ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS June 18, 2026 I know that I am not the person who is always on top of the current culture or new thing happening in the world. Music, artists, and the new hip way of saying something are rarely on my radar. And of course, my kid reminds me often that if I use the word ‘hip,’ I am not hip. With that said, I came
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS June 17, 2026 Do you have certain shoes or other clothing you put on when going outside to work? I’ve got my mowing and gardening shoes (old running shoes), plus there are only a couple of pairs of shorts that I don’t mind ruining. I make the choice based on the specific work I will be doing. In Ephesians 2:10, we read, “For we are what
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS June 16, 2026 So in Sunday’s sermon, I talked about Anselm and his substitutionary atonement theory, which technically was incorrect. Anselm’s theory is probably better described as satisfaction atonement theory. As a side note, I might have mixed some of that up in graduate school, and thus the reason for my B in the class on Christian History During the Middle Ages. In both theories, the
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS June 15, 2026 Prayer for the Week: Do we pray because we must? Do we pray seeking answers? Do we pray longing for connection? Do we pray to have a conversation? Listening and Ever-present God, we may not always know why we pray, but there is something that draws us back to this sacred habit. There are moments when what we are doing might not fall
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS June 14, 2026 Yesterday, I joined other church leaders from NW Harris County and Montgomery County to talk about love, acceptance, affirmation, and safety for our LGBTQ+ neighbors. This was actually the third meeting of church leaders I attended in this past ten days, though the other two were not on that specific topic. But because we are in Pride Month, the topic came up in
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS June 13, 2026 In one translation of Colossians 1:13, it says: “God rescued us from the dark power of Satan and brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son…” First, the preposition is not clear, but to clarify, it is speaking of God’s son, not Satan’s son… just to clarify. The language of “dark power of Satan” is quite ominous and unsettling. It depicts an
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS June 12, 2026 Scholars believe that 1st Thessalonians is the oldest (or the earliest) New Testament writing we possess. While the Gospels narrate the story of Jesus, they were written decades after his death. Paul completed his ministry and was executed before the earliest Gospel, Mark, was written. So I find it absolutely fascinating that the earliest recorded statement we have of the Christian movement comes
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS June 11, 2026 I don’t really know what to say about the Southern Baptist Church doubling down on its opposition to women in ministry. Of course, let’s be clear. There are other Baptist denominations, including the American Baptist Church, that celebrate women in ministry. So I want to be cautious about grouping all Baptists under a single umbrella. With that said, my heart breaks for all
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS June 10, 2026 There has been a recent push for a return to “Biblical Womanhood.” Biblical womanhood might sound like a beautiful phrase to some ears, even though a lot of folks don’t know exactly what it means. In some Christian settings, there is a push for women to get married by 18 and begin having babies as the earlier you start, the more babies you
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS June 9, 2026 What does it mean when someone is accused of being a sodomite? If you are going to be true to the Bible and the Christian faith, then accusing someone of being a sodomite is to accuse him/her of greed, pride, injustice, idolatry, and inhospitality. The sin of Sodom, specifically the story found in Genesis 19, has absolutely nothing to do with same-sex attraction