From Bogging to Blogging

It is official, after 6 months off it is time to reinvent the blog. Our first attempt at blogging became a bit of more of a bog as the site lacked direction and focus. It is our goal with the new blog to develop several different threads. The first and foremost will be to look around the corners at church to anticipate the future and reflect on the past. The second is to give insight into the inner workings of the church and how we are Building Life Together. Third, we will try to address current events relevant to those of us living here in Four Corners. In the end it is our goal that the blog be a place where you can get a feel for the church, get to know the staff, and understand how we intend to follow God's leading at Cornerstone.

Organizing for Outreach

Last Saturday we had our Leadership Training seminar and it was awesome. Many of our team leaders were there to sharpen their skills and organize their teams for growth. When we began Cornerstone God gave us a burden to reach the entire community with the good news of Jesus Christ and to bring people to a new life in Christ. If we are going to be able to accomplish this goal, we must be organized. Someone asked if we were organizing Cornerstone to become a mega-church (2,000+ in attendance) and I told them that there are 50,000 people in our immediate community with only 10 churches of any kind. If you do the math then we are responsible for 5,000 of them. Do we want to be a mega church? Yes. Because that will mean we have done our part in reaching our community. It is my conviction that every church in our community should become a mega church. Imagine every one of our churches organizing for outreach and doing the work of the ministry so effectively that we win our community for Christ. That is my burden as a pastor, that is my conviction. May God save me and our church from shortsighted and small thinking.

Wednesday Night

Last night we kicked off our new Family Night program at Cornerstone. It was fantastic. People kept coming, and coming. The kidMo team did an excellent job as they taught the kids about God’s Word. I still am trying to figure out all of the motions that go along with Matthew 7:24! I peeked in on the youth for a moment and they had 4 visitors. The youth leaders are really pumped about the new direction. All I know about the adult prayer group is that they had to keep coming back for more seating. They had packed it out. All in all, it was a great night, and if you missed it, then you really missed it.

Proactive Discipline?

Celebration High School has a problem. This year the administration enacted a plan to create a peaceful lunchroom environment by having all the students face one direction during lunch. Apparently last year’s student body was too rowdy during their lunch “break.” So this year instead of dealing with the rowdy kids, they decided to punish the whole school in advance of any rowdy behavior. Our teens that attend Celebration high have not complained to me about this, but when I saw it on the wftv news, I could not let this one go. I am suggesting that they put principal Debra Neil on Administrative leave pending any future misconduct she may or others around her may do. I have been a long opponent of homework, and the removal of recess from the schedule. All kids, not just us hyperactive kids have energy to burn. Science tells us that the average girls will speak 25,000 words every single day. If they are not given time to use them on each other, then we as parents will have to listen to phrases like “Billy thinks he is so cool, but Janet says that he is not cool he just thinks he is cool.” I shudder just thinking about it. I say turn the tables on this proactive discipline and give them the freedom of speech, at least during their “breaks” and on top of that… send them outside for recess. And while we are at it, let them play dodge ball!

Showing God's Love

On Monday Gabe and I had the opportunity to attend a networking meeting with a hundred church leaders here in the state of Florida in order to receive some instruction and encouragement and to discuss how we can more effectively launch new churches within the state. The quote that stood out to me was by Tom Messer of Trinity Baptist in Jacksonville. Here is the quote: “The difference between today’s church and the first century church is that today we are trying to show the world how much we love God and the first century church was trying to show God’s love to the world.” Far too often we fail to realize that Jesus said that when you “Do it to the least of these, you have done it unto me.” It is our goal as a church to always be focused on sharing the love of God with those in our community who do not go to church. In fact we love nonreligious people, and not so that we can give them our. We know that relationship trumps religion and that if we get you to act like a child of God without really becoming a child of God then we have failed as a church.

Letter from Lebanon

Do you ever wonder what makes a pastor cry tears of joy? A few weeks ago Israel invaded Lebanon and we were reminded of a Lebanese family that was part of our church in the very beginning. Fadi Korban had been brought to FL to work for Disney. His ability with detailed wood work is beyond compare. After some time however, he had to return to his home country. With the conflict in Lebanon we recently added him to our prayer list. Today, after three years I received this email.

Hi
Dear Joel and the church staf, it has been almost three years since last time i have been with you at the church, but through all these days at least one of you guys at the church every day been with my thought and memory. i miss you a lot and my kids too ( Rayan and Riwa Korban) we lost contact .... i,m sorry but in lebanon never comes easy. today i.m in my friends house he got internet connection so I said I want try to contact you and here I'm sending you this email with my hope that receive it with my wish that everyone of you be in a good condition.
hope talk to you later

please send my regards to all the church staf or who remember us

sincerely: Fadi Korban

Did you read the part where he said he prays for at least one of us and for the church every day? Did you read the part where he hopes that we are in good condition? Read it again.
That is the stuff that makes a pastor cry. As I replied to his letter, I was reminded of Paul and the emotional letters he wrote to church members along his missionary journey. The bond of Christian love is unlike anything this world has to offer. Sometimes people ask Why God is blessing Cornerstone so much. What is the secret to the rapid growth and the wonderful spirit of the church. The answer: there was this guy who still prays for us every day. In a country where bombs are still falling, there is a man and his kids who are praying for our good condition. Oh to God that we would all embrace the power found in the prayer of a believer. That we would pray for our brother Fadi, and the other Lebanese Christians who are caught in a battle between the Muslims and Jews. That we would continue to pray that the influence of Cornerstone would wrap around the world and have a lasting affect on all that would pass our way.

Back to School

It's the most wonderful time of the year. Those little people who have been causing so much trouble over the past two months are getting ready to be put back in their place. School has a special place in the hearts of those of us at Cornerstone. We have the privilege of meeting at the Four Corners Elementary School and basing much of our community outreach through those hallowed halls. In fact this past Tuesday a group of us met to move text book after textbook from classroom to classroom. Simple, but simply a way of meeting a very real need for the teachers and administration of "our" school.
For most people, the memory of school carries with it enough emotional backpacks, to fill a hundred lockers. Yet in spite of the teachers, we learned many of life's most important lessons at school. Don't hit, share, do your home work... And so on.
One of my favorite things about school is graduation. In K-4 the parents and their video camera's block your shot of Jr. Receiving his verdict...um, I mean diploma from the teacher. Sixth grade, a little more important as the kids punish the parents and grandparents with endless barrage of musical numbers and cute costumes. High school... One word... Rebellion. "I am 18 and I have learned it all, now stop telling me what to do." In college it was a bit of gratitude and relief mixed with the ignorance of how hard it will be to land a job, and that student loans come due in two weeks. The amazing thing is that even though we graduate from one to the next that there is always more to learn and that there are always those that think that they have finished learning.
Over the next few weeks at Cornerstone we will look back at School and how important it is for us to continue learning even after we graduate. Unfortunately, many Christians fail to grasp the all important concept of continuing education. We will look at the grade levels in the Christian life and the graduated learning we all must do.

Text Messages From God

Text Messages have been around since the beginning of time. From the first sunset God has been sending a message of love to his creation. Throughout the centuries man has scribbled messages on cave walls, carved them into trees and sent them up by smoke. Today communication is so advanced that the average person is bombarded with messages that compete with our God for attention. In this Sunday’s message we will see how we can filter out the spammers and scammers that fill our inboxes with junk mail.

The Mosquito

The Mosquito is now officially the state bird of FL. We all have been driven out of the yard and into the house because of these annoying pests. Now a security company in the UK has harnessed the mosquito's sound to drive away another perceived pest. Here is a quote from Compound Security Systems website.

"The Mosquito ultrasonic teenage deterrent is the solution to the eternal problem of unwanted gatherings of youths and teenagers in shopping malls and around shops. The presence of these teenagers discourages genuine shoppers and customers from coming into your shop, affecting your turnover and profits. Anti social behaviour has become the biggest threat to private property over the last decade and there has been no effective deterrent until now. "

Now the cool thing for teens to do is to make this same sound the ringtone for their cell phones. Because the frequency is too high for most adults over 40 to hear they can send and receive text messages in class without the teacher knowing. Hence, the same thing that adults used to push teens away is being used to keep adults out of their lives.

As father's day approaches, I wonder what annoying thing I do that keep me from connecting with my kids. It is those same things that will one day keep me out of their lives. Am I grumpy, or maybe aloof, would I rather work on the computer than play with my kids. Would I rather watch sports on TV than a movie with my family. Should I take more time off during the summer or a lesser paying job so that I can be an active part of my kids' development years.

I happen to know that God loves teenagers of all ages and that the church should do what it can to attract young people and remove anything that is a barrier between them and an authentic personal relationship with Jesus Christ. So kids, if you are still listening, you are welcome here. We know that you are a genuine shopper too. That your anti-social behavior is maybe just a response to a culture that sees you as a pest rather than a person.

On a personal note, my whole family can still hear the mosquito. It does not bother Abby (8 years) but it did drive my wife Amy out of my office. On second thought, this may be useful after all :) You can check your hearing here.

Where's the Pool?

What a great weekend! On Saturday, Amy and kidZone took 23 to Green Meadows Farm. They had a blast catching chickens, riding ponys and petting farm animals. There are some pictures on the members page of the Cornerstone site. Then Sunday night a great couple, Art and Maureen, were baptized into the membership of Cornerstone. We have been claiming them for a long time and they are always a blessing when they are in the country, but they have a passion for God and want to be a more active part of the church. It is their goal to spend more time in the states serving in any capacity they are needed. That attitude does this pastor's heart well. There are some pictures on the members page as well. Props go to our friends down at Four Corners Baptist Church for allowing us to borrow their baptistery. It was the first time since beginning the church that we have used a "real" baptistery. This only became evident to me when we arrived at the church and Andrew (my 4 year old) said "Where's the pool?" He thought having a big tub in church was pretty cool. In some ways I still find myself asking "Where's the pool?"