A Great Weekend!

Had a great weekend....took Lori and some of our youth to Leadapalooza on Saturday. That is a youth leadership training event. We had a great time and learned a lot of cool schtuff and...



WE WON THE MINISTY MAKEOVER PACKAGE GRAND PRIZE!!!! Victoria had the winning number...we are calling her VictoriaS...because she is. We are so psyched...now we are finalizing our name choice and we'll start working on our logo to launch our website and that. Coolio indeed!



Also, Cornerstone hosted a "Professional Minister's Appreciate Luncheon" for our staff yesterday after our worship service. It was wonderful and a great time. I am so pleased to be able to live out my calling among some fantastic people. Cornerstone...YOU ROCK!!!

Perspective....

Man, Was I Thirsty!!!

So I cancelled my appointments today and spent the day at the park with God. Here is what He said to me:

"Come, all you who are thirsty,come to the waters;and you who have no money,come, buy and eat!Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. 2 Why spend money on what is not bread,and your labor on what does not satisfy?Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. 3 Give ear and come to me;hear me, that your soul may live.I will make an everlasting covenant with you,my faithful love promised to David. 4 See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,a leader and commander of the peoples. 5 Surely you will summon nations you know not,and nations that do not know you will hasten to you,because of the LORD your God,the Holy One of Israel,for he has endowed you with splendor." (Isaiah 55:1-5)

Thanks Lord....I really needed that. I'm claiming those promises, and thanks for prompting me to spend the day with you....

What a God Send!

Some words from the recent edition of Discipleship Journal:

"Given the choice, would you rather read a book or ride a bike? Ponder theological concepts or prepare a meal for a sick neighbor? Keep a journal or talk with a friend about your spiritual journey? Jot down musings about a Bible passage or debate an issue? Guess what - most material on spending time with God is written by people who would choose the first option in each question..."

So the article goes on to talk about how to enjoy the presence of God and allow Him to enjoy you in ways that are not so passive and sedentary. Praise the Lord...finally some resources for the more tactile learners of the world!

So, fellow kinesthesians, how do you experience the presence of God in active, experiential ways?

15 Years Ago Today...

...Carla and I were married. After she gets home from school, we are going to spend the rest of the day together. She is my best friend, my closest companion, a true encouragement, and a wonderful Christian example. She is more beautiful than ever, wittier than ever, and more in her element as a student nurse than I have ever seen. She is a constant source of joy in my life and the greatest gift God has given me apart from His Son. I thank the Lord for her, for our relationship, and for every day that we get to enjoy one another.

Jesus' Method of Discipleship

This list is from Mike Yaconelli, who summarized Jesus' methods of discipling people like this:

Hang out with the disciples…
Let them see you at your best and your worst…
Teach truths that none of your disciples can grasp at the moment…
Avoid crowds…
Go slowly…
Spend hours in solitude…
Don’t worry about opposition…
Ignore criticism…
Don’t expect immediate results…

Whaddya think?

For the Birds!

On Saturday, Carla and I spent the day together...what a blast. We went to the National Aviary on the North Side of Pittsburgh. What a cool city in which to live. We had so much fun learning about different birds and observing them. God is amazing and His creation testifies to His goodness and love at every 'tern'...get it? Tern...turn? Nevermind...

Anywho, we had a blast together. I thank God for my wonderful wife, for days off, and for a God who is worthy of all of our praise, as well as the praise of His creation....

He Who Is Not With Me...

Jesus said "He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters." (Matthew 12:30) An interesting statement, to be sure. What does He mean?

Well last night Carla and I attended the Bishop's Night on the District gathering at St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Allison Park. He had a very inspiring message about life and how to choose it for our churches. This verse came to mind as he was speaking, because I believe this is what Jesus was saying to His disciples in the first place.

We must choose to follow Jesus, which according to Him in this statement is simply being "with" Him. If we are not, then we have chosen, without even choosing, not to be with Him. As the Lord tells us in 1 John 5:12 "He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life." Choosing to be with Jesus is a choice for life, and all that it can be. Not being with Jesus is a choice to die...in every sense of the word.

For the people called Cornerstone, as much impact as my leadership can have, I choose to be with Jesus. And, therefore, I choose life.

Living in the "Pause"

Why am I so tempted to have an answer for everything? Why do I react so quickly and decisively to everything (while often reacting poorly)? Why am I afraid of the "pause?"

You know what I mean...someone says something and I feel the need to immediately respond or defend or counter or explain. Why do I do that?

I am discovering, in this Christian discipleship course I'm taking called life (!), that sometimes the pause isn't so bad. I am learning that sometimes no reaction is the best reaction. I am learning that I seldom find immediate results in anything, so why do I expect that I can affect immediate results in anything, especially by my hasty response?

I'm learning to live in the pause....

Great Book!

If you haven't read this, you may want to add it to your reading list. I think every Christian needs to be equipped to understand younger Christians so that we can be prepared to mentor them. This text is very helpful to me in understanding how differently our young people act from when I was considered a young person.

Sunday night with our senior high youth, I tried some things out. We rearranged the worship center and set up some candles, dimmed the lights, and had a prayer station. Our Bible study was about how our relationship with our parents can mirror and effect our relationship to our heavenly Father. The youth really seemed to enjoy our time of contemplation and introspection. One 9th grade girl texted me later that evening that the experience was "relaxing and serene."

Imagine that. In my day, we wanted to party. In this day and age, our kids are suffering from sensory overload. Time to sit quietly, listen, meditate, and reflect were a blessing to this young woman. Times are changing. I am challenged to keep up with it...for the Kingdom's sake!

The Rock!

I am excited for Cornerstone's new ministry that is launching in a few weeks. It is called "The Rock" and here is the story:

I think our Sunday morning worship has been going very well. We are seeking the Lord more and more and the focus is on Him, where it ought to be.

There is more to being the church, however, than just worshiping. A few of the things that I am passionate about have really been falling through the cracks throughout our period of growth. They are:

1. Connecting people with each other. As our worship attendance continues to grow, we find it harder and harder to connect with each other on Sundays.
2. Connecting people to the Lord in the midst of community. We need to be growing deeper in our faith as we share that discipleship journey together.
3. Connecting people to the community in meaningful ministry. We need to get outside the four walls and bless this community in the name of Jesus Christ.

SO, after lots of prayer, discussion, soul-searching, brainstorming, and the like, we settled upon the ROCK. Every Wednesday evening we will gather at our Ministry Center. The worship space will be rearranged so that we'll be seated around round tables. There will be some coffee-house style opening worship, then an evening of interactive teaching, learning, discussion, and relationship building around the tables.

Once a month, we will gather for a covered dish dinner, then hit the community in some meaningful ministry. I can't wait!

This all starts on Wednesday, October 17 and we're going to kick it off with a few evenings of learning just how to dig into the Bible in rich and Kingdom building ways. Then on October 31, we are going to gather for dinner and head out into the various housing developments to "reverse trick-or-treat." We have frisbees that we'll be handing out to all the kids we see, and if don't see any, we'll be knocking on doors to give them away.

I am so blessed to be serving a church on the move. Thank you Lord for this privilege!!!

Ping Pong Ball Brain

The staff of Cornerstone went on a mini retreat yesterday. We went to Moraine State Park for a gorgeous day of team building, Bible study, and honest reflection about ourselves and our calling to ministry. I am so blessed to work with Pat, Laura, and Lori. They are awesome, and the four of us are having fun working together, truly, as a team. This is such a blessing and a "pastoral ministry career" dream of mine come true.

One of the revelations about me that keeps coming to the surface is, as Lori puts it, my ping pong ball brain. My thoughts just bounce around inside my head and they never seem to settle down. I'm always thinking of too many things at once!

So what is the resolution to this? How do I cope? What do I need to do to give up some of the worrying in there, and the solving issues that may not even exist? Well, I believe the answer, as always, is given by God. He revealed this answer to me through Paul in 2 Corinthians 10:5: "...take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."

So Lord, for all those ping pong thoughts in my head, I take them captive and make them obedient to you. Thanks for the help!!! Hey look at that butterfly...

The Big Time!

I just read the latest edition of the United Methodist Interlink newspaper and discovered an article about blogging. Thanks Randy for gettin' the word out, and thanks Chris for maintaining the blogroll.

Boy, Did THAT Feel Good...

So yesterday I'm driving along in my little Saturn. I had a book that I wanted to share with someone so I sat it on my front seat. Well the first red light I come to, I slow down and it slides off the seat and hits the floor. I patiently pick it up and sit it on the seat again, only to repeat the process at the next red light. Now I am starting to get irritated. So realizing that it is ridiculous to keep doing the same thing and expecting different results, I pick up the book and place it, with authority, on the dashboard. So when I pull away from the stop light, the book slides off the dashboard and, you guessed it, onto the floor. Now here is where I get really mature. I picked the book up off of the floor, then I wailed back to the floor with great force! (In my mind I was thinking "Fine, book, if that is where you want to be, then that is where you WILL be, ">#*%@)$*!!!")

As I drove along, I began to laugh. How silly I was acting...like a 3 year old!!! And yet, how much better I felt as I drove along with that book sitting in punishment on the floor. Yeah, I'm a big boy now!

So Lord, thanks for not slamming to the ground when I don't stay where you put me. You're SO much more mature than me! Thanks for being willing to, ever-so-slowly, make me like you...

We ask for a buck when He wants to give us $20

Yesterday, I began preaching through Philippians. We were scheduled to begin a series called "Tough Questions We Ask God" and we're still going to go there, but it is just postponed. I felt called to preach through a book of Scripture and here is why:

Often my preaching is based on a series or on issues or whatever. And so, in a sense, we go to God and say "here is what we need to know, so give us this..." OK. That is valid. So we ask Him for $1.

But God is way more able to know what we want or need more than we can know. He has a $20 for us! We miss out on the fullness of knowing Him because we think we know what He wants from us, or to give us.

We are going to God over these next weeks and saying "Hey, we don't have a clue what you want to show us!" And as I found out, we often ask for a buck, and all the while He wants to give us a $20...

Alrighty Then!

So I will continue to blog...you have convinced me that there is value in this. So here are some thoughts. I met with a "developing friend" yesterday for some thought and perspective. Randy shared with me some things he believes are important for the right balance in life:

1. Weekly worship (and for the pastor's crowd, that means going somewhere else to worship...Sunday night, Wednesday night...whatever)
2. Daily solitude (you mean I have to shut up and listen? NO!)
3. Daily Bible reading (now again, we pastor-type people do far too much Bible study for a sermon or group or SS class or to argue theology on our blogs than we do to just get to know the Author! Ouch!)
4. Time off (which Randy said, and I agree, that one day standing alone isn't effective. He suggests, for pastors, to bank our precious 1 day per week thing and lump them into 2 or 3 days off together. This allows for descent, rest, and ascent about our work.)
5. Compartmentalize your job (which for pastors means "when you're on the clock, work at it with all your heart. And when you're not, put it out of your mind until you are again."

Now some of this sounds easy, but is NOT! So who said being a Christian would be easy? Are we bowing down to the god of our personal comfort, or to the Suffering Servant? And wasn't Jesus blessed in His obedience...and won't we be?

"The Purpose-Driven Blog"

(BTW, I know many will ask how achieved such beautiful graphics on my blog. I used this really cool new program called "Paint" on my PC. You should try it...you can see what amazing things you can do with it!)

by Rick Warren...er, I mean, Brett Probert!

What IS the purpose of blogging? I am posing this question to myself a lot lately. I find that I can spend so much time blogging and reading other people's blogs that I begin to wonder why. As we say in French... a quoi bon?

So I ask thee, what IS the purpose of this all? Is it just another inane pasttime? Is it a way to avoid the true tasks of ministry? Is it really "building community," or just a false shadow of that?

What do you think? I may abandon this blog...I need to decide whether the purpose of it justifies its existence. Just think, you may save this blog from extinction with your titillating commentary, and I don't even know what titillating is!

The scandalous gospel...

...but [Jesus] said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in {your} weakness."

Wow...what a concept. In this world that seeks perfection (see those ads on TV?), how scandalous of God to tell us that He is strongest when we are weak. And why? Because when we're strong and "in control," there is no room for His strength.

Even in the church...many seek perfection. Cornerstone is far from that. And yet I believe that is one of our greatest strengths...we are real, and we value that "realness." We value it because we know that is how God's strength can be seen best.

Lord, allow me to be as strong and capable as you desire me to be. May I never be as strong as I and others desire me to be, so that you may be seen.

Thank you Lord for good friends...

I got back yesterday from a two-day camping retreat with two of my friends from our accountability group. We went to Raccoon Creek State Park and camped overnight for a mini-retreat. What a great time. We had a lot of laughs as we always do. More than that, however, we really stepped out in honest conversation with one another. We talked of our fears, our sin struggles, our tempations, and what we saw in each other. We talked of forgiveness and strength and accountability. We talked of how to better support each other so that we can better Christians, family men, and pastors. Thanks Chris and Greg for taking the time and for being willing to walk with me on this journey. You're the best!

FWIW

I am back from vacation. We had a good time...it was nice to get away. We spent 4 days helping Carla's parents finish their moving process, then we goofed off for a few days. We ended up in Erie for a few days and had a great time.

I am "back to work" now and I am doing some soul-searching. Vacations do that to me, and I think it is good. I saw an article about the senseless killing of Gorillas in DRC, very close to where I used to live as a Peace Corps Volunteer. It hit me hard and started me thinking about what is truly important. I read my friend Randy's blog entry which just blew me away and convicted me to further introspection. I read a few articles in REV magazine which made me realize how much leadership has become an idol of the pastorate. I realized how little time I spend in working on my own relationship with Jesus...and how much time I spend trying to be a good pastor. And I've come to the same conclusion as Solomon...it is chasing after the wind.

I need to step back and make some big changes. I need to get serious about my relationship with God. I need to covet being a Christian, instead of coveting being a pastor. I need to start being honest with God, honest with myself, and honest with those closest to me about who I am, who I am not, what I can really give in life, and what I really need.

So I started reading some OT prophets...just for me. Here is the hope I claim based on the warnings God has given to me:

Zephaniah 3:9-13
9 "Then will I purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the name of the LORD and serve him shoulder to shoulder. 10 From beyond the rivers of Cush my worshipers, my scattered people, will bring me offerings. 11 On that day you will not be put to shame for all the wrongs you have done to me, because I will remove from this city those who rejoice in their pride. Never again will you be haughty on my holy hill. 12 But I will leave within you the meek and humble, who trust in the name of the LORD. 13 The remnant of Israel will do no wrong; they will speak no lies, nor will deceit be found in their mouths. They will eat and lie down and no one will make them afraid." (NIV)

We'll Be On Vacation...

Carla and I are taking a vacation beginning after worship today. I will be back to work by Tuesday the 21st of August. I will miss you. I will just assume that you are missing me...it makes me feel better that way.

Core Values

Starting Sunday, Cornerstone is going to take a four week journey in reviewing and renewing our commitment to our core values. Core values are the basic, fundamental principles that govern and guide how we conduct ourselves and which decisions we make. Our core values can be found here.

We base our core values on Psalm 34:1-8. If we do not review them from time to time, then we really don't value them. If we don't use them to guide our course, then we really don't value them.

It gets me to thinking...what are my own personal core values? How about you?

Thanks to some great people

We held our Vacation Bible School this past week and what a blast. Kids were excited to be learning about the Lord. It was such a blessing to see kids walking in a relationship with Jesus. How cool is that? I am humbled and amazed at our many gifted and dedicated people who make this kind of stuff happen. Lori, our Family Ministries Coordinator, did an amazing job. It was the smoothest running operation by any measurement standard. We had at least 35 helpers every evening, and with absolutely no begging or arm twisting. What a blessing to serve in a place where people really desire to serve and do so with their whole hearts. God is good, and I am thanking Him today for the chance to be the pastor of an amazing group of people. You all ROCK! Wa-HOO!

Driven, or Faithful?

For the last 15 years or so, I've been wrestling with this concept: What is the difference between being driven (usually used in the negative to describe over-achiever, type A, work-a-holic, etc.) and being faithful? As a Christ-follower, my desire is to be like Him. My goal in life is to act as He does...to allow Him to live through me. So was Jesus driven? I mean, He obviously worked long hours and never settled on second best. He did everything He did with His whole heart and energy behind it. When asked about the greatest commandment (recorded in Matthew 22:36-40), He talked about loving God with everything we have. No half-heartedness here.

But by the same token, He knew when to get away; He knew when to rest; He knew when to pray. In a word, Jesus was faithful.

So how does one live out a life of faithfulness without being "driven?" How does one walk that balance? How does one know when to "with all your heart, soul, mind" kinda stuff and when to "he left them and went up on the mountain" kinda stuff?

In order to be faithful, it seems that there must be some order of "driven-ness" but that is also a great place of danger.

Maybe that's what Jesus was talking about when He said "the road to life is a narrow road..."

Email...OY!

Email...bane or blessing? It can be a great tool of blessing, but it can be a tool of destruction. So, I am authoring a new book called "Email, the Way Jesus Would" It is a short story, so short it is in fact contained here:

1. Use email to encourage, lift up, and edify people.

2. Use email to share facts.

3. Never use email to complain about, gossip about, or tear down people.

4. Never use email to "discuss" anything.

The end.

Epilogue: Everyone who did lived happily ever after...

Things vs. People

So Carla says to me the other day, "why do we as humans spend so much time talking about people instead of about things?" You know...gossip. Good question...one that I cannot get out of my head. In the meantime, the Lord planted another question. "Why do we care more about things that we do about people?" Another good one.

We care more about things, but we talk more about people. How sad.

We need to care about people so we see their hurts and fears. We need to care enough about people to share Jesus with them. We need to care enough about people to step into their worlds and show them the King and His Kingdom.

And we need to talk about things. Not just any old things, but about things that matter. We need to talk about the Lord. We need to talk about love and grace and mercy and holiness. We need to talk about faith and faithfulness. We need to talk about the Word and the impact it has on life today.

Lord, help me to care enough about people to talk about the right things....

Healing Service

This coming Sunday, Cornerstone will conduct a healing service. We have rearranged the chairs in a circle to face the center. Around of the outside of the circle, there are various stations. One has a cross and some notecards and pencils for people to offer written confessions to the Lord. An anointing station is at the foot of the biggest cross and people seeking healing will be invited to kneel and be anointed. The whole service is structured around James 5:13-16. There are several prayer stations around the worship center too. One station is a place to receive and celebrate communion. Each participant will receive a carnation and will be invited to pray for someone who needs healing as they place the flower in a large arrangement at another station. All the while, our worship leaders will be quietly singing and praying while various Scriptures are shared. I am very excited for what the Lord will be doing in people's lives as we look to Him. Please pray for us.

A good weekend...

Had a very good weekend. Here are some highlights:

A blast on Friday just hanging in the 'burgh w/ Carla...ended w/ Pirate game and fireworks w/ friends called Cornerstone. What a great time.

Watching the Lord work in some people's lives yesterday in worship. Awesome.

Picking up trash and playing paintball w/ some Cornerstone kids.

Now I'm off to a good Monday...

The Wheat and the Weeds

Tomorrow, I'll be sharing the parable from Matthew 13 about the wheat and the weeds. Only Matthew records this parable of Jesus, which is curious in and of itself. The parable is a tough one, to be sure. Here are some thoughts:

At our parsonage, there are some weeds in some of the flower beds. This afternoon, I am going to spray them with RoundUp weed killer. That will take care of them...

I hope none of the spray gets on the flowers...

I like to think of myself as a flower...

I am probably closer to a weed than I am a flower...

I wonder if God ever thinks about using "weed killer..."?

I'm not gonna reinvent the wheel...

...so I am just going to say amen to this...