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Brothers and sisters,

I want to write about New Year’s Resolutions this week. I recognize that we’re over two weeks into January by now, but that may actually help me make my point. See, every new year, people all over the world make New Year’s Resolutions—something they want to do in the new year. Some will take up a new hobby. Some will decide this is the year they go to the gym. Some will try to stop doing something harmful. People take stock of where they are and project where they’d like to be in this new year.

But, as most of us know, New Year’s Resolutions get abandoned pretty quickly by most folks—to the point that there is a specific day of the year known as Quitter’s Day. According to Google, around 80% of all New Year’s Resolutions will be abandoned by the second Friday of each new year. So, January 10th is, unofficially, Quitter’s Day. And there are plenty of jokes and memes on the internet about Quitter’s Day. But most of those jokes come back to one main idea—that the person was silly to think they could keep their resolution.
I want to push back against that idea. First of all, I don’t think it’s silly for a person to take stock of their life and seriously think about things they could do that would make them happy, make them healthy, etc. There’s no need for the sarcastic, self-defeating attitude of, “Why would I think I could do better?”

Second of all, as a committed Christian, I have to push back against this “all-or-nothing” attitude. It seems crazy to me for a person to set a goal for themselves, stumble a little bit, and then decide, “Well, what did I expect? Of course I stumbled; I can’t do anything right!” We in the church know—or we ought to know—that everyone falls short. We all have good days and bad days. We all struggle to do the things we want to do and we sometimes end up doing things we don’t want to. But where the internet memes see no path forward, we Christians believe—or we ought to believe—that we can always get back up and keep trying. What else is the Christian life but seeking to act faithfully, falling short, and asking for forgiveness, only to be met by a God who says, “Of course I forgive you. Let’s set you back on the right path and keep walking”?

So, by the time this article comes out, Quitter’s Day will have come and gone. But I would encourage all of you, whether you made a resolution or not, to challenge yourself to do something new this year or to give up something harmful this year or to recommit to something you love this year. And on those days when you fall short of your goal, be gentle with yourself, and remember that life is a series of ups and downs, trials and errors. Through it all, we worship a God who loves us and encourages us. God does not quit on us; let us not quit on ourselves.

Happy New Year!
Pastor Ben

Brothers and sisters,

Here we are at the end of 2025 and it has been a busy year here at the church! Each year presents its own challenges and opportunities, so I wanted to go over some of the highlights of 2025 here at Hope Valley.

This year, our church reached out to our community in so many different ways, seeking to fulfill the commandment given to us by Christ to love our neighbors as ourselves. We held our annual Souper Bowl of Caring this year, raising money for both Urban Ministries of Durham and Hurricane Helene Relief. We also held our annual ACC Tournament Food Drive benefitting the Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC (FBCENC) and collecting 669 pounds of food! We collected school supplies and clothes for the children over at Parkwood Elementary School. Most recently, we quickly began a food drive in response to the cutting of SNAP benefits during the government shutdown — that collection is ongoing, by the way!

But, we did not just collect things here at the church! During Operation Inasmuch, our church reached out in a variety of ways: putting together “Thinking of You” bags for church members and care packages for people struggling here in Durham, doing yard work around the church, and sending our kids to Carolina Reserve to sing for the residents there. We’ve also had a regular group of volunteers going to the FBCENC every month to help there. And, of course, we partnered with Scarlette Jasper once again to send Christmas boxes to our brothers and sisters in rural Appalachia who are struggling right now.

The year was not just about missions, however. We also had big, community-focused events here at the church. We hosted our Easter Egg Hunt and let local kids know about the resurrection. We had another summer of Super Saturday Adventures, where children learned about a God who loves them very deeply. Our Fall Festival was a hit once again this year, with local children and families having the chance to come and be joyful together

And we’ve had all kinds of special events within our church family, including baptisms and deacon ordinations. We remembered and celebrated the lives of people we’ve lost on All Saints Sunday. We hosted Andy Hale from CBFNC. We finally went to the North Carolina Museum of Art — just three years after I said we’d go! And, of course, we’re coming off another season of Advent with beautiful services like the Hanging of the Greens, the “Peace on Earth” musical service, and the Christmas Eve service.

It has been a wonderful year here at Hope Valley Baptist Church! I’m looking forward to all God has in store for us in 2026!

Happy New Year,
Pastor Ben

Brothers and sisters,

There are a lot of different ways to tell that it’s Christmastime right now. The decorations in people’s yards. The endless ads telling me how many shopping days are left till Christmas. The fact that Mix 101.5 is nothing but Christmas music right now. But for me, one of the main ways I am constantly reminded it’s nearly Christmas is my Instagram feed.
For those that may not know, Instagram is a social media app that runs based on an algorithm. Basically, I “follow” different accounts on the app to see their posts. Instagram’s algorithm then monitors which accounts I follow and which posts I click on to suggest new accounts for me to follow and new posts to click on. I follow several different cooking accounts on Instagram and all those accounts are putting out holiday/Christmas recipes right now. Their stuff looks good, so I click on their posts and watch the whole vid-eo they’ve posted. That then tells the algorithm that I like that content, meaning I obviously want to see more of it.

Long story short, my Instagram feed is buried in thirty to sixty second videos of Christmas recipes right now, particularly Christmas cookie recipes. One account is showing off the five different recipes they made to make their “Christmas cookie box.” Another account is showing how they recreated their great grandfather’s bakery out of gingerbread. Yet another account shows how they made “log cookies” that are made of two different doughs swirled together, then sliced, and individually cut to look like log slices, before being baked and packaged to look like a bundle of firewood.

Now, baking has always seemed like magic to me. I can bake, but only if there is a recipe and only if I follow it exactly. But in watching all these different accounts, all these different posts, all these different cookies, I noticed something. For the most part, the basic ingredients stay the same—flour, butter, sugar. And a lot of the basic techniques are the same—dry ingredients to one side, wet ingredients to the other, cooling doughs once mixed. It isn’t until midway through the recipe that you begin to see how each cookie is uniquely its own or how each baker adds their unique personality to it. They start with the basics, build a strong foundation, and allow their creativity to flourish.

In that way, these Christmas cookies re-mind me of the faith of individual Christians. We all agree on the same basic tenets—Jesus Christ is the son of God; our sins are forgiven when we place our faith in him, etc. And a lot of broader ways we express our faith are the same—serving our community through volun-teer work; talking with others about our own faith, etc. But as we grow more and more into our faith, we learn how to express ourselves in ways that are more consistent with the gifts God has given to us. Some folks are called to be musicians. Some folks are called to not only volunteer with organizations but lead them and create opportunities for others. Some folks are called to teach others about the faith. It’s not magic, but it is amazing what God can do with us when we affirm those basic beliefs, build a strong foundation, and focus our creativity on honoring God.

Merry Christmas,
Pastor Ben