BCNE News
The latest news from our network of New England churches. Looking for our New England Perspectives Articles? Click here.
A tree grows in New England
When I bought my first home in Barre, VT, there was a tree in the backyard that the former owner had planted when his children were young. He was emotional as he shared how his family had watched the tree grow from a seedling to a small tree during the twenty years he owned the house. It was our joy to watch over the next twelve years as the small tree grew. A decade ago, when I sold the home, I shared the story with the new owner so that she would know about the tree’s journey and what it meant to the family who planted it. That tree is now mature and looks great in her backyard.
Couple’s generous gift launched the Baptist foundation
Life-changing endeavors grow, like the mustard seed of Jesus’s parable (Mark 4:31–32), from seemingly tiny decisions of faith. Just ask Pat Gallier.
Let it snow!
With the recent snow storm, millions of New Englanders have been shoveling, plowing, or blowing major amounts of snow off their driveways and sidewalks. Growing up in Florida, I never saw snow except on TV. Now that I have lived in the Northeast for the past eight years, I get excited when a snow storm hits. My neighbors think I’m crazy.
When leadership is hard
Leadership is hard. Really hard. And we all need help. Every single last one of us. Every leader needs a leader. Every coach needs a coach. Every mentor needs a mentor. But without finding the right help, burnout and throwing in the towel becomes quite easy. In fact, I believe burnout is only inevitable. According to the Paterson Center, leaders will on average face 4 to 5 major life crisis’ within their leadership tenure. The real question then becomes, when the crisis takes place, how will you respond?
Vermont Snow Camp for pastors
Our BCNE Vermont Pastors and families recently shared a powerful experience together as they gathered for Snow Camp at Rumney Bible Conference Center in NH. Each family had their own room and enjoyed fellowship, food and fun in an area of stunning natural beauty that reminded them of the awe of God’s Creation.
Being present and bearing witness
The loud honking all the way down the street was not that unusual, but when I heard the angry, threatening string of obscenities erupting from the driver, I quickly beckoned for our girls to get back into the house. They had been waiting for me to get my sneakers on so we could take our usual mid-day walk.
Bible illiteracy - it’s an epidemic
Did you know, in the average church:
⅓ of members read the Bible once or a few times per week
⅓ read their Bible rarely if ever
Only ⅓ read their Bibles daily!
(Approximate Statistics from Lifeway)
The good shepherd
Throughout Scripture, the metaphor of sheep and shepherd are used to paint a vivid picture of God and His people. Psalm 23 begins with the line, “The Lord is my Shepherd,” and Jesus affirms this in John 10. While few of us today know the intricacies of agrarian labor, we have read stories, watched films, and driven past enough farms that the realities of these statements are within the realm of imaginative meditation. Let us dust off the redeemed imagination so that the goodness may hit us afresh, so that we may ingest the treasures of truth to be found within the living Word.
Do you pastor a historic church?
Here in New England, we have the richest ecclesiastical heritage in the country. Church history permeates our BCNE landscape: the pilgrims of Plymouth colony, Jonathan Edwards’ hometown of Northampton, George Whitefield’s crypt in Newburyport, D. L. Moody’s estate in East Northfield and the wharf of Adoniram Judson in Salem are all within driving distance. Your local church may have been the fruit of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, flourished under the First Great Awakening or a supporter of the Modern Missions movement. There are some wonderful advantages to pastoring a church with a long and rich history.
Dr. and Mrs. James Wideman: A lifetime of service, prayer, and generosity
James (Jim) Wideman, a native of Texas, and his wife Sandy, a native of Florida, invested much of lives in New England, first moving to the region in 1970. After dating at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth, Texas, in the summer of 1970, they were assigned as short term missionaries to Screven Memorial Baptist Church (now called Seacoast Community Church) in Portsmouth, N.H. Jim later returned to Texas to finish his seminary studies but in 1979, a growing sense of call to New England led them back to Portsmouth where Jim became pastor of that church.
Leaving a legacy: Lessons from Tychicus
Do you ever skim past verses in the Bible where Paul sends greetings to or from fellow Christians who are all but forgotten in our day and age? Although it’s easy to pass by verses like this in favor of Scriptures that are more easily applicable to our daily lives, all Scripture is God-breathed and profitable. Let’s take a closer look at one such verse.
Quanto tempo vai durar o que você lidera?
Este foi o tema de uma conferência apresentada pelo Pr. Josué Campanhã para pastores e líderes da Grande Boston. Devido ao atual momento de pandemia que estamos vivendo, o evento ocorreu de forma on-line, com a presença aproximadamente de 50 participantes. O encontro durou 2 horas, onde todos puderam ouvir, refletir e participar, de forma objetiva, sobre este tema tão relevante em nossos dias: A qualidade da liderança em nossas igrejas. A conferência foi tão encorajadora que alguns pastores e líderes já estão se mobilizando para promoverem encontros on-line com o Pr. Josué Campanhã, visando um aprimoramento dos temas apresentados para os seus respectivos ministérios.
Sacred space
Every day. Every day God has a plan for my life. Every day He wants to guide, teach, and use my life for his purposes. To abide in Him (John 15). Every day I decide to follow or go my own way. For years I taught a retreat curriculum that referenced the phrase, “If Satan can’t make you bad, he’ll make you busy.”
Prideful pastors
". . . All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble." (1 Peter 5:5)
Far beyond any rival, it was the most glaring example of pastoral pride I had ever seen. A pastor invited me to attend a special service to celebrate his ministry anniversary. He invited a long list of community and denominational leaders. Even the mayor and his entourage showed up.
Boston church and its network make largest ever donation to BCNE
In celebration of the 40th anniversary since its founding, the Berkland Baptist Church network of churches (including Antioch Baptist Church in Cambridge, MA) has made a special gift to the Baptist Convention of New England in the amount of $1 million. This donation represents the single largest gift ever received by the BCNE and will be used to fund church planting, church revitalization, and collegiate ministry.
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.”