Pastor Does More Than Talk 'Racial Righteousness'

ATLANTA, GA (March 28, 2005) - Tim Rodgers admits that there are days when it's difficult being an Anglo ministering to a predominantly African American church of 40 people.

However, Rodgers says that being senior pastor of New Life Covenant Church has included many more "ups" than "downs." That speaks volumes about the love he's felt from his parishioners, as well as the passion Rodgers has for his community. As the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) pursues the deepening of its commitment to racial righteousness, the story of Rodgers, Robert and Mary Ann Owens and of New Life Covenant is a poignant case study from which to learn.

"I love being here and I think that's mutual," says Rodgers in recalling five years of ministry at New Life Covenant. "It's an unusual combination and I never would have imagined coming south. I'm a suburban guy from Minneapolis and had no connections to the south. So this wasn't on my radar screen.

"But while we're a small church (the average worship attendance is 40), it's an intense and deep-loving family," Rodgers continues. "Black, white, rich, poor - we cross a lot of boundaries and even the kids in the neighborhood have picked up on that. They call me 'dad' and they call Mary Ann 'mom' and some of our other parishioners are uncles and aunts to them. They sense that this is family in a powerful way."

A native of Circle Pines, Minnesota, Rodgers was part of the Baptist General Conference during his childhood and college years. After graduating from the University of Minnesota with a mechanical engineering degree, he attended Bethel Seminary in St. Paul for a year.

Rodgers had served on his missions committee and had a heart for mission work and had felt a need to care for the poor and advocate for justice issues. He moved to Connecticut and finished his education at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts after his wife, Andrea, accepted a position with the Centers for Disease Control on the East Coast. The family attended Trinity Covenant Church in Manchester, Connecticut, and pastor Alan Hearl was a positive mentor as Rodgers continued to discern God's call on his life.

"My social ethics class at Gordon-Conwell was most influential in intensifying my desire for racial righteousness, but there were a whole series of courses and people that impacted my development," says Rodgers.

On a Saturday night during the winter of 1999, the Rodgers family took time to pray specifically for an opportunity that would match Tim's desire for racial righteousness ministry. Opportunity arrived the next morning wearing a suit - an African American Covenant pastor from Atlanta. Robert Owens, who planted New Life Covenant in 1993, was in town for a prayer and evangelism training session and had attended morning worship services at Trinity Covenant.

Rodgers and Owens were introduced and two spent a Monday morning and afternoon driving around Connecticut as Rodgers poured out his heart to the New Life Covenant pastor. A few months later, the two were sharing ministry together with Rodgers supplementing his income with mechanical engineering work and Andrea working in Atlanta.

"I knew that God had laid a burden on his heart for racial righteousness ministry and I invited him down to Atlanta," said Owens. "I spent eight hours with him that day and we got to know each other. He had a burden that mirrored my passion - that the Kingdom of God would be built on earth as it is in Heaven. And in the process of that, that we not just have a diverse church, but that we become a diverse body, a mosaic that each brings gifts to the table and is reciprocal in nature. Tim Rodgers represented that to me in his philosophy of ministry and that's what attracted me to him."

The attraction was mutual. "Coming out of seminary, racial reconciliation was in my heart and this definitely has that emphasis to it," Rodgers recalls. "There's a desperate need for it in the church and it's a core part of who I am. And the unique way that God put me under Robert Owens and had him work with me was important. Robert did a lot of hard work to pave the way, and when I came, I was seen as a partner.

"There was a long process for my call to ministry," Rodgers continued. "But my call to Atlanta was very clear - it was like a laser beam. That has been critical when times have been tough because I know this is where I'm supposed to be."

Owens and Rodgers worked together for two and a half years until Owens assumed a position as associate superintendent of the Southeast Conference in the winter of 2002. Robert is based in Atlanta, however, and he and Mary Ann remain involved with New Life Covenant. Mary Ann currently coordinates a thriving children's ministry program that occurs Monday through Thursday afternoons at the church.

"They've been very supportive of us," Rodgers says of the Owens family. "Mary Ann is very gifted. She's unbelievable with the kids. And as the 'first lady' at an African American church, Mary Ann is aware of what my wife goes through in that role."

New Life Covenant Church, organized in 1993, is located one-half mile from the Georgia Dome on the northwest side of Atlanta. It encounters the usual urban issues, but the neighborhood has experienced improvements in recent years through ministry efforts supported by Owens and Habitat for Humanity.

Rodgers points out that many individuals have been transformed over time through the faithful efforts of the congregation. And because of the academic work as part of the afternoon children's program at New Life Covenant, the educational levels of the area's schools have been enhanced as well.

"When I am asked, 'How in the world did I get here?' I think of the day that we moved church over to the women's shelter one Sunday and I was preaching to a group of African American single mothers," Rodgers recalls. "Economics is always a challenge, both individual economics and church economics. We're always dealing with people who need loans and with others who need something else. It's always a challenge to ask myself how the Lord wants me to respond to the needs around me. But a familiarity has developed - I still see some of the women from the shelter around here - and I realize that ministry is a long process.

"You start a relationship here and there and it can take years," Rodgers continued. "But it's worth it. Mother Mattie, a 90-something-year-old woman, is one of our longest-term members. I asked her how it is to have a white pastor. She pulled out her wallet and showed me her pictures. One was of her children. The other was a picture of our family. She told me, 'I'm not going anywhere.' It's those types of experiences that give me joy in my ministry."

To learn more about the work of New Life Covenant Church, call Rodgers at 404-614-0204 or email him at timrodgers@bellsouth.net.

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