ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMay 3, 2022Tonight, there is pain in the Body, the Body of Christ. There are moments when part of the Body breaks off, spends time in the desert, and then later returns with a heavy and contrite heart in the realization of just how wrong it was. History has shown us this movie way too many times, yet we remain incapable of learning anything. They say, “Those
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMay 2, 2022Prayer for the WeekMerciful Mother, Holy Father, Gentle Parent, Magnificent Maker – so many designations we attached to you, yet not one even begins to capture the essence of who you are and what you do. Forgive us when a name or title becomes more like an idol, an effigy that we can hold and conform to our wishes. Forgive us when we do not
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMay 1, 2022Jesus understood that some folks are hard nuts to crack, and simply telling them who he was and what is mission was all about was not going to break their thick shell of disbelief. In Luke 22, Jesus was conversing with some of the religious leaders. They asked “If you are the Messiah, tell us.” Jesus replied, “If I tell you, you will not believe…”
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGApril 30, 2022On this day in the year 303, the Roman Empire officially ended its persecution of Christians. For 250 years or so, there had been times of intense persecution and other times of less severe. It also depended on what part of the Roman Empire one might live. Yet it is strange how a religion born out of persecution, finding some of its greatest witnesses and
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGApril 29, 2022Richard Beck wrote an article entitled, The Bait and Switch of Contemporary Christianity (Sojo.net). It is a fascinating look at the games Christians have played to avoid doing some of the real work of being Christ followers. He writes, “…rather than being a decent human being the following is a list of some commonly acceptable substitutes:Going to churchWorshipPrayingSpiritual disciplines (e.g., fasting)Bible studyVoting RepublicanGoing on spiritual
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGApril 28, 2022Immediately after Luke’s telling of the resurrection story, we turn to a couple of folks walking on a road to the town of Emmaus. Experts are not absolutely sure where Emmaus was in the first century, but there are a number of archeological theories. The word Emmaus probably comes from the Hebrew word that means hot springs, but even that information does not provide an
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGApril 27, 2022Last night, I reached out to Week of Compassion about their specific response in Ukraine. Week of Compassion is our denomination’s response in times of crisis. They were the ones who showed up after Hurricane Harvey, providing direct money, grants and expertise. Vy Nguyen is the Executive Director, and he called me last night to answer my specific questions. He is on his way to
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGApril 26, 2022This past Sunday, our Regional Minister (Andy Mangum) expressed his appreciation of Cypress Creek’s approach to its buildings, specifically our Community Center model. Very early in our church’s history, there was a very intentional concept woven into the fabric of the congregational identity. Buildings were not going to be worshiped or venerated, but used. As I often say, “The buildings owned by Cypress Creek don’t
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGApril 25, 2022Prayer for the Week: May your grace, O God, meet us as we begin this new week of life. May the pouring forth of your Spirit upon us provide healing for the wounds we carry; strength for the convictions we seek to live; inspiration for the work of compassion; reshaping of how we understand faithful living. Allow for the people we meet this week, the
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGApril 24, 2022I finished Jacqui Lewis’ book, “Fierce Love” – a marvelous, earthy, authentic dive into trying to enflesh something other than a sentimental Hallmark kind of love. She presents a truly fierce sort of love that is the hope for our world. In an interview with Jacqui, she said: “We can build bridges, we can create a deeper understanding by coming from a state of love