ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
October 31, 2025
As peculiar as it may seem, I can’t help but feel a slight sadness when Halloween arrives. My spouse is an exceptional decorator, creating a festive atmosphere for various holidays. However, Halloween holds a unique charm for me. Most of the decorations are silly, a few are a bit strange, and for the most part, there is nothing gory. But I really do like the playfulness of the house. 

Halloween, which has its roots in the tradition known as All Hallows Eve, was connected to All Saints Day, November 1, and All Souls Day, November 2. Though the recognition of the saints stretches back before Christianity became acquainted with the Celtic Festival known as Samhain, there appears to be some influence. Christianity had this habit of borrowing certain rituals from other religions as a way of bridging the difference, especially when Christianity was often using the Roman Empire to force people to become Christian. It helped to soften the blow. But part of those rituals around All Hallows Eve, at least in some settings of Christianity (probably borrowed from the Celtic Festival), included visiting the graves, sometimes a parade through the cemetery, or even having a meal at the gravesite of a family member. It’s not difficult to see how some of the early practices around Halloween could emerge from such festivities. Yet one of the things such rituals did, especially done in the cemetery, was to create some normalcy and calm around death. 

In the last couple of decades, I have done more funerals where the children of the deceased, who were sometimes in their 50s or even 60s, said to me, “I’ve never been to a funeral.” There was real discomfort about the whole idea of a funeral, and it was more than grief. Even though movies and tv shows portray a lot of death, we have in fact distanced ourselves from it. There will always be grief, but grief is a healthy journey when people feel somewhat comfortable around death and dying. 

My mother might have been extreme, but she spoke regularly about her own death—her own peace, what she wanted at her memorial service, the logistics of what she had already planned at the funeral home, etc. Us four Frogge kids sort of made a joke of it, but when my mother died, there was some peace and some clear direction on next steps. There were no uncomfortable conversations, and I have my mother to thank for that. This makes me wonder if the Celtic and early Christian practices and rituals might help our current culture gain some ease, even serenity, around death that will most definitely help facilitate the grief process.

​As death is very much a part of life, I pray for a healthier relationship to death. Holy God, your love extends beyond all limits, even what I might see as the end of my earthly life. Provide me peace that gives rise to good and healthy conversations and understanding around death and dying. Amen.

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
October 30, 2025
Last night at youth group, as I was walking out with both youth and some adult sponsors, I shouted, “Thanks everyone!” My smart watch heard what I said, and it responded, “You’re welcome!” I had to laugh, because the youth and adult were all engaged in conversation, and I don’t think any of them heard me. But my watch, that had done absolutely nothing worthy of a thank you, took full credit for something. Throughout my ministry, I have known so many people who were deserving of immeasurable gratitude, but when anyone said, “Thank you,” they ignored it; almost as if they were not the focus of the thanks. It wasn’t because their hearing was lacking. It often comes from a deep sense of humility, often trying to distract or distance themselves from the good they’ve done. It is both honorable and incredibly inspiring to witness the remarkable acts of kindness and generosity that uplift and transform lives. I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to all of you who make such a positive difference in the world. While I understand that you may choose to ignore my words or assume they were intended for someone else, I hope a little affirmation sneaks in, for I am deeply moved by the countless small and big acts of compassion and loving hospitality that I see. I feel truly blessed and compelled to say, “Thank you!” 

Jesus provided a model of humility that simply takes my breath away. Yet when people exemplify your merciful kindness through a loving act of inclusion, I feel compelled to say, “Thank you!” If they don’t hear it, I trust this prayer to be a conduit by which a word of sacred affirmation falls upon them and the good work they are doing. Amen.

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
October 29, 2025
I might be naive or overconfident or totally off my rocker, but I believe Cypress Creek Christian Church has been forming itself for a moment like this. Let me be clear—when I speak of “forming itself,” I am wanting us to acknowledge and celebrate the many accomplishments of those who came before us, including Rev. Dr. Glenn Wilkerson, the founding minister of Cypress Creek Christian Church. For in doing so, we are recognizing that much of the foundational structure we stand on today was built by his vision. However, it’s common for ministers, including myself, to become so focused on starting something “new” that we forget that we are always building on the work that others have done. I am so excited about where we are, and I believe the lives currently being touched, healed, transformed, and empowered by the ministry we are doing will continue to grow in ways we cannot even begin to imagine. Though let’s be clear, such growth will occur only if when we use the pronoun “we” that we understand the “we” as generations of incredibly faithful and self-giving Jesus followers who have helped to form the road we currently travel. 

In Deuteronomy 32:7-8, we read:

Think about past generations.
Ask your parents
  or any of your elders.
They will tell you
  that God Most High…

And then it continues with a history lesson, including the good, the very good, the bad, and the embarrassingly bad. It is both important and essential for us to know our history, never dismissing the embarrassingly bad for what might appear to be a rosy yet inaccurate depiction of the good alone. At no point in Christian history has the church ever been able to say, “Nailed it,” except when it was crucifying Jesus all over again. That might be a crude way of saying it, but there is no perfect past, only progress that is built on the past… built on the good, the very good, the bad, and embarrassingly bad. There is a great deal that inspires, some that requires a little contrition, and a fair amount that should leave us asking, “What can we learn so we never make that mistake again?” 

As I said at the beginning of this Etching, I believe Cypress Creek Christian Church has been forming itself for a moment like this. Some might say I’m naive or overconfident or totally off my rocker, but I can feel some holy optimism because we continue to acknowledge and celebrate everything that has brought us to this moment. 

For all the saints who have gone before us, we give you thanks, Holy God. You are the One who has and continues to inspire the faithful, maybe not to perfection, but for the purpose of doing extraordinary things in the name of Jesus. Amen.

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
October 28, 2025
The author and speaker, Beth Moore, wrote about what it means to follow Jesus, specifically pointing out an important distinction one should make. She wrote, “Following the commands of Christ is not just about behavior. Behavior modification is not an end in itself in the New Testament. Transformation is about knowing the truth and the truth setting you free.” Most folks would probably know the distinction theoretically, but how often have we been pleased with a small modification to our behavior when Jesus was looking for a life fully transformed? Jesus was confronted by more than one person searching to prove themselves worthy, yet in the end Jesus told them to go and sell everything they had and then follow him. A lot of folks get nervous reading those words, and I would put myself in that category. At the same time, I hear an invitation to no longer feel so overly haughty about one’s current behavior as compared to a real sacrificial commitment yet to be made. Where are you feeling rather proud of a success and Jesus is shaking his head and saying, “But I want that” as he points to something you never imagined relinquishing?

Help me to grow my trust in you, O Loving Lord, as I let go of whatever is required to follow you more faithfully and completely. Amen.

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
October 27, 2025
For strength and passion and resilience—these three I pray for this day. Holy One, I am not seeking strength for the purpose of bullying; I am not seeking passion to be an angry zealot; I am not seeking resilience simply to survive. I am praying for strength and passion and resilience that I might be faithful to the ways of Jesus in all of my words and actions. Amen.

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
October 26, 2025
Yesterday, I had some of the most meaningful conversations I’ve had in recent memory. Cypress Creek Christian Church had a booth at the Pride Event in the Woodlands. Because of the weather, it was moved indoors. The Marriott opened its convention center, and it made for a wonderful setting when an outdoor event could have been a complete washout. I know churches have all kinds of opinions and beliefs on a range of subjects, and I am not about the business of judging other churches when their convictions don’t do harm. Yet yesterday, I had at least ten conversations with people who are carrying deep wounds from a church. In one case, a parent had been told that their child would burn in hell because of who the child loved. I feel extraordinarily confident in the capacity of God’s love to do more than any of us could imagine. At the same time, I find it difficult to understand how someone, after reading the Jesus story, could feel so extraordinarily confident as to tell a parent that her child would burn in hell for eternity. Remember, Jesus only mentioned the rich and religious leaders as the people he believed would go to hell. Since I believe his use of the word “hell” didn’t refer to an afterlife of flames and torment, I point out that Jesus also told those same people they would be entering the Kingdom of God right behind certain marginalized groups… but they’d still be entering. How different would the world be if we all could show such confidence in the power of love, as compared to the power to judge and condemn and cause hurt? 

Help me keep my eyes upon Jesus and his love. Holy God, when the world is leading with judgement and overly confident condemnation, give me the capacity to speak love and to make real your radically redemptive love. Amen.

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.

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
October 24, 2025
The things that sportscasters say never cease to amaze me. There are words that resonate for decades, like the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympic Games when ABC sportscaster Al Michaels said, “Do you believe in miracles? Yes!” And then there is the sportscaster who said the other day, “They only gave 110%, when they needed to give 120%.” What!?! I’m sure the implication was that they dug deep, but not deep enough to win. Yet, I do not believe we are capable of giving 110%, at least as individuals. Here is what I mean—there are moments when the collective is more than the sum of its parts. Individuals can give 100%, but something unique happens when the individuals come together and give generously. Suddenly, what was thought to be impossible becomes possible. Or what the math suggested could be attained is surpassed. It was not just individual pieces of generosity sitting side-by-side, but the collective creating something that had not previously existed. Individually, I do not believe we can actually give 110%, but when our generosity works together, we exceed what could have been achieved by each individual working in a silo. People wonder how the church creates miracles. It is about the collective being more than the sum of its parts, with an additional sprinkle of the Holy Spirit.

For what is beyond our capacity to see or believe, Holy One, we are thankful for the way you bind us together with purpose and with the empowering gift of the Spirit. Amen.

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
October 23, 2025
Where will Cypress Creek Christian Church be in twenty years? I am not a soothsayer of all things, not even church things. And my faith, unlike others, does not necessarily believe that if you say something in faith, then God will make it come true. At the same time, I’m certain a church will go nowhere if it doesn’t paint a picture of its possible future, a picture it paints through an ongoing discernment with the Holy Spirit. One of the places I’ve sought the Spirit’s voice is through the people who visit the church. Their comments about the church are important, but what truly resonates with me is the deep yearning for belonging that permeates their words. This yearning speaks to the essence of knowing and experiencing God’s embrace. We live in a world, whether it is marketing, politics, or religion, where there are those who intentionally create anxiety for no other purpose than to keep people on edge. It gets people to buy products, vote a specific way, and to keep on coming to a church (or other religious establishment). People find at Cypress Creek Christian Church a place where the spirit of belonging seeks to reflect a God who wants all creation to know how its place of belonging, no strings attached. We never want people to leave with even a smidge of uncertainty that can grow into anxiety and eventually play itself out in unhealthiness. We want people to find the peace, that according to the Apostle Paul, surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7). As we look to 2026, I want us to be very intentional and reflective on where we might not be fully representing such peace. How can we better communicate and reinforce with each person the message of their belovedness in the eyes of God—finding true belonging—no anomalies, no arguments, and no exceptions.

Through Jesus, you have given witness to my place of belonging. It did not need to be earned or won, only accepted and enjoyed. Thank you, Merciful God, for continuing to affirm your love for me. I pray for the ability to help others discover their own sense of belonging. Amen.

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
October 22, 2025
Many of you heard the announcement on Sunday, but in case you did not, let me share the exciting news. A family in the church has agreed to give an additional gift, enough that will allow CCCC to hire a full-time ordained minister to give leadership to Family Ministry, with an emphasis on Youth Ministry. This is beyond exciting! The people I currently work with at CCCC are quite extraordinary, yet an area that currently encumbers our capacity to take our growth to the next level is Youth Ministry. This new minister will help cast a vision for our programming from nursery through high school, but then work directly with youth and their families as they strive toward Putting Love First In All Things. If you’ve never done Youth Ministry, let me try to explain to you this  wonderfully crazy, extraordinarily demanding, extremely exhausting, exceedingly rewarding ministry. Not only are there the weekly meetings that need to engage a wide range of interests, unique abilities, and the general moodiness of youth, but then there are the retreats, lock-ins, mission trips, camps, etc. Youth Ministry will nearly kill a person if done well, yet we do not want to kill or scare off our new Minister for Youth and Families. So as I said in my sermon on Sunday, we are not going to thank this individual for joining us, and then send that person into some silo where we expect her/him to do this ministry on our behalf. We want parents and non-parents, along with your random church members and visitors to find a way of being supportive in this vital and consequential work. Unlike many churches, we have visitors every single Sunday. In fact, last Sunday, we had ten first-time visitors. We just want these visitors to be greeted by a dynamic student ministry, where the young people are excited to be involved, while encountering and being shaped by God’s unconditional love. It’s a tall order, but I believe the right person is out there. Though as I shared with the congregation, we are needing to increase our overall giving by 8% in 2026. What does that mean? I believe it begins with everyone, longtime members and new people, those who have been thinking about increasing their giving for more than five years, and those who have been stretching themselves for a number of years. And in the end, by the grace of God, we’ll see it happen. 

Generosity spills forth, and it inspires more generosity. You are forever generous, Amazing God, and all the joy, goodness, and life we know is connected back to your giving. So thank you! Amen.