ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
July 19, 2026
What helps us bring more focus upon God? In daily life, what could we be doing to bring God alongside us when it comes to important decisions? I’m not suggesting that a practice or two will have answers from God suddenly appearing like answers from a Magic 8 Ball. But in the same way an electrician brings both knowledge and life experience to a job, it is good to have an open pathway to God and the stories of the faithful. Early in my ministry, I was confronted by someone who didn’t like something I said in my sermon. When I tried to make it a conversation and referenced a Biblical story and question around what he believed about God, his response caught me off guard. A lifelong Christian in his 70s at the time said to me, “I don’t have time for all that Bible stuff, but let’s be clear, what you said was wrong and offensive.” If I am going to have a conversation with someone about one of my sermons, we probably need to set some basic rules and parameters for the conversation, and I think one of those should be the inclusion of the Bible and God. Otherwise, I don’t know if we can actually have a conversation. My interpretation might have been wrong or, as the conversation might have occurred, we could have discovered that certain core values to our faith were simply different. It is sort of like the nonsense associated with conspiracy theories and anti-intellectualism that dismisses science just because. Scientists always have rigorous debate as new findings or different approaches are discovered. But simply interjecting your thoughts on a topic because you read a meme on social media that spoke to your own insecurity does not make your scientific insights helpful.
So returning to the initial question: It is important to study scripture, both alone and in community. Read books and articles written by scholars. At times, they may disagree, but disagreement within academia is where the growing edges are. It’s okay to bring your own opinion to those conversations, but as I often say, “My knowledge of the original Biblical languages (Hebrew and Greek) is poor at best, and so I depend on brilliant people who have spent their careers on these subjects to provide me insight that is simply beyond my capacity.” I’m not suggesting you need to read all 13 volumes of Karl Barth’s Church Dogmatics, but there are others who offer accessible writings. When we do this, our relationship with God and our theological insights about God begin to become more and more a part of who we are. It is less about pausing and wondering what Christian beliefs might say about something and more about having some of the voices already in the conversation.
It is about knowing you and finding comfort with you, Loving God of All Creation. It’s about seeing the world through the lens of Jesus who continues, through your Holy Spirit, to provide an insightful voice to some of the more challenging happenings in life. Thank you! Amen.
