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Archives For November 30, 1999

Mission Illinois Week of Prayer: Day 6

Meredith Flynn —  September 20, 2013

MIO_blogDAY 6: Watch “Bring Hope”

Pastor Cureton is optimistic about his new church in East St. Louis. With help from Illinois churches, Cureton is transforming a dilapidated storefront into a place of joy and celebration, welcoming 50 or more to worship on Sundays.

“Our shelter in this community was recently shut down so we have a lot of women and children on the street. They don’t have clothes, shoes. On any given day, 15-20 people knock our door. They’re hungry.”

Cureton is grateful for the partnership of his local association, several suburban churches, and IBSA. “We need more men and women who will stand up and fight for the cause of salvation, who will knock on doors and ask, ‘Mister, Ma’am, do you know Jesus?’”

Read: Jonah 4:1-6; Matthew 25:31-40

Think: What is the role of compassion in sharing our faith?

Pray for 28 new churches that IBSA helped start in the past year, including Light of Christ in East St. Louis. Pray for Pastor Cureton and planters who are reaching people with hope and faith.

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Mission Illinois Week of Prayer: Day 3

Meredith Flynn —  September 17, 2013

MIO_blogDAY 3: Watch “Help Others”

The cheerful woman in a yellow shirt will willingly wield a hammer, turn a shovel, or push a wheelbarrow. But if those tasks are covered, she would rather be talking. Mostly she talks about Jesus.

As a Disaster Relief chaplain, Jan is a vital member of the team on the scene after storm clouds pass and flood waters subside. Every DR team has a chaplain who focuses on devastated homeowners while other workers “mud out” their devastated houses. “The owner of the little white house was saved today,” Jan reported from a flood site in Peoria in May.

IBSA supports SBC’s Disaster Relief, the nation’s third largest relief agency, with 1,600 volunteers and Rex Alexander, the IBSA staff member who trains and deploys them.

Read: Jonah 1:17-2:10; Isaiah 61:1

Think: What does Jonah’s prayer show us about the needs of people in distress? How shall we pray for them?

Pray for 1,600 Baptists from Illinois who are trained as Disaster Relief workers. Pray for the chaplains on each team who share the Gospel with hurting people, while other workers cook, clean, and rebuild after crisis.

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It could have been me

Meredith Flynn —  September 9, 2013

Jonathan_HayashiHEARTLAND | Jonathan Hayashi

Editor’s note: The following column is adapted from a response Jonathan Hayashi wrote after a gang-related shooting outside Uptown Baptist Church in Chicago August 19.

August 19 was a normal Monday here at Uptown Baptist Church.

We started our second service that evening with “Amazing Grace,” while around 100 people in the pews waiting to hear the sermon. Then, “Bang, bang, bang!” About 20 loud noises that sounded like fireworks. In fact, that’s what our speaker said from the podium. But it was too loud to be fireworks.

Pastor Michael Allen rushed to the east side door that opens onto Sheridan Avenue. We opened the doors to chaos. It looked like a war had taken place. People running in every direction, hundreds of people on the streets, people screaming and crying. Shattered glass, bullet shells on the ground; two men I remember coming through the building, one was shot in his thighs and another in his wrist.

I knew I could have been one of them.

If I had stayed in the gang, it could have easily been me. I still remember like it was yesterday, when I found out a friend had died at age 18 because of gang activity. I knew God loved me and had a plan for my life. But what about them?

God is not willing that any should perish. The problem is us.

We would rather stay safe, while neglecting our call to evangelism and discipleship. We are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus. The Great Commission itself is about people being with the people and living there with the people!

Evangelist Dwight L. Moody recognized this important principle. “Moody was one of the few who had the audacity and courage to go into the worst district of Chicago, the Sands,” writes Lyle Dorsett in his biography of the missionary. “Sometimes called ‘Little Hell,’ this is where Moody went to rescue souls.”

Church, we are to rise up! Let’s get out of our seats and go into the streets. We wonder why revival doesn’t break forth in our community. But where are all the Christians? We are to be salt and light, seasoned by God’s grace and holding to the teaching of Scripture. Surely, then, there will be change in our communities.

We must learn how to view both the city and the Gospel with new eyes. We must see every person as more than a number, each made in the image of God. Every number has a name, and every name has a story. We must recognize the Gospel more like an every day process than a one-time event.

Moody himself said, “Water runs down hill, and the highest hills are the great cities. If we can stir them, we shall stir the whole country.” It’s time for a fresh wind in the Windy City. We must win souls for Christ and have victory for Jesus, but there will be no victory without a battle.

Jonathan Hayashi is minister of music at Uptown Baptist Church in Chicago and a student at Moody Theological Seminary.

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Churches step up as soldiers deploy

Meredith Flynn —  July 9, 2013
While Tom Goble is on a six-month deployment with the U.S. Air Force, his wife, Jackie, and sons, Jacob and Evan, are buoyed by the support of Towerview Baptist Church in Shiloh.

While Tom Goble is on a six-month deployment with the U.S. Air Force, his wife, Jackie, and sons, Jacob and Evan, are buoyed by the support of Towerview Baptist Church in Shiloh.

THE BRIEFING | Meredith Flynn

Shiloh | By the time Jackie Goble’s husband, Tom, returns from a deployment in Africa, the couple’s one-year-old son will probably be able to string a few words together and have a little conversation with his dad.

Evan had already started walking and saying “Dad” when Tom, a captain in the U.S. Air Force, left in June. That first week, Jackie says Evan would toddle into their bedroom calling for his dad. But it will be almost six months until they’re reunited, and it’s up to Jackie to hold down the fort for Evan and his older brother Jacob until then.

“Dad’s gone and we’re trying to rely on God, and point to God,” she says, recounting how she encourages her boys, and herself. “God’s taking care of us, God’s taking care of Dad. When we’re sad and we miss him, we just need to turn to God and pray and ask for protection for both us and Daddy.”

It’s a heavy load, one shared by many military families in Illinois and around the country. The Gobles have found support, though, at Towerview Baptist Church, a church uniquely located to serve their family and many others going through a deployment or navigating the specific challenges of being a military family. Read more in the newest edition of the Illinois Baptist, online here.

Other news:

Disaster Relief volunteers serve during memorial service for Arizona firefighters
The spring and summer months have been busy for Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers working across the country, from storm cleanup in Illinois, Oklahoma and Texas, to wildfire recovery in Colorado, and now caring for people in Prescott, Arizona, after the deaths of 19 firefighters last week. Disaster Relief chaplains in the state were called out to minister in Prescott last week, and a new message on the Arizona Disaster Relief website asks for trained volunteers to help serve during a memorial service today. Read more Disaster Relief updates at NAMB.net/DR.

 

Believers in Egypt look for opportunities to share hope
Christian workers in Egypt say political unrest in the country is an opportunity to share the hope of Jesus, reports the International Mission Board. “It’s not just riots and chaos, this is opportunity,” says one worker. “For the first time in hundreds of years people are questioning everything. This is the greatest opportunity we have had in a long time in a city that is promised to the Lord.” Read the full story here.

Survey: On Twitter, Christians are happier
A new study from the University of Illinois compares the Tweets of people who follow five religious leaders (Pope Benedict XVI, Joel Osteen, Rick Warren, Dinesh D’Souza and Joyce Meyer), with the messages posted by Twitter users who follow five atheist leaders. The results, CNN reports, indicate Christians use more positive words and express more happiness through the social media tool. Read more on CNN’s Belief blog.

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Five summer prayer action steps

Meredith Flynn —  July 4, 2013

Phil_MigliorattiCOMMENTARY | Phil Miglioratti

We’ve entered the dog-days of summer, this often oppressive and sweltering time of year that coincides with traditional summer slumps in church attendance as families scatter for summer vacations and other summertime activities.

But our need for prayer is never greater. Here are five suggestions to make your dog days of summer sparkle with spiritual freshness:

1. Family table time. Ask each church family to use at least one family meal each week to pray for their neighbors, whether those who live nearby, people they work with or fellow students. Keep a log of the names and needs of those the Lord leads toward in prayer. During a Sunday morning service in August, ask families to come prepared to share their prayers and God’s responses.

2. Schedule a church picnic. Before the festivities begin, ask every family to form a circle and to pray (facing inward) for the church, its spiritual health, its ministry vision and its evangelistic effectiveness. Reverse positions to face outward and pray for the community, its needs, its leaders and the church’s influence on it.

3. Weeknight prayer meeting. Take the midweek prayer service outside. Those who cannot handle the walk or the heat may stay inside and pray using this as a template. Ask everyone to pray with their eyes open, looking at and praying for:

  • God’s good creation
  • The church facilities
  • Residential areas, schools, recreational, medical or business districts to the north, to the east, to the south and to the west

4. Secret saint. Ask everyone in the congregation to become a secret intercessor. Prepare cards with the names of your church family for distribution on a Sunday morning – perhaps a reverse offering where everyone picks a name as a basket is passed. Ask the church family, including youth and older children, to pray each day for a week for the person whose name they drew. The following Sunday simply ask for testimonies of what it was like to pray once a day for their person or if anyone sensed a special blessing from the Lord because someone was praying for them.

5. Pastoral prayer. Recruit volunteers to pray aloud for the pastor each Sunday during the summer. Encourage them to pray from their deepest passion.

So, rather than succumb to the slow-down, casual atmosphere of summer, put those dog-days to good use. Prayer – encourage every member and family to invite the Holy Spirit to alert them every day to special summertime opportunities to pray for people they may only see in July or August. Care – show the love of Christ to them through practical and appreciated acts of service or mercy. Share – invite them to investigate the often misunderstood message of the Gospel. Let’s love our communities to Christ!

Phil Miglioratti is IBSA’s Prayer Ministries consultant. This column is from Baptist Press. Read more from Phil in the current issue of Resource online here.

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SBC President Luter says his church will cut ties with Boy Scouts

Meredith Flynn —  June 25, 2013

Tuesday_BriefingTHE BRIEFING | Meredith Flynn

At the Southern Baptist Convention in Houston earlier this month, messengers responded to policy changes made by Boy Scouts of America this spring. (The Scouts voted to allow gay-identifying youth as members, but stopped short of lifting a ban on gay troop leaders.)

Baptists meeting in Houston approved a resolution urging the removal of those who “sought to change both the membership and the leadership policy of the Scouts without seeking input from the full range of the Scouting family.” But the resolution stopped short of prescribing specific action by SBC churches. Rather, it affirmed “the right of all families and churches prayerfully to assess their continued relationship with the BSA,” and encouraged churches who choose to sever ties with Boy Scouts to consider Royal Ambassadors (RA’s), a Southern Baptist missions education program for boys, as a ministry alternative.

SBC President Fred Luter recently announced his church will cut ties with Boy Scouts because of the organization’s policy change. Luter told Alabama news site AL.com, “We’ll be pulling out of Boy Scouts,” at Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, which has hosted a troop. Luter, once a Scout himself, also said the Scouts were trying to be “politically correct” by making the policy change, but, “There’s nothing that can be politically right if it’s biblically wrong.”

Read more at AL.com, or more about the resolution at BPNews.net.

What could a Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage mean?
The Illinois General Assembly didn’t take up the same-sex marriage issue during a recently called summer session, but the U.S. Supreme Court could rule on two pieces of legislation – the Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Proposition 8 – this week. The Washington Post has an interactive graphic that details what could happen depending on the Court’s decision.

Frank Page on finding comfort in the wake of a loved one’s suicide
Southern Baptist Executive Committee President Frank Page spoke to the Christian Post during the convention’s annual meeting in Houston about some things that have given him comfort after his daughter’s suicide. Page’s new book, “Melissa: how parents struggling with a child’s suicide can find comfort. “Melissa: A Father’s Lessons from a Daughter’s Suicide,” was released in June. Watch the video at ChristianPost.com.

GuideStone announces support for Church Health Plan Act
Baptist Press reports GuideStone Financial Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention is encouraging pastors to contact their senators and urge them to sign on as co-sponsors of the Church Health Plan Act. The legislation, S.B. 1164, is in response to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which will allow premium tax credits beginning in 2014 for people who purchase coverage from commercial health care exchanges, but not pastors and others who get their health care coverage from church health plans. “If Congress fails to act, they will be disadvantaging church plans as compared to commercial, secular plans,” said GuideStone President O.S. Hawkins. Read GuideStone’s statement on BPNews.net.

Prodigal son gets modern-day movie treatment
The American Bible Society (ABS) is working on a series of films that update familiar parables from the Bible. The first, based on the story of the prodigal son, isn’t fully funded yet, but already has a trailer viewable here. ABS is utilizing Kickstarter, a website that allows people to help fund creative projects they believe in, to produce the films.

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Ranch offers happier trails for at-risk kids

Meredith Flynn —  May 21, 2013

Tuesday_BriefingTHE BRIEFING | Meredith Flynn

Jerry and Michelle Burwell don’t get very far into telling their story before their eyes fill with tears and their voices break. The owners of Way of the Cross Ranch are overcome with emotion at how they see God using their 71 acres in Mt. Vernon.

“We’re nobody special, we really aren’t,” Jerry says as he watches a handful of horses and riders walk slowly around the outdoor arena in his backyard. “Why we got to do this, I have no idea.”

Horses_tease boxThe Burwells host an equestrian clinic at the ranch every month, with the help of an army of volunteers that operates more like a close-knit family. They invite kids from Southern Thirty, a local adolescent emergency shelter, and from the Baptist Children’s Home in Carmi.

Guests can fish in the pond, participate in craft time around a picnic table, or ride one of several horses donated for the day by the Burwells’ friends. No one has to ride if they don’t want to. But most eventually do.

“Some of the inner city kids we get, they’ve never even been around horses before, so that’s fun,” Jason Billings says. He points out David,* a young teen riding a chestnut horse around and around the arena, led by a ranch volunteer. Every so often, David smiles and waves to the camera.

As recreation director for Illinois’ Baptist Children’s Home, Billings has been bringing kids like David to the ranch for a few years. But there’s something bigger at stake than introducing kids to horses: Over the past few years, four or five of the kids have accepted Christ at the ranch. They attend church with Children’s Home staffers, Billings says, “but it’s nice to see someone from the outside actually cares, too.”

Each clinic includes at least two devotion times, and volunteers also talk one-on-one with kids about Jesus. Since the Burwells started their ministry, 38 kids have accepted Christ.

“I always tell them, ‘I don’t care if you know one end of the horse from the other when you leave, but you’ll know about Christ,’ Jerry says. “That’s really all we care about.”

Read more about Way of the Cross Ranch in the new issue of the Illinois Baptist, online this Friday at http://ibonline.ibsa.org.

Other news:

FInancial aid forms reflect marriage debate
The U.S. Department of Education has announced student financial aid forms will begin using the terms “Parent 1” and “Parent 2,” rather than the gender-specific terms “mother” and “father.” The new forms also will provide an option for applicants to describe their parents’ marital status as “unmarried and both parents living together.” U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said, “All students should be able to apply for federal student aid within a system that incorporates their unique family dynamics. Read more at BPNews.net.

School faces criticism over creationism
A Christian school in South Carolina has received support from around the world after facing ridicule for teaching Young Earth Creationism. After a fourth-grade science quiz used by Blue Ridge Christian Academy in Landrum, S.C., was posted on an atheist page of the website Reddit, several user comments were unsurprisingly negative, The Christian Post reports. Some even made threats to teachers and administrators.

But the school, which is struggling financially and considering closing, reaped unexpected benefits, said teacher Angie Dentler. “Donations have been given ranging in amounts from $1 – $1,000. Encouraging notes and emails have poured in from around world…” Read more at ChristianPost.com.

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The value of staying where you are

Meredith Flynn —  December 13, 2012
FRIENDLY INVASION – “Invade your city strategically,” advises Ronnie Floyd. The Arkansas pastor and SBC leader urged Illinois pastors to identify local people groups and customize ministry to share the Gospel with them.

“Invade your city strategically,” advises Ronnie Floyd. He urged Illinois pastors to identify local people groups and customize ministry to share the Gospel with them.

COMMENTARY | Eric Reed

Many pastors and church leaders may wonder if they could be more effective in a different community or congregation. But Ronnie Floyd, who has served his Arkansas church for more than 25 years, warned against longing for a better location.

“Some of you wonder if He forgot your e-mail address and your cell number, but He’s got you fixed where you are,” said Floyd, who spoke to Illinois leaders during the IBSA Pastors’ Conference November 13.

He told a story about his community of Springdale, Arkansas, which is home to up to 8,000 people from the Marshall Islands. It’s a long way from Arkansas to the tiny collection of atolls in the North Pacific Ocean. In fact, fly out of Little Rock to Honolulu, and you’re still only about halfway there.

These thousands of Marshallese have journeyed to the middle of America in search of jobs, mostly in the poultry industry. They found jobs. But more important, they found the Gospel.

“They thought they were coming for chicken,” Floyd said of the Marshallese immigrants, “but they were groping for Jesus.” Today, Floyd’s congregation hosts the first Southern Baptist congregation for Marshallese in North America.

God’s placement of people – whether it’s a pastor or someone who needs to hear the Gospel – is providential and purposeful.

“God had brought everyone of those people to town for a purpose, that they might seek and go after God,” Floyd said. “His sovereign plan has brought lost people to your town, too, so you can see them as he sees them and can strategize and reach them.”

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The value of being unoffended

Meredith Flynn —  November 13, 2012

DECATUR, Ill. | When we get offended and stay offended, we’re dangerously close to allowing unforgiveness to take root, said Ronnie Floyd during the IBSA Pastors’ Conference at Tabernacle Baptist Church.

We have high expectations of people, Floyd said. “When our expectations are not met, we take offense and we stumble, and [it] becomes the foundation for unforgiveness in your life.”

Floyd, pastor of Cross Church in Arkansas, encouraged pastors to let go of the things that offend them now and have offended them in the past, whether it was other people, life’s circumstances, or God’s activity. He spoke from Luke 7, where Jesus said, “And anyone who is not offended because of Me is blessed.”

“Ministry can be mean, ministry can be tough…When we are in even the best of conditions, offense occurs. We stumble. At times, you have to deal with stuff relating to unforgiveness. And just like a bad tooth, you’ve got to get it out of your mouth.”

But there’s good news, too, Floyd said. “God wants to use everything in your life for good. Everything in your ministry for your good.

“Some of your stories today are messy and curvy. I’ve got good news. God wants to use you.”

 

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