ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSAugust 9, 2022This past Sunday, as I continued the series: The Disciples In A Nutshell, the sermon focused on Alexander Campbell and his strong support of free public education. Alongside it, I talked about his opposition to school-sanctioned prayer in public schools. I feel confident in saying that it was a surprise to some people. You may also find it interesting that Baptists, early in this country’s
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSAugust 8, 2022Prayer for the Week: A 16th Century PrayerGod be in my head and in my understanding;God be in my eyes and in my looking;God be in my mouth and in my speaking;God be in my heart and in my thinking;God be at my end and at my departing.
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSAugust 7, 2022In worship this morning, I will be talking a bit more about one of our denominational founders, Alexander Campbell. This is part of a worship series entitled: The Disciples in a Nutshell. Campbell held an intriguing, if not naive, belief in the human capacity to seek truth above all else. He wrote, “We will not hearken to those questions which gender strife, nor discuss them
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSAugust 6, 2022Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.~St. Catherine of Siena This quote was in our weekly Highlights on Thursday, and ever since I came across the words, I have been both fascinated and troubled by them. I believe they are true, yet if they are true, why isn’t the world on fire with goodness, grace, kindness, justice
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSAugust 5, 2022I have always found it a bit baffling how Christianity has become so dogmatic, claiming absolutes in the name of a teacher who, according to Mark 4, climbed into a boat, sat down, and began to teach a large crowd using parables/stories. He did not say, “Here are the seven necessary truths one must know and claim as holy-conferred…” He did not provide a well-structured
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSAugust 4, 2022In his challenging book, A Generous Orthodoxy, Brian McLaren writes: I’m sure I am wrong about many things, although I’m not sure exactly which things I’m wrong about. I’m even sure I’m wrong about what I think I’m right about in at least some cases. I find his words helpful and humble, giving me space to confess my own lack of knowledge and my moments
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSAugust 3, 2022Yesterday, I went to visit someone at Memorial Hermann Hospital in the Woodlands. After the visit, I needed to run by the church and grab a few things. It took me exactly two hours and four minutes to go the 15 miles to the church. I made the mistake of checking my map and its recommendation to take a slightly different route that would be
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSAugust 2, 2022How has religion used guilt and fear? Sadly, such things are woven into a lot of religions, or certain passages of holy text are used to impose guilt and intensify fear. You can attract a lot of followers with guilt and fear. In Exodus 30, there is a deeply troubling passage. It says: The LORD spoke to Moses: When you take a census of the
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSAugust 1, 2022Prayer 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 before noticed about the intensity of your kindness; to glimpse the far-reaching capacity of your glory? Let the possibilities of this day be met by the curiosity of my mind and the imagination of
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 31, 2022When I was keynoting a Men’s Event a number of years ago, I provided a rather simple illustration of Jesus’ command for us to love one another. A young man in attendance said something like, “If Jesus was so clear about his purpose being love, and if we are his followers yet we continue to fail when it comes to this purpose, why doesn’t he