10-15-25

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
October 15, 2025
Early in my ministry, I found myself feeling particularly uncomfortable discussing money. It’s a bit strange, considering the generosity of the congregation supports, among other things, my salary. And Cypress Creek Christian Church has been extraordinarily kind to me and my family over the years. At the same time, I feel passionate about what we are doing and what we are stretching ourselves to do in the coming year. It would be hard if I felt as if we were floundering, and what people gave was being wasted. However, I think we make a dollar stretch about as far as it could be stretched. But even more importantly, I can point to person after person, story after story, of dramatic change. There is breathtaking  power in the Gospel of God’s unconditional and unrelenting love, and when a faith community seeks to embody the Gospel, the lives of people are forever changed. 

Starting this Sunday, the church will be inviting the church to make a pledge for the coming year. Notice that it is the church asking the church. There isn’t some “body” outside of the church creating the budget and then asking the church to fulfill it. It is our collective hope and dream, guided by what we believe God is asking us to do in the coming year. Whenever we create a budget, Cypress Creek sees it as a document that communicates what we believe to be God’s call upon our collective life in that moment. And this coming Sunday, we will have some exciting news about what we believe God is calling us to do in 2026 and beyond. As we focus on the Core Value of Discipleship, we will hear the echo of Proverbs 22:6, “Point your kids in the right direction—when they’re old they won’t be lost.”

We seek to serve you, Gracious God, by serving the people you are calling us to serve. As your Gospel forms and shapes lives in the ways of Jesus, we desire for our lives to be part of what you are doing. Amen.