Finding the Grace Gates
April 1, 1999
A Leadership Interview
The sanctuary is packed. Ushers wedge latecomers into the few empty seats scattered across the long, low room. When those seats are full, they open clattering doors to overflow rooms on the sides. There's no holy hush in this place. Even the quiet moments are accompanied by electronic instruments and punctuated by whispers.
At times the service is more like the Promise Keepers rallies that have brought Joseph Garlington to prominence (he led worship at the mammoth 1998 Stand in the Gap event in Washington, D.C.).
The congregation cheers as people approach the altar area to signify their commitment to Christ, and (amazingly) they cheered just as enthusiastically when it was time to pass the offering baskets ("It's a privilege to give!"). But throughout was a sense that something holy—sometimes exuberant, sometimes tender, always spontaneous—something holy is happening here.
Welcome to Covenant Church of Pittsburgh, where Garlington is pastor and, as he puts it, "lead worshiper." He guides worshipers through a seamless mix of praying and singing, old songs and new sounds. It's a style that draws on his eclectic background.
His congregation is multi-racial—60 percent African-American—and so is the staff. Over the heads of this gathering are colorful flags from many nations, banners festooned with the names of Jesus, and signs bearing the word and definition of Garlington's present emphasis in worship—"repristinate."
The day after this service, Leadership editors Marshall Shelley and Eric Reed sat with Pastor Garlington to talk about leading people into an awareness of God's presence.
Why do you have the word "repristinate" posted around your sanctuary?
I found this concept in a book ...
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