Cornerstone Publications

Who We Are...

Cornerstone Publications was founded in early 1991 by Jim Rector and has served believers faithfully ever since that time. On March 7, 2006, Jim Rector died peacefully in his sleep after suffering a prolonged and heroic battle with cancer. This website and the services it provides will continue to operate in memory of Jim in the hope of preserving his legacy of inspiring and profound teachings. Jim is survived by his wife of 34 years, the former Rita Nutt, and his daughter Katrina McAlister. Rita and Katrina feel strongly that Jim's teachings should continue to be shared and will continue to fill any article or tape requests that come to them via the website, email, or mail to them. The following was Jim's description of the ministry and beliefs of Cornerstone Publications...

Cornerstone Publications is not a church organization, has no corporate headquarters or highly-paid staff, but is rather a network of true believers scattered around the world that function as a service center for preaching and teaching the full truth of God to any and all who have ears to hear. When I say the full truth, I mean that, while most Christian groups indeed ground believers in certain basics of the faith, very few of them are designed to truly encourage and assist the kind of dynamic spiritual growth and development of the individual that God desires. It is to this objective that we are dedicated. Although you will find, among the many items listed, a number of tapes and articles dealing with fundamental Christian issues, the vast majority of the material we offer is aimed at taking the believer into a higher, more spiritual, more empowered walk with God and His Son.

We believe in the God of the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God whose name in Hebrew is Yahweh (YHWH), the Creator of heaven and earth. We believe that He is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent, that He is utterly sovereign, that He rules and sustains the entire universe, that He has a specific plan of action for the human race, and that He is actively accomplishing that purpose.

We believe that Jesus Christ (Yahshua the Messiah) is the Son of God, that He pre-existed prior to His human birth, gave up His position and power in the Godhead, came to earth in the form of a man, lived a perfect, sinless life, suffered and died on the cross, offering His life as the ultimate sacrifice and atonement for the sins of the whole world. We believe that He was in the grave 3 days and 3 nights, rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of the Father, is the High Priest of God's heavenly temple, and through the operation of the Holy Spirit is able to enter into and live through true believers on the earth.

We believe in the divine inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible as the Word of God to mankind. We do not focus only on the New Testament for instruction, but seek to integrate the entire Scriptures to fully understand the mind, approach, and will of God. Because of this perspective, you will find that we teach certain things not considered important by mainstream Christianity. When you note these differences, you are strongly encouraged to search out the full truth of the matter for yourself. You will discover that certain of those distinctive features include the weekly seventh-day Sabbath of the Bible as opposed to traditional Sunday worship, the annual holydays as recorded in Leviticus 23, the erroneous concepts of heaven and hell as the reward of the believer and unbeliever respectively, the truth about the immortality of the soul, the rejection of all manmade religious holidays (Christmas, Easter, New Years, Valentine's Day, Hallowe'en, etc.), the correct understanding of law and grace, a subject that has been misinterpreted and mis-taught for centuries, and the right approach to church government and group worship (we oppose ministerial hierarchy, the separation of believers into the priesthood and the laity, any efforts to control or lord it over the brethren, etc.).

We believe that the Holy Spirit is the power of God by which He is able to achieve His will. Therefore, we do not teach the traditional doctrine of the Trinity, as understood by most Christian churches. Our position on this issue is clearly put forth in the appropriate material that is available to you for study. In all matters, we urge you not to merely take our word on any point, but to prove from the Scriptures the truth to your own personal satisfaction what is true and what is not. Only by following this approach can any believer really learn and grow up to the fullness of Christ.

These few basic tenets will suffice as an introduction to the ministry of Cornerstone Publications. We often are approached and urged to draw up a long statement of beliefs, but we have found that change is at the heart of a maturing spiritual walk, and, since God is transforming us on an on-going basis, many of the things that we think we understand and thus believe today, are always subject to correction as we yield to the leadership of the Spirit. Therefore we prefer not to publish a rigid set of beliefs. The understanding that we have been given will become very clear as you work your way through the material that is available.

Since Cornerstone Publications is not in the business of religion, we do not charge for any services rendered. Everything is offered free of charge to anyone desiring to learn more about and truly grow in their relationship with God. We do not ask you for money, or teach that you must tithe to us, or write sad letters of how badly the work we are doing needs your support. We simply try to stay true to the vision and the message that God has given us to share, and trust that He will take care of our needs in His own way.

Although this outreach effort is small by comparison with the corporate churches, we still are able to serve several thousand believers in the United States and around the world. We sincerely hope that you will find what we have to offer to be of value in your spiritual life. If this proves to be so, we would appreciate hearing from you. Our goal is, as the apostle Paul once said, to spend and be spent in God's service. We have no desire to control your spiritual life, but only to be of help. If, because of the study of our material, you ever desire contact with people of like mind in your own area, please let us know, and we will do all we can to assist you. Thank you so much for visiting Cornerstone Publications web site, and may God richly bless and keep you always.