Over the next few months, through a series of posts, I will be exploring the six essential "Covenant Affirmations" of the Evangelical Covenant Church (also known as "the ECC" or "the Covenant"). The Covenant is a Protestant Christian denomination of which my family and I are now a part and of which I am seeking to serve as a church planter. Much could be said at this point, but I'd like to use this post to make a preliminary comment on denominations and my journey to joining the Covenant before establishing the Covenant historically in the Pietist movement in my next post.

Denominations

For many American Christians, denominations are an abomination. Denominations can be viewed as the splintering of Christ's body and therefore disunity. For this reason, many churches are deliberately "non-denominational". (Here I must resist my urge to refute this misnomer, but that would require another preliminary post and I want to get to the Affirmations sooner rather than later).

There is certainly some truth to this. Many denominations form because of stubborn and sinful pride, the root of disunity. (Again, I could drift off on a tangent about racism being a significant cause in many of these cases—at least in the US, but that would be a post in itself …so, another time). In contrast, however, it is also true that in many of the various Christian traditions we glimpse an aspect of God's gracious reign that is being beautifully emphasized. God's grace is multifaceted (I Pet. 4.10), so why wouldn't his church reflect that diversity?

My own faith has been immensely enriched by the diverse expressions of Christ's body. Initially, God used the Pentecostal/Charismatic church to introduce me to the Christian faith. This tradition taught me to pursue God passionately, to believe in his miraculous power, to take Scripture seriously, and to maintain a continually awareness of the presence of the Holy Spirit in my life. This tradition made clear to me that following Jesus as his disciple required sacrifice and determination. I was taught that prayer is critical and genuinely impacts future outcomes. And I was also taught to boldly proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Next, after graduating from Bible college, I was influenced by Presbyterianism. This tradition challenged me to live in the freedom of Christ, resist all forms of legalism, and convinced me that the practices and/or liturgy of the church also serve to mold and shape our character as Christ's disciples. In this tradition, I was exposed to a healthy dose of academic biblical study, while also being taught a great deal about living out grace in a community of believers. Furthermore, it was the Presbyterians, and more specifically the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA), who opened my eyes to thinking biblically about justice, systems of oppression, and the whole mission of the church (more on this when I explore the Covenant's third affirmation).

I've also been influenced by various Baptist churches over the years. While they themselves have been a diverse group (from Full Gospel Baptists to Conservative Baptists), they have each demonstrated a deep love for the Bible, a missional impulse, and an emphasis on grace.

Similarly, over the years I have learned a great deal from Roman Catholic brothers and sisters as well as Orthodox believers. There is much to be cherished and celebrated in these traditions. Protestant Christians like myself should not prejudge these traditions and write off their contribution to the global body of Christ. They offer tremendous insights and an invaluable perspective. Their extended history and preservation of traditions gives us a window into many ancient Christian practices. Not to mention these groups are often representative of world cultures from whom Western Protestants could stand to learn more.

In all of these traditions I have found a great deal to celebrate and cherish. Without the other expressions of the body, however, I felt unsettled—as if my faith was not complete. A few times I even felt like I didn't belong. Some Christian denominations require strict adherence to a set of doctrines in order to be one of their licensed or ordained ministers. Often this list is very specific. Equally as often I found myself not in 100% agreement. Some close friends find this much less of an obstacle and reason that they are mostly in agreement or that they are not entirely settled in their disagreement. They are at peace with adherence; I never have been.

Going Covenant

This brings me to the main point of this post: "Going Covenant." In 2006, I was privileged to learn from Dr. Soong-Chan Rah in a course called "Church and Community: The Public Ministry of the Church" at Gordon-Conwell's Center for Urban Ministerial Education. Dr. Rah was the Founding and Lead Pastor of an urban, multi-ethnic church plant in Cambridge, MA (where I live) and is an ordained Covenant minister. His outlook on the church's role in the community affirmed all that I had come to believe through my varied church experience and even spurred me on to consider further how God might want to use me in Boston. He spoke highly of the Covenant as the church to which he was honored to belong. So, naturally, I wanted to know more about this denomination—an evangelical denomination that supports a holistic vision of biblical justice and the mission of the church. The more I looked into this group, its churches, missions, and ministers, the more my respect and attraction grew.

In addition to Dr. Rah, several other Covenanters of note have been influential in encouraging my curiosity. Pastor Larry Kim, who succeeded Dr. Rah in leading the Cambridge Community Fellowship Church he planted, has also been an inspiration. Likewise, early in my Covenant exploration, I had the chance to speak briefly with Dave Swaim, pastor of Highrock Church, about the denominations and his testimony was influential. It was also a thrill to learn that both authors of The Hip Hop Church pastors Efrem Smith and Phil Jackson are Covenant ministers. Their contribution to the larger engagement of hip hop culture is significant.

The first thing that struck me about the Covenant was its ability to learn from and cooperate with the diversity in the body of Christ. Dr. Rah was able to relate his Covenant experience to a diverse group of urban ministers from Pentecostals to Baptists to Presbyterians. This is precisely because the Covenant practices a philosophy of inclusiveness, embracing the best of all these traditions. In Chicago alone, the Covenant looks as different as a very traditional Swedish, high-church worship experience among a small congregation of aging white parishioners to a vibrant, eardrum-rattling hip hop worship experience among a large congregation of inner-city young adults.

Next, the Covenant's inclusiveness shines also in their theological commitments. In the posts to come, while exploring the six Covenant Affirmations, this will become even more clear. But an illustration Dave Swaim used in describing the Covenant's approach to theology serves, I believe, as a poignant summary. Rather than envisioning the theologically commitments of the church as the perimeter staked out in the grounding of a large tent, one could envision the Covenant's view as focusing on the center pole that lifts the entire tent. Instead of drawing a line where the church does not allow a minister to cross, the Covenant chooses to detail the central issues upon which its ministers much have unity and allow diversity of view within parameters. An excellent example of this is the Covenant's view of baptism. The Covenant has chosen not to splinter over the issue of baptism—whether it is biblically to be performed by immersion as adults or upon infants. The Covenant recognizes both modes of baptism as biblical and calls its ministers to perform both.

Finally, another impressive aspect of the Covenant that initially attracted me is their commitment to biblical justice, ministries of compassion, as well as evangelism. In the vast majority of American Evangelical denominations, biblical justice and ministries of compassion are viewed as optional, even superfluous endeavors. Evangelism is viewed as the sole mission of the church, and is undergirded by a dualistic view of salvation and the body. Not so with the Covenant. When I explore the third Covenant Affirmation, I will write more on the Covenant's official stance. But suffice to say, the Covenant does not bifurcate the demonstration and proclamation of the Gospel.

In my next post, I will discuss the lineage of the Covenant, its roots in Swedish Lutheranism with particular attention to its historical grounding in the Pietist movement. After that, I will detail and comment on the six Covenant Affirmations.

For more on the Covenant, visit CovChurch.org