Author Archives: Matthew Winters

Pastor Appreciation Month is about to come to a close. I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge some pastors who have been instrumental in my journey. When I was growing up in the United Methodist Church, Paul Kube, Bill Clarke, Milford Rollins, and Karen Whitehurst were extremely key in the early years. They gaveContinue reading “Pastor Appreciation”

When I first surrendered to the call to ministry as a teenager, I had grand and glorious ideas. I imagined that people would flock to me as I would have all the answers. They would all love me, and everything would be great. It didn’t take long for reality to set in. I quickly discoveredContinue reading “People Are Cray-Cray!”

Anyone who knows me knows I love to travel on back roads. Over the last few years, back roads have become much more calming. The additional time does not matter to me. I adjust my schedule accordingly so I can enjoy my travel. I spend a good bit of time on the road, but IContinue reading “Meeting with God on the Side of the Road”

Since I have been back in the pastorate, I have been reminded of how important it is to go to the spiritual gas station. You may ask, “What do you mean by that, Matthew?” As one who is always dispensing ministry, I have to have my tank filled. So I have a spiritual gas stationContinue reading “The Spiritual Gas Station”

I have been on somewhat of a writing hiatus. This has not been on purpose, but circumstances have necessitated it. Between a new job I started in August and the challenges of ministry and family, my writing creativity has been dry. The thing that blows my mind is that people still read this blog. It’sContinue reading “I Can’t Believe People Still Read This Thing”

A lot of my life has been spent in careers that had become comfort zones. For the first 16 years of vocational ministry (and intermittently after that), I spent that time in music ministry. Most of those years were average with the exception of 2009-2012. Exceptional or not, it was very much a comfort zone.Continue reading “What a Lack of Prayer Reveals”

When I was a child, the first connection I have to the word “anthem” is “The Star-Spangled Banner” which is America’s national anthem. As I grew older, I became acquainted with choral anthems. Our church choir normally presented at least one of those each service. As I grew even older, I began claiming songs asContinue reading “Seasonal Anthems”

Time to break out the cleaning solution, mops, rags, etc., right? You may be thinking it’s time to run. This morning, I took some time to work on some things I had let go at home for quite some time. It was a small step, but I felt extremely accomplished. Afterward, I began to thinkContinue reading “House Cleaning”

Prayer is a buzzword for everyone in the Christian community (even for many outside the Christian community). Other religions practice prayer too. As a Christian, I look to the Bible as my guideline for teaching about prayer. Philippians 4:6 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let yourContinue reading “Pray About Everything?”

As I shared in a recent post, these last few months have not been without challenges. Amidst the challenges, God gave me some sweet reminders. I wish I could say my faith was mighty and strong through all this, but I wavered and flopped. I’m glad God still came through for me despite myself. AContinue reading “God Said!”