Honest Thoughts from a Pastor

Christmas has always considered magical by children and adults alike. Between the Hallmark movies and other means of commercialization (not to mention the song whose title is the same at this blog post), we have idealized this season into becoming something that isn’t always true. For some, this isn’t the most wonderful time of the…

For anyone who is reading this and has had surgery, you have probably been under general anesthesia. It certainly beats the alternative – feeling the pain as the scalpel cuts into your skin and moves to cut more. Then come the feelings of the area being stapled or sewn back together. And I didn’t mention…

I came to Seneca, SC in August 2009 after a very challenging season of ministry. The initial church I served here called me at a 98 percent vote to be their Minister of Music and Education. After I heard several times at the previous church that they only hired me because they were desperate, it…

I am always blown away by the people who have the “picture perfect life.” They make good grades all through school, go on to college with scholarships, take out little to no student loans, land a high-paying job fresh out of college, get married, buy a nice house, have 1-2 children, and appear to manage…

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 gave…

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 discovered…

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 I…

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 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’s…

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.…