Women who are married to pastors play unique roles in the church, yet often receive little training or support for their roles.

The pandemic served as an accelerator to speed up the dramatic attendance drop we've seen over the last 20 years. Weekly attendance dropped from 137 to 65 before the pandemic in 2020. While larger churches are showing a strong comeback now, smaller churches are continuing to decline or close.

Isn’t it amazing that God uses us to advance his kingdom? Though we are inadequate to the task, we have his promise: he chose us and appointed us to advance his kingdom in ways that will never be wiped away.

We see some of that fruit! Our first Metro Baltimore Seminary students will graduate in January. Six men and women will graduate from the Urban Ministry and Church Planting/Renewal tracks that Pastors Craig and Stan lead.

More churches have resumed gathering in person, but early reports are that church attendance has decreased significantly.

Even before the pandemic, the percentage of Americans describing themselves as Christians declined by 12% from 2009-2019. The "nones and dones" (those self-identifying as atheist, agnostic of “nothing in particular” rose to 26%. That’s 30 million more "nones".

You may remember the famous line in Mission Impossible: "Your mission, should you choose to accept it..." Of course the star always accepted the mission, which sounded daunting yet vital.

We have far more assurance of the success and importance of our mission to join Jesus in filling the earth with the Good News of his life, death and resurrection.

The first charge that the Apostle Paul gave to Timothy, his young co-worker whom he left in Ephesus to shepherd the church there, was prayer. While Paul gives several charges to promote and deepen the gospel in Ephesus, the first criteria for gospel-shaped living was prayer. God’s people must practice this first order of the gospel-shaped life: prayer.

This Christmas bulb sums up our hope in the gospel as we end 2020: the weary world rejoices!

The birth of Jesus gives us reason to celebrate. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus changes everything. We are committed to bringing that message to a weary world.

We are amazed at all God has done in 2020 to build BALM in spite of the pandemic!

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.

And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah 6:8 NIV

What a year it has been. What a month. What a week.

Pastors Stan and Craig are having flashbacks to 1968, when as teens they saw the nation erupt in riots after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Maria, then age ten, remembers glimpsing the Washington Monument from a tall tree near her Virginia home, and wondering what was burning there. Last week was also the 99th anniversary of the Tulsa race riots. Five years ago, Baltimore exploded after Freddy Gray’s death in police custody. America's "original sin" of racism has yet to be healed.

“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you." Deut. 31:6

In this unprecedented time of global upheaval, suffering, emotional stress, economic uncertainty and social distancing, we are grateful to know that we have “an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” (Heb. 6:19) We have a triumphant Savior who promises Himself to us in covenant love and quells our fears. We have hope! We have a balm in our distress.

Thankful. That was my core emotion after teaching the New Testament Survey class last week.