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What is your Church’s Next Step?

October 25, 2021 By Nate Adams

What is your Church's Next Step?

One of our chapel speakers reflected on an observation from one of his seminary professors that has stuck with him for years. That professor noted that every psalm basically describes one of three human experiences: surviving, reviving, or thriving. When he’s barely surviving, the psalmist openly expresses his desperation. When reviving, he speaks of pain, […]

Surviving, reviving, thriving

October 18, 2021 By Nate Adams

Surviving, reviving, thriving

This past summer, our weekly chapel times at IBSA were devoted to a series titled “Summer in the Psalms.” This book of songs and poetry, of course, gives expression to a wide range of emotions, from the lows of our woes to the heights of our worship. In doing so, it reassures us that God […]

Our home, our mission

September 21, 2021 By Nate Adams

Illinois state flag

Since April, the eyes of the world have been on Afghanistan, watching to see if the withdrawal of U.S. troops announced then would result in lingering stability, or in chaos and violence from a newly emboldened Taliban. And while things appeared stable for a while, as the September target for withdrawal approached, the Taliban quickly […]

Adams: My best kept secret

August 4, 2021 By Nate Adams

Nate Adams

Every now and then one hears about a public figure, sometimes even a pastor or religious leader, who chooses to unveil a long-kept secret, or who perhaps has it exposed by someone else. Sometimes that secret surprises us because it reveals a character very different from the person we thought we knew. At other times, […]

Takeaways from this year’s SBC

June 23, 2021 By Nate Adams

Nate Adams

Years ago, as I was leaving the Christian publishing industry to begin serving at the North American Mission Board, my dad shared with me a rare, personal caution. “I just hope you don’t get chewed up in those national SBC politics.” And though I didn’t take his caution too seriously at the time, my understanding […]

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Featured Columns

Melody Westbrook

Is being a pastor’s wife a blessing or a curse?

Melody Westbrook

Hi! I’m Melody Westbrook and I am a recovering Pastor’s Wife. My husband and I recently resigned after 35 years of pastoring two churches. We moved from Oklahoma to Illinois in 1991 to plant a church in Edwardsville. As we departed, my identity as pastor’s wife quickly faded. I was warned about the loss of […]

Meredith Flynn

The whole story

Meredith Flynn

“So, Samson died too?” The question hung in the air as we read a chapter in our new Bible storybook. “Well, yes,” I said, glad for the author’s intro that explained even heroes aren’t perfect. Flawed, foolish Samson died alongside his enemies. Earlier in the collection of stories told by Kevin DeYoung, the children of […]

Why we’re here

Nate Adams

A consultant assisting IBSA with strategic planning recently challenged us with this question: “Why does Illinois need a Southern Baptist brand of disciple?” He wasn’t downplaying the Great Commission nor disparaging Southern Baptists. He was making the point that there are many other Christian groups in Illinois, in fact many other evangelical groups. Especially in […]

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Mixed expectations in federal probe of SBC

Illinois Baptist Staff

Some Illinois Baptist leaders expressed surprise but are hoping for a godly outcome in a federal investigation of the Southern Baptist Convention’s handling of sexual abuse claims. “It caught me by surprise,” said Adron Robinson, an Illinois representative on the SBC Executive Committee (EC), while also urging prayer for justice. IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams […]

News

VBS 2023

2023 VBS theme revealed

Illinois Baptist Staff

The VBS for next year is based on a fictional game, “Twists and Turns.” The theme was announced just ahead of the SBC meeting in Anaheim. “Spin the spinner, beat the clock, skip ahead, level up, and play to win!” Lifeway advertised in the big reveal.  The game theme is used to teach five key […]

Lifeway targets frontier states

Former editor dies at 61

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Mission

Annie Armstrong

How SBC missions have been influenced by Annie Armstrong

Sandy Wisdom-Martin

A few years ago, I read the SBC president at the time was considering different gavels for presiding at the SBC Annual Meeting. One of the options under consideration was the Armstrong gavel. I sent him an email with this message: This weekend I did a bit of reading on Annie Armstrong and was inspired […]

On mission again

New partnership targets biblical literacy

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