Welcome
Dear Friends of Cornerstone Institute,

Don Stone (our Introduction to Theology instructor) shared the following story with me. He couldn't remember where he first heard it, but it has stuck with him ever since. In his mind, it sums up nicely our mission at Cornerstone Work & Worldview Institute to build Kingdom culture in the workplace.

Three stonemasons were building a cathedral when a stranger wandered by.
The first stonemason was toting rocks to a pile, near a wall. "What are you doing?" said the stranger.
"Can't you see that I'm carrying rocks?"
The stranger asked the second laborer, "What are you doing?"
I'm building a wall," he replied.
A few steps away, the stranger came upon a third mason. "What are you doing?" he asked.
This worker smiled. I'm building a cathedral to the glory of God!" 
Same jobs, different missions.


Blessings,
News & Updates

  • Our first classes start on Monday, Oct. 4th. We are offering: Introduction to Business, Introduction to Theology, Microeconomics, and Vocations & Callings.

  • You can sign-up for our January 2022 module Biblical Interpretation taught by Peter Leithart by filling out the Inquiry Form on our website.

  • The County Before Country conference hosted by East River Church (CREC) was fantastic. They have posted all of the sessions and panels online. Check them out here.

  • Our time at Fight Laugh Feast was a blessing. We were able to meet so many like-minded Christians that are passionate about our mission to build Kingdom culture in the workplace. We are excited about attending future events. If you weren't able to attend, you should try to make it to one in the future.

  • Cornerstone Work & Worldview Institute will also be at the CREC Council 2021 from Oct 25th to 28th in West Monroe, LA.


  • Lastly, enrollment for our Fall 2022 full-time program is open. If you know anyone that might be interested send them our website to start the process.

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Featured Article
I had the privilege of attending the County Before Country conference in Batavia, Ohio hosted by East River Church (CREC). One of the talks was on the concept of "owned space" by Aaron Renn. One of the pressing points about this talk as well as the article below is a reframing of our (that is conservatives) mindset. This is key to our mission at Cornerstone Work & Worldview Institute. We are wanting to create a program and institution that helps Christians be equipped to think long-term about their labor and life in their local communities to create "space" that can't easily be canceled.


The Struggle for Owned Space

In his review of Bronze Age Mindset, Michael Anton zeroed in on “owned space” as perhaps the key theme of that bizarre book. “Space,” for author Bronze Age Pervert, writes Anton, “is owned when it is mastered or controlled. This can either be accomplished by you—or your herd or pride or clan or tribe or nation—or by others.” 

One need not agree with nor even read Bronze Age Mindset in order to understand the usefulness of the owned space concept in understanding the plight of today’s conservatives. If you don’t have owned space, if you live or build on space owned by others, then you are putting yourself in a highly disadvantageous and vulnerable position, subject to cultural eviction and spiritual homelessness.

The easiest way to illustrate this is to look at businesses and creators on social media sites like YouTube, Instagram, or Twitter. They have no influence over the platforms and don’t even own their relationship with their fans or customers. They add immense value to the platforms but have essentially zero rights and can be kicked off or downgraded in the algorithms at any time. As finance writer, Byrne Hobart noted, “if you build a business on someone else’s platform, in the end, you’re either doing R&D for features they’ll add or you’re setting yourself up to cede them your margins.” Or to be targeted for virtual elimination if you fall afoul of them politically.

It’s notable how little owned space conservatives have in any domain. This can include physical space as well as social and cultural space. One of the biggest problems faced by conservatives is that they exist almost entirely inside space owned by others—legally owned in many cases, but as importantly socially and culturally owned.

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Who We Are
Cornerstone Work & Worldview Institute is a Christian work-and-worldview community of educators, business professionals, and church leaders committed to building Kingdom culture in the workplace by equipping Christian students with a Trinitarian worldview and vocational competencies through our integrative work and study programs. Cornerstone Institute is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit Christian educational, cultural, and vocational ministry of Cornerstone Reformed Church, Carbondale, IL, USA.