BCNE News
The latest news from our network of New England churches. Looking for our New England Perspectives Articles? Click here.
Family of nine uproot, make a new ministry home 1,000 miles north
STOWE, Vt. (BP) – Gerald Hunt was a Georgia kid with an interest in Vermont, a land way above the Mason-Dixon line where hockey is more popular than college football and bread stuffing replaces cornbread dressing on holiday dinner tables.
Christians should “bother” each other more often
May I encourage us to consider removing a phrase from our Christian vernacular. After more than twenty-five years of walking with Jesus, it is a phrase I have uttered on more than one occasion and have been on the receiving end as well. Even when the phrase wasn’t uttered, the attitude behind it was often communicated. While the intent of this phrase is usually one of grace and compassion, the results many times are either mediocrity or hurt. Much like the vintage ads for morphine of the late 19th century, this phrase promises health but brings disease.
Seven pivots for the church revitalizer in the new year
Every new year brings its challenges and pivots. I have been challenged to pause in the many pivots I have had to make as a church revitalizer and reflect on how God wanted me to lead. The pivots that we have faced in recent months have taught us many essential lessons for future revitalization.
How do you keep score?
Professionals like to list their accomplishments on their resumes. In fact, LinkedIn is a professional social media platform designed for professionals to continuously update and publicize their list of accomplishments for the world to see.
Keep asking
Several years ago, I was speaking at a conference to church planters. At the end of the session, one of the attenders came up to me and said sarcastically, “I heard you are a hot shot church planter. What do you think has made you successful?” I thought about his question and answered seriously and yet simply, “I didn’t give up.”
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.