ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
August 12, 2026
Jesus is Lord might be the oldest Christian confession we have. When the Apostle Paul wrote those words, he was not offering an original declaration, but echoing what he had heard. In an essay by Dr. Joerg Rieger entitled: Why Paul Was Never a Conservative, he suggests that the word kyrios (Greek word for Lord) was “not a vague religious honorific in the first century. It was an official title of the Roman emperor,” and the use by the early Jesus followers was not some empty religious rhetoric. Rieger invites his readers to run a test, referencing a teaching of Jesus:

Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. We hear a division: religion over here, taxes and politics over there. But ask a faithful Jew of that period what belongs to God, and the answer is not some things. The answer is everything. Which leaves precisely nothing for Caesar. The line is not a compromise. It is a joke, and the joke is at the emperor’s expense.

Remember, Paul was executed in a similar fashion as Jesus, a form of execution kept exclusively for threats to the Empire. Sometimes we read the Apostle Paul, and our thought is that of a moderate who was trying to find a middle ground. According to a growing number of scholars, there is probably nothing further from the truth. The way Paul preached Jesus was a threat to the very fabric of the Empire, and the Romans recognized it. Had he just been a common teacher with a message of religious niceties, the Romans would have left him alone because his message would have quietly encouraged compliance. Remember, Jesus did not encourage people to be compliant with the Empire, but live as those who were residents of the Kin(g)dom of God, most beautifully revealed in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), where Jesus told his followers to love both neighbor and enemy, to turn the other cheek, to forgive others as God had forgiven us, and to claim how blessed were the peacemakers… just to name a few of those teachings.

Paul believed Jesus was Lord, and for that reason, he could not and would not play by the unjust and unloving rules of the Roman Empire. In fact, before his execution, he spent a lot of time in jail because he continued to live a life that stood in radical contrast to that of the Roman Empire. I think I need to do some rereading of Paul.

Continue to teach me what can be found beyond my assumptions that have often become rather stuck. Holy God, provide me both a vision of your reign of grace and mercy, and then reveal to me tangible ways of living as a resident of that reign. Amen.

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
August 11, 2026
A funny thing happened on Sunday, or maybe I should call it embarrassing. I have been known to be a bit of a control freak when it comes to worship. I have my opinions, and those opinions can carry some weight. Well, Sunday, I was not participating in worship. Joel was preaching, Jimmy Jacobson was directing the choir, Paula was the worship leader, and Graham was doing the Blessing of the Backpacks. I sat in the vineyards, stage left. The congregation stood for the opening song, prayer, and then the song of response. Paula stepped to the microphone, and I sat down and then gestured to have people sit down. I’ve only done what Paula was doing in that moment more than 200 times, but Paula just looked back at me, smiled, and shook her head. She was right as there were two more steps before inviting people to sit down. I was a bit embarrassed, but also had one of those moments where I learned my lesson quickly. I had no responsibility, and so I needed to let go and simply worship. And I did! It was really quite nice. I recognize that I have only moments here and there during the services when I actually worship, ad for that reason, I find opportunities to worship elsewhere. But here was a chance, and I almost missed it because I had this unspoken need to still run the show. That statement is sort of troubling by itself, as my prayer and hope is that our worship is still coming alongside what God is already doing in the world, and in that moment, we allow the Spirit to guide the experience. Of course, there is a lot of planning that goes into the worship experiences, but at the end of the day, we are hoping to create a window through which people glimpse the Holy and find affirmation as one of God’s beloved.

Thank you for continuing to be gracious, O God, in spite of those moments when my need to be in charge can easily disrupt what worship is about. May what I do simply be an introduction, and then hopefully I can get out of the way so the community can spend a little time with you. Amen.

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
August 10, 2026
Prayer for the Week:
We are far from perfect, yet you love us simply because that’s who you are. Thank you, Generous God. And through your love, we find your mercy and forgiveness, gifts that are not intended just to be received alone, but to become the catalyst by which we honor the work of repentance and seek to make amends that help move forward those who we have injured. Jesus taught how forgiveness creates more forgiveness, but our inability to forgive others hinders your capacity to forgive. Does it really hinder your ability, or because we struggle to forgive others, we don’t really know how to accept your forgiveness? Walk with us; continue to teach us; offer us opportunities to learn forgiveness; make us more receptive to your forgiveness that only can be received on the other side of acknowledging our failures and our true need for forgiveness. We might easily toss around the words, “I am forgiven,” but do we know the real meaning, something often learned through the struggles associated with forgiving others? As we learn to forgive more and more, we will most definitely grow in our joyous appreciation of your immeasurable mercy. We know you will help. Amen.

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
August 9, 2026
Recently, someone thanked me for showing such kindness through an act of forgiveness. To be honest, I didn’t even remember it. So maybe the old adage of forgive and forget can be true, but it’s probably going to be in those situations when we really didn’t feel all that injured. You appreciated the concern of the person who apologized and asked for forgiveness, but you’re sort of wondering whether you missed something. It really wasn’t a big deal. Situations like that can leave people skewed, thinking all conflict and injury should be forgiven and forgotten. But many situations cannot and probably should not be forgotten. Like me, you’ve probably seen people who thought they were to forgive and forget only find themselves getting hurt over and over again. When Jesus told his disciples to forgive 70X7, I do not believe he was inviting people to be hurt by the same people 490 times. Forgiving often helps us to release ourselves from the person who caused us injury, but then remembering alongside that forgiveness helps to create good boundaries, a capacity to say, “No,” and even to be okay with no future relationship. Sometimes even loving our neighbor is being firm with boundaries, and maybe if enough hurt people are firm with those boundaries, the one causing the hurt might have a wake-up call. It’s not guaranteed, but when the boundary becomes consistent and unbending, the person causing the hurt is left with no one else to blame. Bumping up against that kind of barrier can become a turning point for some people… or at least, we can hope. But it’s still not our responsibility to put ourselves back in harm’s way.

Sometimes the most gracious thing I can do for myself and for others is make it clear that I will no longer put myself in harm’s way. Amazing God, you have given me grace in abundance, and it is on me to accept and utilize that gift for my own wellbeing. Continue to be my encourager. Amen.

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
August 8, 2026
Today, I will be officiating at the funeral for a woman who was nearly 106 years old. It is sort of hard to wrap my brain around what it might have been like to live 106 years, and to have experienced all the changes that occurred in that time. In 1920, 65% of homes in the United States did not have electricity. People did not yet have radios in their homes, though that would soon come. Airplanes were something most people had seen, at least in the sky from a distance, but less than one tenth of one percentage of Americans had actually been in a plane. Some change happens almost incrementally, and it can almost go unnoticed. Other changes happen quickly, giving us little time to prepare. Though not all change is good, I am generally thankful for the progress that has and continues to occur. Did you realize that the first splinter-free toilet paper did not become available until 1935, and that many people continued to buy the old paper with splinters because of cost? It was the Depression. And in thinking about change, Christianity has gone through immense change in the last 2000 years, yet between some good change and some really not so good change, people have continued to wrestle with a single unchanging question: What does it mean to love my neighbor? I hope, at least in the circles in which I live, that we have continued to make some progress in answering that question. Yet as strange as it may sound, I hope we are always growing in our understanding because with each generation there are simply things that cannot be seen. What was once thought of as unconditional love is suddenly seen through new lens as a love that has conditions. Things need to change. But those with both faith and curiosity, the ideal of unconditional love becomes an infinite calling that is explored with joy day after day, amidst all kinds of change.

It is my desire to love as Jesus loved. Merciful God and Source of Love, I know from a practical standpoint that I will never fully love as Jesus loved, but maybe with friends and other faithful people, we can collectively reach toward that goal of unconditional love. Amen.

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
August 7, 2026
There are these gluten-free crackers that I can eat, and I really do like them. The other day, I bought my usual, which is sea salt. Sometimes I wonder whether the cracker is really just the delivery device for the salt. Boy was I disappointed to find out that there was absolutely no salt on those crackers. One after another, and I had to try a lot of them, left my taste buds saddened by the lack of sodium chloride. In Matthew 5:13, Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything but is thrown out and trampled under foot.” Whether salt has lost its taste or it was forgotten altogether, we recognize very quickly that something is missing. Salt, in the days of Jesus, was a necessary commodity, but it did not exist for itself. It helped to give life to what was life-giving. Without it, meat and fish would rot much more quickly. Salt allowed that for which the body hungered to actually last long enough to be what the body actually needed. So much of what Jesus gave to this world came in the form of story, yet story without someone to tell or embody it is nothing… especially in the ancient world when 90-95% of the people could not read. If you were called to be the salt of the earth, one of the ways of thinking about it might be that you are the necessary ingredient in making sure the sustenance for which the world hungers can actually get to the people who need it. Just a thought…

When thinking about that which is life and hope and joy, I pray I can be one of the tools you utilize, O God of Life-giving Love, to animate and put on display that for which so many yearn. Amen.

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
August 6, 2026
I have referenced this MLK quote before, but it is worth repeating: 

“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”

I appreciate knowing who said it because I have this tendency to think about how the finite disappointments pile up one after another. The weight of the disappointment can appear unbearable. Yet my handful of disappointments do not compare to the level of disappointment Dr. King experienced throughout his work. So many peaceful demonstrations met with violence. Numerous voices for love and justice were extinguished. Yet there was this deep trust in infinite hope, a hope that was rooted in God. And equally important, the hope was embodied every single day. Not only in the people who kept on showing up in spite of what appeared to be an immovable and entrenched hate, but in the choice of nonviolent resistance. When the goal intentionally takes form in the method used to achieve the goal, it’s as if the hope has already been realized.

Disappointments can push us down, yet we trust in your immeasurable grace and abiding faithfulness. Encourage us, Merciful and Gentle God, as we seek to move toward your Kin(g)dom in every little choice we make. Amen.

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
August 5, 2026
In the Book of Ruth, when the mother-in-law, Naomi, was trying to encourage Ruth and Orpah to return to their families after both of their husbands (Naomi’s sons) died, she said:

“Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons, would you then wait until they were grown?” (Vs.12-13)

In times of crisis and grief, our options appear limited, and even the absurd is mentioned and quickly dismissed, as Naomi did in this case. Both Orpah and Ruth had to have been struggling as their lives were turned upside down and inside out. Of course, Ruth refused to return her family as Naomi had encouraged, and unlike her sister Orpah, Ruth chose to travel with her anguished mother-in-law to a place Ruth had never known. In the ancient world, the trip to Bethlehem, Naomi’s hometown, would not have been easy for anyone, but especially two single women. And though I do not believe Ruth had some divine vision of the future, she allowed love to lead her. When the options for the future were limited, or even nonexistent, love helped Ruth see a next step and then a step after that.

Love has the capacity to help us align ourselves with God, and though it doesn’t necessarily provide us a step-by-step mapping of the entire journey, it can help us see the next step which is often exactly where God needs our focus, not on step 19.

As your love forever embraces me, God of the Journey, I pray for the capacity to trust your love even when the chaos of life leaves me uncertain about the future. Amen.

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
August 4, 2026
Many people probably do not care, but a new season of Ted Lasso goes live at midnight tonight (actually, I think it is at 2am Central time). If you’re not a fan of the AppleTV series, that’s okay, but it is, in my opinion, some of the best writing I’ve known. I both laughed until I hurt and cried all in the same episode, and this happened numerous times. But more importantly, the underlying story, at least in my opinion, is that hurting people hurt people. Whether it is grief from a childhood tragedy, a betrayal by a spouse, or a father who imposed his own insecurities on his son, the recurring message is how those events continue to inform the present in some pretty unhealthy ways. It was only radical love and compassion that was capable of beginning the necessary work of healing. And those who have been hurt yet find healing can often be some of the best tour guides on the pathway to self-love and wholeness. Some might say I’m a cheesy minister who is always on the lookout for a good illustration, and there might be some truth in those words, but I found that Ted Lasso often retold the Christian narrative better than those of us who call ourselves Jesus followers. When Jesus told a parable, he didn’t use a lot of lofty religious language or pious-sounding rhetoric. He talked about something that seemed completely unrelated to faith, yet something to which his listeners could easily relate. And when he was done, I imagine the initial response was the kind of amusement one might experience after hearing a good story, but as the story (parable) worked on the curiosity of the listener, a new set of questions emerged along with a new layer of potential meaning. Suddenly, the audience was talking among themselves about the story from a lived standpoint. The parable was not an analogy with a single meaning, but an invitation into an experience. Ted Lasso does this brilliantly, and I have high hopes for this new season. And there are some lessons we could take, both from the TV series and the Gospels.

Help me to fully engage and experience the journey, Merciful Guide, and to let go of any need to arrive at the destination with speed and safety. Amen.

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
August 3, 2026
Prayer for the Week:
Where there appears to be a scarcity of love, 
May I draw upon your deep and abundant reservoir.
You are the Living Water,
And from your infinite gift we drink.
Fill us as you always do.
Drench us; envelop us; enfold us.
Prepare us to be a conduit 
By which others are able to drink.
In a parched world
Thirsting for love,
Let us pour forth
What has been given in abundance.
Allow us to trust
The limitless nature of your love. 
Even as we share what we have received,
There is more than enough.
Thank you!
Amen.