BCNE News
The latest news from our network of New England churches. Looking for our New England Perspectives Articles? Click here.
What the Lord has given us is enough
I weaved the colored lights in, through, and around the branches of our 20 year old store bought tree with enthusiasm. Of course, we had tested all of the lights beforehand. Miraculously, they all still worked, and I had been told confidently that there were five whole strands to work with. But then I asked the children to hand me the last strand of lights to complete the tree.
Making a list and checking it twice
Hey moms! I see you trying to create magical Christmas memories for your family. You are working through your shopping list, decorating the house, and planning special activities. You are baking cookies, planning parties, and searching for matching Christmas pajamas. You are thinking of ways to make Advent more meaningful for your family and looking for ways you can serve your neighbors and community. If you are like me, you’ve created in your mind a list of all of the “essential” things needed for the “perfect” holiday. I don’t know where exactly my list came from.
Rediscover the feeling of Christmas
When we first moved to New England there was already snow on the ground. It was only a few weeks until Christmas and the small village in Vermont that we moved to looked like a Norman Rockwell painting. We were busy revitalizing a historic church that has considered closing just a few weeks before we arrived. During those first few weeks as Christmas approached, we did a lot of “Christmas” things we had never done before.
Advent is for the weary
In New England, the season of Advent creeps into the literal darkness of December. As the days shorten, the holiday season ramps up, it’s frenzied and bright. The loudest messages speak of exuberance and abundance and assume a constant state of exhaustive cheer. And while joy is central to the coming of Christ, the season of Advent also presses back with a counter-cultural invitation into a stillness of soul as we watch for the coming light.
Hope for a dying church
Troubled times for America: We had never been more divided politically. Battles raged over conflicting visions of freedom and justice. The country was on the brink of civil war. Business had been booming, but there were signs of impending economic collapse. Even more troubling, American Christians were in a spiritual malaise: discouraged and disillusioned. Many were falling away from the faith and checking out of church. The light of the world seemed to be fading…
God is a God of new beginnings
God is a God of new beginnings, second chances, restoration, new chapters. Nowhere in the biblical narrative do we see God saying to his people, after a losing battle: "That's it, there's no way around it, there's no point in trying again, defeat is certain, there is no possibility of restoration." On the contrary, when God's people were enslaved by great nations, He promised deliverance; when the people fell into sin, He promised forgiveness; when Jesus' disciples forsook Him, He stretched out His hand.
We celebrated and signed a partnership... now what?
In the middle of an Annual Meeting focused on the beauty of partnership, the BCNE formally entered into a plan to cooperate with the IMB’s Western European Affinity. It’s our hope to connect churches in New England to Kingdom workers on a mission field that looks and feels an awful lot like home.
The problem of suffering
During what is hopefully the tail end of a worldwide pandemic, many churches have experienced great loss. This may be due to the death of loved ones, a decrease in attendance or some members’ deconstruction of faith. Even those who are still with us are hurting. Many pastors or church members are wrestling with what has been called The Problem of Suffering.
I love and hate adoption
I have a huge heart for adoption. I think I always have. One of my dearest childhood friends was adopted from foster care. She opened my eyes to the beauty of adoption even as a young child. Now as a mother to four girls, two of which are adopted, I find myself often surrounded by it. Many of my friends have adopted. I read books about adoption. I help guide families going through the process. It is a big part of my family’s everyday life.
The value of a human soul
Back in 2014, Antiques Road Show came to Boston and a woman brought in a collection of baseball cards to be appraised. She explained that back in 1871 her great-great-grandmother operated a boarding house and provided housing for the newly established Boston Red Stockings. Her great-great-grandfather collected a baseball card from each player and she had a signed note from each one, including future hall-of-famers, Harry and George Wright and Albert Spaulding. The collection had sentimental value, but she had no idea of its actual worth. The professional appraiser, commented that it was the greatest archive that she had ever appraised for the show and estimated the collection was worth at least one-million dollars!
Rethinking our stewardship strategy
I don’t know about your church but during the pandemic our church had to rethink our church’s giving procedures and strategies. Several years earlier we had begun an online giving option but only two people were taking advantage of it. It was now time for us to help our congregation to utilize different methods of giving and to present our offering time in a more meaningful way.
Wisdom from spiritual mentor: Part 2
I have been fortunate and blessed to have three tremendous mentors in ministry who have guided me, warned me, coached me, prayed for me, and were selfless enough to even watch me flourish. I would like to tell you about each of these men individually and encourage all of us toward some shared action steps at the end of each article. In this second installment of a 3 part article series, I would like to tell you about Chris Adams.
10 ways to recognize the need for church revitalization
Church revitalization is the ongoing process of bringing a church back to health and vitality. It is when a church that was once spiritually dead is brought back to life. Church revitalization takes a unique, visionary leader who is passionate, patient, humble, and willing to work hard. Sometimes you may use different strategies to accomplish revitalization, but the main goal is to get every area of the church functioning with vitality.
New England Baptists celebrate partnership
“How will we partner together to reach New England with the Gospel?” asked Dr. Terry Dorsett, executive director of the Baptist Convention of the New England in the executive director’s report at the BCNE’s 39th annual meeting. “We will build up people … For when we build on a foundation of Christ and we build in a way that lasts, it is for eternity.”
The pastor’s pastor
The days leading up to our church planting journey are a golden haze in my memory. As soon as we experienced the first missional pull six years ago, my husband and I consumed absurd quantities of Dr. Pepper and scrambled for every pertinent book, article, and podcast in Christendom. Despite the caffeine-induced fog, one sentiment jumped out from the masses of content and wrapped itself tightly around my heart. It hasn’t budged since. In a session on marriage and missions, the trainer asked a group of hopeful church planters, “Men, who’s your pastor?” He waited. Crickets. His answer knocked the wind out of me.
Reformation Day for an anxious age
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous shall live by faith.”
-Romans 1:16-17
“…I began to understand that the righteousness of God is that by which the righteous lives by a gift of God, namely by faith….Here I felt that I was altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open gates.”
-Martin Luther
Have mercy on those who doubt
Over the past few years, as churches and the names of leaders and Christian organizations have been strewn across news headlines fraught with scandal, many people are doubting their faith or rejecting it altogether. For some, they are questioning the veracity of Christianity for the first time, wondering if it is right or good, wondering if it is simply a set of ancient (irrelevant) moral principles enforced by power-mongering hypocrites. Honestly, they are right to wonder.
Steps to building resilience
A pastor must focus on building excellent health and wellness practices into their daily routine. Ministry is a marathon, not a sprint, and you need to train for it with this in mind. The goal is healthy longevity which can only be achieved through practicing good physical, spiritual, and mental hygiene. Let’s look at some basic practices.
This is my story
Fanny Crosby wrote these lyrics along with over 8000 others in the 1800’s. The hymn that I grew up singing has been revived, adding a new bridge to her words. Crosby lost her sight at six weeks old, her father at six months old, and her only child when the baby was just an infant. Her faith in Christ was deep from an early age and gave her strength through her life. Blindness did not hold her back from writing, teaching, being a lobbyist and ministering to those in need, and praising God through it all.
Three things you can do when a church member talks to you about domestic abuse
In my previous articles, I shared some important facts about domestic abuse in churches and ways churches can be prepared to handle domestic abuse situations. Although poor or uninformed responses from church leaders can have disastrous consequences, the good news is that God can use pastors who are humble and teachable to protect victims of domestic abuse and restore their faith. In this article, we’ll cover what a pastor can do when a church member shares her experience of domestic abuse.