BG’s Vision Process 2026-2030
Many groups use the word vision, but they don’t necessarily mean the same thing. For some groups, vision comes from one leader who goes up on the mountain, as it were, and returns to the people inspired. The leader casts the vision before the people, who implement it. Lots of churches mean something like this […]
The Declaration of Independence at 250Ad
Cynicism is the privilege of believing the worst while forgetting the best. It is a privilege we cannot afford. 2026 is the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence—the sort of occasion when our cynicism wants to party. Cue sarcastic references to rich white males who protect their wealth with slave labor and drape their […]
Quandaries this Morning
For a couple of years, we quietly held small meetings to discuss people’s quandaries about Christianity. The meetings started with Cornell law students over dinner. Then we met with undergraduates and people from the community at the Cornell House of Prayer. In these meetings, we spent concentrated time in a safe conversation about issues that […]
New Adult Education Class Next Week
When I was a pastor in California, I got the distressing news one day that a family was leaving our church. It seemed like a sudden decision. I had not seen any hint of dissatisfaction. But when I talked with the man, he explained that he now understood the truth about our church’s teaching. We […]
Encouraging BG’s Internationals
I have never led a church with so many international students and immigrants. Because of them, BG has the opportunity to exalt the name of Christ in Central and South America, Asia, and Africa without leaving Ithaca. They worship and serve with us in countless ways, from translation to hospitality during bagel time and team […]
New Series: The Gospel of John
Preaching through a Gospel is one of my favorite projects. All four Gospels in the New Testament offer drama, fascinating characters, and intense conflicts. Above all, they give us a long look at Jesus of Nazareth. Though every Gospel offers powerful truths, John is unique. John writes as an eyewitness of what Jesus said and […]
New Series on the Holy Spirit
It is all too easy to assume that we can live out Christianity naturally. We can acquire good values, conduct ourselves moderately, help others, and attend church regularly. That’s what God wants. And he’s very nice to forgive all the mistakes we make. In fact, we are liable to drop the standards of Christianity down […]
Student Ministries at the Annual Meeting
The agenda for BG’s annual meeting on June 1st will be packed. Every year at this time, members gather to approve a budget for the next fiscal year and affirm new elders, deacons, deaconesses, and other officers. This is the meeting that sets the next year in motion. An especially important focus at this annual […]
A New Counseling Team in Formation
Yesterday, I met with a new team that has begun work on an important ministry at BG—counseling. One of the largest needs in our society today is for skilled people to help others with emotional and relational health. I am encouraged that BG is organizing to provide that kind of help. The problem of mental […]
2025 Focus at BG: Community
In our series on Ephesians in 2023-24, we saw Paul’s strong emphasis on our life together as Christians. The Holy Spirit uses the whole body of Christ to form each of us spiritually (Ephesians 4.11-16). When we live separately, disconnected from other believers, we are “tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about […]
What are you waiting for?
The season of Advent is about waiting. For children, an Advent calendar counts the days until Christmas, the anticipation of presents becoming more intense. For adults, Advent may become a way to track how many shopping days are left. This year, BG will reorient Advent around the question, “What are you waiting for?” We all […]
Mobilizing for Discipleship
At 11:15 next Sunday, BG will start mobilizing for a new year of discipleship. On August 25th, September 1st, and September 8th, discipleship committee members and I will present ways that you can be involved in creating more community groups to deepen our spiritual formation together. Last June, the committee set two goals for this […]
Inspiration from Chile from Jack Benjamin
On February 6th, after leaving the gym, I switched on the car radio only to learn that the former president of Chile, Sebastian Piñera, had died in a helicopter crash in the nation’s southern lake district. The 74-year-old dignitary was piloting his own aircraft when it went down in a lake shortly after takeoff for […]
BG’s New Community Coordinator, Katie Winkler
As we grow, it will be increasingly important to integrate new attenders into the life of BG. We are grateful to the Lord for every person he brings to us, and we want to take good care of each one. The elders decided to open a new staff position to ensure that we are building […]
The Sanctity of Human Life in 2024
Since the Dobbs decision in June 2022, in which the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, there have been at least seven state ballot initiatives on abortion. The initiatives mostly sought to establish a right to abortion or ban the practice at the state level. One initiative sought to require medical care for babies […]
BG’s Focus in 2024: Discipleship
Discipleship is soul-formation by the power of Christ. It is the art of equipping people to follow Jesus and become like him. It is the American church’s most urgent need. For many decades, churches have excelled at converting people to Christ. If a person gets saved, we imagine, the rest of her problems will solve […]
BG’s New Art Team
For our study of angels during Advent, BG relaunched its arts team, a group of painters, writers, and musicians conspiring to enliven our worship. We started in August looking at how the Bible describes angels and allowing their strangeness to challenge us. At first, we were a little worried. We might succeed in showing the […]
Expanding Roles for Director of Student Ministries
BG is focused on developing people for ministry. Last August, the elders appointed Teddy Yesudasan as Director of Student Ministries (DSM). The elders do not usually ask members to vote on non-pastoral positions. In our quarterly meeting today, however, we are asking members to approve a new concept. Teddy has felt called to pastoral ministry […]
Partnership In The Gospel
The New Testament letters to churches all share one revolutionary feature. They are addressed to the whole assembly of believers. They were read out to the entire church and explained by the mailman—sometimes Timothy, sometimes Titus. In Ephesians, the mailman was a little-known member of Paul’s team named Tychicus (Ephesians 6.21-22). The letters were not […]
One Hour in February
One day last February, deacon chair Paul Thorp and I wandered through the lower level of BG’s Worship Center. He showed me how the building had been expanded since opening in 1956. But we were more focused on the future. How should this facility minister to people in the coming years? Between us, Paul and […]
One Hour in February
Dean Shea and The Destroyer!