ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGFebruary 10, 2022We have confused the church with a building or an institutional structure. In the book, “If the Church Were Christian,” Philip Gulley asks some tough questions of those who claim to be followers of Jesus. Phil says, “Looking after a building and maintaining the necessary financial and committee structures is important, but only to the extent they contribute to the church’s primary mission of seeking
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGFebruary 9, 2022In 1863, a slave by the name of Gordon escaped his enslavement and found his way to a Union Army post. When they inspected him, they found extensive scarring on his back from all the whippings he had received as a slave. You may have seen these old pictures as the Union Army took photographs. The anti-slavery movement for years had been trying to communicate
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGFebruary 8, 2022Once again, there is a lot of talk about whether people’s personal actions should have any repercussions on their professional lives. Jesus did share some concern about whether the blind should be leading the blind (Luke 6:39). I am not intending to get into a debate on whether a professional ball player should consider her/himself a role model or not. What I do know is
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGFebruary 7, 2022Prayer for the Week:When my soul is tired and I feel drained of all life’s energy, I consciously pause and look to you, Holy One. Your love is a source of respite, a holy hiatus from the voices seeking to drag me down. The 24-hour news cycle can suck me in and then spit me out, leaving me frustrated and confused, weary and exhausted. There
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGFebruary 6, 2022The great singer Tina Turner asked a question within one of her songs, “What’s love got to do with it?” As I listen to the song, I think of one struggling to understand the relationship between romance, sexual desire, hormones and love? It is complicated, and probably requires an excellent biologist, a Nobel Prize winning neurobiologist and a deeply caring psychologist to even begin to
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGFebruary 5, 2022The early church was not associated with buildings, but with the community. In Colossians 4:15, we read of “Nympha and the church in her house.” This was literally known as a ‘House Church.’ Too often the eyes of those of us in 21st Century read it as a congregation that cannot yet afford a real church… emphasis on the word ‘real’. But for Nympha, the
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGFebruary 4, 2022On this day in 2002, Facebook was launched. Though I use Facebook each day of the week, mostly to post my Etchings and to comment on people’s family photos or maybe a prayer request, I remain a bit cautious when it comes to Facebook. In Proverbs 10, we read: “The wise store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool brings on ruin.” I believe
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGFebruary 3, 2022The world will throw a lot at us. We will make many mistakes, and some of them will bring about some trouble. Suffering will happen no matter how careful we might be. A lot of bad stuff will occur in life, but it is good to know that God will protect and guard us. Of course, that doesn’t mean we are going to be protected
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGFebruary 2, 2022A few years back, I was attending a General Assembly of our denomination. On the agenda of the meeting was a prayerful discernment process in regard to issues around gay and lesbian people. As you can imagine, there was a great diversity of opinion and much discussion. And though there was no plan to make some dramatic statement, two groups (not associated with our denomination)
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGFebruary 1, 2022In 1st Thessalonians 4:18, Paul wrote: Therefore encourage one another with these words. Paul had just finished sharing some very hopeful ideas about the life of faith, yet he suggested his words were intended to be shared again and again and again. Paul wanted his audience to encourage one another, and to do so using what they had learned about Jesus. When life is not