The Tie That Binds

This article was written by Dennis Christiansen and found in the American Baptist Churches of New York State Region Notes...   Your congregation, like mine and others, may have adopted the practice of circling the sanctuary after the service of the Lord's Supper and concluding worship by singing Blest Be the Tie that Binds. The hymn was written by John Fawcett, a dissenting Baptist clergyman (and aren't most of them) of the late 17 and early 1800s, who served an extremely impoverished community church in northern England, enduring meager compensation and habitual privation. Hymnologist Albert Bailey recounts that Fawcett wrote the hymn upon accepting the call to a more affluent church. However, when the distraught and weeping parishioners gathered to say goodbye, Bailey says Fawcett and his wife could not bear to leave their beloved congregants and, unable to undo the tie that bound them, decided to stay.   For John Fawcett 200 years ago and for us today, "the fellowship of kindred minds" is a rope that has been tied to bind us together. Today, however that rope is being strained and stretched. Once, the strands of geography, denomination, and tradition braided us together but that rope has unraveled in modern times. Families are dispersed, denominational distinctions are blurred by individualized worship styles and theologies, tradition has given way to a quest for novelty and innovation. In earlier times, "kindred minds" meant uniformity of beliefs, but today a lack of same repels some churches while unconformity attracts others. We appeal to the kindred-ness of our Baptist principles, but many in our congregations are not knowledgeable of them. As a Region and as Associations, we are struggling to keep tied the fellowship of kindred minds that binds us together.   Fawcett's "kindred mind" is not the tie that binds; that tie is Jesus Christ. Our "kindred mind" is not the "tie" of denomination or uniformity or tolerance or principles. The "kindred mind" is a concern for one another built on the love of Christ. Our kindred mind is concern for brothers and sisters in struggling churches. Our kindred mind is joy for growing churches. Our kindred mind is not about celebrating diversity, as important as our diversity may be. Our kindred mind is about celebrating churches that are serving diverse people in diverse communities; in cities and villages, in impoverished and affluent communities, in farming areas and among migrant workers, among African Americans, Chin, and Karen congregations. Our kindred mind comes from our love of God and one another. We thank God that we can be Associations and Regions of churches connected in ministry in Jesus Christ.   In our church, we only sing the well-known first verse of Fawcett's hymn. It continues, "Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one, Our comforts, and our cares. We share our mutual woes, Our mutual burdens bear." The ropes of our kindred minds are tied together by Jesus Christ. In closing, I say, Lift High the Cross!   Dennis Christiansen Vice President, ABC/NYS

Something Good Can Come Nazareth

This last week we looked at Jesus calling His first disciples as reported in the Gospel of John.  First were two brothers, Andrew and Simon (later Jesus renamed him to Peter).  The first morning, as they were getting ready to leave the area, Philip comes up to them, and Jesus invites him to follow, as well.

Before they actually get underway, Philip tells his friend, Nathanael, about Jesus.  Nathanael wasn't as easily impressed, and his comment to Phillip betrays his prejudice: "Nazareth!  Can anything good come from there?"  

Soon, he meets Jesus, and learns that Something Good Can Come From Nazareth.  What can we learn from his prejudice against that place, or a prejudice against people?  We'll look at what scripture has to say about our prejudice, and why we need to seek God's help in ending this behavior.

If you would like to read the message in full, click here.

Thanks for reading...

Christmas Brings Faith

This week in the church we looked at the third message in our series titled Christmas Brings...

This week's message was titled Christmas Brings Faith, and we looked at faith as a gift from God, made possible through the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus.  We looked at Joseph and his faith, and learned a few lessons from Joseph that we can apply to our own lives as we live our life of faith.

To read the message, or to hear an audio recording, click here.

Christmas Brings Joy

On Sunday, Dec 7, we looked at the second message in our series titled Christmas Brings.

This week we saw that Christmas Brings Joy.  Joy is one of the fruits of the Spirit, one of the gifts that God brings to the believer, one of the characteristics of a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  This gift is only possible because of the incarnation at Christmas.

To read the message, or to hear an audio recording, click here.

Hope is...

"Hope is confidence in the knowledge of God's goodness. This can't be found without knowing the character of God. So how do we learn that? Prayer, searching and studying the Word, spending time at His feet. Once we know God's character, we are certain of His faithfulness and are able to trust Him - this flows out as confidence in God and therefore hope in Christ is first nature." - Jonathon Tortoise

Hospital or museum?

"The church is supposed to be a hospital for the hurting, not a museum for the saved." 

- Evangelist and author Wendell Winkler 

I quoted the above quote in a sermon message, and received the following comment on a connection card after the service:

"How can we stop being a museum? Seek the lost. It's simply obedience. So why don't we? Certainly not because we can't, but rather because we hide behind our pride, refusing to recognize our identity as sinners, and this cripples our understanding of grace. If we could admit that we are sinners, we would experience the fullness and transformative power of God's grace and we wouldn't be able to shut up about it."

I couldn't have said it better - makes me almost proud to be a pastor!

I Want the Church to Grow, But (pt 4)

This past week we looked at the 4th message in our series, I Want My Church to Grow, BUT.  This series looks at some of the things we do, or don't do, that keep our church from growing.


We all make excuses that young people don't go to church anymore.  The truth is, many of them do - they just don't go here.  Why?  What are we doing that makes them feel uncomfortable?  What should we be doing to make our visitors feel welcome?

This we looked at inviting the unlovable people.  And we can do that, remembering that before Jesus, we weren't too loveable either...

To read the message, or hear an audio recording of it, click here.