In the March Missions and Ministry meeting I shared with the church that the Personnel Committee has graciously granted me a sabbatical, which I am planning on taking this summer. I’d like to use this newsletter article to share a few details about the sabbatical starting with, what is a sabbatical?What is a Sabbatical? During a sabbatical the pastor engages in purposeful times of reading, prayer, study, interaction with other ministers, professional development, recreation opportunities, and rest. Sabbaticals vary in length, and they are usually granted after a period of 5 to 10 years of service. A sabbatical every

Why? One of the most frequently asked questions that I receive as a pastor is, “Why?” “Why did God allow THIS to happen to me?” Usually, “THIS” refers to something upsetting or tragic, but occasionally someone will ask the “Why” question in reference to something miraculous. Randy Hill is one such person. Randy and Tricia Hill recently moved their church membership to us from Bethel Baptist Church in Yorktown, Va. They’ve lived their lives in the Hampton area and moved to Richmond four years ago to be closer to two of their three adult sons and their families. Randy

March will be a BUSY month at Bethel. I’ve got several highlights that I’d like to share with you. First, on Sunday March 3, we’re going to update the congregation on our Vision process during the worship service. We’ll share with the congregation the next steps in how we are planning to live into our vision of “Knowing, Growing and Going in the Love of Christ.” We’ve been working hard on these next steps and we’re excited to share. Then please mark your calendars for Monday, March 4, at 7 pm. Matt Thornhill will visit Bethel and he’ll share

I appreciate a good question. A thoughtful, well timed question can often change our outlook, our perspective, maybe even change our life. Jesus was a master at asking great questions. Think of the time in Matthew 16 when Jesus asked Peter, “Who do you say that I am?” That one question forced Peter to think through all he knew of Jesus and Peter declared, “You are the Messiah, the son of the Living God.” Or think of John 5 when Jesus encountered a man that had been paralyzed for 38 years and Jesus asked him, “Do you want to be healed?” That’s a great question. We might think

As we enter into the new year, we have three exciting events in January that align with our vision of Knowing, Growing, and Going in the Love of Christ. Curtis Salyer House Party – Wednesday, January 3rd, 6-7:30 p.m. Join us for a special evening of food, fellowship, and fun, inspired by the wisdom of Curtis Salyer. Curtis Salyer, one of the “Saints of Bethel,” was called home to heaven last year. Before he passed he told me that Bethel needs to have some, “Good, old fashioned, house parties.” I asked him what that meant by “House Parties” and

Advent. Webster’s dictionary defines Advent as the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event. For Christians, Advent is a time to celebrate the coming of Christ. We celebrate by setting aside four Sundays devoted to four different Advent themes: Hope, Peace, Joy and Love. But according to a devotional I read by Nancy Wolgemuth the main theme of Advent can be found in just one word. She writes, “If you were to identity the No. 1 theme in Christmas carols, you’d find there’s not even a close second. The one-word answer? Come.” She makes her point by providing

Thank you Lord! As we look to Thanksgiving there are many things for which I am particularly thankful. My family and the love we share. Our church and the love that binds us together. Health. Vocation. And of course at the top of my list, and I suspect your list, is Christ. I’m thankful for His grace, His mercy, His presence, and the peace and purpose that are only found in relationship with Him. I’m also very thankful for you and the work we’ve done this year to seek God’s vision together. That work has been significant and rewarding

Death. For much of this year, our family has been awaiting a death. Finally it came. It was July 14th. The doorbell rang and it pained me to answer it, because I knew death was knocking and when I opened the door there would be no turning back. I reluctantly opened the door and the veterinarian came into our house. She knelt on the floor as we sat on the sofa and she gently explained the procedure. There would be a medicine that would put our cat Nikki to sleep and then another medicine that would stop his heart.

For the last eight months our church has been prayerfully seeking God’s vision for His church. We’ve met numerous times to pray, dream, think, hope and discern Bethel’s future. At our latest gathering on July 30th, we listened to and discussed three stories written to describe what the church might look like in 2035. Wow! Each story team did a magnificent job of creating three unique, compelling stories. Reagan Gilbert even created a video to compliment one of the stories and she did a tremendous job. While each story was different, what I found interesting and inspiring were the

We have a couple of visitors coming to Bethel in August and I want to make sure you know about them. I also want toencourage you to invite your friends to encounter God through these two very gifted speakers. Our first visitor is Dean Mattern and he’ll visit Bethel on Sunday, August 13th. This will be Gideon Sunday. I listened to Dean’s testimony at a Gideon Pastor’s Conference in 2022. I’ve heard a lot of testimonies on how people came to Christ and I believe Dean’s testimony is one of the most dramatic, heart wrenching testimonies that I’ve heard.

My wife Karen was recently sent some pictures of her father when he was in high school. His name is Gray Younce. Unfortunately, Karen doesn’t have many pictures of him from his younger years, so these photos were a delightful surprise. Karen said, “Having these pictures to look at was a wonderful experience for me. I don’t have many pictures of my father as a young man because when he was small their house burned and they lost everything, including all family pictures. It is hard for me to imagine my father as a young man. He always seemed

In June, we started a sermon series on Daniel, and there is a fascinating verse in Daniel 1:9 that captured my attention. You may remember that the Babylonians ransacked Jerusalem in 605BC and King Nebuchadnezzar took a number of Jews into captivity and they remained in exile there for 70 years. Daniel was among that group. Scholars believe that Daniel was in his early teens when he was taken into captivity. As soon as Daniel arrived at his new home his name was changed, he was forced to learn the language of the Babylonians, read their literature and eat

Do you find it difficult to share your faith with someone? As a pastor, I’m a little embarrassed to admit that sharing my faith is challenging for me. Evangelism is not one of my spiritual gifts plus, I have not had that many positive experiences when I did share my faith. I recall one afternoon years ago the deacons of my church split up into groups of two and we went and knocked on the doors of folks living in the neighborhoods surrounding our church. Our goal was simply to invite folks to church. The experience was not a

If you’ve attended Bethel for any length of time you’ve likely heard the name Curtis Salyer. Curtis wasresponsible for bringing the Gideon Ministry to Bethel. The Gideons do a phenomenal job of placing Scripture inhotels, doctors’ offices, schools and many other places. The number of people who have come to Christ through this ministry are too many to count. Recently though, you’ve heard Curtis’ name in a much different context, as we have been praying for him and his wife, Debbie, each week. Curtis had a long, hard fought battle with cancer and that battle mercifully ended on March

On January 20th our Church gathered for our “Vision Kickoff Weekend” and what a weekend it was! Wow! We had great attendance and your enthusiasm, care and concern for Bethel was evident. One of the Bethel’s strengths that was highlighted during that weekend was how supportive and caring we are for one another. Several people commented that one of the reasons they attend Bethel is because we are a welcoming, friendly church who really seem to care about each other. One of the people that exemplifies this is David Wilson, he’s truly a “Gem,” pun intended! As you’ll see,

How well do you know some of your fellow church members? For example, did you know that Dennis Glazener makesFlintlock long barrel rifles? Or that Coleman Goodman once owned a fire engine? Or that Aleta Jenkins is a publishedauthor? She’s written and published a book of poetry. Did you know that David Wilson is an amateur geologist and has a huge collection of rocks? I marvel at the diverse nature of hobbies, interests and passions of our congregants. Would you like to learn more about your fellow church members? One way to do this is by getting involved in

Happy New Year Bethel! I’m praying 2023 will be a year filled with an abundance of blessings for you and your family and for our church. This is going to be an exciting year for us because we are going to focus on seeking God’s vision for Bethel. We have sat aside January 20-22 as our Vision Weekend. In last month’s newsletter I introduced you to Ken Kessler who works for the Baptist General Associationof Virginia. Ken is going to lead us through this Vision process. The weekend will kick off on Friday evening at 6:30 p.m. There will

When we think of the Christmas story, I suspect that the first image that comes to mind is the manger and rightly so. As we approach this Christmas season, I’d like to offer you another image, that of Magi, or wise men. Matthew 2:1 says, “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem.” There’s a lot we don’t know about these wise men. We don’t know how many “wise men” there were; scholars speculate between two and twelve. We don’t know exactly

It was fall 2018 and Walt Ingram was in a dark place. “As dark as I’ve ever been,” Walt said. From the outsidelooking in, things probably appeared sublime. Walt had an accomplished career working for a civil engineering firmwhere he’d worked for over 30 years. He said, “I was making a lot of money, running seven offices, five of them in Virginia and two in North Carolina.” Despite the blessing of a secure, well-paying job, Walt said, “My job and the pace of life was ruining me personally, spiritually, and it was hurting my marriage.” At the time Walt

One of the things I believe is that God will put the right people, in the right place, at the right time to help us on ourjourney of faith. Michelle Simon also shares this belief. I met Michelle in the early 2000s as we both worked in the community banking industry. Michelle has spent most of her career in bank marketing. We were recently reunited when Michelle and her husband Dave and their son Jackson visited Bethel. The timing of her visit couldn’t have been more perfect. Our website administrator is moving to Europe to do mission work so

Jeffrey Brian Bonner. Thomas Francis Kenney IV. Dylan Jim Wilson. Joshua Bryant Baldwin. Who are these four people and why have I given you their full names? These four people are very near and dear to the hearts of Sharon and Tom Kenney. Sadly, all four are deceased. Jeffrey is Sharon’s son by her first marriage. On April 14, 1989 Jeffrey took his own life. Ten years later on May 15,1999, Tom & Sharon’s son Tommy was killed by a drunk driver. On April 6, 2013, their grandson Dylan died of complications from Cystic Fibrosis. On October 10, 2019,

What would it take to motivate you to be more faithful in reading Scripture? Would being stung by six Yellow Jackets do the trick? It did for Charlie Martin. Charlie is one of our newest members at Bethel. Charlie is originally from Georgia. He worked for many years in the construction management industry in Richmond before retiring in 2015. On July 31, 2019, Charlie was removing a stump in his yard when he got stung by those pesky Yellow Jackets. Charlie decided to go to Southern States to get something to kill the Yellow Jackets. On his way home,

When I was a student at Virginia Tech, I had the good fortune to study Civil War history under one of the preeminent Civil War scholars of our time, Dr. Bud Robertson. Dr. Robertson once devoted an entire class to “Love in the Civil War.” He read love letters that soldiers and wives exchanged as they longed to be reunited with one another. Dr. Robertson said that love was probably stronger back then, simply because of the culture. Many husbands and wives spent nearly all day together, often within earshot of one another as they worked on their farm

Last month I attended a leadership seminar hosted by the Middle District Baptist Association. The keynote speaker was the President of the Baptist General Association of Virginia, John Upton. John presented a lot of practical content, but there was one word that captured my attention – VISION. John shared an interesting perspective on how a church finds its vision. John said this: “Vision is not created by committees or by analysis. Vision is not a by-product of a study or a consultant. Vision comes from passionate love; it’s having your heart broken by something.” Then he asked, “What is

Last month we had to say goodbye for now to one of Bethel’s saints, Barbara Hale. As I prepared for her funeral, I was reminded of a story that Barbara told me a number of years ago. The story stuck with me and it’s a powerful reminder of the providence and provision of God. I offer this story as a tribute to Barbara, and I hope you’ll be inspired by her story, as I was. Barbara told me that when she was 12 years old, she felt like God was leading her to go to college. She said, “The

Several months ago Bethel member Kasey Myers introduced me to an organization called WomenRise. It is a great organization that is doing “Gospel Work” to help single moms. Sammie McCabe is in charge of fundraising for WomenRise, which is a program of United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg. I asked Sammie to share with us what the program is all about. “WomenRise is a childcare scholarship program for single moms in school or career training. We cover the full cost of childcare, paying providers directly so that the mom can focus on her studies and know that her

On July 2, 2011, Jane Ruehrwein was sitting in her parked car in Buffalo, NY when she was violently rear-ended. The police officer that responded to the accident thought Jane was dead. Blessedly, she survived the accident, but it left her disabled. She had severe whiplash, injuries to her hips, liver, and a brain tumor. After the accident, Jane decided to move to Powhatan to be close to her daughter, who could help her with her daily needs. Jane views her move to Powhatan as a miracle. She was able to get a great deal on a house that

Part of our mission at Bethel is to BE the church in the community. That mission has taken us beyond the walls of the church to places like Crestwood Elementary School. We’ve had a longstanding relationship with Crestwood where we’ve provided them with backpacks for students who need some extra food to make it through the weekend. We’ve also donated to their clothes closet, provided breakfast for their teachers for a back-to-school meeting, and most recently, began a prayer partner ministry with their teachers. As we’ve tried to be a blessing to them, they have certainly been a blessing

One of my most memorable Christmases was 1998. That year was a particularly tough year for our family and especially for my mother-in-law, Dorothy Younce. We called her “Mama Dot.” In May of 1998, her husband, Gray, died suddenly and unexpectedly. Later that year, Gray’s brother was killed in an automobile accident. It truly was a year of loss and sorrow. Then came Christmas day, a day of joy and celebration, but, thanks to me, things went south in a hurry. We loaded up our Ford Explorer with our family’s Christmas presents to go over to my mom and dad’s

Several weeks ago I was talking with Kim Meyerhoffer before church and I asked how her daughter Olivia was doing. She said, “She’s doing great. In fact, she wants to talk with you about how the Lord has been working in her life.” Olivia and I connected by phone a few days later and she was excited to share what the Lord has been doing in her life. I’d like to share part of her story with you. These are Olivia’s words: Tyler and I moved to Raleigh, North Carolina in December of last year. The decision to move

For this month’s newsletter I’d like to introduce you to our new  Preschool Director, Heather Kerns. Heather grew up in Chesterfield and attended Monacan High School. She went on to graduate from VCU with a master’s degree in Education. She taught kindergarten for five years at Reams Road Elementary School. Heather’s husband Tommy works as a corporate executive at Haley Automotive Group. Heather and Tommy have three sons, Peyton 12, Braxton 9 and Landon 7. The Kerns are a baseball family. All three boys play baseball. Peyton actually started playing at age three. Both Tommy and Heather coach  baseball. In

Two things that I routinely pray for are wisdom and guidance.  I think we all would like some assurance that the decisions we make are in keeping with God’s will. Bob and Ellen Moseley recently faced a major decision and they found themselves asking the Lord for both wisdom and guidance. Their story begins five years ago when Bob contracted osteomyelitis, which is an infection of the bone.  His right leg became infected as the result of a skin cancer treatment. Since that time, he’s had six surgeries to try to heal this radiation wound and get rid of the

In the 8th chapter of Romans, the Apostle Paul talks about the many hardships he faced in life as he took the glorious message of Christ to the Gentiles. In Romans 8:35 he mentions how he faced hardship, distress, persecution, famine, and peril. Then in verse 37, he exclaims, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” I love that line, “More than conquerors.”  With Christ in our lives, we can rest assured that we are more than conquerors. We are overcomers, people who can face life difficulties, and Christ can use those difficulties to

Jimmy and Jean Jackson are two of our newer members of Bethel. Jimmy is a retired plumber and building inspector for Chesterfield County.  Jean worked as an office manager and bookkeeper for an insurance agency in Goochland.  They’ve been married 63 years and have one daughter.  The Jackson’s are very committed to our Lord, in fact, Jimmy has been on 17 mission trips and Jean has been on 16 trips all over the world.  One very interesting part of their testimony is Jimmy was in hospice care for nearly three months and the Lord healed him.  I don’t believe

In the spirit of Mother’s Day I want to share the story of Danica Mladinov. Danica was born on the island of Split off the coast of Croatia (formerly Yugoslavia). Danica immigrated to the United States when she was 17 years old with her mother, Maria Mladinov, and two younger brothers as World War II ended. The story of how they immigrated is fascinating. Five years prior to their arrival in the US, Danica’s father, Anton, a merchant mariner, saw what Hitler was doing in Europe and he decided to leave Europe to make a better life for his family.

One of my favorite places is Scotland and, in particular, the Highlands of Scotland. The Highlands are a place of majestic beauty, but it can also be a difficult place to travel through, due to the roughness of the terrain, frequent rain and high winds. Roads can be washed out or blocked by fallen rocks. These delays aren’t common today, but a century ago they were commonplace. There is one road in particular that is infamously tough to navigate, it’s called the A83. At one point the A83 climbs a treacherously steep mountain named The Cobbler. Landslides and falling rocks

It’s been a year since we’ve been dealing with the pandemic. I almost cannot believe I wrote that last sentence.  One year!  I remember March 2020 like yesterday.  My wife, son, parents and sister-in-law went away for a few days to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. We enjoyed driving through the Smoky Mountains, going sightseeing and even doing some hiking.  Each night we’d return to the cabin we rented and we’d turn on the news and every night the news got worse. I knew we were headed into uncharted territory when the NCAA Tournament got cancelled. When we  returned to Virginia it

In 2015 the movie “War Room” was released.  The movie is about a couple who are having marriage problems.  The wife meets a woman named Miss Clara, who is the epitome of a prayer warrior.  Miss Clara has a prayer closet in her house that she calls the War Room.  Miss Clara says, “In order to stand up and fight the enemy, you need to get on your knees and pray.”  I won’t spoil the ending of the movie, but check it out; it’s worth watching.  The concept of a War Room inspired Pete Walmsley.  Pete’s had his fair share

On November 14th we had to say “goodbye for now” to one of the Saints of Bethel, Gordon Rutland. Gordon and Shirley Rutland were faithful attendees of our Sacred Circle on Wednesday evenings; in fact, they were always among the first to arrive. When they arrived, I’d always ask, “How are you two doing this evening?” Gordon’s answer was always, without fail, the same. He’d say, “I’m better than I deserve.” I got so use to him saying it that I changed my greeting and I’d say, “Good evening Gordon, is it safe to assume that you’re better than