As some of you may know, since the first of this year we have been working with First Baptist Church in Galax. They are currently in between pastors, so Sam, my co-pastor at Cornerstone has been preaching and serving as their interim pastor. He’s still working for Cornerstone, but he is also helping them through their time of transition. We have stated that we want to be the best church for the community, not just the best church in the community. By being Kingdom minded, we are showing the local community what happens when we cooperate instead of compete. We have been preaching through the same sermon series and working together on the messages each week. At Cornerstone, we have wanted to do a baptism service during the winter months, so Sam came up with the idea of a joint worship service between the two churches.
This Sunday, we are moving our Sunday evening service to First Baptist and joining them for a combined worship service. We are coming together to celebrate. Our worship band will be joining with their choir as they lead the service in worship. They practiced together last night and everything really came together and sounded great. Even though the styles may be a little different between the two churches, we come together with the same purpose of lifting up the name of Jesus Christ. Join us this Sunday evening at 6:30 for a time of celebration through worship and baptism.
Over the past several years, I have had the opportunity to help organize several community church events and help with several others. It’s not always easy, but I want to be part of a church that takes the prayer of Jesus in John 17 seriously. That we would be one. Our church wants to be a resource to other churches by planning events and hosting conferences. We want to bring local Christians together and to reach out to those in our community who are lost and hurting. We have been able to break through some racial and denominational boundaries, but we still have a long ways to go. In our efforts, I have noticed two huge enemies of cooperation between churches.
Fear & Pride
For many churches, fear is a way of life. The pastor is afraid of helping another church because they might have a different style of music or be from a different denomination. Worse yet, the leadership can become paranoid about losing members to another church, so they work hard at keeping people involved only in their own activities.
For other churches, pride can prevent them from working with other churches. Some churches reach a point where they don’t think they need any help. They believe their efforts are better than anybody else and it’s just too much of a hassle to work with others. I have seen churches that constantly make fun of the efforts of others and refuse to be part of any community activities.
I pray that I will be a pastor that is not afraid to cooperate and work together with other churches. I pray that fear and pride would not control the decisions in our church. In the New Testament, we see churches referred to by their city. We read passages about the church of Ephesus, the church of Corinth, the church of Jerusalem, the church at Antioch, and many more. Now, local believers are fragmented a million different ways by denominations and egos. Let me challenge you to reach across denominational lines and join forces with other believers in your community. You will be amazed at the impact it will have in your community, and don’t be surprised if people see the truth of John 17:21 become a reality.
My heart is breaking as I look at the pictures of devastation from the earthquake in Haiti. I have had several people ask how they can help. The quickest way to help is by sending money. They will also need food, water, and supplies as the relief effort continues. We are working at Cornerstone to see how we can help. For now, here are some ways you can contribute.
We have several connections to Harvest International based in Ocala, Florida. They are a missions group based out of Florida with missionaries already in Haiti. Todd Shaw from Cornerstone has been on two mission trips with them to Haiti. You can go to their webpage to donate and contribute directly to their missionaries who are there now.
Locally God’s Pit Crew is gathering water and supplies to transport to Haiti. You can find out more at their website and at SpiritFM.
Samaritan’s Purse is also gathering supplies and donations to help. Find out more at their website.
Water Missions International is working on providing clean water. Find out more at their website.
There are many organzations and churches providing relief, but don’t let that lull you into not doing anything. Let me ask you this question that I shared last Sunday. Do the things that break God’s heart break your heart? Let’s show the love of Christ by loving and serving as Jesus demonstrated for us. Here are some pictures from the Red Cross. Watch them and pray for the people of Haiti.
I had an incredible experience over during the past week in Nicaragua. I’ve spent this morning unwinding, unpacking, and getting caught up on email. We had quite the adventure getting home because of delays at our connecting airport in Houston, but we finally made it home around 2am Sunday morning. Yesterday the entire team shared about the trip during church. It is so hard to condense the experience and describe it during church. The sights, sounds, and smells really are beyond words. I knew a little about what to expect from looking at the pictures and videos from previous Cornerstone trips, but I feel like I now understand the culture. The poverty that we saw was heart breaking, but yet the people were gracious and joyful and truly thankful for us to be there.
Each day we started out by sharing testimonies on the radio followed by my short message. It’s tough getting the hang of preaching with a translator, but after preaching at church on Sunday and then each day on the radio, I really sensed God speaking through me. The team followed that by doing some construction work in the morning and then traveling out to a remote village each afternoon. We played with the children while the nurse distributed medication, and then we played some more. We gave out coloring sheets and crayons, we painted fingernails, and we even had a watermelon eating contest in each village. Each team member shared testimonies in the villages, and I again shared a short gospel message. We saw many saved during the week and we made sure the village pastors were there to follow up. We also distributed rice and beans in each village. The hunger there is real, and we saw the effects of malnutrition and disease in many of the villages. We also left toys, clothing, and shoes in each of the villages.
The work that Because We Care is doing in Nicaragua is amazing. Don and Pam Gillette have a passion for ministering to the people there. I appreciate their leadership and I appreciate them giving us the opportunity to minister with them. Every team member left Nicaragua as a changed person. After seeing the small huts that people live in and seeing the poverty there, you start to look at your possessions in a different light. I would encourage every Christian to become involved with missions, both at home and internationally, just to get a true picture of this world we live in. The Great Commission is not a suggestion, but a command, and I urge you to get serious about sharing the love of Christ to this lost and hurting world. Here is the video that we shared in church yesterday.
Many of you received the email updates from church or from Because We Care, but I wanted to post them here on the blog as well. Continue reading after the break to see the updates from each day.
Cornerstone has partnered with Because We Care Ministries over the past several years to do mission work in Nicaragua. We have helped build a sister church in Tonala, Nicaragua and we pay the pastor’s salary each month. Before Cornerstone had a building in Galax, we had a church building in Nicaragua, and before we had a full-time pastor in Galax, we had a pastor in Nicaragua. You can read about some of our past trips on our church website. I will be in Nicaragua all of next week with a team from Cornerstone. I ask for your prayers as we do construction work, as we share and preach and teach, and as we distribute food and love to the people of Nicaragua.
I don’t know how much I will be posting next week. We will have limited internet access, so I will try to share some pictures and thoughts.
Here is a video from last year’s trip to Nicaragua
I’ve been reading through Frank Viola’s latest book, From Eternity To Here. The publisher says that this is a perfect follow-up to Francis Chan’s Crazy Love and in some ways I agree. Chan’s book is about why we should be Crazy in Love with Christ, and Viola’s book explains how we get there.
I started reading this book with a little trepidation. I read the first edition of an earlier book by Viola titled Pagan Christianity. I have to admit that it was not one of my favorite books. I agree with some of what he wrote, but I don’t think it was a fair representation of the church today. But when I started reading the reviews of this latest book, it made me want to give him a second chance. I’m glad I did, it’s a book that definitely makes you think.
I like that so much of the book is Christ-centered. He definitely wants to keep our focus on the mission and epic story of God, and in so doing strip away many of the man-made traditions and activities that get in the way. I have struggled with what to write in this review because it is a book that you have to soak in. I’m not sure I agree with some of his sweeping generalizations, but I really need more time to think and pray through some of the issues and terminology that he uses.
The book is centered around three themes. In reality, it is almost like reading three separate books. The epic story of God is intertwined through these three themes. Here is how Viola describes it.
If you have been a Christian for any length of time, terms like “bride of Christ,” “body of Christ,” “house of God,” and “family of God” are all too familiar to you. They may even be worn out and tiresome. It’s not an overstatement to say that our wearied familiarity with these words has blunted their edge and diluted thier impact.
Christians have been given a steady diet of biblical terminology. We speak it fluently because it’s the tribal language. But the reality and the power behind our terminology has largely been lost.
My hope, therefore, is that as you read this book, new life will be breathed into these familiar terms. I pray that the Holy Spirit would fill them with their original beauty and awe to this end: that you would be given a dramatically new, if not a staggering look at the ageless purpose that drives your God. For that purpose is the very reason you exist.
I plan on reading back through the book slowly and deliberately, and I will post more thoughts when I do. I don’t think this book will be as popular as Crazy Love, mainly because he uses terminology that many if not most Christians are unfamiliar with. In the meantime, here is some information from the publisher.
We’ve decided to shake things up a little this summer for the youth ministry at Cornerstone. Instead of regularly meeting on Sunday nights for our weekly time together, we have decided to leave the building. Some of our activities will be fun, some will be challenging, and all of them will be focused on growing in Christ.
Last week we met at the New River Trail and had a joint meeting with the youth from Cliffview. Yesterday, we all piled into several cars and showed up at a local trailer park unannounced. We setup a bubble machine, and got out soccer balls and basketballs and frisbees, and then started rounding up the children. It started out slowly, but by the end, we had a crowd. We gave out free food and even flip-flops and shoes. By the time we left, the children were giving us hugs and asking when we were coming back. We plan on going back and even possibly leading a Bible camp for the kids.
Why did we do this? Just to show the love of Christ to our community. We are serious about engaging our community for Christ, and by building relationships we can show the love of Christ in tangible ways. The truth is that when we show love, we earn the right to share the Gospel. We want to see lives transformed by God, and we want out teenagers to experience first-hand the thrill of serving their community.
Each week, we plan on providing different opportunities for service and growth for our youth. Then this fall, we will be relaunching our youth ministry with some exciting new changes. I’m excited as we pray and seek God’s vision and direction for the youth at Cornerstone.
Another awesome weekend at Cornerstone. I am thankful to be part of a church that doesn’t mind shaking things up! We did things a little differently this week. Usually our Saturday night and Sunday morning services have the same message. This week was just a little different. On Saturday night, I preached from the book of Nehemiah about overcoming a fear of commitment. And then we had a special guest speaker this morning. If I can track down the CD from last night, I will place both messages on our podcast.
A few months ago, I issued a challenge to our church to start looking for ways to engage our community. As a result, a group of committed people at Cornerstone started meeting and seeking God’s will. Through a series of divine encounters, we found out about an individual in our area that has an incredible addiction recovery ministry. Mike Edwards has a ministry called S.O.B.E.R., and he has made an impact on hundreds of people in our area. He shared a powerful message of God’s grace and redemption with us this morning.
On a typical week, he has multiple meetings with over 500 people attending a 12-step addiction recovery program. He is also creating a halfway house for people who need somewhere to stay while overcoming their addictions. Mike Edwards overcame some serious addiction problems in his past and has an incredible testimony of how God can transform your life. He felt God leading him to renovate a small apartment complex into a place where people can be encouraged, find work, and get back on their feet.
He is passionate about sharing Christ and his ministry has made an incredible difference in our community. We are looking forward to partnering with him in the future as we develop a strong addiction recovery ministry at Cornerstone. He has already helped counsel several people from our church who are struggling with addictions. We have 3 workdays scheduled to help him work on the complex, and I invite you to join us. You can find out more about Mike and the work he is doing on his website.
Our little city of less than 7000 people is becoming well-known. Not just for the bluegrass music, but for drug problems. The Roanoke Times had an article on Sunday about the increasing violence and drug use in our city. We have a huge potential to reach out to those struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. As a church, we are looking at ways to partner with some other groups doing addiction recovery ministry. The need is real, and articles like this show us the urgency that we should have in reaching out and sharing the Gospel message of hope.
This past Sunday at Cornerstone, I shared a message about impacting and engaging our community. It is so easy for churches to talk about what they should do, pray about what they should do, send money to those who are doing it, and then feel great about what happened. But I believe God calls us to do much more. Cornerstone has been very involved in foreign missions and we have even sent four teams to the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina. We have also done a few things here locally, but I believe we could do much more. So I issued a challenge to our church to pray and seek God and seek ways we could make a difference here in our community. Our community needs hope, it needs love, and it needs to hear the saving message of Jesus Christ. How can it happen?
It can happen when we discover our personal passion and calling from God – God calls us as individuals to serve others. When we discover our gifts, talents, and abilities, and then find ways to use them in demonstrating love to our community, countless lives will be changed. Every service opportunity does not have to be officially sanctioned and sponsored by the church. We challenged everyone to find ways to serve in their everyday life.
It can happen when we see where God is moving and join Him – There are many other churches and ministries making an impact. It’s about building the Kingdom, so Cornerstone doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel. We challenged our church to seek ways that God is moving and join in and serve alongside other believers.
It can happen when God reveals needs that only we can fill as a church – I believe that we can accomplish far more together than alone. When God reveals needs to us that are not being met, then we as a church have a responsibility to share the love of Christ in tangible ways. Ministries start when passionate people hear from God and then do something about it!
Because of the challenge, we had a meeting last night to talk about the needs in our community. We prayed, we laughed, and we cried as we heard what God has laid on everyone’s heart. I am excited to see what will come out of this. We are following the example of the disciples that met in the upper room in Acts 1 to pray, and then left the room to impact their world and turn it upside down. We believe that God can use ordinary average people, to accomplish incredible things for His Kingdom. Just look at Acts 4:13
I’m a little late getting this posted from last week, but it’s better late than never. I hope everyone is enjoying the book and reading through chapter 4 getting ready for this week’s group. We had a great time discussing chapter 3 last week, and I wanted to share some of the quotes that stuck with me. Understanding the crazy love that God has for us is so important.
Here are the quotes that really stood out to me:
My own love and desire for my kids’ love is so strong that it opened my eyes to how much god desires and loves us.
Most of us, to some degree, have a difficult time understanding, believing, or accepting god’s absolute and unlimited love for us.
When we love God, we naturally run to Him – frequently and zealously.
Do we have “reverent intimacy”
I don’t have to worry about not meeting His expectations. God will ensure my success in accordance with His plan, not mine.
God’s mercy is a free, yet costly, gift.
The irony is that while God doesn’t need us but still wants us, we desperately need God but don’t really want Him most of the time.
The greatest good on this earth is God.
What are your thoughts on this chapter? What spoke to your heart? I pray that we will all learn how to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
I hope everyone is having a great week enjoying the snow. Our life group at Cornerstone is currently studying through book, Crazy Love by Francis Chan. Each week, I will be recapping our previous meeting and talking about the current chapter we are reading. This week’s assignment is to read chapter 2 and come prepared to discuss it Friday night. Join in with your comments below. The discussion is open to those who are not in our life group as well.
We had a great meeting last week, plenty of people and plenty of discussions. We even got to see the newest addition to our group, 2 week old baby Caleb. This book is already making us think. The first chapter establishes a proper perspective of God. When you recognize God for His holiness and power, it changes your perspective on how to live. When we stop praying out of routine, and start praying out of love and a desire to spend time with our Father, we will hear from God clearly and regularly.
I really enjoyed reading the 2nd chapter. When I initially read the book, this was the chapter that really grabbed my attention and got me interested in the book. It’s one of those tough messages that we need to hear. The chapter starts out by reminding us that we could die any minute, and it goes on to remind us that our life is completely about the story of God. It reminded me of the opening quote from Rick Warren’s, The Purpose Driven Life …
It’s not about you. The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It’s far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God.
In James 4:13-14, we see that our life is short, that life is brief, and that it is up to us to make the most of it for God. On page 42, Chan gives us definitions for stress and worry. “Worry implies that we don’t quite trust that God is big enough, or powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what’s happening in our lives. Stress says that the things we are involved in are important enough to merit our impatience, our lack of grace towrard others, or out tight grip of control.” When I read that, it really convicted me of how much I worry and stress about things that aren’t important in life. I also connected with the analogy that compared our life to a movie about God. Our role is an extra in the story and we only appear for a split-second. We are not the star! So why do we live our lives as if we are the center of the whole universe? The chapter ends with a simple quote, “Friends, we need to stop living selfish lives, forgetful of our God.”
Let me challenge you this week to slow down and look at the big picture. Realize that you were created for God, and that he deserves our obedience and love. Let me know your thougths in the comments below. Also, here is the video overview from chapter 2. You can find more information at the website for Crazy Love.
We had our first life group study tonight for Crazy Love. We had quite a few people who were unable to attend so I decided to post the videos here and also to use this as an online discussion group each week. Our assignment for next week is to read through the first chapter. You can add comments below if you have questions or if you would just like to share your thoughts. Think of this as a group discussion that continues throughout the week. I’ll add my comments on the chapter as I read through it again. And here’s the cool part, it’s open for anyone to add comments, even if you aren’t in our life group. If you’re adventurous, then you can check out an online book discussion with plenty of comments and discussion about the first two chapters of the book at this site.
Here are the videos we showed tonight. They give you a glimpse of what the book is about and who Francis Chan is. We had a great discussion time and I’m excited about the next 10 weeks. Also, our group will continue to meet at 7pm each Friday night. Join in on the discussion. Watch all 4 videos in the playlist below.
The current Catalyst newsletter had two great articles. The first, by Francis Chan, was about building true community in church. His sermons and messages have really spoken to me in the past year. The second article is by Ed Stetzer on the importance of spreading the Gospel in a new missional context. Ed is one of my favorite authors and I am definitely on the same page with his missional focus.
Both Francis Chan and Ed Stetzer are guys that truly understand some of the problems in the church in America. But I love the fact that they are actively seeking out solutions, and that in the process they aren’t throwing out what is good with the church. Too many in the church today blame the church. In the process of looking at what is wrong with the church, they condemn what is right as well. Let’s not throw the “baby out with the bathwater” and let’s continue to seek ways to not only to do church, but be the church. Check out both articles below.
Mike Morris is a former design engineer who now pastors Cornerstone Community Church
in Galax, Virginia. He is passionate about teaching the life changing
message of Jesus Christ. Mike also wants to share how the church can
utilize technology to make disciples. He has been married to Jennifer for 14 years, and they
have three awesome kids, Emma, Luke, and Drew.
