November 29, 2021
Rev. Lance Davis shared his prayerful decision with the Covenant Executive Board and Board of Ordered Ministry to resign from his current role as executive minister of Ordered Ministry and Develop Leaders, effective January 31, 2022.
“The office and role of executive minister of Ordered Ministry and Develop Leaders has afforded me the amazing opportunity to connect with and support the most dedicated and competent leaders I have ever come across. Having had the privilege to be present with our pastors and chaplains in times of crisis and celebration has been a gift and an honor,” said Rev. Davis. He continued, “Serving on the Council of Superintendents, Covenant Offices Leadership Team, and the Council of Administrators has allowed me to experience the full life of our denominational movement. For these experiences, I am truly grateful to our faithful and mighty God. As I submit this letter of resignation, I do so with a very heavy heart and great concern for the Covenant in this season. I leave because I realize that our internal strife and gross division within our ecclesiastical community is deeper than arguments concerning same-sex marriage, infant baptism, and egalitarianism. I leave because I believe that I can be more effective for the Covenant as a member of the Ministerium at-large rather than trying to help it from within. My only goal was and still is to help the Covenant be who it claims to be: ‘We join God in God’s mission to see more disciples among more populations in a more caring and just world.’”
Rev. Davis was elected to his executive minister role in 2018 after more than two decades in ministry and would have completed his four-year term in August 2022. Because he recently shared his decision not to seek renomination in 2022, the process to seek and identify a new candidate for executive minister is already well underway, with the 20-member Ordered Ministry and Develop Leaders Nominating Committee working to seek and identify a new candidate to present to the Covenant Annual Meeting.
While Rev. Davis will no longer serve as executive minister of Ordered Ministry and Develop Leaders after January 31, 2022, he remains committed to the Evangelical Covenant Church and will be working alongside the Covenant to ensure a smooth transition. In these next months, Rev. Davis will provide guidance and training to aid the onboarding of the interim executive minister who will be determined before January 5, 2022. The interim executive minister will provide leadership to the Develop Leaders mission area, which includes the Ordered Ministry until a new candidate is presented for election.
Therefore, until the interim executive minister is fully oriented and equipped to lead Develop Leaders well, Rev. Davis will be available to assist the team in achieving deliverables, provide continued involvement with all institutional chaplaincy endorsement requirements, serve on ecumenical boards, and provide guidance and assistance as needed.
The Evangelical Covenant Church would like to thank Rev. Davis for his years of service and the instrumental role he played in strengthening the Covenant’s pastoral community and contributions to the mission.
