KOH2RVA: Day 268

Yesterday morning at 9:43, David Powers sent this email to Carrie Larson, a longtime member of First Baptist Church:

Hi Carrie.

I’m following up our brief conversation yesterday about the Blackwell School luncheon on June 13. Sounds like a potentially interesting KOH2RVA story.

Will you fill me in on what this is all about? All I know is that it is here, that you’re putting it together, and that you’ve done it for many years. But what is it? Why is it?

Thanks, and blessings.

David

At 1:37 yesterday afternoon Carrie replied:

David,

It is a very good KOH2RVA story….

While I worked for Alcoa, I served as our representative on Blackwell’s Community Action team. It was a desire of the school to have a “formal” luncheon for their 5th graders to celebrate their completion of elementary school. It’s not easy to find an affordable place to have lunch for over 100 people but Beanie [Brooks, food services director at First Baptist] worked with me to make it happen. Although it has always been at FBC, Alcoa sponsored the luncheon for several years until the facility closed at the end of 2008. At that time, I told the principal I would find a way to continue the luncheon. I gather volunteers through the church’s Foodservice volunteers, my Sunday Bible study class, [my husband] Mark’s office, and anyone else I can think of. This year, I have an entire group of volunteers from Ralph Starling’s “School of Radical Hospitality.” This will be the 8th luncheon and many of the volunteers ask me every year if they can help again.

Blackwell is in one of the poorest areas of the city. The teachers and staff are fantastic but there is little money for the extras (we don’t charge the students anything to attend). This luncheon is an opportunity both to celebrate the end of elementary school and to give the students an opportunity to experience a formal meal. We bring alive the school’s dream of “a sit down meal with real silverware and multiple courses.” The students dress for the occasion and use their best manners. You may even catch one of the boys pulling out a chair for his teacher. The look on their faces when they first see the decorated dining room is priceless! The teachers have told me there is a noticeable change in behavior when they arrive back at school – they walk a little taller, act a little more mature and treat each other with respect and kindness.

To sum it up, this is one little thing I can do to bring heaven to earth for a very deserving group of kids. I’ll never forget several years ago when one of the girls told me she had often driven by our church with her grandmother but never knew she would be welcome inside….

Let me know if you need anything else. I am still firming up the schedule with the school and will forward them when it is finalized.

Carrie

I agree with Carrie: it not only sounds like a “potentially interesting KOH2RVA story,” it is, in fact, “a very good KOH2RVA story.” It’s happening June 13, and if you would like to volunteer or contribute, I’m sure Carrie would be glad to know. Send your email to me at somerville@fbcrichmond.org and I will gladly forward it to her.

And thanks, Carrie, for what you and others are doing to provide those Blackwell fifth graders with a little taste of heaven. Who knows how it might change their earthly lives?

KOH2RVA: Day 267

It’s Monday morning, friends, and after a big, exciting, celebratory day in worship yesterday it’s time to get on with the joyful work of bringing heaven to earth, right?

Well, maybe not.

Steve Blanchard forwarded an article recently about a pastor who resigned from his mega-church in Atlanta two years ago because people loved the dynamic Sunday worship experience he had created but didn’t love “caring for people and meeting the needs of the city” on the other days of the week.  Let me warn you: this example is extreme, but I do think there are some lessons here that every church–and every pastor–could learn from.

Take a look at this post from John White’s “Stories of the Revolution” blog.

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Mega church pastor: “We are completely off base with what discipleship means”

Shaun King stepped down on September 1st [2011].

Shaun resigned from the church in Atlanta that he started three years ago. Called “Courageous Church”, it was, in Shaun’s words, a “super cool Sunday worship-service-centered church with 700 people”. A mixed race congregation, it was seen as one of the cutting edge churches in the city. Highly “successful”!

Leonard Sweet, scholar and author, called Shaun, “One of the most dynamic, entrepreneurial, creative and passionate leaders on the American scene today.” How could this guy possibly fail? What would cause him to throw up his hands and give up?

Shaun stepped down not because of any scandal but because he was disillusioned and burned out. He had followed the advice of church planting experts on how to develop an exciting, growing church by focusing on a dynamic Sunday morning “experience”. He writes, “I sold my soul for church attendance in our first week and I could never quite get it back.”

Over time Shaun came to understand that “the overwhelming percentage of our time, energy, skills, budget and creativity were spent preparing for Sunday morning services, getting people to our Sunday services and getting them to volunteer for our Sunday morning services.” Then, Shaun made a big “mistake”. He tried to change all of this. He tried to create a discipleship oriented church where the “time, energy, skills, budget and creativity” went primarily into caring for people and meeting needs in the city. And, since he was the senior leader, he could make this work. Right?

Shaun planned to move the whole congregation into small missional groups with one large meeting each month. He worked with his leaders to develop the new structure. He preached a whole sermon series on the new vision (Preaching changes people. Right?). He reports that, as long as he was preaching about it, the people loved it.

But, once the “shift” took place, in his words, “all hell broke loose”. Three months later, 85% of the congregation wanted to go back to the “super cool worship-service-centered church”. Four months later, Shaun stepped down as the lead pastor. Here’s his evaluation…

“What I am saying is that church attendance, Sunday morning services, sermon-listening (or even sermon preaching), song-singing, hand-clapping, amen-saying and all the other things that “Christ-ians” have lifted up so high look so little like Christ himself that I am utterly convinced that we are completely off base with what discipleship means. Considering all of this, I think I have given up on church as I knew it. Big buildings. Hugh crowds. Few disciples. I’m not with it. It’s inefficient and just doesn’t feel right with my soul. This is not a rejection of big buildings or huge crowds, but an indictment on how few disciples are being made in the process of it all. A better way has to exist.”

Well, Shaun, welcome to the growing number of traditional church leaders (perhaps 1500 a month by some estimates) who are coming to the same conclusion. That is, that the building-centered, Sunday big worship-service-centered “experience” (one mega church here in Denver calls this “the big magic”) is a great way to entertain people but an inefficient way to make disciples. Not only that, but it takes a terrible toll on the pastors and on their families. (In my next post, I’ll tell you what Shaun’s wife wrote about this whole experience. I’m telling you… this lady shoots straight!)

And, yes, Shaun a better way does exist.

–John White, September 19, 2011

 

KOH2RVA: Day 266

First Baptist member Jeannie Dortch was kind enough to give me a sneak preview of this forthcoming article on the afterschool program at Essex Village Apartments, where our church has an ongoing partnership, and where one remarkable woman overcomes her disability for the sake of the children.  I hope you will read Jeannie’s article all the way to the end, and then send her an email saying you’d like to help with the summer camp at Essex Village.  If Teresa Jackson can do it, you can too!

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The Saints Go Marching AND Rolling In
by Jeannie Dortch

It was the first time I had arrived at Essex Village to tutor at-risk children in the newly formed afterschool program. Upon entering the community center, I noticed that one of the other tutors was wheelchair-bound with no use of her legs and not much of her arms or hands. I was mesmerized with her command of the children. She radiated joy, sweetness, care and knowledge, and the children responded to her with respect and obedience. I eventually learned that Teresa Jackson was a Title 1 math assistant at Laburnum Elementary. She also volunteered in this afterschool program as part of the non-profit Seeds of Promise Outreach Ministries, Inc., started by Ernestine Dockery-Roy, recently retired assistant principal at Laburnum Elementary. With the godly leadership of these two women, the meeting space has been transformed into a place where children can find safe refuge and feel Love’s warmth.

Getting to know Teresa Jackson better is something I was determined to do to learn what motivated her to work in such a mentally and physically demanding job. Visiting her at Laburnum Elementary reinforced the concept that humans are only limited by their thoughts. Teresa whizzed through the corridors in her motorized chair and explained her philosophy of teaching to me. “I’m not handicapped,” she said when asked. “I’m disabled, meaning I’m not necessarily able to work like you do, but I am able to get the job done. It may take me a little longer, but the results are the same. I love children and I want to see them succeed, and that can be done in or out of a wheelchair.”

At present, Essex Village has a population of about 544 children, all living below the poverty level. According to Steve Blanchard, FBC’s Minister of Compassion, “The needs are great, but our partnership with Essex Village is showing promise as a blessing to those who live there but even more so to the people of FBC.”

This summer, Seeds of Promise will run a summer camp from July 8th-August 1st, Monday-Thursday, 9:00-1:00 to include arts and crafts, outdoor activities, and lunch for the elementary school children in Essex Village. Then, in the fall they will begin another nine week afterschool tutoring session.

Teresa Jackson sums it up by saying, “I love to see children brighten up by what they learn. Many of the students in our program come from abusive families, and I want them to know they have teachers who care about them. Some of the kids say, ‘I can’t try no more.’ I tell them, ‘Think Can, not Can’t. I don’t use the word Can’t. Look at me! If I can, you can. I don’t pity you, nor do I want to. I am motivated by you. I want you to find something that motivates you so you too will experience God’s blessing in your lives.’”

Editors note: If you are interested in volunteering to work with Seeds of Promise at Essex Village in either the summer camp or as a tutor please contact Jeannie Dortch (dortchcamp@mindspring.com) or Sandra Millican (sandramillican1943@yahoo.com )

KOH2RVA: Day 265

One of the surprises of our year-long, every-member mission trip has been a friendship and partnership with the Anna Julia Cooper Episcopal School in Richmond’s East End. It started when Melissa Ansley Brooks, who lives in the neighborhood, chose the Cooper School as her KOH2RVA “project.” She began to volunteer at the school, and as she did she began to see the potential for a Kingdom-bringing partnership between the school and First Baptist Church. Her enthusiasm was contagious, and “infected” a number of people at First Baptist including Mary Hiteman, Director of Weekday Early Education, and Joyce Clemmons, leader of the church’s Generosity Team. It was Joyce’s idea to provide gifts and prizes for the school’s “Spring Bash” a few weeks ago, and to spoil the teachers with extravagant gift baskets during Teacher Appreciation Week. Here’s her report:

TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK AT AJCES

The Cooper School enjoyed a marvelous lunchtime experience on May 8th as ten teachers were presented with mementos of that special week set aside for teachers everywhere.

The lunchroom was a beehive of eating, talking, and speeches. Head of School Mike Maruca introduced visitors from First Baptist Church who presented lavish baskets overflowing with gifts for each of the ten teachers. Joyce Clemmons, Generosity Team leader, asked the students to join her in rousing applause for the role each teacher plays in their everyday lives. She encouraged the students to continue to pursue an education and set goals for the future. Those two things will assist each student in having a high school diploma, an opportunity to attend college, and a bright future ahead of them.

Richie Hilbert’s Bible Study group was represented by Nell Coffman. A majority of that group generously donated items to fill the bright yellow, red, lime-green, and blue baskets. Generosity Team members Joyce Clemmons and Chuck Dean added their gifts. A colored picture of each teacher was attached to the gift.
Items included Flying Squirrels tickets, Car Pool car washes, McBucks from McDonalds, and gender specific items for the school desk and at home.

Thank you teachers at AJCES for all you do. Thank you Bible Study group for your generosity. Thank you Nell Coffman for the delightful framed plaque—”A Teacher’s ABCs”—which can be displayed on the teacher’s desk.

It was a fun lunch time and George, Sr. fed us well. Thank you, George!!

I don’t think the teachers at the Cooper School are always so generously appreciated. I think it was Joyce’s intention to overwhelm them with appreciation. I think she succeeded.

I’m grateful for the way heaven has come to earth through this partnership, and I want to thank Melissa, Mary, and Joyce, for the way they keep it coming.  Who would have guessed that a big Baptist church on Monument Avenue and a little Episcopal school in the East End would form such a beautiful friendship?

It sounds like something Jesus himself might have dreamed up.

KOH2RVA: Day 264

I’m not sure whose idea it was that my interfaith group should visit Monticello, but that’s what we did on Wednesday. There was something in the memo about Thomas Jefferson’s commitment to “religious liberty,” and how important it is for all Americans to be able to worship in the way they choose. So, Jefferson himself (and not just his statue) might have been pleased to pose with Ben Romer, a Jewish rabbi (at left); Ammar Amonette, a Muslim imam; Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence; Nathan Elmore, a Baptist campus minister; Jim Somerville, a Baptist pastor; and Bill Sachs, an Episcopal priest. Not pictured above is Imad Damaj, head of the Virginia Muslim Coalition for Public Affairs, who snapped this photo.

We went from Monticello to the Kabob Palace in Charlottesville for lunch (delicious), and for a meeting with Peter Ochs, the Edgar M. Bronfman Professor of Modern Judaic Studies at the University of Virginia. Dr. Ochs coined the term “scriptural reasoning,” and is the co-founder of the Society for Scriptural Reasoning, which promotes interfaith dialogue among Christians, Jews, and Muslims through scriptural study groups. So, after lunch, we studied some scripture.

We looked at a verse from the Qur’an about the Creation, this one, 2:117, which reads: “Originator of the heavens and the earth. When He decrees a matter, He only says to it, ‘Be,’ and it is.”

We noticed how similar that one is to Genesis 1:1 that reads, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” and continues in verse 4 with, “God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”

And then we looked at John 1:1 that reads: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” and continues in verse 3 with, “All things were made through him.”

The imam had trouble with that one. “How could the Word be God and God be the Word?” he asked. “Those sound like two different things and God, as you know, is One.” And I said, “Well it says right here, ‘God was the Word’ and ‘the Word was God.’ The two are one and the same.”

We didn’t get much past that on Wednesday, but pause and reflect on that moment when the Baptist pastor and the Muslim imam were discussing Scripture in the most cordial, respectful way you can imagine. That probably wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t spent some time together already, getting to know each other and becoming friends. Part of our “mission” in this interfaith group, is to show all of Richmond that just because we come from different traditions and have different beliefs, we don’t have to be enemies. We are trying to model true interfaith friendship. If you have eyes to see it, it is a way of bringing heaven to earth. And on Wednesday, even though we didn’t agree on everything,

We talked like old friends.

KOH2RVA: Day 263

Sometimes the best way to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to Richmond, Virginia, is to get out of town. At least, that was the thinking of a few bold women who started “a little camp for city kids” nearly a hundred years ago.

Last night Beth Reddish Wright told us the story of Camp Alkulana, a year round mission of the Richmond Baptist Association with a targeted summer ministry to inner city children. Here’s what the web site says:

The camp has been in continuous operation since it began in 1915. The kerosene lanterns, which shone from the windows of the first cottage, appeared as bright eyes shining through the forest. Thus, the Indian word, “Alkulana,” meaning “bright eyes” became the official camp name.

Camp Alkulana is located in Millboro Springs, Va, deep in the Alleghenies. The proximity of the camp to the George Washington National Forest provides it with boundless space and endless program resources. Some of the activities offered during the summer are hiking, cave exploring, camping out, cooking out, rock climbing, rappelling, ropes course, swimming, crafts, Bible study and worship.

Though the camp is in Millboro Springs, we consider our ministry in Richmond because we serve the children and youth of Central Virginia. Throughout the year in Alkulana offers ongoing supports in Richmond to its campers through large group gatherings, a mentoring program for older campers, and a targeted leadership program for its junior counselors.

Camp Alkulana’s Mission is to reveal God’s love to low-income and at-risk children and youth of Central Virginia so that they might realize the intrinsic value in themselves and others.

Beth told us the story of a girl named Jo-Jo who was afraid to join the other campers in jumping off a rock into the river. The rock was high, and when she looked down she thought, “Uh-uh. I like my life, and I love to live.” She was scared. But everybody else was jumping and splashing into the water and coming up laughing. Finally her counselor yelled, “Scary things make good memories!” And so she did it; she jumped.

It was so much fun she did it all afternoon. And later? She remembered what her counselor said: “Scary things make good memories.”

Maybe we should say it like this: some kinds of scary things make good memories. Jo-Jo was from Gilpin Court, one of the poorest neighborhoods in Richmond. Drug deals go down in that neighborhood all the time. People sometimes get shot and killed. But for a little while last summer she got away from all that. She went to a place where she could see the beauty of God’s creation all around her, where people were kind to her and shared the love of Christ with her, and where the only scary thing was the idea of jumping off a rock into the river. I can almost picture her asking: “Is this heaven?” and I can almost hear someone answering,

“No, it’s Camp Alkulana.”

Every year at First Baptist we take up a special offering for Camp Alkulana. This year, as we continue our year-long, every-member mission trip to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to Richmond, Virginia, you might think of your offering as a way to do that: as a way of getting kids like Jo-Jo out of the city long enough to experience heaven on earth.

I’m planning to double my offering this year. I hope you will do the same.

KOH2RVA: Day 262

How much do I love Richmond? Enough to spend two hours at a school board public hearing last night.

I was invited by a friend who was concerned about the impact of a proposed re-zoning of the school districts. He mentioned something about “re-segregation” and “going backward in time.” But I also got an invitation from Margaret Howlette at Clark Springs Elementary School, where I volunteer as a “lunch buddy.” She was concerned because the proposal would close Clark Springs! (her exclamation point, not mine).

I needed to go.

I told my daughter Catherine later it was a fine example of the First Amendment in action—the freedom of speech—because everybody who wanted to say something got to say it and the members of the school board just sat there and listened. Some of the things they had to listen to were hard: one woman told them they should be ashamed of themselves for what they were considering; another told them they worked for “the people” and as one of the people she was putting them on notice. Other things were touching, like the second-grade boy in the orange shirt who stood on tiptoe in front of the microphone and said, “Please don’t close my school!” Some of the speakers appealed to the head; others appealed to the heart; some just needed to get something off their chest.

What impressed me about the whole process was the idea that in this country you can get a hearing. Those school board members sat there the whole time, and except for calling down someone who booed loudly from the back they did not speak. They listened, or at least appeared to be listening, to every word.

Who knows what words stayed with them as they left Thomas Jefferson High School last night? Who knows what thoughts troubled their dreams? I do know this: that as a leader you sometimes make decisions that are unpopular. But I also know this: every word that is spoken—even the most critical one—stays with you. It gets tumbled together with all the other factors in the decision-making process. Sometimes it is that word that makes all the difference in the outcome.

I did not speak last night. I listened. That’s how much I love this city. I can only pray that the members of the school board did the same thing, for the same reasons, and that—in the end—they will be led by love and not by anything else.

It’s hard to believe that this is how the Kingdom of Heaven will come to Richmond, Virginia, but respectful talking? Respectful listening?

That’s always a step in the right direction.