10-16-25

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
October 16, 2025
Where is our growing edge as a church? I understand that those seeking a clear and focused business plan may not appreciate my perspective, but I believe our growing edge is everywhere. While Christian Nationalism is gaining traction and attempting to present itself as a legitimate expression of Christianity, there is an equally significant, if not larger, movement of individuals who are disillusioned with religion that has seemingly abandoned love and mercy in favor of a religious facade that serves as a smokescreen for those pursuing power and wealth at the expense of the most vulnerable among us. It’s surprising that few people are interested in the Prophets because they were not afraid to confront what everyone should have recognized as absurd, yet they chose not to. Of course, a significant portion of Jesus’ teachings was rooted in the Prophets of Israel. In the fifth chapter of Amos, we read:

​I hate, I reject your festivals; 
I don’t enjoy your joyous assemblies.
If you bring me your entirely burned offerings and gifts of food--
I won’t be pleased;
I won’t even look at your offerings of well-fed animals.
Take away the noise of your songs;
I won’t listen to the melody of your harps. 
But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

If you remove the facade of religion and search for love, and find nothing, it might be time to explore a different religion. Many people, like Amos, are discovering that their current religion lacks the capacity to make the world a better place for everyone. Regrettably, some are giving up entirely in disgust. However, I rarely go a day without having a conversation with someone yearning for something more. And those folks are coming out of every imaginable background, along with a handful whose backgrounds most of us would never have imagined. To this, I say, “Thanks be to God!”

Though my pursuit of you and my attempt at faithfully following you, Lord Jesus, will always fall short, I trust you to continue to be the Source of Life, Light, and Love. I believe you are at work within me for the sake of those thirsting for something other than a holy mirage where there is nothing that will quench one’s thirst. Let me drink again from your abundance, where justice and righteousness are an ever-flowing stream. Amen.