ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 21, 2025The fourth-century Syrian church leaders, Ephrem and Simeon, believed faith was not filtered through the mind but the heart. They advocated for tears to be a sacrament in the church, like communion and baptism. Ephrem suggested that if you have not cried, then you probably do not know God. What would it mean for us to hold tears as sacred as every other ritual in
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 20, 2025Today, I leave on my final sabbatical trip. It will include checking on my father-in-law in Arkansas and hanging out with my siblings in Nebraska, but a majority of the time will be spent interviewing different pastors on how better to engage our first-time visitors. As I have shared with many, we have four different groups of people visiting CCCC. The first are people who
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 19, 2025I just don’t understand things… a lot of things. So, I get the bill for my knee surgery, and my surgeon charged about $130,000, but the insurance company wrote off about $105,000. My kid’s car has a problem with the catalytic converter, and according to everything I can find, the cost is about $1,000 for the part and a few hours of labor, yet everyone
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 18, 2025It is so easy to say, “Don’t let the negative words and actions of others define you.” When someone says that, I always want to respond sarcastically, “Wow! I never thought of that.” Most of us still carry wounds from our past, often from childhood. We might think they’ve healed, but there is often just enough of an opening for the poison to sneak in
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 17, 2025During the General Assembly, I heard a person use the word “must” and the words “have to” in regard to certain religious ideas and convictions. Words like MUST and HAVE TO are good words for engineers who are building our bridges or scientists who are developing a new vaccine. There are certain areas of our living when we need people to follow the rules and
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 13, 2025Last night, our evening preacher was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s youngest daughter, Rev. Dr. Bernice King. She reminded us how the Underground Railroad was never legal, but it was the right thing to do. She talked about how the Holy Spirit is not only to dwell within us, but is to pour forth from us. Yet too many of us, according to Rev. Bernice
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 12, 2025I am writing from the first day of the General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). So far, we’ve primarily engaged in business activities. However, I’ve also dedicated a significant portion of my time in these first hours to hugging friends, many of whom I haven’t seen since the last assembly. Among the many resolutions we are discussing, there is one entitled: Resolution
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 11, 2025Some of you are old enough to remember Tony Orlando and Dawn’s hit song, “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree” from 1973. In 1974 or 1975, my music teacher at May Morely Elementary School would do all school sing-alongs, where we’d sing popular songs, including “Tie a Yellow Ribbon.” Of course, those were the days when the words were on a transparency
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 10, 2025I know we can often complicate things more than necessary, but I also believe that other things are more complicated than some people try to make them. I was recently in a conversation about the Middle East and the ongoing violence in Gaza. This person said, “Well, if they would only…” and then proceeded to present a rather simplistic solution as if this was similar
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 9, 2025Like many of you, I have been unable to find words to describe the grief and sadness I have felt in regard to the flooding that has taken so many lives (both in Texas and in the Carolinas). Even my prayers have been more emotion than words, though it is in times like this that I remember the words of the Apostle Paul, “…the Spirit