Pastors

Jim Fain

Call to Ministry: Jim was saved by God in 1995. Five years later, a calling to pastoral ministry led Jim to leave active duty military service (he is still a USAF Reservist and serves at Scott AFB) and enroll in seminary. Jim has twice graduated from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary receiving both a Master’s of Divinity degree in Theology and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Pastoral Leadership. Jim has served in two churches (Fremont Evangelical Free Church in Nebraska, as an associate pastor, and presently at Cornerstone Reformed Church, as a co-pastor). Jim is also the Director of Rod and Staff Ministries–a parachurch ministry dedicated to equipping the church to fulfill her calling to counsel/disciple one another. Finally, Jim has served as an adjunct Professor of Biblical Counseling at Crossroads Bible College in Indianapolis.

Family: Jim and Shelly were married in August of 1992 and have been blessed by God with four daughters (Alyssa, Madeline, Meredith, and Abigail). Shelly is a Bible Study Fellowship graduate and currently serves BSF in administrative roles.

Authors and Interests: C. S. Lewis once quipped something of the sort that one should read 3 or 4 dead people for every live person read; Jim would humbly/humorously add…and the deader the better. English and Scottish Puritans from the 16th and 17th Centuries (or alive people who read them) and books that help people solve life’s problems and live in a manner worthy of God’s calling occupy Jim’s book shelves and time. Family and ministry dominate Jim’s time.

Josh Stegall

Call to Ministry: Josh was saved by God in 1995. Three years later, a call to gospel ministry led Josh to return to college and pursue a B.A. in Biblical Studies. For two years, Josh served in a local church in Jackson, Tennessee. In 2003, Josh was called to further study which lead to him enrolling in The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. While in seminary, Josh was active in LaGrange Baptist Church. He received his Master’s of Divinity Degree in Christian Ministry in 2007. In 2009, Josh and his family moved to Indiana to serve as the Minister of Education and Sr. Adults at Calvary Baptist Church in Greenwood. He later transitioned to Minister to Families and Administration at Calvary. In August of 2015, Josh left Calvary to serve as the Assistant Director of Rod and Staff Ministries and joined in co-pastoring at Cornerstone in June of 2016.

Family: Josh and Ashleigh have been married since September of 2001. They have been blessed with three children; Ella, Jackson, and Anne.

Authors of Interest: Josh enjoys reading the Puritans (especially the Puritan Paperbacks). He also likes books that help equip people to live life rightly before God. His other interests include spending time with family and rooting for the Tennessee Volunteers.

What is in a name?

Cornerstone Reformed Church

Cornerstone

We choose this word because of the fact that the Bible uses the word to describe Jesus. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul declares that Jesus is the cornerstone of the church (Eph 2:20; see also 1 Cor 3:11 and 1 Pet 2:6-8). Jesus is the one by whom all must be measured. He sets the church in true and sure orientation. Jesus is THE standard by which we live and die. His Word must have final and functional authority in and over our lives. Thus, the word cornerstone reminds us all that Jesus, the Living Word as revealed in the written Word, is to be our foundation in our pursuit to please, praise, and treasure God.

Reformed

We choose this word to help describe what we believe the Bible says about Jesus, the Cornerstone. It is not enough for one to merely state that they believe what the Bible says. One must answer what they believe about what the Bible says. We hold that the theology of the Reformation best captures the warp and woof of the Word (e.g., the Five Solas). The title Reformed is in no way being used to intimate that we are progressive or liberal. We hold to the great confessions of the Christian faith (e.g., 1689 2nd London Baptist Confession). We unswervingly believe the Bible to be inerrant, infallible, sufficient and the final authority in faith and life. Moreover, we are Reformed and reforming. Every generation will have to answer the same questions–every generation will have to hold their own convictions and thus every generation will need to bring their assumptions to the Bible in order that the Bible reforms their understanding.

Church

We believe in the church. We believe the church is the pillar and buttress of truth (1 Tim 3:15). We believe the church is God’s design and His means of sanctifying the saints. God does not have the category of Christian and alone. Christians are in the church universal and thus must be part of the church local. We believe that CRC is a local manifestation of the universal church and loves all other local churches that seek the glory of God and the glory of God as man’s greatest good. We believe in the church–we believe every Christian should be an intentional, covenanting member of a local church.