ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJanuary 29, 2024A Prayer for the Week: God of Creation Initiator of GraceSource of Love It all begins with you I am the recipient the one blessed the one who is changed by your actions the one who cannot look back only forward into your dreamMay the work you have done not find its conclusion with me but a conduit by which it persists with purpose and power This is my prayer
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJanuary 28, 2024A funny thing happened with yesterday’s Etching. The response, both on Facebook and by email, sort of felt like Bruce had gone fishing for some affirmations. That was not my intent. Part of it was a response to a couple of questions I had recently received in regard to the role of a minister, and though the four I mentioned (priest, pastor, preacher, and prophet)
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJanuary 27, 2024What’s my job? There was a man in the first church I served who never missed an opportunity to say that I shouldn’t be paid much because I only worked for about 20 minutes on Sunday mornings when I preached. After hearing that every few months for four or five years, he went into the hospital for a very serious issue. Over a month of
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJanuary 26 2024Anxiety and worry are wasted energy, and I should know. I am an expert in both areas. Does anyone else feel that way? I like what Arthur Somers Roche wrote: “Worry is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.” Let us seek the voices of those who will bring cheer
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJanuary 25 2024We like our independence. We want to set the agenda, forge the path, and achieve the goal on our own. That might seem good, but independence also means solo, alone and isolated. When you are tired, who is there to encourage you? When your energy has left you, who will be there to show you the way? The prayer below reflects the partnership we need
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJanuary 24 2024Nehemiah experienced deep anguish when he learned how Jerusalem had been destroyed; everything had been lost (Nehemiah 2:3). Nehemiah grieved the loss of an important place in his life, and his grief was simply too great to hide. Grief is an emotion that many people do not wish to show, as they have come to believe it is a sign of weakness. Though many will
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJanuary 23 2024Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid” (John 14:27). In his book, A Christianity Worth Believing, Doug Pagitt shakes up some established beliefs about the purpose of Jesus. He says, “Jesus was sent to fulfill
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJanuary 22 2024So often in scripture, including the Psalms, the holy character of the temple is declared. The space is made holy, not by anything humans have done but by the presence of the One who is holy. To be holy is to be ‘set apart,’ yet it is fascinating how the One who is set apart makes the decision to come close in tangible expressions of
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJanuary 21 2024In Psalm 37:9, we read: “And now, O Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you.” We talked a lot about hope during Advent, yet even with all the discussion, it remains a strange and often difficult concept to fully grasp. It is so much more than wishful thinking. President Obama said at a funeral years ago, “As we discuss these issues,
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJanuary 20 2024During a time of difficulty, the prophet Jeremiah announced the words of God as he had perceived them. “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope” (29:11). A friend of mine in college had a saying taped to his wall that I have since seen