New England Perspectives
A regularly updated collection of articles written by New England leaders and thinkers. Looking for news articles? Click here.
Pastoral Lessons from Titus
Titus is one of the three Pastoral Epistles, written by the Apostle Paul to Titus who filled a sort of pastoral role over a group of churches on the island of Crete. This summer, I preached through the three chapters of the letter to my congregation, and I learned some crucial lessons for pastoral ministry along the way.
Revitalizing the Post-COVID Church in New England: Cultivating Vitality for Multiplication
The global COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented challenges to various aspects of human life, behaviors, and relationships. It also messed with religious practices and how people approach services and gatherings. Churches worldwide had to adapt rapidly to new circumstances, finding innovative ways to maintain spiritual connections with their congregations while adhering to health and safety guidelines.
Silent Revival in Vermont
When you are in the middle of the forest, it is difficult to see the overall landscape. That is how it feels sometimes serving in the mission field of Vermont, especially during the recent flooding event.
Committed to New England: Buying a home and a burial plot
In 1994 when Kay and I first moved to New England as missionaries, we served small churches in rural villages in Vermont. Having lived in various cities all of my life, it was quite the culture shock to adjust to ministry in such a different setting. To help me learn how to serve well, I used to meet monthly with Merwyn Borders. Though he was not a native New Englander, Rev. Borders had served in both Massachusetts and Vermont for decades. He loved New England and understood it as well as any “outsider” could.
Scattered
I was sitting on the front lawn of the church I attend a few days ago. We were having a potluck meal and time of connecting after Sunday service amidst the summer season. Two houseguests from overseas had joined me that day and I was sharing about various members of the congregation. Not being shy they had already met and had conversation with others on their own.
Dealing with Difficult People
People can be difficult. We know this because we are people! In all likelihood, you have been a difficult person to someone else at least at some point in your life. Pastoral ministry is no exception to this. In fact, being a pastor probably means you deal with a higher number of difficult people than most. How should we deal with difficult people? Here are a few suggestions borne from experience and failure.
Powered by Christ
This past June, I went on an e-bike tour with my husband and his family in Vermont. It had been years since I’d ridden a bike, but I was reassured that these battery-powered bikes were equipped with speed options and gears that would help us through our four-hour trek.
Using English Classes to Build Relationships for Evangelism
It all began when my wife and I moved to New England at the end of July 2014, we started to reach people through Bible studies, discipleship, and prayer gatherings. We brought a passion from Brazil: Bless Boston! However, it was only when we started to focus on serving our neighbors through a free ESL (English as Second Language) Class as our church plant strategy that things began to happen.
Sitting in the Second Seat: Unique Leadership Dynamics in a Great Cape Cod Church
Rob Neufeld is an associate pastor at CapeFaith Church in Osterville, where Judson Adams serves as senior pastor. CapeFaith is a vibrant and growing church with an interesting leadership dynamic: Rob Neufeld is not only the associate pastor, he is also the father-in-law of the senior pastor, Judson Adams.
Words Worth Repeating
Let’s see if this sounds familiar: “But what if I’m not really saved? The fear of finding out too late that I used the wrong words or didn’t fully understand or committed too little is paralyzing. I should probably pray again, just to be safe.”
Why Immigrants Are Important To Me
Immigration is a hot issue in today’s polarized political climate. Everyone has a list of concerns formed by their own experiences and ideology. I surely can’t hope to address all those concerns, that is a job for someone else. But I am happy to share the reason why I think helping immigrants integrate well into our culture is an important gospel issue.
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.
Can I Trust The Bible? 5 Great Resources on The Reliability of Scripture
Several years ago, I went through a spiritually challenging phase of doubt. I started pulling on different threads and felt like a lot of my theology was becoming undone. During what is now commonly called “deconstruction,” I was influenced by many authors and theologians who questioned the veracity of Scripture.
I’m Not Rich - Should I Still Plan to Give to a BFNE Endowment Fund through My Estate?
For several years my wife served as the librarian for the Calef Memorial Library in Washington, Vermont. This small library in the middle of the village had one room on the main floor and two small rooms in the basement. It was only open three days a week, and then only for a half day each day. It was a small library, which is typical across Vermont. But it was an important part of the community. It was about more than books, it was also a community gathering place, especially in the winter when travel to other larger libraries was not always realistic. For many reasons, it was the only library many people in the village ever visited.
Gaining Altitude: WMU Celebrates 135 Years of SBC Missions
According to an insect identification database, 647 types of bugs and insects are found in Alabama. Some downright scare me. I looked at images of each until I located the entry most resembling the flying insect I watched from a chair on my back deck. I believe it was a common whitetail skimmer dragonfly that captured my attention. I can’t be totally sure since there are 5,000 species of dragonflies. I’m comfortable with that guess since the common whitetail is prevalent in North America.
Why Revitalizing Historic Churches Is Important
Historic churches dot the New England landscape. In fact, there are few pictures more iconic “New England” than a historic church with its grand steeple raising up toward heaven. In those old buildings powerful Gospel sermons were preached by famous preachers like Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, and D. L. Moody. Equally powerful sermons were also preached in those pulpits by faithful ministers whose names no one remembers, but whose impact continues to be felt in New England until this very day.
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.
The Desire Path
The woods near my parent’s house used to be just a forest, an undisturbed wilderness. There was no way through, until my family and neighbors created a “desire path,” a simple course that eventually became something distinct and walkable, the chosen route. Years later, our local land trust would put up trail markers, signs, and maps, officially deeming it a trail, and a beloved one at that.
The Upcoming Pastor Shortage (And What Can Be Done)
By now, you have probably heard about the upcoming crisis of pastoral vacancies. The average age of pastors has skyrocketed, in statistical terms, in a drastically short time. According to an extensive Faith Communities Today (FACT) survey, “In the last two decades the median age of the religious leader rose from 50 in 2000 to 57 in 2020.” This is a trajectory that has been trackable for some time. While many factors contribute to this, the bottom line is younger clergy are not replacing aging and retiring clergy.
One: The Most Important Number?
In my previous blog post, I discussed the great importance Scripture places on numbers, especially the numbers of people who place their faith in Christ. In recent years, I have heard many objections to putting value on numbers in ministry. One of the most common objections is the idea that God really cares about the one – the individual.