ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGApril 30, 2022On this day in the year 303, the Roman Empire officially ended its persecution of Christians. For 250 years or so, there had been times of intense persecution and other times of less severe. It also depended on what part of the Roman Empire one might live. Yet it is strange how a religion born out of persecution, finding some of its greatest witnesses and
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGApril 29, 2022Richard Beck wrote an article entitled, The Bait and Switch of Contemporary Christianity (Sojo.net). It is a fascinating look at the games Christians have played to avoid doing some of the real work of being Christ followers. He writes, “…rather than being a decent human being the following is a list of some commonly acceptable substitutes:Going to churchWorshipPrayingSpiritual disciplines (e.g., fasting)Bible studyVoting RepublicanGoing on spiritual
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGApril 28, 2022Immediately after Luke’s telling of the resurrection story, we turn to a couple of folks walking on a road to the town of Emmaus. Experts are not absolutely sure where Emmaus was in the first century, but there are a number of archeological theories. The word Emmaus probably comes from the Hebrew word that means hot springs, but even that information does not provide an
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGApril 27, 2022Last night, I reached out to Week of Compassion about their specific response in Ukraine. Week of Compassion is our denomination’s response in times of crisis. They were the ones who showed up after Hurricane Harvey, providing direct money, grants and expertise. Vy Nguyen is the Executive Director, and he called me last night to answer my specific questions. He is on his way to
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGApril 26, 2022This past Sunday, our Regional Minister (Andy Mangum) expressed his appreciation of Cypress Creek’s approach to its buildings, specifically our Community Center model. Very early in our church’s history, there was a very intentional concept woven into the fabric of the congregational identity. Buildings were not going to be worshiped or venerated, but used. As I often say, “The buildings owned by Cypress Creek don’t
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGApril 25, 2022Prayer for the Week: May your grace, O God, meet us as we begin this new week of life. May the pouring forth of your Spirit upon us provide healing for the wounds we carry; strength for the convictions we seek to live; inspiration for the work of compassion; reshaping of how we understand faithful living. Allow for the people we meet this week, the
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGApril 24, 2022I finished Jacqui Lewis’ book, “Fierce Love” – a marvelous, earthy, authentic dive into trying to enflesh something other than a sentimental Hallmark kind of love. She presents a truly fierce sort of love that is the hope for our world. In an interview with Jacqui, she said: “We can build bridges, we can create a deeper understanding by coming from a state of love
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGApril 23, 2022I was reading an online forum on how our heavenly bodies will be stitched together. It was rather specific in the what and how. In the comment section, there was furious debate over the technical points, specifically what God will use of our current bodies and what God won’t use. If I were to die tonight, I sort of hope God won’t use my current
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGApril 22, 2022Elie Wiesel is a Holocaust survivor, author and Nobel Peace Prize recipient. He tells a story of a young boy who skipped school on a regular basis to go into the woods. One day his teacher followed him and found the young man praying in a small circle of beautiful green trees. When asked what drew him to the woods, the boy replied, “I can
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGApril 21, 2022Building on yesterday’s Etching, I am drawn to the words of Deepak Chopra who wrote, “The symbolic language of the crucifixion is the death of the old paradigm; resurrection is a leap into a whole new way of thinking.” I couldn’t agree more, yet when I ponder the world around me, I’m not seeing a dramatic change between a week before Easter and the day