Author Archives: Matthew Winters

I could go a million different directions with this title. Most of the time when I hear this, people are upset about something. They won’t go back to a church because the preacher didn’t drive 500 miles to some hospital to be with their fifth cousin during an x-Ray. They won’t go back to aContinue reading “I Won’t Go Back!”

In 2 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul describes what he calls a “thorn in the flesh”. I would say most of us have this “thorn”. Some scholars believe it was Paul’s eyesight. I seem to think it was difficult people in ministry. I believe Paul did not say what it was so any of us couldContinue reading “Embracing the Thorn”

Let me clarify from the beginning that I am not implying or outright saying that Christians should not be well-known. Some of our greatest voices for Jesus Christ today are celebrities who happen to have a relationship with Jesus Christ and are unashamed. What I am discussing today are those who are little known outContinue reading “Christian Celebrities”

This will be the first of several posts, many will reflect my own testimony while making application to the general audience. We are in a day where truth is hard to find. The foundation for this series of posts is found in two concepts: Jesus is the Truth (John 14:6), and He said that weContinue reading “Telling Yourself the Truth”

If you’re reading this from a church member’s standpoint, you might be thinking, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” My observation in some churches is that the people don’t want to move the corpse because it’s broken; they just want to keep trying to resuscitate what has been dead for years. Although change isContinue reading “Tips on Church Change”

Most every day, I spend time listening to issues people are facing and first provide a caring and empathetic presence. People often want someone to listen and care before they want advice. The resounding theme I find with people is that they are not just experiencing one difficulty. They are often being bombarded by multipleContinue reading “Bombarded”

We all have someone who has betrayed us. It may be a coworker, spouse, parent, sibling, “best friend”, etc. It is interesting that the one who betrayed Jesus was hand-picked by Jesus to be one of the twelve. It is also interesting that the betrayer was Jesus’ treasurer. In certain churches, I have learned toContinue reading “Praying for Your Judas”

Have you ever prayed for a particular thing or in a particular way, only to stop and think that it is crazy? Been there and done that! Many times! As a pastor, I pray brave and bold prayers that are far beyond man’s ability. The Bible contains many prayers. Some people may read those prayersContinue reading “Crazy Prayers”

Have you ever gotten a nasty letter, email, text, or phone call? I believe most, if not all, of us have. We received one of those at work recently. We sat down to evaluate if we could have done anything better in the situation since we typically go above and beyond as we have inContinue reading “Scathing Reviews”

Until 2014, I had no clue of what it meant for a pastor or church staff member to work more than one job. I was full-time with a decent salary in every church I served. When I found myself separated with divorce in sight, things changed. I found a few churches that would hire meContinue reading “When Your Pastor Works 2+ Jobs”