Pastoral Notes for Sunday, January 4, 2026

Dear Cornerstone Family, 

Happy New Year!

As we embark on another year of God’s grace together, we’re taking two Sundays—today and January 11—to renew our vision as a congregation. Our vision statement as a congregation is: To glorify God in the gospel together as disciples who make disciples. As you can see below, this one sentence summarizes our aspiration as a church and outlines the core commitments of our ministry:

·      Worship – To glorify God in the gospel

·      Fellowship – To glorify God in the gospel together

·      Discipleship – To glorify God in the gospel together as disciples

·      Mission – To glorify God in the gospel together as disciples who make disciples

To help us renew our vision together, we’ll be considering the Apostle Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 5:11-21 today and 2 Corinthians 6:1-13 next week. In these two messages, we’ll be focusing primarily on Paul’s heart and strategy in discipleship and mission. The goal of our time in these texts is to strengthen our resolve to carry out the mission God has given to the church. Please join me in praying to that end.

Before I close, you’ll find my much-anticipated 2025 favorite reads list. For a book to be a “favorite read” doesn’t mean I agree with everything or think everyone should read it. Favorite means I personally benefited/learned from it and really enjoyed it. For instance, The Barn made my list. It retells a tragic moment in Mississippi history. It’s full of historical insights and rich storytelling, but it’s not a general audience read. So, be discerning.  

Further, I intentionally did not include any theological or biblical volumes. The list would have simply been too long for the space allotted. But don’t despair, I will do a rundown of my favorite biblical-theological titles for the kickoff of the next season of the Life at the Corner podcast on Monday, January 12. Mark your calendars!  

Okay, caveats aside, here were my favorite reads for 2025:

·      Memories and Opinions by Arthur Quiller-Couch

·      Against the Machine: On the Unmaking of Humanity by Paul Kingsnorth

·      Paradise Lost: A Biography by Alan Jacobs

·      Marce Catlett by Wendell Berry

·      The Barn: The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi by William Thompson

·      Theo of Golden by Allen Levi

·      The Forged Coupon by Leo Tolstoy

·      Democracy and Solidarity: On the Cultural Roots of America’s Political Crisis by James Davison Hunter

·      Bitcoin is for Everyone by Natalie Brunell

·      Heroes by Paul Johnson

Your servant,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, December 21, 2025

Dear Cornerstone Family, 

As we’re passing through a season in the life of our church where the offerings to the Lord are lower in amount, I confess to you, I’ve been tempted to worry about numbers. But this week the Lord convicted me to pray. Not so much for provision; I’ve been praying for that. But for what God cares about most—the spiritual fruit and joy of God’s people as they give, regardless of whether it’s a great sum or just a few copper coins (Matthew 12:41-44).

As my prayers shifted, it sparked further reflection on the ups and downs in my own journey in giving. When I first started making money, I knew a portion of my earnings should be given to the Lord and the work of the church. But at 15 years of age, I loved having money of my own. I loved the feel of having worked hard for money and the freedom money provided. To have money felt powerful. Though I probably only had a few hundred dollars to my name, I was experiencing for the first time the intoxicating influence money can have over our lives.

Eventually, I started giving to the Lord, more from duty than desire. But it felt good to give. Truthfully, I felt good about myself being a giver. Again, it felt satisfying. I was doing something good.

Then, in my Bible reading one day, I was stopped in my tracks by 1 Corinthians 13:3, “If I give away all that I have…but have not love, I gain nothing.” Nothing! Really? God doesn’t care all that much about my acts of giving or the amount I give? He apparently wasn’t even that interested in the fact I’m meeting actual needs, though clearly that was important. No, what mattered most to Him was my motivation—the why behind my giving.

After some reading and reflection, I realized that God is interested in the why behind our giving because He’s after our hearts, not our money. God doesn’t need our money. Even when we give to the church, we’re giving money that is already His (see Psalm 24:1)!

But if God doesn’t need our money, why then do we give? That’s an important question with a simple answer. We give because God wants every fiber of our being and every part of our lives offered up to Him in worship (Romans 12:1). And one of the main ways we do that is through cheerful giving to His church (2 Corinthians 3:7). As Jamie Dunlap once wrote, “When we gladly part with our money in order to follow Christ, it proclaims how good and worthy He is.” Indeed, it does—and nothing is more important than that. Your servant,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, December 14, 2025

Dear Cornerstone Family, 

Whenever we see a need in the body of Christ, we don’t immediately think, “We need to hire someone.” Instead, we look first to God’s people. The reason for that is the Scripture tells us that pastors, staff, and church leaders aren’t supposed to do all the ministry. Rather, their charge is “to equip the saints for the work of ministry” (see Ephesians 4:11-16).

Being a member of a church is not a spectator sport. Christ saved you to be an active member in the body of Christ meeting the needs of one another and the wider community. In fact, your spiritual vitality and health are inextricably tied to service in the church! If you’re a member of Cornerstone and haven’t yet stepped forward in service, we want to help you find a place to serve. Contact your shepherding elder and deacon. They are eager to help you locate an opportunity to serve in the church! 

Speaking of service, one area of tremendous need in our body is in the care and discipleship of our precious covenant children. Under the leadership of Christy Shurden, Nursery Coordinator, and Meredith Suits, Children’s Director, a small army of volunteers have sacrificed their time, energy, and resources to serve our covenant children this year. I want to take a moment today to honor and express thanksgiving for our many teachers, assistants, and nursery workers who have ministered on Sunday morning and Wednesday nights this year.

As you read through the list of names, take time to give thanks for these dear servants. If you haven’t done so already, please consider writing a brief thank you note to those servants who have ministered to your family, letting them know how much their ministry has meant to you.

With that said, join me in giving thanks for: Talula Adams, Kelly Abercrombie, Randy & Suzann Allen, Barbie Bankes, Tristan Bankes, Sabrina Brewer, Martha Brooks, Mary Latta Brown, Hannah Burge, Ashleigh Chapman, Scott & Jordan Chapman, Faith Crampton, Debbie Coats, Kent Coughlin, Audrey Driskell, LaNita Eby, Lindsey Elliott, Katie Ewing, Alli Faulk, Lisa Fiedler, Julie Finch, Hannah Finch, Betsy Garland, Courtney Garrett, Mary Lynn Giles, James Goddard, Traci Hager, Linda Hart, Rebecca Hassee, Abigail Hicks, Bethany Holder, Karen Holland, Whitney Hunt, Emily Jebasingh, Hannah Johnson, Matt & Kimbra Johnston, Quinn Johnston, Nic & Kayce Lane, Ronda Laventure, Sean & Jonna Kelley, Julie Kesler, Kristen Lee, Lucy Lilly, Joe & Joy Marlo, Laurie Mee, Linda Mello, Jessica Michaud, Emily Mitchell, Allison Millard, Dierdre Noor, Celeste Nichols, Matt & Rachel O’Roark, Kris Paterson, Joanie Pittman, Tara Ralph, Dave Raymond, Andrea Roberts, Whitney Ruff, Kelley Shell, Lauren Smith, Jenna Smith, Bonnie Snyder, Sue Steffens, Rachel Taggart, Jenna Thompson, Lori Tice, Emily Tice, Laura Van Cleave, Carl & Eleanor Ware, Julie Webster, Jennifer Westerbeek, Debbie Whitney, Teresa Whitaker, and Sophia Wilbur.

Your servant,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, December 7, 2025

Dear Cornerstone Family, 

We are interrupting our regularly scheduled Christmas programming for a special announcement…

Mark your calendars! On February 6-8, Cornerstone will host our first-ever Missions Conference Weekend. Supported missionaries will join us for the special occasion. From prison ministry to planting churches and everything in between, you will hear from a wide range of our supported missionaries both local and abroad. Together we will be inspired by stories of the gospel’s advance among the nations as well in our own backyard right here in middle Tennessee.

The weekend will kick off on Friday evening, February 6, with a church-wide program, followed by a Men’s Breakfast and a Women’s Luncheon on Saturday, February 7. Each event will feature food, fellowship, and interactive panels with a variety of our supported missionaries.

On Sunday, various missionaries will lead us during the Sunday School hour while my friend, Dr. Gabriel Fluhrer, Senior Pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Chattanooga, TN, will open God’s Word during worship. Dr. Fluhrer will encourage all of us—no matter your gifts or abilities—to embrace the call of the Great Commission. More than this, he will equip us, showing us how to practically carry out our missionary call in our day to day lives.

The theme for the mission conference weekend is: That All Peoples May Know. As Jesus told his disciples in Mark 16:15, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” The Great Commission was first entrusted to the disciples, but the mission continues with us today. You are God’s plan for the advance of the gospel in this generation.

I’m so grateful for John Millard, our Mission’s Chairman, and the hard work he’s put in planning for this conference. He’s pulled together a strong team of Cornerstone volunteers to help make this inaugural Missions Conference Weekend super special. Please do not let anything get in the way of fully participating over February 6-8.

On that note, we need your help! We are looking for persons and families who would be willing to extend hospitality to one or more of our mission supports during the Missions Conference Weekend. Do you have a spare bedroom or two? Or maybe an extra chair or two around your dining room table? If you’re willing to help in any way, John Millard wants to hear from you! You can reach him at johnfrancmillard@gmail.com.

We’re literally two months away from this special weekend! It’ll be here before you know it. Please start praying now for God to renew our commitment to be joyful participants in Christ’s Great Commission!

Your servant,