ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
June 26, 2024
On Monday morning, rather early, I received a call from my neurologist’s office. A week earlier, I had an MRI, something they want me to do at least once a year because of my M.S., though I usually resist the frequency they want. I answered the phone, and the nurse said, “Do you have a few minutes to talk about your results?” Her tone was pretty ominous, and I must confess that I was pretty nervous in the moment. When I responded, “Yes, I have some time right now.” Her voice immediately perked up, and she said, “Everything looks great. No changes!” And that was the extent of our conversation. The words we choose and the tone communicate more than we sometimes know. I was expecting the worst, when in fact, it was what I was hoping… and sort of expecting. Now, no one is ever going to be perfect when it comes to how s/he is perceived. There are times when it has nothing to do with us and everything to do with the person who is doing the perceiving, but at the end of the day, it is really quite important for us to be mindful. The Proverbs can be sort of extreme in their dichotomy, but in 17:22, we read: “A joyful heart helps healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.” What we present, and how we present it, has an impact on the world around us. I’m not suggesting we put forth a fake front, but awareness is important.
Help me, Eternal Spirit, to be cognizant of how I present myself—my tone, facial expression, and the language I use. I never want my disposition to be a hindrance to the sharing of your Good News. Amen.
Month: June 2024
06-25-24
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
June 25, 2024
I really don’t mind people disagreeing with me. In fact, I enjoy a good back and forth, especially when someone brings a good alternative perspective. I might still disagree, but it is good to have substance in the counterargument that pushes and demands something of me. I have walked away saying, “Wow! You’ve given me a lot to think about,” often when someone’s life experiences are very different than my own. But lately, I have been hit with two different argumentative people: 1. The person who has clearly done some random Google searches, cutting and pasting disjointed nonsense in an attempt to disprove my point. When pasting from Google, one might want to modify the font so that it isn’t so apparent. 2. The person who randomly draws a verse from scripture without asking any tough questions about the context of the passage or the historical context in which the author was writing. We can have good discussions rooted in scripture and even disagree. What I find troubling is when a person begins an argument with, “But the Bible says…” as if that is going to make me cower and submit. I find that disrespectful of the Bible itself. Instead, as an example, tell me how you read Luke’s telling of the Jesus story, understanding the unique context of Luke’s Gospel as compared to John’s Gospel. I have a lot to learn, and much of what has challenged my previously held beliefs has come from someone who was truly seeking a conversation, not a confrontation.
Wherever I am in need of a different perspective or insight, O God of the old and the new, I pray for someone to approach me with grace and humility. In such moments, I pray for your Spirit to provide me with the needed grace and humility to learn what I need to learn. Amen.
06-24-24
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
June 24, 2024
We offer a prayer today with the hope of finding within ourselves the capacity to forgive. God of Grace and Mercy, we have been taught in the life of Jesus both the importance of forgiveness and the expectation that we will forgive. As recipients of your great gift of merciful kindness that does not define us by our worst days or hurtful choices, we express joy-filled gratitude as we have all fallen short of your ideal. But even with gratitude brimming within us, there are times when the capacity to forgive falls short. Knowing what we should do and believing in the importance of it, do not always make it easy. So, as strange as it may sound, we ask your forgiveness for our inability to forgive. We believe your love for us is not reduced or withdrawn because of our confession. In fact, if we can find the needed capacity and actually offer the forgiveness we need to offer, it will only be because of your persistent and patient grace. So with some reluctance, we ask you to continue to nudge us where we need some nudging. And remind us that forgiving others is often the healthiest thing we can do for ourselves. We offer our prayer in the name of your gift of mercy, Jesus Christ. Amen.
06-23-24
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
June 23, 2024
Some of you may have seen my post on Facebook yesterday. It was a memory from twelve years ago—a picture taken as we crossed into Texas on our move from Florida. Over the next two weeks, we moved into our new home, unpacked tons of boxes, found the grocery store, had my first day in the office, and preached my first sermon at Cypress Creek Christian Church. The average stay for a Sr. Minister in the United States, depending on the study, is between 3.5 – 6 years. Since I have remained on staff for twelve years, I don’t know whether that says more about the church, about me, or maybe about God. Whatever the case, I get out of bed 95% of the time with a heart full of gratitude for the opportunity to do something that I love and do that work among a group of people who are quite extraordinary. As a church, we have been challenged more than most, but it feels as if our times of wrestling (debt, staff changes, bats, flood, pandemic, etc.) have left us limping like Jacob, yet there seems to be something new on the other side. Not that God is ever the cause of our trouble, but God is the One who walks with us through the darkest valleys, with the emphasis on the word ‘through.’ With every “other side” experience, there is renewed faith and hope in what is possible.
Thanks for choosing to walk alongside us every day. You are gracious beyond measure, God, and we are truly blessed. Amen.
06-22-24
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
June 22, 2024
I didn’t expect that!
Those words are often said in the world of archeology. Yesterday, I read a fascinating article about a recently discovered shipwreck that was almost 3,500 years old. It was more than a mile under the Mediterranean Sea and more than 50 miles off shore. Those who study such things did not believe ships at that time had the capacity to cross over the Mediterranean. Instead, it was believed that they hugged the shore, moving from port to port. Not only did they find jars containing food and other items to trade, but it tells us that the navigational abilities of those living 3,500 years ago were much better than we previously imagined. And then in Crete, during the construction of a new airport, workers recently found what would later be determined to be 4000-year-old structures, including a 19,000-square-foot building of which no one knows its purpose. As I often say, I am geeky this way, but as smart as scientists are these days, I love it when an unexpected finding turns previously held beliefs upside down.
Along with archeological discoveries are new discoveries about the Bible. Sometimes a new finding sheds light on something Jesus taught. Other times, there is new insight on a literary genre that was previously misunderstood, or in some cases, a word that has been mistranslated. The impact of these new discoveries is often rather small, but there are times when it is pretty consequential. Tomorrow, we are going to look at a word that appears only two times in the New Testament, but a word that was probably coined by Biblical writers as it does not appear anywhere else in Greek or Roman literature before it appears is 1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy. Some translators admitted they did not know how to translate the word, and I find that honesty helpful. Others made guesses, often influenced by their own bias or insecurities. Sadly, we are learning that some of those guesses were probably wrong, and even more concerning is the damage those guesses have caused.
I hear people say, “Just pick up the Bible and read it. All will become clear.” There are passages that I believe are beautifully simple and require very little interpretation. But what happens when someone picks up a Bible and begins to read a passage with an English word that may in fact be wrong, misguided, and even damaging to some?
O God, I believe you are always leading me to greater understanding, which is often found through hard questions, deeper exploration, and a recognition of my own bias. Keep me moving forward. Amen.
06-21-24
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
June 21, 2024
This Sunday will be the second-to-last sermon on the Totality of the Jesus Life. We have been looking at numerous passages of scripture that have historically caused discomfort, anger, confusion, or even brought some people to the point of leaving Christianity behind. Too often, people have been told that they simply need to accept the Bible for what it is—maybe even being told that it is not in God’s plan for them to understand a passage. I don’t find that helpful. As a follower of Jesus, my starting place is with the life of Jesus, and it is through his life witness, words, and self-giving love that I glimpse what I believe to be the heart of God, or at least what can be understood by the human mind. When I find a passage that seems to stand against the most basic teachings of Jesus, I need to pause, take a step back, and ask some questions.
What concerns me is when I see people begin to chip away at Jesus in an attempt to cling to passages that promote violence, depict God as angry and full of vengeance, or offer an understanding of humanity as worthless. When you look at the totality of the Jesus life as found in the Gospel narratives, does any of the violence, anger, or worthlessness hold up? If anything, the Jesus life seems laser-focused on dismantling the damaging and soul-sucking ideas often associated with God and humanity. You may remember Dr. Warren Carter, professor of New Testament at Phillips Theological Seminary, who was with us a few months ago. In a couple of his lectures, he spoke of the questions he asked of scripture. They were: Is it loving? Is it life-giving? Is it liberating? The alliteration is helpful, but those three ideas—loving, life-giving, and liberating—are, in my opinion, a helpful summary of the totality of the Jesus life.
Less than two hundred years ago, the strongest voices in favor of slavery were using the Bible to defend the practice. Since I do not believe God ever supported slavery, what do I do with those passages that support slavery? We have a dilemma! For me, I feel very comfortable saying that the Bible was written in very specific historical settings, including those in which slavery was a given. It wasn’t that God was in favor of slavery back then, but that people in every moment are limited (maybe bound) by their historical context. In every moment of human history, God is beckoning humanity toward an even greater vision of what loving, life-giving, and liberating look like.
Of course, we can’t just point back and mock the short-sightedness of people in the past. We must also ask ourselves where God is beckoning us to step beyond the confines of this current moment in hopes of gaining a slightly greater picture of God’s vision for creation. That’s where it can be uncomfortable.
Holy One, let me find peace through your loving kindness. It is there that I am able to ask the necessary and often difficult questions about my faith, my understanding of you, and what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Any step I take today will be followed by another tomorrow and another… at least I hope so. By your grace, may it be so. Amen.
06-20-24
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
June 20, 2024
Yesterday was Juneteenth, the celebration of Union troops arriving in Galveston Bay with the news of freedom for more than 250,000. Two years earlier, on January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation was issued. The Thirteenth Amendment passed in January of 1865, but news did not reach many living in Confederate territories until months later. Yesterday was the anniversary of that news arriving in Galveston, but this morning would have been the first morning for thousands of people to wake up free. I have mornings where I get out of bed with a bit more enthusiasm and energy. Maybe there is something exciting—something I have been planning for quite some time. The emotions I have felt, even on my better mornings, cannot even begin to compare to what it must have felt like to wake up free for the first time in life. There are so many things we awaken to each morning without question, simply assuming that all the freedoms and privileges we enjoyed yesterday will be ours today. In a time when Christian Nationalism is on the rise and there are people seriously talking of making this nation a theocracy (actually, what they want is not a theocracy but a nation created in their own narrow and self-serving image), we need to pause and appreciate what freedom for everyone looks like. An extreme ideology like that of Christian Nationalism (or White Christian Nationalism) would not leave room for those on the margins, and though we are not on the margins, those in inclusive and open-minded congregations like Cypress Creek Christian Church would not fit their small-minded understanding of Christianity. It does not matter what religion people claim to believe, as every so-called theocracy in human history has been nothing more than a dictatorship or oligarchy that uses the language of religion to provide legitimacy to their unjust wielding of power over others. Today, I am pausing and using my imagination to capture just a glimpse of what it must have been like so many years ago when the sun rose on the lives of those who had just learned of their freedom from slavery. Joy does come in the morning!
Holy God, Liberator of all humanity, we seek a faith that is bold and uncompromising in its pursuit of love, kindness, and justice. Even when the headwinds of tyranny seek to reverse the work toward a still more perfect union, we seek renewed faithfulness for the day that lies ahead. Amen.
06-19-24
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
June 19, 2024
One of my ongoing struggles in ministry is finding the balance between clarity of conviction and not reinforcing an Us vs. Them scenario. For example, I was recently sent a scathing online diatribe against my views on women. Not only did this individual believe women had no place in church leadership, but a woman needed to submit to her husband’s authority in marriage. How can I be clear that such churches are not slightly different than Cypress Creek Christian Church but are, in fact, about as far theologically as the east is from the west (borrowing some good Biblical language)? As I walk alongside those who are new the faith or those who might have come from a tradition that believed women were to be subservient to men, it requires a very clear and detailed description of who we are, which often requires statements that imply “as compared to that other approach to Christianity.” And we are not just like some of those other churches, except when it comes to women, those who are divorced, the LGBTQ community, etc. The central theological differences and approaches can be pretty dramatic, and simply trying to alter a few things without addressing the core tenets that allow for misogyny, bigotry, exclusion, and unhealthy power dynamics is to be disingenuous and naive. I continue to pray for the Spirit’s assistance in finding both language and approach that are so positive and unquestionably clear that there is no overt Us vs. Them, but I know I fall short often. How do you approach it?
Continue to give me clarity and creativity as I seek to share what I believe to be the Gospel of your immeasurable and unconditional love for all. May my life witness, O God, provide the necessary and joy-filled distinctions. Amen.
06-18-24
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
June 18, 2024
I am guessing that some people walked away from Sunday’s sermon scratching their heads and trying to figure out what I was trying to accomplish. It was a different style of sermon, trying to have history ask some of the questions for me. And I hope you heard how the faithful throughout the generations have been deeply troubled by the idea of the Bible suggesting we should stone to death rebellious and stubborn children (Deuteronomy 21). As I mentioned in an earlier Etching, we can’t simply say, “Well, that’s the Old Testament God,” as that would suggest that we have multiple Gods. Some have tried to suggest that the stoning of rebellious children or those who commit adultery is God the Father, but Jesus is much more merciful and kind. Yet to say that rips apart the whole concept of Trinity. Ultimately, that kind of thinking leaves us with a Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde, and Holy Spirit sort of Trinity, which I find absolutely terrifying. My hope with the sermon was to acknowledge that our questions and concerns about the Deuteronomy passage are not new, as the faithful throughout the centuries have tried to determine why the passage was there in the first place. Those questions have brought forth a multitude of interesting explanations. But isn’t that what we do throughout life? Something is handed to us as if it is to be accepted without question, but over time, there is a growing discomfort as it no longer aligns with our beliefs or values. Do we simply ignore or jettison what was handed to us? Do we explore why it was accepted in the first place? Maybe it answered questions from a previous period of time that are no longer being asked. It might be a silly illustration, but if Donna and I were to buy a different house (we’ve been pondering it), the questions I would bring to a search today are so different from the questions I brought to our first search more than 25 years ago. My experiences (some of them not so good) have taught me a lot, and I would enter a potential new house with a very different set of lenses. What other things in life did we accept without question at one point, but now life experiences, new learning, and our growing understanding of God’s love have raised serious questions? I’m sure you have your list.
I do not believe the life of faith is fixed, and for that reason, I pray for you to continue to nudge me, O Eternal God. You meet us in one moment of time, but you do not seem content with having us stop all forward movement from that moment of encounter. Your Spirit is always inviting us forward and into the new thing you are doing. Amen.
06-17-24
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
June 17, 2024
Prayer for the Week: Give me eyes to see the loneliness in others; provide me a spirit overflowing with your love; inspire within me compassion by which your love within me is poured forth from me; supply me the courage to do so even when the world around me questions my purpose or motivation. I ask this of you, O Holy One, who guides me in the work of Jesus. Amen.
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