ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 31, 2024There are so many folks who volunteer their time around the church, and I am beyond thankful for the impact they have on the fulfillment of our mission: Helping individuals and families put love first in all things. Of course, many of these people’s contributions to our work are done behind the scenes and ever-so-quietly. Now let me add a quick apology for what I’m
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 30, 2024It is easy to fall into the trap. I know I have done it more than I’d like to admit, but so often we find ourselves speaking passionately about what we oppose but not what we support. We know what we do not believe, but we struggle to articulate what we do believe. It is easier to declare something to be evil, immoral, vile, or
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 29, 2024Prayer for the Week: Whether it is the stress around children beginning a new year of school or the ongoing suffering of children in Gaza or other places of violence, we bring before you, O Spirit of Hope and Justice, all that weighs upon our hearts. Sometimes our worries at home seem to pale in comparison to the tremendous anguish and trauma in the lives
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 28, 2024On Friday, I spent a lot of time in my car. There were three hospital visits and an additional visit to make, and of course, they were about as far away from one another as they could be. I’m not complaining at all, as making visits is a part of the job that I find meaningful and purposeful. But I spent just over five hours
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 27, 2024In 2nd Timothy 1:6, we read: For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline. Today, like every day, will present everyone with a challenge or two or even
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 26, 2024As those who have been forgiven, we are called upon to forgive. I would guess that most followers of Jesus would agree with those words, yet I hear people adding exemptions to that premise. For them, there are certain limitations to forgiveness, though Jesus seemed to challenge some of those exceptions, even the ones we find really challenging. Using a parable, Jesus responded to a
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 25, 2024In his book, “Just Mercy,” Bryan Stevenson writes, “We are all implicated when we allow other people to be mistreated. An absence of compassion can corrupt the decency of a community, a state, a nation.” Like yesterday, those words can cause one to feel uncomfortable, as it sure feels as if those words are spoken with judgment in our direction. Guilt can create defensiveness, but
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 24, 2024From the book, “A Black Theology of Liberation,” James Cone wrote, “Jesus is not a human being for all persons; he is a human being for oppressed persons, whose identity is made known in and through their liberation.” Those words have already caused some of you to prickle just a bit because the late Dr. Cone suggested that Jesus was not a human being for all
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 23, 2024It happens on a pretty regular basis. I receive an email from someone in the world who wants to school me on the Bible, often in regard to what they believe the Bible says about homosexuality. I received another one of those emails just yesterday. For a number of years, I responded to every single one of them, which often was the spark for many
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 22, 2024Prayer for the Week: Show us your mercy, O Lord, when we are tired. Show us your mercy when we are tired of being tired. Show us your mercy when our exhaustion turns to frustration and complacency. Show us your mercy when our faith has fallen flat and we are left with doubt, confusion, and feelings of failure. Show us your mercy, O Lord, yet