Pastoral Notes for Sunday, January 5, 2025

Dear Cornerstone family, 

Happy first Lord’s Day of 2025!

Every year I publish a curated favorite books list. Before we look at this year’s list, let me give you a caveat. By “favorite reads,” I don’t mean I agree with everything in each book, nor am I recommending each book for every reader. We’re all at different places along life’s journey, and each of us must make hard decisions about what to read, watch, listen to, etc. So, be discerning.  

I’ve exercised immense self-control and limited myself to only eight books. A tremendous feat! Maybe you’ll find something of interest. Enjoy!  

Eight Favorite Reads of 2024

  • On Getting Out of Bed: The Burden and Gift of Living by Alan Noble – Speaking from experience, Noble explores the different ways and different degrees mental pain affects us and the ones we love. Poetic and instructive, Noble skillfully navigates the depressive mind and proves to be a careful and wise guide for anyone groping in the darkness for the light.

  • Daily Doctrine by Kevin DeYoung – Designed as a one-year study in doctrine, DeYoung treats every major tenant of systematic theology in very brief (2-3 pages) but surprisingly thorough entries. It’s vintage DeYoung—clear, thoughtful, edifying. A worthy addition to any Christian’s library.

  • Why Liberalism Failed by Patrick Deneen – A professor at Notre Dame, Deneen takes on Enlightenment assumptions embedded in modern democracies—especially individual autonomy—and shows ironically why liberalism’s success is liberalism’s failure. Regardless of political prejudices, this work will challenge your thinking.

  • The Good Gift of Weakness by Eric Schumacher – From Genesis to Revelation, Schumacher shows how human frailty is not an obstacle to overcome but a gift to embrace. Vulnerable and convicting, this work will free you from the delusion of self-sufficiency and press home the beauty of God’s strength perfected in weakness. I needed this one.  

  • Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies by Marilyn Chandler McEntyre – Because we live in a spoken world and are made in the image of a speaking God, words are central to life, personhood, and meaning. In a world increasingly deconstructive of language, McEntyre urges Christians to be keepers of words—to cultivate a rich vocabulary for naming reality, communicating truth, and strengthening the social fabric. A lovely and needed work. 

  • Glorifying and Enjoying God by William Boekestein, Jonathan Cruse, and Andrew Miller – A devotional commentary on the Westminster Shorter Catechism that takes you through the catechism in 52 weeks. Chapters are short, substantive, and accessible. A great aid in personal devotions and family worship. Glad to see this in print.  

  • The Anxious Generation: How the Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt – The decrease in traditional forms of play alongside the malformities of screens is rewiring the brains of children (and adults) and the effects are devastating. Haunting and helpful, we must come to terms with Haidt’s diagnosis and prescription, hard as that may be.

  • C.S. Lewis in America: Reading and Reception, 1935-1947 by Mark Noll – I love C.S. Lewis and Mark Noll, so it was impossible to keep me away from this one. It’s an interesting look at how Lewis’s influence in the U.S. grew among the Catholics to the secular media and, finally, Protestant evangelicals. Well researched and illuminating, Noll provides a unique glimpse into why Lewis’s early reception sheds light on his enduring witness.

Your servant,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, December 22, 2024

Dear Cornerstone family, 

One of the staples of the Christmas season at Cornerstone is our annual Service of Lessons & Carols. For those new to our midst or unfamiliar with the history of this service, it began in 1918 at King’s College Cambridge led by Eric Milner-White. The opening service was received with such great acclaim that it became an annual tradition at King’s College.

The popularity of the service grew quickly after the BBC broadcast the service in 1928. The BBC has broadcast the service on Christmas Eve every year since 1928 with the exception of 1930. The broadcast extended oversees in the mid 1930’s and its popularity quickly spread worldwide. It was even broadcast during World War II when the stained-glass windows of the cathedral and the heat source were removed from the building for security reasons. During those dark and tumultuous days, the service of Lessons & Carols provided a gospel reminder of hope and peace.  

As the popularity of the service grew, churches around the globe began to adapt the service for their own corporate use. If you’ve never attended a Lessons & Carols service before, the power is in the simplicity of the Scriptural witness in word and song. It’s what Dean Milner-White called, “the development of the loving purposes of God through the windows and words of the Bible.”  

As we approach this special service, let me encourage you to let the Word carry you from the Garden of Eden to the babe in the manger in Bethlehem. For as you trace the hand of God in the salvation of the world, you are tracing the path of God’s love for his people, even you. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son…” (John 3:16).

Now, from the sublime to the mundane, let me make one final note. The church offices will be closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Then, from December 26 to January 1, the staff will enjoy some much needed “flex time.” We will be in and out of the office for meetings and tasks, but much of our work during that window of time will be carried out remotely. Please contact our Office Administrator, Whitney Ruff (admin@cstonepres.org), if there are any specific ways we can serve you during this time.

Your servant,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, December 15, 2024

Dear Cornerstone family, 

On November 21, 2021, we gathered as one church for one worship service at the Factory in Franklin for our 10th anniversary as a congregation. We had stirring worship that morning and a rip-roaring party that evening—complete with delicious Italian fare, a bluegrass band, and dancing. It was absolutely amazing!

As an aside, if you weren’t there for the occasion but wished you were, or if you were there and would like to relive it, you can visit the Cornerstone YouTube channel and search for “Cornerstone Anniversary: 10 Years of God’s Faithfulness” and watch the brief (7 minute) celebration video we produced. The video turned out great. It’s also fun to look back and see who is—and who isn’t—aging very well :)

The 10th anniversary celebration sparked a desire among leaders and congregation members alike to find time each year, if possible, to gather as one body for a singular worship service. In God’s good providence, the date that worked best for this year is today.

I am extremely grateful for Battle Ground Academy’s willingness to allow us to worship in the beautiful Center for Arts and Entrepreneurship. It is never easy to have an outside organization come into your space for a big event, but the staff and administration of BGA have gone out of their way to make sure we have all we need. It’s been a joy to work with them.

On the church side, it requires a lot of preparation, organization, and effort to transition from the downtown chapel to another location. For weeks, different staff members have been working at various levels to get ready for today. I want to especially thank Dan Fiedler, Everett Vencel, Christy Shurden, and Greg Wilbur for their leadership and labors. I also want to thank our deacons and the many volunteers on our hospitality, media, and communion preparation teams for doing much of the leg work required to make today happen. As you have opportunity, please take a moment to express your appreciation to these dear servants.

After the benediction, do not rush off! A church-wide fellowship with tasty breakfast food awaits you in the vestibule. And while you’re munching on goodies, pick up some Cornerstone swag. Cornerstone mugs, hats, and—today only—Cornerstone ornaments are available for purchase. Only $5! Get one while you can.

Finally, don’t forget to return to BGA tonight at 5:30 p.m. to hear the Cornerstone and New College Franklin choirs come together for a wonderful Christmas Concert. Led by our own Greg Wilbur, the two choirs will be performing a host of historic and contemporary pieces. I can hardly wait. Don’t miss it!

Your servant,

 

Pastoral Notes for Sunday, December 8, 2024

Dear Cornerstone family, 

Twelve years ago, Rev. Jason Helopoulos, Senior Pastor of University Reformed Church in East Lansing, MI, pulled together eight pastors from across the country with the expressed purpose of building deep, sincere, and accountable pastoral friendships. I was fortunate enough to be one of the men he called.

The design of these pastoral friendships is based on John Calvin’s company of pastors model in Geneva in the 1500’s. Calvin formed small ministerial fraternities (usually 6-8 pastors) where through regular meeting around the means of grace ministers are encouraged to share in godly fellowship and encourage each other to maintain high standards of ministry, be conscientious caretakers of their families, and be devoted to personal piety.

To carry out these objectives, our pastoral company (or “band of brothers” as we call it) seeks to perform these regular commitments:

• Attend a one-hour monthly phone and/or Zoom call
• Be on a weekly text chat with your group for the purpose of questions, prayer, and encouragement, and be committed to responding in a timely manner.
• Attend the PCA General Assembly annually and gather once together.
• Attend the Twin Lakes Fellowship in Jackson, MS, each year.
• Strive to take a two-day annual retreat as a company of pastors once a year.

I am grateful for the Cornerstone session giving me the freedom to get away with these brothers once a year for a few days. The lengthy time in the Word and prayer and in iron-sharpening-iron discussion is always personally renewing. I pray that renewal is seen and felt by you over time through the ministry of the gospel at Cornerstone.

Before I close, let me encourage you to remember Cornerstone as you make plans for end of the year giving. Our fiscal year runs from July to June, which means we’re five months into the 2024/2025 Cornerstone budget. In our first five months, we are tracking pretty close to budget projections for giving and expenses. As we move into the last half of the budget year, our expenses will increase. It’s vitally important that we see a sizable increase in giving during December to stay on track for the rest of the fiscal year. I would humbly ask you to invest in eternity and lay up treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:20) by helping us meet the growing needs of our growing flock.

Your servant,