March 31, 2020
Leadership Notes
I trust you all are doing well. If anyone has any needs, don't hesitate to contact me or the church office. It's encouraging to see that Covenant Church people are being, reasonable, rational, and responsible during these challenging times. This current situation has presented all kinds of hardships for all kinds of people. In the midst of all that, we continue to say, "God is good all the time, because all the time God is good."
I thank God every day for the people of Covenant Church. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul commends to them, "Work out your faith with fear and trembling." Through this quarantine, I am hearing from so many of you that you are doing just that. You remain focused on prayer and spending time in God's Word. And in spite of many hardships, you continue to support the ministry and mission of Covenant Church with your generosity. God is good all the time!
I love what John Piper says:
No fear, no anxiety, supernatural peace, supernatural contentment in every circumstance, whether horrible or happy: that's what God offers.
As I write, an email just came to me with news of the death of an EPC
pastor in Memphis. He had Covid-19. He was safe and responsible. I'm thinking here about some of those churches who are defying orders to quarantine. What is it about the pastors of these churches? Is it narcissism? Arrogance? Willful stubbornness? Lack of wisdom? Only God knows. What I know is it appears most of these churches fall within the fundamentalist/charismatic spectrum of Christian expression. I am thankful for the people in our church who are providing leadership remotely. Technology is a blessing. And let's all continue to use social media in positive and affirming ways.
Here's what I miss. Being together for worship. Learning together in the intimacy of small groups. Being out and about in our community, meeting new people and catching up on the lives of the members and friends of Covenant Church. I miss observing first-hand the ways we love our community. I miss hearing the stories of victory from Celebrate Recovery. I miss the way our youth had been preparing a stunning visual set to be revealed in Easter worship. There's so much more. I'm sure you could add more to my list. But we will be back together. When it's safe and reasonable. God is good all the time.
I love how Pastor Greg Laurie puts it:
We need to remember that God is greater than the coronavirus. You may know Jesus, but you will never know Him deeply until He comes to you in the midst of the storms of life. Covid-19 is a massive storm we are going through. It's better to be in a storm with Jesus than anywhere else without Him.
Finally, I thank God for our small team of tech wizards who make it possible for us to worship every Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. We are staying connected. And when it is safe to gather again for public worship, my hunch is we will have one service, at 10:00 a.m., where we can all be together. God is good all the time.
With Much Love and Affection,
Richard