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Outside the Box,
Outside the Box: Cup of Salvation
Dear Fellow Ministers, This week is the Western NC United Methodist Church Annual Conference at Lake Junaluska (access livestream). The theme for 2026 is “Rebuild my Church.” We have close to 20 delegates from our church, including clergy, laity, and Metro District At-Large delegates. We invite your prayers for our shared ministry together. Bishop Ken Carter will lead us as...
Outside the Box,
Outside the Box: Rites of Passage
Dear Fellow Ministers, What a day of celebration we had on Sunday as we honored God and recognized graduates! Pastor Corey preached a great sermon, and you can view the 9:30 and 11:00 am services if you were not able to attend. It is a great reminder to us of the “rites of passage” in all of our lives. We...
Outside the Box,
Outside the Box: Blessed by Those Before Us!
Dear Fellow Ministers, I am so thankful for the generational ministry of Matthews UMC! This church has a strong gift of people in each generation, and we get to learn from each other. Far too often, people tend to trend towards churches based on a certain age group. I’ve heard these called “cut flower churches” because they look pretty for...
Outside the Box,
Outside the Box: The Holy Spirit is at Work!
Dear Fellow Ministers, What a blessing Pentecost Sunday was! We had a unique way to hear our scripture, the music was great, and we debuted “Experience of the Holy Spirit” in worship. We are blessed with many voices that are shared each week in worship. Pastor Roldan, our Spanish-Speaking pastor who leads worship at 12:30 p.m. each Sunday in our...
Outside the Box,
Outside the Box: The Day The Church Was Born
Dear Fellow Ministers, What a glorious Sunday we had last week! 14 young people professed faith in Jesus Christ and joined Matthews UMC (MUMC) through Confirmation. That is a big deal. There was amazing music with the MUMC Orchestra at the 8:15 and 11 am services, Wendi Moskowitz sang a beautiful song, “Come To Me,” and as always our Praise...
Outside the Box,
Outside the Box: How Are We One?
Dear Fellow Ministers, This Sunday, we will get to celebrate several of our young people as they commit to following Jesus! This will be our Confirmation Sunday, and it celebrates the great work done in homes across our church and our Age-Level Ministries offerings. I hope you will pray for these young people who will be making the most important...
Outside the Box,
Outside the Box: May-cember
There are so many cool Hebrew words in the Old Testament. Two of those words the Psalms often bring to the forefront are “hesed” and “selah” (tune in Sunday to see what the meaning is of these words and the difference that they make). We are going to examine those words (a little bit) on Sunday as we read Psalm...
Outside the Box,
Outside the Box: You are a Gift!
Dear Fellow Ministers, Thank you for your authentic ministry. You live your faith in beautiful ways, and it really does make a difference. I know because I get a front seat to witness the ways you serve, and I have been the recipient of your ministry. Matthews United Methodist Church is a rare place in our world where people can...
Outside the Box,
Outside the Box: Works in Progress
Dear Fellow Ministers, I was talking to a new friend this past week and he said, “If you knew what I’ve done in the past, you wouldn’t want to be around me.” I responded, “That is true for all of us, I think. At least I know it is for me.” It is why we need a Savior. And it...
