News, Teaching | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

On Thursday, August 11th, Downtown Cornerstone will be celebrating its first baptisms at Myrtle Edwards Park. We’ll light up the grills, play some beats, and celebrate the grace of God – most clearly seen in Jesus Christ – in baptism. Invite a friend. Bring some meat. Arrive expectant. Many of you may not be familiar with the act of baptism, so I prepared the following as a biblical brief.

The Gospel is the good news of the forgiveness of sin in Jesus Christ.

When we repent of our sin, trust in Jesus Christ for our salvation, we should be baptized (Mat 28:18-20; Acts 2:38) In baptism we identity with Jesus in his death (being immersed under water) and his resurrection to new life (being brought out of the water) for the forgiveness of sin (Rom 6:1-10; Col 2:12). It is outward symbolic act that demonstrates the inward reality of what God has accomplished on the cross through His Son. In so doing, we identify ourselves with Jesus (Acts 10:48; Rom 6:3; Gal 3:27), the universal church (1 Cor 12:13), and the local church (Acts 2:41).
Why should Christians be baptized?
Jesus commanded that all Christians be baptized (Mt 28:19).
Who should be baptized?
Every baptism in the New Testament is preceded by repentance of sin and faith in Jesus (Acts 2:38-41; Acts 2:41; Acts 8:12; Acts 9:18-19; Acts 10:44-48; Acts 16:14-15, 40; Acts 16:29-36; Acts 18:8; Acts 19:1-7; Acts 22:16). In other words, only Christians who have repented of sin and have trusted in Jesus should be baptized. Therefore, all non-Christians and children too young to demonstrate repentance and articulate faith should be excluded.
May I be baptized if I have previously been baptized?
Once baptized there is no need to be baptized again (Eph 4:5). However, there is one exception, if you were baptized as a non-Christian and now desire to profess your faith in Him you may be baptized (Acts 19:1-5). This would include would include people who were baptized in cults and heretical churches, as well as those baptized as infants at the request of their parents. Downtown Cornerstone does not require those who were baptized as children to be baptized as believing adults, though encouraged, but leaves this decision to the conscience of each Christian.

If you would like to be baptized or if you have any additional questions, please contact Pastor Adam or your community leader.

Teaching | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

“He has made everything beautiful in its time…” Ecc 3:11

If you’re just getting involved with Downtown Cornerstone, it’s important to know that one of the distinct challenges of church planting is ambiguity. Something is ambiguous if it is unclear or can be interpreted in a number of different ways. There can be many things that are unclear at a newly forming church. When you start anything from scratch – including churches – there will inevitably be much that is ambiguous. That’s normal. To thrive in a church plant you must be comfortable with varying levels of ambiguity or you will grow frustrated and disappointed.

To thrive in a church plant you must be comfortable with varying levels of ambiguity or you will grow frustrated and disappointed.

Even though Downtown Cornerstone “launched” on April 3rd, ambiguity remains. There is still much to be done and many questions to be answered, such as: When will we have more communities? What’s the long term plan for intentional life-on-life discipleship? Why do we do this and not this? How will we engage the arts and music scene? What will it look like to genuinely serve the city? When will we have training for evangelism? When will we have more elders, deacons, etc? When will we roll out the membership process? And more.

These are great questions. They are. Each question has a place in the queue and the overall strategy.
But, it is going to take some time.

Those who struggle with wanting to control their environment and have all of the answers (like me!) in advance will have a hard time with ambiguity. But, the answer isn’t necessarily to find an environment where you’re comfortable, with all questions answered, but to ask the Father what He wants to do in and through you in this season. The church is a people, not a place, and this is an exciting opportunity for you to use your God-given gifts for the mission of God as He builds His church.

Maybe none of you struggle with this. Maybe I’m the only one. But, I suspect not. When faced with ambiguity we have the choice of leaning into control or leaning into Christ. In the end, Christ is the only non-ambiguous element of this church and our lives. If we’re honest, that’s true no matter where we are. How gracious of our Father to use the ambiguity of this season to push us to deeper trust, love and dependence on King Jesus – and love, patience, and kindness towards others.

His promise is great, “He makes everything beautiful in its time”, even amidst the ambiguity.

But, he starts with us.

Teaching | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

This past winter* I came across a distinction that was incredibly helpful to me: Goals vs Desires. This distinction helped to clarify my expectations and the emotions inevitably tied to those expectations. Understanding this will help breathe greater freedom and joy into your life and ministry; it has for me. The distinction is simple, but subtle. Goals are objectives under your control; desires are not.

Goals are objectives under your control; desires are not.

For example, if you want to see 50 people baptized in the next year, that would be a desire but not a goal because you cannot control the outcome. You can influence the outcome, but not control it. In this case, your desire is to baptize 50 people in the next year. Your goals, however, should be directly tied to whatever will most likely help bring your desire about (e.g. gospel-centered sermons, intentional prayer, cultivating missional communities, equipping your people to live with gospel intentionality, teaching on baptism, etc). In this way, we work toward our goals and pray for our desires.

We WORK toward our goals and PRAY for our desires.

When we confuse goals and desires it can easily lead to pride and arrogance (because we subtly believe we can control people, like God) or depression and bitterness (because we’re trying, and failing, to control something that is outside our control). But, when we keep this distinction in mind it reminds us we’re responsible to work wisely toward our goals while trusting deeply in God who offers us the true desires of our heart.

“Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Ps 37:3-4

* I picked this up at the Global Church Advancement training in Orlando, Florida. This particular material was delivered in a session by Steve Childers, Priorities – The Main Thing. If you’re an aspiring church planter, or within the first two years, I highly recommend this conference.

Teaching | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

I’ve intended to put together a recommended reading list for over a year. Finally, here it is. It’s lengthy but covers a multitude of topics and should be a helpful starting point for all interested in further study and stoking the embers of your heart, mind and soul to burn brightly for Jesus Christ.

All this, of course, comes at a cost, so I recommend:

• Utilizing the library
• Checking for free copies online (particularly for the classics)
• Purchase electronic versions to save $
• Buys books together to share, discuss and pass along

As I note in the attachment, its important to read critically. While we do not necessarily fully endorse everything in every book listed here, every book listed has something to offer. The list is not exhaustive, but my hope is that these books serve as tools in cultivating us as a God-saturated, Gospel-centered, and Christ-exalting people. Enjoy.

Would love to hear how it goes.

DOWNLOAD THE DCC RECOMMENDED READING LIST HERE