BCNE News
The latest news from our network of New England churches. Looking for our New England Perspectives Articles? Click here.
Hold everyone in forgiveness
Can you forgive someone who hasn’t asked for forgiveness? There is a difficult tension in this question. On one hand, we must acknowledge that when someone admits guilt and the debt is graciously released, there is a beauty in that transaction. On the other hand, perhaps some of us have offered forgiveness to an individual or to a group of people who have not apologized, and their lack of accountability has felt a bit unsatisfying.
Four signs you need a ministry break
There is no doubt that in ministry, breaks are needed. But how can you tell when you need to step away for a time to engage with God and focus on who He wants you to be, not simply what He wants you to do? Here are four warning signs that you’re on the road to burnout and need to take a break for the good of your ministry.
Parenting lessons from the garden
Like many people, we started our first garden this year. I honestly don’t remember what inspired me to do so, but before I knew it, we were filling raised beds with soil. Once the last frost passed, we planted various seeds, which was quite the event with a three-year-old and a two-year-old in tow. I envisioned laughter, photographic moments and a perfectly prepped garden. What I got were muddy kids, unmarked plots and a disaster in the carrot section.
Seven fast facts about New England for volunteer mission teams
According to the 2017 Gallup Poll, New England is the least religious region in America. In fact, Gallup found that the four least religious states in American are all located in New England: Vermont is the least religious, then Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. According to the Barna Group, the five most post-Christian cities in America are all located in New England: Springfield, Massachusetts; Portland, Maine; Providence, Rhode Island; Burlington, Vermont; and Boston, Massachusetts. There is no place in America in greater spiritual need than New England. That is why mission teams like yours are so important! Thank you for being mission partners with us in New England!
Opening up a game: Why losing our comfort zones has affected us so deeply
I have a game shelf. My wife accuses me of caring for my games better than I care for the dogs, being more careful with them than I am with the dishes, and putting them away better than I put away laundry. All of these things may be true. But it is because to me they are not just games – they have always been something just a little more.
Ray Allen: A New England church planting pioneer
When Ray Allen was 13 years old, God called him to a life of ministry. Convinced that this calling would mean working as a pastor, missionary, youth minister, music minister or education minister, Ray began running from the Lord. Little did he know, God would lead him down a path of serving in each of these roles and more over a 51-year ministry in New England.
Digital camp helps students tackle challenge
For the first time in its history Crosswalk Youth Camp is going digital. Not gathering in person on a college campus for a week is disappointing to be sure, but with almost 200 teens signed up for afternoon Zoom Bible studies and evening worship services from July 13-18, it’s also very exciting. This year’s theme is Crux: Christ and the Climb of Your Life.
Helping parents discuss racial issues with kids
During the past few months we have been having many different types of conversations with our children, including some that have been especially challenging. With the start of the pandemic, we needed to find the best ways to help our kids understand what was happening and why things in their world were changing without notice. Just as the pandemic began showing signs of dissipation, the country was talking about race and social injustices with the public killing of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer. Public protests following Floyd’s death have given positive traction to issues we have talked about for some time with no substantial changes.
Voices
When is it that we begin listening to what the world says about us? The world tell us that in order to be happy or “good enough,” we need to look a certain way, dress a certain way, or attend a particular school. Our mindset can quickly change from remembering and receiving that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, to thinking we are just not enough. What is it that we truly see of ourselves when we look in the mirror or listen to that inner voice? Do we see the warrior with the full armor of God and the fruit of the Spirit? If you are honest, your answer is probably “not always.” How is it that we, as children of the King, can get discouraged, and doubt our gifting and our worth?
The new contextualized pastor
A pandemic changed pastoring. We know that John Bunyan pastored during the bubonic plague in England, and God used him in a way that Bunyan never could have imagined. A man who was preaching boldly in the streets of England found himself sitting in a jail cell being still. God gave him many stories to write, one that would become the best-selling book next to the Bible, The Pilgrim’s Progress. God had a great legacy for Bunyan in the midst of a great change.
Right now, there are over 300,000 Protestant churches in America. In a time of great stress, God is calling pastors to become creative, compelling leaders to lead the change through change. What will this new emerging leader look like for the church … and how can he have a legacy of leading differently?
David Jackson’s legacy of church planting in New England
Editor’s Note: Dr. David Jackson is a North American Mission Board employee who has been assigned to serve as the BCNE’s church planting director and strategist since 2014. Beyond the scope of this role, he has worked in many areas of church planting in the Northeast for nearly 30 years. NAMB has recently reassigned him to a new role as Replant Specialist for the Northeast, effective July 1. While we will miss having Dr. Jackson in our office as a member of our team, we support the new work he will be doing. If you are aware of any churches that have closed or are facing imminent closure, please have them contact Dr. Jackson at djackson@namb.net.
As a seminary student and the part-time pastor of a church going through the revitalization process in the early 1990s, David Jackson hadn’t given much thought to planting churches. But when he attended an event on reaching Californians, God laid an unexpected call on his heart.
Carpe diem regno
I get excited to meet with people weekly to disciple believers in their walk with God. During the last few months, face-to-face relationship building has been difficult, but not impossible. In fact, God allowed me to continue making new acquaintances and even have some of the strongest discipleship moments I have ever had in a one-on-one setting while the country went into shut down mode.
How long should a sermon be?
There is great debate on how long a good sermon should be. Personally, I am not a fan of sermonettes that sound more like feel-good devotional thoughts than meaty sermons one can wrestle with all week long. But I am also not a fan of sermons that are so long that no reasonable person can remain focused on what is being taught. Here are some ideas to help you find the sweet spot of crafting a sermon that’s neither too long nor too short.
Rhode Island: A small place of small places
An easy way to annoy a Rhode Islander is to ask him if he is from Providence. Don’t get me wrong. If you ask me that question, I do appreciate that you know Rhode Island is a state and that you can name our capital and largest city.
Why the International Mission Board?
Editor’s Note: BCNE churches that give to the Cooperative Program and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering support more than 3600 missionaries around the world. Two of those missionaries are Matt and Shelby Meyer, members of Rivertown Church in Brattleboro, VT, who have been serving in Poland and were recently appointed as career missionaries.
In my time preparing to go overseas as a missionary and during the past three years of living in Poland many people have asked me, “Why did you choose to serve with the International Mission Board?” My first response is to say that this is the path the Lord led us to, and we want to be obedient to the Father. However, when we dig deeper there are many reasons to serve with or support the IMB if you are looking to reach the nations.
Thoughts from the white mother of a Black son
As I write this I am nervous. I’m nervous because some people can take words and twist them, misrepresenting the author’s intentions and using them against him or her. They do it with Scripture, they do it with tweets. There are very few safe outlets, so I want to be very clear about the things going through my mind right now.
BCNE board of directors issues statement on racism
In response to recent events in our nation, the Baptist Convention of New England Board of Directors issued the following statement after its quarterly meeting on June 4, 2020.
Our first steps toward a unified future: What Anglo pastors can do to build bridges with Black and brown Christians
This last week for me has been mentally exhausting, to say the least. On one hand, I have been pastoring during a global health crisis for the past three months. On the other hand, for last month or so I have been trying to shepherd black and brown people as we handle a myriad of emotions from seeing our people murdered in their homes and in the streets.
It has not been easy.
“Never waste a crisis”
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, as shelter-in-place mandates were decreed and churches were scrambling to make sure they stayed firmly connected to one another, a wise friend reminded me of these words by Sir Winston Churchill. His statement, given in my title above, was borne out of World War II, when his nation suffered terror and suffering beyond imagination for those of us who did not live through it. As we survey the loss of life and damage done by the pandemic, his words ring true. And yet, if we are not careful, in the hurry to get back to a normal—new or not—we run the risk of neglecting the lessons taught in this season of trial and heartache. We do so at our own present, and perhaps future, peril.