April 2015 Newsletter

The Challenge of Narcissism
The New Age Movement calls us to look inside ourselves, to explore ourselves, for the solution to our problem is within. We do not need a savior to come to us from somewhere else; we can be our own savior. Unfortunately, some of this teaching has permeated the church, with some Christians urging that we must not only love God and our neighbor, but we must also love ourselves. But no, this is surely a mistake for three reasons. First, Jesus spoke of “the first and great commandment” and of “the second,” but did not mention a third. Second, self-love is one of the signs of the last days (2 Timothy 3:2). Third, the meaning of agape love is the sacrifice of oneself in the service of others. Sacrificing oneself in the service of oneself is clearly nonsense.

What then should our attitude be to ourselves? It is a combination of self-affirmation and self-denial – affirming everything in us that comes to us from our creation and redemption, and denying everything that can be traced to the Fall.

It is a great relief to turn away from an unhealthy preoccupation with oneself to the healthy commandments of God (united and reinforced by Jesus), to love God with our whole being and to love our neighbor as ourselves. For God intends his church to be a community of love, a worshipping and serving community.

Everybody knows that love is the greatest thing in the world, and Christians know why. It is because God is love. The thirteenth-century Spanish courtier Raymond Lull wrote that “he who loves not, lives not.” For living is loving, and without love the human personality disintegrates. That is why everybody is looking for the authentic relationships of love.

-John Stott, The Radical Disciple

Cornerstone Update
It is here: the last month of the school year. That’s right; graduation is in a few weeks (April 26th). To be cliché, it has flown by. I shouldn’t be surprised at how fast the semester has gone, yet I always am. As soon as spring break ends…BOOM…it’s finals week. That means that the last Cornerstone will be “Senior Share,” a special Cornerstone in which the seniors share memories and give advice. That means that Pancake Study Break is coming up, an event in which we hand out all-you-can-eat, free pancakes for students who need a break from studying. That means that our annual kickball cookout is coming up, where we dine on the best hot dogs you will ever eat and play a rousing game of kickball. That means that the senior breakfast is coming up, where we get to dine with seniors and their families. That means graduation, which always brings large changes in our ministry. We prepare and mourn as Seniors graduate, and prepare and celebrate as we receive new freshmen into our ministry. It is the cyclical life of being a campus minister; a roller coaster of emotions. And I would not trade it for anything. I have been doing this job for eight(!) years, and I still fall in love with what God has called me to each and every year. For that, and for the students God has put me in contact with, I am truly blessed.

Meet the Students

Meet Steph Diewald, a sophomore, Communication Science and Disorders major from Downingtown, PA. Steph has been a part of Cornerstone since her first week at Pitt. Read more about her:

1. What is your favorite movie, book, and band/music? My favorite movies of all time are really The Little Rascals and High School Musical, but when I’m in mature company, I say When Harry Met Sally so as to not have the movie taste of a six year old. My favorite book is The Fault in Our Stars. (Fun fact: I got to be an extra in the movie, and made the cut for about 0.2 seconds as I walk across the screen holding a cup of coffee!!) My favorite music is 90’s rock, specifically Matchbox Twenty and The Goo Goo Dolls. Anything with an acoustic guitar is always good. Also Taylor Swift.

2. What has been your involvement in Cornerstone? I started actively coming to Cornerstone events at the very beginning of my freshman year, and was given the opportunity to be on the Freshman Ministry Team starting in the spring of freshman year. Now I co-lead a small group bible study, which was slightly intimidating at first, but is now a really beautiful opportunity for me each week to be in smaller community with about 12 other girls, where we’ve been going through the book of Galatians and just talking about our lives (with the occasional trek to SkyZone or the Milkshake Factory).

3. How has Cornerstone helped you during your years at Pitt? It overwhelms me in the coolest way to think about the impact my experience in Cornerstone has had on my life and my relationship with God. To find such a close-knit, delightfully weird, and loving community at a critical time in my life has been the biggest blessing by providing me with an outlet for all of my faith questions, as well as peers and mentors who both encourage and challenge me as I discover more and more my need for a Savior. I find myself increasingly in awe of God’s gift of grace as my understanding of God’s greatness grows and I come to realize my own shortcomings. It has been especially neat for me to be able to seek out ways to glorify God through Speech Pathology and my passion for language in general. As I go to my classes, I am constantly finding all sorts of ways that God is working in my field to care for His people. The intricate system that allows humans to communicate is so complex that we can’t even fully understand it yet. Communication is such a precious blessing that God has given many of us to allow us to support, learn, and be united with one another, and I am so grateful to have my Cornerstone community to urge me to find the ways that I can serve God in all aspects of my life and not just a designated, separate sphere of it.

Financial Update
Please read the following new pledge letter. Click on the link for the full picture, or on the picture itself. If you would like to donate, please use the information on the navigation bar or email me at amoore@ccojubilee.org.

Financial Pledge Full (Link)

Moore News

It is my favorite time of year: baseball season. Yes, I love watching the Pirates, but now that I am a father of older boys, I get to participate again! Luckily I’m blessed with three boys that have taken an interest in baseball and two of them (Benjamin and Joshua) are playing…and I get to help coach them. Both Ben and Josh are playing on the same team Benjamin played for last year (The Mariners), and both are doing really well. Granted, Joshua took a little bit more to adapt to a league higher than his previous league, but it did not take long. Both Ben and Josh are natural baseball players, and take instruction very well. It has been awesome watching them grow in my favorite sport!

Asher, we felt, was still a bit young to join a team, so he has joined soccer again. I was playing both soccer and baseball with him in the backyard, and was stunned at how much he has improved in both. He had some great foot skills and soccer, and was hitting everything in baseball!

Emily is adjusting to sport’s life again, but seems to love watching the boys play. She manages to juggle the three boys, work around my crazy schedule, stay active in the church, and manage a household all at once! No idea how she does it, but she is surely appreciated.

In Christ,
Andy Moore