God Has Set Me Free

Let us introduce you to Ron Burns.

Wait, Ron who?

To those faithful prayer warriors of the Capitol Hill Baptist Church, have no fear that your meticulous internalization of the membership directory has somehow "missed one." What would happen if you called out this name in the Sunday morning crowd at CHBC? Probably nothing. Because you know Ron Burns by a completely different name.

Let us introduce you to Thabiti Anyabwile.

Now, everyone can admit that the first time they heard that name, there was brief hesitation followed by a confused "wait, how do you spell that?" But ask him what that complicated name is all about, and he would be glad to explain…

Back in 1991, during his junior year of college, Ron Burns decided to choose a name to reflect his newfound Muslim faith. In the tradition of Islam, everyone must choose names that embody particular attributes of Allah that they would desire to attribute to themselves. In Swahili, the name Thabiti means "stern, upright;" in Arabic, Anyabwile means "God has set me free."

What great irony and a mighty display of God’s sovereignty that even while Thabiti was in the time of his firmest bondage to sin, the Lord allowed his name to indicate His future plans — essentially, what this brother can say unhesitatingly today: "God has set me free."

So what path did Thabiti have to travel in order to find his way to the Lord?

At age 21, Thabiti married Kristie while they were both still students. Later that year, they converted to Islam. After devoutly practicing Islam for almost four years, they began to question the Koran and its teachings: How could something claim that Jesus was born of a virgin but not be of God? Why would Judas be made to look like Jesus and crucified in his place? How could a faith acknowledge so many of God’s prophets but not ascribe to their teachings (Abraham, Moses, Jesus, etc.)? Subsequently, for over a year, Thabiti claims to have been agnostic on his best days and a complete atheist on his worst. Labels aside, the bottom line is that he was living a life that denied all tenets of the true God.

At the end of that time, Kristie became pregnant, and the Anyabwiles could not be more enthusiastic. But it was precisely while they were most fully immersed in their pursuit of the American dream when heartbreak struck. Three months into the pregnancy, doctors realized that the baby had died. This gave way to a dry time for both Thabiti and Kristie, emotionally and spiritually, as they realized that all their hopes had been put into this expectation of joy to come from their child-to-be. And thus, a long period of depression soon followed.

Yet, all the while, God’s goodness was at work.

This catastrophic event made Thabiti realize that there was a force outside of him, which he was powerless to control. And so he began searching for it. By the grace of God, he and Kristie began watching a TV evangelist who practiced expositional preaching and faithfully presented the gospel of Jesus Christ. They watched regularly and even tape-recorded the sermons each week. The church where this preaching was taking place was in Temple Hills, Maryland, not far from Kristie’s sister who lived in the Washington, DC area. During a trip to visit this sister, Thabiti and Kristie went to the Temple Hills church that Sunday and heard a beautiful presentation of the Gospel. Their hearts were changed, and that very day, they both gave their lives to Christ.

Would Thabiti consider the loss of their first child the most difficult trial he has ever had to endure? Or have there been times of greater sorrow in his life that caused him to run to the Lord?

Another time of great sorrow came in the year 2000 when Thabiti’s father died. Though he hardly knew the man who had walked out on his family when Thabiti was just 14 years old, Thabiti experienced a devastation that he never could have anticipated. Only an occasional relationship had existed between father and son, but Thabiti had not cared to remedy the situation. In the past, when people asked how he might react if his father were to pass away, Thabiti figured he would feel just the same as what he had always felt toward the man: nothing at all. But when the time did come, his father died most likely without having any true knowledge of saving faith, and Thabiti experienced deep sorrow and even regret.

In what ways does Thabiti see God was preparing him for his role at CHBC as the assistant pastor of children and families?

Before entering full-time ministry, all his work had been in the non-profit sector, primarily in the area of advocating quality education in early childhood. When he moved to DC, his work was in policy analysis on behalf of children and families.

What made him make the leap from "tent-making" to full-time ministry?

A dual increase of desires. The first, he had developed an increasing desire to serve full-time. The second, he had an increasing desire to offset the dissatisfaction he felt in having a secular career. Thabiti eventually got to the point where he was unable to serve joyfully for a secular cause.

What did this path toward a career change look like?

Early in their Christian walk, Thabiti and Kristie were accustomed to hosting Bible studies at their home and to discipling others. And Thabiti eventually became an elder at their church in Raleigh. His first sermon was on John 4 and lasted 35 minutes (so we’ll consider that a half sermon). Afterward, an older woman from the congregation approached him and bluntly asked, "Where are you in your walk? I think you might be ordained to preach." Thabiti simply disregarded the whims of this elderly woman and thought, "Oh, you really don’t know me."

Over the years, while he had begun working on his doctorate, more and more people seemed to share the same sentiments as the old lady. At this time, God was giving Thabiti an increasing burden to do something about the number of poor examples of ministry and leadership he was witnessing. After much prayer, he wrestled with the idea of leaving the secular job field and moving to full-time ministry. While meditating in the word one Saturday, he felt a real call. He told Kristie, "I think He’s calling me to full-time ministry." Upon hearing this, she immediately laughed and said, "Everybody already knew that, We’ve just been waiting on you to figure that out."

And so the Anyabwiles moved to Washington, DC for the purpose of working off their college debts with the hopes of returning to their church in North Carolina. The Anyabwiles have now been members of CHBC for four years, and Thabiti joined the church staff in July of 2005.

Speaking of CHBC, how did they find the church?

Really, it was Kristie who found it. CHBC had been one of seven churches recommended to them when they first moved to the area. For their first year in DC, they never settled at a church (still never having visited CHBC) and finally got tired of searching. Thabiti thought he had tried everything, including numerous Google searches that never seemed to turn up anything this CHBC they had heard about. Thabiti turned away from the computer one day, and Krsitie took over. She got on the computer, went to Google, and on the first try found the church website.

Thabiti’s response? "Oh, so that’s how you spell Capitol!"

The first time they attended CHBC, Pastor Mark announced that he was doing something a little different with the Sunday morning sermons. He was preaching a book a week, going through the entire Old Testament. That particular week, the book was Leviticus. When Thabiti and Krsitie heard this, they turned to each other and said, "No way."

Yes, way.

To their surprise, it turned out to be an immensely rich and encouraging sermon gleaning much from this one book of the Mosaic Law. After the service was over, the first people to introduce themselves were Jim and Lannette Smith. Jim quickly introduced Thabiti to a few other church members standing close by. Can you fathom even the bits of humor involved in God’s sovereignty? These were members by the names of Jim Hollenbach, Jim Cox, Jim Simons… "What kind of weird place is this?" Thabiti thought. "Everybody’s named Jim." Turns out, this was the kind of place that truly demonstrated the warmth and community of a biblical church body. Needless to say, they decided to stay.

Ask Thabiti what he loves most about his ministry, and your heart will be encouraged. Counseling. Counseling others through loss, through sin, through the premarital waters, being up close and walking alongside his brethren is what he loves about his job. This job can be draining at times, but for the pastor who loves to counsel God’s people, he says, "It is a great fatigue to be feeling so much joy."

What is it exactly that brings him most joy? Seeing God’s awesomeness when He works in people — seeing clay being molded in His hands. This and preaching bring him the most pastoral joy.

How can the congregation, as brothers and sisters in Christ, bring Thabiti more joy? Or simply, what are some tangible ways the church body could encourage this brother?

First, "Talk to me. Don’t be afraid. Thabiti is just Thabiti. Don’t presume he’s too busy for you."

Second, share ways that the church is being beneficial to your soul. Share encouragements, praises, and thanks. Express with him as well as the other elders and deacons how God has been working in your life, how you’re finding your soul here, how you have benefited by being a part of CHBC.

Third, embrace the diversity of the congregation. The Gospel allows a unity that the world would not expect, one that is only possible through Christ. The cross breaks down barriers. Pray together. This unity offers a glimpse of heaven on earth, and it is a beautiful sight for him, and us, to see.

What are some particular areas in which Thabiti hopes the CHBC congregation would grow spiritually?

One, we could cultivate deeper friendships. Specifically, we could make a greater effort to cross gender barriers. But essentially, simply get to know people not like you.

Two, we could grow in our hunger for Jesus. What he means is our acquaintance with Him personally. This congregation is markedly hungry for preaching and teaching, to learn and be fed. Let this include daily talking and walking with the Lord.

Three, we could increase our efforts in exporting the Gospel. CHBC is limited by its location and physical size, but growth in this area comes from conversions coupled by church planting, missions, etc.

Is CHBC anti-megachurch?

"That’s not true at all," says Thabiti. "It is true that many people at CHBC prefer a more intimate congregation, but we don’t believe that bigness is automatically bad. If bigness means less carefulness in the watch over souls, if bigness means more distance in relationships, if you grow big and don’t plant new churches, then that bigness is probably misleading. If the church is pursuing bigness for the sake of bigness, then that bigness is all for the sake of a false idea of success."

However, "If growth is coming through conversions, then praise God for a bigger church! The scriptures talk about the early church and that it was big with ‘thousands being added to their numbers daily.’ We are certainly not ‘anti’ toward that. But being big just for bigness sake — yeah, we’d rather shepherd closely."

And considering that so much of his flock as well as their surroundings revolve around government and everything that comes with it, the question does arise:

How much does Thabiti care about politics?

He considers himself wholly a-political. His call, he says, is to focus on the eternal. However, he says it is important for Christians to engage in the political world:

"We must remember that in this country we have been entrusted with a great stewardship to choose our laws and leaders. Society is designed to reflect the truth of God. God is indeed interested in a society of justice, service and peace."

A career in politics is a great calling, he says, and he praises God for those who are called to it, but he knows it’s not for him: "We’re told in Scripture to pray for our political leaders and I do daily."

And just as he acknowledges that it is a great calling, it is a difficult calling: "The danger with politics, as with any job, is that it makes it easy to fall into the trap of thinking that this life is all that matters." He then goes on to say, "We must remember that this is important, but not ultimate. I’ve lived through enough campaigns, enough hot issues, enough big presidential debates, etc. to know there will always be another one — another campaign, another hot issue, another big presidential debate."

For a pastor who can speak so poignantly into the hearts of his congregation, what are some truths that speak most poignantly to him? Some of Thabiti’s favorite passages of Scripture include Psalm 73, the books of Ephesians and Romans, and passages that speak to the unity in Christ that God designed from the beginning, such as Revelation 5:9-10.

What is one encouragement Thabiti would like to share with the CHBC body?

"It is an immense and humbling privilege to be serving the congregation here — to labor with the pastors that serve this church. For several months after beginning my time here, my feet never touched the ground. I want to thank the church for that opportunity."

And if he could give one admonition to the church, or even to churches around the world, what would that be?

"Be faithful. Be faithful to Jesus, to the Gospel, and to the Scriptures. And the rest is up to God. Whether you lead a ten-people church or a mega church, God requires us to be faithful."

Amen.