The threat of nuclear war. School shootings. The opioid epidemic.
Christian teacher and singer Kim Tabor understands well that people have more than a few reasons to be fearful these days. Tabor, a Fishers resident, avoids offering simple formulas and pat answers for facing anxiety.
“The issue has come up a lot when I have ministered in the last year because of a lot of what our country and world are experiencing right now,” Tabor said, speaking by phone from her home where she directs Tabor Ministries. “And there have been some fears and some changes that I have experienced in my own personal life. And fear is a big deal for people.”
For those reasons and more, Tabor will lead a free women’s event, “Fear Not!”, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Sunday at First Christian Church, 531 Fifth St. in downtown Columbus. The event is open to all females, no matter what their church affiliation or those with no affiliation. Primarily, she will focus on the first eight verses of Psalm 34 from the Old Testament to guide her audience to hope.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
That Scripture features the often-quoted line, “I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.”
The ministry leader pointed out that Jesus sometimes allows a storm surrounding people to continue, for whatever the reason.
“Our circumstances may not always change,” she said. “But Jesus can give us peace in the midst of that storm.”
She knows that from personal experience.
Her esteem became so linked to her identity as a singer that throat problems eventually stopped her vocal work for a time in the late 1990s — until she found that she was enough just as herself, without any trappings of talent or ministry. She also lost her singing voice in 2014 and faced another experience of letting go and letting God work as freely as he wanted.
“Sometimes he allows us to face our biggest fear so that we can then become fearless,” she said.
Her ministering on Sunday will stretch beyond speaking. She and keyboardist husband Brian Tabor will lead contemporary worship at the 9 and 10:30 a.m. Sunday services at First Christian. The pair last ministered in Columbus in October 2015. One of their original praise tunes, “Fear Not!”, figures to be part of that musical mix.
“How do we walk each day trusting the great lover of our souls?” she asked, referring to Jesus. “Whether he saves us from the fire or requires us to walk through the fire, he promises to never leave us.”
Nancy Lewis, First Christian’s Connections minister who also leads women’s ministry, first discussed with Tabor an event such as Sunday’s after Tabor led a women’’s conference in October 2015 at the local church.
“It just seemed like that’s where God was leading us,” Lewis said. “It seems to have become very prevalent in our country, even before last year (amid nuclear war worries). Anxiety seemed to be rising to the top.”
Fear even among Christian believers “permeates a lot of different avenues,” Lewis compassionately acknowledged.
Lewis said that she sees fear ranging from people’s concerns about the local opioid epidemic to seemingly smaller, perhaps daily anxieties. Meanwhile, people understandably “sometimes are tapping into non-permanent ways to ground ourselves,” Lewis said.
Tabor mentioned that she fully understands that women do not come to conferences and speaking engagements she leads to hear her own human thoughts and ideas.
“Frankly, I have nothing to offer them,” Tabor said. “The one they’re coming to have an experience with is the spirit of Jesus Christ. He’s the one who’s going to show up. He’s the one who’s going to transform hearts. He’s the one who’s going to bring peace. And he’s the one’s who’s going to set women free.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Facing fear” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
What: A women’s ministry event on facing and battling fear called “Fear Not!” Open to all women.
When: Brian and Kim Tabor will lead worship at the 9 and 10:30 a.m. Sunday services at First Christian Church. And then Kim Tabor will lead a presentation of “Fear Not!” from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Sunday. That will include worship music from her and her husband.
Where: First Christian Church, 531 Fifth St. in Columbus.
Cost: Free. But donations will be accepted for the Tabors’ nonprofit ministry.
Information: 812-379-4491 or fccoc.org.
[sc:pullout-text-end]
