Terry Dorsett

I was sitting in church on Easter morning, my second Easter since my beloved wife of 35 years, Kay, passed away from pancreatic cancer almost two years ago. I was thinking of the hope I continue to find in Christ since her passing.

Grief. I’m not sure that I ever really understood grief until the last few months. It is one of those emotions you can read about, study or discuss but can’t really understand until you personally experience it. After losing my wife to pancreatic cancer seven months ago, I’m still coming to terms with what it means to grieve.

An overcrowded schedule, Terry Dorsett writes, can leave people distant from God and "busier than ever but with little or nothing to show for it."

Terry Dorsett underscores the importance of giving young people opportunities for church leadership. "Churches that do not value young people as the church of today should not be surprised when young people are not around tomorrow," he writes.

Terry Dorsett received valuable financial advice years ago -- advice that is applicable at Labor Day as well as living a vibrant spiritual life year-round. Dorsett, executive director of the New England Baptist Convention, recaps the key facet of the counsel: "Work hard."

More than technology or marketing, churches need preaching anchored in Scripture and empowered by the Holy Spirit, Terry Dorsett notes. Today's pastors must convey "timeless truth to a culture adrift in the meaningless opinions of man," Dorsett, executive director of the New England Baptist Convention, writes.

Terry Dorsett, executive director of the Baptist Convention of New England, underscores the need for leadership in families, churches, organizations and government. Leaders willing to make courageous godly choices "can save families, churches and economies," Dorsett writes.

Larger churches: Your denomination needs you, Terry Dorsett, executive director of the New England Baptist Convention, writes. "Many churches in our family of faith are located in small villages and mountain towns or other out-of-the-way places that will never be serviced by a larger church," he notes. "For the sake of the Gospel, we must have a strong denominational budget so these small churches can continue to be assisted."

Terry Dorsett, in Part 2 of a series on denominations, explores the question, What's in it for my church? Churches must utilize their denominations "to advance the Kingdom of God, not just to increase the list of benefits available to us," Dorsett, executive director of the Baptist Convention of New England, writes.

Terry Dorsett, executive director of the Baptist Convention of New England, recounts his journey toward embracing the Southern Baptist Convention. A number of denominations “remain faithful to the Scriptures and have worked hard to balance local church autonomy with cooperative efforts. The Southern Baptist Convention is one of those,” Dorsett writes.