Honest Thoughts from a Pastor

Anniversaries

Anniversaries can be a good or bad thing. For a few years, there were some anniversaries I dreaded. When I realized the date, some painful memories came along. This is not the case with May 4.

Twenty-five years ago today, I surrendered to the call to preach. It continues to be one of the happiest days of my life. I realize more and more that His call had nothing to do with me and everything to do with what He could do in and through an unlikely candidate. I’m more humbled than I was then.

I also celebrated another anniversary this week – the 1-year anniversary of serving as pastor at the church I currently serve. I never thought I would pastor a church again, and God sent this wonderful group of people into my life. Interestingly enough, we relaunched the church one day shy of my 1-year anniversary. I celebrate the goodness of God as I reflect on these anniversaries. It’s all Him!

What dates are milestones in your Christian growth? Please share those with me. I would love to rejoice with you.

Matthew Winters

3 responses to “Anniversaries”

  1. Alan Avatar
    Alan

    Hey man, those are good things to remember, God’s for sure blessing your journey and you ain’t done yet. Beyond marriage and kids, I don’t remember dates so much as events whose impact you only realize later, they’re kinda like God’s milestones he places in a life. One was meeting two Christian ladies, from Vietnam and North Korea, who had been persecuted there, and altho they didn’t have churches or pastors or bibles, they had met Jesus, He was real to them, a reality to Christianity I didn’t know. Meeting them blessed me with hunger. About the same time had an accident, totally my fault as glare blinded me going around a curve & I didn’t see the lady waiting to turn. Her neck hurt so they took her away in an ambulance. Front end of the car was pretty trashed, our only car, I hadn’t been self employed all that long, our kids were really young, and the car insurance payment was due the day before, a Friday, but I forgot to mail it. So my late nite bright idea was dropping the payment off, thinking they might accept it come Monday. So after church on Sunday, drove from Jersey down to Charlotte NC. Problem is it was so far I didn’t get there till like 3-4 am and couldn’t find the place, nothing was open, it was before iphones, I turned around and drove back to Jersey. It was really stupid and a whole lotta dishonest but what came out of it was realizing my faith was pretty much based in words. Words like sovereignty, I believed the idea but not the reality cause if I did, I wouldn’t have ever pulled the stunt I did or freak out so much that our family was gonna lose everything, if I had living faith in God’s sovereign I shouldn’t have worried at all. I learned sovereignty that weekend in a way a thousand bible studies would’ve never taught me. Those two events changed my walk, a hunger for what’s real in Christ. There’s been others along the way, the unexpected things God leads us thru. Thank God for those times, it’s often the hardest things we go thru that teach us the deepest lessons.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Matthew Winters Avatar
      Matthew Winters

      Woah! I imagine that was God’s way of teaching you the hard way. I wish I could say I learn easily. I’m still learning.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Alan Avatar
        Alan

        Hey, me too with God getting thru, but today I’m with God that everything we suffer and every trial He takes us thru following Jesus produces real endurance. Still working on count it all joy going thru things, but there’s peace, I don’t worry that God’s gonna work everything out in life to make me like Jesus. It’s all good. Hey man, still gotta listen to that sermon, but working late tonight and planning on it.

        Liked by 1 person

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