On Jan. 31, 2007 at 7 p.m., Illinois Baptists will once again meet at First Baptist Church, Pinckneyville. This time they will celebrate 100 years of ministry in Illinois. In the last 100 years, IBSA has seen its number of congregations grow to 1,034. Its membership has branched out to include churches in central and northern Illinois. Hundreds of thousands of people have come to Christ as a result of IBSA church’s work in Illinois.

Speakers at the centennial celebration will include pastor, author and historian Myron Dillow, pastor and former IBSA President Wendell Garrison, and IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams. Special music will be provided by the First Baptist Church of Pinckneyville choir. The event has been planned by the IBSA Anniversary Committee.

The committee will also conduct an Illinois Baptist History Tour this Sept. 14-15. The first day will include a tour of the Baptist Building in Springfield and a visit to New Design Village to the home of James Lemen where the first Baptist congregation in Illinois was organized May 28, 1796. Participants will spend the night at Lake Sallateeska.

The second day will see the opportunity to attend the 9 a.m. worship service at First Baptist, Pinckneyville where IBSA was constituted. Participants will then travel to Carbondale to see former locations of IBSA and the Baptist Foundation along with the present location of Baptist Collegiate Ministries at Southern Illinois University.

The anniversary will also be celebrated at IBSA meetings through-out the year. The 2007 IBSA Annual Meeting Nov. 6-8 in Springfield will include recognition of former IBSA staff members and executive directors. An International Mission Board Commissioning Service will be held in conjunction with the event. Three churches from around the state have been asked to prepare a two-minute video about their birth as a church and their church planting efforts.

For more information about the centennial celebration, tour or other anniversary activities, contact Anniversary Committee Chairperson Tom Eggley at (217) 632-2488 or e-mail him at fbcpetersburg@sbcglobal.net.

According to Kicklighter, "Charles will be giving leadership to two major areas of work: our effort to impact college students and collegiate settings, and secondly our efforts to plant new churches for post-collegiate young adult populations. Charles is no stranger to either collegiate work or church planting."

Campbell told the Illinois Baptist, "I am very excited about my new role on the Church Planting Team. I have been living in this "next generation" world now for a while and so providing leadership to it is an answer to prayer. I love the work I have been doing, but I know the last few years God has been preparing me for this move."

Campbell joined the IBSA staff in 2000. Prior to that he served as associate pastor at First Baptist Church, Morton. He is assisting in starting a collegiate and young adult church plant in Springfield, which will begin meeting fulltime within the next few months.

His degrees include a Bachelor of Science in Music Education and Church Music from William Jewell College and a Master of Religious Education from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Both schools are located in the Kansas City, Mo. area.

He began serving in his new role on Jan. 1.

The policy prevents large groups from watching the game on anything larger than a 55-inch screen -- which is too small for gatherings numbering in the hundreds. It also prohibits the Super Bowl from being shown in connection "with events that promote a message" -- which, of course, is a major reason most churches host such parties in the first place.

The policy applies to "mass out-of-home viewing," which includes churches.

Mike Johnson, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, told Baptist Press Feb. 1 a lawsuit against the NFL was possible, if a church is willing to take on the league. The league's policy prohibiting promotion of the Christian message at large gatherings is blatantly unconstitutional, Johnson added. Another religious liberty legal organization, the Rutherford Institute, also sent out a press release saying it would be willing to defend churches.

The policy -- which the NFL says is permissible under federal copyright law -- came to light when the NFL pressured Fall Creek Baptist Church in Indianapolis into canceling its Super Bowl party. The church had planned on using a projector and a 12-foot screen. An Indianapolis Star story about the NFL’s pressure on the church resulted in more than 300 messages posted online -- nearly all of them negative toward the NFL.

Thousands of churches across the nation now must decide whether to continue with their own Super Bowl party plans.

The Indianapolis Star published an editorial Feb. 2 saying the league "deserves a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct."

"Sports bars ... according to the league, are exempt from the TV-screen and cover charge restrictions," the editorial recounted. "Presumably, the league also wouldn't object if the well-lubricated guy on the stool next to you stood up at halftime to talk about how football changed his life.

"It was bad enough when NFL teams began holding cities hostage in demanding new stadiums. Now the league wants to dictate to churches the content of their own halftime shows. The NFL should be sent to the end of the bench for this fumble."

A Louisville Courier-Journal editorial also criticized the policy.

"[T]he league gives the idea that it’s sense of fair play and responsibility is to drive crowds from family-friendly church fellowship halls to the boozy confines of sports bars," the Courier-Journal editorial read. "Well, maybe that shouldn’t be a surprise. The beer industry does buy an awful lot of professional football commercials. But the NFL would have generated a lot more goodwill for its sports if it had followed the practice of its best referees: no harm, no foul."

Bars and other establishments that regularly show sporting events are allowed to show the Super Bowl, according to NFL policy. But even with that legal explanation, fans disagree, with some of them calling the NFL greedy and money-hungry.

"This is a disgrace and a major black eye for the NFL," one reader wrote on the Indianapolis Star website. "My former church had a youth group event that attracted 200-300 kids to watch the game together -- it was a great fellowship opportunity and it allowed the removal of potentially offensive material from the broadcast(go ahead -- call it censorship -- but the kids didn't see the infamous wardrobe malfunction). What does the NFL have to lose by allowing these gatherings? ... Shocking that as always the decision making process comes down to dollars."

Another reader asked incredulously, "A bar can show the game and make money, but a church can't show it for free?"

The NFL contacted Fall Creek pastor John Newland, objecting to the use of the 12-foot screen as well as the church's plans to promote the Gospel.

"[Y]ou admit ... that part of the benefit of using our broadcast to host such an event is that it may allow you to bring your message of Christian values to non-Congregants; i.e., you will be using the event to promote your church and its values," NFL attorney Rachel Margolies wrote Newland. "While this may be a noble message, we are consistent in refusing the use of our game broadcasts in connection with events that promote a message, no matter the content."

Stephen Davis, executive director of the State Convention of Baptists in Indiana, told Baptist Press that Newland had handled the situation "with integrity, respect and discretion."

"We are investigating how our 440 Southern Baptist churches across Indiana can utilize the Super Bowl event in the future without violating NFL rules," Davis said. "As always, we strive to be responsible citizens, respecting the governing rules and authorities. We applaud the Fall Creek Baptist Church and others all over the United States who desire to support one of our nation's greatest sporting events by providing an atmosphere where children and youth can be together in a wholesome atmosphere. Where better to be than at church, where their friends can be invited for a positive Christian influence?"

Rutherford Institute President John W. Whitehead said attorneys for his organization sent a letter to NFL officials condemning the league's effort to stop church parties.

"Surely the NFL can find something better to do than pick on small churches wanting to gather together and cheer on their Super Bowl teams," he said in a statement. "These churches have a constitutional right to assemble their congregants, and it shouldn’t matter whether these people are gathering to protest the war, pray for the nation or watch a football game. If the NFL has no objection to alcohol-laden viewing parties at sports bars, it makes no sense that they would object to football fans gathering at more wholesome family-oriented events to support their teams."

Asked about the uproar Feb. 2, Indianapolis Coach Tony Dungy said, “My prayer is that we could continue for the next couple of days and we would not have any negative incidents like this. We are all looking for the best Super Bowl that has ever been played, and that is what we’re focusing on right now.”

Fans can contact the NFL's New York office at 212-450-2000. The commissioner is Roger Goodell.

With reporting by Art Stricklin.

They knew what it was like to have damage to their homes from fallen trees and to go days without power – not because of ice, but because of Hurricane Katrina. They came to Illinois because Bogalusa had been the recipient of Illinois Baptist’s ministry immediately following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 when hundreds of Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief Team members helped with their recovery efforts.

The Bogalusa disaster relief chainsaw team was formed after they saw the efforts of the Illinois Baptist disaster relief teams in their town. Eleven of the team’s 32 members were able to make the trip to Decatur, one of the towns worst hit by damage from the storm.

"We had been so blessed by Illinois Baptists, we wanted to be a blessing to other people," said David Hedden. "The people in Bogalusa are still overwhelmed at how we were blessed by Illinois Southern Baptists." Hedden leads the team made up of members from four Bogalusa Southern Baptist churches: First, Highland, Memorial and Main Street. He is also the pastor of Highland Baptist Church.

This was the Bogalusa team’s first deployment not related to Hurricane Katrina.

The Bogalusa team arrived late in the evening on Dec. 12. They worked in the Decatur area from then until their departure on Dec. 15. The team cleared 22 yards and roofs during their three-day stay.

Members of the Bogalusa team were buoyed by the difference they made in the lives of people they saw. Stephen Pierce, a member of Memorial Baptist Church, said, "We saw some people that needed help and we helped. It made a difference"

Pierce continued, "I wouldn’t even be here today if it weren’t for Katrina. Some people from Illinois came down and they gave us hope. It was because of them I’m here to help. They showed us about helping others."

The Bogalusa team joined 31 Illinois disaster relief volunteers already at work in Decatur and its surrounding area from First Baptist Church in Sullivan and Union, Salem South and Westfield Baptist Associations. The Illinois team began work on Dec. 11 and worked until Dec 22. A Minnesota Southern Baptist Disaster Relief team arrived in Decatur on Dec. 18 and worked with the Illinois teams until Dec. 22.

The Salvation Army of Decatur provided meals to the Bogalusa and Illinois disaster relief teams. Tabernacle Baptist Church, Decatur provided the volunteers with meals and lodging in its Family Life Center.

The people of Bogalusa also returned some of the goodwill they received from Illinoisans by donating two pallets of canned goods, blankets and hundreds of men’s, women’s and children’s hats, coats and gloves to the people of Decatur. The Salvation Army of Decatur will oversee their distribution.

As I look back on my own 2006, I realize there is one persistent mistake I make over and over again. To other people it may look like a lot of different mistakes, because it expresses itself in various ways, but I know the root cause. My big recurring mistake is that I try to handle things myself and don’t ask for help.

Self-sufficiency can be tragic in many ways. Without help from others my work is usually less productive. Without perspective from others my thinking is less creative. Without "relational rub" from others, both my character and my capacity for love are less developed. And yet so often I try to go it alone.

Of course my biggest mistakes come when I try to handle things without God’s help, without allowing His Spirit to guide and empower me. Whether others realize it or not, that mistake is usually behind even my more routine goof-ups.

In a fresh new way this year, I realize how much I need God’s help, and how much I need the help of others. And I sense that’s true for our churches too. As Solomon wrote a long time ago, "Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts. For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up." Eccl 4:9-10a (HCSB)

As we begin this historic 100th year in the life of Illinois Baptists, I’m grateful that the churches of our parents and grandparents didn’t settle for self-sufficiency. They looked to the Bible for their shared faith, and looked around the world at their Great Commission task, and decided the hard work of cooperating together would make them more effective. They needed God’s help, and the help that comes from one another. And so, on January 31, 1907 a group of Baptist church leaders gathered at the First Baptist Church of Pinckneyville, Illinois and formed the Illinois Baptist State Association.

Later this month, on the Wednesday night that is January 31 a hundred years later, some of us will gather at that same church to celebrate again our dependency on God, and our interdependency as likeminded churches. If you can be there, please come join us as we worship and pray and challenge one another to continued faithfulness and cooperation. If you will be in a mid-week service at your own church, then please take just a moment to thank God for His grace throughout a century of shared mission and ministry together as IBSA churches – now over a thousand in number.

Wherever you might be, I hope you’ll do whatever it takes to cross out or white out or toss out whatever mistakes we may have made in our past. Ask God to help us, and to help us help one another, that we may cooperate to reach Illinois and the world with the Gospel. And then smile and thank God once again for His specialty, new beginnings.

When I talk about our marriage I do not dare reveal any of my wife’s personal flaws or even admit if she has one. That is between her and her Creator. However, I can say that I am aware of my own problems and have learned much by acknowledging them.

One lesson came as a result of a situation which occurred early in our marriage.

We had a spat and I asked my wife, "What do you want me to do?" Surprisingly, of all the ways she could have answered that question, she ended up saying, "I want you to take out the trash on time, every week, without me telling you." I pursued some clarity to see how important this was and asked, "How many times can I mess up on this during a year and still be okay?" She replied, "You cannot mess up even once." Wow! She was serious! Expectation duly noted!

Actually, I still forget to take out the trash occasionally. However, I have earned enough "good boy" points through the years to be granted a rare mistake. That’s my story and I am sticking with it.

Taking out the trash is a big deal for a family. If the garage were to be filled with junk, stuff, things, garbage, and crud, life could get pretty miserable. We would find ourselves making a path through piles of mess, stepping over last week’s scraps, and fighting for space to store the bicycles. Trash is smelly and messy. Trash invites varmints and pests. Trash can take on a life of its own. The trash has got to go!

Lives have literal trash like I described above, but they also have figurative trash. The trash that is harder to see is composed of bitterness, anger, lost opportunities, missed chances, or forsaken dreams. The stuff that can leave a foul smell might be troubled relationships, broken homes, unforgiven trespasses, unrealized aspirations. Our lives can be cluttered by remembering an offense, holding on to a hurtful word, or clutching a nagging memory.

Sometimes the trash lingers so long it becomes a "dear friend." This "junk" becomes such a part of us that we feel we can never let it go. The "stuff" not only takes on a life of its own, but it becomes who we are, how we see ourselves, the way we are defined. We have all met the guy who was dumped sixteen years ago and cannot let it go. His misery steps forward in every conversation and contaminates every relationship. This is a guy we learn to avoid. He has a strange aroma, and most persons can smell him a mile away.

So? My suggestion for a new year is that each of us take stock of our lives and put out the trash. Your dad treated you lousy, but it is time to let it go. Your kids showed you no respect, but you have to forgive them. That gal at work dumped all her problems on you, but it is now time to move on. Take a look at your life. Step up with courage. Set the trash out on the curb. And don’t bring it back into the house. The trash has got to go!

Marty King, who began serving IBSA Nov. 1 as the associate executive director for communications which includes the post of Illinois Baptist editor, expressed appreciation for the staff who have developed the paper in recent years.

"I appreciate so very much the leadership Dennis Dawson has given to the Illinois Baptist the past three years," King said. "Dennis continues to serve IBSA as associate executive director for missions, strategically helping IBSA churches be on mission, and I’m glad he’s available to give me counsel and advice as well."

King said while he has assumed responsibility for the mission, vision and direction of the paper, Illinois Baptist readers will be glad to know "the day-to-day work of pulling together the most helpful, inspirational and relevant news for our subscribers will continue to be led by Lisa Sergent, assistant editor. And, Kris Kell continues to layout and design a paper that is easy and interesting to read," King said.

"Lisa and Kris are the backbone of the Illinois Baptist, and we are so blessed that they continue to live out their calling and ministry here."

King said the staff will begin reviewing various aspects of the paper’s ministry over the next few months, searching for ways the paper can be more helpful to IBSA member churches.

"For starters we’ve added one new columnist and broadened another column," he explained.

"In this issue, readers will find the first column called Fresh Ideas, by Diana Davis. Diana is the wife of the executive director of our neighboring State Convention of Indiana Baptists, so she knows Southern Baptists in the Midwest," King explained.

"Her column is a creative listing of ‘how to’ do and be the local church. Whether it’s how to do a missions night, how to honor your pastor and staff, or how to promote VBS, churches large and small will find something doable in her columns."

King said the column written the last three years by Dr. Mark Coppenger will be broadened to include more ‘Illinois voices’ – and that’s the new title for the column.

"IB readers have been so fortunate to have Mark’s thoughtful and insightful columns, and we are grateful he will continue to write regularly for the paper. "Illinois Voices" will give us the opportunity to hear from others in the state including our inaugural column from Kevin Kerr, pastor of First Baptist, Machesney Park. Watch for Mark in the next issue and others in the future."

"I believe that as Southern Baptists -- being the independent-minded people we tend to be -- to have strategized back in the 1920s to voluntarily work together to provide security and consistency for our missionary effort was one of the most visionary and spiritually blessed things we as a convention have ever done," said Wright Eavenson, Bethel’s pastor since March.

"And for us as Southern Baptists to have actually maintained it all these decades, it has to be a God thing."

The pastor noted, "Because we voluntarily cooperate through the Cooperative Program, we have a worldwide missionary force that is able to accomplish things no other organization can. I think that’s the genius of how this works, without anyone forcing it. It works cooperatively and that says something to the world. The Cooperative Program is probably as close as Southern Baptists come to having a statement of unity."

Bethel’s missions commitment since its start in 1948 in Broubannais, about 60 miles south of Chicago, has spawned at least four career missionaries; many short-term North American and international missions volunteers; a disaster relief/construction team complete with tools and a trailer; and the foundational leadership for a team in its Three Rivers Baptist Association spearheading outreach to an Eastern European people group.

And two years before Eavenson’s arrival, the church accepted the Acts 1:8 Challenge to minister simultaneously in the local-to-global biblical framework of its "Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and uttermost parts of the world."

For many years, Bethel has given 13 percent of its undesignated offerings through the Cooperative Program, Southern Baptists’ channel for supporting missions and ministries of state conventions and the Southern Baptist Convention. Another 6 percent is given toward the work of Three Rivers Association. Meanwhile, active Woman’s Missionary Union and Brotherhood groups and Sunday morning "Missionary Moments" tidbits about SBC missionaries undergird the congregation’s knowledge of and interest in reaching out across the world.

"We do Missionary Moments every Sunday right before the offering is taken, and a part of that is saying through the Cooperative Program we have a part in the ministry and work [which the day’s missionaries] are doing," Eavenson continued. "In that way we keep the Cooperative Program before the church all the time.

"Every time we adopt the annual budget, we get an opportunity to teach about CP too," the pastor continued. "What I tell them is that when they give to the Cooperative Program, a significant portion stays in Illinois. Being in the Chicago metropolitan area, that puts us on the receiving end of Cooperative Program dollars that immediately come back and support us. It supports the [state convention] staff members who are able to come and train and minister to us. And when we go on short-term missions projects, we’re working alongside a missionary who wouldn’t be there if it weren’t for the Cooperative Program."

Bethel made a hands-on, emotional investment in Katrina-ravaged Mississippi – three trips last year, carrying tools in a 14-foot trailer recently purchased for disaster response and construction ministry in Illinois and across North America. And volunteers from the church have gone on mission trips to far-off places like Antigua – where they later sent nine cases of books to a Baptist school – Bulgaria and Kazakhstan; Slovakia is a possibility for this year.

"One of the great challenges I have is keeping up with the mission-mindedness of so many of our church members," Eavenson said. "Our next challenge is to see Bourbonnais [and surrounding] Kankakee [County and nearby] Bradley with fresh eyes, and in that context to mobilize our members for reaching our communities. And I need to lead by example."

The pressing needs in Bethel’s Judea (Illinois), its Samaria (Mississippi Gulf Coast at the moment, though at various times including anywhere in North America) and uttermost parts of the world (Eastern Europe at present, Asia in previous years) kept the church’s eyes essentially averted from local needs, the pastor said.

The church’s finance committee has included in the budget, to be voted on in mid-December, a 1 percent addition to the church’s mission causes – local missions – which would bring the total missions giving to 20 percent.

"This congregation really has a heart and desire to see the change and growth and to move forward to reach people for Jesus," Eavenson said. "We are seeing people really begin to see Bourbonnais and Kankakee with fresh eyes, and part of that is from going to Mississippi. They’re saying, ‘Hey, if we can do that there, we can do it here.’ The truth is, we’re just getting started."

1911 Illinois WMU becomes an auxiliary of IBSA

1918 Baptist Children’s Home, Carmi organized

1919 IBSA participates in the 75 Million Campaign (pre-cursor to the Cooperative Program)

1925 The Cooperative Program begins to connect local Southern Baptist churches to national and international missions

1926 James M. Pepper named executive director, illness shortened his service

1929 Edgar W. Reeder named executive director, guides IBSA through the Great Depression

1929 First Baptist Student Union organized

1938 Baptist Foundation of Illinois formed

1941 Lake Sallateeska Baptist Camp purchased for $4,800

1946 Noel M. Taylor named executive director, leads largest expansion in IBSA history

1948 IBSA authorized to begin churches in the northern part of Illinois

1950/57 SBC held in Chicago placing spiritual needs of Illinois in national SBC spotlight

1965 James Godsoe named IBSA’s first Language (Ethnic) Missions Consultant

1967 James H. Smith named executive director, oversaw Baptist Building move to Springfield

1968 First Community Baptist, Royal Lake becomes one of the first African American churches to join IBSA

1969 Streator Baptist Camp purchased, investments lowered the purchase price to $55,000

1971 Springfield Baptist Building established

1976 "We Were There" history of IBSA by Robert J. Hastings published to celebrate 50 years

1980 Earnest Moseley named executive director, reorganized IBSA

1981 Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief Team established

1988 Maurice Swinford named executive director, IBSA became debt-free

1990 IBSA begins first mission partnerships with Mississippi and the Caribbean

1993 Maternity Center, Mt. Vernon established to help unwed mothers

1993 M. Eugene Wilson named executive director, service cut tragically short by massive brain hemorrage

1996 Robert Wiley named executive director, partnership with Kazakhstan flourished

1997 BCHFS and BFI boards created

2003 Wendell Lang named executive director, partnership with Oklahoma begins

2004 IBSA board new governance model implemented

2006 Nate Adams named executive director, leads IBSA into its second century