By Nancy Thorner, Photos by Mark Weyermuller -
The 10th annual Illinois Family Institute Banquet was held on Friday, October 5, 2018, at Stonegate Conference Center, 2401 W. Higgins Road, Hoffman Estates, IL, with 350 enthusiastic members and supporters of the IFI present. The theme of the night's event was "Keeping Our Eye on the Prize."
Author George Barna outlines current public opinion of traditional issues
The evening's keynote speaker, author George Barna had much to say about children, family values and the church. As stated by Barna: "Disciples are not born that way but are made. Parents transform children into disciples by showing them the right path to follow and not hiding God's truth from children."
As to the role of local churches, its role is to support parents so their children can become all they are meant to be. Children are the leaders of tomorrow. God also commands us to focus on children, Barna said.
The core for doing so is to win over children. As Barna explained, a person's destiny is decided very early in life. From 15-18 months up until age 13, core beliefs are formed and even a child's world view. Also determined by age 13 is a child's moral foundation in knowing right from wrong, as well as their acceptance of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
A somewhat sobering thought expressed by Barna is how powerful the world views of children are. The typical American will die with the same worldview acquired by age 13. Although there are dozens of world views, only 7% of Americans have a Biblical worldview of thinking like Jesus so they can live in the way Jesus lived. Among millennials, it's only 4%.
Post Modernism as the major worldview
As expressed by Barna, one world view has risen to the top in the last 20 years, post modernism, where there is no real meaning or purpose in live because all truth is relative. This is a disturbing trend as our worldview is the centerpiece of who we are as human beings and likewise affects everything in our lives. In comparing the 10 top values of our Founding Father to those held today, it was not surprising to find that not one value overlapped.
Barna described the moral landscape of today's America as a radical generational shift which has moved this nation into moral anarchy. He attributed this, in part, to parents who have moved away from the Biblical view of the world. Barna rated movies and TV as 60% to 70% responsible for the negative cultural changes in the young.
As to why parents have moved away from a Biblical viewpoint of the world, Barna explained how pastors in the past mostly worked with adults. Their kids attended church, but little attention was paid to them. Now as parents, they are unable to teach a Biblical worldview to their own children.
Defining one's legacy
In closing, Mr. Barna suggested that each person invest in at least one child. Said Barna, "We are called to reach children." Barna then asked this question: “What is your legacy?”, to which he answered accordingly: “In the Lord's eyes it's what you invest in your children. We must raise spiritual champions.”
George Barna founded the Barna Research Group in 1984 where it soon became the leading marketing research firm that focused on the intersection of faith and culture before selling it in 2009. Barna is now the executive director of The American Cultural and Faith Institute that conducts research on worldview, cultural transformation and politics. He has also been a pollster in three presidential campaigns. Barna has sold more books on survey research related to matters of faith than any author in American history. His latest book, The Day Christians Changed America tells how Christian Conservatives Put Trump in the White House. Available for purchase at the event was a signed book by the author. Check here to purchase Barna's book on-line.
Jeanne Ives receives warm welcome
At the IFI celebration, State Rep. Jeanne Ives' (R-Wheaton) role as emcee provided her a platform to address and thank many in the audience that worked with and supported Ives in her effort to defeat incumbent Rauner in the March 2018 Illinois Primary elections. Out of 630,000 GOP votes cast, only 20,500 votes separated Ives from ousting incumbent Bruce Rauner as the party's 2018 candidate.
In speaking about her good friend State Rep. Tom Morrison (R-Palatine), who now finds himself in the race of his life, Ives related how Democrat House speaker Mike Madigan is using $400,000 provided by J.B. Pritzker to defeat Morrison this time. As Ives told the audience, "House Speaker Mike Madigan wants all this year, a win for Democrats in every Republican suburban seat so he can then go down in history as having all to culminate his 50 years in office."
Ives gave an update on the state of IL, referring to an article in Politico by Theodoric Meyer, dated Oct. 5, 2018:
The question, it seems, is not whether Pritzker is likely to be Illinois’ next governor, but why he would want the job. Barring a sharp reversal in the polls, he is on track to coast into office. Once he gets there, however, he’ll be confronted with perhaps the most daunting policy challenges facing any governor in the country. Looming over the campaign is not just the question of whether either candidate has a real plan to fix the state, but whether anyone can.
Ives described Illinois as the last in the nation for fiscal soundness and outward migration, even while the rest of the nation is surging ahead. For Ives, informed citizens are of utmost importance, which means knowledge of our Constitution.
"Ten percent of Americans believe that Judge Judy sits on the Supreme Court; 32% can't name our three branches of government; and many can't even name this nation's first president," she told the audience. Illinois is also near the bottom for developers, having the 2nd highest in this nation's property taxes.
As to the political revolt started by Jeanne Ives, she had this to say: "Together we stated a revolt. Although the popular vote fell a bit short, what started on faith was a effort to change our political culture. There are still no easy answers for Illinois. It is important that if we lose one game, we must learn to fight the next one for those who follow us."
IFI honors the late Peter Hulzenga
The legacy of Peter Hulzenga was honored as a generous supporter of conservative causes and organizations and a tireless worker. IFI Executive Director David Smith presented the Illinois Institute Legacy Award to Peter's widow, Heidi.
David Smith opines
"We live in a prosperous land. It is God who nurtures and sustains," Smith then referred to Apostle Paul's letter written to the Church in Carnish, which admonished Christians to remain steadfast.
In speaking about the coming mid-term election, Smith called is a spiritual battle, saying, "We are the soldiers in this battle. As Christians we must remain steadfast. The cultural battle has entered a more vigorous phrase. We must rise up to meet it."
Smith expressed the following concerns which require public action through getting in touch with state representatives:
- Senate Bill 3249: This bill may come up for a vote, which mandates the inclusion in the curriculum of LGBT history being taught in K-12.
- Recreational use of marijuana is being strongly promoted, despite serious consequences related to its use in this manner. Read here about the impact of legal marijuana on Colorado and much more.
Smith also mentioned the 40 Day Life Campaign taking place from September 26th to Nov. 4th to build up and restore a Biblical view of abortion here in Illinois. (Look here for the nearest location to get involved.)
