By Erik Cave, Director of NextGen Ministries, PacNWC
Enjoy this 8 minute video interview with Sam Bodnar, the new Pastor of Student Ministries at Life Covenant Church in Helena Montana. Click on the link below to learn about Sam’s background, current passions and how we can pray for him. You will also learn five random facts about Sam that you didn’t need to know you need to know. Stay to the end for the blooper reel where we learn about Sam’s theater background.
Enjoy this 8 minute video interview with Rev. James Amadon, an ordained ECC pastor currently serving as the Executive Director of Circlewood, a non-profit organization centered on âAccelerating the Greening of Faith.”
In this interview you will learn about the mission of Circlewood and how that mission springs from the overarching story of creation, redemption and new creation in Scripture. James reminds us that as Covenanters we have a deep appreciation for asking âWhere is it written?â and he points us to the ecological story woven throughout Scripture.
I feel great hope and joy when physics, psychology, philosophy, and some cultural phenomenon all come together to corroborate a piece of theology. Take, for example, the 2nd Law of thermodynamics which states that within a closed system, over time, entropy (chaos, decay, death) increases. Everything, left to its own devices, gets worse, not better. I have a long homeownerâs list of things that are getting worse, relationships, too. My anxiety is not without reason! But the curse of the 2nd Law, this law of death, can be mitigated and even reversed. The best example of this is the earth and the sun. Our earth, left alone, would immediately succumb to the 2nd Law, but the sun, our constant source of energy, mitigates and reverses this tendency. The sun adds energy from outside the system to perpetuate life here on earth.
This 2nd Law helps illuminate this key theology in the Bible. Genesis 2:17 says: â…for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.â This death was the introduction of the law of death, the 2nd law. Revelation 22:3-5 spells it out:
âGodâs curse will no longer be on the people of that city. He and the Lamb will be seated there on their thrones, and its people will worship God and will see him face to face. Godâs name will be written on the foreheads of the people. Never again will night appear, and no one who lives there will ever need a lamp or the sun. The Lord God will be their light, and they will rule forever.â
It turns out, there will come a day when we wonât have to worry about fighting back the inevitable demise of all things because the 2nd Law itself will be done away with (Godâs curse will no longer be on the people of that city.). In fact, we wonât even need the sun anymore because all along, the sun was just a placeholder for God who himself will be our everlasting energy source from outside of the system (holy)! Look at these other verses that repeat this promise:
And the city did not need the sun or the moon. The glory of God was shining on it, and the Lamb was its light.
Revelation 21:33
You wonât need the light of the sun or the moon. I, the Lord your God, will be your eternal light and bring you honor. Your sun will never set or your moon go down. I, the Lord, will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will come to an end.
Isaiah 60:19-20
Jesus said to his followers: âYou are the light of the world.â As a follower of Christ, do you add energy? Or do you take it? There is a show on Hulu, a comedy about vampires called, What We Do In The Shadows. My favorite character is the energy vampire, and he feeds, not by drinking blood but by draining peope of their energy. He works at an office and every morning for breakfast, he goes around being long-winded, oversharing details, and in general, being unaware of himself. The people he interacts with are drained of their energy and his eyes glow from the feeding. Are you an energy vampire to those around you? Or, are you the light of the world? Is your church an energy vampire to those around it? Is your church, as a light, set on a hill, visible and adding energy to help mitigate and reverse chaos and decay?
Most fundamentally, to be followers of Christ, means to be light, to be those that add energy rather than drain. Looking around, itâs hard to deny that to be American means to be consumeristic. Whether we show up at church, a store, a school, or to a relationship, we judge by what we get, whether we were entertained, whether we liked it, whether it was agreeable to our particular sensibilities. In what spaces and situations do we appreciate being contradicted and challenged, show up to give rather than to receive? Maybe weâre supposed to be exiles, missionaries, and pilgrims, bringing light â energy â wherever we go, and now individualistic consumeristic vampires.
One more passage and encouragement I leave with you this holiday season. In Philippians 3,, Paul shares about his own journey, from being one seeking to gain energy to one who learned to connect to an everlasting energy source by dying to all that he considered to be gain. He summarizes his testimony in this way: âBut whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ⌠For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things⌠in order that I may gain Christ… that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.â
I encourage you to add energy wherever you show up. Seek to give, to bless, to encourage, to be the light that you are, even if it means dying to yourself a little bit.
Nestled in the foothills of Rainier against the calming waters of Elbow Lake, Cascades Camp and Conference Center is, in the recent words of Camp Director Rob Mohrweis, an âOasis of Safety.â This oasis of safety was exactly what 100 women needed this fall, a place to get away from the world for a bit â to say ânoâ to the chaos, news, social media, the pressing demands and burdens of Covid-life, and find sabbath. Carving out time like this is not an easy thing to do especially in a pandemic, but the Womenâs Retreat Planning team attacked the goal with enthusiasm, courage, and boat loads of prayer.
This was not going to be the usual, typical fall womenâs retreat with 400+ women, decorations, themes, skits, seminars, and all the usual bells and whistles that add so much creative texture to retreat. Because it could be cancelled at any minute and because Covid safety was top priority, something different was needed and that something became the âWomenâs Getaway.â The registrations were limited, the requirements were Covid-safe, the inside activities were restricted, and social distancing was requiredâŚyes, definitely not the usual! But, in the same words as Erik Cave said about the Thunder Retreat, we got to witness God make what seemed impossible, not only possible, but better than we could have hoped for.
What was needed was just⌠space. Room to breathe. To Get Away. Simple and necessary. The Getaway centered around Psalm 61:3 (The Message)
Youâve always given me breathing room, a place to get away from it all, A lifetime pass to your safe-house, an open invitation as your guest.
With this as our anchoring purpose, the planning team prayerfully designed a space where women could find breathing room. The program offerings were lean and simple:
Rather than four gathering sessions, three were offered, opening up more space on Saturday for sleeping in, naps, walks, long chats over coffee – whatever was needed to âgetawayâ and breathe.
Rather than major seminars and presentations, there were âConversationsâ around various topics: Telling our Story, Being a Mom in Covid Times, Anti-Racism Discipleship Pathway Book Review*, Healing Walks, Mending the Soul and Exploring Call.
Under the big white tent all were invited to âDo Drop Innâ throughout the day, to participate in creative projects: something for everyone to come and sit for a while, grab a project and head out to a bench somewhere.
We were beyond thrilled that three of our own PacNWC Clergy Women came to open Godâs word with us: Rev. Lindsay Watson, Rev. Carmen Bensink-Lewis, and Rev. Sarah Hammersborg. These women are called and gifted pastors and preachers, and they ministered to us deeply and authentically. Pastors Lindsay, Sarah, and Carmen led our weary and fatigued hearts to the feet of Jesus, reminding us that God meets us in our depletion, is our âtentâ and refuge away from it all, and is a grace-filled God whom we can cry out to when we are burnt out.
There were many miracles of provision, but one in particular needs mentioning! Andrea Drake from Emerald City Bible Fellowship was scheduled to be the Getaway worship leader, but was unable to attend due to a sudden medical emergency in her family. Our prayers followed her and we missed her dearly. Who could lead worship and be willing with just 24 hours-notice?! Dre Zabel heard the invite, and in obedience to the Spirit, gave her weekend to us at the drop of a hat. She beautifully led us in worship, using the skills of her guitar and voice to prepare our hearts. What a gift!
David writes, in Psalm 18:19, âHe brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.â Yes, God invites us to spacious places⌠God brings us to breathe and rest in him, to recenter our hearts and priorities, to remember how He delights in us. This spacious place is water for our thirsty souls. The retreat planning team worked tirelessly, dedicated months and months of preparation to provide this watering opportunity â and God be praised â it was exactly that: breathing room, a spacious place to get away from it all, come to Jesus with it all, and drink deeply from his Spirit to replenish for it all. The getaway leads us to a âgoing-toâ, as we all headed back into our arenas of life, further strengthened for the tasks at hand.
âGetawayâ was truly an âOasis of Safetyâ also thanks to the deep efforts of Cascades Staff. We are so grateful for you, Cascades Team!
Praise the Lord.
To him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
—
*As a result of this Anti-Racism Conversation at Getaway (where 1/3 of the registrants attended, revealing a deep desire for engagement with issues of race), four new âCourageous Conversationsâ have formed with a total of 19 women, who are dedicated from now until the next Retreat to monthly conversations around books and documentaries about race and faith in the U.S! When we come to Retreat next fall, we will gather all the Courageous Conversation groups to discuss our final book all together.
I just counted ten Bibles on my office bookshelf. That number doesnât include versions in the other rooms in my house or the myriad of versions available to me digitally at my fingertips. It is easy to take the accessibility of Scripture for granted. I was reminded of this recently when I listened to the inaugural episode of the Love the Cov podcast, which included an interview of C. John Weborg, lifelong Covenanter and professor emeritus of theology at North Park Theological Seminary. He reminded listeners of the earliest beginnings of the Covenant in Sweden where a growing movement of small groups (called Conventicles) popped up with members joyfully gathering around Scripture and experiencing a renewal of faith and fruitfulness. These Swedes became known as âReaders,â exemplifying what a unique experience of faith and practice this was during that time and context.
The Word of God, as our first affirmation says, is central to our spiritual formation and discipleship as well as central to our Covenant identity. In 2008 the ECC published a resource paper called, âThe Evangelical Covenant Church and the Bible,â to remind us of this historic heartbeat of the ECC as well as to ââŚrenew our commitment to the authority of God as revealed in the Scriptures. Our desire is to keep alive, strong, and always growing the flame that first burned in our forebears for the authority and power of Godâs word.â Also in 2008, a supplemental small group study guide, called Exploring Godâs Word was produced by the then named Department of Christian Formation, to guide Covenanters through that resource paper.
My purpose in this is to remind us of our critical history as well as these resources that can still be accessed at the covchurch.org website to be used in our local churches. In a time when we are feeling disoriented (and divided) by so many concerns and issues of the day, and we are hearing renewed calls towards a deeper and heartier discipleship (think Ps 1; Jer 17:7-8), I want to point us to the Word of God. Let us return to being âReaders,â which in the early days meant reading and discussing the Word regularly in community.
Important to our Covenant roots and culture is not only that we read, but how we read Scripture. We are encouraged in these resources to read. [Full stop.] We are also encouraged to read with a particular posture and appreciation. The writers summarize the Covenant approach to reading as this:
We read the BibleâŚ
âŚFaithfully
âŚCommunally
âŚRigorously
âŚCharitably
âŚHolistically
âŚwith commitments to grace, transformation, and mission.
I will not take the time here to explain each of these approaches, but encourage you to check out the paper and study guide for a deeper dive. What is described is hallmark to what it means to be Covenant and helps reconnect us to our historic roots. Importantly for today, they provide common commitments for a people who do not want to give up meeting together (Hebrews 10:25), and who want to find a shared approach to reading, discussing and growing in Godâs Word.
By Erik Cave, Director of NextGen Ministries, PacNWC
Tim Anderson is the new Associate Pastor of Worship & Youth at Creekside Covenant Church. Enjoy this 8 minute video interview where you will learn about his background, what he is passionate about and how we can be praying for him. You will also learn five interesting thing about Tim you never knew you needed to know.
By Erik Cave, Director of NextGen Ministries, PacNWC
Enjoy this 8 minute video interview with Keith Ferrin. Keith is a national speaker and a part of Creekside Covenant Church. He speaks, teaches and writes on loving and enjoying scripture. In this video you will learn about Keith’s journey in ministry, where his passion for scripture comes from, the scope of his ministry and how to connect with the opportunities he offers.
Below are links that will take you directly to his ministry offerings.
By Erik Cave, Director of NextGen Ministries, PacNWC
I freaked out a little bit during the week leading up to Thunder. I began to worry that groups would show up having forgotten about our COVID protocols. I sent an email to all of our group leaders apologizing for the hassle, and asking for them to reply confirming they are on board. The results were surprising. Several replied saying that going through the requirements was well worth it. They were overwhelmingly thankful for the opportunity to participate even though preparation was difficult.
As I reflect on Thunder I, too, am overwhelmingly thankful. I sincerely think it was one of our best retreats ever. (See Brianne Fentonâs reflection for more details) It was also very difficult to plan for. Dealing with COVID concerns, managing additional details and balancing increasing costs were just a few of the challenges our planning team faced. In the week leading up to thunder we lost 50 attendees to COVID testing, and other issues, leading to a below normal total attendance.
Thunder was far from normal, yet it is easy to be thankful when I focus on what God was doing. I am thankful that we were able to gather. I am thankful that God moved through our speaker, worship band, small group times, and one-on-one connections. I am thankful that we had fun and were safe. I am thankful for the hard work by our planning team and Cascades staff. I am thankful that I was able to see my friends and colleagues face to face as we ministered to a bunch of middle schoolers.
Thankfulness is my new normal. We are all wrestling with the reality that we are never returning to the normal we once knew. People think differently about church today. We have lost members and regular attenders. Our gatherings are challenging. Yet, God is at work in big and small ways.
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is Godâs will for you in Christ Jesus.Â
1 Thessalonians 5:18
I believe thankfulness needs to be our new normal. Paul instructs us in Thessalonians to give thanks in all circumstances. Paul knew what it was like to lead a church in trying circumstances. He also understood that giving thanks is transformational. Thankfulness turns our attention away from our trials to the One who is working through our trials. It transforms our sorrow into celebration.
Let this be an encouragement to lean into thanksgiving in our personal lives and corporate worship services. We have a lot to be thankful for! I am thankful our churches are finding ways to gather again. I am thankful that the Gospel is transforming lives. I am thankful that the church is more accessible than ever through online ministry.
Our summer camps were not normal, and we are thankful. Our Getaway for Women was not normal, and we are thankful. Our Clergy Retreat was not normal, and we are thankful. Thunder was not normal, and we are thankful. Our Sunday services are not normal, and we are thankful.Â
By Brianne Fenton, Thunder Planning Team and Minister to Sr. & Jr. High, Shoreline Covenant Church
The planning team and myself were so excited to pull together this retreat for our middle school students at Cascades Camp and Conference Center after over a year of not being able to gather for a big retreat like this. The theme was quickly picked – we decided to go to space and hear about how our great God who created the stars and galaxies also cares deeply about each of our individual middle school students. Our vision for what God was going to do at this retreat was big and exciting. But as the weekend started to draw closer, and COVID numbers started rising, Thunder 2021 at Cascades Camp started to seem more impossible than possible. Questions came up about whether or not we should move forward and then how we could move forward. With some hesitancy, and safety protocols in place, we decided to continue planning truly feeling that this retreat was going to happen. Then, last weekend I got to witness God making what almost seemed impossible, not only possible, but better than I even hoped for. I came away from this weekend feeling like these middle schoolers werenât missing out on any of the things that have made Thunder so special in the past and that we set the bar high for the future.
Hereâs a little glimpse of what went into âTo Thunder and Beyondâ:
Erik Cave and Jessica Bauml put a lot of work into getting a new registration system set up for us and things started to become real as groups started signing up. It was so great to see that leaders were excited and willing to put in the work to bring their students to this event.
The energy of the middle school students was super high during our sessions that were organized by Mark Neely. Matt Knapp made amazing space themed graphics. He and a team brought to life a great vision of making our stage look like the moon by adding awesome lighting, and hanging giant planets, and the Death Star, from the ceiling. He also came out on stage during each session with his intern, Ethan, wearing full space suits and light up shoes to hype up the crowd as âAstroâ and âNutâ.
During our big game, groups were running around non-stop looking for the missing pieces of their space ships while avoiding aliens running around trying to get them with pool noodles. The weather held out for all our various free time activities of bumper balls, archery tag, boating, making galaxy slime, and more. We figured out who were the space invaders among us, decided if we would rather spend a day on the moon or a month on the international space station, and tested our space knowledge of things both fact and fantasy.
âA Total Fiascoâ (Sam, Candace, and their teenagers Max, Echo, and Zoe Vance), was our incredibly talented worship band. They chose engaging and perfectly thematic songs, and powerfully led the voices of 200 students and leaders in worship of our God over the weekend.
Our speaker for the weekend, Mike Davis, absolutely killed it! He brought incredible energy and life to our retreat by entering with an epic rap that connected so well with the students. A student from my youth group said that Mike was the best preacher theyâd ever heard. He was engaging as he spoke by providing metaphors and illustrations that drew kids in. He drove the point home on who they are as beloved and deeply cared for creations of our incredible God.
There was contagious joy and enthusiasm felt throughout the entire weekend. Students left declaring that God cares about them, their friends, and everyone around them. God did amazing work in the hearts of our middle schoolers and Iâm excited to see how God continues to use them as they put that enthusiasm and knowledge into action in their lives beyond Thunder.
I have to give a big thanks to the team that brought the vision of this retreat to life for our middle schoolers:
To Erik Cave for gathering our team, leading us as we planned, took on new challenges, and helped groups get access to COVID tests.
To Jessica Bauml for being our registrar extraordinaire; helping leaders navigate our new system, organizing housing and setting up pods for the weekend.
To Matt Knapp for all the design elements and fun, detailed graphics that went into so many parts of our weekend.
To Mark Neely for organizing our four main sessions; booking our awesome speaker, coordinating between everyone who was part of the session, and making sure all parts of the session were thought through.
I was honored to plan so much of the fun stuff for the weekend outside of our sessions; organizing and planning our big game and other activities.
To the staff at Cascades who went above and beyond in this new role with the Thunder Retreat to make our weekend the best it could be.
To the high school work crew students who gave up their weekend to serve us at camp, thank you for all your work setting and cleaning things up, and for whacking middle schoolers with pool noodles during our big game.
To all the leaders who brought students, or even wanted to bring students and werenât able to, thank you for faithfully serving middle school students in the pacific northwest and continuously showing them how loved and cared for they are. Thank you for being willing to put in the work to make this weekend as successful as it was.
All glory to our God who created the heavens and the earth, who put the stars and moon in their place in the sky, and who intentionally and lovingly created each of us at Thunder and beyond.
Our first Covenant affirmation is Centrality of the Word of God. One way for churches to live into that important foundation is by committing to regular reading of scripture together.
The Immerse Bible Reading Experience is one way to do that. Many of our churches have engaged in this opportunity over the past few years. I can easily put you in touch with some of these churches if you want to learn more about implementing this Bible reading experience in your context.
For now, enjoy this brief testimony from my Immerse small group at Bridge Covenant Church in Salem, OR.
