c. Holiness tempered by humility 

God calls us to be a holy people, but He doesn’t call us to be a rigid, legalistic people. He calls us to be a people of grace, of joy, of forgiveness, of restoration, a people who recognize our own brokenness. A Christianity that seeks holiness and also allows for grace will be a Christianity that will be wonderfully attractive.

d. Passionate piety tempered by reason and theological maturity

Jonathan Edwards was pious. He loved the Lord. He was passionate for God and for His Kingdom and for the Word of God. He knew the Word of God was the foundation and he struggled with the rational winds that were blowing at that time and with the Enlightenment from England and the rest of Europe into America. Many of his writings were undertaken to counteract those influences.

He was also one of the most powerful philosophers ever to write here in America. He is acknowledged by the secular world as having one of the most powerful minds in America. He had a rational mind if there ever was one, but he also commanded a profound, complex theological understanding.

Our piety needs to be informed by reason—not dominated by reason. It needs to be reasonable and righteous. It needs to be illuminated by the Spirit of Truth so we develop a powerful theological maturity. Sometimes we’ve seen these things as being mutually exclusive and Christianity has often been debated in these two streams. We will be learning ways to unify these two streams. We must discover processes that encourage this unity. God is certainly not averse to that.

e. A supernatural outlook

These days, we have a lot of managerial Christianity, programmatic Christianity, a cultural religiosity. We may have great programs, great buildings, great facilities, sound systems, choruses and all kinds of other things, but the Bible says: “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the Lord”.

The processes of Christianity are fueled by the power of God, by the presence of the Holy Spirit, and I think we have abandoned that many times, and set working relationship aside for human efforts. Human effort is necessary, but if it’s not empowered by dependency on God, by the Spirit of God, then we might as well give right up.

f. Solidity in ethics, character; integrity, fruit of the Spirit 

Just think of all the different scandals that are making it so hard for us to make our claims with integrity. We need to insist on solid character and ethics, as manifested by the fruit of the Spirit.
"We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." 

Functional unity

Functional unity enables us to work as a corporate Body in an organized and strategic way in order to advance the interests of the kingdom of God in the region.

Covenant seeks to include all these different streams that are so beautiful and so mutually complementary and reinforcing one another. We want the Lord to teach us how to be comfortable around each other, to comfort one another, and to learn from each other and to bless each other, no matter what denomination, race, ethnicity, age or socio-economic status.

Cultivation of leadership 

Cultivation of leadership means that we want to be a community within the church where leaders are allowed to emerge. That’s what I hope some of you will become. We need leaders who will use their gifts to advance Christianity in this area. You can see a few of the opportunities for leadership by looking at the Covenant for New England "Volunteers for Revival" page here.

Cultural transformation

Cultural transformation means that ultimately we want to positively impact all areas of the culture around us. We want to leaven all sectors of society with the message of Jesus Christ.