Paul said in Romans 12:8 if we have the gift of leadership then we should use it and take the responsibility seriously!

“…if it is leadership, let him govern diligently” (NIV)

“If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously.” (NLT)

I am constantly aware of this verse as I, along with our staff and Executive Team, provide leadership for Cornerstone. Leading other people is serious business. It is a responsibility not to be taken lightly. Really, it doesn’t matter what business you’re in, leading other people is a high calling.

Jack Fisher our Administrator sent out this article from Forbes.com entitled “Rising above your job description. I liked this author’s take on leadership,

“The first step toward real leadership is understanding that it isn’t about title or hierarchy. It’s about attitude, specifically having an attitude that puts people above all infrastructure and process, considering them the center of all activities, not part of the periphery. To a real leader, people are not the means but the end. Under that leader they do their jobs not because they should or must but because they want to and are passionate about it.”

While that’s true in the corporate world, in the church it holds special significance because we are leading people, in the eternal sense, to know and serve Jesus. So, God needs people in these important roles who have died to power, worldly significance, prestige, self-glory and “serve me” mentality. He is looking for true servants who have clothed themselves in humility and love, who can point the way toward the redemption that God offers through Christ. Before leaders in the church ask others to bow the knee to Christ, they need to have performed that act themselves. Our outward attitudes should convey clearly our inward convictions.

Please pray for our Executive Team! They have committed themselves to passionately advancing our mission under the guidance of God’s spirit. They will need the support of the whole body as they lead us into the future.

See you under the ball!

Rusty

“Devastation” seems to be about the only way to describe what happened in Haiti this week as a result the 7.0 magnitude earthquake. While an earthquake in any part of the world is a problem, in a country like Haiti it is a catastrophe. Consider the fact that 80% of the 9 million people in the country live below the poverty line. Consider the fact that only about 50% of the population is literate. Consider the fact that most of the buildings constructed on the island are significantly below proper codes and standards. These statistics just make a situation like a major earthquake even more of a crisis with a much longer recovery time.

This is the time when the church should be at it’s best. After all, we are Jesus in this world today. I believe He would bring help to the people of Haiti. So, this Sunday we are preparing to take up a special offering to assist in the relief effort. If you are going to write a check, you can make it out to Cornerstone United Methodist Church and put UMCOR in the memo line. UMCOR stands for United Methodist Committee on Relief. They are one of the relief organizations on the ground in Haiti right now. Your money will go directly to helping those who have been affected by the earthquake.

Thank you in advance for your generosity and helping our church be Christ to a hurting people.

Our tenth anniversary celebration this past Sunday was amazing! It was so good to take a minute as a church and just appreciate what God has done in the life of Cornerstone. I still connect with that passage from 1 Peter 2:4-6 as much today as I did ten years ago…

“As you come to him, the living Stone–rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him–5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

6 For in Scripture it says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.”

When you do church in a skate center, this verse is very important! It is a reminder that church is not about a building, it’s about people. The building is just a tool for evangelism. In light of this I remain forever grateful to every person who along the way has been a “living stone” placed here by God to do His work. It has been a crazy, exciting, scary, incredible, exhausting, unbelievable journey!

I am equally excited about what’s in store for us in the years ahead. Like the prophet proclaimed in Isaiah 42:9,

“See, the former things have taken place,
and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
I announce them to you.”

New things are on the way for Cornerstone. I am praying for us as a church and asking God to do greater things. I hope you will pray this with me!

Well, that’s it. See you under the ball!

“Skate center, disco ball, smells, noises, uncertainty, faithfulness, commitment, free skate nights, packed trailers, “Cletus” videos, worship, loving people, difficulties, perseverance, salvation, baby pool baptisms, free bottled water, free movie nights, Ecuador missions, Vacation Sunday, Trunk R Treat, groundbreaking, 20 acres, $1.2 million, sacrifice, new building, sausage biscuits, vision, believing, creativity, KidzTown, Seaside, Youth, College, Pay it Forward, community, giving, grace, Cindy Wall, Buloba, Uganda, Hiram pulls a bus, the playground, the Well, the children, Patrick, Sarah, Eva, Isaac, Zariah, Jesus, love, hope, partners, Gospel, Leading people, knowing, serving, 10, church, Cornerstone, one, you, us.

Today as we celebrate 10 years of ministry here is East Alabama and around the world, I am reminded and humbled in the presence of the God who is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last, who holds the keys to life itself, who is the keeper of gates and doors through which we have passed, are passing and will pass. He is the God who decided this church should exist. He gave us the power and focus to stay true to our mission and vision. He is the reason we can celebrate the last ten years, he is the reason we celebrate the right now, and the incredible future He has in store for the people and ministry of Cornerstone Church. Personally I am so grateful on this special day to be a part of this movement.

I could never have imagined the night before our first worship service, nervously sitting at my desk, so much would happen in ten years. I couldn’t get beyond the next morning. I couldn’t get out of the bathroom! I remember my prayer went something like this, “Oh God, if you don’t make this happen it will never work.”

God has certainly done more than I could have asked or imagined through Cornerstone. I am deeply thankful for every person who gave, served, sacrificed, loved, worked, prayed and were faithful to helping us move forward. It has been an amazing decade. But, we will only look back for a moment. We have always been a church that kept our vision forward. I am more excited about the Kingdom work that has yet to be done!

So, come join us this Sunday as we celebrate ministry past, present and future.

I’m just constantly reminded of how this training and persevering is so like living as a Christ-follower. It is about perseverance and sometimes pushing through the pain or discouragement that can come our way. Paul used this whole idea in 1 Corinthians to describe what the Christian life is like when lived all out. The good news is there is a prize that cannot be matched at the end of this race! Jesus said, ” I am with you always to the very end of the age.” He will be our strength when we have none left. At the end of the day, that’s the only strength that really matters.

So, I’ll keep you updated on the training progress. Let’s just keep pressing on!

“One of my favorite Latin expressions : ubi dolor, ibi Christus; “wherever there is suffering, there is Christ.”

Just got this as a tweet (thru twitter) from Len Sweet who is kind of a cultural, theological and social architect of modern Christian thought (not sure how else to describe him, or if it’s possible to be those things!). It’s not anything new, like something we just discovered about suffering and our Savior. It is simply a truth. Wherever you go and there you find suffering, you will also find Christ. I firmly believe Christ is in the midst of suffering, not separate and distant from it. He embraced it on the cross. He called us to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him. Then grab hold of suffering as a prize for the redeemed. That’s big! If we truly took that seriously…wow. Paul saw suffering as an opportunity to be like Christ in His death and resurrection. So essentially we are the most like Jesus in our own suffering. More good news - he is remaking us in the midst of it. Like an ugly lump of clay to a beautiful, colorful vase that is a joy to look at, so are we being formed and fashioned into the most incredible piece of God-pottery.
So, if you’re in the middle of it, hang on, don’t let it go until God has finished His work. Ubi dolor, ibi Christus - yes.

“Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”

One day we will see God and understand Him clearly. But, for now, we are left with that sometimes murky and always critical practice called “faith”. It is tied directly to hope and is what helps us endure the craziness of this earthly life.

He and the team at Grace Campus will be missed as they head to Hong Kong this summer. Besides Matt and April and their family, we will also be sending out Scott and Catherine Littlepage, Jason Orme, and Micah Brake from our church. Please pray for them as they go to serve Christ by ministering to the lost and empowering the found in China. Also, if you would like to support the Grace Campus team financially you can click HERE.