New England Perspectives

A regularly updated collection of articles written by New England leaders and thinkers. Looking for news articles? Click here.

Elissa Wright 7/17/23 Elissa Wright 7/17/23

Tear Down the High Places

The Bible talks about the “high places” throughout Israel’s monarchical history. These were locations outside of the Jerusalem Temple where Israelites went to offer sacrifices and worship, often intermingling Canaanite idolatry with the worship of the Lord. They were originally built by Solomon during his latter reign, as he grew more and more pluralistic.

Elissa Wright 6/16/23 Elissa Wright 6/16/23

Clearing the Stage

So I don’t normally do this. Just write. For the sake of getting an idea out of my head. But I just got out of an awesome Bible study with some friends (over video chat, of course), and I just went down this worship song rabbit hole. And I just had to write down some things. Then I thought it would be worth sharing.

Communications Director 3/1/23 Communications Director 3/1/23

Balancing Your Local and International Missions Efforts

I was asked to consult with a historically strong congregation that once had a fully funded ministry and a full-time, salaried pastor. Their perpetually shrinking budget and unbalanced missions strategy required that a new pastor serve bivocationally, which proved to be a wake-up call for the church members. The church’s commitment to international missions came at the expense of its ministry to internationals now living in their own communities.