position than in the doctrinal differences themselves.

Some time ago I came to the personal conclusion that Calvinist theology describes salvation more from God’s perspective outside time, and that Arminian theology describes salvation more from man’s perspective within time. I’m sure that those for whom that explanation is not sufficient will continue this centuries-old debate. I plan to try and stay above the fray of that argument, and pray it does not distract us from our far more important Great Commission task.

Finally, you may not think I need follow-up notes from the election of Fred Luter as the SBC’s first African American president. But I found I did. Tuesday night, just after Pastor Luter’s election, I attended a dinner with the African American Fellowship of Southern Baptists that included SBC entity executives and state executive directors like myself from all over the country.

Even during that dinner, I formed several follow up notes for myself: Don’t just sit with people you know – get to know some new African American brothers and sisters. Learn to understand and appreciate the history and the pain, the culture and the passions of African American churches and their leaders, especially those that have chosen to be part of the Southern Baptist family. Relax and enjoy different worship and preaching styles – God wants to speak to you through those too! Recognize how important it is to make sure African American leaders are participating in Southern Baptist life, both in key discussions and in key leadership positions. Develop more personal, not just professional, relationships with African American pastors and leaders.

As I said, I can measure the value of a meeting by the follow-up actions I note for myself. If the meeting truly moves me to action or change, it may have been worthwhile. My follow through on these notes has the potential to make this year’s SBC meeting truly worthwhile. I hope these notes for needed future action help you too.

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