ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSAugust 15, 2025James A. Garfield was the 20th President of the United States, though before he became President, he was a preacher in our tradition, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). In fact, he was the only president to also be a minister. One of the best quotes attributed to Garfield, at least in my opinion, is: “The truth will set you free, but first it will make
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSAugust 14, 2025I was reading a portion of the book, “Deconstructing Your Faith Without Losing Yourself,” by Angela J. Herrington. Deconstructing is the process by which a person of faith, shaped by a very damaging form of faith, begins to unravel the mess of emotional trauma that has been woven into the fabric of one’s life. Though I have not read the entire book, I appreciate her
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSAugust 13, 2025In Chapter one of Isaiah, the Prophet is brutal when it comes to his description of Judah and Israel’s future. What were once faithful people committed to justice are now murders (1:21). The author leaves the impression that there is no hope. The future isn’t simply bleak, but irredeemable. We turn the page, and in Chapter two, we find: In days to come the mountain
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSAugust 12, 2025The Rev. Dr. William Barber preached this past Sunday, August 10, 2025, at First Baptist West in Charlotte, NC. He was basing his sermon on Jesus’ sermon that we call The Sermon on the Mount. Rev. Barber focused on the words, “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid” (Matthew 5:14), and he reminded his listeners that
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSAugust 11, 2025Prayer for the Week: With this new day comes an opportunity to meet you anew, O Divine Light—to experience the warmth of your generosity; to learn something I have never noticed about the intensity of your kindness; to glimpse the far-reaching capacity of your love? Let the possibilities of this day be met by the curiosity of my mind and the imagination of my soul.
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSAugust 10, 2025Have you ever noticed that grief is complicated? And it is made more complicated when people approach grief as if it were similar to getting over a cold. Frustration emerges when it appears to be taking too long, as if two days’ rest and some Vitamin C should kick it. Now we are all wired a little differently, and the journey of grief will look
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSAugust 9, 2025My friend, the Rev. Dr. Kory Wilcoxson (pastor at Crestwood Christian Church in Lexington, KY), is the coauthor of a book entitled, “Thriving Church,” based on a five-year study of 20 diverse churches. The word “thriving” is not necessarily defined by the number of people in worship on Sunday, though for some of the churches, they have strong worship attendance. The book looks at ten
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSAugust 8, 2025This Sunday, we will have another ordination at Cypress Creek Christian Church. I don’t want to brag or toot the church’s proverbial horn, but this is a pretty big deal. Since arriving at the church thirteen years ago, we have ordained three of our church members after they completed seminary (John Frey, Mariah Newell, and Tamika Nelson). And a fourth member of our church had
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSAugust 7, 2025Brian McLaren is a wonderful voice in the current landscape of Christianity, specifically helping us look beyond what he calls a simple stage one faith, usually rooted in literalism and dualism. Brian doesn’t belittle this stage. In fact, in his book, “Faith After Doubt,” he talks about how stages are important. No one learns math starting with complex formulas. You need to learn your numbers
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSAugust 6, 2025In Sunday’s sermon based on Colossians 3, there were a number of things I would have enjoyed discussing if I could have preached for two hours. One of the lines that often catches the ear of the listener is from vs. 6 where we read, “On account of these, the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient.” The Apostle Paul (or possibly