tbc Church Business

Student.Church Reflection | Houston Blake

By Houston Blake, Summer Intern

When I was sixteen years old, I prayed the scariest prayer and told God, “Here I am. Send me.” Little did I know all the things that prayer would bring. From joining the Army straight out of high school to preaching my first sermon and interning during a pandemic, I have been sent in all sorts of directions that I didn’t even know existed. After praying that prayer, I immediately felt a strong calling into ministry. I knew I was called to preach and work with youth. Since then, CBF and CBFVA have blessed me with countless opportunities to fulfill this call.  This summer was my second year as a CBF Student.Church intern. I had the honor of working with Tabernacle Baptist Church in Richmond, VA. My former youth pastor described this as a once in a lifetime opportunity that I needed to get involved with as soon as possible. She was so right. Despite the chaos of social distancing, the Tabernacle family still managed to welcome with open arms through their screens.  I worked with and alongside the youth and pastoral staff. I participated in weekly staff meetings and worship prep. I hosted Thursday game nights with our youth on Zoom. My last week with Tabernacle was spent participating in “Camp Corona” with our youth. Tabernacle really knows how to have fun, even with social distancing. Tabernacle recently gave me what they like to call “Bread for the Journey.” It is their beautiful way of sending members of their church family onto their next adventure. This had me replaying the entire summer over in my head. This summer was not easy for anyone, but Tabernacle shaped my call and helped me learn more about who God wants me to be. Their congregation supported me wholeheartedly, without ever seeing me in person. Their youth, who are wise beyond their years touched my heart and often left me teary eyed. The staff gave me a platform to share my testimony and guided me through my walk with Christ in a time where I needed it most.  I’ve learned a lot this summer. I learned to meet people where they’re at and to love first. I was reminded of the importance of giving everyone a place at the table, even if we are six feet apart. This is what beloved community looks like. This is ministry. 

tbc Church Business, Media

PREPARING FOR THIS WEEK’S TOWN HALL MEETING, WEDNESDAY @ 9 PM (EST)

PREPARATION:

Please do your best to dive into the data from our church-wide survey and also re-famaliarize yourself with our experimental hospitality covenant from this summer…..prior to our time together. 

You also have the option of viewing a recorded slide presentation (20 minutes). The presentation gives an overview of the survey results, including a breakdown of responses from age groups, comments made by the church family, and a quick overview of the experimental hospitality covenant. 

(All of the links can be found below)

OBJECTIVE: 

We’re not all on the same page as it relates to our tolerance for risk and common understanding of what to expect when we participate in church events in the same physical space. We need to be vulnerable and honest with one another in laying out a basic understanding of what someone should expect when they show up to a church event.  Whereas, no decisions will be made at this meeting, we do hope to walk away from the meeting with a better understanding of where folks are on the subject and determine if we think a consensus might be possible in the near future. 

The Church-at-Large will need to discern how to proceed with a covenant, related to our physical gatherings this fall, before we launch fall programming. 

Recorded Slide Presentation: 

Survey link for risk threshold and  Temporary Hospitality Covenant: https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-CZZ66Z3B7/

Survey link for risk threshold and Temporary Hospitality Covenant WITH responses broken down by age: 
https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-JDNJX3GB7/

Link to Hospitality Covenant

Hospitality Covenant

Results for entire survey

https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-CZZ66Z3B7/

Results for entire survey with responses broken down by age: 
https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-M7ZRG3GB7/

Zoom link for this week’s Town Hall Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89484040531?pwd=YVkvSGZmajg0Mkk4K1h1UnpObnAvdz09

+16468769923,,89484040531# US (New York)
+13017158592,,89484040531# US (Germantown)

tbc Church Business, Media

Continuing the Conversation: Spencer

https://www.tbcrichmond.org/podcast-player/8594/continuing-the-conversation-spencer.mov

In many ways, testimony is the most democratic—and empowering—of all Christian practices.  The entire New Testament is a testimony, a record of experiences that early Christians had with the transformative power of God.  Those early believers wrote down theirtestimonies their experiences of sharing their testimonies, and the impace of their testimonyes on the people around them.  This basic structure unerlies almost every book in the New Testament—-most of which claim to “witness” or “testify” to the love and grace of Jesus Christ.

Diana Butler-Bass, Christianity for the Rest of Us

tbc Church Business

Continuing the Conversation

This week, our communal theme is “contemplation”. As we continue the conversation, we invite you to learn more about various tools that help us listen to God.

A labyrinth is a meandering path, often unicursal, with a singular path leading to a center. Labyrinths are an ancient archetype dating back 4,000 years or more, used symbolically, as a walking meditation, choreographed dance, or site of rituals and ceremony, among other things. Labyrinths are tools for personal, psychological and spiritual transformation, also thought to enhance right-brain activity. Labyrinths evoke metaphor, sacred geometry, spiritual pilgrimage, religious practice, mindfulness, environmental art, and community building. 

Please take a moment to visit this website, spend some time in prayer as you move through a labyrinth.

https://labyrinthsociety.org/download-a-labyrinth