ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
April 30, 2026
In yesterday’s Etching, I talked about gratitude, specifically for those things we may not even see. Well, today, I want to give thanks for something we can see, though not necessarily a “thing,” but a person. I want to give thanks for Rev. Dr. Amber Mattingly, who served as our Interim Youth Minister. To be honest, I needed someone who could step in, take responsibility, offer solid theology, be organized, and not require any micromanaging. Amber was that person. She is brilliant, organized, fun, theologically sound, deeply spiritual, and I did not have to worry one moment. She was a gift to us and really did a nice job of creating some consistency, helping to level the ground for Graham to easily step into his new position. The timing was perfect as Amber’s availability was coming to a close in early May. One might even say God had a hand in things. Like a lot of you, I am a busy person. And though I wish that busyness didn’t hinder my capacity to see and give thanks for all the amazingly generous, kind, and talented people all around me, it does. I’m trying to do better, and so I have been reading the close of some of the Apostle Paul’s Letters where he gives thanks for individuals who have served alongside him. For example, toward the end of Romans, Paul wrote, 

Say hello to Prisca and Aquila, my coworkers in Christ Jesus, who risked their own necks for my life. I’m not the only one who thanks God for them, but all the churches of the Gentiles do the same. Also say hello to the church that meets in their house. Say hello to Epaenetus, my dear friend, who was the first convert in Asia for Christ. Say hello to Mary, who has worked very hard for you. Say hello to Andronicus and Junia, my relatives and my fellow prisoners. They are prominent among the apostles, and they were in Christ before me. Say hello to Ampliatus… (and it just continues).

You continue to touch our lives with the kindness of grace-filled people, O God who blessed Paul and so many others. Provide us with the capacity for spiritual contemplation and sacred awareness that allows us to see the gifts shared by so many. Amen.

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
April 29, 2026
I was sitting at the airport yesterday waiting for my flight back to Houston when I saw a man with a guide dog, though he was also being assisted by an airline employee. It was a beautiful dog, and it got me to thinking about the gift that a four-legged friend has been to that individual. Moments later, I opened my computer and, when glancing at my calendar, I noticed that tomorrow (which would be today) is International Guide Dog Day. Since 1989, the last Wednesday of April has been set aside to “celebrate the work of guide dogs around the world and raise awareness of the importance of guide dog services to help people who are blind or have low vision live life on their terms” (from the International Guide Dog Federation). In that moment at the airport yesterday when I saw the guide dog, I found myself full of gratitude for the amazing partnership between handler/user and the talented dog. As the day progressed, my gratitude grew to include those who first begin to dream that some dogs had the intelligence and correct temperament to provide this service. Then came the training and the ongoing development of that training that continues even today. There is, of course, the fundraising and foundations that help with the costs involved. A lot goes into it.

In one moment of time, I saw something that filled my heart with gratitude, but in that moment, my gratitude was limited. Like so many things, there are layers upon layers, behind the scenes people and programs, education, training, etc. Very few things in life that are good and joyful and life-giving just happen. And though we too often see just a sliver of what is occurring, it gives us pause to lift up another prayer of gratitude, even if it is vague. The gratitude is good for us, the universe, and all of it reaches the heart of God.

For all that catches my attention and brings joy, peace, awe, and a reason to celebrate, I turn to you, Sacred Source, with a word of gratitude. I do so, for I know you are the origin of all that is good, life-giving, and full of love. Amen.

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
April 28, 2026
I’m in Indianapolis for the semiannual Board Meeting of the Christian Church Foundation. It is an extraordinarily talented and amazingly smart group of people, both staff and other board members. I sort of feel like the amateur in the room, though folks are very kind in explaining things. The Christian Church Foundation (CCF) helps people do good things with their money. It currently has $1.4 billion under management, and each year, CCF distributes millions of dollars to local congregations, campgrounds, Disciple-related universities, and so many other expressions of our denomination. Many of the funds were started by a local church member who created a charitable gift annuity where the donor received a tax benefit, plus an annual payment based on age. Upon death, the hope is to have 50-75% of the original gift available for a ministry. Some people have set up annuities with $10,000, others with $500,000 or more. The first one set up within our denomination was $300 in the late 1800s. There are many other tools and financial instruments that CCF uses and manages on behalf of individuals, churches, and church-related ministries. Yes, there have been some very large gifts given over the years, but the bulk of the money for ministry came from a lot of small and medium gifts that are now providing regular payments to support ministries around the globe. And today I am thankful for the thousands of faithful people who so passionately believed in their church or a related ministry that they wanted to support it even beyond death. For that, I say, “Thanks be to God!” 

For the generosity of the Spirit, O Merciful One, we are thankful. And our gratitude continues to pour forth for all those who have been inspired by your great example of giving. Amen.

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
April 27, 2026
Rev. Katelin Jordan shared the following from the Communion Table at Contemporary yesterday. And though not technically a prayer, I found the words to be stirring and thoughtful.

Long ago our ancestors knew love’s power
and they became the tellers of love’s tale.
Love bound them in covenant,
teaching them to live in community
with compassion and concern
for the poorest among them.
Yet centuries of domination and violence
shaped a different kind of community
based on selfishness and inequality.
In the struggle against oppression,
Jesus became the face of love,
showing us the way to abundant life.
In word and deed, he announced
love’s new reign of justice, reconciliation, and peace.
Filled with the courage and passion of love’s spirit,
he gave his life to challenge the unjust systems of this world.
On the night of his betrayal and arrest,
as he shared a meal with his friends,
Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it,
and gave it to his followers, saying:
“Share this bread among you; this is my body which will be broken for justice.
Do this to remember me.”
When supper was over, he took the cup, gave thanks,
and gave it to his disciples, saying:
“Share this wine among you; this is my blood which will be shed for liberation.
Do this to remember me.”
When we eat this bread and drink from this cup we experience again the presence of Jesus in our midst. May this meal be food and drink for our journey—renewing, sustaining, and making us whole.

CLICK HERE

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
April 26, 2026
For those of us who follow Jesus, we are the body of Christ. We claim this title, not for the purpose of hunkering down and protecting ourselves, but for the simple reason that we are called to be the body of Christ. If this is a claim we believe, then we must look to Jesus as the one who defines what that actually means. Now let's not pretend that every little decision is going to have a clear and absolute “from the mouth of Jesus” answer. With that said, there is still a lot—and when I say, "a lot," I mean a lot—of straightforward teachings that remain relevant for today. And our starting place in understanding what Jesus might do is summarized, in my opinion, in two moments of his ministry: one a parable and the other an event. The parable of the Good Samaritan tells us how Jesus would treat other human beings, even those decreed as outsiders and nobodies. And if that is how Jesus would treat them, then that is how the body of Christ should treat them. And second, the cross stands as the breathtaking and heartbreaking demonstration of love. The event of the cross answers the question of just how far Jesus was willing to go to demonstrate a love that was unconditional and unrelenting. Self-giving, even self-sacrificing, is often required if someone claims to be a part of Christ’s body in the world today. So where in your life are you helping to reveal the body of Christ in the world, and where are you needing some work? We need to be asking ourselves these questions all the time.

Give me Jesus, O Lord God. Give me everything I can understand about his life and teachings. Allow it to stretch me and challenge me on what it means to love as he loved. I make this request recognizing its audacity, yet I believe I have been called to be part of the Body of Christ, a rather audacious claim in and of itself. Amen.

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
April 25, 2026
You are going to be hearing more about it in the weeks to come, but we will need to replace the flat roof above the Activity Room. As you have seen over the years, it has leaks. Long story, but before I arrived at the church, that roof was replaced… but replaced incorrectly (the company went out of business almost immediately). So we’ve been making it work, but there are now patches on top of patches. We can’t wait any longer. 

All this has had me thinking about Jesus, who visited the Temple but never even discussed the prospect of constructing any sort of building for his ministry. He probably had to resole his sandals a few times, and even more importantly, he lived much of those last three years of life on the generosity and hospitality of others. I am one who believes we need to look at some new models for how to do church, including building use. And it might need to begin with the uncomfortable question of whether or not the current model aligns with what Jesus had in mind.

At the same time, I find Cypress Creek Christian Church’s model of Church and Community Center to be brilliant. We have a Quaker Community that meets on our campus on Sunday mornings, and this summer, it’s looking like we might have another church that will use space for a period of time. In the past, there have been other churches and even other faith traditions that have used space. I applaud our church, especially those who instilled from the very beginning a wide open welcome into the DNA of this place. A lot of churches claim a generous hospitality until the first scratch on the wall or the first spill on the carpet. Then the unwelcome signs go up, both real and implied. 

What does this have to do with a roof? I don’t know about you, but growing up, when someone was coming over to our house, there were certain things that had to happen. Shoes that were often left at the front door needed to be taken to our bedrooms; unfolded laundry needed to be folded and placed in its proper drawers; a vacuum needed to be run; the AC was dropped a degree or two (in the winter, the thermostat was pushed up just a little); and Mom reminded us of what good manners looked like, including letting our guests have first choice of the chicken being served. This often meant I got the south end of a chicken flying north. 

Our home was always just fine as is until guests were on their way, and then we picked up our game… and our bedrooms. At the church, we are not fond of leaks and stained ceiling tiles, but we put up with stuff because, at the end of the day, it’s about the people. But guests are on their way, and we want everything to be at its best. I would go as far as saying that God has called us to be a place of radical hospitality, always making ourselves ready as guests are on their way.

Gracious God, Mighty in Mercy and Goodness, provide us with a clear vision of your welcome and kindness made real in Jesus. Let this vision be the inspiration for our lives. Amen.

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
April 24, 2026
In our staff meeting here at the church yesterday, we had a discussion around forgiveness. We focused on a couple of passages from scripture, including Ephesians 4:32, “…be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.” The question I put before the staff sounded like a simple one, but I don’t think anyone found it to be simple. I asked why it was that Jesus, Paul, and others made clear that we are to forgive, but at no point did they offer a how-to manual or Forgiveness for Dummies. There would be those who would suggest that because forgiveness was commanded, we should just do it without question. Personally, I have a number of problems with that suggestion, most importantly, I do not believe true restorative forgiveness can happen in response to a command. How many children, after hurting a friend, are told, “Go over there and say you are sorry, or so help me…”?  The child will probably learn very little about the concept of forgiveness, and in most cases, will not experience anything redemptive. In fact, the child might walk away from it feeling resentful.

Since there is not a detailed plan in scripture, at least that I can find, I think about Jesus’ approach when people asked him questions. Had Peter gone beyond simply asking about how many times he needed to forgive and actually asked Jesus, “How do I get to the point of offering genuine forgiveness,” it seems plausible that Jesus would have done what he often did—answer a question with a question. I imagine Jesus saying, “So Peter, what do you think? How do you find the capacity to offer forgiveness to another human being, especially one that has hurt you?” By asking the question, Jesus would be acknowledging how forgiveness is a journey; a journey that we have to take if the desired aim is going to be discovered. Yet just because Jesus might put that back on Peter (or us), I don’t think he’d be advocating for a solo journey. Jesus would accompany us throughout the journey, and with each step, we might invite someone else to join us—perhaps a friend, counselor, spiritual director, Stephen Minister, pastor, prayer partner, etc. It’s a journey that we must undertake from start to finish, but it doesn’t have to be a solitary endeavor. 

For the forgiveness you pour out with amazing abundance, O Lord of Mercy, I am forever blessed. Yet forgiveness does not come easily for me, and so I pray for the forgiveness I have received to be a source of encouragement to take the first step and then the next… Yet in your grace, bring me a companion or two along the way. Amen.

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
April 23, 2026
Shortly before the flood narrative in Genesis, there is a passage that often stops people in their tracks. In Genesis 6:1-4, we find these words…

When people began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that they were fair, and they took wives for themselves of all that they chose. Then the Lord said, “My spirit shall not abide in mortals forever, for they are flesh; their days shall be one hundred twenty years.” The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went in to the daughters of humans, who bore children to them. These were the heroes that were of old, warriors of renown.

I’m guessing that some of you reading this have never come across this passage of scripture, and so you have questions. Understandably! First of all, even scholars talk of this passage appearing out of context, almost as if it belonged somewhere else in a much larger narrative. Yet for some reason, someone chose to take just a portion out of the other larger narrative and put it here. And maybe when the stories that make up Genesis were being put together and edited for what would become what we have today, those people would have understood exactly why this peculiar writing was placed here, yet that reason has been lost to history. Also, the Nephilim, a word that could mean “fallen,” has been understood by some to describe a fallen angel, yet that was influenced by the Greco-Roman culture and a book called 1 Enoch, written around the year 200 BC. Many scholars believe the Nephilim, described here in Genesis, were remembrances (some even suggest ghosts) of fallen soldiers or heroes of past days. Here in Genesis, this should be not confused with the children born to the sons of God and the daughters of humans.

Are you more confused? Again, understandably! People have tried to make all kinds of grand theological declarations based on this passage, yet some of the best Biblical scholars sort of shrug their shoulders and offer up a half dozen different theories that leave us wondering what the point of it was. I’m not saying we give up exploring the meaning of this passage, but I feel confident that God is hoping we’ll spend a bit more energy struggling to understand how to better love God and love neighbor.

There is beauty and challenge within scripture, but we ask you, Spirit of Grace, to keep us from being diverted from the greatest commandment  by something that may never be understood. Amen.

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
April 22, 2026
Outside of a couple of breaks during the year, a group of men gathers every Wednesday at noon to review the list of Joys & Concerns, to pray, and often do a short study. As I continue to remind people, Men’s Ministries tend to have a lifecycle, usually less than ten years. That’s not to say that something new won’t emerge, but in church life, men’s programming has some of the shortest tenures. With all that said, our Wednesday Men’s Group has been meeting for over 30 years. During the pandemic, they moved from early morning on Wednesdays to noon. The group went through a phase of only five or six guys on a Wednesday, but lately we have been averaging 12-15. There is excellent camaraderie and always some good bantering around college sports. I write this, in part, to celebrate the history and the ongoing commitment of these men. They often follow up with cards to let people know they have been prayed for. In times of crisis, fear, or grief, it is good to know that people have been thinking about you and taking your name before God. None of us can explain with great confidence how prayer works, yet there is no question that people are touched and uplifted when prayer surrounds them. Though I do not believe God called us to diagram how prayer works, I have walked into a hospital room an hour after the Men’s Group and said, “The Men’s Group spoke your name earlier and lifted you in prayer,” and something changes in the person’s demeanor. Today, I give thanks for the Wednesday Men’s Group.

​Holy God, and Giver of Amazing Gifts, I celebrate all those who offer something of themselves to those who are struggling and afraid, those who are grieving or dealing with a challenging diagnosis. The human family is inescapably tied together in the web of your grace, and sometimes a simple prayer touches the heart of the hurting in a way that no one can quite understand. Yet where there are no answers, there is still gratitude. Thank you! Amen.

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
April 21, 2026
I am always intrigued when I meet people who attend churches where their ministers are understood as being a direct and faultless mouthpiece of God, and they often assume I am such a pastor. Trust me when I say that I have no more of a direct line to God than anyone else, and my understanding of scripture or God is far from error-free. Next Sunday, I am preaching on a passage from the Book of Numbers, but unrelated to that passage, there is a verse at the end of the first chapter that has always concerned me. It says, “The Israelites did everything exactly as the Lord commanded Moses.” The Israelites did not hear the Lord directly. Instead, it was Moses who served as the intermediary, and though all the interactions between God and Moses are recorded as if God spoke with the kind of clarity that left absolutely no questions. Perhaps that was the case, but I certainly don’t experience God’s voice with such clarity that compels me to declare to the congregation, “We must do this (let’s pretend God instructed me to construct a pure gold dome over the chapel) because God commanded me to do so!” While I have encountered some profoundly compelling convictions throughout my life, discerning God’s will, particularly for the church, necessitates a collective effort beyond my own understanding. Yes, I engage in prayer, but I also extend an invitation for others to join me in prayer. Additionally, I seek the counsel of the Executive Committee, draw upon the wisdom of the Church Board and Elders, and request the insights of individuals I hold in high regard. Even with all of those tools of discernment, I am cautious and deliberate in my approach. At the end of the day, I am always concerned when a church follows the leading of a single person who says, “God spoke to me and only me, and so let me tell you what we are to do.” Those with a good smile, and an ego the size of Texas might be able to get some followers. But the best I might say is, “A lot of very faithful and committed people, after a period of discernment, believe God is calling us to do…” It’s not about deflecting responsibility or sharing the blame when it fails. Rather, it’s a belief that God speaks mostly to and through communities, recognizing that the best way of listening to God is with a plethora of ears.

Continue to bring together wise, faithful, and discerning people who believe that collectively we have a much better chance of perceiving what you, Lord God, might be saying to us in this moment of time. Amen.