Latest from the Mission Field!

Here are the latest updates from our missionaries!

Behtesda Outreach
http://www.bethesdaoutreach.org/pdf/RaisedToPraise_0812.pdf

Lucas and Theresa Bair

(the Bairs do thier updates via video!)
http://www.youtube.com/user/brazilbairs

David and Melissa Whitcher
http://www.whitchers.com/prayer_letter

James MacDonald and CJ Mahaney

Here is a conversation worth listening to between Dr. James MacDonald and CJ Mahaney.

http://blog.harvestbiblefellowship.org/?p=1138

Pyromaniacs: Thinking like a slave

This is a great blog in general and this post is worth the read...I would encourage you to take a gander at it!

Here's the link!
Pyromaniacs: Thinking like a slave

Heart To Heart Mentoring

As I studied and prepared over the past week to teach on mentoring yesterday I was struck by how often mentoring/teaching/instructing another is a theme in the Bible. I believe the mandate for older men and women to teach the younger men and women that we find in Titus 2 is at the core of the Great Commission. Matt.28:20 tells us to "teach them to observe all things that I have commanded you". After a person comes to the acceptance of Christ's sacrifice for their sins- the first step of the Great Commission- they must next be taught how to live out their salvation. This is the second part of the Great Commission.

This strikes my heart as a mom. I have a responsibility to mentor-to teach or counsel another wisely and in a trustworthy manner-my 2 daughters. By God's grace and through their faith they have come to know Jesus as their Saviour from all their sins. Now I must mentor them in living out their salvation daily in our home as well as in our community. What an awesome responsibility!

Corporately, in our church, Titus 2:3-5 is carried out through our Heart To Heart ministry. Older women paired with younger women for the purpose of mentoring us in godly living. Elizabeth Elliot points out that this involves "taking time from one's own schedule to place ourselves in anothers' schedule and walk her the way of the cross Monday through Saturday". I love that! Mentoring is to occur in the mundane, day in and day out of our living. That means I need to rubbing shoulders with another where they live in order to pattern for them and instruct them in godly patterns of living.

How are we doing with that at Cornerstone, Ladies? Whose schedule have you inserted yourself into so that you can pattern godly living for her? Who is inserting themselves into your schedule so you can observe godly living of another?

My prayer is that we will each be a godly mentor to another and have teachable spirits towards those mentoring us!

Watch Your Mouth! - Sermon Wrap up from 8/31/08 AM

Words are powerful and our tongues are hard to control. In weak moments we may speak words that can do great damage. James spends quite a bit of time focusing on the tongue in his epistle and it's been our privilege to spend the past fews weeks on this important topic.

Sunday we talked about the tongue's "Power to Direct." Just as a horse is directed by a very small bit, and a ship is guided by a small rutter, so our tongues can direct people. This is why I believe James gives the special warning to teachers. What we say as teachers can change the course of someone's life.

As a pastor/teacher I am challenged by Paul's words to Timothy;
2 Tim 4:1-21 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom:2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.(NKJ)

The Word of God MUST be the basis of teaching in the local church! We must direct people into a closer relationship with God through obedience to His Word. What a wonderful challenge!

But it's not only pastors who are called to teach. We are ALL to "stir each other up to love and good works" (Heb. 10:24-25). The Bible calls all believers to teach and admonish one another (Col. 3:16). The picture that is painted of the church in the New Testament is a very intimate one. We are to carefully consider each other seeking to teach, and admonish one another!

This is why we have a small group ministry here at Conerstone. We feel it's important to provide an opportunity to get closely involved in each others lives! We want to help each other to go further than knowing the Word...we want to help each other DO the Word.
So let's ask some hard questions as we seek to apply the Word of God this week.

Grow Group Questions:

1. Who are you closest to in our church? What "kinds" of people are most drawn to?
2. When was the last time you taught someone in our church?
3. When was the last time you admonished (challenged) someone in our church?
4. What does our culture teach about these kinds of intense relationships?
5. What does the Bible teach about them (Eph. 4; Col. 3; Rom. 12, etc)?
6. What areas do you struggle in the most?
7. How can your Grow Group help you in these areas?

Moody's Heart

I have a love / hate relationship with vacations. Being a pastor is not my job...it's who I am. Turning that "off" for a week is extremely difficult. I LOVE my church and really don't care about being anywhere else on a Sunday. I'll sit at _____________ Baptist Church on Sunday and think, "I wonder how things are going at Cornerstone. I hope the fill-in preacher is challenging them and loving them. I hope the worship service is going well..." and so on. It's torture!

That is until I look over at my family and realize how precious it is sit in church together. You see we never get to do that. I'm always up front and never in a pew (or chair). While other families get to sit together in church every Sunday, we get to do that only twice a year.

Vacation is a week that I can totally focus on them. I can put ministry aside for a few days and give them my full attention. THAT is where the LOVE of vacation comes in. Spending time with them is wonderful and precious...well worth the difficulties of "turning off" ministry.

For this vacation, Courtney had a wonderful idea. We are having "special days" with each of the kids. We'll get a sitter for two, and take one for a day of doing whatever they choose. So far, it's been a BLAST.

Yesterday Courtney and I took Landen to the Lego Store in Chicago. The kid would rather build legos than do just about anything esle. That includes, sometimes, sleep. It's not rare to wake Landen up in the morning and discover a pile of legos in his bed....a late night project, I suppose. We knew the trip was going to be a blast for him....very special.

We boarded the South Shore Line in South Bend and took the train into the Windy City (by the way, Landen loves trains too). Though we nearly missed the ride over, the parking lot dash to get "on board" was the most frustration we experienced all day. The rest our time in Chicago could not have been more smooth!

But I was caught off guard by all the people. There are a lot of people in Chicago and there are a lot of different kinds of people; business men, college kids, families, homeless people, store clerks, tour vendors....the lady with all the dogs....the guy on the side walk sweeper that nearly ran us over.... People...lots and lots of people. And though they were all different, two things grabbed my heart about how they are all similar. First, they all had something they were concerned about. From securing that business deal, to finding enough food to eat. From building the next great hotel in America (we saw the new Trump tower) to finding a place to sleep that night. They ALL had something they were concerned about. And as I watched them, God brought to my mind the other thing they all have in common. All their concerns...every one of them, don't' really matter. In the end the ONLY thing that DOES matter is what they believe about Jesus Christ. Did they know Him? Did they accept His payment for their sins? All other concerns will pale when they are before Him. And even Trump will one day stand before the King of Kings and his money and achievements will mean NOTHING.

It must have been the very thing that Moody thought when he looked at the faces in Chicago. That very burden must have motivated him to have the zeal for evangelism that he did. I was challenged, heart-broken, and for a moment I felt helpless. How in the world can we help so many people? They will ALL stand before Him...every single one of them.

Not knowing what else to do, I prayed. "God help Cornerstone to have some impact. Help us to share Your gospel with those around us. Lord just help bring some into a realtionship with You." As I pondered this, it put me in a melancholy mood. It was daunting and frustrating and depressing.

Then I looked at my little boy with a smile he couldn't just wipe off his face. And I looked at his mother who, though tired and a little nervous, was setting it all aside to give her boy a special day. I had to remember that today was not about street evangelism. Today was about my family. I didn't want to lose the zeal, but I today had to be abou them. So I prayed again, "Lord, let me not lose this burden. Help me to keep it and share it with my church. Let it drive us to reach Elkhart for Christ. But Lord help me love Landen and Courtney today with just as much zeal."

We enjoyed a great day and I hope it's one I'll never forget...both as an evangelist and pastor...and as a father.

"Walk It, Don't Talk It" - Wrap-up from 8/3/08

"Are you on your way to heaven?"
"Yeah."
"Why do you believe that?"
"Well...I'm saved."
"OK...what does that mean?"
"Well...it means I got saved."
"Right. But what do you mean by 'saved'?"
"Ummm...I'm not sure."

I've had that conversation (or one like it) too many times. People know the terminology and they will say what they think you want them to hear. But in reality, they really don't know the answer for sure. And if you looked at the way they live, there is no evidence that they are really and truly different.

James 2 takes the conversation above a step further. The people in James' example had the right answer. "I'm saved through faith." But when it came down to living it, they fell short. The kind of faith they were clinging to was a professed faith....words only. James says that kind of faith is dead. REAL faith will have some from fruit. Saving faith will show itself in works.

I hope it was clear from the sermon that James and Paul are more in agreement than many give them credit for. Paul was clear in Eph. 2:8-9 that faith alone saves but he was also clear in verse 10 that "we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works." True saving faith will be accompained by a changed life. That was exactly what James was saying. Many translators skip an important articile in James 2:14 that is crucial to a proper understanding of the text. I appreciate how ESV translates the verse...."can THAT faith save him?" (emphasis mine) meaning that KIND of faith. A faith that is words only.

So what kind of faith do you have? Is there a difference in your life from those around you? Is the pattern of your life identical (or close) to the pattern of the world? If there is NOT a marked difference, then I would encouarge to you examine your faith! Do you REALLY believe this stuff? Or, are you playing a game?

One point I'm not sure that came across clearly was that I DO believe a person can be saved and still struggle with sin. The book of Corinthians is written to Christians who were struggling BIG TIME with sin. There are Christians that come to church every Sunday and "play church" then try to live like the world the rest of week. They are miserable people....never truly getting on fire for Christ (which brings great joy) but never fully living for themselves either...and when they do they are convicted by the Spirit. That's why we went to 1 Kings 18. Elijah is confronting Israel who had been "kinda" worshipping God and "kinda" worshipping Baal as well. Listen to this verse...
1 Kings 18:21
21 And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. (ESV)

Here's was my challenge. Get off the fence. As James MacDonald said in a recent message:
"If you are NOT going to serve God then go home, burn your Bible and live for yourself. But you say 'Oh I would never do that.' Fine. Then get SOLD OUT for Jesus Christ."

Here are some application questions:
1. Are you on your way to heaven?
2. Why do you believe that?
3. What changes have you seen in your life recently?
4. What sins are you still holding onto?
5. How can we as a church / grow group help you make those changes?
6. Do you really WANT to change? Why or why not?
7. What's keeping you from being sold out to Christ?

Labels; Good for Soup...Good for Christians?

Funamentalist...Evangelical...Emergent...Emerging...Conservative...

Christian churches and speakers like labeling one another. We discover a few things about what a church believes or, more often, how a church operates and we label them. And the labels we use are many. But are these labels really effective? Do they do what they are intended to do?

I like labels on soup. It's good to know when I grab the can off the shelf if I'm getting Chicken Noodle or Cream of Celery. Before cracking it open, the label clearly identifies what I going to get. Barring some freak accident at Campbell's, I'll never open a can of Tomato and somehow get Cheese and Broccoli. Soup labels clearly identify the product.

Not so with our modern church labels.

Just try to get a clear definition of the term "Fundamental." I'm a part of a fundamentalist forum where we are endless debating the definition of fundamentalism! No one seems to know exactly what it takes to be a "fundamentalist" or what it takes to cease to be a “fundamentalist”. The same would be true of the term "Evangelical" or...well just pick your label! And the labels have different meanings to different people. They even change depending upon your geographical location. What may be "progressive" in the Bible belt would be considered "conservative" on the west coast.

For example, there are many who are trying to fully understand and clarify the emerging or emergent church. Dr. Doug Brown identifies the problem of defining the movement in his article entitled "The Emerging Church: The New Worldly Church"; "Leaders and proponents within the emerging church seem to relish the fact that the emerging church eludes defining. Much of their literature is intentionally slippery and vague, often raising more questions than answers." The point? "Emerging" cannot be clearly defined therefore it does little to clearly identify a ministry.

I understand that sometimes labels are helpful, so I'm not advocating completely abandoning them. However, I think they can make a person lazy. Since “so-and-so” says that a certain church is “emerging” then we throw them in the bad box without doing any research ourselves. Or we read an article where Dr. “what’s-his-name” declares that radio preacher leans “more evangelical than fundamental” and we think, “Well, maybe I shouldn’t listen to him.”

In my opinion, we are called be God to be more diligent that that (2 Tim. 2:15). We should thoroughly study God’s Word, listen carefully to a person, read a ministry’s doctrinal standing, and then compare them to God’s Word! For sure there are some things the Bible would say we are to separate from. But to please God in this area it takes study, time, and hard work. But diligent study is what God has called us to do! Not lazy labeling!

I guess what I’m saying is that we need to practice the biblical teaching of separation with more effort than we give making soup.

Worship Series Wrap-up!

It was a somewhat difficult decision for me to cover the topic of music and worship here at Cornerstone. It was something I had been thinking about and praying about for months prior to actually doing it. Why did I feel it was so important?

First of all, I sensed there was a great deal of diversity on the topic. As our church has grown, so has the diversity. Diversity is not a bad thing…but it is a dangerous and volatile thing. Diversity CAN breed dissention and division. So what can bring diverse followers of Christ together? One thing…uniting and rallying around the TRUTH of GOD’S WORD! So one of the main reasons I felt the series was necessary was to get God’s heart and say, “Ok…let’s be all about THAT! Let’s see what GOD thinks in important about music and worship and let’s make THAT important to US!”

So as we wrap up this mini-series up this week, here are some truths that I want us as a church to be united around.

1. John 4:23-24 – God wants worship to be passionate and laden with truth.

John 4:23-24
23 "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.
24 "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
(NKJ)

God is SEEKING worshippers! He wants people who can be passionate about His truth and He wants people to worship from the very depth of their hearts! THIS IS IMPORTANT and IT INVOLVES MY ENTIRE BEING! And the truth of God should generate an EMOTIONAL and PASSIONATE response!!

Now…how various people express that passion may be different than how YOU express that passion and that’s OK. Some of you don’t get into raising your hands…fine. You don’t have to. In heart-felt moments, some of you express your passion by raising you hands…and since it is a biblical expression of worship…it’s all over the bible…I say worship! Diversity With unity!!

2. John 4:24 -Worship is the ACT of attributing WORTH to God.
From that same passage, when we look at the definition of the word for “worship” we see that it is an ACTION! It is much more than coming here and sitting and being entertained. It is a GIVING to God because you believe He is WORTHY of your “sacrifice of praise.”

3. Heb. 1:6 – Jesus Christ should be the object of our worship.

Heb 1:6
6 But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: "Let all the angels of God worship Him."
(NKJ)

This is literally found all over the OT…Christ is seen ALL OVER the elements used in corporate worship. He should be the object of our worship today.

Not worshipping worship... not worshipping US. But our worship here should lift up JESUS CHRIST and Him alone!

4. Ps. 150 – God wants to worshipped in everywhere for what He has done with a variety of instruments.

There is a tremendous amount of freedom for what we bring to worship God and there is freedom with the instrumentation used in worship.We should embrace that freedom!

5. Rom. 14; 1 Cor. 8-10 – We should exercise our freedom with caution and in such a way that the gospel is not hindered.

We had a lengthly and involved message about freedoms last week. And I hope you clearly got the picture. You have a wonderful freedom, but your freedom is not an excuse to serve YOURSELF! It is always about GOD and OTHERS…both saved and unsaved. Practice your freedom in such a way that GOD is honored and other’s are loved.

6. Rom. 15:1-6; Eph. 4:1-6 – We should work hard to walk in unity.
I started with this and I ended our time last week with this. DIVERSITY AND UNITY! We are different…but more important that us getting our way worship being what I want…we need to consider our brother FIRST and UNITY should be our ultimate goal.

Rom. 15:5-6
5 Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus,
6 that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(NKJ)

I've enjoyed the series and I'm glad we went through these truths. My prayer is that this will UNITE our church so we can move forward with effectiveness!

"How's your love life?" By Steve F.

Is it possible that you have been born again; but, that you do not love the Lord Jesus Christ?
Are there times in your life when you have been warm toward Him; but now find yourself to be cool?
Do you wish that you and He were closer?

I can remember a time in my Christian life when I wondered if I really loved Jesus Christ. I was hanging out with some radical Christians (those people whose fearless actions match their profession). Their commitment to Christ made me question my own.

Love begins with prayer. I began to fast and pray. I told Jesus that I did not love him near enough. (He already knew that.) I begged Him to teach me to love Him more. Here are some conclusions that can help you.
Love grows with reflection. (We love Him because He first loved us. 1John 4:19) To fully appreciate Jesus we need to see Him in the light of Scripture. This involves searching to see who He is. I suggest starting with Isaiah chapters 52-58, continuing with Luke, and finishing with 1John. If you are earnest, you can read all of this in one week. You will also need to set aside time to “see yourself exactly as you are”. Prayer helps here, too.
Love deepens with conversation. Your life with Christ, just like a marriage, will not go any farther unless you spend time together. Get in the habit of turning off noise-making devices so that you can have a real conversation with Jesus. You will be surprised at how many thoughts and actions you can take captive for Christ. God created you so that you could have fellowship with Him.
Love leads to obedience. (If you love me you will keep my commandments. 1John 14:15). Obedience is the natural outpouring of a love for Christ. That kind of love asks, “Would this please Christ” before acting. Some mistakenly try to keep His commandments to earn His love. A love that is “earned” is the antithesis of His grace.

Your love will be tested. Expect Jesus to test your new level of love so that you can see it and so it is fixed in place. (John 21:15-19)

Love will carry you along in your journey to heaven way beyond where obedience will let you fall.

How about you? Are you hungry to love Christ more?

How Cool is God?

I wanted to get this in before the week got away....it's a testament to our AWESOME God who works things out in such a way that only HE gets the glory.

On Sunday we talked about the danger of worldliness. On Monday the "Our Journey" devotional was all about...not being conformed to the world! God's just plain amazing!

Here's snippet if you missed it...

"Worldly pleasures deceive us, for they give the illusion of fulfillment and happiness, yet for all their promises they leave us empty, guilty, and unfulfilled. In the end they rob us of the satisfaction that comes from knowing we have pleased the Lord. The world is not neutral, asking us to make of it what we will. From God's point of view, it is our enemy, a seductive influence we must always resist.

Make no mistake: the world tells us that the pleasure of following God cannot begin to compare with the unrelenting titillation of self-gratification. 'Do not love the world,' John wrote, knowing full well that we will put our affections somewhere."
By Erwin Lutzer

Good stuff! Great reminders...wonderful God!

"The Dangers of Worship" from 7/6/08

This past Sunday we talked about the danger of worldliness and I believe it's a term that is often misused and misapplied. John clearly defined the word for us as "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16)." He was describing the values and principles of the world and he was clear that we are NOT to love the world's system, or as Paul put it, "the course of the world" (Eph. 2:2-3). Those desires I believe are pinned up in all our hearts. We all fight worldliness!

What I hope I communicated clearly was worldliness is not PRIMARILY about the externals. Worldliness is PRIMARILY a HEART issue. There is a wrong idea about being "worldly." Some teach that if a church uses a tool that is contemporary and/or used by the world than they are being "worldly." Perhaps they are...but until you know the heart desire that is driving them, you can't know for sure. The Amish have taken this view to it's logical end and have jettisoned all modern conviences.

Other's try to classify certain styles of music as "worldly." In doing so, they have attempted to draw lines where God hasn't. When does a song go from being "OK" in God's eyes to being "worldly?" Attempting to draw that line gets into legalism. Jesus was clear on His views of man made rules (Matt. 15:1-9). We need to be very careful about drawing lines where God has not.

Now, having said that, I do believe that a worldly heart can have external manifestations. A person who is prideful about their body can certainly dress in a way that will show it off. It's a "pride of life" issue and it leads to "the lust of the eyes and the lust of the flesh"....worldly by definition. However, dress is not always an indication of the heart. As I mentioned on Sunday, two guys wearing the same suit can have completely different heart desires. One could want to offer his best to God, the other to show off how much money he has. The latter would be a godly reason, and the former would be a worldly reason.

The bottom line this...worldliness is a heart condition that we all struggle with. It's much deeper than a particular style of music or way of dress. It's the heart desire that drives our actions. The more I study God's word the more I see the importance of the heart. From the two tree illustration in Jeremiah 17, to David's prayer in Ps. 51:10,17 to Jesus' revelation of the greatest commandment (Matt. 22:37)...they all teach the same truth...my heart desire drives my actions (James 4). No wonder God said to "Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.(Prov. 4:23)"

So where is your heart? What do YOU love? Does your music/entertainment emphasize the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life? Are the shows you watch on TV all about the world's philosophies? Friend, we are not to love that stuff! What to you need to offer to God as a sacrifice of worship?

Grow Group Questions:
1. How would you define the term "worldliness?"
2. How are we to feel about things that are "worldly?" (READ 1 John 2:15-17)
3. Why do we tend to judge people on the externals? Is that OK with God? (Consider 1 Sam. 16:7).
4. What are your 5 favorite songs? 5 favorite TV shows? websites?
5. How do these favorites match up to the "lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, pride of life?"
6. What do you need to give up for God as a sacrifice of worship?

"Worship Acceptable to God" from 6-29-08

What are you passionate about? What gets you "pumped?" I'm not sure anything gets folks in Indiana more excited that a sporting event. Hoosiers are pretty serious about ball...any ball! Just think about some of the best known sports movies. The title "Hoosiers" speaks for itself; a movie all about basketball. Then you have "Rudy," the story of a boy's dream to play football for Notre Dame (located in South Bend, in case you didn't know). Athletics are important to us and they get us pretty excited. Just watch otherwise meek and quite individuals when "the boys in blue" run that pigskin across the line! They will be out of their seat arms up in the air screaming "TOUCHDOWN" as they run around and high-five total strangers! And they'll sit for hours in the rain, paint their faces, and spend hundreds of dollars to do it! For what...college football!

But that's on Saturday. Sunday looks completely different. As we sing songs about our amazing God Who came from heaven to save us from an eternal hell the most we can muster is a solemn "amen." Rain will keep some away. After all, it's a long walk from the parking lot to the front door. And placing ten dollars in the offering plate is a big sacrifice.

I fully understand that people are different and they will express passion in different ways. I also understand what is culturally appropriate at a football game may not be acceptable at church. I'm not advocating we "do the wave for Jesus." I'm merely pointing out that if there is anything we should be passionate about it shouldn't be a ball game. It should be the cross of Jesus Christ.
Jesus had two important criteria regarding worship; spirit and truth (John 4:23-24). By spirit I believe Jesus clearly meant our "inner-man"....our passion! Just do a study on the heart and you'll see it is a critical part of our relationship with God. Even more than our obedience, God wants our heart! David said...

Ps. 51:15-17 "16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. "

More than the obedience of the offering, God wanted David's heart! And more than our attendance, God wants our hearts to be involved in worship! Just stop and think about what was accomplished on the cross! My sins are paid for, my eternity is secure! Everyday I can experience His new mercies and I'm the object of His wonderful love! What a God! What wonderful TRUTH...truth that gets me "pumped!"

So this Sunday, high-five your fellow pew sitter if that's your thing. Clap (Ps. 47:1), raise your hands (Ps. 63:4), even shout (Ps. 33:3)! However you express passion, express it! Whatever you do be more excited about what's happening during the church than what happens in the game after church!
1. Read John 4:23-24. God is looking for Worshippers. How does that truth impact your life? 2. What did Jesus mean by “spirit.” 3. How do people express the inner man? How do you? 4. Are there ways that make you uncomfortable? Why? What do you do with that? 5. How will this truth impact the way we worship together at Cornerstone? 6. What was the other criteria for worship? 7. What do you think Jesus meant? 8. How will that impact the way we worship at Cornerstone? 9. How will that impact your personal worship?

"Worship that Unites" from 6/22/08

(This is a sermon wrap up from "Worship that Unites" (Eph. 4:1-6) that was preached at Cornerstone Baptist Church on June 22nd, 2008. To hear the message, go to the message page of our Church Website)

"Synergy" is a term often used in corporations to explain a phenomenon in which, as is explained on Wikipedia , "two or more discrete influences or agents acting together create an effect greater than that predicted by knowing only the separate effects of the individual agents." It's when the sum of two parts equals MORE than the sums of the parts individually. 2 + 2 = 6. It happens when team members draw off of each other's energies and passions and work so well together that amazing things happen.

It's a concept that I've been familiar with for some time. I teach it in project management courses and read it about in a number of sources. However, I only recently came to realize it was first coined by the Apostle Paul under the influence of the Holy Spirit (see the link above to the wikipedia article)! Yeah..."synergy" is God's word! How cool! And what was the Apostle describing with the word? The Church! Here's the idea....when God's people work together with a similar goal (His glory) and a similar task (making disciples) and they do it in a way God can bless, amazing things can happen! Think about that concept when you read this verse:

Eph. 3:20-21
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Amazing, mind-blowing things can be accomplished with godly synergy!

No wonder, then, the enemy of God is constantly attacking the synergy of the church! One of his oldest schemes is to divide God's people (read 1 Cor. 11 for more some examples). When we are bickering and fighting and refusing to work together, we experience antagonism, the opposite of synergy. We actually do terrific damage to God's name instead of accomplishing great things FOR His name.

And if there was ever a topic the church has been divided on it is music and worship. No matter where you land on the conservative to progressive scale, there is no denying that fighting over the issue has been horrific. Church history is pregnant with examples.

At Cornerstone, I'm realizing there is a quickly widening rift between our people over this very topic. That's why I felt it so important to preach a series entitled "Worship Acceptable to God." THE great tool that will unite us is proper biblical doctrine. It's my prayer that an exegetical and in-depth Bible study will heal the rift and bring us all under a banner of unity. On Sunday, we studied Eph. 4:1-6 to kick off our study and my prayer is that you were encouraged and challenged to have a worship that unites!

Diving a little deeper than I had time to on Sunday, I want to talk just for a moment about verses 11-16.
Eph. 4:11-16
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

Here's the summary and the point, in my opinion.
My job as the pastor of Cornerstone is to equip the church to do the ministry so we are all built up. Our goal is Christ-likeness and we acheive that by learning proper biblical doctrine (orthodoxy) and then putting it into practice (orthopraxy). We do this in love with our focus on Christ. And this verse teaches a concept the world denies. We are often told that doctrine divides, but here we are told doctrine UNITES! When we have proper biblical teaching, we are brought together...and when each part does it share, the body will GROW. Numerically? Perhaps. But certainly spiritually. And it's all done in love!

So do you see the picture? Each part, working together in love for Christ-likeness and for His glory! That's biblical synergy! That's the reason the term was coined by GOD in the first place and it's the perfect example.

Now, to get there, we need to be sure we are practicing verses 1-6.
Eph. 4:2-3
2with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace

Grow Group Questions:
1. What is your favorite style of music, personally?
2. If you could have any kind of worship at Cornerstone, what would it look like?
3. In what other ways we are a diverse group of people? In what ways are we united?
4. Has there been times when you have NOT acted with lowliness, gentleness, longsuffering, etc. towards someone at church?
5. How can we be sure we don't do this in the future?
6. If you don't agree with all the musical selections at Cornerstone, how will you handle it?
7. Are you really and truly open to what the Bible says about worship? What if it's different from what you currently believe?

I'm an Optimist and I'm OK with that!

Pollyanna, Sunshine boy, happy-go-lucky....

These are some of the nicer things I've been called by people are less optimistic than I am. I would call them "pessimists"...but that's just not a very nice word for an "eternal optimist" to use.

I have to say their indictment of me is true. I'm definitely a "glass-half-full" type and more often than not I see the positive side of things. I'm not bragging but just being honest about how I look at life by default. For instance, this morning I was making blue-berry waffles for the kids...OK I had some too. My kids are beautiful! I was thinking, "There is NO better way to spend my morning! I'm so blessed!" But then I thought... "Hold on, Pollyanna. You need to quit being so optimistic." Why did I think that? Because I've heard it often from those name calling pessimists! I've been challenged more than once to "real" or to "get my head back in reality."

So here's my question for all you anti-Pollyannas...what's so wrong about being an optimist?!? What danger am I in for looking on the bright-side? What do you think will happen? Do you think that I'll be walking down the road someday and though I see the bus coming, think "It's a bright, sun-shiny day...that bus won't hit me..I'll just jump out in front of it!"??? Come on!

It's my habit do my daily quiet time with God during breakfast. As I was enjoying my blueberry waffle, I opened up my "Our Journey" booklet to today's page. I chuckled at the title... "God is God, Even When Life is Bad." Yes! A devotion on optimism! It was a great challenge from Daniel 1...and it was great reminder. It's OK to be an optimist! Having the view point that says "God is in control and He's good..so ENJOY life no matter what" is biblical a biblical way of looking at life.

Now, having said all that, this afternoon my optimism was put to the test. We have some folks in our church who are hurting and it's my privilege to minister to them in difficult times. One dear brother is with his mother who is very ill. As we spoke together I was shocked by his words. "Pastor," he said, "I want to be optimistic, but I just don't know if she's going to make it." Yeah...he even used the word..."optimistic." I love him and his family...and they needed something more than, "Look on the bright side, your glass is half-full." Sorry, but that doesn't cut it. Saying, "Be an optimist" would not only be trite, but hurtful! So I prayed one of the prayers I often utter, "God, please bring the right truth to mind." And did He ever! God brought back to my mind (He gets all the credit, mind you) a word that sums up biblical optimism to a tee...HOPE. Not a hope that is limited to our circumstances, but a hope that is founded on the goodness of God. It's not a "maybe" hope, but a certain hope that God is in control and He is good, even in those very tough moments of life. Hope that during the times when my glass is almost empty, I have God who is able to fill it to overflowing with His grace!

What a lesson. I needed the reminder today because I am called to share His truth. So I'll take the brunt of the verbal attack. I'll be Pollyanna, or Sunshine boy with gladness. I just have to stop talking to myself as I make blueberry waffles!

Quit Kidding Yourself (from 6/8/08)

(This is a sermon wrap up from "Quit Kidding Yourself" (James 1:22-25) that was preached at Cornerstone Baptist Church on June 8th, 2008. To hear the message, go to the message page of our Church Website)
I felt very strongly that this message was an important one for our church. Due to some changes in our ministry, some of our people are concerned about where we are headed. Not only do I understand this, I greatly appreciate it! God's people are not supposed to be mindless sheep following blindly. They are to be like the Bereans who diligently searched the Scriptures "to see if these things were so (Act 17:11). " As we continue to move forward, I believe it's vital that you and I are on the same sheet of music. How will we decide where we are headed? What will govern what we do and what we don't do? There is simply no better passage to summarize my heart than James 1:22-25.

James 1:22-2522 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror;24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.(NKJ)

There are a few important truths that I wanted to communicate clearly. My prayer is that you understood these points.

Critical Impact. James, under the inspiration of the Spirit, said "be doers." This is a state of living and that means it should define who we are. We are doers. It has HUGE impact.

The Word of God has commands and/or principles that impact every single aspect of our lives. There are principles that govern what we wear, what we eat, what we say, our demeanor...I mean everything. If we are are really going to get this down, it's going to mean big changes.

Let's just walk through a typical day and look at how impacting and practical God's word is. You wake up in the morning and just by opening your eyes, already there are principles that need to be followed.

Ps 63:11 O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.(NKJ)

Now, I'm not advocating you need to be up 4:30 AM, but I think this verse has implications on our heart's desire. It should first seek God. Our thoughts right away should be about Him!

So we get up head the kitchen and we are greeted by our family. As a husband and a father, there are principles that apply here...big TIME.

1 Pet 3:7 -Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.(NKJ)

Eph 5:25 -Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,(NKJ)

I have to be sure that I am "in tune" with my wife. I should listen to her concerns for the day and what she has to get accomplished. I'm listening and learning about her...after all I am called to dwell with her with understanding! I have to be "plugged in" to her needs!

And then there's the kids. There are principles that apply here too!

Eph 6:4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.(NKJ)

I have to "plugged in" to them too. I have to be nurturing their thought patterns and pointing them to think on God's truth. I have to set the example of what living God's truth looks like in "real life."

Now, it's time to get ready. Will God's word govern what I wear to work? It should! There are principles on modesty and excellence! As I drive to work, God's word governs that as well! I am told to be in subjection to the governing authority God has put over me (Rom. 13). That means I have to actually OBEY those little white signs with the speed limit number...even if I am running late!

I could go on and on, but I hope you see my point. Being a DOER...being marked as a person whose LIFE HABIT is obedience... will change everything about how I live. I hope I communicated that well on Sunday.

Crucial Importance. I simply cannot emphasize enough how crucial this is. I want to share again this challenge verse...

Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.(NKJ)

Our children are watching and they are learning from our example, whether it is a good one or a bad one. If we are lazy about this, it could mean their destruction. Sound harsh? Sorry...there's just no way to sugar coat this. It's life and death for them. We can't play with this.

The Hosea passage brings up an important point. Ignorance is no excuse! We simply MUST be people who study the Word and learn how it applies to our lives!

2 Tim 2:1515 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.(NKJ)

An area I wanted to dive further into is the matter of church attendance. I am simply amazed at the reasons some people will miss church! The reason church is so important is because we are teaching the Word of God! In every service, the Word of God is either being taught (Sunday School, AM Worship, PM Worship) or it is being applied (Grow Groups). If we really understood how important this command is, we would want to be under the teaching and/or application of God's Word any chance we got!

Imagine your family was just infected with a life-threatening disease. They were all going to die. But there was a class on how to give them the proper care to save their lives. Would you just skip it for a baseball game?!? NO WAY! What we teach here at Cornerstone is vital! It should be a priority.

Another thing I wanted to mention is this; the church is NOT the PRIMARY discipler of your children. That responsibility is given to the parents (Duet. 6; Eph. 6). We are here to simply come up along side you and teach you how to do that more effectively. And listen...we LOVE teaching that stuff!

Living God's Word is crucial. I hope you understood that from the message.

Church Implications. The command has big implications for our church and where our church is headed. We need to nail down the fact that we have one and only one source of authority...God's Word. We are be doers of God's Word....period.

That means the careful, exegetical study of His Word has to be the centerpiece of our ministry. We need to be studying it and how it impacts our lives. And we need to be teaching it in a very practical way showing people how to live it. That's why we have a Grow Group ministry. The ministry's purpose is to help you IMPLIMENT God's Word.

I wanted to assure you that I will never head down a path that down-plays God's Word. There are lots of ministries that do.

I came across a church a while back where the sermon series was "Everything I need to know about God I learned from 80's rock!" I have no idea about the content of the series, but that title communicates something. I used to play 80's rock in my bands. There's very little that glorifies God in that. We're not headed down that path.

I also wanted to warn that we cannot be legalistic and still please God. Matt. 15:1-9 communicates that clearly. Legalism is when we add rules and regulations that are not found in God's Word. It binds God's people and it creates a very critical and judgemental heart in people.

On vacation last week, I heard a message on Luke 6. It also "just happened" to be the text Steve taught in Sunday School and I believe he did a great job. I think after hearing it explained twice, I began to understand it more clearly. If you take the time to study it out, you will see that there are times when we are told NOT to judge and times when we are told TO judge. Lining them all up, you can see clearly what God is trying to say. Basically, a good summary is 1 Sam. 16:7....don't judge other people's hearts! The words "judge" and "condemn" in Luke 6 have important meanings. To "judge" is sit at the bench and cast judgement. "Condemn" means to sentence. Legalistic people often judge the hearts of others based on man's rules. Then, they will "sentence" those people. We are not headed there!

We will diligently study what God's Word says then we will cling to it's sufficiency! We'll accept by faith that God has said enough about a topic and we'll allow His Word to be our only guide.
That's where I am headed as the pastor of Cornerstone...and I hope I communicated that clearly on Sunday.

Application questions.
Here are a few questions to think about.
1. Getting very real with yourself, how often do you think about God's principles? Do you know what God has said about the areas of your life?

2. Are you a doer? Are you really applying these principles?

3. Do you have a critical spirit? Are you judging people's motives as if you can see thier heart?

4. Are you willing to allow God's Word alone to be your guide for life? for our church?

I typed way more than I intended to...but I hope my heart came through clearly. I am open your comments and am eager to see us all growing...to see us all being DOERS!

The Awesome Goodness of God

(This was actually posted on another blog I did in August of 2007. Reposted today on the new blog)

As I look at the weather map at weather.com it's a little intimidating. We are currently experiencing a tip of a stream of thunderstorms that stretches from northern IN to somewhere in CA...or so something close to there. As a father of three kids, I know it's going to be an interesting night. My wife and I decided not to fight it and we just brought all three into our room. She's on the bed reading, I'm blogging and the children are refusing to sleep. This is just too exciting!

There are lot of emotions that arise during a thunderstorm. But tonight it's a little different. It's not fear, or worry, or even excitement that I'm feeling. No, tonight I'm awestruck. And the thunder and the lightning have only a little to do with it. I'm awestruck by an awesome God! And I'm not using the word in the Bill and Ted's kind of way. I mean it as it should be used. I'm in awe of God.

As we were nestling down tonight, Courtney and I exchanged glances. I love being married for 11+ years. We can say more in glance than a lot of couples can say in hours of conversation. The glance tonight said "Holy cow...we have three kids!! How did this happen? How good is God is give us this?!?!?! We are soooo blessed." You see, the reality is we don't deserve this (well...I don't...Court's an angel...yeah she's a sinner but just barely). Somehow along the way God has given me a whole bunch of things I just don't deserve. My family, my ministry, the wonderful people in my church, my friends, and most of all the relationship I have with His Son. Just reading that line puts shivers down my spine! I can have a relationship with GOD (proof text is 1 John 1:1-4, by the way).

Today I mowed my lawn and that gave me a good hour to pray and reflect (what do you do when you mow the lawn?). Even before the thunderstorm I was thanking Him for not wiping my off the planet today (this, you see, would be what I deserved). As I was pushing the mower, God was with me...listening to my heart. He cared about what I cared about. He inclined His ear to me...He listened...and He will answer the concerns of my heart! Why? Because I walked in a way worthy of Him? Because I earned His compassion? Get real! It's only because of His goodness! His storehouse of grace that didn't run out for me today; and it won't tomorrow either. Grace that covers every one of my sins and failures...amazing grace...awesome grace...awesome God.They finally dozed off and now I can just look at their serene faces. Tomorrow I will worry about feeding them, getting them dental insurance, teaching them to love the Lord their God will all their hearts, souls, and minds (Duet. 6). Tonight I'll just sit and reflect on how good I have it and how good my God is...and I'll listen to the thunder...and watch out for stray lightning bolts!

To blog or not to blog...

To blog or not to blog...

It was actually a pretty hard decision for me. I have made stabs at the blogosphere in the past, only to pull down my posts and give up. Why? Well there are a couple of reasons.

1. Time. As a bi-vocation pastor my time is precious. Blogging takes time. However, I often teach time management courses and know it CAN be fit in with some discipline...and that may be a good challenge.

2. Ability. I don't write good :) . I would MUCH rather speak on a subject than write about it. However, I need to improve in this area and blogging may help.

3. Pride. I don't want the blog to be all about me...I need to be all about GOD all the time. But the very essence of a blog is "here are my thoughts." It would be a hard balance....though not impossible.

So I posted this very list in a forum and had some really encouraging and insiteful comments (http://sharperiron.org/showthread.php?t=7801). Before that, I was really challenged by an article I read on why all pastors should have a blog (http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/1156_6_reasons_pastors_should_blog/). Considering all that, I decided to give it another shot! Bear with me...be patient. My prayer is that the blog will serve as an encouragement to all you and me.

I am going to create a couple of different sections...

Sermon Wrap-ups
When I was studying for the minsitry at FBBC, I remember thinking to myself "How in the world am I ever going to fill 30min. for a sermon?!?" HA! What a fool I was! The Bible is so incredibly packed, I now find it hard to keep a sermon down to 40-45 min. In any given week I am cutting important information out to keep the time under control. It's always very difficult!

One of the main reasons I decided to blog was to have a place to put in the extra stuff I didn't get to say on Sunday. These "Sermon Wrap Ups" will provide a place to fill the the gaps or to give that illustration I just couldn't fit in. There may be additional homework from time to time as well.

Pastor's Thoughts
God often blows my mind. When He does, I just want to share it! The blog will give me a chance to just that!

Current Events
I have to be careful what I say from the pulpit of Cornerstone. Here, I can share my personal take on the events of the day.

There may be more sections to come. My heart's desire is that this is a place where God is furthered glorified and His people can be furthered edified! Enjoy!