I had a great weekend, but it’s one of those Mondays where I have a million things to do and not nearly enough time this week to get them done. Here’s a quick rundown on my world.

• Another good weekend at Cornerstone.  We started a new series at Cornerstone based on a survey we sent out where we asked people to rank different tough topics they wanted to talk about.  The top 5 topics picked were: Christians and Alcohol, How do I know God’s will, Are we living in end times, Bible Translations, and Discipleship and Evangelism. I was really surprised by some of these, but we will definitely have fun approaching each one from a Biblical perspective. We might even add in an extra week to cover some of the other topics that were written in.
• We kicked off the series with tackling the issue of Bible translations. I think this one surprised me the most, but judging from the conversations after the message, it really is an important issue to tackle. People are confused with the sheer number of different translations, and our area is full of King James Only churches who are less than gracious to anyone using a more modern translation. I don’t mind when churches stand by the King James version because they prefer it, but when they turn it into a matter of sin, I take exception.
• During the first service, I looked up at the clock and realized that I had less than 5 minutes to wrap things up. Although we are pretty flexible on time, we can’t go way over because of starting the 2nd service.  The problem was that I was only half way through my notes.  So I told everyone to check out my blog this week and I would share the info and resources that I skipped. BUT, I have changed my mind. After seeing how much interest there really is in this topic, I am going to tackle part 2 next week. Let’s just say that this week was your introduction.
• The sermon audio and video will be up in a few hours, so check out our sermon page to catch part 1. The online message is from our 11am service so it’s a little more organized since I knew I couldn’t get through all of it.
• After the second service, we were able to head over to Hillsville and catch Decemberadio in concert. They had an afternoon concert at the Carroll County Fair. I was pretty disappointed in the turnout for the concert, but the band did awesome as always. We’ve gotten to know them over the past few years and I would love to host them again for a local concert.
• And we wrapped up Sunday evening with a great night of youth meetings. It was our first official youth meeting this year where we really started teaching. Our Sr. High group is taking an in-depth look at the process of inspiration, preservation, and translation of the Bible that I covered on Sunday morning. We had a great time together, and I learned that when someone asks what a word means, you better be careful and check out urban dictionary first
• Overall it was a great weekend. I felt like I got hit by a truck when everything was said and done, but that was just the typical Sunday Holy Hangover. God is good.

Now for this week, I have several website projects to wrap up, another sermon to prepare for, and we are thinking about taking off for a few days as a family. We’re watching Hurricane Earl to see how it will affect our travel plans. Pray that it turns northward very soon.

It’s been crazy for a few weeks, but I am excited as we enter the fall. I love the start of college football season. All throughout the summer, teams are preparing and getting ready. Game plans are drawn, players prepare, leaders are selected, and the excitement builds until the kickoff. At that moment, the players move from the sideline to full participants in the action.

In the life of our church, summer can be a little slow. People are enjoying the beautiful weather outside and traveling, and every week there are numerous families on vacation. But once school starts back, it’s game time. I’m excited about several new things kicking off this fall at Cornerstone.

• We’re starting a new LifeGroup semester this fall. We have several new leaders and groups which will provide a great opportunity for all the new attenders to get plugged in and join the game.
• Our youth ministry takes a little bit of a break from our large meetings during the summer so we can focus on smaller groups. But now that school has started back, we are ready to go full speed ahead. We kicked off our new youth year with a cookout Sunday at the church with over 50 teens. Our Jr. High group has definitely got some energy this year. I’m tired of seeing churches set low expectations for their teens, and I believe that we will so this group of students accomplish incredible things for Christ in their school this year. We are going to challenge them to get serious about learning from God’s Word and obeying Christ.
• Our next sermon series is going to be a lot of fun, but it will definitely cause some people to be a little uncomfortable. We’re taking votes now for a series called You Asked For It and it will be focused on tackling tough topics from a Biblical perspective. And it starts next week.
• And finally, September 6th is circled on my calendar. The Hokies will be kicking off in a top ten match-up against Boise State to start the season. I’m hoping it will be an awesome year for Frank Beamer and Virginia Tech. GO HOKIES!!

We’ve been wanting to tackle some tough topics at Cornerstone, and you can help us pick them out. Over the next few weeks, we are asking our church to vote for the sermons they want us to tackle. We will be taking each topic that you pick and sharing what the Bible has to say about it. Click on the picture below to take the survey. Thanks for helping us out. We’ll also be adding this to our church website over the next few days.

We have quite a few people from the community and from other churches come through our facility at Cornerstone. We have renovated an old downtown store and created an inviting environment for church. People always seem to be interested in where we found all of our “stuff.”  Stuff like the signage, furniture, and equipment we use.  I just wanted to share a few quick links that may help some of the church planters out there. It’s touch creating a great environment without spending large amounts of money. Hopefully some of the links may help.

• Signs and Sign Holders – Displays2Go (Look through their specials and closeouts)
• Café Furniture – IKEA (Shipping is extremely high, so visit a store to see everything)
• Curtains, Pipe and Drape – Georgia Expo (Curtains and drapes can really help control sound in a small space)
• Metal CD Cases for our Sermon Series – Effectuality (We bundle audio CD’s from our sermon series to give out)
• Audio and Lighting Equipment – Northern Sound & Light (The absolute cheapest place to buy sound equipment)
• Musical Equipment – Sweetwater (Great to work with)
• Cables and Adapters - CablesToGo (Their rapidrun cables are awesome to pull through tight spaces)
• Coffee – Land of a Thousand Hills (Drink Coffee, Do Good)
• Whiteboards – Whiteyboard (Cheap and Effective)
• Cheap TV Carts – Tyke Supply (It’s tough finding a good quality tv stand – these work great)
• Banners – Ahbanner (If you are comfortable creating your own graphics, this is a cheap place to order from)

If you use a little creativity, you’ll be surprised by what you can accomplish on a limited budget. We were able to get some furniture from a local store that closed. Picking great paint colors will make a huge difference. Don’t be afraid to be bold.