'Thinking things together'
At Cornerstone, we want to grow people who don’t just understand the big idea of John 18 or Exodus 20, but who know how to think Christianly—with the whole of Scripture open in front of them. Often that means holding together truths that, at first glance, seem to pull in different directions.
Take the issue of poverty.
Proverbs 19:17 says, “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord.” Across both Old and New Testaments, you’ll find verse after verse pushing in the same direction: God cares for the poor, and he expects his people to express that care. But 2 Thessalonians 3:10 says, “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.” How does that fit with open-handed generosity? How should we approach such an issue with both wisdom and care?
The answer, of course, is not to pick a favourite verse. It’s to sit under both—to “think them together.” We need to be willing to ask hard questions, seek to understand context, recognising that reality is complex and, at times, ambiguous. A great deal of wisdom can be gleaned from tradition, reason and experience, even as we submit it to God’s Word.
This is what Big Ideas Nights are for. Sometimes we explore Biblical ethics, sometimes church history—like William Tyndale and why having the Bible in English matters. Sometimes we consider contemporary cultural questions. But in every case, the goal is the same: to model thoughtful, humble, integrated Christian thinking that sits under God’s Word.
Not quick reactions. Not slogans. Not proof-texting.
But learning, together, how to hold the whole counsel of God—and let it shape how we live.