ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS February 20, 2026 What does it mean to have a change of heart? What does it mean to experience a dramatic revelation that pretty much turns everything one previously believed on its head? When we begin to question some aspect of life, something we’ve been fully committed to in the past, we find it more difficult than we might have guessed. Often, many aspects of our
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS February 19, 2026 Last night at our Ash Wednesday Service, Rev. Carolina Fuentes reminded us how we are made. All existence is sort of made up of the same stuff, from stars to rocks to the flowers we see and the human beings that we are. As Carolina pointed out, matter matters. We matter. Of course, when we speak of how “we matter,” it’s important that
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS February 18, 2026 Today is Ash Wednesday, and I will begin the day early in the chapel. In fact, I will arrive well before the 7am starting time for ashes so that I can pray. Ash Wednesday begins an important period of time—forty days to be specific (40 days, minus the Sundays)—preparing us for Easter. Though it appears to be an anonymous quote, I love the
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS February 17, 2026 Toward the end of the Book of Job, we read: “Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you declare to me.’ I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes” (42:4-6). Job was frustrated with how his friends were interpreting his
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS February 16, 2026 Prayer for the Week: For all the reminders of your love, O Lord, we are deeply grateful. For all of the moments in which we brush up against your merciful kindness, we say thank you. For all those places where we see your fingerprints, a reminder of how you are still at work, we express our gratitude. For all the times we have
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS February 15, 2026 How often are we walking through life, interacting with people, yet we really do not acknowledge the divine sacredness that exists within every single one of those we encounter? I wish I could tell you that I have never ignored or missed that sacred beauty, but it happens more often than I’d like to admit. Sometimes it is nothing more than busyness and
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS February 14, 2026 What lenses are you currently wearing? A few years ago, I heard a former fundamentalist Christian speaking about her own transformation. She had grown up being told that women were to be subservient to their husbands, have no place of authority in the church, and should not work outside the home. On a regular basis, the minister would pull a handful of scriptures
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS February 13, 2026 Henri Nouwen (1932-1996), the great writer and theologian, wrote the following: “When we refuse to see the image of God in others, we prepare our hearts for violence. Racism and genocide begin not with weapons, but with a failure to love.” Originally, this quote was going to be a part of Sunday’s sermon, but for the sake of length, it needed to be
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS February 12, 2026 I heard someone say recently that righteous anger (indignation) burns long and slow, but rage burns fast and often leaves us too exhausted to do anything beyond the initial moment. Scripture is sort of all over the place in regard to anger, at least at first glance. In Matthew 5, early in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “You have heard that
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS February 11, 2026 While at Ministers’ Week at Brite Divinity School, I have been talking to as many people who will listen about our Youth Ministry position. Some of them are not people who would be interested, but I am a firm believer that someone may know someone who knows someone. On two occasions yesterday, as I was giving a quick overview of Cypress Creek Christian