Pastoral Notes for Sunday, June 9, 2024

Dear Cornerstone Family,

One of the many joys of being a minister at Cornerstone Presbyterian Church is having the chance to work with young men and women who have interest in pursuing ministry vocationally. Though everyone’s story in being called to ministry is different, it is often true that interest in vocational ministry grows over time as one begins to exercise spiritual gifts and serves in the church.

In order to help assess a call to and aptitude for ministry, Cornerstone developed an internship program early on. The Cornerstone internship program is designed as a training ground for the work of ministry. Internship training includes but is not limited to theological, ecclesiological, and practical on-the-job ministry training. Over the course of a year or more, the intern will read, write, discuss, and be involved in practical ministry in order to test their head (intellectual), heart (spiritual), and hands (practical) in the work of ministry.

Over the nearly 13 years of Cornerstone’s existence, the Lord has blessed Cornerstone with ten interns. Currently, we have former interns serving as either pastors, counselors, or lay church workers in Oregon, California, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee.

Two of our interns, Mr. Ethan Vroom and Mr. Tucker Alexander, recently drew their ministry at Cornerstone to a close. Both men are headed to seminary in order to pursue full time vocational training for the pastorate.

Mr. Ethan Vroom is a New College Franklin graduate originally from Vancouver, BC. He became a member at Cornerstone in 2020. He came on staff as a youth intern in 2021. He continued to serve in youth ministry but increased his role at the church as a pastoral assistant following graduation from NCF in 2023. Ethan has been accepted to Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, NC. He will be departing later this month to begin work on summer Greek.

Mr. Tucker Alexander is a graduate from Reformation Bible College and a native of Franklin. Tucker became a member of Cornerstone in 2022 and served as a general pastoral intern this past year. He has been accepted to Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, MS. He departed last week to begin settling into life in Jackson, find gainful employment, and prepare for summer Greek.

We are very grateful for the growth we’ve seen in the lives of these two young men while serving as interns. Please join us in praying for Ethan and Tucker as they continue to have their call to ministry assessed in the next season of ministry preparation.

Your servant,

 
 
 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, June 2, 2024

Dear Cornerstone Family,

You made it. You survived the blitzkrieg of May! I know, it was touch and go there for a bit, but it’s June now and you’re still clothed and in your right mind. Let’s call that a win.

The pool is (finally) open. The fishing pole is in the back of the truck. The soon-in-coming beach vacation is circled on the calendar. You’re settling into a schools-out-for-summer state of mind.  

But before you dive headfirst into summer, may I offer a caution? Summer is an opportune time to slow down, spend quality time with family, and enjoy some R&R. At the same time, summer is an easy time to lose our way spiritually. Our Bible reading takes a backseat to beach reading. Our church attendance is replaced by pool time. Generally, we have a tendency to ease up on the accelerator spiritually speaking. If I boiled it all down, the temptation to live for self is stronger during summer than at any other point in the year.  

It is true; this temptation is always present, lurking underneath each moment of every day. But there are certain times—like summer vacation—that are literally designed for us, so to speak. Think about it. Why do we go on vacation? We go for our own rest and enjoyment. In fact, our friends actually tell you, “Go enjoy yourself.” When we say that, we mean, “Go have a good time,” and that’s right in so far as it goes. But it’s easy for our sinful hearts to hear “Enjoy yourself” and slip into “Live for self” mode. Ironically, when we do this, we cut the legs out of true rest and enjoyment. The pleasure we gain when living for self is shallow and fleeting. It leaves us disappointed and discontent.

Truth is, God has not designed us to enjoy ourselves by living for self. This is where we go wrong. We go on vacation, and we try to rest like the rest of the world. If we’re honest, many of us “rest” from our Christian commitments on vacation. It’s crazy, but we go on vacation to rest, and we walk away from the Lord of rest! Not surprisingly, our vacations end up restless. We wind up needing vacations from our vacations (!) because we neglected the true rest our souls need.

With all this in mind, I want to challenge you to commit to move through summer differently this year. By all means, keep catching those lightning bugs and sipping that sweet tea on the back porch. Enjoy the good things God designed summer for. But as you do, enjoy the Lord of the summer most of all. If you do that, you might just have the best summer yet.

Your servant,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, May 26, 2024

For the Pastoral Notes today, I’ve asked our Children’s Coordinator, Meredith Suits, to update us on the work of the children’s ministry this past semester.

Dear Cornerstone Family,

Amidst all the graduations and end-of-year celebrations in this busy month of May, the children’s ministry also celebrated the end of another school year. We’ve enjoyed several months of Sunday School and Midweek classes and have so much to report and so many volunteers to thank.

In August, we began our Sunday School year in new classrooms on the second floor. Our preschoolers, led by Joe and Joy Marlo and Faith Crampton, explored the Old Testament, learned several songs, and memorized Psalm 1. Watching them recite this chapter with hand motions is surely one of the most precious things you will see.

Our kindergarteners, 1st graders, and 2nd graders began The Biggest Story, a new curriculum based on the corresponding Bible storybook by Kevin DeYoung. Lisa Fielder and Colleen McGarry focused on the Old Testament stories in this curriculum with their kindergarten class, and Alli Faulk and Carl Ware led the 1st and 2nd graders through most of the New Testament stories. If you’ve walked through these classrooms on the second floor, you’ve seen some of the incredible artwork that goes with these stories and the curriculum you’ve likely heard in passing all the laughter and joy that these teachers encourage in their kids. It is great fun to watch these teachers love their students so well.

In the 3rd and 4th grade, Matt O’Roark and Sean Kelley recently finished a unit on worship—who and why we worship, the Lord’s prayer, and elements of worship. We’re so thankful for this inquisitive group of kids and the leadership of Matt and Sean. Similarly, our 5th and 6th graders were engaged in lots of great conversations about the New City Catechism with Mike and Sabrina Brewer and Katie Ewing. This class met at The Corner House throughout the year and was one of the first groups to use our new building regularly, which was a fun change for our oldest children.

Our midweek programming in the fall and spring was the first time we used a rotational learning curriculum in which the same Bible story or theme was the focus for several weeks in a row. Jessica Michaud and Alli Faulk wrote the entire curriculum for the fall over the Good Samaritan (Luke 10) and the parables of the lost sheep and lost coin (Luke 15). Nic and Kayce Lane, Joanie Pittman, and Jen Westerbeek rotated to a different class each week, teaching lessons about these stories and reinforcing important Bible truths through art, acting, science, and history. Jessica also wrote the entire spring curriculum for our Midweek sessions about the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Daniel 3). Oh, and Jessica led our kids in a wonderful Advent Children’s Choir concert in December. I think it’s safe to say Jessica has spent most of this year sharing her many talents with our children’s ministry, and we are truly thankful!

I would also like to thank our Midweek assistants: Rebecca Hassee, Karen Koellein, Mary Lynn Giles, Ronda Laventure, and Rachel Taggart. They helped keep all our midweek activities running smoothly. There were many more of you who stepped in to sub for our Sunday School and Midweek classes and who provided much-needed support to our children and parents—we so appreciate you. Any time you can be involved in the children’s ministry here at Cornerstone, you are doing important, kingdom-building work and preparing the next generation of the church to love and serve God.

Please find these volunteers today or in the coming weeks and encourage them in the work they have done. Not only do we have a wealth of talents in our Cornerstone body, but we have talented people who hear the call to serve and love our children and answer it with humility, commitment, and joy.

We are looking forward to VBS and summer Sunday School. Stay tuned for more updates about the work God is doing through our volunteers and through you as you pray for us.

Sincerely,

Meredith Suits

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, May 19, 2024

Dear Cornerstone Family,

Our vision is to “Glorify God in the gospel together as disciples who make disciples.” Notice that last phrase—disciples who make disciples. We aspire to be a church committed to raising up disciple making disciples. We aim to train you, God’s beloved people, in the joyful discipline of sharing the gospel with others, so that the beautiful grace of salvation might extend from our neighborhoods to the nations.

Toward that end, this past year we’ve offered classes like Gospel 101 and Christianity Explored. These courses and others like them are a training ground for learning the basics of sharing the faith. As those who have taken these courses can testify, joining together in the work of making disciples builds in the needed encouragement and accountability to stay on mission for Christ in the world.

Speaking of staying on mission, we have a unique opportunity to be salt and light to our community. Through the ministry of Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF), we have been invited to start an after- school Good News Club at Liberty Elementary School. Your Missions Committee in relationship with Suzanne Farris, a member at Cornerstone, have been prayerfully considering partnering with CEF to do this, and there are several interested volunteers already in our midst. The teacher of a couple of our own Cornerstone children has enthusiastically agreed to sponsor the club! Now, it’s time to put together a team to be ready, Lord willing, to start a club in the fall.

If God is moving your heart to serve the children and families of our community through sharing the good news of the gospel and you’d like to know more about this new ministry (there are many ministry roles, very much like VBS), you’re invited to attend an informational meeting on Tuesday, June 4 at 6:30 p.m. at the Corner House. Young people (14 and older) are welcome, as are those that want to support this ministry in prayer.

If you can’t make the June 4 meeting but want to know more, please contact Suzanne Farris at suzfarris@gmail.com. She would love to hear from you! In responding to this invitation to serve, you could be an answer to many prayers and a gospel witness to the least of these (Matthew 19:14, 25:40) in our beloved city of Franklin. Please prayerfully consider what role you might play in this important gospel opportunity.

Your servant,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, May 12, 2024

Dear Cornerstone Family,

We are thrilled to welcome our dear brother and friend, Rev. Ben Griffith, back to the Cornerstone pulpit. Ben was born and raised in the hub city, Hattiesburg, MS, and is a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi. Ben attended seminary at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, MS, and served at First Presbyterian Church in Hattiesburg, MS, from 2008 to 2019. That same year Ben pioneered his way to Tennessee accepting a call to be an Assistant Pastor with us at Cornerstone Presbyterian Church. Then, in 2023, Ben accepted a call to become the next Reformed University Fellowship Minister at Samford University in Birmingham, AL, where he has just finished his first year on campus.

Ben and his dear wife, Rebecca, and their three children Margaret, Owen, and Libby are some of the best people you’ll ever meet. They were a tremendous blessing to our fellowship from 2019-2023. It’s with great joy that we welcome them “home” to Franklin and Cornerstone today.

RUF is the campus ministry of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). For the last fifty years, the ministry of RUF has reached students from all walks of life, sharing with them the good news of the gospel and equipping them to serve Christ in the church and the world. Today, there are more than 150 RUF’s nationwide staffed by over 400 campus ministers, interns, and staff. It’s one of the fastest growing and most influential outreach ministries of the PCA.

Since our founding, Cornerstone has generously supported the ministry of RUF. Below you will see a list of the RUF ministries we currently support.

Rev. Chase Daws – Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN
Rev. Ben Griffith – Samford University in Birmingham, AL
Rev. James Jardin – Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, KY
Rev. Will Cote – Austin Peay University in Clarksville, TN
Rev. Lee Leadbetter – University of Tennessee in Knoxville, TN
Rev. Weston Duke – Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, TN Rev. Ryan Angel – Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, TN

In addition to preaching in both services, Ben will be giving an update on the ministry of Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) at Samford University in the chapel during the Sunday School hour. Please join us!

Your servant,