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Pastor Leander Robinson is a 1973 graduate of Greenville High School. He and his wife Lois are the pastors at Covenant Warriors Christian Center in Greenville. Robinson works with The Second Chance Foundation as a counselor and is also employed part time with The Samaritan Counseling Center.

The following is a transcript of Pastor Leander Robinson’s Feb. 18 interview with Haley Mitchell Godwin from The Greenville Advocate

Haley Mitchell Godwin: Thank you Pastor Robinson for taking the time to speak with me. As I was working on a piece for this week’s paper titled “From the archives: A look back into Butler County’s past- 1972,” I came across the December 1972 feature story about the Greenville High School Basketball team placing third in a regional tournament. I see you were a member of that winning team. You are kneeled on the bottom left in the picture taken with the trophy for the 1972 write-up. Tell me a little bit about life and times in 1972 compared to today.

Pastor Leander Robinson: Things were a lot different. Life is a lot more fast-paced now that it was in the 70s. The internet and all the technology we now have, has really created a lot of changes in the world. We can get things a lot faster, and it seems like every aspect of life is “quick, fast and in a hurry.”

Haley Mitchell Godwin: Do you think that this hasty way of living is a good thing?

Pastor Leander Robinson: Not always. I think that with this more fast-paced life, we must purposely prioritize and set our own boundaries just to make it in this day and time. Since everything is quick, fast and in a hurry, you must have good discipline in your life, know your priorities and set and stick to your boundaries.

Haley Mitchell Godwin: That is some great advice that really hits home for a lot of people. Life on the go can be stressful. Personally, I am not a fan of this fast-paced life, but I have found that staying organized and structured certainly does reduce my amount of stress.

Pastor Leander Robinson: That is definitely where a lot of people’s main stress comes from. As a licensed mental health counselor, I can say that you are absolutely correct and the weight of that kind of thing grows constantly.

Haley Mitchell Godwin: Do you see any similarities between the 70s and the twenty-twenties?

Pastor Leander Robinson: Family values. Family values are still important to most, but the priority to put Jesus Christ in the center of our lives has not changed. As a matter of fact that is how I operate and have operated since 1977 when I started my life as a Christian.

Haley Mitchell Godwin: What modern day improvements have come along since the 70s?

Pastor Leander Robinson: When it comes down to it, the World Wide Web has affected life more than anything, for the good and the bad. So much growth, even in Greenville. We have a good variety of establishments here, much more than in the 70s. We can interact with people virtually now and exchange information quickly and easily and make better connections. We have things to do here now because of that.

Haley Mitchell Godwin: How do you think humanity as a whole has changed?

Pastor Leander Robinson: That is a good question. Humanity itself- I think that overall, the changes going on in the world are changing people quite a bit. I have seen a lot of changes in people. You still see some helping one another, but Covid has changed a lot in our society over the past two years, so with that people are a lot less patient in some ways. Some changes have been helpful and made things better and others have increased tension. We just have to fight for family values and see the importance of spending quality time with one another.

Haley Mitchell Godwin: We are absolutely living in unprecedented times. That’s for sure.

Pastor Leander Robinson: Oh yes, times like we have never experienced before where we have to be purposely mindful and kind and respectful to one another, because there has been so much affliction. I have never witnessed so much sickness and death around us like during the past two years. It’s affected so many, including our stressed health care and mental health care workers. They are doing a great job helping to get us through these times and I’m very thankful for them.

Haley Mitchell Godwin: I found a newspaper article on you and your wife from 2009. You’ve made a lot of accomplishments, accomplishments that have helped others might I add, do you think you’ve led a successful life thus far?

Pastor Leander Robinson: I certainly do believe I am successful because I am carrying out my God given purpose as a husband, father, pastor, mental health counselor and mentor. Being a pastor and a counselor are areas for me that I really treasure. I married my high school sweetheart Lois Hawkins, now Robinson, who is a phenomenal woman, and we will celebrate 44 years of marriage June 10. We have also been successful in raising a beautiful and accomplished daughter, LaKendria Perdue. For the past 26 years, my wife and I have team pastored a beautiful congregation of believers in Jesus Christ. We believe that “Family is Key at CWCC.” Pastoring is my calling, passion, and heartbeat. I am a finisher and I teach others to do the same.

Haley Mitchell Godwin: Tell me about what helped you get to where you are today.

Pastor Leander Robinson: One of the best decisions I ever made was to join the Air Force right after high school. The decision that made the biggest impact and was the most important, was when I gave my life to Christ in 1977. Then from there, getting married to my wonderful wife in 1978, who made a huge positive impact, and then staying in the Air Force 21 years with her by my side as I met people from all walks of life. Obtaining experience on how to interact with all sorts of people was a major constructive factor in my life.

Haley Mitchell Godwin: You mentioned mentorship. Who were and are your mentors and how does having a mentor help?

Pastor Leander Robinson: As it relates to mentors, Coach John Ogletree, my high school basketball coach, was crucial in helping to shape my self-confidence in playing basketball and dealing with tough life issues. TSgt Herman Flowers was instrumental in assisting me during my 21-year Air Force career. Apostle Dr. Kluane Spake was and is a great spiritual mentor to me and my wife. She taught us to be “Steady Eddies.” And finally, the late Pastor John Cherry had a profound influence on my spiritual growth and development when I attended his Pastors & Leaders Institute for three years. I believe having mentors in your life is crucial for achieving balanced success because they know the way and can train and guide you in the right direction. I’ve had a few mentors to help me along the way but the mentorship regarding my spiritual background has been key and is what helped us to get Covenant Warriors Christian Center operating.

Haley Mitchell Godwin Can you tell me a little bit about Covenant Warriors Christian Center?

Pastor Leander Robinson: CWCC is a family ministry. The tradition of family is the basis, and our bottom line is family. Our slogan is “Family is Key at CWCC.” We center on helping young people come up and see how they fit. We help them find their place in God’s plan and push them forward in their lives. We teach that by putting Christ first they can go through every part of life regardless of the troubles they face. We work with both married couples and singles to help them understand how important it is to value each other. We do a lot of training in the areas of marriage and family. That is what we are centered around.

Haley Mitchell Godwin: Do you have any advice for younger generations?

Pastor Leander Robinson: I do. The thing that I would say to young people: As soon as you can, try and find your purpose in life, what it is you really want to do and not base your life’s work around how much money one can make, but on what makes you happy and then make money from it. So, the biggest thing I’d say is to follow your passion. In high school I used to talk to classmates and tell them what I thought they would be good at after high school. I’d give them ideas for what they wanted to do with their lives. Lois, then my girlfriend, has always told me that I was no psychiatrist, but I have always had this thing about working with people and pointing them in the right direction, and now here I am a psychotherapist doing what I was meant to do.

Haley Mitchell Godwin: Is there anything you’d like to add?

Pastor Leander Robinson: I would like to thank you for affording me this wonderful opportunity to have this conversation with you today and I just thank you for reaching out.

Haley Mitchell Godwin: I sure enjoyed the conversation and hope we can chat again.

More information about Covenant Warriors Christian Center can be found at
https://covenantwarriorscc.com/

Contact information for CWCC:
webmaster@covenantwarriorscc.com
P. O. Box 1047
Greenville, Al 36037
Phone
(334) 371-6276

Link to 2009 article: https://www.greenvilleadvocate.com/2009/07/31/robinsons-sacrifice-for-their-marriage/