ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
January 31, 2024
Yesterday at the church staff meeting, we had a really interesting discussion on what I will call Quid Pro Quo Christianity. First, let me say very clearly: I believe my faith gives me great joy and peace and other blessings beyond measure, and I am not suggesting that is a bad thing. What I mean by Quid Pro Quo Christianity is faith that is looking at the religion in terms of not only what a person can get from the religion but also how to specifically get what is wanted. If I pray enough, then I should expect certain results. If I attend church a specific number of times each year, I can expect to get certain personal requests satisfied by God. If I…, then… There are plenty of scriptures, though many of them are taken out of context, that seem to imply a sort of quid pro quo within Christianity. I can understand how someone might draw that conclusion, but I don’t believe it really happens. Oh sure, there are folks who pray and win the lottery, though I would suggest that another 20 million people who prayed did not win the lottery… and some of those who lost prayed a whole lot more than the winner.
When Jesus was preaching what we call the Sermon on the Mount, he said, “..desire first and foremost God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness, and all these things will be given to you…” This comes immediately after a section on worry and how people of faith should not worry. Instead, put your focus on God’s kin(g)dom and God’s goodness (righteousness), and then all these other things you worry about will fall into place. That is the way the passage is often interpreted, but too often, we forget that Paul was not writing to an individual but to a community. And when a community with many different gifts, talents, resources, and insights focuses its attention on the ways of God’s kin(g)dom, which include self-giving love, mercy, compassion, and kindness, then some of the most basic worries of life will begin to slip away. For Paul, he sort of had a ‘stone soup” approach to living in community. Every person gives what they have, and where scarcity once existed, a sudden abundance appears. Where fear of not having what one needed to survive seems to give way, within Christ-centered community, to both joy and peace.
God of all things, help me to view my life and everything I have in it as gifts through which I can bless others. You did not call us to live in isolation but to live selflessly with others for the purpose of representing your Kin(g)dom here on earth. Amen.
Month: January 2024
01-30-24
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
January 30, 2024
Where do we go from here? I’m sure that’s a question most of us have asked many times and in many different situations. I was thinking about it while I was on vacation last week, and what struck me was not the first part of the question: Where do we go, but the last word: here. The question assumes you know where you are, yet I would suggest a lot of people and organizations could not necessarily answer the question well. Where am I currently in regard to my mental health, my spiritual journey, the relationships I claim to be important, my physical location, etc. As is often said, it is difficult to get to any destination if you do not know your current location. Where we are, whether we name it or not, greatly determines where we will end up. Or, how will we end up? I like the way the Message translates the Apostle Paul’s words in Ephesians 5: “They’ve refused for so long to deal with God that they’ve lost touch not only with God but with reality itself.” If that’s where you are, it is very premature to ask the question, where do we go from here?
Provide me, Lord God, with trusted friends and encouragers, along with a heart willing to explore my own baggage and history. I need to know who I am and where I am if I am going to follow you with more faithfulness each day of life. Amen.
01-29-24
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
January 29, 2024
A Prayer for the Week:
God of Creation
Initiator of Grace
Source 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 dream
May 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 offered with thanksgiving
for you thought of me
when you started what you started
Amen
01-28-24
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
January 28, 2024
A 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) are never equally split in regard to time, unique ministry setting, or actual giftedness, they give some categories for how we think about the task. I believe all four of those roles are found in Mariah and Paula, along with Rev. Katelin Jordon, who is serving as a hospital chaplain, and Rev. Tamika Nelson, who is doing campus ministry. Yet in regard to context and where one’s gifts reside, people might encounter one role more than another. And again, it’s not like any one role will not have some hint of one or all three of the others. And then, remembering how our tradition, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), has always placed great emphasis on the gifts of the laity, these roles are also found among the congregation in some very profound ways. And where the professional clergy might have weakness in regard to a certain role, it is amazing how God can often lift up that skill from among the congregation.
Make us more aware of the gifts you have placed within us, Gracious God. Though you have called some people to Ordained Ministry, there is no hierarchy within your church or the work that it does. Allow for there to be teaching and inspiration that continues to call forth and empower all the amazing gifts you have placed within each person. Amen.
01-27-24
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
January 27, 2024
What’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 time, I probably visited him eight or ten times. It was interesting how he never made the comment again. Of course, it must be clear that I did not visit him to disprove his point, but at the same time, I was greatly relieved that the comments came to an end.
With that said, I’m certain people wonder what a minister does. The roles of the minister are often divided into four categories (some people say three, but I say four)—priest, pastor, preacher, and prophet. The priestly role is to offer the sacraments, or what our tradition call the ordinances (communion, baptism, marriage, etc.). The pastoral role is to offer care and guidance and to represent Christ’s love at a time of concern. The preaching role is the proclamation of the Gospel in the context of the worshiping community. And finally, there is the prophetic role, which is the speaking of truth to both individuals and systems whose actions are undermining God’s love and justice.
As you can imagine, no minister separates these roles as if they exist in single lanes with no overlap. In my ministry, I have received more negative letters and emails in regard to one area than any other area. Some might think that is the role of prophet, or when I spoke what I believed to be a word of truth to people and systems whose actions were seeking to undermine God’s message. And yes, I have received a number of concerned comments when serving in the role of prophet, though I have always been intrigued by how 90% of those comments have disagreed with me without any sort of Biblical or theological backing. That’s for a later discussion. Yet the times I have received the most pushback have occurred when serving in the pastoral role.
That may seem strange to some, for who would oppose the pastor coming alongside someone in need? But the disagreement tends to happen when the pastoral role shows love and compassion to someone whom others deem unworthy of such care. Maybe the roles overlap a bit, but so often what I would argue as the pastoral role has been felt by some as an attack on their belief structures. I’m not suggesting I’m always right, for there are plenty of times when I am wrong, but demonstrating love and compassion to those who have been ostracized and marginalized, often experiencing injustice because they have become the targeted scapegoat, is never wrong. And I’m thankful for a church that is often taking the lead when it comes to the pastoral role, especially among those who need a little compassion and love.
For the roles, tasks, and functions Jesus provided us, I come to you, Lord God, seeking the necessary assistance in living into whatever role might be needed in the lives of those around me. Amen.
01-26-24
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
January 26 2024
Anxiety 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 to our lives and lighten the weight of these unhealthy emotions that would otherwise cut a dangerous channel within us.
Lift my spirit, O Lord, through the gracious gifts of my sisters and brothers, who want only the best for me. Amen.
01-25-24
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
January 25 2024
We 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 with God, the One who knows the way even when we are exhausted and off course.
With my voice I cry to the Lord; with my voice I make supplication to the Lord. I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him. When my spirit is faint, you know my way. Amen. (Psalm 142:1-3)
01-24-24
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
January 24 2024
Nehemiah 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 continue to believe that this is true, the festering wound of grief will never heal from a lack of attention. Let us name the heartache of loss, share our hurt honestly, and find how the broken pieces will be woven into the larger story of God’s grace, where redemption and healing are found.
May the sadness of my soul meet your healing Spirit, O God. Amen.
01-23-24
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
January 23 2024
Jesus 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 the promise of the Hebrew God of love by ending human hostility. It was not the anger of God that Jesus came to end, but the anger of people. This world God created is one of peace and harmony and integration. Through Jesus, all humanity is brought into that world. And that is the point of the resurrection… The power of God’s love for humanity proved stronger than our capacity to hate one another. Jesus’ death was about war, about violence, about destruction. But his resurrection was about peace, compassion, renewal. The resurrection is the full picture of God’s promise” (p. 194).
In his own way, Doug summarizes the theology of many respected theologians and Biblical scholars, yet for some reason the church continues to perpetuate an image of an angry, fire and brimstone, kind of God that wants nothing more than to spew divine wrath upon the world. It is time for the church to get serious about scripture and allow its transformative message to take hold.
Creator God, you love us and have gone out of your way to demonstrate the transformative power of this gift for all creation. With thankful hearts, we embrace this gift in hopes of continuing the demonstration you offered in Jesus. Amen.
01-22-24
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
January 22 2024
So 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 steadfast love. Like the author, we are in awe of God’s majesty and greatness, but what is even more impressive is when God brings the vastness of the divine nature into the everyday lives of ordinary people, just like us.
I worship you, O God, for your boundless love has touched me, a creature limited by the boundaries of my human existence. Amen.
pastorfrogge 