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Eric Reed

Preaching after suicide

May 2, 2023 By Eric Reed

Preaching after suicide

The call about Bill’s death came as a surprise. A year or so after his wife died, Bill seemed to be doing well, publicly, at least. He talked a little about how quiet his house was and how much he missed his wife of more than 50 years, even though their last decade was mostly […]

Asbury’s Tik-Tok Revival

February 20, 2023 By Eric Reed

People lift their arms in worship at Asbury University in Wilmore, Ky. (Kentucky Today/Robin Cornetet)

Let’s hope it’s real. Shall we say that at the outset? The sight of hundreds of students singing, praying, and confessing at the altar in their college chapel for two weeks is uplifting for us all—if the revival is real. Tiny Asbury University has a history of spiritual outpourings. But this may be the first […]

The waiting game

September 1, 2022 By Eric Reed

The waiting game

One of Mr. Rogers’s songs comes to mind: “Something to do While We’re Waiting.” The announcement that the Department of Justice is investigating the Southern Baptist Convention came with no reference to a timetable. It was the SBC Executive Committee that said DOJ had subpoenaed records pertaining to their handling of sexual abuse allegations. DOJ […]

What can we say about Uvalde? 

May 25, 2022 By Eric Reed

Uvalde, Texas

If Greg Zanis hadn’t died in 2020, he would be headed to Uvalde, Texas right now. Or Buffalo, New York. Or Laguna Woods, California. The Aurora, Illinois carpenter built crosses to place at the sites of mass shootings, each with red heart and the name of a victim on it. I first noticed 15 crosses […]

Missionaries report tragic acts of war, then and now

April 8, 2022 By Eric Reed

This copy of the Illinois Baptist from January 1942 was unearthed in a recent renovation of the IBSA archives. An eyewitness account of the bombing of Pearl Harbor by a Southern Baptist leader on the scene echoes the stories from IMB missionaries in Ukraine today.

Sunday, December 7, 1941: Charles Maddry was preparing for three worship services that morning with the fifteen missionaries serving through the Hawaiian Baptist Mission. Dr. Maddry was head of Southern Baptists’ Foreign Mission Board. He was in Honolulu for a three-day conference to plan missions on the islands. “My room in the hotel looked out […]

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Featured Columns

Online fraud

Six steps to protect your church from online fraud

Jeff Deasy

Several SBC churches and entities have been hit with online fraud nearing $1 million each. Their dramatic losses serve as warnings to all our churches. The Florida Baptist Convention lost more than $700,000 in a transfer involving a fraudulent email that was intended for the North American Mission (NAMB). A similar scam involved an email […]

"My unlikely Ebenezer"

My unlikely Ebenezer

Amy Richards

My husband’s cheerful voice on the other end of the line said, “I found a cool piece of wood.” I answered with an indifferent “OK,” but he continued, untouched by my disinterest. I listened, but my mind circled with questions. What in the world am I going to do with junk wood he found in […]

SBC: Striking a healthy balance

Nate Adams

A pastor once told me that he didn’t feel he should serve on one of our statewide committees because he wasn’t in complete agreement with the SBC’s Baptist Faith and Message statement. He cited Article VII on “Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.” He said he felt it described what is commonly referred to as “closed […]

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Former Central Association DOM Tom Miller dies at 92

Illinois Baptist Staff

Thomas E. “Tom” Miller died June 3. He was 92 years of age, and was preceded in death by his wife, Pauline, in November 2022. Miller served as Director of Mission for the Central Baptist Association from 1979 to 1994. He pastored several churches in the Decatur area, including Hammond Missionary Baptist Church, Macon First […]

News

Nick Volkening, campus ministry at U of I (left) and Jonah Christiansen, Salt Network campus ministry at Illinois State participate in an exercise together.

Leaders target college evangelism in confab

Lisa Misner

College ministry leaders met to make evangelism a chief goal of their work on Illinois campuses. Baptist collegiate leaders and their families gathered at a retreat center near Starved Rock State Park over the Memorial Day Weekend for what they hope will become an annual event fostering ministry collaboration. Church Planting Director Kevin Jones, who […]

Wellman nod fails, Robinson respects decision

Church Renewal Journeys revitalize churches

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Mission

Metro East church plant hosts multiplication meeting

Metro East church plant hosts multiplication meeting

Ben Jones

Pastors and church leaders from around the Metro East area gathered in Collinsville May 17 for the second Multiply Illinois Hub. These quarterly regional events are designed to encourage and equip those interested in church multiplication. Heights Community Church, planted in 2016, hosted the gathering in their newly renovated home. With the St. Louis skyline […]

Sallateeska baptism demonstrates SBC connections

A first-time ministry to migrant workers is very fruitful

More Mission Stories

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