Main Thing Podcast
This podcast encourages others to love God and people by leading them to know and follow Jesus’ truth.
Main Thing Podcast
Water with Hope: History Pt. 2
Two decades of revival, resistance, and resolve shaped our church from cautious tradition to mission-led freedom. We trace 2002’s quiet renewal, 2008’s evangelistic surge, and 2014’s inward deepening, and how bold moves, trust, and Scripture-first leadership changed our culture.
• the 2002 renewal that softened hearts and reset tone
• the 2008 three-day surge with seventy-five salvations
• anticipation and atmosphere as a sign of movement
• 2014’s inward decisions and daily-provision faith
• early leadership distrust, cultural fit, and hard battles
• choosing biblical direction over preference and control
• launching multiple services and remodeling for mission
• rebuilding reputation from legalism to freedom to minister
Main Thing Podcast with Pastor Steve, equipping you to respond and thrive in the world we live in today. Keep the main thing, the main thing has been a saying that Pastor Steve has told for decades. It means no matter what is happening around us, Jesus is what we need to have free and center in our lives. There couldn't be a more powerful reminder for us to recall in today's divisive and dark culture. From foundational truths and scripture to the hot topics of today's culture, allow this podcast to inspire and motivate you on your faith journey.
SPEAKER_03:Well, thanks for joining us for our podcast today. I wanted to let you know this is part two of a podcast where we talk about the history of Covenant Church and how we got here. So if you haven't seen uh or listened to part one yet, you might want to go back and listen to that before this part two. And today, this part two, we're talking about the role of revival and specific events in the in the history or the ministry of our church the past 20 or so years uh that led to some of where we are today. I hope you enjoy it. You know, when I was doing my notes for this, uh two of the things I thought back to uh was my my understanding, because I wasn't even here this when this happened, but the revival in early 2002, I felt like I've heard you talk about that in the day. And then I'm if I remember about 2008, we had a revival. Yes. And both of those, uh, one I was there for, one I was not, were highly significant, you know?
SPEAKER_01:They were turning points, there's no doubt. And um, you know, we often wanted to find a revival by how many people get saved. And the second one you talk about was one of those. But the first one, uh, I brought in a another friend from college, Wayne McMillan, who'd been a foreign missionary in Africa for many years, and it was true revival. Our people, it was renewal within the hearts of the people. And uh we we had a a reckoning and a coming to Jesus moment, if you will. And it really began to create uh a bit of a sweet spirit in the church that was lacking. Yeah. Um, because look, everybody's been in them. Those churches where uh there are people who are gonna run it and they're gonna destroy anybody who wants to get in their way. And there was some of that here. You know, everybody thought their opinion is what God ought to honor instead of what he wrote in his word. And uh so it began, I think the Lord began to do a work in the heart of our people during that revival. Um, that this really wasn't about them. It was about his kingdom. The second revival in 2008, we brought in evangelist Bill Britt. Uh, three-day revival had 75 people saved, and I have no idea how many people that that um got right with the Lord, if you will, uh during that weekend, but it was a phenomenal three days.
SPEAKER_03:You know, thinking back to that, my one of my memories of that particular week uh was the atmosphere in that sanctuary. Yes, you know, sometimes when you go up uh your whole life in one church in a in a very formal church, you never experienced that, right? And I remember the anticipation each day, like you knew God was gonna do something.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, yeah, you just knew he was gonna do something. The place was packed, every service, uh people saved, every service, altar full, every service. Uh you know, we in our history, uh what has happened um in historical Baptist life, we we we were the poor people. We come out of haystack revivals, prayer meetings, those kind of things. Uh it was a movement among the working class of America. Uh I tell people we're not Protestant. We didn't exist during the Reformation. We we never protested anything. Uh we're haystack Christians, uh, literally people who had prayer meetings in the hayfields. And so when you when you understand where we came from, things like raising your hands in church and shouting amen and and and the Holy Spirit moving in church was very much a part of who we were. And what happened as time progressed uh as a country, we become more affluent. The more fluent we become, uh the the the more stale we became in our worship. And so um to see God actually move uh is is unfortunately, as you say, uh something that a lot of people are not accustomed to. But in our history, that was not unusual. You know? Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:You know, another thing about the revivals with us, I think is unusual, is uh in the 23 years I've been here, we've had three revivals. Yeah. And there was one right before I I got here. But um I I feel like that 2014 one, we had just moved in this new campus and we had Dr. Reginald Calvert here. I and I felt like that was was one of our key moments because just from my vantage point back then, it should it signaled a shift of even the way we did uh ministry, I think, at that time. You know?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, Dr. Calvert's a brilliant preacher. And um while we see we didn't have many people saved that week, we didn't even have a whole lot of people at the altar. I think sometimes there are a lot of decisions made in a person's spirit, in their heart, in their mind that we never even know about. And I think that was one of those kind of weeks where there was a lot of resolutions made in people's lives. We just we just didn't have an outward expression of that.
SPEAKER_03:And I and that's what I remember uh about his preaching was it was a call for believers to take that next natural step in your walk with Christ. You know? Yes. Um, you know, personally I remember uh one of his sermons was on Elijah and the the widow whose whose jar stayed just full enough for every day, right? And I know it was something uh my wife and I were dealing with at that time that was so convicting to me that God will meet your needs, you know. And I think a lot of people, uh whether it was that sermon or a different one, you know, had a lot of conviction on those things, you know. Yes. Wonderful. So um different question here. What about some of the struggles in the last twenty what are some things we've we've had some struggles with over the past few years? You know, 25 years.
SPEAKER_01:You know, I I I want to be careful, I don't want to be um dishonoring to anyone, but the first probably the first six, seven years I was here, uh I was challenged a lot. A lot. There was a uh a very natural distrust of the pastor, and I didn't I didn't understand that um because Dr. Hyde had been here 20 years, had a marvelous ministry, um, and Dice had been here 12 years, had a great ministry. They had a guy named Sammy Morrow, who's now in uh North Louisiana, who was here three years. And Sammy had a very difficult ministry. I don't think anything wrong with Sammy. Uh him and them just didn't fit. Sometimes I'll get a phone call from a pulpit committee, want me to recommend somebody, and I'll tell them uh through all the process, when you know, make sure you can check all the boxes that are important to you. But ask yourself, do we like this person? And can this person like us? Because if you don't like each other, it doesn't matter all the other qualifications are a waste of time. Um you're gonna you're gonna be at odds with each other.
SPEAKER_03:Well, and that's that's especially important down here, right?
SPEAKER_01:Yes, especially important here. Uh because if they don't like you, they they they got nothing for you. That's just Cajun culture. And um, and so uh then Glenn Wentworth followed Sammy and stayed six and a half years. He also had a very good ministry for six and a half years, but uh in all honesty, he fought a ton of battles that kind of paved the way uh for me when I came along. There were a lot of battles I didn't have to fight because they'd already been fought. Uh now I had plenty of my own in the early years, but um but but he really took a beating for six and a half years, and I think that's probably if truth be known, he never told me this. This is my own assumption. Uh probably what got him to the point he wanted to do something else for a change.
SPEAKER_03:So going back to the you know who watered and all that, he softened some ground for you. Yes, he did. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, he I think he plowed the ground very well. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:What else? Any any uh anything that was hard but paved the way for moving forward too, you know.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, you know, in the ministry, when I talk about those early battles, um in the ministry, you go into the ministry as a pastor, and you have these naive beliefs that you're gonna go to serve a church and those people are gonna work together with you to reach people for the kingdom of God. And unfortunately, what you oftentimes find out is that that's not at all the way it is. Um you know, there's some bad pastors out there, there's no doubt. There are a lot of bad churches out there too. And when I became pastor of this church, uh, as I've told you guys before, I I didn't want this church. I I didn't see it as a church that wanted to move forward. They were very locked in their tradition and where they were. And uh the old motto, we shall not be moved, uh, we're gonna be who we are. And uh if the pastor don't fit, we'll just get another one. And um so, you know, I I reached a place in my personal leadership that I had never been willing to go, and that was being willing to die on that hill because I was uh I was old enough at the time, I had made up my mind because I don't preach because it's the only thing I can do. I preach because God called me. And uh I had made up my mind, we're we're gonna take this church in the right direction, the biblical direction, or I'm gonna go do something else myself also. So I made a commitment to dig in. Um and um first five to seven years were rough, but God honored it, and here's the key. And and I joke about it, but I didn't do anything stupid. And and and I always joke about it by saying, I got skills, it can happen any moment, you know. Um but uh, you know, uh John MacArthur was the first one I ever heard teach this that every time you do something well, you get a little change in your pocket. And um every time you do something dumb, you lose a little change. And when you get an empty pocket, it's called U-Haul territory. And uh so uh I had been pastoring long enough to understand change in, change out, you haul territory. Uh this this this was the fourth church. I had served three churches between five and seven years before I came here. So I had enough background to understand um what it oughta be as opposed to what it was. And um God honored, I think, my commitment to to help them become a biblically centered church. Uh and we're still not where we ought to be, but Lord knows where light years are here, where we used to be.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. So change change uh our direction a little bit. Tell me about some of your favorite stories over the years. You know, things that happen change lives, you know, uh people that you would never in a million years think God would use.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Um boy, I don't know, filter out the negative stories. Uh that's why I said my favorite stories. Yeah. When we when we had that first revival, one of the things uh the former pastor had done for a year, and I honestly believe he was just buying time, uh, he would have these town hall style meetings, and he was talking about going to two services and uh even had them vote and a whole nine yards. Uh so when I became pastor in November, uh I I told him, I said, Look, uh, we've already voted on two services. So Easter Sunday in 22, we went to two services. Back then it was a big deal, whether it was contemporary or traditional. So they we let them vote on everything. What hour it would be, everything. So on Easter of 22, we launched our second service and had over 700 people that morning. And that was the catalyst that propelled us forward from that day. But one of my great, great moments was when we had that first revival, I brought in a guy from Alabama named Mark Harris. Mark Harris was one of the best contemporary worship pastors in America. And uh I told him, I said, I'm bringing in a contemporary guy because you voted to do this. You need an idea of what it looks like. So just know that's what we're gonna do for the revival. Well, I was sitting on the front row as I still do to this day, because I like to be able to worship. I don't want to be watching the congregation. And I'm sitting there, and Mark is doing his thing, and and um and I'm sitting there thinking, oh dear Jesus, I'm fired. I'm fired, I'm fired. And um, at one point I glanced to my left, and we had an older couple in their 80s, Gene and Myrna Kirby. And and I looked over, and both of them had their hands in the air, praising the Lord, just as sincere. And and it was a moment that I was able to relax. I'm like, thank you, thank you, Lord.
SPEAKER_03:It's gonna be all right. This is actually gonna happen.
SPEAKER_01:It's actually gonna work, it's gonna be all right. Uh, so that was one of my moments. I I knew God was in what we were doing, that He was blessing it, you know. And um and then as the church began to grow, um, the word around town was very positive uh everywhere I went. And that was so encouraging because we had some negative reputation points um in the community. And and one of the things that happened is over the years we have been able to dispel those, I think. And that that's been great too. But yeah, there have been many wonderful positive moments. Uh you you're talking about a church that uh had to vote literally uh if you started a new Bible study class.
SPEAKER_03:I was just gonna say, I remember going before the church council on a Monday morning to tell them what I wanted to do, and then they gave me the thumbs up or thumbs down.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, yes. You were you were constrained as a minister in your leadership. And I remember getting up and telling them, guys, we voted to go to two services. We voted on a contemporary service. Here's what we got to do this week. We're gonna totally remodel the altar. Uh so when you come in next Sunday, it'd be very different, but we got to do this. I didn't ask them to vote, and nobody complained.
SPEAKER_03:Yep.
SPEAKER_01:Not one complaint. And I thought, whoa, this is great.
SPEAKER_03:Well, that's because it looked a whole lot better than it did before. Yes, it did. It helped me. I remember that old stage. It looked bad.
SPEAKER_01:And then you came as our original children's minister, and I got up and told them we're gonna be remodeling the upstairs uh to accommodate our children's ministry. And back then, oh, let's see, you came in 2003. 2002. Two, two, July 29th, 2002. Uh, we literally gutted four classrooms, made them one big room, spent about twenty thousand dollars, if I remember right, back then to create a children's worship area, and we didn't ask for a vote. Yeah, and not one soul complained. You know, and then I just got up and I'd have to look back. I forget when we went to three services, but the early service, the contemporary service, exploded overnight. And so we had to start a second one. And I remember getting up and just announcing we're gonna start another service next week, and nobody complained. And so uh the my my favorite memories are as we moved out of that old legalistic way of thinking into the freedom to do ministry. Um, you know, it was just such a blessing. And there are a lot of those moments along the way that define that.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, and I and you know, I remember uh how we all kept uh a coat and tie in our offices because when we had the when we still had the tr traditional service, we had to wear coat and tie to traditional service. Yes, you know, and I don't know if anybody ever picked up that I wore the exact same coat and tie every Sunday because that's the one I kept in my office, you know? Just keep it in the office. Yeah, yeah, yeah, every week. So that was part two of how we got here. Uh just kind of a history of covenant and uh some of the interesting things from the past. Uh so we would love for you guys to be with us in a couple weeks for part three.