Have you ever heard the song “The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze”? It says, “He’d fly through the air with the greatest of ease, that daring young man on the flying trapeze.”
Magazine
Counting What Counts
Count and report. Count and report. My initial days as a church planter felt urgent. Not only was I full of vision, I was eager to prove that the vision my co-pastor husband and I shared was a vision that could reach a lot of people.
The Word on the Street
Phil and Rici Skei did not set out to plant a church. Twelve years ago Phil was working for Intervarsity Christian Fellowship as the executive director of their Fresno Institute for Urban Leadership.
In desperate times, the e-word needs a remix
Two years ago, I wrote in this space about the erosion of meaning that has befallen the term “evangelical.” For a variety of reasons, I was ready to toss it out. I believed then, as I do now, the term has become relational kryptonite. Its negative connotations make true evangelism all but impossible.
Can “Evangelical” Be Saved?
More than a century ago, a small group of Swedish immigrants and children of immigrants in my hometown of Attleboro, Massachusetts, decided to build a church. They wanted a place to worship together. And they want to sing the songs they knew, in a language they understood, among people they could love and trust. So they built a home where their little family of God’s friends could flourish.
Barred Justice
Dominique Gilliard is the director of racial righteousness and reconciliation for the Covenant, and author of Rethinking Incarceration: Advocating for Justice That Restores (IVP Books, 2018), which has received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. We asked him what the church can do to address mass incarceration and how we need to rethink our legal system.
Addiction & the Church
As an alcoholic in recovery, I occasionally have to deal with painful reminders of my past. It’s part of the deal. You go into recovery, and it’s really hard, and sometimes you have to pay your dues.
Faithful Farewell
This summer Gary Walter will retire from his role as the ninth president of the Evangelical Covenant Church. Recently the Companion’s Ed Gilbreath asked him about his time in office and what he sees ahead for the denomination.
Church Spotlight: Incarnational Ministry
Before he even moved into the area, Darryl Answer joined the Ivanhoe neighborhood association in Kansas City, Missouri. He wanted to get to know the community where he and his wife, Stephanie, were planning to start a church.
Mission Musings: From the Finance Team
A recent meeting with the Finance Committee of the Executive Board served to remind me of the privilege we experience daily in serving the ECC. Each committee member, bringing remarkable and varied gifts in real estate, finance, business ownership, and entrepreneurship, commented on their own personal connection to our work.
Five Minutes with Ed Delgado: Educating Latino Students Far and Near
In 1989 CHET was started with an endowment from First Covenant Church of Los Angeles. We continue to be supported by that endowment, as well as donations, legacy gifts, and student tuition. Today we offer programs ranging from pre-ministerial classes to a bachelor’s degree in Christian ministry. Our students come from seventeen countries, and in the past thirty years we have graduated more than 10,000 students from our programs!
Exhibit A: Evangelicals
About ten years ago, I was in Washington DC with a group of Christian leaders discussing the intersection of evangelical faith and US foreign policy on Israel/Palestine. After a dinner with some lawmakers at the Capitol building, we took a short bus ride back to the hotel. […]