Goodbye Cornerstone
So, Peggy was back for the weekend, and she forced me to come to Cornerstone with past Sunday. I'm so glad she did though. I thought our last day at our church was a couple weeks ago, but it turns out it was this week, and... yeah. For those of you who don't know, which is most, if not all of you, my church is actually merging with another church called Bethel Baptist Church. And the church is just so different. Economically, racially, socially, and probably even theologically. And... I'm sad. I'm very sad.
It didn't really hit me until I was there in the service about how much I would miss the place. How many good memories were in there: Finding out that we'd be having a church of our own, and wouldn't have to be hopping around from a bunch of different buildings. Painting the church when we first got the building. Having a "Rock Room." Wing's murals in the children's room with middle-Eastern colored Jesus, and the creepy black kid grabbing onto Jesus's cloaks. Joe playing foosball and then high-fiving the Noah on the mural after scoring a goal. Speaking for my first time in the Rock. Getting an actual neon sign. Mac Dre bumping during a funeral. Ack...
And not just the building, but Cornerstone and the Rock itself. I mean, come on! Sandeep ended up coming to Cornerstone. Props to Cornerstone!
Alex spoke some really nice words today. Really. And I wish I could just write about how awesome it is that two very different groups of people will come together and really bring glory to God... cause you know, that's what the Kingdom is all about.
But after Alex closed in prayer and the worship team stepped up to lead response worship, Peggy leaned over and said, "Last worship song in Cornerstone." I just started crying. I couldn't help it. I remembered first coming to the Rock when it was at the community center and seeing Joyce and Nathan worshiping with their arms held high and eyes closed and being freaked out of my mind. I remembered Chris and Justin singing falsetto and translating the worship songs into Chinese. I remembered nutball. I remembered the freshmen year of the Rock. I remembered the shift. I remembered Forest Park, and Max riding around on tricycles. I remembered Max and Chris yelling skeet over and over again. I remembered my first retreat. I remembered the first time I experienced Jesus's love through a person. I remembered moving to another location and losing half of our youth group, and almost all of our leaders. I remembered being pushed into a small group leading position out of nowhere. I remembered Peggy and I praying over Nathan after he left the faith. I remembered stupid games. I remember... so much. afskljalkfsjkasjf Just so many memories. And I kind of just cried. And sang.
I know there are other people that have been there longer, or think I'm being far too sentimental. And I know that half of those experiences weren't even experienced in that building, but it's not just the building, but it's the name and church in itself. Cornerstone is never going to be "Cornerstone." I know this is going to be good and comfort zone breaking for the members of both churches, and I "know" God's going to glorify His church and Himself in the end. But I'm just sad. And I cried. Because I'm a pansy. And sentimental.
Goodbye Cornerstone Christian Center/Church.
Hello Cornerbethel Baptist Stone Muslim Temple.
... That's not it's real name. Nathan was just making fun of it all. I think he's a little bitter. Hahahaha.
Here are two really nice quotes from our last bulletin as Cornerstone. The first is pertaining to a lot of the disillusionment I've been having over the church lately. The second is... it's just off the hook.
"Martin Luther once wrote that the church is 'hacked to pieces, marked with scratches, despised, crucified, mocked -- like Christ, but to the sight of God, a pure, holy, spotless dove.' This description is probably as true now as in any other time in the past. The obituary of the Church in the West has been written many times, and almost every week new statistics suggest its imminent demise. Yet somehow it survives. Perhaps it's because God loves it. And if God loves it, then the first attitude any Christian must have is to love it too."
~ Graham Tomlin The Provocative Church
"What saves us is Jesus, and the way we lay hold of that salvation is by faith. And faith is something that... I shall resolutely refuse to mean anything other than trusting Jesus. It is simply saying yes to him rather than no. It is, at its root, a mere 'uh-huh' to him personally. It does not necessarily involve any particular theological structure or formulation; it does not entail any particularly degree of emotional fervor; and above all, it does not depend on any specific repertoire of good works -- physical, mental, or moral. it's just 'Yes, Jesus,' till we die -- just letting the power of the resurrection do, in our deaths, what it has already done in his."
Robert Farrar Capon Kingdom, Grace, Judgment
Wayyyyy too much studying to do tonight.
[EDIT] 3/16/08 10:49 P.M.
Also, I hate when Christians write lists and shit about the schools they got accepted into and then saying, "Praise God." Fuck that shit. It's cool and all, but I just love it so much more when people can get rejected from every school they've applied to, and still say, "Praise God." Anyone can rejoice in blessings, but it takes a man or woman of deep prayer and Belovedness that can echo the words of Job. That's a man or woman that is rooted in God. (Sorry, no offense to any of you. I'm just an overly bitchy cynic, and you should take no mind of my idiotic rantings. Move along.)
Speaking of which, I've decided on my next tattoo. It's going down, bitchesssssss.
[EDIT 2] 3/16/08 11:00 P.M.
Oh, and a little disclaimer. Please don't take my stuff too seriously. Most my stuff is totally not Spirit-led, so don't take it too seriously. It's just me being rebellious. Pray for me not to be such a bitch.
It didn't really hit me until I was there in the service about how much I would miss the place. How many good memories were in there: Finding out that we'd be having a church of our own, and wouldn't have to be hopping around from a bunch of different buildings. Painting the church when we first got the building. Having a "Rock Room." Wing's murals in the children's room with middle-Eastern colored Jesus, and the creepy black kid grabbing onto Jesus's cloaks. Joe playing foosball and then high-fiving the Noah on the mural after scoring a goal. Speaking for my first time in the Rock. Getting an actual neon sign. Mac Dre bumping during a funeral. Ack...
And not just the building, but Cornerstone and the Rock itself. I mean, come on! Sandeep ended up coming to Cornerstone. Props to Cornerstone!
Alex spoke some really nice words today. Really. And I wish I could just write about how awesome it is that two very different groups of people will come together and really bring glory to God... cause you know, that's what the Kingdom is all about.
But after Alex closed in prayer and the worship team stepped up to lead response worship, Peggy leaned over and said, "Last worship song in Cornerstone." I just started crying. I couldn't help it. I remembered first coming to the Rock when it was at the community center and seeing Joyce and Nathan worshiping with their arms held high and eyes closed and being freaked out of my mind. I remembered Chris and Justin singing falsetto and translating the worship songs into Chinese. I remembered nutball. I remembered the freshmen year of the Rock. I remembered the shift. I remembered Forest Park, and Max riding around on tricycles. I remembered Max and Chris yelling skeet over and over again. I remembered my first retreat. I remembered the first time I experienced Jesus's love through a person. I remembered moving to another location and losing half of our youth group, and almost all of our leaders. I remembered being pushed into a small group leading position out of nowhere. I remembered Peggy and I praying over Nathan after he left the faith. I remembered stupid games. I remember... so much. afskljalkfsjkasjf Just so many memories. And I kind of just cried. And sang.
I know there are other people that have been there longer, or think I'm being far too sentimental. And I know that half of those experiences weren't even experienced in that building, but it's not just the building, but it's the name and church in itself. Cornerstone is never going to be "Cornerstone." I know this is going to be good and comfort zone breaking for the members of both churches, and I "know" God's going to glorify His church and Himself in the end. But I'm just sad. And I cried. Because I'm a pansy. And sentimental.
Goodbye Cornerstone Christian Center/Church.
Hello Cornerbethel Baptist Stone Muslim Temple.
... That's not it's real name. Nathan was just making fun of it all. I think he's a little bitter. Hahahaha.
Here are two really nice quotes from our last bulletin as Cornerstone. The first is pertaining to a lot of the disillusionment I've been having over the church lately. The second is... it's just off the hook.
"Martin Luther once wrote that the church is 'hacked to pieces, marked with scratches, despised, crucified, mocked -- like Christ, but to the sight of God, a pure, holy, spotless dove.' This description is probably as true now as in any other time in the past. The obituary of the Church in the West has been written many times, and almost every week new statistics suggest its imminent demise. Yet somehow it survives. Perhaps it's because God loves it. And if God loves it, then the first attitude any Christian must have is to love it too."
~ Graham Tomlin The Provocative Church
"What saves us is Jesus, and the way we lay hold of that salvation is by faith. And faith is something that... I shall resolutely refuse to mean anything other than trusting Jesus. It is simply saying yes to him rather than no. It is, at its root, a mere 'uh-huh' to him personally. It does not necessarily involve any particular theological structure or formulation; it does not entail any particularly degree of emotional fervor; and above all, it does not depend on any specific repertoire of good works -- physical, mental, or moral. it's just 'Yes, Jesus,' till we die -- just letting the power of the resurrection do, in our deaths, what it has already done in his."
Robert Farrar Capon Kingdom, Grace, Judgment
Wayyyyy too much studying to do tonight.
[EDIT] 3/16/08 10:49 P.M.
Also, I hate when Christians write lists and shit about the schools they got accepted into and then saying, "Praise God." Fuck that shit. It's cool and all, but I just love it so much more when people can get rejected from every school they've applied to, and still say, "Praise God." Anyone can rejoice in blessings, but it takes a man or woman of deep prayer and Belovedness that can echo the words of Job. That's a man or woman that is rooted in God. (Sorry, no offense to any of you. I'm just an overly bitchy cynic, and you should take no mind of my idiotic rantings. Move along.)
Speaking of which, I've decided on my next tattoo. It's going down, bitchesssssss.
[EDIT 2] 3/16/08 11:00 P.M.
Oh, and a little disclaimer. Please don't take my stuff too seriously. Most my stuff is totally not Spirit-led, so don't take it too seriously. It's just me being rebellious. Pray for me not to be such a bitch.