"Post" Script.

Well, it’s been three months since my last blog post. There have been certain temptations offered to me during this season of dormancy, in particular the temptation to write posts just for the sake of writing. But I have also felt a burden for silence, a burden that has trumped that temptation. So I have been, at least in terms of my blogging life this autumn, quiet. A sort of blogosphere sabbatical, perhaps.

Shortly before my non-blogging season began, I spent some time writing a small group study. I’m really grateful that Bronx Bethany’s small groups are now immersed in the study, titled “Arrayed in Hope”. It has been able to do, in print, what I have struggled to do in person: it crosses boundaries to minister encouragement to people of God from all walks of life. Men and women, older people and younger people, new Christians and seasoned saints, have shared with me testimonies of how God is speaking to them through the study. If you're in Bronx Bethany Church of the Nazarene but not in a small group (Care Group), I encourage you to get connected with one. (If you're a pastor or small group leader at another church and have an interest in checking out this ten-lesson study, I'd love to send it to you! You can connect with me via Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.)

Lately the Lord has been nudging my heart about writing again. What will the writing be? I don’t know yet. In keeping with the nature of the Advent season we’re in, I am waiting with expectancy. I’m excited to see what the Lord will do. My ears are open to hear Him. I hope that everyone reading this, too, is waiting on God with expectancy and excitement and ears open to hear.

Is the Lord nudging your heart about anything?

Welcome To Your New Season.

Last year Bronx Bethany, with much fanfare and celebration, celebrated its fiftieth year of ministry. But, what about our fifty-first year? On Sunday, Pastor Sam shared with us that year fifty-one is a time to begin again, to start anew, and to do something new.  

In this fifty-first year of ministry, we are believing that people will make the shift from being consumers to being participants in the plan and program of God. However, our belief is not based on having done a survey to measure the interests and abilities of those who call Bronx Bethany their church home. Rather, it is a belief that is initiated, supported, and carried by our prayers.

What are we praying to see in this new season?

• Competence (the skills that God was pleased to give to us); and
• Character (the thoughts and actions we demonstrate that are pleasing to God)

Doing a new thing will involve us moving, as Pastor Sam exhorted us, “from the back to the front” in terms of our ministry roles. There will be a shift in which the men and women who have labored for years will find partnership and assistance from those men and women who heretofore have known what to do, and who have solid Christian character, but who had previously been content to watch from the sidelines. But, the past is past: it’s year fifty-one, and the season of “sideline” consumerism is over. It's the season for new ministries, new strategies, new visions, and new people to join in the battle for souls.

I will be doing some new things this season. How about you?

"So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields." (Matthew 9:38, New Living Translation)

Doctor? Gee.

Dear Friends,

Glossa Water is coming back online. It may have a bit of a different flavor than it had when I stopped blogging in June of 2010, but I promise you it will still be unapologetically Christian, still unmistakeably Genise-esque, and still written with an eye towards challenging people to grow closer to our Lord Jesus for the sake of His kingdom.

During my one and a half year absence from Glossa Water I've completed and defended my doctoral dissertation, "How ministers understand and address emotional and sexual pressures in ministry work". The document will be available later this year on the ProQuest database. (I'll try to remember to tell you when it can be viewed.)

God has been gracious to allow me to return to writing this blog, and I am grateful to Him. I hope you'll check in on my page frequently as we continue to provide a forum for reflection on the word of God. Blessings and peace to you all.

Genise