The Steilacoom Cafe
If you are a world racer or world race alumni, one word you hear a lot about is Covenant . You hear it at training camp. You hear it at debriefs. You hear it from the mouths of men such as Seth Barnes, Andrew Shearmen or Michael Hindes. I remember hearing this word for the first time. Part of me yearned for such a thing and another part of me was scared to death - scared I might be rejected or that living in covenant would allow me to see how messed up I really was. If there is one thing I learned about a lot on the world race it was relationship. Intimacy thrives under conflict and we had plenty of it. I mean, living with the same people day in and day out isn't easy at all! Especially when you're going from place to place, ministry to ministry and in the midst of it all, being broken beyond belief. Oh, and lets not forget trying to figure out who you are or what your roll is on the race, or even scarier, in life. 
What I have learned is that nothing can be walked out alone. I mean, sometimes we need to figure out our crap one on one with the Lord, but knowing you have people to walk it out with is the one of the most comforting things in the world. There is nothing more painful than loneliness. I think that is why the Lord has such a heart for the widow and the orphan. He wants to comfort them and allow them to see that He has established covenant with them. It's a covenant that breaks all law and allows dreams to be born again. These Spiritual fathers and mothers have placed themselves in the light of vulnerability to breathe life into us and encourage us in finding who we are. They are encouraging us to dream... and dream big.
For years I have had many dreams. Some have happened, and some have died. I have mourned and laughed at the things that I have walked out. When I first came onto the race I was a mess. I knew nothing about covenant or relationship, but I saw something in these Godly men (men like, Seth Barnes, Andrew Shearman & Gary Black) that made my heart come alive. I saw that they were living their dreams, and not only that, but they were living them fully alive! I saw that it really cost them everything to run and follow after what the Lord had called them to do. The mystery was in the risks they had taken and the faith they had in their dreams. They had been broken, beaten, and had died to their own expectations only for the Lord to take over and birth life in them. Nothing can spread the gospel more than someone living it and I saw these men living it right before my eyes. They were walking together and living their dreams
About a month ago they walked with me through one of the toughest losses in my life, the death of my Mother. They spoke life and love over me and encouraged me to feel and to mourn. They encouraged me to find life in death. Months before my mother had passed I had set a goal to begin the journey on my dream to record my first album. After she had passed I almost let the dream fade, then one morning I felt the Lord urging me to trust him with my dream and to continue to walk it out.
I recorded my first album with the help of Chuck Day, My beautiful wife Jenny and Kim Daniels. I am risking and believing it will touch people and that this dream can become a reality. I am living the mystery and walking it out with a ton of mistakes, but regretting nothing. Crazy thing is, it took incredible men and women believing in me and walking out life in covenant with me for me to finally grasp the beauty in risk; the beauty in covenant.
Go take a listen to a piece of my heart and let me know if it touches you.Just go to I am also on facebook or email me at chrisjtelfer@yahoo.com
Thanks to all that have believed in me and are partnering with me in this dream.
World Race alumni,
Chris Telfer
