This testimony was given at a Covenant Discipleship Weekend held in 1998 at Mount Lebanon United Methodist Church, Pittsburgh, PA.
It is both a privilege and a pleasure for me to be here this morning participating along with you in this very exciting weekend of spiritual enrichment led by Dr. David Lowes Watson.
I’ve been an active member of Mark’s Monday Morning Covenant Discipleship Group since its inception a little over two years ago, so Mark asked me if I would be willing to share with you the answer to the following question: “What’s a good Lutheran girl like me doing in the middle of a United Methodist Covenant Discipleship Group?” The answer, simply stated, is that she’s sharing in a rewarding spiritual adventure that has stretched her faith experiences and allowed her to be challenged, encouraged, and nurtured in the faith with six other brothers and sisters in Christ who have secured a very special place in her heart; and she’s having a wonderful time in the process.
Having said that, I must confess to you that that isn’t quite the way Mark posed the question to me; but I assure you that it was, in fact, the essence of the content. So now I’ll share with you very briefly the ways my life has been impacted as a result of my participation in the Monday Morning Covenant Group.
For me, the covenant that I’ve said “yes” to and agreed to before God and with my covenant family serves as a daily catalyst for me to focus on being all that I can be and doing all that I can do to reflect the love of Jesus Christ in my life. The covenant forces and challenges me to focus on a life of daily prayer, reading the word, regular worship and giving, concern for the world, and being more sensitive to the needs of others . . . being willing to go the extra mile. It also holds me accountable each week to my covenant family. The highlight for me, as a Lutheran Christian, is the opportunity I have to commune once a month with my covenant family. It’s a time for me to acknowledge along with them that, no matter how hard we may try, we’ll always fall short, but as we share this meal together, we know that it’s not in our own strength but through the resurrection power of Jesus Christ that we receive forgiveness and the strength to pick ourselves up and press on toward the goal.
For me, my covenant group is the continuation of a spiritual process that began at my baptism and will actively continue throughout this earthly existence that is called human life. For me, covenant discipleship is the active work of the Holy Spirit growing disciples for Jesus.
Being the seasoned Lutheran that I am, I’d like to leave you with these words from Martin Luther that I believe capture the essence of what we’ve come to know and experience together as a covenant family:
“This life, therefore, is not godliness but the process of becoming godly, not health but getting well, not being but becoming, not rest, but exercise. We are not now what we shall be, but we are on the way. The process is not yet finished, but it is actively going on. This is not the goal but it is the right road. At present, everything does not gleam and sparkle, but everything is being cleansed.”*
*Reuben P. Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for All God’s People (Nashville, TN: Upper Room Books). Used by permission. Judi Phelps is a staff member at Mount Lebanon United Lutheran Church, Pittsburgh, PA. Rev. Mark Hecht is pastor.
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