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2 IBSA.org
Illinois Baptist
CONVENTIONAL WISDOM
Snapshots from the world of Illinois Baptists
“During this election year...Christians should be aware that not only will there be people who disagree with their perspectives, but 1 in
4 Americans will disapprove of a Christian speaking about political matters at all.”
A TIME TO SPEAK? The 2020 State of Theology survey asked Americans to respond: Christians should be silent on issues of politics.
– Scott McConnell, LifeWay Research
22% 11%
Strongly disagree Somewhat disagree Not sure
Somewhat agree Strongly agree
– Ligonier Ministries/LifeWay Research
43%
11%
13%
NATE ADAMS
APulling together
few years ago, I had an opportunity to write a book about Christian parenting. At the time, our three boys were 15, 13,
and 10, and if I had waited until all those teen years were over, I might not have claimed any expertise at all. But with
the experience I had at the time, I did my best to guide parents in how to protect, nurture, and equip a Christian
family.
As I sat down to outline the big ideas and then chapters of the book, I
tried to think about the big threats Christian families face, and what it takes to guard one’s family from them. Over and
over I kept coming back to the word together.
There are so many forces seeking to pull
families apart. One of the main responsibili- ties of Christian parenting is doing whatever it takes to hold the family together, and to preserve faith through the strength of family unity.
By the time it was finished, the book was
titled “The Home Team,” and was subtitled
“Spiritual Practices for a Winning Family.”
Its 12 chapters urged parents to “practice”
faith daily, like a winning team, by reading together, eating together, play- ing and working together, worshiping together, serving and praying togeth- er, and more.
During this pandemic season, one of the greatest threats to our church families, and our family of churches, can be allowing separation to lead to isolation, and isolation to lead to discouragement. We must keep pulling together, for safety, for encouragement, and for strength.
That’s why we are making every effort to facilitate a safe gathering of our Illinois Baptist family for the IBSA Annual Meeting this year. We’ve ab-
CHURCH NEEDED HERE
Location: Buffalo Grove Focus: Residents of this community
northwest of Chicago
Characteristics: The area has a long history about being united around faith, mainly German Catholicism.
Prayer needs: Pray for new churches that can reach Buffalo
Grove’s diverse population.
– IBSA Church Planting Team
This meeting will be different, but we will celebrate how God is working.
breviated the meeting time to one afternoon, on November 4, so most participants can make the trip in one day. We’ve changed the venue from a hotel in Springfield to Tab- ernacle Baptist Church in Decatur, where social distancing and other precautions are already practiced every week.
Though we will miss the oppor- tunities for fellowship and resourc- ing that come with a large exhibit hall and breakout meals for various
Giving by IBSA $3,466,896 churches as of 08/21/20
Budget Goal: $3,984,615 Received to date in 2019: $3,603,190 2020 Goal: $6.3 Million
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 month by the Illinois Baptist State Association, 3085 Stevenson Drive, Springfield, Illinois 62703- 4440. Subscriptions are free to Illinois Baptists. Subscribe online at IBSA.org.
groups, we will pass on those this year. But we will gather. We will worship and hear preaching and encouraging reports of God’s work across the state. We will conduct the business of our cooperative work as churches here in the mission field of Illinois. We will pull together.
And in the process, I believe we will be encouraged. We will find hope in the midst of our shared struggle, and strength in the presence of our Savior. Of course there are many who would normally attend the IBSA Annual
Meeting for whom the wisest decision this year will be to stay home. We will miss those smiles and stories, but we will livestream the program online so it can be watched at home. We will record the program and produce a “highlights” summary a few days later, along with links to videos and reports and messages. The 2020 Book of Reports will be available for download at the IBSA website a week ahead of time, so those who can’t attend can e-mail or call in advance with any questions. In short, we hope many will be able to engage actively in the meeting, even if they can’t make the trip.
Among many pastors and church leaders these days I hear words of fa- tigue, if not discouragement. So November 4, the day after a national elec- tion by the way, will be a great day to pull together. With masks and clean hands and waves instead of hugs, I hope to see you there, or to connect with you at home.
Nate Adams is executive director of the Illinois Baptist State Association. Respond at IllinoisBaptist@IBSA.org.
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