I will have to admit, however, that a lot of the buzz this past week was not about Crossing Together…it was about the first ever addition of a tuba to our band.

Yep, if you weren’t here, we had a tuba this past week. Dave Johnston asked me some time ago if I thought there was room for him to join the band. He told me he used to march in the band in high school and college, and he was thinking about picking his instrument back up. When I heard he played the tuba, I was thrilled. I’m brass player, but you can never have enough LOW brass. I encouraged him to pull out the old mouthpiece and start practicing.

At Covenant, the process for helping lead worship is not all that complicated, but it is intentional. We ask people like Dave who would like to sing, play, or even work in the tech areas during worship to join us for a two-part Creative Arts Orientation. As important as it is that a person be able to sing, play or understand tech equipment, our team believes a person’s heart must first be right before taking the lead. We talk a lot about humble service, and about worshipful living not just on Sundays, but on Mondays through Saturdays, too. Our emphasis is on character first. Then, once a person has completed the orientation and interview, we start talking about skill and abilities.

Dave and his wife have been regulars at Covenant for several years now. This past weekend was the first time he’s been on the platform during worship, and boy did he add to the powerful sounds of worship. One person told me, when the opening song began to play, he heard the trumpets and guitar and then a “WAHHHHH!” He asked the person he was with, “What was that?” The person answered, “THAT was a TUBA!”

I wonder…do you play an instrument? I actually had two people tell me that seeing Dave up there made them want to pull out their old instrument and try to play it for the Lord.

In the last few weeks, we’ve also had a new guitarist and a new drummer, and we’re always looking for people who would like to sing. We have a number people trying their hand at the lighting board, the cameras, and backstage computers as well. You should know that our worship DNA is to have people leading other people in praise during worship. It’s not a performance. We’re not looking for professionals. We’re just looking for people who can lend us some passion for worshipping our Lord and Savior.

Maybe you’re the next Dave. Why don’t you email Ashley Quinn about the next Creative Arts Orientation?

Anybody else have a, “Way to go TUBA!!” story to add?

But God just ignores me. I think He appreciates the effort, but He is proving time and time again that even my greatest plans pale in comparison to what He wants to do. And, like the loving father He is, I’m sure He just pats me on the head, smiles, and says, “Thanks, but I’ve got this one covered.”

Nine months ago, our family received a very clear leading from God about some major next steps in our life. But with that leading and sensing came all sorts of questions and thoughts. “When? How? What about…? Are we crazy? Was that really God? We must be crazy!” What has also continued to happen all throughout this journey is that with each new piece of the puzzle becoming clearer, I try to figure out all the next steps, the perfect timing, and all of the other details. And each time, God reminds me that I neither can nor need to figure everything out on my own.

Why do we try to figure it all out? Is it just me, or do you do the same thing?

I am reminded once again of the psalmist’s words in Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

Maybe it’s human nature, or maybe it’s just how I’m wired, but even though I am accustomed to living by faith, and desiring to do that at even deeper levels, I still try to make plans that I am confident would make God the most famous. I am simply leaning on my own understanding, and I am evidently a fool for doing so.

I am learning a lot about miracles right now. We are in the midst of one as we are in process of selling our house in a buyer’s market with very slow selling rates. Just the other night, I was thinking about miracles in the Bible, and the Holy Spirit very clearly reminded me that each of those miracles was PRECEDED by obedience. Like you, I want to see miracles happen, but miracles don’t just “happen.” Obedience and faith are still prerequisites for the miraculous.

So, what about you? Perhaps you’re trying to figure out how it’s all going to work before you step out in faith. I promise you; that’s a dead end! Do you try to figure it all out? Do you need to just relax and know that God’s got it? Or do you need to just be willing to take some steps of obedience first? Where are you in this journey?

In June, we had a team of students and adults who returned to the Dominican Republic to provide medical assistance and children’s ministry, while helping to move our facilities in the DR forward. During the first part of July, Covenant Student Ministries also had two student teams reach out to the Appalachian community of Milligan, Tennessee, by restoring the outside of a home while allowing God to deepen their relationship with Him. And during the second part of July, the adult and student servants of Covenant Children’s Ministries joined together to provide a Vacation Bible School that convinced children that God’s word is true, surprising, and comforting.

When it’s all said and done, many of our summer memories will fade like the t-shirts we bought at the beach. But what doesn’t fade is the shift that happens in the kingdom of God when people lean in and reach out to others. It’s during those times when God reveals a side of His nature to us in a way that never fades or is forgotten.

In the book of James, God reminds us how temporal summer vacation is in a culture that constantly keeps saying, “man these years sure do go by fast.”

“How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.” James 4:14 NLT

If you feel like life is going by too fast and you have little to show for it, watch for the next opportunity where you can lean in and reach out to someone through an outreach ministry at Covenant. If you do, God may give you something that will not fade, can’t be vacuumed up, or refuses to be thrown out.

Joe Cox
Director of Next Generation Ministries
Executive Director of Ministry

Jesus stopped everything and went to Jerusalem for EVERY Jewish feast.

It could not have been easy or convenient to drop your work and travel by foot several days to stay in Jerusalem for a week and then turn around and come home, but that’s exactly what Jesus did. It sounds strange to us, but Jesus was only following the tradition of sacred feasts from the Old Testament.

God instituted feasts to commemorate a past event in Israel’s history (and thus celebrate what God had done) or to commemorate God’s faithfulness at harvest (and thus celebrate how good God is). Both kinds of feasts called for jubilant celebration. The Law even required that all Jewish males go to at least one feast per year. Also, every Jew within a certain number of miles was required to attend each feast every year. Several times a year, the pattern was:

Stop what you’re doing; join others in Jerusalem, and then have a joyful celebration together to honor the Lord!

Well, Covenant, we’re getting ready to do just that! This special year of Crossing Together is going to give us several “excuses” to celebrate how good our God is, and we are about to come upon our first of several opportunities. Next weekend, we will cross the “quarter mark” toward our destination of $1.44M! So, we’re planning a celebration on August 14/15 to commemorate the achievement and to give lots of praise to our God who has been faithful to us. Please don’t miss that weekend, as we’re going celebrate big time during our worship services. I invite you to stand and cheer when I announce our accomplishment and we take a moment to celebrate.

Let me also congratulate you in advance. We’re going to reach the quarter mark of Crossing Together in just two months since we began! That’s $350,000! I believe we should do a little “whooping and hollering!”

Spread the word…August 14 and 15…we are going to CELEBRATE.

Branson

That’s a statement I’ve heard at Covenant from many people. When I first arrived four years ago, I contemplated it and observed the comings and goings of our congregation. However, ultimately, I take statements like that as personal challenges. That’s why, this summer, we decided to … try something new. We thought it would be great to get people to connect during the week despite everyone’s summer schedules. To our delight, we have averaged around 150 people people participating in our 40 Days of Love study every Wednesday night! What I have especially enjoyed is watching many of these folks go through their first group experience at Covenant.

This reminds me that we all face the temptation to isolate through busyness or our own personal agendas. Often, it even seems easier emotionally to isolate, but when we do, we feel empty and alone. In fact, it isn’t healthy spiritually or emotionally for us to isolate or to delude ourselves into thinking we can make it through this Christian journey on our own. But, the Lord never meant for us to do it alone! The Lord instead made us to be in fellowship with Him and with His body on earth—other believers.

It also reminds me that each of us has to be intentional about finding a group to become a part of, to connect into. Sure, it requires time, effort and prayer on our part, but it is worth it. Now is the time to begin thinking about and praying about your schedule for the fall. Is it time for you to reassess the busyness and meet or reconnect with Covenant friends? Is it time to push through that temptation to isolate and discover the power of community in small groups? As we are all slowly turning our calendars toward fall, I want to encourage you to find a place to connect with others. There are slews of opportunities for you. It could be a block party at the Redemption Zone, one of the many different service groups throughout Covenant, or one of the great Bible studies offered during the week. It might be that best place for you to connect is through one of the Covenant connection teams like ushers, greeters, or communion servers. Somewhere at Covenant, there is a perfect fit for you! I want to encourage you to not let another semester go by without connecting to His body on earth—the Church. It will take planning and courage on your part, but the rewards are plenty. Our fall catalog of group and connecting opportunities for the fall will come out on the weekend of Sept 4/5 and Rally Weekend is Sept 11/12.

Watch for it, and CONNECT.

Jay

The way airlines charge for extra weight these days, there is a fifty pound limit, so you have to pack wisely. That means all clothes, toiletries, snacks, mosquito netting, and bedding for the whole trip has to fit in that one suitcase. So far, she is five for five! When each student has arrived at the airport, their bags have all been less than fifty pounds.

It is amazing to me to watch these high schoolers boldly going to other continents to serve Jesus and tell others about what He has done for them. When I was their age, I was playing baseball, going to the beach, and working in the tobacco field all summer. Maybe the opportunities were there to go, but I don’t believe that I would ever have dreamed of leaving home to serve as a missionary. Frankly, I was scared that Jesus MIGHT call me to go and I really didn’t want to. These young people will all tell you they believe they were called to go!

God seems to be developing a culture of going here at Covenant these days. It is no longer enough to support missions; now the Holy Spirit is calling us to go out into the entire world.

We’ve had over 30 people go to the Dominican Republic this summer, and we’ve got another large group going in August. We sent people from Covenant to Europe, Africa, South America, Asia, and other parts of North America this year, plus there are hundreds of people now serving at what has become known as the Redemption Zone in West Greenville.

Personally, I am excited about this new “Culture of Go.” I believe we are becoming the kind of church Jesus can really be proud of as we mirror His commission in the Book of Acts:

Acts 1:8 (NLT) “But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

How about you? Will you be the next to GO?

I wonder, if you have been going recently, would you offer some encouragement to others who are thinking about it? Leave your comments below.

See you this weekend.
Branson

Evidently, Texans move a lot. And, if you move outside of Texas, it’s evidently considered an international move.

One parent told us about moving nine times before she graduated from high school. Her dad was an officer in the military, and moving was simply a part of life. When I needled her with questions like, “Wasn’t that tough? Did you rebel? How did you survive?” She responded from a direction I didn’t expect. She simply said, “I came from a great family.” She went on to share how the strong Christian environment of her family always went with her even when everything else felt like it was being left behind in another state or country. In the midst of a transient life, this girl grew in a Christian faith that was surrounded by parents who kept God at the center of what they did. She shared this story the night before she and her family were deployed to a military base in California for her husband’s next assignment. Yep, she married a soldier, too.

That mom scratched an itch that I had been trying to reach for the last 20 years. Parents were, are, and always will be the greatest influence in a child’s life, and no ministry program will ever have the power to supersede that influence. My wife Marianne, daughter Madeline (11) and son Hayden (9) are excited about our FAMILY moving to Greenville again. They know that family dinners will continue to be about highs, lows, and God sightings. They are looking forward to more day trips (We call them, “Rumpuses.”) on the weekends. They are counting on our prayers with them every night and our encouragements in the morning. As a husband and a dad, I am looking forward to our family coming alongside yours and discovering what God has in store for all of our families in the days to come.

…
Joe

Please welcome Joe Cox to our staff at Covenant. Joe is well known in Greenville, having served St. James for 10 years in student ministry. His role will be the Executive Director of Ministry, and he will serve immediately as the Director of Next Generation Ministries. In this role, he will partner with the Pastor of Next Gen, Bob Wynn, and together, oversee all aspects of Preschool, Children’s, Student, College and Twenty Something ministry. Joe is very excited about joining our staff team, and pens this week’s article.

First, a number of our leaders have experienced a real boost in confidence. After all, once I explained how diligent we are in testing the character of our potential leadership core, the men and women on those leadership teams have been blessed to know that their fellow brothers and sisters in the church think of them as respectable, authentic, self-controlled, financially responsible and spiritually sound. I’ve had a number of leaders speak to me privately and admit that they were blown away to have been initially asked to lead, now that they understood the process. Of course, it makes sense. Paul wrote: Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus. 1 Tim. 3:13 (NIV) The word I’ve heard over and over these past two weeks is “humbled” to serve.

Second, a number of people have felt convicted. Paul doesn’t mess around with his words in stating that leadership is based on character. One woman asked me after the message the first week, “What if I held my palms out during your whole prayer at the end of the service telling the Lord I needed help in every area you mentioned?” I told her it meant that she was honest! A chapter that starts by saying a leader must be “above reproach” is intimidating. None of us are there, but we do want “above reproach” to be our goal.

Third, I’ve had people share names with me of Covenant members that they think would make excellent leaders in our church. One of the numerous criteria I mentioned was that a particular person has gained your respect, and you would trust that person with your own affairs. Thus, you would be honored to have him/her manage the resources and ministries of the church.

That last one got me thinking.

I wonder if you know people you might suggest as potential leaders here at Covenant. You’ve watched them. They exemplify what it means to be a Christian leader in their walk with Jesus Christ, their home and professional life and their habits and personal life. It’s a big church…it would be easy to overlook some great people. I welcome you to send me those names. Our Lay Leadership Team (nominating team) is always looking for great people to lead us. Just email me at bransons@connect2covenant.com.

See you this weekend,

Branson

What a great first experience! A team of twenty-six just returned from launching an international medical missions ministry, serving Jesus in our partnership neighborhood of Barrio George, in La Romana, Dominican Republic. The stories of how God moved in and through this team are still unfolding. Check out the “GO” blog to read about the team’s experiences.

As this team begins to debrief by asking themselves the questions, “Now what?” and “What are my next steps of faith?”, I am beginning to process and pray about questions of my own: How’d it all happen? How in the world did this team ‘pull off’ such a successful start-up ministry?

Here is some of what I’m learning:

1. It starts with vision and leadership teams. These teams unrelentingly remind us that Covenant Church has been given a clear mandate by the Lord to intentionally follow Jesus. Jesus has led us to focus the majority of our international mission work in Barrio George. Branson, the staff, Seedcasters and Mission Advisory teams have all been relentlessly driving this focused vision.

2. It’s okay to dream. Back in February of 2009, someone asked, “What would it look like if the medical community from Covenant mobilized in a unified effort in the DR?” That dream must have been aligned with God’s will, because several people felt led to get behind it, and a leadership team was effortlessly birthed.

3. Prudence, prayer, planning and preparation pay off. I had the privilege to be a part of the scouting team that traveled to the DR back in November of 2009 to check out the logistics of this start-up medical ministry. This small group of medical professionals, together with local ministry leaders, prayed for the Spirit’s direction. Once they received affirmation, the planning and preparation began. The ministry leaders began to plan and prepare for this initial trip seven months in advance. A ministry this complicated and intentional cannot be rushed. I am reminded of Matt 10:16, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”

4. Unashamedly invite others into ministry based on gifts, abilities and passions. The question the leadership team was asking the most was, “Who will go?” Then, they went out and intentionally invited people based on gifting, passion and experience. Twenty six people enthusiastically responded!

5. Equipping and team building are paramount. As a ministry, we’ve been learning more and more about the balance between equipping, training and team-building. I believe we’ve found the “sweet spot”. The last few teams that have traveled to the DR have gone as amazingly cohesive units – the body of Christ in action – with Christ as the head, of course.

6. “Going” is the easy part. I confess that I used to be a ‘missions snob.’ You would hear me say things like “Just go!” or “Why does it have to be so involved?” I am praising God for teaching me that intentionally following Jesus doesn’t always mean, “just go.” It’s more about following the ministry model that Jesus exemplifies. Jesus NEVER asks us to be reckless.

So, now what? I am anxiously anticipating where Jesus asks Covenant to “go” next. I am thankful for His clarity of vision for Covenant Church. I appreciate the leadership of this church, who partner with the Lord to drive His vision. I value the joy that comes as a result of following not only Jesus’ message, but His method as well.

Learning from the King,
Walter Strathy, Director of Outreach

If you had asked me nine years ago if I would ever move to Greenville, I would have said, “You’re crazy!” At that point, I was living in Raleigh and thoroughly entrenched in a community I had been a part of for fifteen years. Over the next year, however, God intentionally intervened and guided me to join His work in and through Covenant. Thank you, Lord!

Now, at the time you’re reading this, my eight (8) year journey with you as Covenant’s Executive Director has come to a close. He has once again interrupted my comfort zone, and Mary Lou and I are headed to Waco, Texas to complete a year-long discipleship training experience. Jesus obviously knows something that I don’t—so what’s new?

As I look back on the past eight years, I can’t imagine having not come to Greenville. What an enormous loss it would have been for me if I had not followed Jesus to the corner of Corey and Firetower Rd. So, as I look in the rear view mirror, let me say thanks to a variety of people who made a world of difference.

First, let me say thanks to David Brownlee and Branson. I have enjoyed serving under each of these gifted pastors. They both empowered me through trust and grace which fueled my motivation. It’s truly a powerful thing when ministry leaders create opportunities and space for disciples to leverage their God-given skills and spiritual gifts.

Second, let me say thanks again to an incredible staff that has been assembled at Covenant. In this past month I have sought to say thanks on many occasions and in many ways, but I can’t say it enough. These folks—as well as others before them—are truly committed to Jesus’ work in this community as well as their own lives. I am confident they will carry on effectively without me and invest their lives in others as Paul described to Timothy (2 Tim 2:2).

Next, I am grateful to numerous unpaid servants in this church who invest their heart, soul and resources to accelerate Jesus’ kingdom in and beyond the walls of the church. These leaders are so gifted, so willing, so faithful and so easy to work with. Trust me—I have worked in multiple churches, and Covenant is blessed. So was I as I sought to rally our leaders together to discern and obey God’s best. Leaders, I challenge y’all to keep abandoning yourself to His eternal purposes.

Last, but not least, I am grateful to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, for the patient love of the Father who always welcomes me unconditionally no matter what, for the grace of Jesus who faithfully forgives me on the basis of His resurrection authority, and for the power of the Holy Spirit, which acts on Jesus’ behalf to accelerate my faith. Together, they are the only explanation for whatever success I have enjoyed.

So my prayer for you, Covenant, is the same as Paul’s for his friends at Ephesus (3:15-19): For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

With gratitude in my heart for God,
Charlie