Pastoral Notes for Sunday, April 25, 2021
Dear Cornerstone Family,
Every few months, the leaders of Cornerstone will hear me say, “You don’t typically take people farther than you’re willing to go.” This phrase usually gets voiced at a point where initiative is needed in a difficult situation— when it’s clear God is calling us to step outside of our typical comfort zones, and we’re afraid to do it.
Leadership often feels this way. This is why leadership books and podcasts always talk about courage. It’s scary to stick your neck out there, take responsibility, and have others look to you for help and direction. In my experience, one always feels ill equipped for the task and thus overwhelmed by it. Who is fit for these things?
Every one of us is called to lead in one way or another. For instance, if you’re only six years old, and you have a sibling that’s three years old, you’re a leader. For good or bad (and it’s likely both!), the three-year-old is going to look to (and ‘up to’) the six-year-old for direction and help. Even though the six-year-old didn't sign up for it, she is in an informal leadership role, because she has influence over the three-year-old by virtue of age, relationship, and proximity. This informal leadership dynamic is at work around us all the time!
Let’s apply this to the church. You may not be a leader in a formal sense right now in the church. You’re not a church officer, or a team leader, or a Sunday School teacher. But you have influence. Maybe you’re a junior or senior in the youth group. How could you use your unique position to bless, encourage, and support the middle school students joining the youth group this summer? Maybe you have years of experience raising children. How could your experience benefit the younger parents wrangling their littles in the pews each week? Maybe you’re retired after decades of experience in business. How can you open up pathways with younger businessmen and women to help them live for Christ in the workplace? Ask yourself, “What stewardship has God given me, and how can I use it to influence others for God’s purposes and glory?”
Now, almost as soon as you do this, you’ll become fearful and overwhelmed. Why? Because you feel ill equipped and afraid to fail. These are the emotions that show up whenever we’re called to something that’s going to stretch us beyond where we’re comfortable. But let me challenge you: don’t give into those feelings. You feel them because you’re looking at the task and then at yourself, and you’re thinking, “There’s no way God can use me!” You’re wrong. Your feelings and thoughts are lying to you.
Instead of trusting your feelings and thoughts, let the always trustworthy voice of God rise above your fears. In other words, let the truth of the Word take up the throne of your heart, quieting your fears and strengthening your resolve to answer God’s call. Yes, you are weak and foolish. I know that. I’m right there with you! It just so happens that God uses people just like you. It just so happens that he’s chosen “what is foolish in the world to shame the wise... what is weak in the world to shame the strong” (1 Cor. 1:27). That’s right, it’s not the best and brightest he needs. No, he uses the failing and faltering assuring them that, “My grace is sufficient for you; for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
My college pastor once said to me, “Nate, don’t bury your talent” (Matthew 25:14-30). Now, go ahead and replace my name with yours: “_____, don’t bury your talent.” Together let’s commit not to squander the stewardship God has given us. Let’s refuse to leave a sad legacy of missed opportunities. Instead, let’s trust God and let the promise of his presence and power lead us to use whatever influence he’s given us for the good of the church and the glory of Christ.
Your servant,
Bulletin for Sunday, April 18, 2021
Pastoral Notes for Sunday, April 18, 2021
Dear Cornerstone Family,
As always, it was a special privilege to gather this week with the elders and deacons of Cornerstone for our monthly Leadership Meeting. I cherish the time we spend together, and I’d like to highlight a few key items of business arising out of our most recent meeting.
First, our brother, Kevin McClung, is taking a step back from active service on the diaconate. As some of you know, Kevin is taking a turn vocationally and is pursing some additional education over the next year, which will keep him very busy. We are grateful for all the ways Kevin has served Cornerstone over the last eight years, and equally grateful to extend to him a yearlong sabbatical as he devotes his time and energy in a new vocational direction.
Second, you don’t have to been around Cornerstone very long to pick up on the fact that we take raising up the next generation of church leaders seriously. In the way that Paul trained up Timothy for the ministry, we believe it’s the responsibility of pastors and church leaders to be identifying and raising up future leaders to carry the torch of the gospel to the next generation. This happens in a number of informal ways, but it happens formally through our intern program.
Currently, Mr. Noah Aikens is serving with Mr. Greg Wilbur as our Worship Intern, and, just this week, the elders voted to hire Mr. Ethan Vroom as a Pastoral Intern. Though a good portion of Ethan’s ministry training will be spent with me, the lion’s share of his ministry hours will take place in youth ministry serving alongside Mr. Taylor Thompson and Rev. Ben Griffith. Ethan is originally from Canada but landed in Franklin eighteen months ago or so to study at New College Franklin. Ethan has been actively involved in the life of Cornerstone already, and we are delighted to see him join the ranks of the Cornerstone staff. We look forward to seeing how the Lord will grow him in the days to come.
Finally, please take a moment to look over the 3rd quarter financial numbers, for we have so much to be thankful for. Through your faithful giving, the ministry of Cornerstone continues to advance!
3rd Quarter Financial Report 2021
3rd Quarter 2020/21 9 Months 2020/21
Actual Budget Difference Actual Budget Difference
Giving $287,243 $209,976 $77,267 $823,101 $696,838 $126,263
Expense $232,838 $227,837 $5,001 $729,964 $671,788 $58,176
Deficit/Surplus $54,405 -$17,861 $72,276 $93,136 $24,049 $69,086
Cash Position As of March 31, 2021
Operating Account $90,093
Building Fund Acct $34,990
Money Market $292,103
Emergency Fund $82,870
TOTAL CASH $500,056
Your servant,
Bulletin for Sunday, April 11, 2021
Pastoral Notes for Sunday, April 11, 2021
Dear Cornerstone Family,
I’m still basking in the afterglow of a fabulous Holy Week culminating in one of the most memorable Easters on record. Having sorely missed gathering together the Easter before, you could sense the excitement of being together. My only regret was not getting to speak personally with each and every one of you!
As I write these notes, I’m on a flight headed to Jackson, MS. What am I doing in Jackson, you ask? Well, I’m meeting up with a couple hundred of my closest pastor friends for a couple of days of spiritual encouragement and fellowship.
For years now, I’ve tried to take a few days off after Easter for some rest and refreshment. As spiritually encouraging as Holy Week and Easter are (and they are very encouraging!), I’m always in need of catching my breath when they are over. These few days away—listening to fellow pastors preach the gospel, sharing and praying with dear friends, enjoying late night theological discussions with more than a few laughs—help me catch my second wind.
Speaking of second wind, I’m reminded now of Josef Pieper’s groundbreaking work Leisure: The Basis of Culture. It’s been a decade at least since I first read it, but I still remember him noting that the Latin word for leisure, scola, is the root for the English word school. At the time, I found that puzzling, for we do not think of school as leisure. In fact, we think of it as the opposite of leisure—it’s work! For the ancients, however, work of a certain kind is leisure. To be schooled, for instance, requires one to stop, think, and contemplate reality and its meaning. When we slow down to reflect on life and meaning in a thoughtful way, we’re drawn down the path toward true rest and restoration.
In biblical terms, this is not unlike the purpose of the Christian Sabbath; what we sometimes call The Lord’s Day. On Sundays, Christians gather together to worship—to read the Bible, pray, sing, eat, and fellowship together. From one angle, these activities are work. That is, they require effort. But it is the kind of work that brings about or produces the true and deep rest our souls need. As we worship today, let’s give ourselves to the work of rest!
Your servant,
Bulletin for Sunday, April 4, 2021
Pastoral Notes for Sunday, April 4, 2021
Dear Cornerstone Family,
He is risen! He is risen indeed!
We are delighted to have you with us on this glorious Easter morn! Our prayer is that through today’s worship service, you will encounter by faith the risen Savior and come to know in a real and fresh way the power of his resurrection (Philippians 3:10). To that end, take a few minutes now to thumb through the worship bulletin, orienting yourself to the service. Then, come back here to meditate on the quotes below, reflecting on the significance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
“The Christian story is precisely the story of one grand miracle, the Christian assertion being that what is beyond all space and time, what is uncreated, eternal, came into nature, in human nature, descended into His own universe and rose again, bringing nature up with Him. It is precisely one great miracle. If you take that away, there is nothing specifically Christian left.”—C.S. Lewis
“The resurrection of Jesus Christ is one of the foundation stones of Christianity. It was the seal of the great work that he came on earth to do. It was the crowning proof that the ransom he paid for sinners was accepted, the atonement for sin accomplished, the head of him who had the power of death bruised, and the victory won.”—J.C. Ryle
“On the third day the friends of Christ coming at daybreak to the place found the grave empty and the stone rolled away. In varying ways they realized the new wonder; but even they hardly realized that the world had died in the night. What they were looking at was the first day of a new creation, with a new heaven and a new earth; and in a semblance of the gardener God walked again in the garden, in the cool not of the evening but of the dawn.”—G.K. Chesterton
“The resurrection means not merely that Christians have a hope for the future but that they have hope that comes from the future. The Bible’s startling message is that when Jesus rose, he brought the future kingdom of God into the present. It is not yet here fully, but it is here substantially, and Christians live an impoverished life if they do not realize what is available to them.”—Timothy Keller
“Jesus can still meet people today in all situations. Although he no longer meets us face-to-face, the reality of his presence remains through the Spirit and the Bible (see John 14-16). Jesus can meet us in every situation we face, just like he met his disciples. Throughout the rest of church history he has continued to meet with his people, sometimes by surprise, but always to keep his promises: ‘For where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am among them’ and ‘Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’”—Adrian Warnock
Now, having prepared our hearts, let’s approach the throne of grace and worship God together!
Your servant,
Bulletin for Sunday, March 28, 2021
Pastoral Notes for Sunday, March 28, 2021
Dear Cornerstone Family,
Today marks the beginning of the high holy days of the church calendar. For this year’s Holy Week, we will gather twice leading up to Easter morn. First, we will gather on Thursday evening for a Maundy Thursday Communion Service and again the next evening for a Good Friday Service. It’s long been our custom to gather on Good Friday, but for the first time in our history, we will gather on Maundy Thursday, too. Since this is something new for us, it’s worth asking, “What is the significance of Maundy Thursday?”
Over the centuries, the church has set aside time on the Thursday before Easter to reflect on events that take place at the last supper Jesus shares with His disciples. Aside from certain common themes and the celebration of communion, it is traditional during a Maundy Thursday service for the Communion Table to be stripped—that is, the removal of communion vessels and fine linens from the sanctuary to indicate the end of feasting and the coming suffering of Jesus Christ. Said differently, as Jesus’s life is being stripped away—betrayal, arrest, trial, beating and crucifixion—the Lord’s Table is stripped of the comfort and life symbolized in the communion elements. During our Maundy Thursday service this year, we will practice the stripping of the table, reminding ourselves of the sorrow and loss that marked Jesus’s final hours of life.
The word “maundy” is an abbreviated form of the Latin word mandatum from where we get the English word mandate. It refers to Jesus’s words in John 13:34, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” You’ll probably recall that previous to issuing this command, Jesus laid aside his outer garments, wrapped himself in a towel, filled a basin with water and washed his disciples’ feet. It was a job reserved for the lowest ranking bondservant, but Jesus, the Son of God, willingly became a servant to the disciples, giving them a powerful demonstration of his love and an enduring example to follow.
Moreover, in that humble act of service, Jesus prefigured what he was going to do on the very next night. For on Good Friday, Jesus would take the lowest place of all. He would absorb the wrath of His Father toward sin—our sin—on the cross. His love for us was so great that he would stand condemned on our behalf in order that we might be made righteous. He would be our servant on the cross, so we could be made the children of God. He would take our dirty, stench-of-death souls and make them clean, washed in the blood of the Lamb.
Just writing those words, my heart soars! Truly, I can’t wait to gather with you on Thursday and Friday this week in anticipation of Easter Sunday! If you haven’t already, please register for these special services. Let’s whole heartedly enter into Holy Week as we collectively offer a sacrifice of praise to God for the gift of the Savior.
Your servant,