Pastoral Notes for Sunday, May 28, 2023

Dear Cornerstone family,

As you can tell, renovations continued this week. Those heart pine floors you see were hiding out underneath the carpet. Once we saw how beautiful they are and considered the rich history of worship in the chapel, we simply couldn’t cover them back up. So, next week the hardwood underneath the pews will be refinished while the aisles, entrance ways, and the floor upfront around the platform will be recarpeted. I can’t wait to see the finished project!

During the Sunday School hour today, we are enjoying a church-wide coffee and donut fellowship on the church yard and at 203 3rd Avenue South. That’s right, it’s an open house! Please make your way safely across the street and take a gander at the new building.

As we near the end of our budget year (June 30), there will be several staff changes taking place. Let me briefly tell you about a few staff changes taking place in June.

Maxwill Shell and Kelley Crampton

·      Miss Kelley Crampton (soon to be Shell) was hired as a Youth Ministry Assistant (starting June 1). She will be discipling our junior and senior high female students and provide added support to the youth ministry as a whole. In addition, Kelley will be our next Administrative Assistant for Discipleship (starting July 15), a role currently occupied by Mrs. Martha Brooks. Martha has done a fabulous job in this role, but this transition will free up some of her time to focus on women’s ministry and her family, which is where her gifts are best served, and her greatest sense of call resides. We are excited to see Kelley’s gifts deployed in these two roles.

·      Mr. Maxwill Shell was rehired as Worship and Music Assistant (starting June 1). Max was a Worship and Music Intern this last year, but upon completing his internship and graduating from college, his title changed to match this slightly expanded role. We are delighted to have Max for another year on staff.

Noah Aikens

·      Mr. Noah Aikens has served as a Worship and Music Intern for three years. He completes his internship on May 31, 2023. Noah has served Cornerstone faithfully, and we are going to miss his presence on staff. Thankfully, Noah isn’t going anywhere right away. Noah will remain at Cornerstone this next year as he finishes his studies at New College Franklin.

Ethan Vroom

 ·      Mr. Ethan Vroom was rehired as Pastoral Assistant (starting June 5). Ethan has been a Pastoral Intern for two years at Cornerstone. Upon completing his internship and graduating from college, his title changed to match his slightly expanded role. We are grateful to have one more year with Ethan on staff.

Simply put, the Cornerstone staff is the best. They are selfless and hard working. They are creative and steady. They are tremendously gifted. I’m always learning from them! It’s a joy to be partnered up with them in the work of the gospel. 

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, May 21, 2023

Dear Cornerstone family,

At the end of last year, your session erected a search committee for a Minister of Youth and Families. Ruling elder, Randy Allen, led an all-star cast of search committee members––Liz Taylor, Matt Suits, Lauren Smith, Elle Terrell, and Tony Giles––who have been hard at work collecting names and interviewing qualified candidates for the position.

Nearly two months ago, I asked you to pray for the work of the search committee as they narrow their list of candidates and take several important steps in the process. Suffice it to say, the Lord heard your prayers!

I’m pleased to announce that this week Mr. Drew Abercrombie accepted our call to be Director of Youth and Families. Drew grew up in Florida but spent his college years down the road in Dayton, TN, at Bryan College studying English. After college, Drew spent seven years on the mission field in Korea where he served in an international church doing campus ministry, teaching Bible studies, and leading home groups. It was also in Korea where he met and married his lovely wife, Kelly.

In 2019, the Abercrombies moved to Atlanta, GA, so Drew could begin his studies at Reformed Theological Seminary. Two weeks ago, that journey came to an end when Drew graduated from RTS with a Master of Divinity degree. While in seminary, Drew was a part time Student Director at Sojourn Church in Marietta, GA. In working with youth and families at Sojourn, Drew gained valuable ministry experience while his sense of call to pastoral ministry continued to grow and mature.

Drew is thoughtful, wise, and ministerial. He has a passion to see people grow closer to Jesus Christ and grow more into his likeness. He feels a particular call to work with youth and youth families, but he is grateful that this particular role provides regular opportunities for service to the whole Cornerstone family.

As you may have noticed, Drew is being called as Director of Youth and Families not a Minister of Youth and Families. That is because Drew is not yet ordained in the Presbyterian Church in America. Drew will begin the process of ordination in the PCA – a process that could last 18 months – when he arrives at Cornerstone. Upon completing the ordination process, Drew will become Cornerstone’s first Minister of Youth and Families.

Drew, Kelly, and their two little boys, Samuel and Silas, are planning to transition to Franklin in mid-July. In the meantime, remember them in prayer. They have a myriad of details to figure out––including finding a place to live. Furthermore, they will be giving many tearful goodbyes to their loving community in Marietta over the next several weeks while preparing to say hello to a whole host of new smiling faces at Cornerstone. It will be a whirlwind of a season, and your prayers will most certainly be a tremendous blessing to them.

Your servant,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, May 14, 2023

Dear Cornerstone family,

For nearly four years, Mr. Todd Russell has served as chairman of the deacons. In that time, Todd has been a servant’s servant, organizing and mobilizing the deacons for the physical care of the church and the wider community. Under Todd’s leadership, the diaconate has grown in health and effectiveness. In a word, Todd has been God’s man of the hour for us, and I can’t begin to express how grateful I am for his example of Christ-like leadership.

 Todd’s term as chairman is drawing to a close at the end of this month. Given his long and faithful service as an officer, the session was pleased to extend Todd an officer sabbatical. It is customary at Cornerstone for officers to be granted sabbaticals in order to be freed from any regular officer responsibilities for a season in order pursue rest and spiritual renewal. Todd will go on sabbatical June 1, 2023 until July 1, 2024.

 Looking ahead, the time has come for one of our other qualified deacons to take the helm. I’m pleased to announce that Mr. Wes Pittman is that man. Wes has a wealth of ministry experience in a variety of churches and leadership roles. Wes served as an officer previously in other PCA churches before being installed as a deacon at Cornerstone two years ago. Wes possesses the necessary leadership skills to carry the mission of the diaconate forward, building on the already strong foundation laid by previous deacon chairman. Please pray for Wes as he steps into this new role on June 1, 2023.

In other news, the long-anticipated renovations will begin this week! We’re starting with small augmentations to the platform in the chapel to slightly increase seating capacity. In addition to the platform changes, a number of other changes, including sound upgrades and new carpet, will be made over the next couple of weeks. Please pray that everything goes smoothly and according to plan!

Your servant,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, May 7, 2023

Dear Cornerstone family,

Last week, you, the congregation, overwhelmingly approved the session’s unanimous recommendation to pursue the purchase of 203 3rd Avenue South, the gray two-story antebellum home cattycorner to the chapel. This past week we informed the current owner of your approval. As particulars regarding the closing date are firmed up, we will let you know.

In addition to the property across the street, the plans for slight changes to the chapel and renovations of the 1st and 3rd floor continue to move forward. Several meetings with the architect and various teams happened this past week. If all the various approvals from the city come through and the crews and materials can all be lined up, the plan would be to begin and finish the renovation over the course of the summer.

Now, you’ve probably heard the old Woody Allen line, “If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans.” That’s doubly true when talking about construction timelines! Thankfully, our owner’s representative, The Riverstone Group, has done a fabulous job ordering and directing the process thus far. That said, we still have a number of ducks to get in a row (ducks don’t queue easily!) before we get a clearer read on the timeline. So, for now, we’re diligently nudging things forward resting in God’s sovereign control every step of the way.

Before I go, a few thoughts on moving through a season of change. First, let’s own the fact that change can be scary. Whenever change is on the horizon, we know a “new normal” is coming down the pike, and life will be topsy turvy for a bit. Whether it’s sending a kid to college, moving cities, entering retirement, the reality is the same––there will be losses and gains, joys and sorrows.

When a community – like a church – moves through a season of change, those same realities are present. Add to that the complexity that people respond differently to change. Some love change, others don’t. In change, some will focus on the gains; others on the losses. People will even disagree on gains and losses. (One person’s gain may be another person’s loss!) This is normal and should be expected.

So, as we move through this season as a congregation, I want to encourage you (as you already are doing) to exercise an extra measure of wisdom and care with your fellow brothers and sisters. Due to space constraints, let me offer just two (brief) instructions.

First, be patient and respectful with those who respond differently than you (1 Corinthians 9:19-23). Just because someone doesn’t see or experience a certain change in the way you do, doesn’t mean they are wrong. The goal is not to convince everyone that you’re right and they’re wrong, but to ensure that Christ is honored and that your brother or sister is loved well and built up in the faith (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

Second, stay focused on eternal matters in the midst of temporal changes (2 Corinthians 4:18). The physical church building pales in importance to the true and lasting temple of God, the church (2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1). Therefore, let’s set our mind on things above and commit to relate to one another as if the church and its mission is far more important than its meeting place. As the writer of Hebrews reminds us, “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come” (Hebrews 13:14). If we do these things, I have no doubt that we will grow together all the more through this season of change.

Your servant,