Something I've never forgotten was a conversation I had with Army Chaplain Jim Murphy, who at the time was stationed with the 325th Regiment 82nd Airborne just south of Baghdad. It was November of that year when photographer Jim Veneman and I sat down with him there and he told us how his men had seen an incredible difference between the summer and fall of that year in terms of casualties.

"We could tell a difference when the people back home were praying for us and when they weren't," Chaplain Murphy told us. "It was like night and day."

Besides the scorching temperatures, summer also brought many reports of death, when conditions were the worst and morale was the lowest. But, Chaplain Murphy said, "When people started praying for us again toward the end of August, that's when things started turning around."

As Christians, we know that prayer is the most powerful weapon we have at our disposal. God listens to His people. Unfortunately, I fear that many have come to look at the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as highly political, paying less and less attention and forgetting that the men and women who are serving overseas, as well as their families, still need our prayers. For safety. For a successful mission. For a happy and healthy homecoming.

That's why I was excited to hear about a new ministry that recently started through Northside Baptist Church in Del Rio, Texas. Operation M'Brace matches prayer warriors with individual service members. You can request a specific name or have a name assigned to you and for $10, you'll receive a bracelet engraved with that name, a reminder to keep that individual lifted up in continuous prayer.

Bruce and Sherry Malloy direct the ministry. Two years ago, Sherry ran across a rubber bracelet with the words "Pray for our troops" and had felt it was too impersonal. "How is it possible for a Christian to pray for the entire military, knowing that prayer must be personal, consistent and effective?" she'd asked herself.

That's when she believes God gave her the idea for a prayer bracelet, like the original POW/MIA bracelets in the 1970s, matching committed individuals to service members, whether they are deployed or stateside. Military members and their families can register to be prayed for, or submit a name they would like to pray for themselves.

Currently the group has more prayer warriors than names. They are encouraging military members to register online for their prayer list. This is a great opportunity for churches and small groups to rally around our military, particularly during the summer months when so many of us become busy with other things.

Visit Operation M'Brace's website at www.opmbrace.org to purchase a bracelet with a service member's name on it or to register a name for prayer.

Help our troops see and experience the difference and the power of prayer.

Sara Horn is the wife of a Navy reservist and founder of Wives of Faith (www.wivesoffaith.org), a faith-based military wives support organization. Her new book, "GOD Strong: A Spiritual Survival Guide for Military Wives" is scheduled for release by Zondervan in February. She can be contacted via sara@sarahorn.com.
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The Nominating Committee, chaired by John Mattingly, Sinnissippi Association director of missions and a member of Emmanuel Baptist Church, Sterling, nominates pastors and laypersons from IBSA member churches to serve as members of the association’s three governing boards. The IBSA board of directors has 33 members, while the Baptist Foundation of Illinois (BFI) and Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services (BCHFS) boards of trustees have 21 members each.  Members of all boards serve three-year terms.  In 2010, IBSA’s board of directors will need 11 new members, BFI will need nine new trustees and the BCHFS will need eight new trustees.

The IBSA Board of Directors meets twice a year in Springfield with committees meeting another two times a year.  Nominees need to come from various regions of the state as specified in the IBSA Constitution.

The BFI board meets twice a year in Springfield and BCHFS trustees meet four times a year in either Mt.Vernon or Carmi.

The Committee on Committees, chaired by Ron Rhodus, a member of Carlinville Southern Baptist Church, nominates persons for membership on the state association’s six standing committees. This year, the Committee on Committees will need 26 new members to serve on next year’s Order of Business (4), Nominating (4), Credentials (5), Constitution (4), Resolutions (4) and Historical Committees (5).

Each of the association’s committees consists of 12 members, serving a three-year term. The Credentials, Order of Business and Resolutions Committees meet at least twice during the year in Springfield. The Constitution, Historical, and Nominating Committees normally meet once a year in Springfield.

If you would like to nominate an individual for any of the boards or an Association committee, complete the 2009 Nominating Commitee Recommendation Form, the 2009 Commmitee on Commmittees Form or call (217) 391-3107. Completed forms should be returned to IBSA by Aug 7.

 

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I admit that I’m not usually that thoughtful about flies.  But in that particular moment my memory flashed back to a news clip I had seen repeatedly the week before.  President Obama, while conducting a TV interview, was pestered by his own annoying fly.  As the cameras looked on, the President intently followed the insect’s flight with his eyes, then pounced with a loud slap of his hand.  We’ve all come away from efforts like that empty-handed before, but this time our Commander-in-Chief was successful.  The next camera shot was of a flattened fly lying on the floor.

The President’s recent success heartened me in my own fly situation. I’m naturally more of a shooer than a swatter.  Partly from a poor personal track record in fly swatting by hand, I usually choose to wave a fly out of my way rather than attempting to end its life.  But with the empowering image of the presidentially swatted fly fresh in my mind, I decided to go for it. “If he can do it, why can’t I?” I thought to myself.  After a quick slap and a cautious removal of my hand, I watched the limp form of my attacker fall to the ground.

“Success!” I thought, and then was surprised by my next, more troubling, thought.  “Why did I do that? Why did I choose to swat rather than shoo?”

Now I’m not going to blame President Obama for the death of my fly.  In fact, I’m not even going to make the case that shooing is better than swatting when it comes to insects.  But as we celebrate Independence Day this year, I am going to observe with a degree of concern that my choice to swat rather than shoo was subtly influenced by the recent success, and example, of our President.

President Obama enjoys more celebrity and media exposure than any President in recent memory.  We see and hear from him all the time, it seems. The cameras are rolling throughout his life, even when he’s tracking and swatting flies.  And because he is so likeable, so intelligent, so articulate, the majority of people in America seem to believe in him and follow him, and want him to succeed – even though sometimes he’s wrong.

I can’t remember ever writing a public political opinion before, and I don’t intend to lapse into that now.  It’s too potentially divisive and too risky a distraction from the Gospel and from ministry priorities that are far more important.

But in that brief experience with the fly, and that brief moment when I reflexively turned to our popular President’s example to make my decision, I realized how winsome and influential he is, and therefore how susceptible I might be to accepting positions this leader holds that I know to be Biblically or morally wrong.  There is at least one monumental issue – abortion – on which he sides with choice and death instead of mercy and life.

We each walk a fine line when following any leader, especially our national leaders, or when trying to lead ourselves.  On one hand Scripture exhorts us to respect, obey and pray for our leaders.  Yet it also commands us to place righteousness over any earthly ruler, and to obey God rather than human authorities when we are forced to make that choice.

In many issues of politics and public policy, I hope I can learn to follow any responsible approach, whether or not it is my preference.  I can swat instead of shoo, or shoo instead of swat.  It’s when wrong is called right, or the truth of God’s Word is rationalized away or His moral law compromised, that I must learn not to just swat because the President swats, or to shoo because some other leader shoos.  We must all humbly, diligently seek God’s leadership through His Word, sincere prayer and Godly counsel.  That which is at stake is not so harmless as a fly.

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Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) statistics for 2008 show that of the 2.9 million children, youth and adults who participated nationally, nearly 87,000 made a decision to receive Christ.  More than 25,000 churches offered VBS in 2008.

LifeWay Christian Resources’ VBS is recognized as “the most successful outreach tool Southern Baptists have to positively affect children in making a decision to receive Jesus Christ as their personal Savior,” Jerry Wooley, LifeWay’s VBS specialist, said.

Despite the evangelistic value of VBS, Wooley said he sees a trend that does concern him: The number of churches that are shortening VBS to fewer than five days is on the rise.

“Our information from churches that submitted a Vacation Bible School report and/or gave information on their Annual Church Profile tells us that 76 percent had VBS that lasted five days, 7 percent lasted more than five days, and 17 percent shortened their VBS to fewer than five days,” Wooley said. This trend is not as strong in Illinois where just over ten percent of churches have shortened the length of their VBS.

Wooley described VBS as “carefully organized to create a total experience with Bible study, missions, recreation, evangelism, crafts and music. When any part of this is abbreviated or left out, the children are losing out on something of spiritual value.”

Wooley said he hopes churches will do whatever it takes to offer an entire five days of VBS to their children.

Another trend is the rise in the number of churches hosting VBS in the evening – 75 percent of churches in Illinois did so compared with 69 percent nationally

“Staffing issues seem to be the primary reasons churches are hosting more evening VBS programs,” Wooley said. “With more parents employed and more children involved in day camps and other child care, along with schools that are now doing year-round schedules, it just seems to make a lot of sense. It's also more convenient for the churches who offer teenagers and adults their own VBS.”

Dale Davenport, Illinois Baptist State Association director of Education and Leadership, is seeing a trend in some Illinois Baptist churches to take advantage of the different curriculum offered by LifeWay and use it for Sunday or Wednesday evening weekly Bible studies in addition to VBS.  “They are using it as an exciting summer Bible-based study for kids,” he said.

Davenport encourages Illinois Baptist churches to host VBS. “LifeWay’s curriculum has opened the door for any sized church to do VBS at the level they need to do in their community,” said Davenport.

In 2009, IBSA hosted five regional VBS Training Clinics for workers.  Next year, there will be six clinics in addition to expanded Hispanic VBS training in central and southern Illinois in response to an increased need.

For more information about VBS or VBS training contact Davenport at (217) 391-3130 or e-mail daledavenport@ IBSA.org.

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