10-25-25

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
October 25, 2025
Tomorrow, we will conclude the worship series focusing on our Core Values, and specifically how they can help take us into 2026 and beyond. Each week, I have attempted to reference a rather traditional Christian idea (fellowship, hospitality, service, discipleship, and worship), yet add an edge to it. What I mean is that we too often become overly comfortable with an extraordinarily important Christian concept, and this comfort can breed complacency, if not outright futility. When someone has a slightly different take on an old idea, the new can breathe life back into what had become a heap of dry bones. 

For instance, I was doing a Bible study with a group of about fifteen people, and I read Mark 14:33 to them, “So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.” Jesus was not talking to an individual, but to all of his followers. After reading those words, I paused and looked around the room. Surprisingly, no one seemed startled or upset. While I don’t advocate for giving away all our possessions, I believe those words should prompt us to pause and reflect. For those of us who are attached to many of our belongings, perhaps in unhealthy ways, I think a bit of discomfort and a few questions are appropriate. Many people in the room that day heard the radical and unsettling words of Jesus, but those words seem to bounce off without making any sort of impact. 

This Sunday, as we talk about worship, I think a lot of people’s eyes will glaze over as they make an assumption that worship is something they attend for about an hour one day each week. That is technically accurate, yet limiting. And is worship a solo act or a communal experience? And as one who seeks God in worship, do I bear any responsibility for other people’s experience in that time? I hope you’ll be there on Sunday, not simply because the day of the week and the clock says it’s time to be in worship but because there is a yearning to encounter God within a community.

In this moment, Lord God, begin preparing me for Sunday morning worship. Make me ready to listen, pay attention, seek, share, inquire, and with faith, brush up against you for a little while. Thanks for listening! Amen.