ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
March 12, 2026
Fifty-four years ago today, a handful of folks met in the home of Bill and Betty Ayers to discuss a new church in NW Harris County. There were a number of people at other Disciples of Christ congregations throughout Greater Houston, including Bethany Christian Church, who were now living in this area. I so wish there would have been a recording of that meeting, in part, because starting a new church is hard. It is estimated that 50% of early meetings seeking to start a church never get past a handful of meetings. And almost half of those that make it past the initial organizational stage will be nonexistent within the next five years. Let me say it again: starting a new church is hard. The Apostle Paul understood this well, and though no one was arrested or run out of town in those early years of Cypress Creek Christian Church, there are unique challenges that come with trying to discern and determine what God is trying to call into existence. No two communities are the same, and though some people have tried cookie-cutter church starts in multiple settings, I think we need to remember how Paul’s letters often emphasized what appeared to be different things, but I do not believe he was trying to create a single theology that could be pieced together if you read all of his correspondence. He was writing individual letters to individual churches in uniquely individual settings. In modern-day Christianity, we have a bad habit of looking at churches that are big and saying to ourselves, “We need to learn what they are doing.” When in fact, their growth is probably connected to the simple idea of relevance. We serve a God who doesn’t care about the world in some sort of generic way, but sees the distinctive and unrepeatable sacredness of each person, alongside the unrepeatable reality of every moment.
Give us eyes to see and hearts made available, for we wish to know how we walk alongside you in every moment as people who are seeking to be faithful, O God who is the Eternal in the now. Amen.
