OCTOBER 2015

FRONTLINES

CORNERSTONE EVANGELICAL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

VOLUME 10, ISSUE 10

I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. (1 Timothy 2:12 ESV)

Some would argue that Paul’s instruction was con-ditioned by first century cultural views of women and therefore doesn’t apply in today’s culture. After all, there are some cultural references in the chapter as he talks about a woman’s apparel (jewelry and braided hair).

But the cultural references are identified as cultural

(Continued on page 7)

BY CARTER SANGER

In a few months, our pres-bytery (collection of EPC churches in our region) will be deciding “Shall the Pres-bytery of Gulf South exam-ine women for candidacy, ordination, and/or calls as Teaching Elders?” It is an important decision. The debate over this question within churches has been gathering steam in recent years.

Why? Historically, leader-ship positions in the church have been held by men, just as are most leadership posi-tions in society. In the past

century, however, women are increasingly breaking into male dominated fields. We’ve seen a rise in women CEOs, a push for equality in equal pay in sports, news, journalism, etc. Women have shown they are just as capable as men across the board. So it is logical to ask, “Why not in the church, too?” It’s a ques-tion that should be asked. For the answer, we must look to the Bible even as we drift amidst the cultural trends.

The clearest place to find the answer is found in 1 Timothy 2:12.

WOMEN IN MINISTRY

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR PERSONAL BIBLE

STUDY DURING THE WEEK

BY NATHAN COTTON

Lately I have been spending a lot of time working through various methods for proper theological Bible study skills. It seems the more I pursue the study of “how to study the Bible” the greater the temptation grows inside of me to ne-glect my own Bible study time. This is not to say that learning a proper method

for Bible study is wrong, I greatly encourage it! Yet I am vividly reminded that my soul yearns to be re-freshed by the word even while my own skills in Bible study continue to mature and develop. Reading books about the Bible is not the same as reading the Bi-ble itself. Spurgeon’s fa-mous words are encourag-ing to us, “Visit great books, but live in the Bible.”

Before we get too far into the school year and stuck into our various ruts, I want to challenge you to pursue personal Bible study. Here is my advice when it comes to starting or maintaining personal Bible study.

1. Doing something is better than doing nothing .

(Continued on page 6)

SPECIAL POINTS OF

INTEREST:

Daylight Saving ends Sunday, November 1. Be sure to “fall back”.

Gulf South Presbytery met in Covington, Louisiana, on September 25-26. Look for a report in next month’s Frontlines.

Our next 2:42 Lunch is Sunday, November 1.

God is good. Let us give thanks for his provision.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE :

SESSION

H IGHLIGHTS 2

HEART-TO-

HEART KICKS OFF 2

CHRIST CLINIC

EXPANDING 3

SAVE THE DATES 3

M ISSION NEWS 4

CHILDREN ’S

M INISTRY NOTES 5

KIDZ CLUB FALL

SESSION 6

CALENDAR—INSERT

Renewing our families, our communities, and our world by bringing faith and life together in Christ.

The Session feels that women do lead and teach in some situations, and they should be encouraged to exercise their gifts, but not in a church governance role.

There are theological argu-ments on both sides, but we feel that, when exam-ined closely, the scriptures do not allow a woman to be a Teaching Elder. 1 Timo-thy 2:5-14 speaks specifi-cally to this. See Carter’s article on this on the front page of this newsletter.

Jonathan Tucker tells us that it’s time to start work-ing on the 2016 Budget. If you have requests for budget items, please see

BY GENE COVER

Carter spent our devo-tional time this month with a teaching on the role of women in the church, in general, and particularly as Teaching Elders. Our Pres-bytery will be voting on the question of whether Presby-tery should examine women for the office of Teaching Elder sometime next year.

There are two views on this hot subject: Egalitarian—which says there is no dis-tinction of gender for any office—and Complemen-tarian—which says that governing offices are re-served for men.

him. Session will be acting as the Budget Committee this year.

Our annual Feeding B4 Feasting food drive will be held again this year with our donations going to Clothed by Faith, which caters to homeless children in KISD. Watch for more about this in the period leading up to Thanksgiving.

Don Russell will be shuf-fling our Care Groups shortly. Expect to be con-tacted by your elder in the near future.

Please remember to be in prayer for your church leaders, our families and each other. We all need it.

HEART-TO-HEART BEGINNING AGAIN

SESSION HIGHLIGHTS

“...WOMEN AT CORNERSTONE HAVE

DEVELOPED SOME WONDERFUL, LONG-LASTING FRIENDSHIPS

THROUGH THIS MINISTRY.”

PAGE 2 FRONTLINES

the home of Loren Tor-regano, 10003 St. Romain Drive, Katy. The coffee is a perfect time to come and learn more about the minis-try, and to sign up to partici-pate if you want. We will tell you all about mentors, mentees, and prayer warriors in an entertaining way.

Following the coffee, men-toring pairs will be assigned and will have their “reveal” at the Kickoff on Thursday eve-ning, October 29. Mentors will come at 6:00 p.m. for dinner and discussion, fol-lowed by the Mentees and Prayer Warriors at 7:30 for dessert and some more in-structions.

Over the past eight years, women at Cornerstone have developed some wonderful, long-lasting friendships through this ministry. It cre-ates a special bond between sisters in Christ. Whether you are an “old-timer” or a new visitor to Cornerstone, married, single, empty-nester, or young mom, we encourage you to come and be part of the ministry.

The H2H Team is made up of Linda Cover, Rhonda Sanger, Evelyn Saugier, Ashley So-den, and Lauren Torregano. Talk to any of them for more information. Ashley is our new Prayer Warrior Coordi-nator.

Heart-to-Heart, Corner-stone’s mentoring ministry will begin a new session the week of October 25. There will be an Orientation Coffee on Sunday afternoon, Octo-ber 25, 3:00-5:00 p.m., at

An informational coffee for Heart-to-Heart will be Sunday, October 25.

Work is beginning on the 2016 budget.

Talk to Jonathan Tucker if you have budget requests.

PAGE 3 VOLUME 10, ISSUE 10

BY KATHY JORGENSEN

On Friday, September 18, Christ Clinic of Katy held its fourth annual “Breakfast for a Blessing”. Cornerstone spon-sored one of the tables for the event, which allowed several members to attend. Those who participated were blessed with a heartwarming testimony from business man/philanthropist, Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale and music from the Salvation Army “Harbor Lights Choir”.

Christ Clinic’s executive di-rector, Kara Hill, officially announced Christ Clinic’s plan to expand its facilities with a move from its cramped 1st Street offices in Katy to larger medical offices on Kingsland Boulevard. In addi-tion, the clinic will be ex-panding its primary care ser-vices to include much needed mental health services and professional counseling.

Christ Clinic is a charity clinic providing high quality medi-cal care for the most vulner-able people living and work-ing in Harris, Fort Bend, and Waller counties and through-

out the West Houston area. With a large volunteer base of nurses, physicians, and ad-ministrative personnel, the clinic is able to meet the healthcare needs of a growing number of patients through a variety of services including medical care, healthy cooking classes, disease prevention programs, and patient educa-tion classes.

Based on projected growth, we expect to see over 9,000 patients in 2016! More space is desperately needed as is the funding to purchase the nec-essary medical supplies and office equipment for the new clinic. Would you please consider a donation to help? Many companies here in Houston offer employee matching programs (Murphy Oil Corporation, BP Founda-tion, Cabot Oil & Gas, Chev-ron, Houston Methodist West, Phillips66, Conoco Phillips, AIG, and ExxonMo-bil to name a few).

Immediate needs for the clinic include donations of Over-the-Counter Drugs, which are medications we

deplete on a weekly ba-sis: Tylenol, Advil, Naproxen, Miconazole 7 Days, Ibuprofen, Claritin, Aspirin 81 mg, Cold Medi-cines, Cough Syrups, Allergy Medicines, Athlete’s Foot Cream , Triple Anti-biotic Ointments, Debrox ( ear drops), Allergy drops, Bena-dryl cream. We urgently need $5 Walmart gift cards to help patients cover the cost of generic medication.

Please prayerfully consider blessing Christ Clinic with a financial donation, so it may continue to be a blessing in the community it serves. All donations are tax deductible. You may make an online do-nation to Christ Clinic, or send your donation by mail to: Christ Clinic 5504 First Street Katy, Texas 77494.

Feel free to contact Kathy Jorgensen for further infor-mation or the Christ Clinic website directly at

www.Christclinickaty.org.

CHRIST CLINIC IS EXPANDING !

“IMMEDIATE

NEEDS FOR THE

CLINIC INCLUDE

DONATIONS OF

OVER-THE-

COUNTER

DRUGS , WHICH

ARE MEDICATIONS

WE DEPLETE ON A

WEEKLY BASIS….”

Christ Clinic will move to larger location to better

accommodate the approxi-mately 9,000 patients it will

see next year.

Allen White, Carter Sanger, Debi Barrett, Kathy Jorgensen, Evelyn Saugier, and Gene and Linda Cover represented Cornerstone at Christ Clinic’s Breakfast for a Blessing.

Friday-Saturday,

February 19-20—

Ladies’ Retreat at the

Nesbit’s in Hempstead

Friday, April 8—

7:00 p.m. Book Chat

In the Den at Cornerstone

The Undertakers’ Wife

will be the topic of

discussion

Dates for upcoming Ladies’

Central Perk events have been

set. Be sure to add these to

your calendar:

Friday, October 9—

7:00 p.m. Coffee House

In the Den at Cornerstone

Friday, December 11—

7:00 p.m. Cookie Swap

Location TBA

CENTRAL PERK DATES SET

PAGE 4 FRONTLINES

ing Clothed by Faith, a minis-try that works directly with the Homeless Liaisons at Katy ISD to get needed clothing and supplies to children.

Please consider helping in the following ways:

• Pluck feathers from a tur-key on one of the posters located in the Fellowship Hall or the Sanctuary foyer and then shop for the items listed on the feathers.

• You may leave your dona-

tions in the red barrel in the church office.

• In lieu of providing food (particularly perishables like turkeys, pies, breads, etc) consider donating a gift card from HEB.

• Write a letter to the family who will receive the meal.

• Include a favorite recipe with all the ingredients with a special note as to why it’s a family tradition.

(Continued on page 5)

BY CAROL KUTZER

This is Cornerstone’s 9th year to host our Feeding B4 Feast-ing event. The purpose of Feeding B4 Feasting is to pro-vide Thanksgiving meals for the hungry before we enjoy our own feasts. We will ac-cept donations starting Octo-ber 25 through November 15. Our goal is to put to-gether 16 boxed Thanksgiving meals.

This year our Feeding B4 Feasting ministry is support-

CORNERSTONE’S FEEDING B4 FEASTING 2015 IS

SUPPORTING CLOTHED BY FAITH

Missions are far away and right nearby

Pablo and Marta Monroy – Hispanic church leaders using our facilities

Juan Monroy and Edy Her-nandez – seminary students in Guatemala

Aaron and Alison Murdoch – Hope for Nations mission-aries in Turkey

Bob and Marilyn Roane – Words of Hope evangelist in Houston

Travis and Brooke Scott – church planters in urban Auckland, New Zealand

Dan and Helen Tidwell – EPC staff assisting mission-aries in fund raising and communications

Nick and Amanda – EPC church planters in Lebanon

Allen and Pat White – Cor-nerstone evangelists

Aidar and Aliya Yermek-bayev—Cru staff members

and evangelists in Kazakh-stan

Marlen and Aselia Zhar-menov—Staff members and country leaders for Cru in Kazakhstan, evangelists

Brett Becker—EPC church planter in New Braunfels, Texas

Christ Clinic Katy—provides medical services to low income, uninsured resi-dents in Katy

Neighborhood Kidz Club – Cornerstone’s outreach to kids in The Fountains apart-ment complex on Mason Road.

As you can see, Corner-stone’s reach is far flung. We are planning to have a Prayer Service again early next year like the one we did in August 2014, but in the mean time, please keep these missionaries and causes in your prayers.

BY GENE COVER

Cornerstone has a very active and vigorous Missions Sup-port Ministry. Last year, through your generous giv-ing, we were able to contrib-ute over $60,000 to various missions and causes. Here is a list of those whom we sup-ported in the last year:

Nour and Rebecca – EPC church planters in Lebanon

John and Diane Davis – EPC home missionaries in Laredo, Texas

Daka and Heather Dyussekov – Bridges International workers at U of H and Rice

Tim Keessee – Frontlines International evangelist around the world

Jeff and Veronique Kim – EPC church planters in France

Mike and Tammy – EPC church planters in Malaysia

You contributed to the work of 19 mission

couples or organizations through your giving to Cornerstone in 2015.

PAGE 5 VOLUME 10, ISSUE 10

• Pray for the families receiv-ing the meals.

On Halloween we are asking families who trick-or-treat to make Feeding B4 Feasting part of the fun. We will have fliers for them to hand out to the houses they visit asking for food donations. If you would like some fliers feel free to grab some from the church office.

The CSCK families will spend the morning of Sunday, No-vember 15, decorating boxes, and writing letters and prayers to the Clothed by Faith customers.

(Continued from page 4)

“CONSIDER ASK-

ING YOUR CHIL-

DREN TO GIVE

10% OF THE

CANDY THEY RE-

CEIVE FROM

TRICK-OR-

TREATING TO

THE CHURCH . ”

NEW CHILDREN’S BOOK AVAILABLE

BY CAROL KUTZER

And the winner is…The winner of September’s Cry Baby Game is Ellie Sanger! Her guess of 42 was the exact count of the gum-balls in the jar. Congratula-tions, Ellie! She will receive a Chick-fil-A coupon and all 42 gumballs. Be sure to submit your guess for October’s Candy Corn Game…and be sure to write clearly and in-

clude your FULL name. To encourage our kids to read the Frontlines newsletter, win-ners must ask Mrs. Kutzer for their prize.

Wanted: If you are cleaning out your children’s closets anytime soon, please keep our nursery in mind. Items we would like to have: toddlers shorts, leg-gings, and t-shirts; outgrown diapers; napping pads/mats; and light blankets.

CHILDREN’S MINISTRY HIGHLIGHTS

Snots not Hot! If your child is sick with fever or other communicable illness please keep them home. We are coming up on flu season. Let’s make an effort to keep the germies at home!

ers on the opening page: “The message children need to hear is: ‘God made all of you. Every part of your body is good, and some parts are private. He made the parts of your body that other people see every day, and he made your private parts. Every part is good because God made every part and called them all good.’ ”

BY CAROL KUTZER

God Made All of Me by Justin and Lindsey Holcomb has been added to the books for sale in the foyer of the Sanc-tuary. A copy has also been placed in each of the chil-dren’s rooms in the Education Building. We hope your fam-ily finds this book a great tool for educating and protecting your children against abuse.

Here is a blurb from their letter to parents and caregiv-

ing about giving away some-thing they themselves like, and of caring for others, af-firms not only the joy of giv-ing, but the more intense joy of giving sacrificially. The donated candy will be put to good use in CSCK and Chil-dren’s Ministries.

If you are up for a real chal-lenge, teach them about “first fruits” and giving God our best and not our leftovers. But that begs the question, “Which does God think is better…Snickers or Milky Way? Or maybe He’s more into Skittles.”

BY CAROL KUTZER

Are you looking for a way to teach your children about stewardship? Consider asking your children to give 10% of the candy they receive from trick-or-treating to the church. The process of think-

“First Fruit” Chews?: Tithe your

Halloween candy – can you do that?

Look for the turkey posters to help us

feed needy families at Thanksgiving.

FEEDING: NEW

MINISTRY CHOSEN

Please keep germs at home, and your family, if they are sick.

PAGE 6 FRONTLINES

KIDZ CLUB WILL FEATURE THE PATRIARCHS

Tuesday, October 20-November 17, from 4:00-5:15 p.m.

Besides the lessons, the chil-dren engage in scripture memory, object lessons, games and songs. We'll enjoy a special Christmas celebra-tion after Thanksgiving, and possibly sponsor Christmas Caroling through the com-plex, as we have the past cou-ple of years.

If you have a heart for reach-ing local children with the gospel, while building rela-tionships with and encourag-

ing them, we welcome you to join us. We have a need for a few more people to help with Kidz Club this year, as many of our "regulars" will be out of town throughout the fall.

Please call Evelyn Saugier, 281-782-4424, or email evelyn.saugier@earthlink.net for more information or to offer to help! There will be a short meeting after worship on Sunday, October 27, in order to communicate and make plans for this session of Kidz Club, and all are invited!

BY EVELYN SAUGIER

Members of Cornerstone and Cosecha de Vida will be start-ing our third year of Kidz Club at The Fountains, on Wednesday, October 14, from 4:00-5:00 p.m. In keeping with past years, there will be a Pizza Party and reg-istration taking place that afternoon, for children ages 4 through 5th grade. These are usually fun and well-attended events!

The five lessons this fall are on the Patriarchs, and Kidz Club will be held every

Teaching Bible stories and memory verses is a fun and important part of

Kidz Club.

so are their parents). How-ever, I think it also is true that we tend to make time for things that we value. If per-sonal Bible study is something of importance to you, I chal-lenge you to make room in your schedule for it. Effec-

tive Bible study is not as much about the time spent, or the time of the day in which it’s

done, but the heart that seeks after Christ.

3. Bible study is about Christ.

The entire Bible, from Gene-sis to Revelation, is about Jesus. Everything either points to him or refers back to him. He is our hope, our comfort, and our advocate

before the Father. When attempting to accomplish Bible study for any reason other than cherishing and trusting in Christ, it tends to become less a priority and more a chore.

Bible study ought not be chore completed by Chris-tians; the Bible is the living word unveiling the majesty and glory of the one true King Jesus Christ. Our attitude about Bible study reveals something about our hearts. We don’t pursue Bible study because we want to earn God’s favor, we pursue Bible study because we already have God’s favor in the death and resurrection of Christ.

Nathan

If you are waiting for the perfect method, or the per-fect plan to follow you, will be waiting forever.

Christians ought to study the Bible for one reason—to en-counter Christ. The Bible is the Word of God, and it un-folds the mind of Christ before us as we engage its pages. The desire to study the Bible is enjoined to a desire to know the person and work of Christ. If you love Christ you will love his word.

2. You do have time. Sim-ply put, we are busy people these days. I have told my students frequently that they are the most busy people on the planet (Then by default

(Continued from page 1)

BIBLE STUDY: A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH

CHRIST’S WORD

THE ENTIRE B IBLE ,

FROM GENESIS TO

REVELATION , IS

ABOUT JESUS

Personal study of the Bible is more

valuable than study about the

Bible.

WOMEN LEADERS : A QUESTION OF GOVERNANCE

and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. (Acts 18:26 ESV)

Here we find a woman, with her husband, explaining the way of God to Apollos. Since this context is not the govern-ing capacity of the Church, there is no reason for her not to be teaching. So the prohi-bition that Paul gives is par-ticular. This is further dem-onstrated in Paul’s qualifica-tions for elder in 1 Timothy 3.

...an overseer must be above re-proach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not vio-lent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his chil-dren submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into dis-grace, into a snare of the devil. (1 Timothy 3:2-7 ESV)

Flowing from Paul’s instruc-tion in the previous chapter, we find Paul speaking about men in the office.

2) Two, Paul never appeals to ability to justify his pro-hibition. On the contrary, the New Testament is

very bold in being counter-cultural in its view of women. Women are mentioned all over the place in ministry both in the gospel accounts in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John as well as Paul’s letters to the churches. Paul was certainly not afraid to buck cultural trends.

There are many other pas-sages worth evaluating to flesh this out (please don’t hesitate to ask me about these) but they will have to wait for a forum other than a newsletter.

In short, Cornerstone sees women and men as equal in ministry within the church except for church governance, which is reserved for qualified men. This is why we only have men serving as officers at Cornerstone. You will, how-ever, find women in other ministry leadership positions at Cornerstone.

through the reason Paul gives, which is found in verse 10: “but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—good works.” The key being the phrase “what is proper.” Good works, of course, are always proper, but the way a woman wears her hair and her clothing is interpreted differently in different cul-tures.

The reason Paul gives for “a woman not to teach or exercise authority over a man” is not cultural. Instead it is the or-der of creation.

For Adam was formed first, then Eve; 14 and Adam was not de-ceived, but the woman was de-ceived and became a transgressor. (1 Timothy 2:13-14 ESV)

So we find that Paul’s com-mand in this verse is trans-cultural. That is, it is not bound to a particular culture. It is universally given.

In terms of the scope of this command, we must observe two additional points:

1) One, it comes in the con-text of governing the Church. This means that women are not prohibited from teaching in other contexts. A good example is found in Acts 18:24-28. Apollos was a gifted teacher in the churches. But his knowledge about Jesus was incomplete.

He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla

(Continued from page 1)

Gulf South Presbytery and Cornerstone’s Ses-sion have been discuss-ing the issue of whether or not women should

be ordained as Teaching Elders (pastors).

“THE REASON

PAUL GIVES FOR

“A WOMAN NOT

TO TEACH OR

EXERCISE AU-

THORITY OVER

A MAN” IS NOT

CULTURAL . ”

PAGE 7 VOLUME 10, ISSUE 10

We were sad to see another Corner-stone family head north in September! Ken and Joanne Taylor and their girls Megan and Kaitlyn have now moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Ken’s job transferred him, and although this will put them closer to family there, their church family here will really miss them! The Taylors have been an integral part of life at Cornerstone. We pray for God to bless them with joy in their new home and a welcoming church in Tulsa.

OFF TO

OKLAHOMA . . .

Help is needed for Set Up on Friday, 5:00-8:00 p.m. There will be three areas for service on Saturday: Hospitality Crew (7:00 a.m.—1:00 p.m.) Playground Crew (8:00 a.m.—1:00 p.m.) Clean Up Crew (1:00 p.m.—4:00 p.m.) Please come for whatever time you can give.

Volunteers should wear their NOMP t-shirts. (If you do not have one, we can provide one for you.)

Contact Sharon Peterson for more information: 713-493-9875 or

stone4031@hotmail.com.

We hope everyone will help out with the garage sale!

Build relationships

Love your neighbor

Serve the Kingdom

Have some fun

As part of our strategy to build connections to our neighbors in Memorial Parkway, we are finding ways to be a neighbor. Our first Neighborhood Garage Sale is an opportunity to serve those around the church prop-erty where God has placed us. We’re looking for people to come out and simply be here to greet, meet, and help while the neighborhood comes to us. Oh, yes...you can do some shopping, too!

The Fellowship Team is busy making plans for a soul-warming lunch you won’t want to miss. Plan to stay for that fol-lowing worship. If you can help set up, serve, or clean up, talk to Alisa Cotton.

As we get back into the swing of school-year activities, it’s time to catch up with our broth-ers and sisters in Christ. You will have a great chance to do that at our next 2:42 Lunch on Sun-day, November 1.

NEIGHBORHOOD GARAGE SALE IS

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3

1351 S. Mason Rd. Katy, Texas 77450

(281) 579-1080

info@cornerstonekaty.org

On the Web @

www.cornerstonekaty.org

Seeking to renew our families,

our communities, and our world

by bringing faith and life

together in Christ.