So, hope all those of you new to UNC have had a good first several weeks on campus.  It can be an overwhelming time i know; trying to figure out class schedules, social calendars, all the sylabi, you can’t even understand your stats prof! It can be an exciting time, tiring time, energizing  and a lonely time all in the same day.  I hope that you have found Cornerstone a place where you can start to let down a bit and see a glimmer of hope of finding some people that you can be real with, grow with and perhaps share life with for years to come.  I have enjoyed meeting many of you and look forward to knowing many more of you on a personal level.

All that being said, i have a couple warnings for you about Cornerstone that i want to be honest with you about.

First- if you are expecting to find in us a perfect Christian group and will be disappointed some day if you find that we are not, then honestly, you might need to find another group.  We will fail you. I will fail you.  I will say something upfront that you do not like and perhaps we will not embrace you the way that you would deem perfect.  The staff and student leaders want so much for your best and to be a part of your growth both now and for a lifetime please know that from the start.  But every year, quite honestly, we find that we have failed someone or several people.  We are striving for our own growth and maturity and will continue to do so, but we will not be perfect so i warn you now.

Second- If you are one of the many people that has an idea that you are superior to the rest of the ‘lost’ campus because you have found ‘the truth’, then i would politely ask you to reconsider what you believe or else encourage you to find another group.  I indeed believe that there is true truth to be found and that I/we have arrived at some. However at the same time, i realize that i could never have found it without the incredible grace of one who would reveal it to me.  So instead of me finding it, He found me!  This roots out all superiority and self-righteousness and leaves me as a humble, broken, rescued person in constant need of God’s recurring grace.  The world has seen enough self-righteous hypocrites who look down on everyone who doesn’t have the same beliefs.  We want to be a group that holds fast to truth of the Gospel as revealed in the Bible as the one truth that will save us.  But the truth is embodied in a person, Christ and instead of puffing ourselves up with our superior knowledge, I believe he would have us pour ourselves out just as He did on the cross.  That is what i invite you to participate in with us….or else, i can give your name to some other groups who might want you….(i am not really a jerk, but honestly i am so tired of the above attitude that i am saying this pretty harshly)

Thirdly- We want people that are ready to be honest.  We want people that are ready to go deeper.  We want people who want more.  We want people that are tired of repeating the same answers that you don’t really believe. If that is what you want, then join us….again, if not…well i already said it.

I look forward to journeying with many of you along a section of your journeys.  It would probably blow you away if you could know now what is in store for you this next four years.  High times, low times, deep times and hopefully lots of laughter.  From the staff team of Cornerstone, know that we are praying for you and are asking God to do deep and rich things in your life that lead to peace and joy.  -Miles