CLC Talks

What is women's ministry? How does discipleship happen among women? How does diversity among our women testify to the grace of God? How do events for women help jump-start discipling relationships within the church?

What is the church, and what is incumbent upon the church when considering the ordinances given to it? Why do we observe the ordinances outdoors during COVID and not on Sunday mornings? If I only attend the outdoor gatherings, what am I missing on Sunday mornings each week?

What is CLI, and how does it help us accomplish our mission as a church? What classes are being offered, and what can I expect to learn from them?

Covenant Life Church exists to display God's glory by making disciples who delight in God, live together in gospel-centered community, and work for gospel renewal in Tampa Bay and the nations. How can we hope to continue that mission when we are isolated from one another? Justin and Charlie discuss on the fiftieth episode of Covenant Life Talks.

Covenant Life Church exists to display God's glory by making disciples who...work for gospel renewal in Tampa Bay and the nations. In an answer to our prayers, CLC will adopt two new residency programs designed to equip members as missionaries and church planters. Charlie Jackson and Justin Perry discuss these residencies and how the church can be invested in them through prayer and other involvement.

Christians will often desire for intimate, one-on-one relationships where spiritual growth can occur through more open and honest confession of sin, nuanced instruction, and focused study and prayer. While these are sweet and should be pursued, limiting the definition of discipling, or disciple-making, to those relationships would seem to miss the broader levels of ways CLC and other church faithfully make disciples through the regular means of church life. Jim and Charlie discuss how everything from the weekly gathering to opportunities for one-on-one connections are used to help make disciples of Jesus Christ.

The pastoral internship at CLC is part of our larger vision to see healthy churches continued and established in the Tampa Bay area and around the world. Listen to the discussion between Justin and Charlie to learn more about this program and how you can be involved.

Biblical counseling is a day-in, day-out ministry of the elders and many members of CLC. Over the course of the next 10 years, we hope to develop a team of biblical counselors who are led by Bob Walker that will serve the needs of the church at large. Bob sits down with Justin Perry to discuss this vision, and how we are taking active steps to see it come to fruition.

What is the purpose of Members' Meetings at CLC? How do they help us exercise our congregationalism? If I cannot make it to a Members' Meeting, how can I stay up to date about them? If I have a question about content in a Members' meeting, how and to whom should I communicate those questions?

CLC is a congregationally governed church, an autonomous body of baptized believers led by its congregationally appointed elders and governed by its own members. Sound confusing? No problem. Listen to this episode so we can break it down for you a bit.

With several public holidays approaching, opportunities abound for Christians to be in the company of unchurched family members, neighbors, coworkers, and friends. Justin and Charlie discuss how meaningful prayer and action can turn traditional events and family gatherings into fertile, evangelistic soil.

How do we make disciples at Covenant LIfe (Matt. 28)? Formally and informally. Among the formal, structured ways we seek to make disciples are Community Groups and Covenant Life Institute. You can learn more about these by listening to this episode of CLC Talks.

At a recent Members' Meeting, lead pastor Justin Perry took some time to offer comments on handling disappointment. We are reposting the recording of a portion of those comments, which many of our church members in attendance that night thought were particularly helpful and encouraging. We'll also offer further thoughts on this subject with the remainder of this episode's time.

How do we best use the CG break? What kind of rest should we be pursuing? How do we take this opportunity to continue building community at CLC even while we are not attending Community Group meeting?

Recapping the SBC AM. We recently sent 8 messengers and other guests to the SBC AM to represent Covenant Life. Hear from those who were present on the nature of the convention, the experience of attending one of it's Annual Meetings, and our assessment on it's current health.

We understand that there are many reasonable circumstances under which a person/family may be pulled away from their local church. Whether it be to care for a family member, to better provide for one's household, to relocate due to military service, to find a church closer to their residence, to become a missionary in another context, to seek further education, etc., people from all walks of life may find themselves needing to transition into a new locale for a myriad of good pursuits. We want to provide extended care and counsel to these members, not only in making the decision to leave, but in helping to find the right landing place for a new local church to belong to. In this episode of Covenant Life Talks, Jim Hollenbach joins Justin Perry and Charlie Jackson to discuss right reasons versus wrong reasons to leave a church, healthy steps in seeking good counsel, biblical support for seeking wisdom within your church community, what to look for in a new church, and maintaining unity among existing church members.

Justin Perry reveals the updates to the mission statement in this episode of CLC Talks. We talk about the importance of making disciples, delighting in God, living together in gospel-centered community, and working for gospel renewal in Tampa Bay and the nations.

Part 1 of Baptism discusses what baptism is and what it's role is within the church.

Believers are recognized by the local church through the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper. Both were given to the church by Jesus both as a blessing and as a protection. How should believers then relate membership to the Lord's Supper in a local church? Justin, Bob, and Charlie discuss this question and more on this episode of CLC Talks.

Charlie asks Bob about the Christian-living-and-discipleship nature of Community Groups at Covenant Life Church. Also, listen to the second installment of this conversation for answers to some of the practical FAQs of CGs at CLC.

Send Tampa Bay is March 29-30, 2019. We're encouraging our entire church to block off those dates and engage in this outreach to our city. For more information, stay tuned to the spotlight and website/Facebook page.