ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMay 21, 2023Yesterday, as I was preparing for this morning’s worship services (I’m at the Traditional Service to do a baptism), I found myself reading a prayer. In the prayer was a simple line, but it really struck me. It read: “At our baptism, we took a vow to walk in your way.” When people speak of baptism, they usually use the metaphor of washing themselves of…
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMay 20, 2023Tomorrow in worship, Rev. Dr. Darren Phelps will be our preacher. He serves as a Community Regional Minister here in the SW Region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The text he has chosen is from Mark 9. Yesterday, I spent some time reading passages around the specific text. The sermon text reveals a father’s doubts and anxieties about his son, who has great
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMay 19, 2023Yesterday, in my Thursday study based on the book entitled “Bible Stories for Grown-ups,” we focused on the Book of Jonah. In Jonah 4:1-3, we read: But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord and said, ‘O Lord! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMay 18, 2023Recently, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Michael Curry, quoted Jimi Hendrix: “When the power of love overcomes the love of power we shall know peace.” As of late, it sure appears as if the church has been leaning a lot on the culture to speak the truth. Some people will be offended by a reference to Jimi Hendrix, emphasizing instead our need to
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMay 17, 2023As I referenced in my sermon on Sunday, my plan was to go see the new Guardians of the Galaxy movie on Monday, my day off. The family and I made it happen, and we really enjoyed it. There was a line in the movie that caught my attention. A character by the name of The High Evolutionary said, “There is no god. That is
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMay 16, 2023On this day in 1988, C. Everett Koop, the Surgeon General of the U.S., released a report that stated what most people already knew. The report told America that the addictive properties of nicotine were as powerful as those of heroin or cocaine. Of course, this report didn’t necessarily change anyone’s habits, as previous reports had made little to no difference. Change is hard, and
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMay 15, 2023Prayer for the Week: O Sacred Wisdom, O Voice of Sophia, our spirits are attentive to your insights, which are rarely perceived by those seeking easy and quick answers. Give us questions that engage our curiosity and open us to a pilgrimage of hallowed experiences. From biology to theology, from physics to philosophy, from math to ethics, we explore with a heart seeking faithfulness to
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMay 14, 2023Yesterday, I had the opportunity to officiate at a wedding in the Forum. It was a wedding that originally thought they could fit everyone in our small chapel. As the preparation continued, they were concerned about whether the chapel would be big enough. They finally decided to move into the Forum, and it was a good choice. We might have been able to squeeze everyone
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMay 13, 2023As you move toward the end of the Book of Job, God finally answers the frustrated cries of Job. For so many chapters, Job has dealt with the condescending questions of his so-called friends, who assumed Job must have committed a king-sized sin to deserve all the bad stuff that happened. Of course, the ‘friends’ were working from a worldview that believed good people got
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMay 12, 2023In our staff meeting on Tuesday, I shared the direction of my sermon for this Sunday and how I Peter 4 describes the love of the community “covering” our sins. The Greek word we translate as ‘cover’ is the verb version of the Greek word hut or cabin. So basically, love builds a structure around our sins (on Sunday, we will talk more about the