Storms and Suffering

One fact of life is that like those in Galveston, we all will experience suffering. Storms are simply a fact of life.  The church in general tends to focus a great deal of attention on the therapy of suffering.  How do we meet the needs of those who are experiencing suffering and need help through troubling times.  Beneath the proper therapy of suffering, must reside a proper theology of suffering.  How should we as believers in a loving and all mighty God respond to suffering in our own lives, and in the lives of those around us.  This Sunday we will again turn to the Apostle Paul and his wonderful letter to the Philippians.  We will see that in the midst of great suffering, Paul was still able to live a life of joy.

  It is not rejoicing that we are suffering, but it is rejoicing that in our suffering that God is doing something great in us, and through us,  that we would know and trust love Jesus more, that other Christians would be compelled to be bold, and non Christians would come to hear the gospel, and that our suffering would not be purposeless but purposeful, that we would not waste our suffering but that we would seize the opportunity for Jesus to be made much of both in me and through me.

Celebrating Recovery

In life as in football fumbles are made.  While making one's way towards the goal, you drop the ball.  Dropping balls is never part of the strategy of any team.  In fact, you will find that most teams devote great time and energy into not dropping the ball.  Typically when the ball is dropped, there is a scramble, followed by a dog pile.  The poor soul who dropped the ball is doing his best to recover, but everyone else is piling on.  At the bottom of the pile a battle rages as the one who dropped the ball fights to regain control.  If the opponent successfully takes the ball then he will celebrate.  But often, when the player recovers his own fumble, the rest of the team shakes their head, wipes their brow, and takes a breath.  Then the fumbler will hang his head, and trot towards the sidelines.  Though this is what often happens, this is not what should happen.  Recovery of any fumble deserves to be celebrated.  Winning a battle at the bottom of the pile is no easy task.  Sure, fumbles should be avoided at all costs, but when they happen and a recovery is made, the whole team ought to storm the field in celebration.

Tonight at Cornerstone we will begin to celebrate recovery with a new breakout group for those who battle addictions.  As far as I know, there are no such groups at all in Four Corners.  Tonight, for the first time, we will get to the bottom of the pile with those fighting to regain control, and we will cheer them on, and when they emerge with a recovery we will celebrate.  Then if they fumble the ball, or stumble and fall, we will come alongside them all over again, anticipating celebrating recovery.

Celebrating Recovery
Wednesdays 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.
Four Corners Charter Elementary School
For information, Call 888-836-7234

No Business Being Here!

I once attended a meeting where there was no meeting.  Now before you jump to conclusions, most of those in the meeting thought that the point of the meeting was meeting.  There was no fighting over resources, there was little reporting of accomplishments, there virtually no planning for action.  Essentially, we had no business being there.  Unfortunately, churches can slip into the meeting for the sake of meeting.  Sundays come and go without the Services take place, ministries go through the motions.  One of the things I constantly have to fight against is doing things for while not considering WHY we do things.  It is too easy to get into a routine, a rut, to go through motions.  Activities, for activities' sake will kill any organization.  

Through this lens, a simple baby shower takes on purpose.  We are not getting together with friends, we are celebrating a new life with a working mother of two who works 12 hour shifts as an RN in ICU then comes to church to teach preschoolers about the love of God.

Through this lens we are not throwing a Jail House Rock party for the kids, we are sending 1000 invitations to local students and building a bridge that will transform their lives and make an eternal impact.

Through this lens we are not simply teaching theology,  but we are laying the ground work for a relatively  new believer to have a 2 hour conversation with a lost family member who is now seeking Christ.

Through this lens we are not having church, we are coming together as a believers to love and support one another through the temporary trials of this life and to provoke one another to love and good works.

The church has no business having no business.  There ought to be meetings today, where there is not enough money to accomplish the plans, there is not enough volunteers to accomplish the ministries, where there are competing groups who are passionate about reaching a common goal.

Today we had a great staff meeting.  Today, we looked again at why we do the things we do.  We cannot have church stuff for the fact that churches have stuff.  And by God's Grace, we won't!

Fantasy Football

We had our FFL draft last night and I won.  You see for the last two years I have been the very last pick and this year I wasn't the very last pick.  I moved up 3 spots to #9!  I feel like a winner already.  All the top 9 Running backs were taken so I broke the ice on QB's with Peyton Manning.  Our theme verse will be Joel 2:6 ( I think I am the only person in any fantasy football league who has a theme verse) 

Joel 2:6 (NKJV) Before them all the people writhe in pain; All faces are drained of color. 

Here is my team....

Starters:
QB - Peyton Manning (A bit of a gamble for first pick, but I have his jersey)
RB - Clinton Portis (The only Clinton I want to see in Washington)
RB - Maurice Jones-Drew (I thought only women used two last names)
WR - Torry Holt (oldie but a goody)
WR - Joey Galloway (Token Buccaneer, Plus he's older than I am)
TE - Jason Witten (Solid)
K- Adam Vinaterri (had him every year)
D - Pittsburg Steelers (Steel Curtain)

Bench:
QB - Jake Delhomme (what's a little elbow surgery between quarterbacks)
RB - Fred Taylor (His arrest will go well with our Prison Break series at church)
RB - Jarrius Norwood - (he outperformed Turner on Friday)
RB - Warrick Dunn (Cat Fancy)
WR - Jabar Gaffney (I thought my cheat sheet said Jar-Jar)
WR - Isaac Bruce (He's older than me too)
WR- Bernard Berrian (Big Toe Berrian!  Go Vikes)
TE - John Carlson (Who?)

Brother's Keeper - I Saw Heaven

Gabe you got moves!

Don't Miss Church this Sunday!

I am usually one for hype, but it has been a long time since I have been this excited about starting a new series.  This weekend we kick off a new message series on finding JOY in the middle of our struggles from the life of Paul as he wrote to the Philippians from prison.  As we will see,  Joy cannot be found in culture and religion or anywhere apart from a total surrender to Christ.   

God has been doing some amazing things at Cornerstone and we just stand in awe of how the church has grown in the last year.  To put things in perspective on the second to last Sunday of August 2007 we had 99 in attendance, last weekend we had 182!  To God be the glory!  We are gearing up for continuing this growth into the fall and internally have set a goal to get over 200 on Labor Day Weekend. (I guess it is external now)    So here is what we need you to do.  1. Don't miss for any reason,  The emergency room will make you wait anyway, so go after church!  2. Get everybody here, no runny nose excuses will be accepted. 3. Kidnapping is permitted.  Drag your neighbors and coworkers to church offer them candy, tell them we are giving away a big screen TV, (not really)  or offer to take them to lunch, but get them there!

Bigfoot Seen Fleeing as Hurricane Fay Approaches

Like it or not, our modern culture revolves around stories.  TV, movies, even the nightly news and the Olympic games revolve around the narratives we are so desperate to hear.  So what makes us believe the stories we hear?  Why do we want to believe some stories and ignore others?  This past week a story was told of a Bigfoot in the woods of northern GA.  Though most wont admit it, I believe that it was a story that people wanted to believe.  Those telling the story did a masterful job of pulling all the strings necessary to help us in our desire to believe.  Experts, testimonials, photos and the all important DNA evidence were brought before the ever discerning press.  Yet, in the end, the story now changes from the search for Sasquatch to a search for some story telling rednecks with nothing better to do who were willing to label themselves for life over a big prank.  This week, our favorite story is over the little storm that could, Fay.  Though she tried, she just did not have what it takes to make it to hurricane, but we want so bad to have a hurricane, because that makes for a great story.  No one wants to get on TV and say my home was destroyed by a tropical storm.  The guys selling T-shirts that say, "I Survived Fay" ought to pack them up right now and ship them to the orphanage in Africa.  I think we are smart enough to know now that stories are just that... stories. 
So what about the stories that matter, should we dismiss them all?  What about the story of Creation, the story of redemption?  Do we dismiss them too?  My answer is no, and this is why, at the end of the day we must take our stories and compare them to truth.  There is a vast difference between fiction and nonfiction.  We must discern what stories matter, and what stories are for entertainment purposes only. 
God said in Isaiah 1:18 "Come, Let us reason together says the Lord of Hosts."  God is a God of reason.  Therefore, His story will stand up to reason.  History is reasonable. 
Tonight we begin a new Bible Study series on God.  We will look specifically at the reasons for beilef in God.  In our study tonight we will see that belief in God makes sense because of the law of cause and effect as well as the law of order in our universe.  I would love to see every one of you there.  We are believers, but not without reasons.  Come reason with us tonight at 7:00 at the school.

Doubters Welcome

I am currently reading a book for a course in theology in which the author seems to have written in fear that technology will somehow replace God in society.  His basic premis is that the further science progresses, the farther we drift from God.  This is a fear shared by many in Christianity that somehow, the more people rely on the knowledge of man, the less they will stand in awe of God.  I would submit to you that God is not intimidated by science, in fact, I believe he welcomes it.  Now more than ever man is pushing the limits of time and space and God continues to be there.  In a total turn around, I believe that the progress of science in our world will act as a smelting pot that will separate all the false religions and cults that are based on anything short of absolute truth.  God has always welcomed doubters.  God created us curious.  Science is in all actuality the study of God's omnipotence.  The only ones who should fear the truth are those who have something to hide.  This Sunday, we welcome all doubters to church.  Our study through John will bring us to Thomas' encounter with Christ and we will see how Jesus responds to those in doubt.  Make plans to come, and invite a doubter to come explore.

Blogging Fast Ect...

A lot has happened in the last month, and I had decided to take some time off of blogging to get perspective on why or if I should blog.  Here are some of the decisions I worked through.

1. I do not want to blog, and fail to communicate.
 - no sense in blogging just to have a post for every day.
- I will not blog unless I feel I have something to communicate.
2. Blogging should be more about the reader than the writer.
- I realize that those who read the blog want to look backstage.
- So I will try to communicate more of what I am doing rather than what I thinking
3. Blogging can waste time
- I cut way back on the number of blogs I read.
- mostly now I just read friends' blogs and some of the filter blogs like MMI.
4. Blogging is valuable
-When done correctly, blogging effectively communicates vision
- Blogging brings people together

26 Cents and a Skinned Knee

At the end of the day many times we will look back to see what we have to show for it and looking back on yesterday, I can honestly say that all I have to show is 26 cents and a skinned knee.  However, results don't always show in the way that we would like them to and often the intangible exceeds the tangible.  We are on vacation with my family in Myrtle Beach S.C. this week and it has been fun doing a whole lot of nothing.  Fun stuff, like sitting and staring at the ocean, and overeating, and watching movies we have already seen.  Boogie boards were on the to do list for the morning which explains the skinned knee, and yesterday Andrew and I went treasure hunting with a metal detector we borrowed from Intern Brandon.  I have never been so excited to find a quarter in my life, well, as far back as I can remember that is.  On Saturday I will hop a flight to O-town and be back in time for church. (as long as Bertha behaves)  But in the mean time, I have a deep discussion on some obscure topic to have with my dad, some small talk with my mom, and further attempts to gain the graces of a snobby 9 month old neice on today's list.  I will try to let you know how it goes.