ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSOctober 8, 2023God is good! That is a very old and common statement made by people of faith, yet what does it mean for God, in Genesis 1, to declare human beings to be good? The word in ancient Hebrew is towb, and it is used in many different ways in different passages of the Old Testament. But what makes it sort of interesting is the word
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSOctober 7, 2023The Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi (not something most Protestants recognize in the same way our Catholic siblings do) was Wednesday, October 4. There are many exceptional quotes from St. Francis, including these: Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible. If you have people who will exclude any of God’s creatures from the shelter
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSOctober 6, 2023Tomorrow is a big day around Cypress Creek Christian Church. I believe it was nine years ago when I made a request for some folks who might help with a crazy idea that was brewing in my head. I wanted to do a Blessing of the Animals, and two of the very first people to step forward were Paul and Mary Hupman. They and others
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSOctober 5, 2023In Psalm 55:22, we read:Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you;he will never permit the righteous to be moved. A few weeks ago, I reflected on the notion of casting our burdens and what that exactly looks like. I don’t believe most of my burdens are something I can really grab with my hands and then toss as far as I
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSOctober 4, 2023The other day, a fellow pastor said, “I hate stewardship! I hate trying to raise money for the church budget.” Well, first, the word ‘hate’ is pretty harsh. Second, stewardship has never really been about raising money. I know it can feel that way as there is a budget at the church, and there are bills to pay, monetary outreach to be sent, and paychecks
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSOctober 3, 2023Yesterday was my day off, but it was one of those days off when there were projects to do. We did some major housecleaning, and one of the projects was to pull out the washer and dryer to clean underneath them. And of course, since the dryer was pulled out of the wall, I might as well do some cleaning of the dryer vent. And
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSOctober 2, 2023Prayer shared by Angela Whyde in worship yesterday at Cypress Creek’s Contemporary ServiceGod, on this World Communion Sunday, we pray that we may gain the knowledge to use the keys that we have to unlock the doors that previously seemed unbreachable. Allow us to gain the opportunities to unlock and open these well-guarded doors, not just for ourselves, but for others, as well. We ask
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSOctober 1, 2023Today is World Communion Sunday, a day when faith communities around the globe celebrate unity around the table of grace. I must confess to you that I have an image in my head, or maybe it is more of a short video clip that keeps running through my brain. Yesterday, as I was flipping to a different channel on TV, I clicked accidentally on a
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSSeptember 30, 2023For the last two and a half days, I have participated in an online Leadership Event at the Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, where Adam Hamilton is the Sr. Minister. We’ve used a number of his books in our studies at CCCC, and when I lived in Kansas City years ago, I would often attend this annual Leadership Event as it was just
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSSeptember 29, 2023I used the word Stewardship in yesterday’s Etching, and though a lot of folks have some basic definition, it is one of those sort of ‘churchy’ words that may not necessarily have anything to do with a church’s financial budget. We are all stewards of the resources entrusted to us. Some of us are really good stewards of those resources, and others find it a