ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS March 28, 2026 Church signs, and specifically the thoughts congregations put on the signs, can be thoughtful, inspiring, and even a bit edgy at times. Some churches spin cultural references, make puns, or some even use language that invites a little fear. Of course, my favorite things are the mistakes, misspellings, or not taking a close look at how the sign is going to be perceived
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS March 27, 2026 From where I am seated, I can see Holy Week. Actually, some of the Maundy Thursday Service is pulled up alongside where I am currently typing. So yes, I can see part of Holy Week. If this phrase is new to you, don’t worry. There is a wonderful tradition within Christianity, a way of teaching the story of Jesus, while also creating a
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS March 26, 2026 I am blessed beyond measure! I’m not saying it to sound all religious or because I feel it necessary to exude some gratitude. I feel blessed because yesterday was one of those days in which the blessings refused to remain contained in the blessing bucket. Someone knocked into it, and it spilled forth, drenching me in joy-filled goodness. And I am equally grateful
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS March 25, 2026 As we move toward the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry, the Gospels don’t really provide us with a specific timeline until we reach the Passover (what would become the Last Supper), and even then, there are some differences in exactly how things played themselves out depending on which Gospel you are reading. According to Luke’s Gospel, sometime before Jesus gathered with his disciples
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS March 24, 2026 In Sunday’s sermon, I referenced the book If God Is Love, Don’t Be a Jerk by John Pavlovitz. It is a wonderfully edgy book, and I appreciate John’s journey, which is about as crazy a journey as anyone might have. He was the youth pastor at a mega church in North Carolina before being fired as he was no longer asking the soft
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS March 23, 2026 Prayer for the Week: Holy and Sacred Presence, we can so easily feel overwhelmed and our minds left racing with worries. We acknowledge these anxieties in the belief that naming them begins to diminish their power. And as we disempower what seeks to hold sway over our lives, we are able to slow down our breath and be more fully present in the
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS March 22, 2026 In today’s sermon verse from the Grab Bag of verses, we find the words, “…those who remain in love remain in God and God remains in them.” The word translated as “remain” can also be translated as “dwell” or “abide.” Does this mean that if we cease to remain in love that we no longer remain in God, and even more concerning to
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS March 21, 2026 I have struggled to motivate myself to write this Etching. For you see, I have felt the need to write on a topic that I’d rather ignore. Yet as much as I have tried to go elsewhere with my thinking, I continue to return to this one thing. His name is Cesar Chavez, and I wrote about him back in high school. He
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS March 20, 2026 Yesterday, after eight previous NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournaments, Nebraska finally secured a victory. It’s remarkable that despite numerous appearances and even predictions of a first-round win, they have lost each time. This time, however, they were victorious. While I won’t try to make some grand theological statement using sports analogies, I must acknowledge the profound disappointment that accompanies all those previous losses. The
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS March 19, 2026 Yesterday at the Men’s Prayer Gathering, we watched a sermon by Dr. Fred Craddock, considered one of the greatest preachers of the last century. He died eleven years ago, but along with his brilliant rhetorical approach to preaching, Craddock had a great sense of humor. In the sermon we watched, he had a marvelous play on language, specifically talking about a deficit of