Viewing Posts found in the Outside the Box category. | View all posts
Outside the Box,
Outside the Box: Give Church a Chance
Dear Fellow Ministers, What a day we had on Sunday! Thank you to everyone who helped make Palm Sunday an amazing celebration. I know Matthews UMC has a tradition of a donkey leading the procession, but I had never experienced it; how meaningful to see so many children waving palms and processing into a congregation of people waving palms high...
Outside the Box,
Outside the Box: Moving Into Holy Week
Dear Fellow Ministers, We are excited to move into Holy Week, beginning with Palm Sunday this week on March 29. Worship will be special as we get a sense of the celebration of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. I hope you will read through Luke 19:28-42 as God forms a sermon in us. We will continue building on the “Resilient...
Outside the Box,
Outside the Box: Real People
Dear Fellow Ministers, I recently had occasion to see some friends from a former church, and they said, “You seem really excited to be in a local church again. What makes Matthews UMC so great?” Without hesitation, I found myself saying what I have been writing in my journal and stating to anyone who will listen: “They are real people...
Outside the Box,
Outside the Box: Looking for the Light of Christ
Dear Fellow Ministers, What a great day of worship we had on Sunday! If you missed, please know that you can always view our services here. We celebrate that we had our Bridge Builders group at “Mother Emmanuel” AME Church in Charleston, a retreat of our confirmands, Family Worship, four worship services (including Centro Cristiano Hosanna) and all of our...
Outside the Box,
Outside the Box: Genuineness of Spirit
Dear Fellow Ministers, You are living outside the box when you acknowledge God’s love in unlikely places. But that is exactly where God’s love shows up! Thank you for giving witness to that as you care for God’s creation in so many ways. I continue to be challenged by our Creation Care team and all of our justice ministries to...
Outside the Box,
Outside the Box: Resilient Love
Dear Fellow Ministers, What a great Sunday of worship we had on February 22! The worship music at all services was incredible, as always. You can view those services here, as we began our worship series on Resilient Love. This Sunday, we are going to base our worship on Mark 8:31-38. Pastor Susan is preaching about how resilience is a...
Outside the Box,
Outside The Box: Ash Wednesday Begins Lenten Journey
Dear Fellow Ministers, Thank you for your support of our Global Impact ministry! Our Saturday Serve Day was a great success with over 118 people participating (more info & photos below). We are grateful to Gaston Warner, CEO of Zoe North, for preaching a marvelous sermon on Sunday. And most importantly we are grateful for your commitment to our mission...
Outside the Box,
Outside the Box: Missionaries & Mission Field
Dear Fellow Ministers, I heard a lot of sermons from my Dad growing up, and a phrase I remember him saying over and over (I think he was quoting Corrie ten Boom) was, “You are either a missionary or a mission field.” He was reminding us that we either need to be sharing the Gospel or receiving it. And, like...
Outside the Box,
Uncategorized,
Getting “Outside the Box” with Global Impact Missions
Dear Fellow Ministers, We title this weekly communication “Outside The Box” because my primary call to Christ is to do all I can to get Him “out of the box” in which we so often place Christ. I continue to be inspired by MUMC as a church and the way you seek to offer the love of Christ outside of...
