I have no use for "Volunteers"

I met a friend for prayer yesterday. Church is exciting, plans in the works, good things happening, praises abound. Then with exasperation he mentioned his prayer request, I have a couple, who are not reliable. They both serve in vital ministries and when they are not present, the whole church suffers. When I talked to them, they indicated that they were "volunteers" and not required to be there, and excused their absence.

From time to time, people in the church see themselves as volunteers rather than members of a body. Christ never describes our service for him as voluntary. In fact, the Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5, that the love of Christ compels us. There is nothing voluntary about being compeled. This same word in the origional Greek is also translated "arrest." We are not volunteers by a long shot, we are arrested by the Love of Christ and placed in His service. What "volunteers" fail to realize is that their lack of faithfulness actually hurts the whole body of Christ. Often, we think that it is only the faithfulness of the pastor or staff, or deacons that affect the church, but more often it is the faithfulness of the people that make or break a church. I pray for my friend, and I pray for our church as well. In today's world, there is no use for volunteers. God's church must be served by faithful members of the body, so that it can function properly and remain healthy.

dog does not realize there is no glass in the door

Sometimes in life we become so used to obstacles, that we lack the faith to act even when God has removed those obstacles from our path. It is my prayer that we will step out in faith and obedience to the will of God, rather than remain trapped by yesterday's limitations.

April's Big Give - Blog

This past Sunday our church distributed $1,000 ($5.00 at a time) to the congregation with the task of making a difference in the life of someone in our community. We believe that as we become more aware of the needs around us that God will help us to meet those needs and Christ will be lifted up. We felt that the best way to tell the stories that come in will be through a separate blog. We have set it up here. I must admit that these real life stories of touched lives are already bringing tears to my eyes as I see our church reach out to our community with the love of Christ. From the April's Big Give site, you will be able to leave comments and to share your story as well. You can also subscribe to have the latest story sent straight to your email in-box. Enjoy.

Real Preachers of Genius - Mr. Really Really Bad Preacher

I am glad I saw this before anyone sent it to me.

Best Line: "Every head bowed, every eye closed. Its not the altar call, it's you're preaching."

On My Google Reader

If you are a regular reader of this blog or any other blog for that matter, it would be wise to set up an account with Bloglines, or Google Reader. I used to waste my time rushing from blog to blog to see if there was any new news. Now All the news comes to me via my Google Reader. For those curious minds out there here are some categories I have set up.
1. Blogs - Serious bloggers such as Seth Godin, Dan Burrell, MMI, and New blogs that I have not categorized Like Mark Beeson.
2. Amusement - In this folder, I put my waste time stuff, like Boing Boing, Tom in the Box, and Lark News.
3. Church Planters - Guys who are getting the job done that I want to follow like Perry Noble, Bob Franquiz, and Steve Furtic.
4. Friends - Some great, some not so great (bloggers that is) great one's like Greg Peters and Adam Mayfield, and Ricc Conner. Not so great ones like, well I'm not telling you know who you are.
5. Thinking Blogs - Right now just Desiring God, ...........and Purgatorio (kidding)
6. Not so much - blogs that are well read, but I don't get much from. Guys way to the right like Sharper Iron and Guys way to the left like Tall Skinny Kiwi. I like to know what they are up to, but don't read much more than the headlines. A few mor blogs have found their way into the not so much folder, but mostly because they don't get blogging and would do better to write a book.

Now you know my DNA. and for that matter DNA means that you Did Not Ask, but I told you anyway.

For further reading about what I'm reading you can check out My Library Thing.

New Look & New Features

Well, today the blog got a new look and some new features added. We changed from 2 column width to three, and dressed it up quite a bit. New features include the ability to link right to RSS feeders and an option to sign up for email alerts if you don't use an RSS Feed. One of my favorite additions is the "Cloud" on the left that indicates my favorite topics. As you can see Cornerstone is the big daddy, followed by humor then church planting. Enjoy!

Update from Iglesia Bautista El Buen Samaritano

Pastor Rafael writes:

"God bless you, the following is a report of the first service at Iglesia Bautista El Buen Samaritano held on Sunday March 30th 2008, there were 20 persons in attendance."

That is a great first day for a church. I still remember our first day at Cornerstone as we wondered if anyone would show. Grand total on Day one...16. Grand total on day 2,190(6 years later)... 354. God is doing some great things at Cornerstone and has great things in store for el Buen Samaritano too!

If you have friends or neighbors looking for a great Spanish speaking church, Be a Good Samaritan, put them on your donkey and take them to Iglesia Bautista El Buen Samaritano!

The Lord's Prayer

Wow!

Miley Cyrus, aka Hannah Montana Loves Jesus

If you have a girl within 40 miles of your home you no doubt are familiar with Hannah Montana. If you can get past the first 6:30 minutes of girl talk. Miley and her best friend Mandy do a great job of expressing their faith. In a culture that is desperate for positive role models. I have to admit I am a Hannah Montana fan.

Iglesia Bautista El Buen Samaritano

I just got off the phone with Pastor Rafael Riera. They will be starting Sunday services this week at the Beef O'Bradys in Four Corners. I am so impressed with Rafael and his passion and expertise. He has a great plan in place and is already receiving lots of attention from the Spanish speaking community of Four Corners. Their Sunday school will start at 9:30 and Worship is at 10:30 a.m. I am asking all of our Cornerstone people to raise this church and this pastor up in prayer as they launch out this weekend. Also, I want to say how much I appreciate Mary Ann Owens and the team at Beefs for making their restaurant a sanctuary for church planting. It is obvious how much she loves our God.