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By Melissa Lauber
UMConnection Staff

Sometimes Beryl Whipple thinks he needs a nap. But then he receives another word from God and life becomes too interesting not to pay attention, he said.

By night, Whipple stocks shelves and does customer service at a Safeway grocery store. By day, he pastors Asbury UMC in White Marsh and is a doctoral student in the church leadership program at Wesley Theological Seminary.

The witness he provides going about these tasks has not gone unnoticed. In April, he was inducted into the Martin Luther King Jr. Board of Preachers at Morehouse College in Atlanta, his alma mater. With this honor, he was charged “to be a faithful servant scholar leader, a guarantor of continuity, celebrator of change, negotiator of structure and facilitator of meaning” and to use his “time, talent, tender and technology” to build a beloved community.

He was one of the youngest people to be inducted into the board of preachers. He takes its charge very seriously and is living it out as pastor of Asbury. 

When he arrived at the church in 2008, there were six people in the pews. Today, there are 65 who attend each Sunday.

Whipple is careful not to “swell” the church. Rather, he focuses on allowing the community to grow itself, each person bringing one person to church. “Sometimes it’s co-workers,” he said. “Sometimes the youth bring fellow team members. But everybody knows somebody who might need the church, who needs God.”

When they come through the door, Whipple believes “it’s essential to let them know that Sunday morning is a can’t miss moment of the week. Sunday helps dictate the rest of the week,” he said. “Sunday morning sets up proactive momentum. We’re not here to spectate or be entertained. We’re here to get recharged.”

To recharge the people, he takes care crafting worship. “Whether there are six people or 40, I preach as if it’s Easter Sunday every morning, he said. “I believe in doing my best, no matter what I’m doing. That attitude is contagious. The choir, the music, the church leaders know this church thing is not for play.”

It’s not always been easy. There have been times in the past year when some intense personal issues have made him stumble. He praises his wife, Roxanne, and his mother, Barbara Whipple, who is a minister at Centennial-Caroline UMC in Baltimore, for helping him when his soul gets weary. 

A third-generation preacher who grew up Baptist, Whipple believes God closes doors, but “God also opens doors we cannot ignore.” 

“Everybody needs a word from God,” he said. Everyone needs an encouraging word that pushes them when they want to give up. The best thing is when we become that encouraging word for one another.”