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Bob Henderson is Covenant's Senior Minister
and Head of Staff
 Printable Brochure
Jerry Jernigan's
Report of
the Pastor Nominating Committee
News Release (January 20, 2008)
contact:
Chris Folk
His Education and Ministry
Robert (Bob) Henderson comes to us from Westminster
Presbyterian Church in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he
has served as senior pastor since 1993. Prior to Westminster,
Bob was associate pastor of the Eastminster Presbyterian
Church in Stone Mountain, Georgia from 1988-1993.
Bob's family moved to Winston-Salem, North Carolina
when he was twelve years old, and he graduated from Reynolds
High School in 1980. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree
with a major in economics and religion from Furman University
in 1984. In l988 he received his Masters of Divinity degree
from Princeton Theological Seminary and was ordained March
12, l989. In l996 he was awarded his Doctor of Ministry degree
from Columbia Theological Seminary. His dissertation topic was
The Priesthood of All Believers and Worship in the Reformed
Tradition.
Bob's ministry has focused on the centrality of worship, on
pastoral care, and on vibrant mission programs. He is interested
in creating and leading dynamic worship that is faithful to
Reformed Theology. He is moved by the gift of pastoral care in
times of need and vulnerability.
Bob loves to see people grow in their personal faith. He
has witnessed this particularly on mission trips and in local
mission programs. Bob has participated in three trips to Kenya
in the last three years, including one with his entire family as
part of a sabbatical in 2005. In addition, Bob has organized
mission teams to Haiti, Mexico, and Appalachia, and his
congregation initiated an innovative partnership with an
underprivileged neighborhood in Greensboro.
During his tenure at Westminster, that church has grown
from 486 members to over 2,000. Currently, nearly 1,000
attend worship each weekend during the five services offered
on two separate campuses. Bob attributes Westminster's
growth to the prayer, discernment and hard work of a staff and
congregation in their pursuit to be disciples of Christ.
Bob has served on various Presbytery committees including
the Committee on Preparation for Ministry of the Salem
Presbytery, New Church Development, Church
Re-Development, Urban Task Force, and Hunger Task Force.
His commitment to the future of the Presbyterian Church is
demonstrated by his investment of time and talents in
partnering with and mentoring seminary students. Currently
Bob is working with two seminary interns on his staff and has
four members of his church in seminary. Additionally, Bob has
consulted with over 25 Southeast regional churches on issues
of worship, mission, growth and change.
He has served on a number of housing committees in
Greensboro, including Habitat for Humanity's "More than
Houses" Steering Committee and Greensboro Community
Foundation's Housing Committee. He also serves on the
National Conference for Community and Justice Board and the
Board of the Gate City Company, a non-profit company for
low-income housing opportunities.
Bob Henderson
In His Own Words
On Worship
"Vibrant, engaging worship provides the foundation
of the
community's life together. ... this worship entails
energized
participation of the entire congregation and
features the
proclamation of God's transforming, all-embracing
love through
preaching, prayer, sacraments and music. In each of
these
gospel expressions, the church effectively
translates the
message of God in Jesus Christ for the 21st
century."
On Leadership
"My leadership style is primarily collaborative,
intentionally
positive and receptive, occasionally directive, and
always
prayerful. Fundamental to my notion of leadership is
this claim:
leadership is about mission and people - not about
the
leader. Each member of the church,
including the "leader",
has been given gifts by the Spirit of God to make
his or her own
contribution. Leaders create space for the
expression of these
gifts and thus provide increased service to the
community and
its mission. In my own leadership, my greatest sense
of
satisfaction comes from equipping others for
successful
ministry."
On Mission
"An active, hands-on passion for mission proceeds
from
both vibrant worship and deliberate cultivation of
the spiritual
life. Activities and assets that tangibly extend the
love of God
to our needy world lend a concrete expression to the
liberating
gospel of Jesus Christ. ...Church is a place where we
claim the
power of God's love at work in our own lives and so
become
emissaries of that love for others."
On The Church Today
"With the dawn of the new millennium, the church
stands
at a critical juncture in her history. Certainly I
believe the
problems plaguing our world - economic disparity,
racial
injustice, oppression, the list goes on! - find
their only true
hope in the gospel. Yet in our pluralistic world of
competing
claims, we have the unique opportunity to convey the
particularity of the Christian message through
language and
symbols that bridge the gap between the sacred and
the secular.
...The vitality of our church hinges on becoming a
community
not cloistered to keep the world at bay, but
actively engaging
and retooling the world's values in light of the cross and
resurrection."
The Henderson Family
Will, Abbie,
Bob, Suzanne and Hannah
Married 20 years to Bob, Suzanne Watts Henderson was
born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee. She
graduated from
UNC Chapel Hill in 1987 with a Bachelor of Arts
degree in
English, received her Masters of Divinity from
Princeton
Theological Seminary in 1990 and her Ph.D. in New
Testament
from Duke University in 2004. Suzanne is ordained in
the
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and currently
serves as
an assistant professor of religion at Salem College
where she
has taught for the last four years. She loves to
teach scripture
not only in the academic setting but also in the
church.
Suzanne and Bob are the proud parents of three
children.
Abbie, 15, was born April 19, 1992, in Atlanta and
is a
sophomore in high school. She plays clarinet in the
wind
ensemble, participates in soccer and cross country,
enjoys a thriving babysitting business, and is an
avid
reader.
Hannah, 12, was born in Greensboro on July 27,
1995,
and is in the 7th grade. She plays oboe (and a
little sax)
and sings with her church's youth band. Like her
sister,
Hannah plays soccer, babysits, and loves to read.
She
also swims in the summers and has a heart for
animals.
Will, 12, was also born in Greensboro on July 27,
1995.
He plays trombone at school and in his church’s
youth
band and has spent the past year helping to run the
sound booth at church. Will is a fan of all things
sports-related (especially Wake Forest and Red Sox
teams) and plays basketball, baseball, tennis, and a
bit of
golf. His favorite reading material is
Sports
Illustrated.
As a family the Hendersons enjoy skiing and
traveling, with
a highlight being a sabbatical trip in the summer of
2005 to
Kenya, Egypt, and Palestine/Israel.
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