“Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” ~1 Cor. 15:58b

Labor Day, the first Monday in September, was established by Congress in 1894 as an annual national commemoration to honor the social and economic achievements of American workers which enhance our country’s strength, prosperity, and well-being.

In honor of our national holiday, I would like to share some of the "labors" that have been going on in recent months at Pinnacle Presbyterian Church. Engraved in the glass wall as you enter Pinnacle’s sanctuary are Jesus’ words, "streams of living water will flow from a faithful heart". "Streams of water" has, indeed, been a recurring theme on the Pinnacle campus, of late!

In May, a pipe in the women's restroom in the Sanctuary broke and was discovered early Friday afternoon by the cleaning crew. By then, the men's and women's restrooms, most of the narthex, the kitchenette, storage areas, and lounge were under several inches of water. Jim Moore, Pastor Kelsey, Lea Reinke, and Paul Rooker jumped into action (and Brent Hylton was seen wading through the water as well). A remediation company was called, whose crew worked well into the night. The final restoration of these areas is underway as I write this blog.

Two other water incidents occurred within our voluminous Sanctuary building, both as a result of pump failure in the lift station. One of these incidents required replacement of one of the pumps, at fairly significant expense. Both required many hours of staff and volunteer time in cleanup efforts.

One other water incident occurred during the Friday monsoon in early August. The rain came so intensely that several inches of water piled up outside the back wall of our office complex and came through the wall. Four office rooms in the hallway were saturated. Once again, Jim and other staff jumped into action while the remediation company was called. Next time you're in the office complex, you may notice new hallway carpet!

Moving from rainfall to sunshine, workers have been putting up a sun canopy over the playground sets adjacent to the teen center…a project made possible by a member’s generous 25th Anniversary Celebration gift! There were also several air-conditioning projects this summer, including rebuilding one of the cooling towers for the Sanctuary building, as well as two air-conditioning projects in the Preschool.

Another 25th Anniversary Celebration gift funded the repair and refurbishing of the stained glass windows in our lovely Chapel.

If you haven't peeked in the nursery lately, you'll also be pleasantly surprised to see the renovation there…including new flooring (donated by JR Mc Dade Company), freshly painted walls, trimmed out skylights and beautiful high-end carpet in the rear classroom (also donated by JR McDade). A number of our staff played a role in this project, along with over a dozen Pinnacle Church members. Thanks also to Mike Foley who led the painting team and once again generously shared his professional talent!

There are too many other projects to list in their entirety, including several landscape projects and rebuilding of a beam over the sliding glass doors in Fellowship Hall, but suffice it to say that the property committee, chaired by Chapin Bell, along with Lila Kleinkopf, Ray Heidel, and Dave Matthews, have been hard at work laboring in the Lord on behalf of Pinnacle Congregation and their labor is not in vain! So many volunteer hours given by church & staff members, combined with financial resources from annual giving as well as assistance from the Pinnacle Presbyterian Church Foundation and insurance reimbursements, have blessed and enabled our legacy to prosper.

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Gal. 6:9 

After 15 years of preparing music for Sunday worship, it is amazing to think, here we are at our final one! Believe it or not, I do not have an original final sermon – what I have is the middle movement of a speech I gave at the retirement party Marcia Sobek and her committee gave for us in May. It was a section that I left out since Marilyn’s speech was so good and I decided to skip over it. So here it is. 

Marilyn and I have been Church Musicians for over 40 years. We have spent that time fulfilling both halves of that title – CHURCH AND MUSICIAN. And this is what I mean by that. 

To be a church MUSICIAN means that we have had the privilege of good training in a music school, and we have continually sharpened our skills and gained new ones through various means. You take all of this into your church work.   To be a CHURCH MUSICIAN means you have a special use, purpose, and focus for your musicianship. The distinction between performers and listeners is not as clear in the worship space as it is in the concert hall. 

Congregational song, in spite of all its musical “imperfections,” is of primary importance. Everyone in the room – and in the world outside – is royalty. We have tried to choose the musical repertoire not to highlight virtuosity or for good programming but to fulfill roles in the liturgy, to communicate, to minister. We have also tried to be involved enough in other non-musical aspects of church life so that it is not “their church” but “our church.” 

Putting CHURCH in front of MUSICIAN does not dilute it, weaken it, or negate it. But it does water it down because it baptizes it for a special purpose and places upon it a divine blessing. 

Marilyn and I have been so blessed to be at Pinnacle and to work with all of you. We pray that the coming months will run smoothly and that the search committees will be guided by God’s hand. Fall will come, and once again, the music program will be off to the races, headed towards great and glorious musical moments bringing you face to face with the God almighty.

Thank you for your support and prayers.
Soli Deo Gloria,

Brent & Marilyn

A few weeks ago, PEW Research Center came out with new study on the decline of Christianity in America. According to their research, Christianity has declined by nearly 7% in the last seven years. Since the research came out, CNN, NBC among others have shared their perspective on the decline of the church.

Since this statistical bomb was dropped on American Christians, I have had many conversations about this research with friends, colleagues, and parishioners. And the conversations are always depressing. It includes questions like, “Is the church going to die?” “What will the church look like in ten years at this rate?” And most importantly, “What are we going to do about it?”

Truthfully it would be easy to jump on the bandwagon, and come up with a list of priorities, actions and changes to make the church grow. But is that God’s plan?

My fear is that we have forgotten about love of our Creator and Heavenly Father, Jesus who lived, died and was resurrected for us, and the presence of the Holy Spirit. Have we forgotten how God brought the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, how the Israelites faith grew even though they were a minority in Babylon, or what happened on Pentecost when people heard and received the Holy Spirit and thousands were baptized?

One of my friends once said, “God loves remnants because whenever God’s people are a minority they learn to trust that God will guide them.”

This is a time when we must trust even more than before. We live not by statistics but as faithful disciples each day. We learn how to trust in Jesus because His research doesn’t show decline, it shows deeper relationships, building of community and a stronger faith.