Lead Pastor Blog III.II

I recently decided I want my own lane of traffic in Saskatoon. I don’t mean all to myself I mean my own lane for guys like me. You know, middle aged male drivers who actually know how to drive in any and all conditions! I don’t want teen-age drivers or senior citizen drivers or female drivers in my lane. I don’t want moms with 3 car seats and a sign that says, “Baby on board” in my lane. I don’t want young businessmen with a cell phone illegally stuck in their ear in my lane. I don’t want the out of town you know who in a pick up truck making his once a month run into the city in my lane either. I just want guys like me.

Guys who know what to do when the weather is spectacular. Guys who can read slippery conditions and aren’t distracted by six other things, people or issues happening in their vehicle. Guys who can drive in the snow when conditions demand it. Guys who know when to pass and when to follow. Guys who aren’t too old and who definitely are not too young. Guys who aren’t on the road trying to impress anyone. They are not in some life and death hurry to get to where they are going. These are the guys I want to share my lane of traffic with around the city of Saskatoon. I think I’ll approach city council with the idea. I suspect there would be protests if that idea actually passed. There would be a plethora of special interest groups trying to get their own lane of traffic. It would be madness and chaos all because I just want a lane for guys like me.

The more I thought about that the more I saw the church. How many of us attend church with the idea that our church would be better if there were more people like us? If there were more people like us we could agree on things like music or time of service or length of service. We could agree on what to wear or what not to wear (no ties at my church!) We could agree on what translation of the Bible is the right translation. We could agree on what programs we would offer or not offer. We could agree on what kind of coffee to serve of if coffee should be served at all. We could agree on who should go and help the poor and who can stay home. We could agree on drums or no drums, on acoustic or electirc guitar, piano or organ. We could agree on how loud the music should be.   We could agree on who should share their faith and who doesn’t have to.  We could agree on how much money to give and how much to keep.

But church is not made up of people who are all like me. Now it is possible that some of you reading this are saying to yourself, “Thank goodness there aren’t more people like you at our church.” The church is designed by God so that there would be different personalities in attendance. Just check out the disciples. This group was diverse. Who wants a church full of Peters? A bunch of people all trying to talk at the same time is what you would get with that. What about a church full of Thomas type personalities. Doubting everything and believing very little about anything if there wasn’t absolute tangible proof. What would get accomplished in that church?

Today we, at Cornerstone, have a variety of personalities making this church their home. That is not bad. In fact it is good. It teaches us to get along with each other. It teaches us that none of us are always right all the time. It teaches us that we have to learn how to work with people who do not think, act or behave like us but still call Jesus their saviour. It teaches us that God has this incredible ability to take a diverse group of people and make them into a cohesive unit that works together to bring Him glory. We have people here who have no church background but now Cornerstone is their church. Some of you were almost born here and you have attended ever since your mom brought you in as a newborn. Some come from a liberal background. Some come from an ultra-conservative background. Some were Baptists or Alliance or MB or even Pentecostal but now you are with us, here at Cornerstone, learning to walk with God.  The call of God is for us to do this together.  There is no place in scripture where it says we can be a follower of God all by ourselves.  Nope, God calls us to do this in a community called the church.

That is the challenge before us on a continual basis.  We must walk toether.  We must show the world that although we are very different we have the same Lord.  We must model a love for each other that attracts the world.  We must avoid division on the basis of personal wants or opinions.  We must surrender to our Lord fully understanding that the work He is doing in the lives of others may not look exactly like the work He is doing in my life.  There is no church where everyone thinks, acts and behaves like me.  Thank the good Lord for that but now go walk with those you are called to walk with in this journey called faith.  It is what God has designed.

Me?  I’m going to work on my proposal to city council for a lane of traffic for middle-aged guys who know how to drive!

Lead Pastor’s Blog III.I

His name is Rene and he is another Marc Honorat. Marc was a child slave from age 5 to 12. Stop for a moment and say those words, “Child Slave” out loud. Marc and his wife Lisa met Rene within the past few months. Rene is a child slave today in Grand Goave, the same city where Marc was a child slave. Rene just turned 13 and he began school this past year with Marc’s help. Marc started school at the age of 12 and finished grade 12 when he was 25. Rene possibly has the same path in front of him.  It would be good for us to pray that this young man walks the same path as Marc.

Today, 2011, child slavery is alive and well in Haiti. This is the story that stands out for me on this trip. So many things do not change in this poor country. The devastation is still prevalent everywhere you look but like much in the spiritual realm if you have eyes to see you can see God’s grace at work in this country as well. I am hoping to meet Rene tonight as Marc thinks he may be at the church service. Rene’s slave parents allow him to go to church and they consented to him starting school as long as Marc and Lisa pay for it.

A few other things that I will bring home with me are the following…they still worship God with such unashamed joy. Last Saturday as I sat on the raised platform waiting for my cue to speak I looked out at the sea of faces. Remember why I am here. These people have been through a year from hell. Many of them have lost loved ones, homes and any sense of security but when the worship starts they light up. I sat there thinking they have no reason to smile but a 100 reasons to be angry, disappointed, frustrated or desperate as well as a host of other negative emotions. But the truth is they smile as they worship God. They smile, they dance, they laugh and they sing. Perhaps this more than any other thing is what I long for our North American church to grasp. I want us to rediscover the true honest joy that can happen when we worship God. I want our faces to reflect a joy that comes deep from within knowing that the best thing we have is Jesus.

The other experience I take from this is the hunger of their leaders to know more. As I taught my seminars on leadership they scribbled down notes like there was no tomorrow. They are hungry to learn. They are hungry to grow. They know change is necessary and they are looking to be equipped to lead that change. It is humbling to be asked to equip leaders and humbling to see their appreciation in being equipped. I need a fresh touch from God in regards to that kind of hunger.

Staying at Haiti Arise really is like staying at an oasis in the midst of a sea of desperation. If I never left the compound I would soon forget how desperate the need is outside these walls. A brief walk through the community quickly puts things in perspective. We walk past a home where three women of various ages sit around an open fire with blank looks on their faces. One of them holds a baby but there is no sense of motherly joy in her face. Her eyes are sunken and her shoulders slumped in a defeated kind of way. This is the Haiti all around these walls. At the next stop a little kid of about 3 or 4 comes up with a shirt on and nothing else. He wants to touch the white man. Soon 5 or 6 of his friends or brothers, who knows, join us for a few steps. They ask for money which Marc has already told us not to give. We keep going but you wonder what is on the table for those kids tonight. A little further and some kids are tormenting an older women and she picks up a rock to throw at them but then drops the rock when she sees us. I was kind of hoping she would chuck it at the little trouble makers.

Place after place along our walk you see people sitting around open fires talking, some laughing but a whole lot of nothing going on. They have no jobs and precious little hope. I think to myself as we walk I am walking beside the man who is trying to give them hope. We tour the property where Marc hopes to put a school, large church and children’s village. It is a dream right now but I want to dream with him that we as a church can help make a difference in this land. There is something powerful about dreams. There is something that draws you to a man who has a dream.  In a country with so little is it not the least we can do to help their dreams become reality?

I encourage you to start praying now for our team that is coming here in February. I would love to come back with them but that is not going to happen. For now I look forward to chatting with them before they leave and then hearing all about it when they get back.

God is at work in Haiti if you have eyes to see. God is at work in Saskatoon if you have eyes to see. Ask God to open all our eyes to see what He is doing and then be part of the dream of changing our world.

Lead Pastor Blog II.XIII

In January 2010 I shared a series of messages from Matthew 25 the story Jesus told about the sheep and the goats. This story is not one of those that makes you scratch your head wondering what Jesus meant. No, this one is crystal clear but honestly some of us still don’t get it.

The essence of the story is that Jesus is saying whatever we did or did not do to “the least of these” we did or did not do to Him. To the hungry we gave food, to the thirsty we gave water, to those needing clothes we clothed them and to those sick or in prison we helped them or we did nothing.

Throughout this year we have been reminded at various times and in various ways about this passage which leads me to believe it is a message God wants Cornerstone to hear.

On the second Sunday of Advent this year God met us at church in a startling fashion. He drew our attention to the needs in our own city. Not Toronto or Vancouver but Saskatoon. The way that happened was through Hands On Ministries down on 20th. We had Rick Langlais come and share at our Friday morning men’s breakfast. We left disturbed with the news of what is happening within our own city. We discovered that we have over 250 prostitutes under 16 working our streets. These are under age children so as Rick said let’s call it what it is….these girls are being raped.

It was a sobering, disturbing Sunday because we were talking about the coming of the Messiah. It should be nice and Christmas-like but the truth is Jesus came to change lives. He did not come so we could have church. He did not come to make us comfortable. He did not come so we could be nice. He came to change our hearts and to give us a message to share.

Early on Monday morning a group of men met at a local restaurant to answer…what’s next? Here is what the plan is. 1. Rick Langlais will speak at Cornerstone this Sunday December 12th. 2. We will have an orientation session with police and Rick to train us how to work in that part of our city. We will announce the date once we have it arranged. 3. We want a team of people to commit to praying. This is a spiritual battle. We need to address it spiritually in prayer. 4. We will be putting together a small team to give leadership to this area of our church. 5. This Sunday and every month in 2011 on the second Sunday we will gather dry goods/groceries to give to Hands On for the work they do with children. If you go back and look over those action plan steps all of us can be involved somewhere.

Let’s start this Sunday by bringing groceries and listening to Rick. Be prepared to be challenged. Rick is blunt.

God is at work. There are a host of stories I could share already about the work God is doing. I told our men this morning if we get into this we aren’t doing it short-term. We either commit or we don’t do it at all. Remember the vision…Cornerstone will be a church that changes the world by the grace of God. This is the kind of stuff that changes the world. Are you ready? Pray.

Parable – The Society of Picking Apples

Russ – Parable of The Society of Picking Apples from Lorn Gieck on Vimeo.

Lead Pastor’s Blog II.XII

I have a number of books on the go right now. I recently read these words from Bill Hybel’s latest book, “The Power of a Whisper”. He said, “There is no more critical goal in life than to keep a pliable heart before God.”

I have just completed a series of messages on the topic of stewardship. We covered finances, gifts/talents/abilities, life itself and lastly thoughts. We are called by God to live as wise stewards with the things we have under our own control.

I would not be surprised if Mr. Hybels shared his statement above from the context of this verse of scripture in I Samuel 16. But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Samuel must be confused at this point. He has come to annoint the next king of Israel and this guy named Eliab is perfect….in Samuel’s eyes. Samuel thought he knew what a king should look like and he had a king in his presence but God said “not him.” God’s standards are different.

God knows my heart. God knows my thoughts. Stop. Right. Here. This should change everything. If I truly believe this verse then it changes everything about the way I live and see my world. God knows my thoughts right now. Ponder. Think. Meditate. God sees what no one else sees. Who am I fooling? What difference does it make about how I look? God will not now nor will he ever judge me on how I look. This verse has the chance to revolutionize the church in North America.

David was not invited to the coronation. David was an after thought of his father, his brothers and even the prophet of God Samuel. David was too young. David was too small. David was not fit for the role of king. David was not kingly material in the eyes of his world. Finally after all the fuss and muss David is issued an invitation to come from the fields where he was tending sheep. As the shepherd boy walks through the door God speaks to Samuel. “Rise and annoint him; he is the one.”

God loved David’s heart. God loved the things that were inside of David that no one else saw. God saw a king when the world saw a shepherd boy. When I choose to live out the truth of I Samuel 16:7 it changes me. It changes my priorities. It changes what is important to me. It changes how I relate to my world as well as how I relate to the people in my world.

The church needs to hear this message. God is looking and has always looked at our hearts. God sees what we don’t want anyone else to see. Quit comparing yourself to what someone else is, has or does. Take your heart and surrender that to God. Ask him to reshape your heart into one that He will be impressed with.

Hybels went on to make these three short statements: God cannot be seen by spiritual eyes that are shut. God cannot be heard by spiritual ears that are plugged. And God cannot be followed by a heart that stubbornly stays hard.

How soft is your heart right now?

Lead Pastor’s Blog II.XI

October is stewardship month for Cornerstone. I like the word stewardship. The word steward, according to the Collins Universal Dictionary, means one who manages another’s property. Carrying that thought a little further we see that stewardship is about management. Obviously stewardship is not just about finances. We can talk about stewardship of our natural resources or stewardship of our relationships or our bodies. Managing what we have been entrusted with is a good way of looking at stewardship.

In Hebrews 9:27 we are told that man is appointed to die once and after that to face the judgment. There will come a day when I leave this earth and in a moment, a twinkling of the eye I will be in the presence of eternal glory. I will see God for the very first time. I will lay eyes on the one who has done so much for me. I will see the nail scarred hands of my Saviour. I will look at the one called Jesus who loved me so much that He was willing to take my sin upon Himself and pay the price for my salvation on a cruel Roman cross.

I will see Jesus. Nothing will ever be the same after that for I will be in heaven. Eternity in the presence of my Lord. At that moment when I stand/kneel/bow before Him I do not want regrets. I do not want to be there with a whole lot of oh my goodness I wish I had lived life differently thoughts racing through my head. Now is the time to make that happen.

You see what I experience then is to a certain degree determined by how I live now. I know I am not going to live the rest of my years perfectly. I know I make mistakes each and every day of my life. However I also know God is prompting me in many different areas to change, to grow if you will. This is a good thing. I have much to learn in regards to living like Jesus. This is a process I am trying to embrace because I know it is for my benefit to change.

Being a wise steward or manager is simply planning for the future. In the area of finances it is wise not to make money all about me. It is wise to be generous. It is wise to help others. It is wise to live with less in order to plan for the future. It is wise to live like a steward understanding the money has never been mine but rather God’s. Wisdom is directly connected to living life God’s way and not my way. Wisdom means I ask God how He wnats me to live. Wisdom is about asking God for direction in regards to the money that I am managing. My wife and I have been greatly challenged in this area. We are examining everything from the car we drive to the home we live in. We are laying these things before God asking for His direction sensing that things are about to change in our own journey as a couple. Paul told Timothy in his first letter chapter 6:8 that if we have food and clothing we will be content with that. We are asking ourselves where does our contentment sit? Is our current stewardship pleasing to the one who owns it all?

I will stand before Him sooner than I think. How I live here has an impact upon that moment. The person that I am stewarding all this stuff for has said that I can lay up for myself treasures in heaven.

That seems like a pretty good trade-off to me. I do with a little less here so that I have a lot more there to offer to the one who did everything for me. Are you living for the here and now or the there and forever?

Lead Pastor’s Blog II.X

I bounce back and forth between the truth that there is so much work that needs to be done versus I am so excited about where we are headed as a church family. As a general rule of church leadership summer moving into fall carries that kind of weight. Programs are getting ready to start up again. New ministries are often launched at this time of year. New people have moved in and are looking for a church. It is an exciting time each year. This year is the same and different. It is the same in that we have lots of ministries gearing up for the fall. We are truly excited about that but this year things are also different.

God has been moving in our midst this summer at Cornerstone. The Sunday in July when Mr. Mike Hack spoke was a Sunday to remember, a Sunday when people were making life-changing decisions. Mike works for a ministry called Operation Mobilization and he lives in South Africa even though he grew up in nearby Waldheim. God used Mike to awaken us to the truth that we are in a Spiritual battle and that we need to make a life decision to surrender to Jesus Christ. It seems to simple but it has such profound implications.

Our Moderator has had our church leadership read a book called “Radical” by David Platt. To say it has stirred us would be understating the truth. The message in the book is very much in line with the message Mike shared with us. We need to wake up to the truth that God is calling us to absolute surrender. The church in North America needs to wake up says Mr. Platt. Wake up to the needs of the poor in our world and the biblical truth about salvation. God is stirring in our midst, so as much as things are the same as most summers…..this year there is a difference.

It is not business as usual. It is not just another summer heading into fall. This year things are different. As you walk into a Sunday service or connect with people during the week there is just a sense that things are different in a very positive way. Cornerstone is on the move. Perhaps a wave is a good mental picture to contemplate. A fresh wave of God’s Spirit pouring over us. A cleansing wave causing us to examine our own lives and get things right with God. A wave moving us in a fresh direction of God’s choosing. We are not in control of the wave. We just choose whether we watch the wave or catch the wave. Catching the wave has an incredible excitment associated with it.

It also has our future associated with it. If this is God’s wave then we do need ride it as a church body. As a collection of individuals we need to catch this wave and ride it empowered by the Spirit who created the wave. This summer things are different at Cornerstone. This summer God has stirred within us a church family. He has called us back to the basics. Where are you? Are you riding the wave? Are you watching the wave? Are you surrendered to Jesus Christ?

Things are the same as any other year but things are definitely different this year. Have you sensed it? Come on, let’s ride the wave together.

Lead Pastor’s Blog II.IX

I want to follow up the message from Sunday July 18 with some thoughts that may help those who were there or even challenge those who were not in attendance. If you missed that Sunday you may want to listen to the podcast once it’s up on our website.

The thrust of the message was that we are called by our very relational God to serve Him. When God showed up on Moses’ job site in Exodus 3 He was coming to call Moses into service. Each and every one of us who dare to call ourselves Christians are called to serve. As I pondered the message on Sunday afternoon I wondered why I would not serve God. Why would I deliberately choose to not serve this incredible God who has done so much for me? Every day of my life I am the beneficiary of His abundant grace. Every day there are new opportunities for me to grow in my understanding of what He has in store for me as I walk with Him. Every day it is a privilege to serve this indescribable God. Why would I not serve Him?

The truth is the evangelical church in North America has an abundance of people who make that choice each day. They choose not to serve. Now the reasons are many. It may be that some feel too stressed or too busy. It may be that some feel inadequate. I have heard the old standby of I did my time indicating that currently their job is simply to take up a spot in the service on Sunday morning. I have been given the line that I’m attending university so I can’t serve. There are many more excuses given as to why people choose not to serve. Honestly though there are very few excuses that hold any water when we talk about serving God.

Maybe we have the wrong vision when it comes to serving. Maybe we think in terms of holding some kind of position in a church like an elder or youth sponsor or Sunday School teacher. We look at the positions and conclude they are outside of our individual skill sets hence we don’t or can’t serve.

When I talk about serving I am thinking of a big picture idea not a small picture idea. I am thinking of those who indeed hold actual positions of service but also those who make coffee or set up chairs or pick up people for church. The list of possible service ideas is only limited by our creativity. People serve through their financial giving or through praying. People serve by visiting shut-ins or those in the hospital. People serve by tutoring students who struggle with school or taking food supplies to those struggling with financial issues. Really people serve when they are in the business of meeting needs. God called Moses to meet a need….lead the nation. They had been in bondage to Egypt and now God was about to answer their cries for freedom but a leader is needed. Moses is called into service.

Each and every one of us are the same as Moses in that we are called into service. It is just simply a matter of figuring out what and where God wants us to serve because He DOES want us to serve. I will speaking about this again in September when we will be having a minsitry trade fair offering all kinds of opportunities for people to get involved. As I said on Sunday I want to raise the bar when it comes to serving at Cornerstone. I want us to see and buy into the idea that it is both a privilege as well as a responsibility to serve God. We are going to establish a culture where people see serving as a natural part of our church DNA as opposed to some kind of added chore if I attend this church. We are in the process of developing a small group minsitry whereby you can attend and discover what your spiritual gifts, abilities and interests are so as to help you make wise choices when it comes to serving.

Serving is not some kind of spiritual punishment. Serving is God’s way of allowing us to engage His plan for the world. Serving is a privilege that leads to joyful satisfaction understanding I am doing what God pre-wired me to do.

As we raise the bar we will also be raising the sense of expectation about how God will use us in accomplishing His purposes. You can’t read the scriptures and find people who regretted serving God. It is just the most fantastic concept that God would allow me the honour of serving Him. There is more to come on this topic but I feel a bit better now. Have you discovered the joy of serving?

Lead Pastor’s Blog II.VIII

I read these words recently: “Jeroboam enticed Israel away from following the Lord and caused them to commit a great sin.” (II Kings 17:21) I just sat back and stopped reading at that point. Jeroboam was a king, a leader of the nation God had chosen. Can you imagine those words being penned about you personally? I said it out loud with my name and the name of the church I lead inserted in place of Jeroboam and Israel. It just sent a shudder down my spine.

It is such a challenge to live life in the place of leadership but we all do in some way. Perhaps it is as a parent or on your job site or in a volunteer position. Leadership is an immense challenge but also an incredible privilege. Parents would you like it said of you that you enticed your children away from the Lord and caused them to commit a great sin? Wow doesn’t that just grip your heart with a certain sense of fear? It seems God takes note when we lead people astray and we will one day give an account of our actions.

This past Sunday we had one of those special moments as a church family. As my friend, Mike Hack of Operation Mobilization, spoke God moved within our body of believers. There was a challenge and a warning. The challenge was in regards to whom we bow our knee in service and worship. The warning was that there is a very real spiritual battle going on and the evil one is out to deceive as well as destroy. People were making serious decisions. Some bowed and prayed. Some wept. Others just wandered out like everything was the same as usual. This was not a Jeroboam moment where people were being enticed away. This was more of a Hezekiah kind of moment. A few days ago I read these words about this king, “This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and faithful before the Lord.” (II Chronicles 31:20)

Two different leaders with two very different influences on their followers. Of Hezekiah it was said that he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. Later on in II Kings it says of the people of Israel that while they were worshipping the Lord they were serving their idols. In other words God was not number one. I think much of the North American church is right here. God is in play but not number one. Other pursuits, priorities and passtimes surpass God in our personal lives. We still worship when it is convenient but honestly He is not number one.

Today that can all change. Today each one of us can make an individual decision that will put God in His proper place in our lives. Today because of God’s wonderful grace we can bow our knees willingly to the King of Kings. Today is a day of opportunity. Will you seize it?

At the end of your days would you rather have the life impact of Jeroboam or Hezekiah? It is your choice. Choose wisely my friend.

Lead Pastor Blog II.VII

It’s a rainy Tuesday morning. I have found myself this past weekend revisiting my dreams for Cornerstone as well as for my own life. I have been pondering the vision of Cornerstone changing our world.  I find it disturbing, dangerous, frustrating, humbling and a host of other emotions to spend much time dreaming. Are you currently chasing something that has your complete attention?

I don’t know if many of us slow down long enough to think about what is consuming our time and attention. One week slides into a month. One month leads to another and a year is gone. What have I accomplished from eternity’s perspective? I am at a stage of life where that is what matters to me. I guess that is why I find this dreaming stuff frustrating when I look back to see what has been accomplished in and through my life.

Joseph is my go to guy in the Bible when it comes to dreaming. He was an imperfect character as all men in the Bible were. Received a very cool dream from God but then he flaunted it in front of the family. Essentially he tells them that in his dream they are going to bow down to him. At this stage of his life let’s just say that Joseph did not have humility mastered. Later on in Genesis 37 as he goes to check on how the family business is doing we read in verse 19 “Here comes that dreamer!” Clearly his brothers were not saying it with any sense of respect or awe. No matter how you slice it that did characterize Jospeh, he was a dreamer. I’m not sure we have many Joseph’s in our midst these days. Men and women of vision. Individuals who have heard from God and are chasing the dream.

I really believe we need those people. We need dreamers to dream new great God-inspired dreams for the church today. If life is just about the stuff around us then life is so small. I don’t want my children and grand-children to spend their lives chasing what we can see. I don’t want the people of Cornerstone to spend their lives chasing stuff.  Honestly to me that is such a small way to spend our lives. It has no lasting influence.

Joseph reminds me that dreams don’t just happen. They definitely don’t happen in a straight line. Joseph had many ups and downs on the way to his dreams becoming reality. He had long periods of time where it appeared his dreams had been derailed. It must have been tough at those times to still believe. Genesis tells us that Joseph had another party who was guiding, guarding, watching over the dream. God had not been derailed in His purposes being accomplished in and through Joseph.

Perhaps that is where I am today. Maybe God is just reminding me that He is in control and not me. But right now I want more. I want to see more of Cornerstone’s influence in this world. I want to know that my individual life is having a lasting impact. God I want more. I want to see changed lives…lots of changed lives. I want to see broken people healed. I want to see lost people find the answer in Jesus Christ. I want to see hardened people softened. I want to see the uncommited become commited to the life changer named Jesus. I want to see the unmistakable hand of God at work.

What are you chasing today? Do you have a dream that has captured your attention? Is your life being spent or invested? Does Jesus have your attention? Do you think Jesus has the attention of Cornerstone Church?

I find this stuff so humbling, frustrating, disturbing and yes even dangerous. It is really hard to just be comfortable when it feels like God is poking me.

This change the world stuff is ……….

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