A bill working its way through the Illinois Senate proposes mandatory training for clergy to recognize signs of child abuse is causing concern among religious liberty advocates. Senate Bill 912, the Abused Child-Reporter Training Bill, mandates anyone who is a designated reporter of abused children (teachers, physicians, clergy) as deemed by the Abused and Neglected […]
Free speech for churches
“The old adage says there are three things you should never talk about in polite company—money, religion, and politics. We already break two of those three rules every Sunday in church. Are we ready to break the third—politics?
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Illinois Disaster Relief volunteers at work in northern and southern parts of state
The storms that swept through the Midwest Feb. 28 developed into tornadoes when they went through southern and northern Illinois. Now, Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief (IBDR) volunteers are assisting victims with storm clean-up efforts. Working in the southern Illinois town of Vergennes, volunteer Don Kragness told local television station WSIL, “We are here, basically, because […]
S. Baptists join other evangelicals opposing Trump’s exec. order
More than 100 evangelical pastors and ministry leaders signed an open letter expressing their opposition to President Donald Trump’s executive order that restricts immigration from seven Muslim countries, suspends entrance of all refugees for 120 days, and prevents all Syrian refugees from entering the United States indefinitely. The open letter appeared as a full-page ad […]
Follow the follower
“Our intake of Jesus must be greater than our outtake,” Michael Kramer said. “We need to be spending much time in the Word. Not time in sermon preparation, don’t count that.” Read…