BCNE News
The latest news from our network of New England churches. Looking for our New England Perspectives Articles? Click here.
What to do when we don’t know what to do
Everything is changing. The ways we live, learn, work and play are all up in the air, and no one knows how things will land. Between the lockdowns, restrictions on gatherings, ongoing riots and protests in our cities, rising crime and racial tensions, it feels like we are lost in the wilderness without a guide. No one knows anything!
Happy birthday, Google: What you need to know about ministering to Gen Z
Did you know Google celebrated its 21st birthday last year? Wait, what?
The millennial generation may have grown up as technology made new strides, but Generation Z has grown up with the world being just a click away, thanks to technology. However, don’t picture today’s kids glued to their computers. Smartphones have taken over their world, and technology is mobile. They don’t follow their parents’ habits of going home and catching up on Facebook. Instead they inhabit a world of constant access to YouTube, Snapchat and Instagram. It is estimated that Gen Z teens receive an average of over 3,000 texts a month!
Our New England Baptist heritage
My 7th great-grandfather, Francis Marion Dorsett, was a Baptist pastor in England at a time when Baptists were not welcome. Baptists were considered countercultural and subversive to society in general because they did not conform to what the broader culture said was acceptable. Seeking the freedom to worship as the Lord was leading him, my forefather immigrated to America before the Revolutionary War. Though he landed in the Northeast, he quickly learned that religious freedom was not as prevalent in New England as he hoped. This led him to move to the mountains of North Carolina where he bought a farm and made a life for himself. He started a family while farming and serving as the bivocational pastor of a local Baptist church.
Healthy transfer growth
In a church revitalization, our hope is to be a disciple-making church pointing the lost to Christ. No one wants to have a church full of transfers (Christians who formerly attended other area churches).
However, sometimes transfer growth is a necessity. In sports, teams that lack key players or strength in certain positions make trades to secure and fill in the holes in their rosters. Church replants, usually with only a few core people to help the pastor, may need members from other churches to come alongside them and help them grow and thrive.
What’s the refrain of your life?
Have you ever been in front of the congregation during singing? If you have, then you know that in most songs the congregation loves to sing the refrain. In fact, very often the congregation struggles or mumbles through the verses of a song, and then, upon reaching the chorus, they wake up and sing with renewed gusto.
Sacrificial leadership gives a glimpse of Christ’s character
How much Netflix have you watched during COVID-19? Or Prime Video, Hulu, or Disney Plus? Be honest. I’m not telling you how much I’ve watched because I don’t want to cause you to stumble into judging me! But I will say that the best thing I’ve watched during this time of lockdown and social distancing, hands down, has been The English Game on Netflix. I’ve never been a big fan of soccer or Downton Abbey, and this show is basically a mash-up of those two, but for some reason, it drew me in like a neon light beckoning a moth.
Four opportunities for growth in crisis
This global pandemic we are facing has given churches a blank slate of opportunity. In conversations with pastors around New England, I have been hearing many insights on how this crisis is forcing churches to rethink and refocus priorities and processes. Here are some lessons churches are learning as they strive to establish the new normal. As obvious as they seem, it is important for us as pastors and leaders to measure how well we are leading our churches in these areas.
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.