Illinois Baptist
6 lessons from our lawsuit Illinois Voices with Nathan Carter P. 15
mission
Quake
Small churches, big response P. 6 NATE ADAMS
Good old days Are being replaced right now P. 2
IBSA NEWS
Annual report Slow bounceback continues P. 5
REFUGEES
Finding a home Churches open doors for new neighbors
How this church is constructing carpenters and disciples P. 7
P. 11
News journal of the Illinois Baptist State Association
MARCH 1, 2023 Vol. 117 No. 3
Nonprofit Organization U.S. POSTAGE PAID Springfield, Illinois Permit No. 964
IllinoisBaptist.org
Building believers
IB
SBC executive committee
Saddleback ousted
Taking aim at North America
6 churches are disfellowshipped and questions are raised about EC spending
Nashville, Tenn. | The vote to disfellowship Saddleback Church from the Southern Baptist Convention may have been the most surprising action by the SBC Executive Committee (EC) at their trustees meeting Feb. 20-21, but other news from the meeting may have considerable long-range implications, including spending half the EC’s $12 million reserve in a single year. Six churches were removed from SBC membership after the EC determined they were “not in friendly cooperation” with the denomination. Five of the six dismissals were related to female pastor concerns. The churches are New Faith Mission Ministry in Griffin, Georgia; St. Timothy’s ChrisBARBER tian Baptist Church in Baltimore, Maryland; Calvary Baptist Church in Jackson, Mississippi; Fern Creek Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky; and Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California. Saddleback ordained three women as pastors in 2021, prompting debate at the 2022 SBC Annual Meeting in Anaheim over the definition of pastor and its application to PLUS: More EC actions, SBC election news, pages 3-4
Annie Armstrong Easter Offering P. 10
REVIVAL
‘Mercy drops’ at Asbury P. 13