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Reporter’s Notebook

‘But not here’: Illinois’ cry one year after Roe ended

September 27, 2023 By Lisa Misner

Lisa-Misner

“A new and vibrant culture of life is being established in our nation after decades of death caused by Roe v. Wade,” the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission’s Brent Leatherwood said at the one-year anniversary of overturning Roe in June. “That is worth celebrating.” Culture of life? In other states perhaps, but not here. Not […]

What will keep us together, SBC?

June 8, 2023 By Eric Reed

Eric Reed

If The Captain and Tennille were correct, love will keep us together. To employ an even more dated reference, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Jesus said that, and John wrote it down about two thousand years ago. But do we dare ask, […]

My audience with the Queen

September 8, 2022 By Meredith Flynn

My audience with the Queen

“Would you like to meet her?” The guard at Westminster Abbey approached our group of bedraggled college students waiting for a glimpse of Queen Elizabeth. I imagine our eloquent answer was something like, “Um…OK!” before we ran down the sidewalk to grab a bouquet of yellow daffodils from a train station. (Yellow flowers are her […]

Pastoring people with sexual identity questions

August 30, 2022 By Michael Nave

A screenshot from Cornerstone Church's website that includes similar language to what the author describes.

I’ve had the conversation many times. Sometimes it’s with the person who says, “I think I’m gay.” Sometimes it’s with their friend or their parents. In our culture today, discussions about sexual identity are commonplace. It’s not only in large metropolitan areas. It’s here, it’s more public, and it’s growing among teens and young adults. […]

Discussing abortion with your pro-choice friends

June 23, 2022 By Lisa Misner

Abortion advocates staged demonstrations in major U.S. cities including Chicago on May 14, 2022.

Abortion is a difficult subject to discuss with a friend or family member who is pro-choice, when as a pro-life Christian you perceive that choice as ending the life of another. Here are a few strategies for having a productive conversation: Pray. Ask God to give you wisdom as you speak. Jesus said we are […]

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Featured Columns

Chuck Kelley

Blinded by bright spots: Kelley warns of trends we’re ignoring

Chuck Kelley

(Ed. note: One IBSA Annual Meeting keynote speaker has been concerned about the direction of the SBC for a long time. As a professor at New Orleans Seminary, he warned in 1983 that the denomination had plateaued. He pointed to the loss of evangelism among Methodists that led to their decline. “They never mounted a […]

Site where Paul is believed to have baptized Lydia.

Lydia’s quick response

Meredith Flynn

“A God-fearing woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, was listening. The Lord opened her heart to respond to what Paul was saying” (Acts 16:14). The account of Lydia is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment in the middle of the Book of Acts. Her story is only three verses long, but […]

Family reunion

Nate Adams

As I was preparing for my first IBSA Annual Meeting as Executive Director almost 20 years ago, I remember one long-time staff remember exclaiming, “I just love the Annual Meeting! It’s like a big family reunion.” Having just moved back to Illinois three months earlier, I didn’t yet share his enthusiasm. I was still meeting […]

More Columns

Unity, cooperation reign at IBSA Annual Meeting

Eric Reed

Springfield | If 1925 was a year to remember, with the birth of a unified missions funding system and the denomination’s first official statement of faith, then 2025 was also a year to remember. Southern Baptists celebrated the centennial anniversaries of Cooperative Program and the Baptist Faith and Message. Illinois Baptists marked the coming 20th […]

News

Trinity Christian College

Trinity Christian College will close

Illinois Baptist Staff

Palos Heights | After 66 years in operation in suburban Chicago, Trinity Christian College will close at the end of the 2025-26 academic year. The school’s final commencement will be May 8, 2026. The liberal arts school offered degrees in 70 programs. It was named among the top schools in the Midwest region by U.S. […]

Pritzker considering suicide bill

Panel at Annual Meeting to address campus ministry

More News Stories

Mission

“While we have not yet arrived at the destination we envision, I believe we are clearly headed in the right direction,” said IMB President Paul Chitwood to trustees in the May 22 plenary session. IMB Photo

IMB trustees appoint new missionaries, elect first woman chair

Leslie Caldwell

Richmond | International Mission Board trustees approved 65 fully funded missionaries for appointment during their May 21-22 meeting near Richmond, Virginia. The missionaries approved for appointment will be recognized during a Sending Celebration on Tuesday, June 10, at 10:08 a.m. CDT in conjunction with the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Dallas. The event will […]

Metro East church plant hosts multiplication meeting

Sallateeska baptism demonstrates SBC connections

More Mission Stories

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