tbc Church Business

What Might God do with the Dust of our Fallen Structures?

A word of ENCOURAGEMENT to the local church

How in the world do we begin to tell the story of 2021, one of the most disorienting years any of us have ever experienced. What a strange and painful year. What a strangely beautiful year. In this word of introduction, I want focus our attention specially on a historical structure that couldn’t withstand the pressure of crisis and praise a God that brings order out of chaos.


The chaos of these last couple of years, has pushed us to relinquish: historical precedent, established process, and structure. Sadly, the necessary relinquishment of so much structural “stuff” in the pandemic has also led to the predictable relinquishment of deep connection and diluted trust. All humans long for stability. Throughout time, Societies have built structures to protect stability. Call it covid, call it chaos, there’s a whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on. Rigid structures don’t tend to fare well when the ground starts shaking.


We all know that no structure is meant to last forever and yet when history circles back around we’re surprised by it’s arrival. Anything we carve or build out of rock, bricks, steel, or glass, be it literal or figurative, eventually falls. Travel to Greece, Rome, the site of the former World Trade Center in NYC, or, (dare I say it) down a long stretch of Monument Avenue in Richmond, Va, historical structures eventually and always buckle under the pressure of the passage of time. Most any group of people that find themselves finally tasting the “good life” naturally want to build a structure that can maintain, expand, and protect that way of life (aka stability). Think about the destructive cycles that spin chaos into the world from there.

If building, maintaining, expanding, and protecting our “good life” requires the diminishing, disqualifying or destruction of the lives of others, expect chaos and prepare to choke on the dust of fallen idols, fortresses, and structures.

There’s a moment in the Bible when the disciples of Jesus find themselves awestruck by the Temple structure,“Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what a wonderful structure!”  Jesus responds, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” The temple is supposed to be the most stable place on earth, the one place where God’s finger touches the world, therefore the one place chaos can’t possibly exist.


Later in the story, those that arrested Jesus justify their actions based on the audacity of Jesus bringing chaos, the equivalent of kryptonite, into the temple. He doesn’t help his case when he predicts the temple’s destruction or in claiming he will rebuild the temple in three days. To add insult to injury, he claims the new Temple won’t be confined by geography or any other lines we might draw in the sand.


No-one-corner of the world will be able to claim this One as their own.
This One, is meant to travel.
This One is a throwback to the original design.
Anyone with institutional memory might call him “Tabernacle”, but most of his followers call him Savior.


Church, I know we’re all longing for stability, it’s natural to do so, especially in our grieving. I want you to know that I join you in deep grieving. So much more, I want you to know that we worship a God that brings order out of Chaos. YHWH didn’t fashion us out of metaphorical dust, breathe air into our lungs, and put us on our feet, only so that we might create our own version of the “good life”. Any version of life that is built upon a structure that diminishes the potential for thriving in the lives of others cannot be attributed to the goodness of God. Any version of the “good life” that leads someone into isolation, separation, or even relational annihilation is a cheap counterfeit.


God is good…all of the time. The good life Christ offers is the real deal….the Way, the Truth, and The Life. Walk in the knowledge that we follow a Savior that can take all of the fallenness, brokenness, and complexities of the stories of the past and present, all of the unintentional chaos we’ve unleashed into the world, and somehow bring profound goodness through it. Know healing comes through the brokenness.


Know that he can, and will, make ALL things for good. In the next chapter of life together, it will be critical for us to understand that it’s not our job to rebuild our temples. God already did that, three days after his son was crucified. The news gets even better. The resurrected Savior is inviting us to tabernacle with him right smack into the middle of the chaos. He’s inviting us to join the search party for those who have stumbled into, or were pushed into, lostness and loneliness. He’s inviting us to join him in the reclamation of the abandoned, to participate in the healing of the brokenhearted, and even in the resuscitation of the hearts of the presumed “righteous”.


In this very moment, I believe God is refashioning us not only out of the dust of our fallen idols, fortresses, and structures but also out of the dust being stirred up by the beautiful feet of those walking beside him.


It’s an invitation to breathe again.

It’s an invitation to life again.

It’s the invitation of a lifetime!

We make the road by walking.


Rev. Sterling W. Severns, Senior Pastor

tbc Church Business

Tabernacle Family welcome Braxton Kemp as our Interim Associate Pastor for Families!

God is continuing to light our path one step at a time. Please pray for Braxton as he joins the Tabernacle community as a member of the pastoral staff. Braxton will be participating in worship this Sunday, Jan. 16, for the first time as a member of the pastoral staff. Invite him to join you for coffee, lunch or just a chat so that he can get to know you and you him. God is working at Tabernacle.

Sterling Severns Church Business

Leadership (2022): Invitation and Challenge

Over the next couple of weeks, the congregation will receive two ballots and 2-3 specific presentations:

BALLOTS = votes on leadership for 2022 and budget for the first half of 2022.

PRESENTATIONS = exploration of the role of Deacon Ministry, exploration of staff structure and possibly a third presentation from building and grounds.

This video provides a helpful primer for discernment.

Sterling Severns Church Business

COME AND SEE: Last Program has concluded. If you missed the programs or want to watch again, please click the links below for the recordings.

These days, so many of us find ourselves looking into the mirror with questions about about our identify, our allegiances, and our belief systems. We’re trying to figure out where we fit into the world and, how we’re supposed to guide the next generation in doing the same. Most of us are challenging the assumptions we’ve previously made of ourselves, the institutions we have called “home,” and oversimplified presumptions about the stories of those that have come before us.

A couple of Sundays ago, Braxton Kemp joined Sterling at the “pulpit,” to share a conversational sermon about blind spots and a mutual longing to see more clearly. 

What a gift it has been to discover something in the world that feels life-giving, as opposed to the familiar weariness and loneliness that so many of us have grown accustomed to in the pandemic.

Here is the recording from the first Come And See on October 20.

Here is the recording from the second Come And See on October 27.

Here is the recording from the third Come And See on November 3.

Here is the recording from the fourth and final Come And See on November 10.

Seeing (again) is life abundant (again).

In October 2021, a small handful of us began a holy conversation, some us physically present in sanctuary at Tabernacle Baptist Church in RVA and others by way of zoom.  As we’ve continued the conversation, some others have joined in and others have stepped out. Each week, those who make a conscious decision to show up continue the conversation and whoever shows up the following week does the same.

  • The conversation begins at at 7 p.m. sharp (EST) and concludes no later than 9 p.m. (EST).

 It’s a beautiful conversation.

It’s a difficult conversation.

It’s a life giving conversation.

If you are unable to attend in person, join us virtually on Zoom.

THE DETAILS. THE WARNING LABEL.

This isn’t a space for spectating.

This is an engaged space where sharing will be the norm. We don’t intend on asking for deep levels of vulnerable sharing in this space. Anyone looking for a more vulnerable space is encouraged to invite some folks to join you, informally, in the hours or days that follow. We’ll be more than happy to provide some helpful questions to go deeper together.

In turn, this isn’t a space for multi-tasking. 

Virtual and “In Person” participants are expected to be fully present from the moment they step into the space until the moment we say “amen” and step out of the space. If you don’t feel you can commit to full presence, we ask that you wait to join us until you can do so. The only devices that should be “on” during the conversation are those you are using to participate in the conversation. If you can’t make the commitment to fully engage, on any given Wednesday, it’s ok. Work and school deadlines happen. Stress at home happens. Surprises happen. Rest and retreat should happen. Whatever the reason for needing to step out of the conversation, do so with full blessing. Watch the recordings and jump back in when you are ready to be fully present in the space again.

******One caveat here: Some of us struggle with attention issues. If crocheting, knitting, or any form of quiet fidgeting helps you to focus…..by all means fidget away 🙂

This isn’t a space where weekly attendance is expected.

It’s ok if you join us one week and miss the next three. The recordings will be invaluable in preparing you to step back into the space the next go around.  

FYI: There are other spaces where smaller groups of 5-12 people, each with unique covenants, lean into vulnerable sharing and invited accountability. Weekly commitment is an expectation in these spaces as it’s critical in the building and keeping of trust. Should you find yourself looking for that kind of space, reach out to one of the leaders and we’ll go from there.

The conversation isn’t livestreamed but the recording is shared on the internet.

The invitation to be fully present doesn’t presume full disclosure. This is a public space by design. Please be mindful that anything you share in the conversation is shared on the internet. It’s really important for us to make this space hospitable and accessible to anyone that longs for connection. If you’re seeking to go deeper, share more vulnerably, or share more of the story, we will be more than happy to create a safe space for you to do so.

This as a space where simple answers to complex questions will be rejected.

You should expect to leave the space with some conviction. If we’re going to expect God to receive our honest questions, we should expect God to have some questions for us to consider. This is a space where all questions will be welcomed.

We’re going to lean into exploration of words that most of the western world have little or no use for.

Examples of these words might include: discipleship, mission, sin, evangelism, heaven, hell, etc. If you aren’t familiar with the host church, you might assume that you already know how we’re going define those words. We encourage you to join us in placing aside the assumptions about any one person or group represented in the room.

We will also explore phrases and words that tend to shut conversations down (e.g. white privilege, idolatry, pretty much any word that ends with “…..ism, etc.” If this is going to be an honest conversation, one that leans in holy wonder and expresses a deep longing for transformation, we need to be open to complexity and honest about our blind spots. In Christ, seeing (again) is life abundant (again). Limiting our vocabulary and arriving with preconceived assumptions, will only limit the potential for seeing differently.

This is a space hosted by a local church but created for the Universal Church. 

Whereas, Tabernacle Baptist Church is hosting the space, the conversation is so much bigger than the small congregation that has made a home at the corner Grove and Meadow in Richmond, Virginia. God is guiding all of us to make a road by walking together. Conversational leaders, and conversational partners (FYI – that’s you), will come from multiple contexts, all with unique world views and life experiences. Long story short, the invitation to participate in the conversation goes well beyond any one local church and we’re going to prioritize the inclusion of diverse voices and perspectives in this space. 

This space is designated as “Sanctuary” for all.

Sanctuary is a space where all are made welcome, where each and every one of God’s children come to understand that we are loved as we were made, in all of our beautiful messy complexity. Sanctuary is an active space of hospitality AND transformation alike. Transformation means, “come as you are with the assumption that Christ loves us too much to leave us as we are.”

Expect to be welcomed fully. Expect to be challenged fully.

This isn’t a space for children.

While all adults and youth are invited to join us, it doesn’t mean that everyone should join us. This is a space set aside for honest/messy story sharing, full expression of doubts, wide open questioning, and the testifying to revealed wonder along the way. We’re going to lean into the tension that surfaces and we’re going to encourage the embracing of holy mystery. Each of us will need to determine our level of comfort in stepping into this space and each parent needs to determine if their teenager is ready for a conversation with limited boundaries. 

Like us, you’re probably wondering about what needs to be made available for children and youth not-yet-ready for this kind of conversation. A group of leaders are actively engaged in discernment about the next right step in the spiritual and emotional formation of our children and youth. Expect news soon.  Remember, the first critical step in the formation of children and youth begins with the formation of the adults that will lead them.

So there you have it. You’ve been invited and warned 🙂

We really would love for any teenagers and/or adults to join us. It is really important that any and all conversational partners honor the intent of the space.

Our first weekly gathering will take place on Wednesday, October 20, 2021. We will start at 7 p.m. sharp and wrap up no later than 9 p.m.

Show up in person at 1925 Grove Avenue, Richmond, VA 23220 OR virtually.

If you’re driving, you can park for free in the pay lot on Meadow or park in the alley parking lot and/or blacktop behind the building.

www.tbcrichmond.org

Sterling Severns Church Business

A Word from our Pastor: Seeing Again

Jesus, through insight discovered in John’s Gospel, persistently challenges us to acknowledge our blindness but always with an invitation to see (again). If someone were to ask the author of John’s Gospel to define the word “sin”, the author would point to blindness. “Sin”, he might say, “is less about moral failure and more about refusing to see the gift of God’s revelation, standing right there beside you.”

Last Sunday, Braxton and I shared a conversational sermon based on John 9. The story begins with a portrait of one blind person, standing in a room full folks that all believe they possess 20/20 vision. In reality, every last one of them are afflicted with a form of blindness. By the time we reach the end of the story, one of many blind folks in the room receives tangible sight, others are brought to an awareness they are only beginning to see, and then there the others that refuse to acknowledge their affliction. (John 9)

As we continue to reflect and pray on what Jesus is revealing through his encounter with the man born blind and the religious “faithful” (Disciples of Jesus. Pharisees, etc.)

  • How would you know that Jesus is present with you? Do you “see” Jesus in your life? If so, would you feel comfortable sharing this with your small group, Sunday School Class, circle of trusted friends, etc? In a similar light (bad pun….sorry), what if you’re struggling to see Jesus? Would you feel comfortable sharing this with your small group, Sunday School Class, or circle of friends? What might happen if you took the risk in sharing? If you’re not comfortable talking about this with “your people”, what is it about the culture of your trusted circle that fuels the hesitancy to share?

  • Where are your spiritual blind spots? Can you name the source(s) of the blind spots? Is there a member of your faith community, or even a new friend, you might be willing to explore the topic with? What risks are involved in sharing? What is at risk in not taking this risk?

  • When/if we come to acknowledge our blindspots, however that happens, how do we push past the guilt and shame that so often surfaces in that process?

  • Is it possible that seeing Jesus first gives us the unique ability to see others through his eyes? If that’s possible, if we see people through the eyes of Jesus, how might this new way of seeing transform the destructive spiral we’re all experiencing in society as we know it? What’s at risk if we continue to walk in the blindness?

  • As you deliberately engage with strangers and friends alike, what is Jesus revealing to you….about yourself, about your assumptions of others, about the nature of our hope in God’s promise to bring the Kingdom of Heaven?

  • Is it worth the risk in sharing aloud what Jesus has revealed through newfound sight…..with a family member? with a co-worker? with a new friend? What is at risk in the refusal to share? What would the fruit of transformation look like, in your own life, if you leaned into a relationship based deliberately on spiritual sight/formation?

  • Can you think of someone that is clearly experiencing the presence of Christ in their lives? If so, is it worth the risk in setting up a time and asking them to share what they’re seeing?

May we have the courage and wisdom to ask for help in the discovery of our blind spots, and the wherewithal to forge relationships with others that long to see (again). May we take the risk in testifying with humility, “I don’t know…..but what I do know is this….I was blind but now I see“.

tbc Church Business, Testimonies

The gift of presence.

Sunday I received a heartbreaking call with news that a neighbor we connect with through community ministry had been found dead Saturday afternoon. This neighbor had been coming to Community Ministry for longer than my time here. He was unhomed and relied heavily on organizations like ours to provide for basic needs like food and clothing.  A few months ago, he approached us and asked if he could take a shower in our facilities. After checking the hot water and finding some towels, I showed him to the shower. I was a little hesitant, but the shower was a blessing for him and for us. One shower led to regular usage, and those showers led to longer conversations and more personal connection and care.

A week ago he requested corduroy pants to help with the cooler nights.  I hesitated—does he really need them now?  Should we wait? Maybe we could wash what he has.  Do we have enough?

Amazingly, we recently received a donation of several pairs of corduroy pants that were his exact size! So the decision was made to share what we had and address future needs later. We set them aside, clean and folded, ready for his next shower.

Saturday morning, just hours before his death, he showed up for his weekly shower. As usual, God showed up in our interactions. Following his shower, he came outside with a huge smile on his face. He expressed how much he loved this place and how grateful he was for how God was taking care of him. Tears rolled down his face as 5 or 6 volunteers talked to him and made sure that he had foods he could easily eat in the coming week.  

My last memory of our neighbor, is him walking away, food in a bag hanging from his walker, wearing new corduroy pants and a long sleeved blue shirt.  He turned around and said ‘thank you’ multiple times as he left.

God is present in the alley.
He continues to provide.
He loves each of our neighbors.

These interactions challenge me to be more present and in the moment with our neighbors. They challenge me to pay attention to where God is at work. They prompt me to examine the use of our abundant resources. They remind me God continues to provide “enough”- which is a promise I have embraced throughout the pandemic.

April 

April Kennedy
Community Minister Director

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A Community of Listeners and Speakers

I do love being surrounded by wise and thoughtful—as in always thinking people.  This past Sunday as we thought about worship as defined by the theologian Soren Kierkegaard where he states that worship is a drama with the people as actors, the pastor as a prompter and God as the audience I was reminded by several of you about what a limiting view of worship this is.  While it is much superior to the idea that we come to worship to be entertained by the people leading worship as an audience in a public performance it can at some point place the people participating in worship into performers seeking to please God with their performance of worship. This is perhaps an equally unsatisfactory view of worship.  

I was reminded by one of you of another definition of the word “audience”:  a formal hearing or interview with someone of authority and another:  an opportunity of being heard and yet another:  the act or state of hearing.  These definitions can expand our view of worship into an opportunity to come into the presence of God in order to be heard and to hear. Essentially making both God and the participants in worship “audience” in one or the other of the definitions.  What is removed is the unspoken word that often is thought of in partnership with “audience” and that is “entertainment.”  We are not in worship to entertain God, or ourselves but are in worship to hear and also to be heard.  The elements of worship are there to prompt the speaking and hearing on both sides.  Come this week to worship prepared to participate in an audience with God as a community of listeners and speakers.  This is only the beginning of this discussion—please keep talking and thinking!

Judy

Dr. Judy Fiske
Minister of Music/Worship

Sterling Severns Church Business

Finding the way…

We’re in John 14:2-6, the very beginning of Jesus’ farewell discourse. Jesus informs the Disciples that he’s leaving soon, to prepare a place for them. He promises to return so that he might travel with them back to that place. He wraps up the surprising news with a word of confidence, “It’s a good thing you all know how to get to the place where I’m going”.

“Um”, Thomas says, “I’m pretty sure that none of us know how to get to the place you’re talking about. How could we when you haven’t given us the address?” Thomas’ response reminds me of something Yogi Berra once said, “You got to be careful if you don’t know where you’re going, because you might not get there.” Sounds about right.

About 15 years ago, a group of folks at Tabernacle were standing together around carousel #4, in the baggage claim area at RIC. Back in those days it wasn’t uncommon to find a group of us standing in that space, often well after midnight. The vast majority of us had only travelled the short distance from our front door to the Richmond airport. However, the familiy of five that we greeted on this particular evening travelled a much greater distance, first fleeing for their lives from the Burmese Army and more recently on a 72+ hour journey from Kuala Lumpur to Richmond, Virginia.

It took less than twenty seconds for the baggage handlers to place the family’s earthly possessions onto the carousel. Everything that family owned fit into one small suitcase and two plastic bags. Back in those days, there wasn’t a single identified interpreter in Richmond that could speak both English and Burmese. Fortunately, some of the members of our expanding greeting party included brothers and sisters from the Karen ethnic group. All of them were refugees and most of them had been greeted at the airport, only a few short weeks ago, by the very people they were now guiding in the welcoming of others.

Not even the case worker could understand the words that were exchanged and none of the greeters spoke enough English to interpret their own words back to us. It mattered not, the native English speakers didn’t need to understand the specific words in order to understand what was being conveyed. The visual expression on the exhausted faces of those two parents interpreted the message they had received: words of hope, words of comfort, words of welcome. The limitations of language cannot conceal a peace that surpasses all understanding. By the grace of God they had found the way and in the mysterious movement of the Spirit we were all being transformed.

Back in a different day, I used to read the 13th and 14th chapters of John‘s Gospel differently. When Jesus tells the Disciples that he is The Way, I made assumptions that haven’t stood the test of time. Back then, I was more of a literalist and believed that Jesus’ words validated a viewpoint of exclusivity. I used to interpret Jesus’ words, “you know the way to the place I am going” to validate assumptions that haven’t held true in the long journey of faith. Had GPS technology existed back in the day, I would likely have used it as a metaphor for a Biblical worldview, “The Bible provides the turn-by-turn directions anyone needs to find their way. It’s as simple as believing the literal words and genuinely praying for those that don’t have the wisdom to do the same.” Humility, ushered in through my failure along the way and the unmerited grace that has been offered, has changed my thinking.

In hindsight, as I look back to those midnight encounters in baggage claim, the focal point of the memories no longer center on a group of strangers creatively communicating “welcome” through smiles, hand gestures, and helpfulness. The great truth of the memories no longer resides with a group of refugees finding their way to a new home and a circle of strangers helping them make a place to call home. That interpretation of the story is oversimplified and hasn’t stood the test of time. Humility, gratitude, grief, and grace have changed my thinking. These days, as I look back and remember, the first thing I see is the face of Jesus, bringing a group of people together in the cover of darkness, ALL of them refugees, ALL of them needing to find their place again. Some of them were certainly more aware of the need than others. Regardless, he knew what we needed and he made a way. Was it messy? Absolutely. Were we pretty confused? Absolutely. Did scripture validate and educate us in how to walk differently? Absolutely. Did the Spirit continually surprise us as we walked with Jesus together? No doubt about it.

In these days of confusion, grief, and weariness, we’re finding hope in our remembering. We’re finding resilience in the sacred stories of our forebearers and even in the recollection of our sacred memories . We’re also really struggling with connection with one another and the world around us. I’m guessing that a lot of us find ourselves standing in the place where Thomas once stood. It’s a familiar place, this place of lostness. Disciples of Jesus are supposed to know the way but we can’t seem to find it.

With apologies to Yogi, you’ve got to be careful you don’t assume you know where you’re going, because you may actually get there….only to find it’s not the place you thought it would be. Your way, my way, our way, will never lead us to the place we long to be. The memories shared in scripture, and the sacred stories we’ve experienced in our own lives, all point to the place Jesus speaks of. He calls that place the Kingdom of God.

Our thoughts on exclusivity and certainty have not stood the test of time. However, the same can’t be said of our Savior. His nature is revealed in scripture. His love is evident in our messy stories and his Mission continues to unfold through the mysterious presence of the Holy Spirit.

What revelations await for the refugees, one and all? Will we find our place again? According to the Gospel of John…..there is one WAY to find out.

tbc Church Business

Pastoral Reflection: The Gift of Remembrance

Pastor Sterling Severns remembers old friends and those who have left us in one way or another.

I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge— God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

–  1 Corinthians 1:4-9

Who comes to mind when you remember those in the church who are no longer with us?