tbc – Page 104 – Tabernacle Baptist Church

March 12, 2013 tbc Media

Lenten Devotion: Day Twenty-Four, 3.12.13

Experiencing Joy: Psalm 126

Oh, to be counted again among “those who dream” (v 1). There are many who have been rendered dreamless by frustration, oppression, circumstances, health, and economic crises-setbacks of every sort. To dream and to hope are signs of spiritual and emotional health. Health can be restored.

This psalm is launched from a restoration and gives testimony to dreams and laughter. Just as with dreams, laughter is not a part of everyone’s life. You may know that all too well. This psalm also acknowledges “those who sow in tears” (v 5). For some, all energy is expended through tears. Pain is universal, and so too the tears it produces. Pain is personal; it isolates us. Some do their work every day through the tears of pain-whether physical, emotional, or spiritual, it’s still pain.

But the Lord restores the fortunes of Zion, the “nation” of those who believe. This passage has been used to hustle the poor. God is not a part of such deceit. Dreams, laughter, and joy are the fortunes of this passage and this God and these believers. Financial fortunes cannot protect dreams, laughter, or joy. This is proven over and over again.

Dreams, laughter, and joy are the signs that, “the Lord has done great things” (v 2b) for someone. But God dwells with the poor and the oppressed. Jesus came to confirm that, to teach us and show us the truth of it. God being with the poor, the depressed, and oppressed is why the psalmist can pray in verse 5 with such ease and confidence, “those who sow in tears [might] reap with shouts of joy,” and in verse 6, “those who go out weeping,shall come home with shouts of joy.” God is with them.

The rich are not connected to the poor by money handed down. The rich are connected to the poor by dreams, laughter, and joy shared as gifts from God. The poor can often minister to the rich through this connection.

Verses 5-6 tell us that those who weep bear the seeds of joy. Pause here for a moment in your reading. Those who weep bear the seeds of joy.

Those who weep do so because their hearts are still capable of caring. Those who weep are those who are still capable of dreaming. Those who weep have not forgotten joy. Indeed, one who sees God at work weeps for joy. Weeping and joy are close companions, whichever one is at the forefront at any given moment. Crying for restoration can become weeping for joy. What hope is here!

“Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying their sheaves” (v 6). There is a harvest for those who weep. Their hearts are soft enough to receive restored dreams and laughter and joy. They know that God is with them and that they can participate in restoration. Mercy and justice bring joy to the heart of God. They bring joy to the hearts of the oppressed and frustrated as well. God’s desires match their desires.

When those who believe are reconnected to what is in God’s heart, they will be dreamers again. They will laugh again. They will, again, experience joy.

Restore our fortunes, O Lord; restore our dreams and laughter and joy.

A word about the series

The Lenten season has always inspired many people to create everything from poems, art and music to a completely new direction in their lives. This Lenten season Tabernacle will be exploring many of those creations in the hope of inspiring you to compose in a medium that is natural for you. The paintings in the Sanctuary are of the Biblical Stations of the Cross. The artist, Grieg Leach, completed them in 2010. They will help us to visualize the events leading to the crucifixion of Jesus. In addition to the paintings there is a Lenten devotional booklet, Return to Me, which is available in print or online. The Stations of the Cross also inspired these devotions, written by Terry York of Baylor University. Living with these two bodies of artistic expression based on the Biblical Stations of the Cross throughout the season of Lent should help us as we seek to return our lives to God by walking with Jesus though his final days.

Pray, read, think and return to God.

All scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible.

A division of MorningStar Music Publishers, Inc., St. Louis, MO

www.MorningStarMusic.com.

March 11, 2013 tbc Media

Lenten Devotion: Day Twenty-Three, 3.11.13

It Is like Spring: Isaiah 43:16-21

Don’t empower the things of old. The things that are in the past are a part of our story; that cannot be denied. But, the Lord says through the prophet, “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” (v 19)

With those words, all the past that chases us piles up in a surprised and forced stop. It’s like a scene in a cartoon. All that is chasing us stops on a dime, crashes into each other, and piles up high under the force of inertia. And there we are to leave it, a monument to God’s power to overcome anything and everything that seems to want to devour or destroy us. Then, with that work done, God speaks with the freshness of spring, “I am about to do a new thing.”

The new thing is this-God is going to make a way through the wilderness and tell the jackals that chase us to sit, “lie down.” You know the wilderness. You know the jackals. Consider the promise. God’s way is as fierce as the wilderness and the jackals. God’s way is the cross. It is God’s Son on the cross, the One who said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” Our wilderness, our jackals: they may hound us, but they are no match for God.

It’s hard to believe. We would like to believe it, but when we put this little book down, we step back into our world. In verse 19 God whispers a question into the reader’s ear. “Do you not perceive it?” Don’t you sense the little seed that wants to sprout? In the reading of the scripture passage, don’t you perceive the presence of the new thing deep in you? It’s not big yet. You can’t even describe it. But something in the scripture took root when you read the words, “I am about to do a new thing.” This is the gift of Lent. Old things are put in their place, piled up, and left behind. The process is not easy; the uprooting is a bit clumsy and messy. But ground is prepared for something new to spring up, and for a moment you sensed it. It was something like a glimpse or a whisper.

God likens it to a drink of water in the desert (v 20). The drink pushes the desert back, provides a bit of refreshing, and gives hope. Did you perceive it in the passage? “The things of old” (v 18) are “of old,” aren’t they, at least for the moment of refreshing? What if the moment could be expanded, then expanded again, then a bit more? What if the “former things” (v 18) were made to run back to their cartoon junk pile again and again until they started to stay there? It sounds like the beginning of something new. Read the passage again and pray that its promise will be applied to your life. Then read it again and pray. A way is being cut through the wilderness, one promise and prayer at a time. The junk pile shrinks on the horizon behind you with each refreshing drink.

God promises “,to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise” (vv 20b-21). Praise blossoms in the wilderness when given enough water a little bit at a time. When the jackals go away and the chase ends, there is time and breath for praise. When life is perceived to be a new thing, it is like spring.

Do you not perceive it?

God, I give the old things to you. Do a new thing in me.

A word about the series

Pray, read, think and return to God.

All scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible.

A division of MorningStar Music Publishers, Inc., St. Louis, MO

www.MorningStarMusic.com.

March 10, 2013 tbc Media

Worship: Lent 4c, 3.10.13

The fourth Sunday of the Lenten Season centers on Luke 23:26, Simon of Cyrene carrying the cross for Christ. Worship leaders include Chuck Corbin, Say Wah Htoo, Mae La, Nathan Hatfield, Khan Naw, Chit Ko, Bya Wann, Hlei Iang, Jessica Corbitt and the church staff. This morning, we ordain our three newest Deacons: Kathryn Hall, Say Wah Htoo, and Chuck Corbin

March 9, 2013 tbc Media

Lenten Devotion: Day Twenty-Two, 3.9.13

The Prodigal Son: Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

In his little book, The Return of the Prodigal Son, the late Henri Nouwen takes us on a soul-searching journey through the lives and lessons of the three main characters in this parable.

First we are made to see ourselves in the motivations of the self-centered prodigal son. It’s all too clear because we are there. We want all that might be coming to us, and we want it now. That-s not news; no one need report the finding to us. What might be an unsettling insight for us is that such a wish regards as disposable those who now have what we want. The father’s beating heart was an obstacle to the immediate gratification of the prodigal son’s desires. To say that he wanted his inheritance now was the same as saying that he wished his father was dead. Indeed, much of what we demand comes at great cost to others.

With Nouwen, we turn our attention to the son who stayed home. In him we see, if we will, our own self-righteousness. It-s a self-righteousness that we hope we will be able to cash in on. One of the differences between the two sons is that the son who stayed home is willing to wait; after all, blessings abound in the meantime. Furthermore, hanging around the house can appear to be devotion to the father. It’s a win-win situation. That is, until grace enters the scene. Then self-righteousness is exposed; we can’t hide it and are offended by grace imparted to others. The arguments born of our self-righteousness burst out of our mouths, and its particular form of greed distorts our face. Our charade is over.

Where Nouwen’s commentary takes us next is unexpected and a bit shocking. Nouwen hears the parable calling us to journey towards being the father. The father-isn’t the word “father” in the parable code for Our Father, the Creator? We’re not to grow toward God-likeness, we’re to grow toward Christ-likeness. Yet, it is the father in the parable who is the most vulnerable, the one who exhibits grace, the one whose love forgives and redeems. These are Christ-like characteristics. Jesus said that if we had seen him we had seen the father. Maybe we are to become like the father in the parable.

But we must be transformed by the lessons of the sons first. Lent escorts us through the parable, stopping at each character to help us see ourselves. With those lessons learned, those characteristics confessed, we approach the Christ-likeness of the father. But, even then, the father seems too much, too much above and beyond us and our realities.

Perhaps we should consider a reasonable first step. Our first step, having learned from the sons, might well be to rejoice with the father. “But we had to celebrate and rejoice,” said the father in verse 32, “because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.” Can we begin by acknowledging whom our brothers and sisters are? We quickly say that those who are Christ-followers are our brothers and sisters. While this is true, the bible also clearly teaches that all people are the children of God; they are God’s creation and the focus of God’s love. Our first step toward the Christ-likeness that is a reflection of the Father is to see all people as our brothers and sisters. That’s a tough one, but it is doable. When that is accomplished, really accomplished, other Christ-like characteristics will rush in. We will rejoice with the Father when our brothers and sisters are extended grace; we will even join God in that, becoming a bit more like the Father. That’s probably enough to work on right now.

Help us to see all people as our brothers and sisters.

Help us to join God in extending to them grace.

A word about the series

Pray, read, think and return to God.

All scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible.

A division of MorningStar Music Publishers, Inc., St. Louis, MO

www.MorningStarMusic.com.

March 8, 2013 tbc Media

Lenten Devotion: Day Twenty-One, 3.8.13

A New Creation: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

“So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” Verse 17 is breathtaking. After the transformation that this verse is talking about, a new project begins-the project of reconciliation. Does all of creation change each time a new person becomes a Christ-follower? No. Each person changes, and is transformed to see the world and everything and everyone in a new way. Next comes reconciliation with and to how the world is in God’s reality.

Who can be our enemy in this new world? What is there to fear in this new world? What must be earned when all is God’s gift? What part of this new creation is to be discounted, discarded, or disrespected? When all things are made new by our transformation, we will not be able to think of ourselves more highly than we ought. “From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view”(v 16). No cultural bias, no political perspective can now determine how we relate to this new creation, this transformed way of seeing.

Reconciliation is the work of the transformed and becomes an immediate and continuous ministry (v 18). Our transformation includes our citizenship. As citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, we are ambassadors for Christ, we project Jesus’ views and values, his grace and compassion. This could be embarrassing in some of our old circles. The cause we now stand for is the cause of reconciliation with Christ, and thus with all of creation. This passage of scripture is one of the most political statements imaginable, and it has neither red nor blue bumper stickers to promote its passion.

Could Lent call us to this? Does Christ call us to this? Yes, our new creation includes a new citizenship, a new political and social and cultural understanding unlike anything the old creation can call into being. “From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view.” We read it and our world changes.

Tears flow, the tears of shame for our attachment to the old world, indeed, our enthusiasm for it. Tears flow for how we have disrespected Jesus, often in his name. Tears flow for our selfishness now realized. Tears flow for how we were energized by our blindness. Tears flow for the costly grace that covers us, and for peace sacrificed to fear and greed. Tears flow for names forsaken for labels. For those in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!

Lent reminds us that current realities do not negate Jesus’ teachings or transformation. Lent prepares us for accusations of naivetÈ, cowardice, and irresponsibility. With eyes made new by our passage for today, those accusations are seen as insight, courage, and the knowledge that we are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers. Enemies are not on the other side of aisles, or borders, or worldviews when seen through these new eyes, nor are they stalking among us. Sharing does not deplete our stores in this new creation-the one we can have now with our own transformation. All things, including our fears, have become new. We now die for enemies. We now risk hunger to share with the hungry. We now, sinners of the same sort as all others, in him “become the righteousness of God” (v 21).

Open our eyes to see that, in Christ, all things have been made new.

A word about the series

Pray, read, think and return to God.

All scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible.

A division of MorningStar Music Publishers, Inc., St. Louis, MO

www.MorningStarMusic.com.

March 7, 2013 tbc Media

Lenten Devotion: Day Twenty, 3.7.13

The Importance of Confession, Psalm 32

How important is confession? According to the psalmist David, it could be the difference between happiness and groaning all day long. He is speaking, of course, of our spirit. We wouldn’t walk around groaning out loud, but our spirit might groan within us when we keep silent rather than confessing our sin. The spirit with unconfessed sin is a deceitful spirit, one that clings to its own unhappiness. Confession allows truth to clean up deceit’s mess.

We know what the psalmist knows about a heaviness upon us day and night, especially at night. We know David’s psalm is not a theory, it is a testimony that we share. But now his testimony is one of a change so drastic in outlook that instead of trying to hide from God, he hides in God. Thinking back on his time of silence about his sins, David remembers them as a rush of mighty waters. But the rush and the crush can’t get to him now. The weight of it all has been handed over to God via confession.

With sin confessed, we can be instructed and taught about the way we should go throughout the day and throughout our lives. New possibilities flood our thinking. We can talk about something else now, something fresh and new. What a delight confession and forgiveness afford-the chance to talk about something new. Imagine it.

Don’t be mule-headed about this, pleads the psalmist. Replace torment with love. Don’t be haunted, but be filled with the Spirit. Be glad and rejoice; shout for joy.

This is a great psalm, with some insightful and bright moments in it, but what if we’ve become somewhat adept at living with unconfessed sin? What if the change the psalm describes sounds difficult to adjust to-a life too new? Of course, we would rather be happy than tormented, but what would have to be rearranged, renegotiated, or realigned? Some of my shortcomings have become companions. The questions arise, but they reveal the grip that sin has on us. Verse three suggests that such thinking results in our wasting away. Sin is not neutral; instead, it works toward our destruction.

Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven and whose sin is covered (v 1). We are pulled by the thought of happiness and the fear of change. Lent provides a season for struggle with this decision, not just a moment. At this time of year we are not shielded from the reality of our spiritual failures and stumbles; we, instead, are invited to name them, own them, and pray them over to God. God will be with us in the transition. We are not left to wander between the present and the promised realities; we are escorted.

A freshness hovers over this psalm, waiting and wanting to land in the heart of the reader. Confession is not a word in the dark vocabulary of sin; it is a word in the bright vocabulary of forgiveness. Whether we experience our guilt as a cold winter or a hot summer (v 4), a refreshing springtime awaits those who will “confess (their) transgressions to the Lord” (v 5).

There is nothing more to put on this page. What remains is the reader’s decision about what to do with what the Spirit has placed in their heart, and in their imagination.

Lord, help me to say my sin to you so that my spirit may know joy.

A word about the series

Pray, read, think and return to God.

All scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible.

A division of MorningStar Music Publishers, Inc., St. Louis, MO

www.MorningStarMusic.com. Day 21, March 8, 2013

March 6, 2013 tbc Media

Lenten Devotion: Day Nineteen, 3.6.13

God Provides, Joshua 5:9-12

God provides for our needs, both directly and indirectly through the earth and through sharing, through gift and sacrifice. God’s provision for God’s people often results in festivals and annual remembrances. One wouldn’t call Lent a festival, but it is an important annual occurrence that calls us back to God, who provides the reminder and the way back.

God also provides cleansing from any disgrace in our lives. Disgrace seems so permanent, like a scar, but God declares that disgrace can be removed (v 9). The removal is the result of God’s grace and forgiveness. That’s something to celebrate. Perhaps Lent is a festival, after all. Disgrace is an internal stain more than an external stain. Disgrace felt on the inside can often be hidden on the outside, but God knows our inner being. We have hidden nothing from God, and God withholds no cleansing from us.

This is the reason we keep Lent: hiding disgrace is futile and unnecessary because God sees it and cleanses it. Lent reminds us again. The ashen grey on display in our places of worship calls to the disgrace that has burrowed deep into our souls. Disgrace recognizes its color and its colorlessness. Disgrace fears discovery, but God already knows it. When confessed, disgrace can be removed by God, and the turning, the returning, has begun. Forgiveness and grace rush in to the depths where disgrace has hidden. The renewal takes place in the deepest parts. God’s kingdom expands into that depth and we know we are part of that kingdom.

Like all recurring observances, Lent is life-giving. Our souls are fed and nourished once again in this remembrance’s special way.

In our passage for today, the remembrance is Passover. The blood of the sacrifice signaled the death angel to keep moving-don’t stop here. In Lent we remember Jesus, the Lamb of God, becoming our sacrifice. Rejoicing is not the right word. But joy embraces our gratitude, now deep gratitude because of where it resides in us. Rejoicing will have its day in due time, but not yet, for Jesus bears our sins. Gratitude and love unite our hearts with each other and with God and with joy in its current humility. God’s provision of time has rolled around and come to our aid again.

The recurring remembrance of Lent reminds us that the grayness moves toward light. God provides a way through the wilderness, darkness, and fear. But we must embrace the way and experience the full story. Our whole being must be present and open to God. Time and journey and story combine during these days to bring both humility and hope. God’s provision of time is marked by cycles. Humans need cyclical reminders that tell the story of redemption. Passover, Lent-life’s darkness comes, but cannot stay.

We thank you God for your provision of grace and story, of food and time.

A word about the series

Pray, read, think and return to God.

All scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible.

A division of MorningStar Music Publishers, Inc., St. Louis, MO

www.MorningStarMusic.com.

March 5, 2013 tbc Prayer

Pastoral

Sabbatical Excitement is in the Air!

Next year, Sterling will celebrate ten years of service to TBC! In honor of this milestone, the deacons voted recently to grant Sterling a three month-sabbatical during the summer of 2014. This will be a significant time of growth and renewal for Sterling, and for the church. There is much planning to be done for this special time and your input and questions are needed. Plan now to attend lunch and a brief town meeting on Sunday March 3rd after the worship service. In the meantime, here is some information about the process.

What is a sabbatical? A sabbatical is a paid period of leave from work for research, study, travel, and rest. A sabbatical is not a vacation, but a time for intentional exploration and reflection, and for renewing enthusiasm and creativity for ministry. It is an intentional time of renewal for the congregation as well. The primary goal of the Clergy Renewal Program is to allow pastors to step away briefly from the daily demands of ministry to engage in a period of renewal and rejuvenation.
How is the sabbatical funded? The church continues to pay the pastor’s salary and benefits as usual. TBC will also apply for a grant from the Clergy Renewal Program to fund:

Sterling’s travel and study opportunities and Up to $15,000 to fund support staff who will help in Sterling’s absence and for special renewal events for the church. The benefits for the pastor are clear, but how does the congregation benefit? In this program, the congregation is an intentional partner in the sabbatical. We will be involved in a special project or study of our own choosing while Sterling is away.

Who will help take leadership in this project? Tracy Hartman, Bill Welstead, Megan Strollo, John Burgess, Art Wright, and Molly Huffstetler will work with Sterling and the congregation through the grant application process. Other key leaders will join the team as the sabbatical time approaches.
Have other local pastors participated in a sabbatical program? Yes, Betty Pugh Mills at Grace Baptist has taken two sabbatical leaves during her 23 years at Grace Baptist. Mark White at Chamberlayne Baptist will participate in this program in the summer of 2013.
Folks from the Clergy Renewal Project report, “When leaders experience renewal, congregations are re-energized, too. Things don’t’ just return to normal when the leader returns. New patterns of leadership emerge. New vision sprouts up.” One church noted, “As members of the congregation, we feel honored to be able to give the gift of time to our Pastor.” I look forward to witnessing how this process will nourish and enrich Sterling and TBC and to sharing our story with others!

Tracy Hartman, Pastoral Renewal Team

National Clergy Renewal Program Press Release

Grant Booklet

On Sunday, March 3^rd, TBC members gathered for lunch and a Town Hall meeting to discuss the possibility of a three-month sabbatical leave for our pastor, Sterling Severns. What follows is a recap of the presentation for those who were unable to attend or for those who would like a review. We will vote on this proposal on Sunday March 17^th after worship.

Why is a sabbatical necessary?

The average tenure of a pastor in Protestant churches is just 4 years.

33% felt burned out within their first five years of ministry.
40% of pastors and 47% of spouses are suffering from burnout, frantic schedules, and/or unrealistic expectations.
45% of pastors say that depression or burnout could cause them to take a leave of absence from ministry.
80% of pastors say they have insufficient time with their spouse.
80% believe that pastoral ministry affects their families negatively.
90% work more than 50 hours a week.

To combat these dismal statistics and to seek to strengthen congregations, the Lilly Endowment Clergy Renewal Program provides grants that allow pastors to step away briefly from the daily demands of ministry to engage in a period of renewal and rejuvenation. The director of the clergy renewal program notes, “Pastors need time away from their congregations to gain new perspectives. This program frees them up to pursue interests that will renew their passions for ministry.” One pastor reported, “The renewal program was life-changing. It will give shape to the next ten years of my ministry at the church and in the community. It has enlarged my vision and renewed my call and commitment to ministry.”

In 2014, Sterling will have completed ten years of service as our pastor, more than 2.5 times the national average already. During these years, he has helped us turn from a declining, struggling congregation to a vibrant, growing, downtown church with a strong sense of mission and purpose. These accomplishments have been the result of hard work and dedication on the part of many members of our church family, but the reality is that a pastoral leader carries a unique load and responsibility. Recognizing and honoring his ten years of exemplary service, the deacons voted in their last meeting to recommend that the church grant Sterling and his family a three month sabbatical during the summer of 2014.

Benefits to the congregation. Congregations often rediscover their own gifts and strengths while their pastor is away. The grant provides funding for the congregation to engage in some renewal of their own and to compensate those who step up to fulfill the pastoral responsibilities while the pastor is away.

The best sabbaticals center on a theme. As his theme, Sterling has chosen “Coming Home for the Very First Time.” This phrase comes from the book The Practicing Congregation: Imagining a New Old Church by Diana Butler Bass. She writes,

“…If my assertion is correct that a new kind of mainline congregation has come into being, it means that this process of imagination and reintegration has already been underway in some congregations and with some clergy. Many of the congregations in my study have actually reported ‘near-death’ experiences, crises of membership, money, vision, or leadership that fostered imaginative processes already moving in the congregation. The ability to give up or surrender their received notions of church-as-institution provided a kind of spiritual entry point into creating new patterns of being church. In the case of these congregations, that meant reaching back into Christian history and appropriating and reworking traditions and practices that met contemporary challenges. … their imaginative exploration led them home, and they knew that place for the first time.

The key to all this (reimagining) is good storytelling. Pilgrims, either an individual or group, who have journeyed into the place of imagination and risk, must be able to come home and relate the tale. They must be able to relate what theyy have seen-the view from the roof or airplane window. They must be able to help others see what they have seen-opening the visionary possibilities of the whole community and authentically embody the story that they have shared. They must show how the story transformed them.”

Sabbatical can be an important part of this ongoing re-imagining in the life of TBC.

Sterling’s plans for the sabbatical:

A time of retreat, first, coming home to rest in God.
A trip to the Holy Land, coming home for the first time to the roots of our faith. (This experience will enrich his preaching and teaching when he returns.)
Several trips that will allow him to come home to his family in significant ways (some proposals have been rejected because they do not contain enough family time and play).
A trip to Burma, coming home for the first time to the land of our Burmese families. This trip will enrich Sterling’s understanding of Burmese history and culture and better equip him to lead this ministry.
Travel will be interspersed with down time at home to read, rest, and observe Sabbath.

What might the church do for renewal while Sterling is away?

This is for us to decide together. Here is one possibility: Over the years, TBC has becoming a calling and sending congregation. From seminarians to missionaries, we have nurtured folks, provided internships, ordained, and then sent countless members out with our blessing to minister all over the world. Instead of cutting ties when they leave, we have intentionally worked to build bridges and nurture relationships. This culture of call has expanded to include a large number of our lay folks who have been called to serve on Site Teams, to minister alongside our refugees, to engage our children and youth through music, tutoring, mission and Godly Play to name a few.

One proposal would be to use 25% of the congregational portion of the grant money to send teams to visit and encourage those we have sent out to minister elsewhere. Teams would plan a special activity, worship in the former member’s new setting, and allow them to reflect on how their TBC home nurtured them and continues to sustain them. When teams return, they would take time in worship to share news and testimony about their visits. This proposal would allow us to strengthen our culture of call and to be more intentional in our practices with those who come home to TBC for the very first time.

How will we cover Sterling’s responsibilities while he is away?

The grant provides funding to minimize the hardship on existing staff members while the pastor is away. We are fortunate to have a number of good options including: hiring a summer intern to work with youth and children to free up Judy’s time to focus on other things, providing a stipend to John Burgess to assist the staff in hospital and home bound visits, retain Dan Schumacher to serve in a pastoral function during the sabbatical or hire a regular interim preacher.

Your ideas and suggestions are an important part of this process. Please contact Tracy Hartman, Bill Welstead, Molly Huffstetler, Art Wright, Megan Strollo, or John Burgess to share your thoughts. You may also view the ballot on the church website at www.tbcrichmond.org/tbc/church/pastors-sabbatical-summer-2014/ Plan to be present on March 17^th as we vote on this important gift for our pastor.

Tracy Hartman, Pastor Renewal Team Leader

March 5, 2013 tbc Media

Lenten Devotion: Day Eighteen, 3.5.13

Repentance, Luke 13:1-9

Lent is an authentic call to repentance. This call is not metaphor, because to fail to repent is to perish. But the call to repent is ever present and is not withdrawn from us. Two titans face off: repent or perish-the call to repent is not withdrawn. Verse 9 tips Jesus’ hand. He wants us to repent, and is willing to grant us a bit more time, but for how long?

The message of hope is that there is time; so now is the time. This is not about who is the worst offender, but about repentance. It concerns a savior who loves all offenders and advocates for them before the Creator. “The worst offender” is a human invention, used to grade sin for the purpose of fairness. To God, sin is sin, and no one is immune from its consequences; no one is beyond grace’s redemption. Repentance is the point of separation, not gradations of offenses.

The opportunity to repent would never be offered by an angry god. But our God, the only God, is loving and long-suffering. What but love would delay destruction? God’s love and hope are expressed, and we are drawn to consider this loving option. The economics of love invested, but refused, would suggest destruction as pointed out in the parable of the fig tree. Love is not a formula; it is not measured on a ledger sheet.

Love must see sin as sin and must care about its consequences, but love does not have to measure sin, nor be defeated by it. Thus, the call to return, to repent, is issued, pressed against time. “Unless you repent, you will all perish” (v 5) is not an angry threat; it is a loving warning.

In this passage Jesus uses both a direct and an indirect approach to convince his hearers of the truth of his message. “Repent or perish” is obviously direct, but even the parable speaks of urgency. The man who planted the fig tree is ready to chop it down. The gardener is able to hold off the consequences for another season, but apparently not for ever. Another season of reminder has rolled around on the Church calendar. The message is the same, but the urgency has intensified by the factor of the year the parable calls for.

What does repentance mean? What change, what “fruit” is required? The answer is personal. Anything that stands between us and full submission to God through the journey toward Christ-likeness is something that needs to be acknowledged and confessed in prayer. The returning that this will entail is the beginning of repentance. The new journey begins with that “thing” acknowledged being dropped from or added to your living with the help of the Holy Spirit.

God the Creator grants time; God the Savior makes a way; God the Spirit encourages us and guides us. It is a God of threefold love who calls us to repent and to return. Jesus stands ready to dig around in our lives and show us a more fertile way of living. Jesus wants to enrich our lives and help us bear fruit to the glory of God.

Does doubt linger, making us wonder if this can really happen, and really happen in our life? Prayer defeats doubt, establishing communication with the One who pleads for us and calls to us, who died for us, and wants to live in us.

We acknowledge our sin; we acknowledge the call to repent.

We believe, Lord; cultivate our belief.

A word about the series

Pray, read, think and return to God.

All scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible.

A division of MorningStar Music Publishers, Inc., St. Louis, MO

www.MorningStarMusic.com.

March 4, 2013 tbc Media

Lenten Devotion: Day Seventeen, 3.4.13

Guilt and Hope,Accusation and Redemption, I Corinthians 10:1-13

What are we to think of our tendency to sin? How are we to process that part of us that considers sinful options when they present themselves? What part does sin’s presence in our lives play in our relationship to a loving God? These questions are never unimportant to us, but we do find ways to live with them. Lent calls us to deal with them-to acknowledge, own, and address them. But we do not do so alone. To sin is human tendency, with no exceptions. God is with us; God, in Christ, understands temptation. Even so, sin tends to isolate us.

This passage contains guilt and hope…accusation and redemption. This is Lent in a nutshell.

Sin has consequences. That’s not news, but it may not be our screen saver, either. It is a miscalculation to think that God meets us only on the bright, good deeds, good citizen side of our lives. The darker, sinful side of our lives is something that we get into, experience, and escape on our own. Christ died in order to redeem us from our sin. There is no sadder consequence. But, as redemption pulls us up and out of our sin, we learn about ourselves and our God. We learn how destructive our sin is, and how easily it is entered and painfully exited. We learn sin’s cost and separation. We learn, too, of God’s love for us. We learn of grace and forgiveness-wonderful words with woeful associations.

Paul, the writer of this letter to the church in Corinth, does not want us to be ignorant of what it means to treat sin lightly. We cannot brush off sin’s dust or excuse sin’s little lapses of integrity. Yet, to the extent that sin may be connected to the testing of faithfulness (ours and God’s), God is faithful, and he will not let [us] be tested beyond our strength. God provides a way out so that we can endure sin’s consequences. Jesus took upon himself our humiliation and separation, our shame and guilt.

Lent doesn’t let us forget. More than that, Lent calls us to remember with a sense of weighty gratitude, a sense of responsible forgiveness. There is a way out that is more a way in. This scripture is a reminder that there is a way into life in Christ. The way out of the mess is a way into blessing. The way out of confusing thoughts of testing is a way into a life of trust and obedience. The way out of the darkness is the way into the light of the Lord. But nothing removes the cost. Sin takes us to the cross. The love of Christ moves us beyond the cross, but the cross is in the path, is in the Way. Grief is redeemed into gratitude; guilt is redeemed into grace, futility into purpose, and shame into joy.

These turnings and their cost should keep us from desiring evil. In like manner, they should give us hope that we are not trapped by evil. Our first glimmer of hope can be seen in the fact that evil did not nail Christ to the cross-love did. Our failures did not drag Jesus kicking and screaming to the top of Mt. Calvary; Love walked him up the hill. Theological discussion of testing (God of us, us of Christ) and examples of enduring-these attempts at explaining sin’s encounter with grace finally must bow to the simple but costly scene of sin separating and love reuniting, of God and humanity. Let us not be ignorant of this. To be flippant is to be ignorant. To be dismissive is to be ignorant. To be chained to our failures is also to be ignorant.

God is faithful. This passage ends there. Lent begins there.

Remind us of the weight of sin, and the buoyancy of grace.

A word about the series

Pray, read, think and return to God.

All scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible.

A division of MorningStar Music Publishers, Inc., St. Louis, MO