Bothered: A Letter to West Franklin

Last updated on: August 14, 2021 at 7:11 am By Matt Pearson

West Franklin Family, Most of you know this. Every Monday afternoon on the Brentwood campus, all seven campus pastors meet together with Senior Pastor Mike Glenn. This week we discussed on-line church and the impact 2020/Covid-19 had on this phenomenon. In passing, Pastor Mike said, “Before, people decided on Saturday night whether or not they will attend church on Sunday morning. Now, because they have the option of watching on-line, people decide on Sunday morning when they wake up.” For... Read more

Always Something

Last updated on: August 10, 2021 at 8:33 am By Matt Pearson

The morning of May 19th I woke up to major water damage caused by an overflowing second floor toilet. One of the three Pearson teenagers was, um, let’s just say un-attentive. Repairs are still being made. Monday of last week I received a call from my wife that the second floor HVAC unit was out. Completely. A month ago, while getting a routine oil change, I learned the tires needed rotating . . . on both mine and Katie’s vehicle.... Read more

I Feel Safe: A Letter to West Franklin

Last updated on: August 7, 2021 at 5:28 am By Matt Pearson

West Franklin Family, Several of you heeded Dave Kruse’s encouragement to consider God’s goodness (based on his sermon last Sunday) and either turned in a card or sent in an email. They have been incredibly encouraging to read. In the middle of one of the emails sent in, these four sentences stuck out: “Since being back in church I feel safe in that pew on Sunday mornings and it’s become the one hour that I don’t have to be on.... Read more

Familiar

Last updated on: August 4, 2021 at 6:11 am By Matt Pearson

If we aren’t careful, we miss it. We become so familiar with the familiar that we miss the new thing happening. We fail to see, so we don’t look. John is careful to let his readers know Jesus wasn’t hiding from those seeking his arrest. Jesus went to the same garden area he and his disciples had gone for years. Judas knew he could find Jesus there. He always went there. It was familiar. It was normal. It was routine.... Read more

Vulnerable: A Letter to West Franklin

Last updated on: July 31, 2021 at 6:37 am By Matt Pearson

West Franklin Family, The Bible’s pretty clear: God’s children are to love one another. Not just say it. Actually do it. Love, as you well know, is a verb. Verbs mean action. I felt like I was able to actually, really, love one of you this week. It happened because this person was extremely vulnerable. This person let me see inside. This person put it all out on the table. Some of it was pretty. Some of it was due... Read more

Coffee and Cancer: A Letter to West Franklin

Last updated on: July 24, 2021 at 6:25 am By Matt Pearson

West Franklin Family, I love coffee. Always have. Ever since the day my dad’s dad poured this little boy a cup and let me add the sugar (as much as I wanted) I have never been the same. At first, I could care less what was in the cup. Folgers. Maxwell House. Taster’s Choice. Didn’t matter. As long as I could add sugar and milk – I was good. Later on I became a Starbucks snob. It was all I... Read more

Refusing to Let the Secondary Become Primary

Last updated on: July 21, 2021 at 7:52 am By Matt Pearson

One of the most hilarious verses in the entire Bible is John 12:10. Yeah. The religious guys were so threatened by the resurrected Lazarus that they made plans to kill him. They wanted him dead. . . again. I mean, really guys? You would think they could come up with something better than that. The man had already died once. Jesus – the real One they were threatened by – could just raise him up again, and get more followers!... Read more

It Takes a Village (Ahem, Church): A Letter to West Franklin

Last updated on: July 17, 2021 at 6:21 am By Matt Pearson

West Franklin Family, I have been known to poke fun of Arkansas, a state I lived and pastored in for nearly 10 years. It’s unfortunate. Though some of the stories and stereotypes are true, were it not for Arkansas. . . well, I don’t want to think about it. MUCH of who I am and who we are (as the Pearson family) is due to wonderful Arkansas influence. Sometime around 2008, God called Katie and I to adopt a child... Read more

25 Questions for Lazarus

Last updated on: July 16, 2021 at 6:07 am By Matt Pearson

We don’t know much about the man Lazarus. What we do know is he was a good friend of Jesus. He got very sick. He died. He was in a tomb for four days. Jesus raised him from the dead. He had dinner with Jesus post-resurrection. His new life caused a religious stir. But about the man himself? We don’t know much. I would love to know more details than what is in the biblical account. I know and believe... Read more

Two More Days

Last updated on: July 14, 2021 at 6:05 am By Matt Pearson

“Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.” (John 11:5-6) You probably know how the story ends. Jesus ended up raising Lazarus from the dead four days post-mortem. But does it strike you as odd that after hearing his friend was sick, Jesus stayed where he was two full days? And if that’s not weird enough, John tells us he stayed – refusing to go... Read more