by Matt Cook | Jan 13, 2021 | Best Practice, healthy congregation, healthy ministry
“Religion in our time has been captured by a tourist mindset.” (Eugene Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction). I love to travel. There are few things I enjoy more than picking somewhere to go, figuring out the most interesting places to experience,...
by Matt Cook | Dec 8, 2020 | Administration
What do NBC, Blockbuster, HBO, and Netflix have in common? That’s easy. They’re all entertainment companies, right?What do Tower Records, Napster, ITunes, and Spotify have in common? Also easy, they’re all music companies, right?You’re half right. Both lists are made...
by Matt Cook | Sep 21, 2020 | conflict
“I need to talk to you about what you said in your sermon yesterday.” I guess I should have expected it. It was in the days after violence had erupted in Charlottesville, Virginia. As a pastor I’d spoken about the events that had taken place and while my criticisms...
by Matt Cook | Aug 24, 2020 | finances
Fall is here. It may be ninety-five degrees here in Texas, but school is back in session and Labor Day is just a few days away. I know that every church doesn’t follow the same rhythms but in the last two churches I pastored, Labor Day to Christmas was my most...
by Matt Cook | Jul 13, 2020 | community, Uncategorized
I came across an interesting list a few months ago. It was a list of the richest animals in the world. Did you know that the richest animal in the world is a dog named Gunther IV. Gunther is worth about $373 million dollars give or take. He received his wealth from...