06-17-23

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
June 17, 2023
Yesterday, the Cypress Creek Christian Community Center hosted a graduation for the Commonwealth Mortuary School. We’ve been doing this for a number of years, and it's so gratifying to see folks receive their diploma after doing the hard work. The Centrum is used for a number of graduations in our community, and in conversations I’ve had with faculty and staff from different programs, I have heard similar stories. They used to hold the graduation in a cafeteria or a big classroom. The graduates could only invite one or two people to attend. The space did not represent the significance of the moment. The Centrum, on the other hand, helps to reinforce the importance of what has been accomplished and the significance of the moment. I’m so proud of Cypress Creek Christian Church’s long-held commitment to the larger community, offering our space for events in N.W. Harris County that are consequential and in need of honoring.

​As followers of a guy who did not own a building and only occasionally visited the Temple in Jerusalem, the church’s relationship with structures has been, at least in my opinion, a source of contention and even some hypocrisy. Like any form of art, a building can be a source of inspiration, while also being a sanctuary of respite. But trillions and trillions of dollars (Bruce’s estimate) have been spent on buildings to honor Jesus, the itinerant teacher. Yet the buildings owned by Cypress Creek Christian Church are used five times more often by the community than the church (another Bruce estimate). It’s as if we are saying that these community buildings also happen to be used by the church. In my opinion, that’s good stewardship.

Holy God, we offer our words of gratitude for all the ways you show up. So often, it is through some expression of art, even architecture. But let us remember how you have never been and never will be contained within anything created with human hands. Let us view things, like a building, as only a tool to be used to glorify your grace, generosity, and welcome. Amen.