ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSNovember 10, 2024I recently heard someone say that chaos drives people deeper into individualism. When I think about it, I believe it is accurate. My concern is that both the story of Israel found in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) and the Jesus story found in the Christian Scriptures (New Testament) seem to always invite people, when chaos occurs, to step more fully into community. Paul wrote
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSNovember 9, 2024Last night, I joined some folks to celebrate a friend’s 50th birthday. We gathered at a dueling piano bar, and I will confess to having a really good time. So many of the songs they sang were from the 70’s and 80’s, so I knew most of the words. There were people of all ages, and because the alcohol was flowing (I did not partake),
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSNovember 8, 2024Last week, someone asked me the question, “Since the church is declining at such a rapid rate in the United States, what do you think the church will look like in 15 years?” First, I am, as Desmond Tutu put it, “A prisoner of hope,” so I might not be the best person to ask. Even on my worst days, I am a perpetual glass
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSNovember 7, 2024In recent months, I have found myself quoting and quoting again the words from the 13th chapter of John’s Gospel, where Jesus says to his disciples after washing their feet, “I give you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other. This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSNovember 6, 2024The Day After! Some of you will remember the made-for TV movie from 1983 about a nuclear war. For its time, it was graphic and very realistic. It was mostly set in the Midwest, where I was living at the time. Of course, from its title, it did not focus only on the nuclear attack but the aftermath as well. Often, when we use the
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSNovember 5, 2024Does the end justify the means? Some would say, YES, but I’m pretty sure Jesus would say, NO! For Jesus, I’m pretty sure LOVE was both the end and means which ends up complicating things. For though LOVE is powerful, it also requires patience as it depends entirely on a change of heart that occurs through free will. When people begin to mistrust LOVE because
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSNovember 4, 2024Asking you for courage, God, takes a lot of courage if I’m serious about receiving some courage. I desire to be All In when it comes to my faith being lived to its fullest, but I will confess some anxiousness when it comes to being More In than I am now. I don’t know exactly where to begin, what to release, how to think differently,
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSNovember 3, 2024Today, in worship, we will celebrate the Saints who have joined the Great Cloud of Witnesses. Last year, my mother’s name was spoken, and in the previous year, the name of Donna’s mother was spoken. Names are important, and there is something about lifting up a name in the context of the worshiping community, specifically on a day like All Saints’ Sunday. It is about
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSNovember 2, 2024The Pumpkin Patch is over! Take a deep breath and relax. Oh wait, the Dickens Market set up begins Sunday immediately after church. Then it’s only a few weeks until Thanksgiving Sunday, and then we are into the Season of Advent and Christmas. I learned a long time ago, as many of you have probably learned, that it’s never good to get into the habit
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSNovember 1, 2024Who are some of the saints in your life? Who are the people, now finding rest among the great cloud of witnesses, that in one way or another immeasurably blessed your life? Some of these saints might be people who walked alongside you in life, while others might be people who had died long ago, but you read something about their life story or were