By Brian Tubbs
A major theme of the recent BCM/D Gathering is that we are better together, and I can testify to this personally. We‘re not only better together — We need each other!
As a pastor, I’ve experienced firsthand the incredible value of working alongside other pastors and churches through the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware (BCM/D) and the Montgomery Baptist Association (MBA). There’s something deeply encouraging about being part of a network where we support one another, pray for each other, and help strengthen one another’s ministries. And I’ve made some incredible friends.
Brian Tubbs serves at Olney Baptist Church. (Photo courtesy of Brian Tubbs)
For this testimony, I want to zero in on my early years with Olney Baptist Church when I really needed help. I was hurting. I was in over my head. I didn’t know if I would make it.
The reality is that I stepped into anxious times with an unsettled congregation. Much of that was no one’s fault. A generation of longtime church members had left, were leaving, or were dying. The church was changing. The community around us was changing. Technology was changing. And the church didn’t know how to handle all the change. And the church had been through some things that it hadn’t healed from. I walked into this painful situation unprepared.
The problem was that I wasn’t an experienced pastor. Not then. In my 20s and 30s, I worked in the non-profit sector and as a Christian school teacher. In 2004, I answered the call to be a pastor, was ordained in 2005, and was called to Ohio to serve as pastor for the first time in 2006. In 2009, my family and I came to Olney Baptist Church. I was 40 years old but still a rookie and in over my head, dealing with challenges and situations that seemed to worsen, no matter how much I prayed or tried to love everyone involved. By the time 2010-2011 rolled around, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to stay at OBC or if I’d be allowed to stay there.
God came through for me, surrounding me with people who were a blessing. This, of course, starts with my wife. I can’t say enough good things about her. There were (and still are) some wonderful people at Olney Baptist Church who welcomed and loved my family and me. Pastor Gayle Clifton, my longtime predecessor, was a blessing and source of wisdom for me. I was also blessed to have an elder in the church, Charles Bailey, who was a rock of wisdom and strength. And I had some great deacons. Thankfully, neither my family nor OBC had to weather these challenges alone.
Dr. David Lee, then the executive director of the BCM/D, made it a point to check in with me regularly, as did several other convention staff. And, of course, MBA Director of Missions Ron Blankenship was an absolute “God-send.” I don’t think I could’ve lasted without his continual encouragement and support.
On the wisdom front, Tom Rodgerson, then with the BCM/D, gave me a book, Congregational Leadership in Anxious Times, by Peter L. Steinke. The insights in that book helped me understand much of what was going on at that time in the church’s history.
It was through the BCM/D that I was introduced to Pastor Brian Moss and the wonderful folks at Oak Ridge Baptist Church in Salisbury. The training and encouragement they have provided have been a tremendous blessing.
I can’t say it’s all been smooth sailing in all the years since, but it’s now 2024, and I’m still blessed to serve as the pastor of Olney Baptist Church. And I can say that the church (while not perfect) is a community of believers who love God and love each other. Jane and I love them, and we feel their love.
There are pastors out there who feel they can go it alone. I’m not one of them.
Feature Photo: Brian Tubbs and Ron Blankenship at a pastor’s gathering. (Photo by Melanie Blankenship)