Blog

Five years into my first pastorate (and having had plenty of conversations with other pastors about the state of congregational life), I think what makes Tabernacle unique is simply its willingness to embrace the ideas, vision and leadership of new people.

Plenty of congregations pay lip service to the need for change and renewal, but when these possibilities knock at the door, they go unrecognized and unheeded. In claiming a desire for growth, these churches spend more time lamenting the loss of the good old days and less time wondering what God might be working on today and tomorrow.

As a result, newcomers are recruited to be little more than seat fillers or to reinforce outdated structures. Long-timers refuse to trust the vision and leadership of folks who haven’t “paid their dues,” and fresh shoots of growth and life are snuffed out before they have a chance to mature and become fruitful.
The beauty of Tabernacle – and a key to its vitality – is that it is not that kind of church.

From the stories of creation, with its reminders that each of is made in God’s image, to our Baptist beliefs about soul competency, we confess that all people are precious. Tabernacle puts this conviction into practice, celebrating the gifts of all comers as they contribute to richness of the community.

Rev. Justin Joplin, Pastor

Westover Baptist Church

For me, Tabernacle has been more than just a church or even a home away from home.  Tabernacle is a place where I could belong and be pursued by God. Tabernacle was a refuge on my journey, a sanctuary for me to reflect and become more fully myself. I feel privileged and blessed to have been part of the family of God at Tabernacle Baptist Church. From the creative worship experiences to working in the food pantry, Tabernacle ministered to and through me.  Tabernacle will always be a place I call home and where I feel welcomed by the presence of God. It is a place where everyone can feel like they are held in God’s love.

Joshua Bair

I’d looked for a church home for months.  I’d gone from church to church looking for something that didn’t require I leave my seminary training at the door but something that felt like home without all the seminary fluff.  The first day I walked into Tabernacle, it was like grandmother’s living room.  Comfortable. Safe.  Friendly.  When I learned of the food pantry/clothes closet ministry, I knew I’d found the inner sanctum…the heartbeat of the church and my own soul.  Without so much as a question why, I was given a place to serve.  I was able to give and be given to in that place.  I found family in that space.  I was home.

Tabernacle has raised more than one rascal of a seminarian.  I’m grateful for the call to see us through those winsome years of theological discernment.  But, not only have you raised us, guided us, ordained us, you have been strong enough, mature enough and loving enough to let us go.  Bless us as we go, in fact.  You have served as the holy parent in an arrangement that could have easily been interpreted as someone else’s problem.  Tabernacle Baptist Church made me into the minister I am today.  I find myself referencing what TBC would do on more than one occasion in my daily ministry in Massachusetts.  When I come back to visit, it’s like that first day all over again: comfortable, safe, friendly.  I guess you never really become a stranger in grandmother’s living room.  There is always a place for you when you come home.

Thank you for loving me.

Rev. Lindsay C. Comstock

Lindsay was ordained at Tabernacle Baptist Church on January 6, 2007 and currently serves as Minister of Christian Education and Youth at The First Baptist Church Worcester, Massachusetts.

This week I am celebrating alongside you the 3 year anniversary of my ordination at TBC. It is a moment I cherish and that I carry great respect for. It is a huge deal to be affirmed as a minister of the Gospel by a church that truly tries to live out the Gospel of Christ throughout your 125 years.

The Church Family at Tabernacle is an amazing family. A family that Melanie and I miss very much. You were a place that allowed me to explore my calling and try things I didn’t know how to do. When I messed up you extended grace and when I was successful you celebrated beside me. Most importantly you modeled what it means for a church to be a family as I got to participate beside you in welcoming others in, finding ways to incorporate different cultures into worship, and walking beside each other through various seasons of life. You are a model of what the body of Christ looks like.

Rev. Gregory Harrell

Greg was ordained at Tabernacle Baptist Church on May 17, 2009 and serves as Minister of Youth at Blacksburg Baptist Church.

As I sit here between a pair of 3 month old twins, Jack and Phoebe, I can think of only one word to describe the people of TBC, family. When I arrived in Richmond, not knowing anyone, the TBC family took me in as one of their own. As I went to work in other churches around the city, Tabernacle remained a place I knew I could come home to. Then on Thursdays Tabernacle became a home that threw open it’s doors in hospitality to those in need in the community, through the Food Pantry ministry and I got to be a small part of that. It always healed my heart.

The people of Tabernacle, there are to many of you to mention by name, showed me what it meant to be a church family. Thank You. I have carried your example with me to the Eastern Shore and the church family I serve now.

Rev. Will Baker

Will was ordained at Tabernacle on February 7, 2009 and currently serves as Pastor at Drummundtown Baptist Church, Parksley, VA