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Only Christ is King and Head of the Church!  He is the corner stone, and the foundation of His Church is made up of the Apostles and Prophets of old (Ephesians 2:20).  These offices are extraordinary and unrepeatable, but they are not all the government which Christ has established.  In addition, through His inspired Apostles, He directed that the ordinary offices of Elder and Deacon should continue in the life of His Church (Philippians 1:1).

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Elders come in two types: Teaching Elders and Ruling Elders.  Teaching Elders are commonly called Ministers or Pastors, and they primarily provide for the preaching and teaching need within a local congregation (Ephesians 4:11).  Ruling Elders are commonly called simply by the shorthand of Elders, and they shepherd the flock, caring for the congregation, and watching over her spiritual needs (Acts 20:28).  Together the Teaching and Ruling Elders make up the Session, which is charged with oversight of the ministry of the Word and prayer in the church.  In other words, the elders are called and qualified by God to care for the spiritual needs of the church. At CPC the Session normally meets on the second Thursday of each month and additionally as needed.

 

All Elders must be selected by the congregation from those so gifted by Christ (Titus 1:5-9).  The Teaching Elder (Senior Pastor) of this Church was elected by the congregation in November 2008 to serve an open-ended term on the Session, and the Tennessee Valley Presbytery approved and installed him in August 2009.  The second Teaching Elder (Associate Pastor John Blevins) of this Church was elected by the congregation in July 2015 to serve an open-ended term on the Session, and the Tennessee Valley Presbytery approved and installed him in November 2015. In 2020/2021, Covenant PCA began the efforts to plant a daughter church in the Powell area of Knox County, with Pastor Blevins serving as the pastor of this church-planting effort. Thus, in mid-2022, a third TE (Associate Pastor), Sean Morris, was elected to serve an open-ended term on the Session, and was installed by the Tennessee Valley Presbytery in late June 2022. 

 

The Ruling Elders of this church are chosen from qualified male members of the church, elected by the congregation, and ordained and installed by the Session.  Elder Emeritus is an honorary status conferred on sitting members of Session at their request, reducing their required workload.  The Teaching Elder (Senior Pastor) serves as the Moderator of the Session, and the Session elects its own clerk and committees.

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TE Rev. John Blevins III

RE Dr. Mark A. Buckner

RE Mr. P. Bradley Clapp

RE Mr. Joel Crook

RE Mr. Brad Isbell
RE Mr. Allyn Lay

TE Rev. Sean Morris

RE Mr. Kurt Schmidt

TE Dr. C. N. Willborn, Moderator