ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 3, 2022I think most folks know the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr: “The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Those are words spoken in faith, as Dr. King did not see in his lifetime the justice for which he worked. I found it interesting to learn that King’s words were a paraphrase of a sermon delivered in 1853
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 2, 2022On occasion, the Judge next door to the church will invite one of the ministerial staff over to do a wedding when he’s unavailable. I appreciate the relationship we have with the county, and I also want to be as supportive and helpful to the county as the county is to us. But I’ve discovered that I never know what unusual thing will happen at
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 1, 2022Today is the birthday of one of my two favorite sisters. Ok, I only have two sisters, and they are both amazing. Today is Bev’s birthday. Beverly is one of the most kind and compassionate people I know, while also refusing to be quiet in the face of injustice or acts of mean-spiritedness. I give thanks for how she educates herself and seeks to understand
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJune 30, 2022On this day in the year 296 AD, Marcellinus became Pope (the Bishop of Rome). There were rumors about Marcellinus that he had denounced his faith during persecution and then repented. This supposedly occurred during the reign of Diocletian, the Roman Emperor (284–305 AD). Diocletian ordered a great deal of religious persecution, including of those who were Christians. Marcellinus’ denouncing of his faith was quite
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJune 29, 2022A few folks have asked my opinion in regard to the recent Supreme Court ruling on prayer at a football game. Am I in favor of prayer? In most cases, yes! Yet my use of the word ‘most’ should probably be a hint that I have some concerns. I see this getting messy, but maybe that’s just my cynicism. Who on the coaching staff gets
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJune 28, 2022I was streaming a show a few days ago, and there was a scene where one of the main characters confronted another character. The main character said, “You never said you were sorry! You never apologized! ” There was a lot of anger expressed by the main character, yet the other character, who was always a little bit of a jerk, began to offer a
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJune 27, 2022Prayer for the Week: Where have I seen you in recent days, O God? Where have you been present to me amidst frustration and heartache? Where are you, and why is it that I do not know of your presence? My faith tells me to trust and know that you are God, but there are times when it does not come easily. So in this
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJune 26, 2022What does it mean to love as Jesus loved? If your answer to that question has stayed the same for more than a few months, I would invite you to revisit it. I’d say the same thing to a married couple. In fact, how I’d define love for my wife today is very different than how I would have defined love twenty years ago. Not
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJune 25, 2022Is the message Jesus shared with the world specifically defined and rigid, or is it a message that is forever evolving and growing? Did Jesus want us to take his exact thoughts and impose them without question upon every future generation? Or are we to wrestle with the contextual meaning of those ideas as we seek to apply them in our current reality? These are
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJune 24, 2022Why did Jesus say nothing about homosexuality? I don’t believe any of us can answer the question with complete confidence, but it wasn’t because Jesus had no knowledge of such things. In fact, homosexuality was a known reality in the ancient Roman World. Jesus did seem to say something about healthy interactions between people, and he expressed concern when one person or group exercised unhealthy