Letter from America.

If it's really really quiet… and it's late at night… and the wind is blowing, gently and just right… I am sure that I can hear, ever so faintly… a Vuvuzela!

Man what a time to be away from South Africa! Make the most of it Cornerstone. You are not just South Africans, you are Christian South Africans.
Someone please go and sit next to Brett! He looks so lonely on the front page of the website. Robyn, where are you?


Well about 2 weeks ago Meg and I boarded a ferry to Victoria the big city on Vancouver Island in BC, Canada. The island is about 600km long, so don't think small here. BC stands for British Columbia, by the way - we weren't traveling back in time. Although Victoria does make me think of Victorian England. Did I mention how much I like ferries? They are so cool.


We were in Victoria for the Canada Equip time which was a week long refreshing and envisioning time. It was good, so good to step away from the rock face and get a perspective from some who have already planted in the West of the Americas.
We are able to establish some new relationships and catch up on some old ones. We spent some time with Jim and Margaret who send their greetings. We also had some time with Kirk and Jan who are looking well, and fighting some battles. Tyrone was firing on all cylinders, it looks like the new plant in Denver is doing very well.
And we spent a day in the Butchart Gardens. Wow, impressive!



One thing that really struck home for me was how much a Charismatic (if I could use that term) church is needed in West Tacoma / Gig Harbor where we stay, in particular one with solid apostolic relationships like those in NCMI. And to be perfectly blunt there are shipwrecks of churches all round us. We are so grateful that God has given us this time to immerse into the culture here, to come into the USA the way that we have. It gives us a unique perspective and it gives others a unique perspective on us.
We are also so grateful for the church we're attending, they have allowed me to teach one of their bible classes, we're about halfway through Matthew at the moment. They are an example of the kind of bible based communities needed in America, plugged into a bigger picture.

Our business went through a small lean patch through March / April, but it has picked up nicely. I am about to meet with a young guy that we are thinking of giving some work to (we need to show that we have employed some US citizens).
I still can't believe that this little business of ours is the means God chose to get us here! Never underestimate what God plans to do with you.
About 2 years ago, Marcus shared a word with Meg and I. He felt that God gave him a scripture out of Zecharia for us. "Do not despise the day of small beginnings."
Zecharia has become a pillar of light for us, God has used it again and again to speak to us about the USA and our Church plant. We are watching in amazement as this very little beginning is becoming God's means for us to get routed and established here.
It reminds me of when Leon first saw the 'small' Cornerstone hall, you know, where the coffee shop is now (or it was when we were in SA). He said, "we'll never fill this place." And God just smiles, small is always a relative term.

At the same time we are about to re-apply for our visa extension, I just sent the signed contract to our lawyer in Florida. There are times when the accusation of the devil is so real and loud that I have begun to waver, this is not something to attempt on a whim, it is intensely difficult! But then I am reminded of what God has said, and then He comes in and reassures, and makes us able.
So right now the application is looking pretty good, and we should know before August (mid August at the latest) if the US government will give us another 2 years here. At which time we can start up the church plant. After what God has said and done already, I have no doubts.

So please continue to pray for us. If anyone wants to follow my blog I have started one called Relationality. And I will post up the website to the church plant when we're ready. I have the domain name booked already, we've had the church name in our minds for a few years now.

We look with fondness across the oceans at what God is doing with Cornerstone, and we remember you all in our prayers.
Thank you for your prayers and encouragement.

Lots of Love
Al, Meg & Dan

Greetings to you all from Western Washington in the spring, I have to tell you that the 'bad weather' here is grossly over emphasised… I think it is a plot by Washingtonians to keep other people away from the beauty of the Pacific Northwest. Through winter the sunsets are around 4:30pm and they are slowly creeping their way up to 9:00pm. That's a little weird, I must just tell you!

Our lives have got busy over the last few months, I am leading a class in the church we attend and business is picking up quite nicely, next week I get to present a talk on branding at a local web design forum. This is now the home stretch before we apply for an extension to our visa. Once we have that we can start a small gathering which will form the core of the church plant. But it's a tricky time, we have to get the timing right and it's not a given that the business we have in will be enough for an extension.

I was wondering in the midst of the busyness what God would define as my work.
Is my work to run my business or is it do preach and teach or both? And I feel like God has answered me in a most surprising way:

John 4:34 "Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work."
OK, then if my food is to do God's Will and the work He gave me, what then is my Work?
Hmmm, well that tells me what Work is not, and it's not what I have been thinking it is!
I have been living, as most Christians do, as if my work is to do the will of God. But this is not the case, getting to do God's will and work is my reward, my nourishment. Which I guess is why Paul could say in 1Cor. 9:18 that his reward is to be able to preach the Gospel without charge.

OK, but when what is my work? Jesus gives the answer a little later on in John.
John 6:29 "Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”"

If my food is to do God's Will and the work He gave me, then my work is to believe Jesus and to believe in Jesus.
We tend to think it's the other way round. That our work is to do God's will and our reward is to get to believe Jesus. It's called Performance Orientation, and although a noble idea, it's rooted in pride, not in scripture.

"All these years I have been slaving for you and you have never given me even a young goat to have a party with my friends…," said the prodigal's brother... Performance Orientation.
Sigh - Back to the drawing board for me.

Now don't think for a moment that believing Jesus is easy work. It is not. Jesus' definition of Work in John 6 is followed by, "eat my flesh and drink my blood." ... Believe that!
It's hard work, but it is Relational work, It's Relationally Orientated directly opposed to performance orientation.
It forces us to think relationally, which is where we are all the weakest and most vulnerable.
Buying your son a computer game instead of asking him to forgive you is performance orientation. Earning the family money or cooking the family meals instead of loving your wife or submitting to your husband is performance orientation. Rushing here and there in ministry instead of believing God and celebrating in worship is also performance orientation.
Treating God's reward as if it were His work is probably the easiest mistake to make. There is nothing illegitimate about ministry, or a job or cooking or (dare I say it) buying computer games; but they must not form our orientation.

So my work today is this: Lord I believe, help my unbelief.
And then, after a full day's work, it's wonderful to sit down to a nice steaming bowl of sermon prep, or market place career, or homework, or the family meal plan, or whatever the reward is that God has given you.

God bless you Cornerstone.

We love and miss you.




Al, Meg and Daniel

This morning I went for a walk and watched the sun rise, the mornings here are starting earlier; just two weeks ago we moved our daylight saving and already the sun has caught up.
I was thinking about the magnitude of America. It's just a really big, diverse nation. And it's not an easy place to make an impact.

Jamie Oliver is in the USA at the moment trying to save Americans from the multiple conditions associated with poor eating. His show 'Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution' premiers tonight, and his mission and passion reminded me so much of the launch of Redemption City Church in Denver, Colorado last weekend.
Now let's face it, Denver is just not as pretty as Seattle, but you can't have everything :^)


Meg and I flew into Denver on Saturday morning and stayed at Mark and Rene Adelmann's home. We arrived between some snow fall; so the air was icy but the sky was blue with fresh snow on the ground.
We got to spend some time with Mark, Rene was not with him; and they both send their love to Cornerstone.
Saturday night we had dinner at the Doty's home with Rus & Mary, Jim & Margaret, Tyrone & Nicole, Bruce & Gaynor and some other couples who have joined with them from Australia and California (Jim & Margaret and Bruce & Gaynor are not moving to Denver; they, like us, were visiting for the weekend).
It was a good time to catch up and compare USA notes.





Rus and Mary have been working very hard trying to get themselves established with just about no credit history or relational connection in Denver and, at the same time, get ready for the launch. I don't think I can over emphasise just how difficult that is to do. Please lift them up in your prayers!

Building
They have the ideal building in mind, and the owner is very happy to have them in it; but the local authorities don't want a church there, so there is a legal wrangle going on. Please pray with them that this issue will be resolved with limited legal intervention and cost.
At the moment they are meeting in a 1000 seater hall in a hotel, but the launch on Sunday was in a local cinema theatre:


People
They have about 50 committed members so far. Which is amazing, and new people are coming all the time. There were probably 10 visitors on the 21st and two of them got saved!



Tyrone preached an unapologetic message of Church in both it's local and eternal contexts. He is building, over the next few months, a doctrine of the church. This is a good message to a post-Christian nation with large and growing pockets of pre-Christians.

It was great to see the launch of a 'Bible only' church, and we gleaned some wonderful pearls of wisdom for our plant. Please continue to pray for them as they build up to the big meeting at Easter.
At the Easter meeting they are giving away a Harley Davidson, a trip to Hawaii, and iPad, some snow gear and a mountain bike. This amazing launch strategy has sparked such interest in the community that they are expecting over 1000 people on Easter Sunday.

So pray with us for salvations, they certainly have invited the right crowd - Harley riders, snowboarders, mountain bikers all need to be saved; of course Apple users are already saved :^)
And pray for Redemption City Church to become a base to reach Colorado and impact the USA and the nations of the world. This is a big nation, we've been given a very big job!

God bless!

Al, Meg and Daniel

Hello Cornerstone.

We're so excited to see all that's happening at Cornerstone. It really looks like a church I'd love to be part of :^)

This last week has been absolutely glorious here in the Pacific Northwest. The days have been sunny and clear. It is an amazing site to see Mt Rainier on one side and the Olympic Mountains on the other as you cross over the Fox Island Bridge.
If you happen to be going to Tacoma (which I did a few times this week) you cross the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, impressive in itself, with a larger than life view of Mr Rainier on the other side of the bridge, and a full span view of the Olympic mountains on your way back. There is something so very American about tall evergreens backed by snow clad mountains under an ice blue sky.


This pic was taken in the summer, you wouldn't have seen Meg outside in a T-shirt in the last 3 months.

So we celebrated our first three months in the USA at the beginning of February; and what an adventure it has been. We are still having to pinch ourselves that we are actually here; and we are really loving it.
Meg is doing very well, thanking God for Skype, Facebook and e-mail. Dan is also doing well. He's making some good friends and doing well at school, and he's joined the Scouts!

Can you spot Dan? This is about half the band in his school.




My business is going well, your prayers are so much appreciated. It is amazing to have this much work in after only three months.
And we are planing for the church plant which we hope to kick off in August when we get back from South Africa. By then we should know the extent of our visa status for at at least the next 2 and a half years… hopefully longer than that. We are trusting for our permanent residence papers to be approved before we leave for South Africa late in July - it would be a miracle… the kind we seem to be experiencing a lot these days.

Apart from that, what can I tell you about life in America? We are continually astounded by the extent of need here. The Pacific Northwest is very much a post-Christian part of the USA, and the USA is largely a post-Christian nation. There are churches, but there are also Mason halls, JW Kingdom Halls, al lot of Mormon congregations and a whole host of other religious and Spiritual affiliations. I think that people put each other into one of two categories here, you are either religious or you are not. If you are not, then you are an atheist, if you are then you go to church, or you have some metaphysical belief system.
So when you speak, in general conversation, about an unreligious spirituality; about a real relationship with God you are saying something very new to almost everyone.
Which is good news for the Good News, and for those who want to share it!

Now here is a strategy that I think is worth praying into and a little challenge for you: The story of the return to israel is one that is seasoned with some of the most outstanding characters in the bible. Daniel - the hero of the devoted diaspora - Zechariah, Ezra, Joshuah, Zerubbabel, Haggai and Nehemiah to name a few. They all played a significant role in the restoration of Jerusalem, its homes, temple and walls; and its status in the nations. And we can break the restoration loosley into three or four phases:
Rebuilding the wall, rebuilding the temple, rebuilding the 'streets with dwellings' and finishing the temple.
I have given them in a random order in this list. But I think that the order of the restoration of Jerusalem during the reign of the Medo-Persians from Babylon and Suza, is vitally important to understand and pray into the restoration of the Church in the USA in 2010. So how about a little bible study… Can you put them into the correct order?
First one to do it gets 50 000 points!

With tons of Love
Al, Meg and Dan