ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS July 8, 2026 I have clergy friends who talk about how quiet their church campuses are during the week. Quiet is not the word I’d use around Cypress Creek Christian Church. And it’s not just the church, but everything happening around this little community compound. Of course, we had VBS and kids that brought lots of energy. The museum had a youth arts camp, and the
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS July 7, 2026 Guest Etching: Jim Cook The God Who Broke the Box A spoken-word meditation I used to have God… in a box. Not because I didn’t love Him. I did. But a God in a box is easier to understand. Easier to defend. Easier to explain. I built that box with Scripture, with doctrine, with certainty, with all the answers I thought I had
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS July 6, 2026 Prayer for the Week: In a country still trying to understand how to move from a conceptual understanding of freedom to a lived understanding of freedom, with all of its complexity, we pray for your help, O Life-Sharing and Life-Inspiring Spirit. The Apostle Paul taught his readers that true freedom was not the unchecked ability to do whatever one wants, but the power,
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS July 5, 2026 I’m going to date myself, but how many of you remember the “Calgon, take me away” commercial? When work was crazy and the kids were screaming and the dishes were piling up, you screamed, “Calgon, take me away.” And of course, the individual in the commercial was swept away to a luxurious spa-like bathroom with a bathtub that could seat twelve. And of
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS July 4, 2026 I always appreciate the fireworks and over-the-top celebration of my ordination anniversary. Yes, I was ordained at First Christian Church in Lincoln, NE, on Sunday, July 4, 1993. It sort of seemed like a strange day for an ordination, yet there were people who had a long weekend and could travel. Plus, I had just started my first full time ministry gig, and
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS July 3, 2026 I was contemplating love the other day. While it may seem like a straightforward topic for a minister to ponder, it all began when someone said, “I don’t believe she deserves love.” The identity of the person deemed undeserving is not crucial, but the implication of someone being unworthy of love is significant. Our culture is quite clear in distinguishing between those who
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS July 2, 2026 Have you ever noticed that a single change will often lead to more changes? Maybe you were able to see those other changes on the horizon, but other times you get on the other side of a big change thinking you are done with change, and only then realize how many more things there are to change. There is a reason we are
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS July 1, 2026 In the movie, National Treasure, the main character, Ben Gates (played by Nicholas Cage) was speaking at a fundraising party about those who signed the Declaration of Independence. He said, “A toast! To high treason. That’s what these men were committing when they signed the Declaration. Had we lost the war, they would have been hanged, beheaded, drawn, and quartered…” When it comes
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS June 30, 2026 If I see another post calling for “a return to Biblical marriage,” I am going to scream. And it can be loud and annoying. Let’s be very real here. No one, and I feel pretty confident that includes anyone reading this, does not want Biblical marriage. You may want what you’ve been told is Biblical marriage or what you assume to be Biblical
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS June 29, 2026 Religion hellbent on control- Faith as a tool of someone else’s opinion- Sacrosanct as an instrument of fear- Where did we lose Jesus? Where did we forget the two Great Commandments? O God, who first loved us, we seek your guidance on this pathway of love. Wherever Christianity has become about control, about imposing someone else’s perceived definition of proper faith, and about