Four volunteers from Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief (IBDR) joined a team manning a feeding center in Colorado where wildfires just before New Year’s wiped out several communities in Boulder County. More than 1,000 homes were destroyed and tens of thousands were forced to evacuate. A semi-trailer mobile kitchen and a support unit were set up […]
MLS Day 3: Leaders pray for personal renewal and gospel advance at Midwest summit
Worship was warm on a morning when temperatures were in the single digits in Springfield. But most of the attenders at the Midwest Leadership Summit are used to cold weather—colder that this. The session concluded the three-day event that drew 850 church leaders from twelve states to Illinois for the biennial conference. South Dakota Church […]
MLS Day 2: Lifeway’s Mandrell urges ‘fierce optimism’ at Midwest summit
“I need some fellowship for sure,” said one pastor on arrival at the Midwest Leadership Summit. Others said they came to the three-day event in Springfield for ministry ideas, for training as leaders, and to be charged up by good preaching. It happened. It all happened. “It’s good to be here, where people drink ‘pop’ […]
News Stories
Spring legislative session begins; Illinois Right-to-Life points out bills to follow
As the spring session of the Illinois General Assembly opens in January, lawmakers will be filing many bills for consideration, sometimes up to 5,000. Illinois Right-to-Life points to three bills already filed that merit attention as the legislature considers action on them. The following excerpt is from the IRL newsletter. HB 4146 creates The Expanding […]
Midwest leaders to convene in Illinois
More than 1,000 leaders from SBC churches in the Midwest are registered for a leadership gathering in Illinois next week. The Midwest Leadership Summit convenes in Springfield January 18-20, bringing together representatives from twelve states and nine Baptist state conventions. “Southern Baptist churches in the north have unique challenges and opportunities,” said Nate Adams, Executive […]
Rooftop stance against violence
A downstate legislator joined pastor Corey Brooks (pictured far right) in a rooftop tent as a stand against gun violence. During the night, gunfire broke out. “We were camping out in a tent at the end of this platform last night,” said State Senator Darren Bailey (R-Xenia). “At two o’clock in the morning we heard […]
Court appearance postponed
A pre-trial hearing was postponed until Feb. 25 for a former Illinois pastor charged with grooming a minor. The attorney representing Joseph M. Krol asked a Macon County judge for a continuance in a brief court appearance Jan. 7. The judge agreed. Krol is charged with four counts relating to texting activity with a minor. […]
Encouraging Words
Personal resurrection
Matthew 28 takes us to the first Sunday morning after the crucifixion. Two days prior, the disciples and friends of Jesus had witnessed his brutal execution and saw his body placed in the tomb. Many of them had restructured their lives in order to follow Jesus. They had found pride in being a part of […]
Serving the crucified Christ
Filled with hate, ignorant of truth, lacking in faith, and void of righteousness, the Jews had plotted to kill Jesus. Rome took ownership of their plot and made a statement of their authority in the act of crucifixion. In the course of less than 24 hours, Jesus was arrested, accused, lied about, cursed, and beaten. […]
Leaders
What’s happened to our confidence?
If you watched the recent World Series between the Atlanta Braves and the Houston Astros, perhaps you noticed a 31-year-old reliever for Atlanta named Tyler Matzek. Many pundits talked about how he was the most dominant reliever in the playoffs this year and a key reason why the Braves won. This young man was a […]