ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMay 7, 2024Tony Campolo tells the story of a small town church that got a new minister. Everyone loved the new preacher, praising his preaching. The town skeptic asked one of the church leaders, “Why is this preacher so much better than the last one?” The church leader answered, “The last one told us we were sinners, and unless we changed our ways, we would all go
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMay 6, 2024Prayer for the Week: For everyone who is angryFor everyone who feels exhaustedFor everyone who believes we are better than thisFor everyone who has convinced him/herself that the answer to it all is found in a meme –For everyone, Merciful God, a vision is sought of how justice and kindness can be enfleshed in the human community.Your prophets spoke of a day when hatred and distrust
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMay 5, 2024A number of years ago, we did a church-wide study of a book by Rev. Michael Slaughter. The book was entitled “Dare to Dream,” and it challenged us to dream a God-sized dream for ourselves and for our church. Recently, I came across a quote by Rev. Slaughter. He said, Imagine a safe space where we can be honest enough to work on our “stuff.”
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMay 4, 2024Many of you have heard the exciting news about the Church Leadership giving the green light on moving ahead with a new playground. We started a capital campaign more than a decade ago with the hope of paying off old debt, updating our air conditioning units, improving signage, redoing restrooms on the second floor of the Forum Building, and, among other dream items, was a
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMay 3, 2024I talked about this subject a couple weeks ago, but I will confess to you that I remain challenged when it comes to finding the right words or some sort of sensible way of talking about the violence between Israel and Gaza, complicated by Hamas, Iran, and other players. And I was looking forward to our Interfaith Prayer Walk that was canceled out of concern
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMay 2, 2024This Sunday, though not technically the day we usually celebrate the Ascension of Jesus, we will be focusing on the Acts 1 passage where we read, “After Jesus said these things, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight” (vs.9). The scene from Acts sounds similar to the story of the ancient prophet Elijah being carried
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMay 1, 2024In less than 24 hours, I had three separate people ask me in one way or another, “How did Christianity get so far away from the core teachings of Jesus?” I wish I could push back and say, “Oh, Christianity hasn’t gotten too far off,” but if I were to say such a thing, I would be lying. Understanding how we got here is complicated,
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSApril 30, 2024Donna and I will be flying to Denver in a couple of weeks and then driving to Alliance, Nebraska, in the panhandle of Nebraska. When my father died at a very young age, more than 55 years ago, my mother was completely unprepared. They were living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where my dad was a professor in the Education Department at the University. They had no
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSApril 29, 2024Prayer for the Day: Holy and Ever-present God, you have called forth this body, your church, and you have given us a task—a responsibility. We are not to judge; we are not called to layer on more guilt or grief; we definitely have not been called to suggest you love and are present to some more than others. Sometimes such things are done in your
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSApril 28, 2024The Greater Houston Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) was really quite wonderful. If you read my Etching from yesterday, you know I was looking forward to hearing the keynote speaker, Rev. Dr. Dawn Weaks. She did not disappoint. There was also some wonderful worship, great conversations over lunch, and many hugs from folks who I have come to love and respect. One