ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 29, 2022I met a ministry colleague at Starbucks yesterday. We get together occasionally, in part, because he is exceptionally smart and I like to steal all his good ideas. We met over in Kingwood, and since I left directly from the house in the morning, I took 99 around. On the way back, since I was going to the church, I took 69 down to Beltway
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 28, 2022This Sunday, I will begin a three-week series: The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in a Nutshell. Trying to determine what to say and what to leave out is tough, especially when you’re talking about a denomination with a rich and amazing history. From early on, we claimed: Unity Is Our Polar Star. This made sense as our most influential voices in the early years,
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 27, 2022The priest and author, Henri Nouwen, wrote: One of the main tasks of theology is to find words that do not divide but unite, that do not create conflict but unity, that do not hurt but heal. As I read those words, I have a better understanding of why the work of theology is hard. Too often, people will be dismissive and say things like,
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 26, 2022It is debated whether the Buddha really said, “Unity can only be manifested by the Binary. Unity itself and the idea of Unity are already two.” Whether those words can be truly attributed to the Buddha or not, I have been sitting with them for about two weeks. I’m not too sure exactly how to read them, but if I were to make a rather
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 25, 2022A single line from a prayer written by St. Teresa of Avila (1515 – 1582): Whoever has God lacks nothing With those words in mind, quiet yourself for prayer… I seek your presence in my life, O God of the Universe. I request your Spirit to dwell deep within the recesses of my mind where imagination can too easily guide my attention down the path
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 24, 2022What do you do with anger? Lots of people have an opinion on the subject, and they are quick to offer their insights. There are occasional suggestions that are helpful, but I find most people’s thoughts to be pithy and dismissive. Often, it is just a tactic to appear sympathetic when the person making the unhelpful suggestion simply does not want to hear your complaints
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 23, 2022There are moments when I look at Christianity, and I find myself scratching my head. So much of what is put forth and given to the world as Christianity strangely resembles everything Jesus seemed to oppose. In fact, I am coming to believe that many prominent presentations of Christianity today have emerged from a bunch of very insecure men who have made an idol out
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 22, 2022Henry Ward Beecher was a minister and abolitionist. His powerful words on the far-reaching character of God’s love still influence people today. He wrote, “I can forgive, but I cannot forget, is only another way of saying, I will not forgive. Forgiveness ought to be like a cancelled note – torn in two, and burned up, so that it never can be shown against one.”
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 21, 2022The Nigerian Ethicist, Omolara Ogundipe-Leslie, wrote: “There can be no liberation of African society without the liberation of African women.” In the Civil Rights Movement here in the United States, Fannie Lou Hamer noted that “nobody’s free until everybody’s free.” There are others who have said similar things, and it makes me think about Jesus. He did not start with the powerful, those who found
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 20, 2022I knew a guy years ago who had what he called “off the farm” responses to almost everything. They were creative, and on occasion, a bit colorful. One I remember in particular was the witticism, “It feels like I fell asleep in wet concrete.” It was his way of describing that feeling of being stuck. Sometimes in life it feels as if we unknowingly fell