The Goings on and Work of Sam Mahlstadt

I am now in my final week on staff at Cornerstone, and it seems crazy that my time here has drawn to an end. I have been wrestling with many emotions: I am sad to leave, excited to get married, and anxious to help begin a new work in Winston-Salem. Several chapters are coming to an end in my life, which fuels the many emotions I am facing. I will end my time as a single man in 13 days. I will end my time of being trained at Cornerstone in 6 days. I will also end my time of being on the leadership team for 63rd and Park in 6 days. These are all milestones on their own, and the fact that they are happening simultaneously makes it a bit overwhelming. One thing I shared with the group at our school of prayer was that in this point in my life, I feel like I am seeking and hearing the voice of God in my life like never before. I also shared that I am very grateful to be completely unaware of the challenges and obstacles that accompany moving, marriage and starting a church. If Amanda and I knew what took place in all of these changes, I don’t know if we would still be following what we feel God is leading us to do. I know that sounds quite unspiritual, but it is the truth. People continually remind us that the first year of marriage is tough, moving is stressful, planting a church is next to impossible. Then, people will look at me with an expression of “oh you are so naive, and so in for it.” Here is the thing though; we are so excited that on our own, this would be doomed to fail. We are in a place in our relationship with God and with each other where we know that success will come only if God is in this with us. We are competely aware of our naivete, but we are also completely confident that God is leading us, and our level of trust in Him has never been greater. So…here we go, please pray for us.

I don’t always carry cash, but I always carry a card. I never have a problem with my refusal to carry cash until today. I went to four gas stations before I found one that accepted credit cards as a form of payment. Really!? So my question is this: are these companies technology ignorant or just unwilling to make the initial sacrafice that could greatly increase their business in the long run? Or am I just being too tough on the car wash business?

In our small group study gathering last night, we were all challenged to be hilariously generous to someone. Whoever, someone we know or not, just someone, anyone. So again, we are using this post as a hub to keep each other in the loop. What God is doing in our hearts, what we have read in Scripture, what we are wrestling with at the moment. And most importantly, we are going to wrestle together. (you’re going down sucka…from Big Daddy, thanks Ryan)
So, for all of those who may read this and aren’t in the small group, go ahead and join us. Here are your instructions: be outrageously generous to someone with your time, money, skills, etc and let us know how it went down. Then, engage each other in conversation…why did you do that, how did that make you feel, what was their response, etc. I am excited about this, and the stories that will come out of it.
Also, for everyone, remember to keep Noah in your prayers. A young boy who needs to be held up in prayer for some emotional and familial issues.
Ready, set, go.

This past weekend, our services ended with a very cool element. People were asked to write 5 names of people they were believing to meet Christ in 2009. As people were dismissed, they brought their card to the stage, where we nailed the cards to a 10′ cross. We used hammer staplers, which allowed us to move quickly but still simulated the sound of nails going into the cross. It was a powerful moment, and it is staggering to stand back and look at the thousands of people represented on the cross. We are now developing a prayer team that will pray over the names on the cross for the rest of the year. How cool is that?

The Organic God book study through 63rd and Park has now met three times, and each gathering gets better and better. There has been some absolutely great conversation during our time together, and this week, the conversation continues here. We have all been challenged this week to sink into a chapter from Proverbs, and really wrestle with God’s word. The conversation will take place in the comments section, and I am excited to see how this develops. For those of you reading this who aren’t in the small group, feel free to join the conversation. Just pick a chapter from Proverbs, and let us in on the digestion process. Here we go…

Thinking about peace and justice today. I desire to be a part of the solution to poverty and warfare, joining what God is up to right now. I believe in peace, justice and hope entering people’s lives. I love these two images, they are both of an collaborative effort by artists in Mozambique. The project is called the Tree of Life. Made completely from decommissioned guns. Below is a short video explaining the project. Incredible! I love the man’s explanation, “You can’t make peace with guns.” I hope we are the generation that sees the development of our neighbors in oppressive nations, and the rise of peacemakers in all nations. I am excited by efforts to provide basic human needs, and efforts to be a voice for those who are not heard.

Last week was our second meeting for the book study of The Organic God by Margaret Feinberg. It was a great time, with lots of input and really good insight. As we wrestled with the concept of a big hearted God, and the correlation between earthly fathers and The Father, there was a couple powerful moments. It is incredible to see how much our past effects how we encounter God. Our relationship with the God who created us can easily become a byproduct of our experiences when we don’t take the time to seek his face and press into a pure relationship.
I learned this past week that I am great at spraying perfume all over my relationship with God in order to make it seem sweeter to other people than it is in reality. I have mastered the lingo, and I have developed the skill of being able to communicate the right thing at the right time in order to get people to leave me alone or think all is well. I need to strip my relationship with the one and living God of all my additives and perfumes. Those are all me, and he wants nothing to do with them. Vulnerability and transparency will be the two determining factors in my spiritual growth and taking steps into a deeper relationship with the organic God. I am grateful for the book, THE Book, and the group that I am wrestling through both with.
May we all pray for and receive greater spiritual hunger.