When it comes to searching for sermon illustrations, I am like water seeking the lowest point. I’m like a dog sniffing out its target. I’m like a college football fan in August, anticipating the first kickoff. This means I am constantly scouring the landscape for articles and research and podcasts and news and resources and documentaries, etc. that might help me understand and/or explain a Scriptural reality. That said, weekly I come across rich information I wish I could share with the congregation at ClearView. Thus, until further notice, I hope to share some of my findings with you here each Saturday. Perhaps you will find them as insightful and interesting as I do. Enjoy!

#1. Ever wondered how to balance the tension between fearing God and “do not be afraid”? It would do you soul well to ponder this from Winn Collier.

We’ll never have a language large enough to encompass this story, and so we just keep trying, keep attempting to name what we can not name. We keep pondering the face of God revealed in Jesus Christ. And there, held by the steely, tender gaze, we know in our bones that whatever this fear might be—we’ve discovered a deep and unyielding good, the very fount of love.

#2. Interesting thoughts on the faith of Dolly Parton (RIP).

Dolly Parton talked about God for 60 years and managed never to make it a dividing line. She said the way she came across was a choice.

“I look like a Jezebel,” she said on Khloé Kardashian’s podcast last year. “I want to feel like more people be drawn to that than if I came out like the Pentecostal women I grew up with. I really think that you can reach more people if you’re maybe on the edge, so to speak. I mean, if you look one way, but you’re another, it’s OK.”

It was the same instinct she described elsewhere in that conversation: she wanted God to work through her without anyone feeling preached at. “I go to that God core inside me,” she told The Christophers in a separate interview, one of the few times she got specific about what that meant day to day. Even her prayer life, she said, wasn’t formal. It was, in her words, “more a come-as-you-are.”

Parton died peacefully at her home in Nashville on Tuesday at 80. At her request the funeral will be small and private, and in lieu of flowers her family asked for donations to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

Her grandfather was a Pentecostal preacher, and she said the church she grew up in frightened her — “hellfire, brimstone,” which left her “so scared.” She said she found God on her own, as a girl, in an abandoned church building near her family’s house where people went to drink.

“It still had an old abandoned piano, and (it) had broken down. And this was where people go to drink, have sex, stuff written on the walls, but still had Bible verses and everything,” she said. “But I would go to that old church, and I felt the presence. I felt the presence there. And so it was in that old, abandoned church that I just praying to God the way that I — I was just saying, ‘Well, just show me, help me, save me, because I want to be ready.’ So it was then that I just had this peace fall over me, and I just felt like that I had, for the first time in my life, had truly found God.”

“It had to happen without fear and without influence and without anything else,” she said.

#3. One man’s opinion on why so many adult children blame their parents.

As parenting has become a verb, parents are spending more time with their children (whether staying at home or not) than previous generations ever did. It is not a stretch to speculate that today, an average working dad spends more active and intentional timewith their kids than a stay-at-home mom did in the 1950s. We are all more invested and present in our families. This is a wonderful thing. But why exactly are we so invested? Is it to love and help raise resilient children to the best of our ability, knowing we will fail them and they us? Or is it so that one day, we hope that they won’t blame us, like we blamed our parents?

#4. Years ago, I arrogantly and ignorantly (wrongly) assumed the Message translation of the Bible was, well, dumb. I was wrong. Bad wrong. This write up explains why. (And for what it’s worth, I highly recommend you read and soak Peterson’s translation.)

I use The Message all the time. Whenever I preach, I make a point to read it several times. And honestly, I don’t have many reservations about it. As I’ve argued above, The Message—like any translation—is ultimately an interpretation. But what sets it apart is its aim: it doesn’t just strive to make the Bible readable; it works to make it thoroughly understandable. While there are moments where I feel it stretches a bit too far, I still find it overwhelmingly helpful. In many ways, I think Peterson’s rendering captures the heart of what the New Testament letters were always meant to be. These weren’t messages delivered from the Holy of Holies—they were written in the cramped space of a prison cell or scribbled on the road from one town to the next. And The Message makes that human, gritty, pastoral tone come alive.

#5. This was, in a round about way, encouraging to read - especially after last week’s sermon.

While worship attendance will become more and more optional, small groups will become more and more of a priority. Belonging to a community where I am known and loved will become the one thing Gen X and the following generations will not compromise on or neglect. Remember, one of the most concerning issues of our time is loneliness. The one thing small groups do is give everyone a place to belong, a place where they are expected and friends who are looking out for them. In a world of broken families, groups recreate the family structures. The future of the church will once again be found around the kitchen table. Homes will be the new sanctuaries. As in the New Testament, we’ll identify ourselves as being part of the church in the house of Mike, Bob’s garage, or Elizabeth’s apartment. You get the picture.

Each week (usually Tuesday afternoon), I send out a letter to the congregation at ClearView Baptist Church. It’s a tiny way I hope to shepherd them during the week. Perhaps it might encourage, help, or challenge you as well.

ClearView Family,

It’s a long story, and the details don’t matter. But bear with me while I vent for a moment.

Recently, over the span of about 4 days, I had phone, text, and/or email interactions with the following offices:

• Enterprise Rental Car.

• Traveler’s Insurance.

• An Orthopedic Doctor’s Office.

• An MRI office in Spring Hill.

• An MRI office in Nashville.

• Walgreen’s.

• Blue Cross/Blues Shield of Tennessee.

• A Neurologist’s Office in Nashville.

• A Walk-In Clinic in Franklin.

• An Ultrasound Imaging Office in Nashville.

• An IT Department in North Carolina. . . and Brentwood. . . and then in North Carolina again. . . all for an issue in Franklin.

Most of these, if not all, required multiple conversations. In other words, not only did I have to interact with each of the above locations - but yours truly was also privileged to have more than one dialogue with every office. Perhaps you are used to such things. I am not. I may be accustomed to one or two interactions (at most!) in a week. But all of the above in a span of 4 days? No sir.

Again, the details aren’t important here. No, I wasn’t in a wreck. And, no, I am not dying. I would explain more here but trust me when I say it’s not important for the purposes of what I am aiming for in this letter. I am fine, physically. But I might just go a bit crazy mentally. Yes, crazier than I already am.

I get it. I do. Long gone are the days of a “one stop shop.” Everything is specialized. Everything has a focus. Everything has to be taken over by the institution. Everything has to be legal. Everything has to be referred to, cleared, examined, approved, scheduled, and sent to the proper people - again and again. Though no one wants to admit it, it all revolves around the almighty dollar. And as much as I hate it, I am not gonna change it. I hate the phrase “it is what it is.” But in this instance, I’m afraid, it is what it is. The system is the system.

But mercy goodness is it frustrating. It makes a preacher want to cuss. (I didn’t, mind you, but I thought about it.)

I’ve learned a lot about our health care system in recent days. I had tasted it before. I had heard from many of you about your own frustrations. But this 4-day span had me spinning. Hear me: I am grateful for health care and for the incredible doctors, nurses, specialists that help me/us all the time. Seriously. I am. And I know that the majority of those in this field work incredibly hard to mend hurting people. Praise God for them! Much, if not most, of the “systemic” problem is not their fault. They are in it for good, right, and compassionate reasons. Again, I am grateful.

But the run around, the chase, the phone calls, the call backs, the confusion between offices, the portals, the emails, the mixed messages - it all got me thinking.

How can we, as a church, make sure this kind of thing doesn’t happen to people when they experience us? If we can’t change the way the healthcare system works, what if the way ClearView operates became a welcome and restful and relaxing respite from the normal runaround we all get from every other place? What if, though they might not be able to name it, others who encountered us knew they were seen, listened to, cared for, followed up on, and directed in the way of Jesus by someone(s) who loved them?

I think that gets at my biggest frustration of my experiences last week. No one seemed to care about me. That feels selfish to type, but bear with me. Everyone was focused on their specialty, their orders, their regimen, their legal precautions, their bills, their reports, etc. Everyone focused on one area of my health/situation - not the whole person. There were different spots of attention - but no one was really considering the big picture. Parts of me felt seen and heard. But not all of me. Does that make sense?

What if we, as a church, took a different posture? A posture that refused to point, but to walk with? A posture that refused to drop and leave someone into the lap of another - but followed up to ensure they had everything they needed? To follow up later to see if they were getting the attention they desired? In other words, what if all of us took a posture of wanting to see and serve the entire person - as he or she is - not just a portion of them in order to get them through a religious system or program?

To be clear, I confess I don’t know exactly how this looks. It is something I will continue to process, consider, and (hopefully) implement. But what if one of the things that separated ClearView from the world was how we made it easy and pleasant and joyful to experience us as a congregation? To engage people as human beings made in the image of God and loved by God? To walk with them as unique people, rather than moving them along through a “plug and play” conveyor belt? What if we knew names and stories; histories and hopes; fears and follies? And what if we, taking it all into consideration, pushed one another along, lovingly, toward God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit?

I don’t know about you, but that feels refreshing to me. It also feels like something ClearView is primed and ready to bake into our DNA. Who knows? Maybe God has allowed the frustrating “systems” in the world to be so exhausting so that His church can offer a glorious and peace-filled contrast? Either way, I’m for it. I think we can be a place and people where, when others encounter us, they can take a deep breath and experience relief. After all, it’s what God continuously does for us in the Gospel.

For now, I’ll keep making the calls, send emails and texts, and do my best to keep medical professionals aware of what the other specialists told me. But when it comes to gathering with God’s people to worship - let’s work to keep it simple, smooth, peaceful, joyful, and a relief from the weekly rat race. Who’s with me?

I’ll see you tomorrow night (Wednesday) at 6:30 pm in Building A. We will be looking at the second part of the new member class (“Become”). We’ll spend time considering how God wired us and what that means for the church and the world. And, God willing, I will see you Sunday morning with my Bible open to Romans 12:1-7. We’ll continue looking at how we strategically walk with Jesus, with others.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have another phone call to return for an appointment I have coming up (sigh).

Wanting to Keep it Simple,

Pastor Matt

When it comes to searching for sermon illustrations, I am like water seeking the lowest point. I’m like a dog sniffing out its target. I’m like a college football fan in August, anticipating the first kickoff. This means I am constantly scouring the landscape for articles and research and podcasts and news and resources and documentaries, etc. that might help me understand and/or explain a Scriptural reality. That said, weekly I come across rich information I wish I could share with the congregation at ClearView. Thus, until further notice, I hope to share some of my findings with you here each Saturday. Perhaps you will find them as insightful and interesting as I do. Enjoy!

#1. Some “Left-Field” thoughts on preaching and pastoring.

I used to think the point of the sermon was, first, an intellectual one: to educate the hearers on the meaning of the entire passage. Then, the second point was a moral one: exhort them to adopt that understanding and its corresponding behavior. I (wrongly) thought that understanding more and more Bible would make people better Christians. (I should have listened to Jesus: “You study the scriptures because you think in them you will have eternal life …” Jn 5:9). Paul taught me that the point of the sermon is for the hearer to feel seen, as he or she is, and forgiven in the name of Christ. The sermon’s point is to shine the light of God’s love into the darkest place of the individual human life.

#2. An interesting take on the (non) use of AI.

With the rise of AI, most people feel compelled to ask: How should I be using it? But this question assumes too much. We should instead be asking: Am I free not to?

The answer is simple: Yes, you are. If you would rather not use AI — if you don’t like it, if you don’t find it useful, if you just aren’t interested in adding it to your digital toolkit — then you are allowed to opt out. There is no imperative to use it. Whatever the eventual costs, it remains perfectly reasonable to hold off for now, perhaps forever.

If this sounds like heresy, that’s because it is. The line we’re being fed, week by week, day by day, is that generative artificial intelligence is comprehensive, transformative, and irresistible. It will touch every aspect of our lives, reshaping them from the inside out. Best, then, to hop on board the train now instead of waiting until it’s too late. God forbid you be left behind.

#3. And speaking of AI, this essay also got my brain wheels churning.

Evangelicals are unlikely to reach a consensus any time soon on the theological issues outlined above. But both pro-AI evangelicals and AI-critical evangelicals (like the editors of TGC as well as this website) should be able to recognize that the source of truth was Himself embodied.

Embodiment is a profound antidote to the AI mind virus: the meaning of the Incarnation is that God is not an inaccessible, contextless Truth but the Logos made flesh who made his dwelling among us. Knowledge of Jesus Christ different from information about Jesus. Information is disembodied knowledge, rendered into the binary language of computer code, it can be transmitted from one form to another. Knowledge is embodied, experienced, and deeply entangled with what it means to be human. Knowing Christ means a relationship with Him.

The father teaching his son to ride a bicycle rather than telling him to watch YouTube tutorials, or the pastor who takes the time to help a parishioner think through a difficult moral dilemma, are practicing the transmission of embodied knowledge within the context of a human relationship. No AI program – even one trained on a pastor’s own sermons – can replicate this because it can only transmit information; not being human, it can never give knowledge.

#4. Fascinating research and thoughts on the meaning(s) behind obituaries.

Taken separately, obits constitute an individual’s legacy. In aggregate, they can capture the social and cultural currency of an era. Which people are worth remembering? Which values are worth celebrating? How do we measure success and failure, good and evil, achievement and defeat, social rank and professional standing? How many of the one hundred thousand people now immortalized in the periodically printed historical compilation Who Was Who were deemed worthy of obituaries at the time of their death? How many of the more than 33,000 contemporary notables included in the latest editions of Who’s Who will get obituaries when they die? …

Obituaries are a reminder that when you die, someone else gets the last word on your legacy—or, at least, the first of the last words. And for all the beloved and respected and cherished and valued that punctuate paid obituaries, don’t forget that families can try to perpetuate irreverent descriptions unilaterally to settle scores when one is no longer in a position to retaliate or respond.

#5. Since I am preaching on the importance of small groups this Sunday at ClearView, I was drawn to this piece about, well, small groups.

My friend Hunter Sprague runs a business where he coaches Christian men towards sustainable physical health. He has shown me that physical activity can lead to physical health, but you need a community, a coach, a group of people that know you and love you and walk with you for a lifetime. Otherwise, the plan lacks power.

I think our small group model is like that, too. We have the right “solution,” but we lack the relational depth and consistency that actually produces transformation. Information isn’t the issue. Proximity is. People don’t change because they attend something—they change when they are known, challenged, and walked with over time.

Each week (usually Tuesday afternoon), I send out a letter to the congregation at ClearView Baptist Church. It’s a tiny way I hope to shepherd them during the week. Perhaps it might encourage, help, or challenge you as well.

ClearView Family,

Have you ever wondered if God was disappointed with your intentions when you pray? Or, have you ever thought that maybe God didn’t answer your prayers because your motives were off? Or perhaps you have stressed that maybe, because you didn’t have enough faith, God was not hearing you?

Me too.

I read something recently in Acts 12 that brought me both relief and hope. Maybe it will for you too.

In that chapter, Peter is arrested by King Herod and thrown into prison. We are told in verse 5 that “the church was earnestly praying to God for him.” We can assume, with very high certainty, that one of the prayers they prayed was for his release from prison. Similarly, we read in verse 12 that believers gathered at Mary’s (John Mark’s mom) home to continue praying for Peter. Again, it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to deduce that one of the prayers they prayed was for Peter to be set free from Herod’s jail.

So that’s twice, in a span of 8 verses, where we are told the early church prayed for Peter while he was in prison. Not the most shocking thing, I know. But hang on. . .

The shocking thing happens when Luke (the author of Acts) tells us how these believers responded when Peter shows up at their prayer gathering having been miraculously set free from prison. Luke writes that when Peter walked into their meeting, “they were astonished” (v. 16). In other words, they were pleasantly surprised. Overwhelmed. They couldn’t believe it. Shocked.

Do you see what this means? It means they were not expecting Peter to be released from prison! They prayed it. They asked God for it. But when it happened - they were astonished. Surprised. Overwhelmed. In awe. It means they were hoping for Peter’s release but weren’t actually anticipating it.

This is really good news. God’s response to my prayers is not based on me having everything “right” when I pray. God doesn’t ignore me or turn off His hearing aids until I work up enough faith. My mind and heart can be a big bag of mixed motives and intentions and yet He hears me. In fact, if I were to guess, my mind and heart are ALWAYS a mixed bag of motives and intentions. If I waited until I had enough faith or until my mind was pure or my heart was undivided, I would never pray. Gratefully, God doesn’t get in a wad over all of that. He’s just glad we are talking to Him and will answer our prayers in His way and in His time - for our good and for His glory.

We are told the early church was diligently praying for Peter. The fact that they were astonished when he walked into their meeting lets us know that not everyone there fully believed that what they were praying for would actually happen. And yet God heard and answered their prayers anyway. That, ClearView, is great news. When one of my kids calls me on the phone, I don’t check to see what their motives or intentions are. I don’t do a heart check before we can have a conversation. I am just thrilled they call me. It’s a joy to hear their voice. I have hunch God is a lot like that. Let’s not let the enemy fill our heads with lies that our posture must be perfect for God to hear us. He’s not worried about your posture. He just wants to be with you in conversation. Hallelujah.

I’ll see you tomorrow night at 6:30 pm in Building A for a meal together. And this Sunday, my Bible will be open to Acts 2:42-47. We will look at the second piece of our strategy of how we walk with Jesus, with others: Small groups. I can’t wait.

Relieved the Early Church was Astonished,

Pastor Matt

When it comes to searching for sermon illustrations, I am like water seeking the lowest point. I’m like a dog sniffing out its target. I’m like a college football fan in August, anticipating the first kickoff. This means I am constantly scouring the landscape for articles and research and podcasts and news and resources and documentaries, etc. that might help me understand and/or explain a Scriptural reality. That said, weekly I come across rich information I wish I could share with the congregation at ClearView. Thus, until further notice, I hope to share some of my findings with you here each Saturday. Perhaps you will find them as insightful and interesting as I do. Enjoy!

#1. 1000% YES. Grace IS the strategy.

For me, a strategy of rebuilding begins with a personal religious conviction. It is the conviction of God’s grace. This conviction says that the bottom line of human existence is the grace of God, or God’s unconditional love for humanity on the basis of the Cross. This conviction says that the warpedness of human experience lies in some form or another of judgment, perceived and actual; that the root of human anxiety is fear of rejection; and that God on the Cross has absorbed, on our behalf, the absolute totality of all our rejections and feelings of rejection. So you and I are free from demand. Such freedom from demand is the essence of grace-full living.

#2. 1000% YES. (again) Don’t leave your church when it gets awkward.

Being part of a local church is a gift from God that should be cherished but only as far as one can appreciate that it’s merely a place where one’s idealism goes to die. Subject yourself to “community” only if you’re up for finding out that being in fellowship with other members of the Body of Christ is actually pretty disappointing. Things are never the way you want them to be. Of course some churches will advertise that they actually have everything you’ve been looking for: good music, practical teaching, fun for the whole family, praise the Lord LOL.

#3. Read this one at your own risk. Oh my. (1000% YES x3????) A case for less Bible studies.

If you listen long enough in church hallways, elder meetings, and small groups, you’ll hear the same kind of talk: “We need more Bible study.” “We should have more prayer gatherings.” “Our people need deeper spiritual lives.”

On the surface, it sounds right. Who’s going to argue against Scripture and prayer?

But here’s the uncomfortable question beneath that familiar language: What if the way we talk about “spiritual things” is actually making us less present to the people and places God has already given us? What if many of us don’t need another study or another program, but fewer church activities and more unhurried dinners with our families, more Saturdays serving our neighbors, more honest attention to the exhausted person in our pew?

#4. I am constantly running into people who are very lonely. This reflection and challenge might help a bit.

We all want that kind of friend.

But here’s the tension most people carry quietly:

“I don’t know if I actually have that person.”

Or maybe even deeper:

“I don’t know if I’ve ever had that person.”

We’ve got acquaintances.
We’ve got group chats.
We’ve got people we laugh with on Sundays.

But when life gets quiet, or heavy, or confusing.

It can feel like you’re walking through it alone.

And if we’re honest, that loneliness hits harder when you’re the one who is usually strong for everyone else.

You’re the encourager.
The helper.
The one people call.

But who do you call?

#5. Put this one in the “YIKES” and/or “God helps us!” column.

A.I. has become a kind of social sealant, filling the gaps in young people’s relationships: coaching men to plan dates that outromance their rivals, supplying words of condolence our friends couldn’t quite find. Lately, it’s stopped being so invisible. “So my A.I. told me …” is now a casual part of my friends’ conversations. One friend texted me after he had come home from a good date, for once, elated and desperate to share it with someone. With his roommates asleep, he primed his chatbot: “Be my flatmate after I’ve just come home from this date.” I quickly texted back, so he spoke to me. But if I hadn’t, that conversation would have strengthened his connection to Claude instead, at our friendship’s expense.

Each week (usually Tuesday afternoon), I send out a letter to the congregation at ClearView Baptist Church. It’s a tiny way I hope to shepherd them during the week. Perhaps it might encourage, help, or challenge you as well.

ClearView Family,

When we had the joy of bringing our daughter home in 2012, it was a major adjustment - especially for her. She was four years old. She had only known Ethiopia. Overnight Birti had two older brothers, a nice house with her own room in El Dorado, Arkansas, a beautiful mom, and a weird Baptist pastor dad. It took a little while, but she finally began living from her new reality. I remember longing for her to know that things were different for her and she could enjoy - fully - what she now had access to. In other words, I didn’t want her to live and act and think in our family as if she were back in Ethiopia. I wanted her to live as if she was a full-fledged Pearson. . . because she was. Over time, hallelujah, she did.

Many of you have heard me talk about our family dog, Eddie. He came into our lives around 8 years ago at Christmas. We have no idea what Eddie had experienced before we met him. He was close to a year old when we brought him home. Though we don’t know where he had come from, it was obvious trauma had been part of his brief history. The details don’t really matter - but let’s just say it took some time for him to realize he wasn’t going to be aggressively punished for a mild disobedience. He was part of a new family, new owners. He didn’t know it right off the bat, but he hit the dog-loving-owner jackpot. Katie Pearson loves and treats dogs better than humans. (That used to bother me, by the way. But not anymore. Eddie brings her so much joy - it makes me smile to see her with him.) Yessir. It took a little while, but over time Eddie realized he was safe, loved, cared for, and would be well fed twice a day (and from the table occasionally). He also learned quickly that if he nestled on his back, a belly rub was forthcoming. It took him a minute, but Eddie learned to live from his new reality. The old had gone, the new had come.

ClearView, you aren’t from Ethiopia and you aren’t a dog. But since COVID, you have experienced your own season of trauma, of difficulty, of scarcity, of fear. Again, the details don’t really matter here - but there were years of pain, heartache, disappointment, anger, and concern if survival was possible. Similar to Birti and Eddie - I wasn’t there during that season. But from what you’ve shared, it was awful. You’ve shown me the scars.

Now I want you to hear me: It’s over. That season is gone. It is not part of your present reality. ClearView - you don’t have to live as if its 2024 any longer. As you heard Sunday, and as many of you experienced it when it happened, God spoke resurrection life to ClearView in the Spring of 2025. As Jesus did to Lazarus, He walked up to the deadness and spoke life. Lazarus didn’t stay in the tomb with his grave clothes on. Nope. He lived out his new resurrected reality. This is what you are released to do as well. It’s past time to leave that season with the grave clothes crumpled up in the tomb, and move on with the new life God has granted us.

God had to remind Israel they weren’t in Egypt anymore. Barnabas had to encourage the disciples to trust a Spirit-born Saul. The newly resurrected Jesus had to help Peter grasp his new position in the kingdom. Paul wrote letter after letter to urge the Church to live out their new reality. It’s human tendency to be timid and shy. We all want to protect ourselves from getting hurt. But ClearView - when it comes to whether or not our church is going to be okay - that is no longer an issue. We’re okay. And we’re okay because God made it so. If ClearView was going to die, it would have died. But the One who came out of the tomb spoke resurrection life over us. When He speaks, things happen. THAT is our new reality. THAT is what we get to live into. We must not waste it.  

You’re free to boast about your church. To boast in the fact that God brought resurrection and we have new life!

You’re free to brag about your church. To brag on the God who saw us, loved us, and miraculously revived us!

You’re free to gather on Sundays with anticipation and excitement and expectation!

You’re free to live in continual hope that what God is up to at ClearView is and will be far better than we ever ask, imagine or think.

We walk with Jesus, with others. And we get to do that with new life that God Himself has given us. Hallelujah.

I’ll see you tomorrow night (Wednesday) at 6:30 pm in Building A. You all will be the first to walk through the new member course (“Let’s Be Clear about Membership”). I am super excited about it. And, God willing, I will see you Sunday morning with my Bible open to Hebrews 10:19-25. We’ll look at how we will practically walk with Jesus, with others. I can’t wait.

Living Out Our New Reality,

Pastor Matt

When it comes to searching for sermon illustrations, I am like water seeking the lowest point. I’m like a dog sniffing out its target. I’m like a college football fan in August, anticipating the first kickoff. This means I am constantly scouring the landscape for articles and research and podcasts and news and resources and documentaries, etc. that might help me understand and/or explain a Scriptural reality. That said, weekly I come across rich information I wish I could share with the congregation at ClearView. Thus, until further notice, I hope to share some of my findings with you here each Saturday. Perhaps you will find them as insightful and interesting as I do. Enjoy!

#1. Holy moly, what a warning about staring inward at ourselves (yes, self-facing phone cameras included!).

It’s curious, especially given how little we looked at ourselves in the past, and how rare and imperfect mirrors were for thousands of years, that traditional wisdom teaches us to be wary of the act of regarding the self. The three major American faiths — the Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam — all warn against the dangers of mirrors, vanity, pride and excessive concern with the self. […]

The message is clear: Self-obsession is spiritually dangerous, and we need to keep our guard up. In all three faiths, the mirror is a poor, incomplete way of seeing. It is covered, dark and smudged. It does not reveal God, truth or even ourselves as we are. It is only through private contemplation, face-to-face encounters and an inner spiritual transformation that we come to know truth…

Today, we treat our own image — both in the mirror and online — as something psychologically protective: a way of stabilizing our identity, managing our reputations and securing a coherent sense of self.

But all of this suggests the opposite possibility: The more we try to stabilize ourselves through repetition, doubling, self-observation and — I’ll say it — posting to the grid, the more uncanny and fragile we become. A preoccupation with the stable self produces instability. These days, we don’t approach our doubles with caution; we invite them, and go so far as to curate them…

When we look solely at ourselves, we fail to encounter anything that resists us; there are no contradictions, no interruptions. We need the honest gaze: the gaze of others and the gaze toward others. To see ourselves clearly, we don’t use mirrors. We use relationships.

#2. Brenna Blain with a STRONG word about legalism and our dangerous tendency towards it.

From Genesis onward, Satan’s strategy has never been simply to tempt humanity toward obvious evil. He also distorts God’s voice. In Eden he questioned God’s Word. Throughout Israel’s history he tempted God’s people toward idolatry and self-righteousness alike. During Jesus’ earthly ministry, the fiercest rebukes were not reserved for immoral pagans but for religious leaders who had elevated human traditions to the authority of God’s commands.

The demonic nature of legalism is not found in its strictness but in its source. It speaks where God has not spoken.

#3. I have often wondered about the downside of being able to track my children. It’s something I have thought a lot about. Now that they are entering adulthood, I wonder if I shouldn’t have “released” them a long time ago? This piece offers much to consider.

Parents once understood their own occasional absence from their kids’ lives as normal. Many now consider their presence normal and expected. If parents habitually track their children’s locations, attend every game and recital, and are always available by text, the experience of not knowing what’s happening with their kid can feel like a problem to be solved. “When you know what your child is doing every second of the day,” Michael Marcus said, “when they disappear, I truly believe that there’s a void that goes on in parents that is very hard for them to deal with.”

Anxious interventions by parents don’t simply alter camp. They can alter children’s belief in their own capabilities. Corley told me that kids arriving at her camp are sometimes overwhelmed by simple challenges. “If you’ve never had to solve the problem,” she said, “you don’t even know the question you’re supposed to be asking.” Many also seem ill-equipped to manage their feelings, because they haven’t practiced this skill without parental oversight. “Parents are helping to do that,” she said. “I would say maybe they are doing it rather than helping. They’re regulating the emotions of the kids.”

#4. For anyone struggling to focus, or looking for a timeless practice to direct your thoughts Godward.

The Daily Examen is my go-to remedy for that disorientation. I follow the 5-step process below that I have now memorized (this is so important), and can scale it from being a 1 minute exercise to being a 15 minute exercise.

It is a portable liturgy, a reorienting rhythm, that I do it in my bed as I drift off to sleep, wake in the morning, drive in my truck, and walk in my office in between projects and emails.

I carry it in my heart with me on airplanes, into meetings, and on walks.

It is renewing in times of rest, stabilizing in times of crisis, and focusing in times of ministry.

While I first learned the Daily Examen during my Masters studies at St. Stephen’s University, it has only been in the last 3 years that I began to use it sporadically. Then, in the last 6 months, it has literally become a spiritual lifeline.

#5. I feel vindicated. It’s actually good for me to purchase more books than I could ever find time to read (grin).

This hunger for ever more books can annoy tidy spouses. But Spear insists the anticipated pleasure of a book hoard is good for us.

When we see it, we imagine ourselves reading the books one day, and “the hippocampus begins to assemble that future experience,” she writes. “It binds together fragments of previous experiences stored across the brain — the warmth of sunshine, the smell of coffee, the sound of turning pages, the comfort of your favorite chair — into a coherent mental scene. In effect, the brain uses memories of the past to rehearse pleasures that have yet to happen.”

Psychologists have shown this sort of anticipatory pleasure is a big contributor to well-being. (It’s also why planning a vacation is a huge portion of the pleasure you get out of it.)

“Unread books are future rewards,” Spear concludes. “Tsundoku may reflect one of the brain’s most remarkable abilities: the capacity to derive genuine pleasure from experiences that have not yet happened.”

Each week (usually Tuesday afternoon), I send out a letter to the congregation at ClearView Baptist Church. It’s a tiny way I hope to shepherd them during the week. Perhaps it might encourage, help, or challenge you as well.

ClearView Family,

As many of you know, last week the Pearson five went out West to enjoy God’s creation. We mainly explored the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. Breathtaking. Everywhere you look - stunning beauty. We stayed in Driggs, Idaho in an Airbnb. Our first night, we walked the exterior of the house taking in the incredible sunset. At the back of the property, we found a hand pump that appeared to be connected to a well for water. Luke, our 21-year-old, made his way to the pump, gripped the handle, and gave it a solid press. I wish you could have been there. After a single grip and push of the handle, an immediate, massive, and strong stream of water gushed from the spout. I don’t know what any of us were expecting, but I can assure you that no one thought the amount and strength of the water would be that intense. Think fire hydrant strength. Actually, that’s too weak. The water that came up from the well and out from the pipe was some of the strongest and extreme water pressure I have ever witnessed. It flooded out, quickly saturating the ground. A deluge. A torrent. An onslaught of water.

It made me think of what’s coming at ClearView. What I witnessed gush out of the well is what I imagine it will feel like this Fall at our church. Not with water, per se, but with identity. With mission. Strategy. Values. Who we are. What we are about. How we’re gonna get it done. Beginning this Sunday, through the next few months, ClearView is going to be inundated with level-setting, foundation-laying, identity-securing, mission-setting directives. Like water from a spout in Driggs, Idaho.

We will begin with our identity/mission (“We walk with Jesus, with others.”). We will continue by unpacking our strategy (everyone in corporate worship, in a group, and exercising their spiritual gift). Next, we will take a look at what makes ClearView unique (our values). Lord willing, we will take a Sunday or two to dream a bit about what our church might look like when these things happen. Finally, during our annual mission’s month (November), we will identify where and how we will place our energy for anticipated Gospel impact.

Why now? It’s time. I’ve been your pastor for nearly a year. I started studying this remarkable congregation when Jeff Pinson first gave me a call (April 2025). I still have lots to learn, to be sure. But I have learned a TON. One thing I know to be true - it’s time for ClearView to be sure of who she is and confident of what we are about. It’s time to be CLEAR about why we believe the Father has both placed and kept us here.

Why several months of this? Because I believe it is critical that we all be informed, on the same page, and excited. To my knowledge, in the history of our church, there has never been a better time for ClearView to reset and be abundantly clear about who we are and what we are about. It is imperative that we go slow, take our time, and ensure we all grasp - together - our present situation and future hopes. This Fall will not be the norm for Sunday mornings. As you know, the normal diet of Sunday sermons are messages that expose the intent of the Scriptures so we can more fully worship God. And, this will always (as long as I am your pastor) be the normal, steady diet on Sunday mornings. But this Fall will look and feel a bit different. Yes, we will read, study, and apply Scripture. Everything we do and say will come from pages of the Bible. But the focus the next few months will be communicating who we are as a congregation and what we will be about as a church in Franklin, TN. Again, I believe it is critical that we take time - together - to get and be on the same page as a body of believers.

I will speak more to this in Thursday’s church-wide email (sign up for the newsletter on our website), but the deluge of mission/identity/strategy/etc. will continue on Wednesday nights. For now, I strongly encourage you to mark your calendars and make it a priority to be present for each Sunday morning this Fall and Wednesday evening’s at 6:30 pm. In other words, this Fall will be a very important season for ClearView.

I am eager to gather with you tomorrow night in the chapel at 6:30 pm for our First Wednesday time of prayer. We will sing together, pray together, and witness a baptism together. I can’t wait. And I will see you Sunday morning with my Bible open to Mark 1:9-18.

ClearView - We Walk with Jesus, with Others.

Bracing for the Gush,

Pastor Matt

When it comes to searching for sermon illustrations, I am like water seeking the lowest point. I’m like a dog sniffing out its target. I’m like a college football fan in August, anticipating the first kickoff. This means I am constantly scouring the landscape for articles and research and podcasts and news and resources and documentaries, etc. that might help me understand and/or explain a Scriptural reality. That said, weekly I come across rich information I wish I could share with the congregation at ClearView. Thus, until further notice, I hope to share some of my findings with you here each Saturday. Perhaps you will find them as insightful and interesting as I do. Enjoy!

#1. I had this story in my back pocket for the sermon series on David and being formed. It never made it. However, some people believe eating the actual pages from their Bible is a way God forms them. Sigh.

“You’re not going to believe what I’m about to do, but it happened 15 years ago in Brazil,” Leal said as he ripped out a page from the teen’s Bible and handed it to Ethan. “Eat it. When you eat this, the power of God is going to go inside of you.”

#2. I guess the Apostle Paul is not the only human who struggled doing things he didn’t want to do. It is, indeed, the tension inside every human.

It’s possible, through sheer effort, to summon cheerfulness but not happiness; piety but not faith; seduction but not love; productivity but not genius. I know from experience that it’s impossible to will oneself out of an addiction. And I know that you cannot force yourself into faith, no matter how hard you pray or starve or grit your teeth. I want very much to live a good and virtuous life, without alcohol and drugs, which have made me miserable. And I still long to believe in God, despite the resounding silence that suggests that He does not exist, or is not interested in us, or in me specifically. But my actions suggest that part of me does not actually want these things — or that I want them only provisionally, or part of the time. My will is scattered, directed toward many contradictory things, and easily distracted. […]

This is why willpower does not work when it comes to our most persistent faults: the will is both the problem and the solution to the problem, and to fight will with will is to end up even more entangled. It’s a dilemma, it’s worth noting, that is unique to our species. All animals have desires, but we are, as of yet, the only form of intelligence that is capable of wanting different desires, and I sometimes think that it’s in these struggles against ourselves that we are most stubbornly human.

A.

#3. If I ever - EVER - do this, please fire me immediately and get me to a hospital. Lord Jesus, have mercy.

(Pastor) Lester cloned his voice and trained his digital twin using almost two million words of his sermons, podcasts, books, text messages and emails. For the last several months, it had been publicly available on his website and Facebook page for online chats or phone calls. It had learned to mimic his bent toward optimism, his obsession with the Green Bay Packers and his casual slang, but it did more than just regurgitate what he had already said. It mapped his thinking onto new conversations to provide advice around the clock for people he’d never met who had questions he’d never been asked.#5. I continue to be both intrigued and excited about the number of, and potential for grandparents to intentionally make a difference in the next generation.

#4. After a week with my college-aged children, I (fearfully) resonate with this piece and regret that it seems to be true. Again - Jesus, help us.

But even that fails to explain why a subset of America’s youth perceive success not just as out of their control but set at an unrealistically high standard. For that, I have one possible culprit: Gen Z’s all-encompassing influencer culture. Another metric Nietfeld cites, that around 57 percent of Gen Zers would be influencers if they could, is a telling one. What are influencers, after all, other than performers of success? Influencers design their lives around how they want to be perceived by others, building an authenticity only insofar as it photographs well and is capable of funding their continued stagecraft.

Influencers: the coolest, prettiest, fittest, and smartest peers across the country and world—peers who are often sponsored or paid for their one-dimensional pursuits and who almost certainly shouldn’t be considered peers at all. When your eyes are constantly pasted to a never-ending queue of people who structure their lives not to pursue actual satisfaction but instead to present an image of what they believe satisfaction looks like, you’re bound to end up with an unrealistic understanding of what you should expect from life. And that doesn’t end at wealth alone. Online, you’re faced with people who have dedicated their lives to perfecting one aspect of a good life: the perfect set of abs, an impressive half-marathon time, the most adventurous vacations, the most devout adherence to a religion or creed. Taken together, they offer an image of success that no one person could ever realistically achieve. And if that’s what success looks like, why strive for it at all?

For this, America’s youth deserve empathy, not derision.

#5. I continue to be intrigued and excited about the number of, and kingdom potential grandparents have - for their own, and others’ grandchildren.

Each week (usually Tuesday afternoon), I send out a letter to the congregation at ClearView Baptist Church. It’s a tiny way I hope to shepherd them during the week. Perhaps it might encourage, help, or challenge you as well.

ClearView Family,

Last Thursday, two instances happened within 30 minutes of each other that got my mind and heart stirring. Let me share them with you.

First, I was coming out of the Cool Springs Kroger off Mallory Lane. I was putting groceries in the passenger side of my truck. A young male voice behind me yelled, “Excuse me, sir. Can you tell me what Teriyaki Madness is?” I was caught off guard. One, I wasn’t expecting a stranger to try to get my attention. Two, I had not anticipated being asked about a restaurant I had yet to try. I knew Teriyaki Madness was in the same vicinity as the Kroger parking lot I was in. But I had yet to experience the “madness.” I stumbled with my words. I hesitated. I think I got out of my lips the fact that it is an Asian type of place. I was trying to think of Panda Express as a comparison but couldn’t. Needless to say, I was having a difficult time. I had never “tasted and seen” the food at Teriyaki Madness. It was only a few seconds, but my wrestling with words felt like an eternity. The young man was unfazed and obviously in a hurry. I think he wished he had interrupted another human. In the midst of my jumbling he said, “Is it over there by Jersey Mike’s?” Oops. That’s when it hit me. This fella did not ask me what Teriyaki Madness was. He wanted to know where Teriyaki Madness was located. He was a delivery driver needing the location. I misheard his question. When I nodded my head in the affirmative, he sped off to pick up the Kung Pow chicken.

About a half hour later, I got out of my truck to walk toward a restaurant for lunch (not Teriyaki Madness). I parked a significant distance away, so my walk was a good five minutes. While walking, I heard a high school band rehearsing. Band camp. Drums. Horns. A tuba or two. The click from the metronome keeping the beat. Literally and figuratively - music to my ears. Somewhere off in the distance - I think it was Centennial High School’s band - were a group of kids getting ready for - wait for it - Fall football. Glory be to God. The calendar still says summer. But my ears were telling me Fall’s coming.

Two instances within a half hour of the other. One, me tongue-tied trying to describe a place in which I had never been. Two, high schoolers off in the distance getting me excited for Fall.

I know what you’re thinking. “Hey Pastor Matt - that’s great. But what in the world does this have to do with anything? I’m this far in your weekly letter. I’m glad you were able to experience these things. Good for you. But what’s the point?” I’m glad you asked.

Fall is coming. By the time you get next week’s letter from me, the calendar will have turned to August. Fall 2026 at ClearView is going to be incredible. Exciting. Centering. Foundation-setting. We are going to talk a lot about who we are, what we will be about, and how we are going to go about it. We will take a good hard look at where God has us as His people here in Franklin, what Franklin looks like, what Franklin needs, and how God has uniquely designed our congregation to share and show the reality and love of Jesus. The high school band I heard on Thursday reminded me that Fall is coming. I can’t wait.

That being said, when we are given the opportunity to talk about the glory and beauty of Jesus - I don’t want us stumbling around, looking for words. When someone in our city sees us, observes us, is ministered to by us, and they say, “Excuse me sir/ma’am, can you tell me about this Jesus?” - I don’t want us to try to describe Someone we don’t know. I was unable to communicate to the young man in the Kroger parking lot because I had never experienced Teriyaki Madness. I was clueless and, thus, tripping over my own tongue. Had he asked me about Chuy’s? Different story. I could have described almost every item on the menu with passion and specific detail. I am intimately familiar with Chuy’s. Probably too familiar. Pray for me. My point is that I want us to be intimately familiar with Jesus. We are a people who walk with Jesus, with others. If this is who we are, and who we are becoming, we will always be able to talk about Him and what He is doing in and around our lives. When we walk closely with Jesus, we will always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks us about our hope.

Fall’s coming. Let’s walk with Jesus.

I’ll see you Sunday with my Bible open to Ephesians 2:1-10. We get to hear a sermon from our new Groups and Connections Pastor, David Burdeshaw. Can’t wait.

Craving Kung Pow Chicken (and Chuy’s),

Pastor Matt

When it comes to searching for sermon illustrations, I am like water seeking the lowest point. I’m like a dog sniffing out its target. I’m like a college football fan in August, anticipating the first kickoff. This means I am constantly scouring the landscape for articles and research and podcasts and news and resources and documentaries, etc. that might help me understand and/or explain a Scriptural reality. That said, weekly I come across rich information I wish I could share with the congregation at ClearView. Thus, until further notice, I hope to share some of my findings with you here each Saturday. Perhaps you will find them as insightful and interesting as I do. Enjoy!

#1. By far, one of the best pieces of writing I have read in a long, long time. Challenging. Hopeful. Centering. Thank you, and bless you, Winn Collier.

For Eugene, being a pastor was unflinchingly about God (and he lamented how this 2+2=4 truth needed to be reclaimed). The pastor’s essential job—above every other responsibility—was to stand amid this beleaguered, beautiful world and point one direction, say this one word: God. This is why the Christian act of worship was essential. More than our profuse words, we need to hear God speak. More than our presumptions or agendas or save-the-world visions, we need God’s way and wisdom. This is why with Eugene there was so much silence, why he was slow to give opinions, why he envisioned a church out of sync with prevailing ideals. Eugene, in the sacred chamber of his soul, was continually moving deeper and further into God’s wide, expansive reality. He was attuned to a different frequency.

#2. The World Cup is over, but this piece on Lionel Messi and his strategy is intriguing. If you think about it, it’s something we could apply to almost every area of life.

Lionel Messi has scored in every minute of a soccer match—except for the very first. At the beginning of a game, he’s usually just walking around. He’s looking.

#3. I’m not a huge fan of our dog Eddie climbing onto the bed in the middle of the night. But this reflection got to me a little bit.

A dog’s choice to press her spine against your leg is not a passive act. It is a decision. In the wild, sleep is the most dangerous part of an animal’s existence. It is the moment when you are completely vulnerable. When your senses dim. When the world can creep up on you. So why would a creature with excellent hearing, a creature that can smell a drop of sweat from across a room, voluntarily surrender that vigilance just to cuddle?

She doesn’t. She surrenders nothing. She simply merges her vigilance with yours.

When your dog sleeps next to you, she is entering a state of shared awareness. Her brain does not fully shut off. Her ears are still scanning. Her nose is still reading the air currents that drift through the cracked window. But she does this from a place of deep trust. She believes that your breathing, your heartbeat, and your scent are the baseline signals of safety. You are the home base. And from that base, she can rest and protect at the same time.

#4. This feels very true and poignant, especially since the Pearson 5 are headed on vacation this Monday.

There is nothing more entitled than complaining while in luxury, but it points to a profound and enduring facet of the human condition. There is no situation too beautiful, no circumstance too idyllic, that we are not capable of completely lashing up. Writers and poets have reflected on this often…G. K. Chesterton, when asked to answer the question ‘What’s wrong with the world?’, responded, ‘Dear Sirs, I am. Yours faithfully, G. K. C.’ Even Horace, writing in the Roman Republic had a thing or two to say about getaways: they change their skies but not their minds, those who rush across the sea. We can take a break from work, it seems, but we can’t take a break from ourselves. Wherever we go, there we are.

If there is trouble in paradise, that trouble is us. No flight is long enough to outrun it. No ABTA protection can insure against it. The story of our world, from a Christian perspective, starts in paradise but runs downhill faster than a French quadricycle…

…But there is hope in the garden. As soon as the apple is eaten a promise is made, that one day the serpent’s head will be crushed, the accuser will be silenced. In the gospels, Jesus is the living embodiment of this promise, he speaks to it time and again.

#5. I love reading about a church intentionally, purposefully, and lovingly seeking the good of the city where it finds itself.

Once a final destination for the working-class neighborhood’s discarded mattresses, worn-out car tires, and empty gas cans, the land is now a place of rest, stability, and belonging for several people who had previously been homeless.

The sign serves as a backdrop to a current reality: people society deemed worthless are treasured, part of God’s kingdom, and a blessing to the surrounding neighborhood.

As my church, Mosaic Christian Community, has tried to be a Christlike, hospitable presence in our semi-urban neighborhood with families and empty-nesters, including many refugees and other immigrants, we have looked for ways the church land and building can serve as a resource to people living nearby every day of the week.

What started as an effort to provide safe, family-friendly activities and gatherings during the week has become a place where people can come stay, know they belong, and learn that they are loved.

I’ve been captured recently by this guy’s music - in particular the lyrics in his songs.

Each week (usually Tuesday afternoon), I send out a letter to the congregation at ClearView Baptist Church. It’s a tiny way I hope to shepherd them during the week. Perhaps it might encourage, help, or challenge you as well.

ClearView Family,

Paying attention to how we are being formed. This has been our focus on Sunday mornings throughout the summer. God willing, this Sunday (July 26th) I will wrap up the series by taking a look at how David was formed, following his evil actions from 2^nd Samuel 11. We are constantly being formed by something. Sometimes we are aware of it and adjust accordingly. Other times we are ignorant of it. Regardless, you and I can guarantee that we are always being formed by something or someone. Like it or not, we are living in what is called an “Attention Economy.” This means that people who don’t know you are investing millions of dollars to figure out how to get, and keep, your attention. The longer they have your eyeballs, the better. And, yes, you and I are being formed by it - day in and day out. At the very least, a hope for this series has been to bring attention to what is getting your attention.

Personally, I have been meditating on Paul’s words to the Colossian church - specifically in the first 4 verses of chapter 3. Consider:

1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and y our life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Paul is telling the Colossians to take initiative of their formation. “Set your hearts” he says in verse 1. “Set your minds” in verse 2. Paul knows, as we do, that we are going to be formed by something. Let’s not let other things, nor people who don’t even know us, be what orders our lives. Rather, let’s go on offense and determine to set our hearts and minds (direct our formation) on particular things. If we set our minds and hearts “where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God,” then our headspace will be flooded with peace and joy. Think about it (or, “set your mind on it”) - if you let your mind go there, you are considering the fact that Jesus has conquered death and is alive; if He conquered death, that means He died; He died in order to remove any barrier or obstacle between you and God; if He is at the right hand of God - alive - that means He is ruling every and all things; this means nothing happens outside of His loving and sovereign control; this means He will provide for and take care of all of His beloved children; it means His reign has already broken into the world and doing its thing right now; it also means that Jesus, at His right hand, is praying to the Father for you, at this very moment. Shall I go on? You get the idea. Where we tell our minds to go and how we direct our hearts will drastically impact how we are being formed.

I don’t believe it is an accident that one morning, while meditating on these verses, I stumbled across this podcast. I encourage you to give it a listen. I believe it would serve you well. It’s an interview with a neurosurgeon who claims the mind can actually reshape the brain. According to this professional’s research, how we direct our minds completely transforms the makeup of our brains - hence our lives. Or, to say it another way, what we think about and how we think about it goes a long way in how we are ultimately formed.

Toward the end of the podcast, the host - Lee C. Camp - summarized the conversation this way:

“There are ways for us to change for the better, for the good. ‘You’re not just stuck with the brain that you have,’ he said. That is no small claim, especially if you’ve lived through grief, trauma, depression, anxiety, or just long habituated patterns of thought that feel like they have become who you are.

He’s not saying change is easy, and he’s not saying our pains are imaginary. He is saying that the brain is more plastic, more responsive, more open to reformation than I have assumed, perhaps more than you have assumed. In other words, he invites us to consider that we are all always becoming, regardless of age, that even old dogs can be taught new tricks.”

Fascinating. Even old dogs can be taught new tricks.

I don’t know if the Apostle Paul knew this or not (I doubt it), but I am certain the Holy Spirit did when He inspired Paul to write these words to the Colossians. Where we set our minds/hearts matters. It matters for the present, and for who we will become as we mature.

ClearView, we walk with Jesus, with others. As we continue on in our lives, let’s help one another consider who and what and how we are being formed. And let’s push one another to set our minds and hearts on things above - where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Let’s help one another pay attention to what has our attention. Who knows? We might even see some of our older dogs learn some new tricks (grin).

I’ll see you Sunday with my Bible open to 2^nd Samuel 12 and Psalm 51. Can’t wait.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Matt

When it comes to searching for sermon illustrations, I am like water seeking the lowest point. I’m like a dog sniffing out its target. I’m like a college football fan in August, anticipating the first kickoff. This means I am constantly scouring the landscape for articles and research and podcasts and news and resources and documentaries, etc. that might help me understand and/or explain a Scriptural reality. That said, weekly I come across rich information I wish I could share with the congregation at ClearView. Thus, until further notice, I hope to share some of my findings with you here each Saturday. Perhaps you will find them as insightful and interesting as I do. Enjoy!

#1. A compelling piece how all of us would be better off without “video review.”

Video review promises that there’ll never be another missed call, that if there were enough systems of judgment to filter out human frailty, then perfection is possible.

We believe this implicitly as gospel — most especially with other people. From the safe distance of supposed objectivity, we can see clearly how other people have failed and how to get them back on track. If quarterly performance reviews don’t do the trick, then perhaps monthly or weekly ones will. You constantly remind your spouse of their responsibilities (and failures) with the hopes that they will actually listen to you this time. When that fails, you buy them a Fitbit and add a slew of reminders to their calendar. If your child keeps coming home after curfew, then firmer penalties are needed. Perhaps you even install a VAR tracking system that monitors their location or browser activity. You turn the screws ever tighter and tighter, raising your voice louder with sharper threats until your desires are fulfilled.

#2. 1000% YES. Thank you, Ross Byrd!

Our churches should be beautiful, restful places of prayer and silence, feasting and fasting, joy and grief. The infrastructure for this may certainly require careful planning and execution, but it does not require programs and advertisements, busy pastors and busier volunteers — expending themselves toward the end of an ever-increasing number of consumer offerings for parishioners who are already too busy to keep coming. The church should not compete with or imitate the rhythms of the secular world but should rather become a kind of holy refuge. […]

We need our ministers to move at the pace of prayer and devotion, so that we can move at the pace of God. When they don’t, the congregation doesn’t either, and we all pay the price. … Our priests and ministers must be given permission to be unbusy, holy people who are daily present in the sanctuary to pray with those who need prayer, to mourn with those who mourn, and to walk alongside the body of believers. … If they do — and if we do — the harried world around us will flee to us rather than the other way around.

#3. Though there is always room for further consideration, ClearView embodies this.

A Church that lingers lasts, it’s a catchy phrase, but it’s a counter cultural way of life. A kingdom way.

Not because staying longer is the goal, but as Eugene Peterson once wrote, “The Christian life cannot mature under conditions of hurry.” That’s because love takes time. Friendship takes time. Formation takes time. And Jesus was never in a hurry to be with people.

#4. Why is Digital Freedom Making Us Exhausted and Sad?

His best-known answer came in 2010 with The Burnout Society. At just over fifty pages, the book found readers well beyond Germany, in part because it named a condition many had felt but could not quite define, and in part because its diagnosis proved difficult to ignore. It made a simple yet bracing claim: in Western societies, the dominant form of power has shifted. No king commands us. No foreman stands watch. For many who work on screens rather than factory floors, there is no whistle, no visible overseer. The disciplinary institutions Foucault described — those that monitored, corrected, and confined behavior — still exist, yet they are less dominant in shaping how we live. A different logic has risen to govern our habits, and instead of repressing, it affirms. Instead of commanding, it motivates. Instead of saying no, it says yes — relentlessly.

If the old regime spoke in the voice of prohibition, the new one speaks in likes. Its pressure feels less like a frowning teacher and more like a game of comparison — with influencers, metrics, and a curated self that always seems one step ahead. We are told to optimize our sleep, perfect our diets, build our brands, unlock our potential. Listen long enough and you’ll learn how to biohack your mornings, discipline your focus, and transform your passions into revenue. Scroll long enough and you’ll be reminded that Beyoncé has the same 24 hours you do.

Power no longer feels like oppression. It feels like opportunity, a pressure that builds from within, overwhelming our sense of choice with a compulsion to perform. We become both manager and managed — both master and slave, as Han puts it — driving ourselves harder than an overseer would. We are not coerced, and there is no tyrant to resist. When we fall short, we only fall back into the grip of our own self-judgment. The feeling is not guilt, as with a broken rule, but humiliation. Unable to stomach failure, we follow the script of self-improvement, learning only to push ourselves until something gives way.

Burnout, depression, anxiety: these are the maladies of our time. No one denies their spread, but their wider significance is a matter of debate. For Han, they are not signs that the new order is breaking down. They are signs of its success. We are free — and the result is not liberation but exhaustion.

#5. I couldn’t agree more. Raise your hand if you’re a grandparent!! (And also this piece here.)

I honestly believe grandparent ministry today is where children’s ministry was forty-five years ago.

Most churches haven’t discovered it yet.

Yet there are over 70 million grandparents in America.

More grandparents are alive today than at any other time in history.

Many are healthy. Some are retired—or nearly retired but not all.

Many are wondering if their best days are behind them.

They’re not. I think they’re just entering a different assignment.

We Need More Than Kids’ & Youth Ministry

Healthy churches aren’t built around one generation.

God introduces Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Three generations. Not one.

A thriving church should ministry to three groups: the next generation +

empower parents + honors and involves grandparents.

ClearView Family,

I didn’t have time to get to it on Sunday, but there is another part to the David/Mephibosheth story. We focused on the beautiful account in 2^nd Samuel 9 - homing in on what was forming David to behave in such a shocking manner. Ten chapters later we encounter Mephibosheth again. He had been deceived by his servant Ziba and was convinced to stay behind while David did his thing. When David learned what had been going on, in his relief and gratitude, he told Mephibosheth to take a large portion of the land (Read 2^nd Samuel 19:24-30). I love Mephibosheth’s response. He didn’t care about the land. He didn’t want any other thing. He was just grateful David was home. He just wanted to be with David. His soul was okay when (a) he and David weren’t in tension; and (b) he knew David was home safe. Mephibosheth was content simply being with David.

If this is a picture pointing us to Jesus and the Gospel, it begs a question: Are we content with “just” having Jesus? Another way to ask it is, “If you were to get to heaven, and God were not there - would you be okay?” Think about it. If you got to heaven and had perfect health, perfect relationships, reunions with loved ones, no pain or crying or frustration or sin. If you had all the things, but God were not there - would that be just fine with you? It causes us to consider why we are Christians in the first place. Is it not to be with God in a right, loving, safe, and rich relationship?

My middle child (Seth) returned this weekend from serving an 8-week stint as a camp counselor in Missouri. Between his social and work schedule and my calendar - I want to ensure I get as much quality time with him before he moves back to school in a few short weeks. I tend to over think it. I want to make sure I ask him all the right questions. I want to make sure we have good, quality conversations. I want to guarantee that I am a good and wise and helpful father for him while I have these precious few moments (that are quickly becoming more and more precious and few). I over think it so much, and analyze it so extensively, that I stress myself out. Until I thought about Mephibosheth and David. At the end of the day, what I really want, is to be with Seth. To just hang out with him for a little bit. What I love is him. And, what I think he probably most needs is not a dad stressing out about asking all the “right” things. What he probably needs the most is a dad who just wants to hang out with him. Isn’t that the point? Being with. Being present. Being together when we’re able.

(For the record - I feel the exact same way for each of my children. I highlight Seth due to his summer schedule and the fact that I have seen him far less than the other two in recent months. I don’t know who I’m kidding, though, including this parenthesis here. It’s not like any of my children are going to read this anyway! But just in case. . . )

You’re probably wondering - Pastor Matt, is this letter about David and Mephibosheth? Or is it about our relationship with God? Or is this about the relationships between parents and children? Those are fantastic questions. Like most of my sermons, I tend to circle around and hope something lands in a good spot. I share all of this with you, ClearView, because these things have been whirling around in my mind, my heart, my soul in recent days. That’s what these weekly letters are for. To communicate things going on within me that I think (I hope!) are helpful for you. I really want you to know the full story of David and Mephibosheth. It’s one of the greatest in the Bible. And I want to encourage you to relax, breathe, and enjoy being present with people you love and care for. The reason you love being around them is because you love them. And, yes, applying this thinking to our relationship with God - I want to encourage you to consider your relationship with Him. Not His stuff. Not His gifts. HIM. The Father sent Jesus to do what He did not to be a transactional Being who merely dispels good and wise information. Oh no. God desires to be with you. For you and He to just be.

We are nearing the end of our summer series. Two sermons left on how David was formed. I’ll see you Sunday (finally - a normal schedule!!!!) with my Bible open to 2^nd Samuel 11.

Per usual, I can’t wait!

Because of Emmanuel (God with us),

Pastor Matt

When it comes to searching for sermon illustrations, I am like water seeking the lowest point. I’m like a dog sniffing out its target. I’m like a college football fan in August, anticipating the first kickoff. This means I am constantly scouring the landscape for articles and research and podcasts and news and resources and documentaries, etc. that might help me understand and/or explain a Scriptural reality. That said, weekly I come across rich information I wish I could share with the congregation at ClearView. Thus, until further notice, I hope to share some of my findings with you here each Saturday. Perhaps you will find them as insightful and interesting as I do. Enjoy!

#1. An explanation of the command “do not steal” I had never considered.

Within this web of texts, the notion of “property” is relative. Ownership is under divine claim and communal responsibility. “Stealing,” then, doesn’t find its center in what we typically have in mind when we think of burglary. “Stealing” includes the refusal to release land at Jubilee, the manipulation of wages or measures, the hoarding of surplus that should be accessible to those in need. Don’t take for yourselves what God has given to the community. Accordingly, “stealing” refers to keeping back what God has designated for others.

#2. Norway is dominating in soccer right now. And their nation breaks every rule of U.S. Youth Sports.

In the environment of Norway, participation matters more than trophies. Norwegians are famously born wearing skis and skates, but two-thirds of the country’s boys are still wearing soccer boots when they’re 11 years old. The nation is so committed to its egalitarian ideals of social enjoyment, proper development and sport-for-all that kids aren’t even sorted by talent until they’re 13. By then, the most precocious Americans are already burning out. […]

#3. A refreshing and insightful reminder about church growth and our effort in it.

Nevertheless the churches grew. Why? After AD 312, when the emperor Constantine I aligned himself with Christianity and began to promote it, the church’s growth is not hard to explain. But before Constantine the expansion is improbable enough to require a sustained attempt to understand it. The growth was odd. According to the evidence at our disposal, the expansion of the churches was not organized, the product of a mission program; it simply happened. Further, the growth was not carefully thought through. Early Christian leaders did not engage in debates between rival “mission strategies.” The Christians wrote a lot; according to classicist Robin Lane Fox, “most of the best Greek and Latin literature which remains [from the later second and third centuries] is Christian.” And what they wrote is surprising. The Christians wrote treatises on patience – three of them. But they did not write a single treatise on evangelism. Further, to assist their growing congregations with practical concerns, the Christians wrote “church orders,” manuals that provided guidance for the life and worship of congregations. The best treatment of how a second-century Christian should persuade a pagan to become a believer was published in London in 1970!

#4. On the beauty and necessity of church - even when it’s annoying and “cringe”

I know there are many reasons beyond wanting a calmer morning coffee routine that have driven people from parish life. There’s lackluster sermons, crying kids, contemporary praise music, sometimes all packed into 1 pew. Church can be “cringy” as the kids would say, and people are often annoying. But if church is a very average looking field to most onlookers I’d sell everything and buy it; from longitudinal experience I know there’s treasure buried there.

#5. Is it possible to love Christianity more than Jesus?

After the initial excitement of a conversion fades, or when the fantasy meets reality, one discovers that the “long obedience in the same direction” is stubbornly mundane. No amount of tradition-maxxing can escape the boring and ordinary nature of Christian faithfulness, the quiet, undramatic work of becoming like Christ alongside a group of broken people. Day after day and year after year. And yet, it’s precisely there, in the midst of the ordinary, if we have the eyes to see it, where God encounters us with gifts of peace and joy.

A new book arriving today I am eager to get into.

Each week (usually Tuesday afternoon), I send out a letter to the congregation at ClearView Baptist Church. It’s a tiny way I hope to shepherd them during the week. Perhaps it might encourage, help, or challenge you as well.

ClearView Family,

Fireworks. Nothing screams “4th of July” louder than a startling pop, colorful flames of fire in the sky, and the scent of gun powder on a muggy summer night. A grilled hot dog might beg to differ, but for my money, shooting fireballs into the air is the ultimate way to celebrate America’s birthday. And where I live - Canterbury neighborhood in Thompson’s Station - we do it right. I shouldn’t say “we.” I have nothing to do with it. I just walk up the street, plop my sweaty self on a beach chair I grabbed from the garage, and enjoy the show. The folks in my neighborhood put on a truly amazing spectacle each and every year. It lasts so long that my neck hurts from staring into the sky. People drive from all over to view it. When it’s over, I can’t hear anything for a solid 3 hours. God Bless America.

The FOURTH was on a Saturday this year. This means yours truly woke up super early the next day to go through my usual Sunday morning routine. Included in my weekly rhythm is a 30-40 minute walk in my neighborhood. I spend that time preaching the sermon to myself. There’s no telling what my neighbors think. This past Sunday (July 5th), I noticed something I hadn’t seen before. A dozen or so adults were at the area where the fireworks had been shot off the night before. They were scurrying about, picking up trash, cleaning up the area, returning the green space to its pre-hundreds-of-explosives pristine self. Someone had organized a group to gather, pick up thousands of pieces of shrapnel, sweep, blow, and ensure our neighborhood looked pleasant.

My first thought? “Those sorry pagans need to get themselves to church for crying out loud!” (Pray for me.) My second thought, “I sure am glad I’m not part of the neighborhood clean-up crew!” (Seriously. Pray for me.) My third thought? “Wow. I am watching a group of people do for my neighborhood what every follower of Jesus is to be actively doing where he/she lives.” The adults cleaning up Sunday morning were seeking the welfare where they lived. They were intentionally working hard to make the space was pleasant, appealing, livable, and enjoyable. As children of God, what I saw Sunday morning is a picture of how we are to be in the world. Where God has us - as a church, as individuals, as families - we are called and commissioned to seek the welfare of the land we find ourselves in. God is pretty clear about what He expects for His people who find themselves living in a land of exile. A group of men and women who weren’t getting ready for church on Sunday morning took me to church about seeking the good of the place and people where I live.

Around 24 hours later, I was taken to church again by some folks who don’t believe as I do. It’s a long story, but suffice it to say that I found myself needing to have a difficult conversation with a couple I love, but strongly disagree with theologically (don’t try to figure out who - they aren’t members of ClearView). I was not joyfully anticipating the meeting. And, to be sure, the meeting was a bit awkward and tense. However. I was literally blown away by how kind and sweet and generous and loving they were to me. We were having, in my opinion, a significant disagreement about a major biblical issue. But the tone and conversation was warm and gentle and peaceful. This couple do not believe or think like I do when it comes to core evangelical beliefs. But they were oozing a spirit of kindness and gentleness.

If you’re still with me and have been keeping score - on Sunday, I was taken to church by neighbors who were not getting ready to go to church. On Monday, I was taken to church by two people I have stark differences of opinion with. Translation: I was shown the way of Jesus by people not like me. To put it another way, I was shown the way of Jesus by people I least expected to see it from.

At the end of one of Jesus’s most difficult and bizarre parables, He said, “For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.” In other words, Jesus commends “the people of this world,” indicating that we could learn a thing or two from them. Sometimes, those we might not consider Christians are being more Christian than we are.

So, ClearView, let me ask: Are you actively seeking the welfare, the good, the benefit of the people and place where God has you living? Are you known for your over-the-top kindness - even toward those you disagree with? At the very least - do you see “the people of this world” as evil enemies? Or do you see them as image-of-God humans who might just have something to teach you about being a Christian?

ClearView - I’ll see you Sunday morning (ONE service - 9:15 am - Building A) with my Bible open to 2^nd Samuel 9. Until then, with the Spirit’s help as we walk with Jesus, with others - let’s be good neighbors and known for our kindness.

If you need me, you can probably find me eating leftover hotdogs.

Let Freedom Ring,

Pastor Matt

When it comes to searching for sermon illustrations, I am like water seeking the lowest point. I’m like a dog sniffing out its target. I’m like a college football fan in August, anticipating the first kickoff. This means I am constantly scouring the landscape for articles and research and podcasts and news and resources and documentaries, etc. that might help me understand and/or explain a Scriptural reality. That said, weekly I come across rich information I wish I could share with the congregation at ClearView. Thus, until further notice, I hope to share some of my findings with you here each Saturday. Perhaps you will find them as insightful and interesting as I do. Enjoy!

#1. If you’re looking for a good, solid (and lengthy) 4th of July read on Christianity and our nation’s 250 year history, this might scratch that itch.

What has made American Christianity exceptional, however, is religious liberty and the vitality of its evangelical churches. The American church has been unusually strong not because we were founded as a “Christian nation” but because the Founders believed the church would thrive best when it operated free from government meddling. The American government traditionally valued religion so much that it left churches to do what only churches should do: proclaim the gospel, preach the word, send out missionaries, and serve as embassies of God’s kingdom. Across the generations, the American church has produced legions of faithful pastors, missionaries, and laypeople to answer that call. May it continue to be so, as long as the American experiment endures.

#2. Not saying I’ll purchase or use one, but this makes my 80’s and 90’s self very, very happy.

Phones were fun. Then they got too smart for their own good, and ours.

Three years ago, about to become a father, I had an honest conversation with myself and realised I, like so many of us, was addicted to my phone. And that was the business model. So I switched to an Android flip phone, learning what worked, what didn’t, and what people wanted. When I shared my findings with a rapidly growing community, the response was overwhelming.

Callback was born from that journey, and from my team asking two simple questions: what is the perfect middle ground between dumb and smart, and what should a Commodore phone be today? Turns out, the answer to both questions was the same.

And how fitting, that a company whose lights dimmed in the ’90s, returns for its Y2K era, just as so many of us are reaching back for that exact same simpler tech.

#3. Not a huge soccer fan, but if the U.S.A. gets knocked out, I’ll be rooting for Curacao. Good on them.

Athletes from the tiniest country to ever qualify for the World Cup are using their newfound visibility to pray.

In a World Cup that has seen quite a few displays of faith from players, Curaçao’s team has emerged as one of the most outspoken, and local pastors are hopeful the team’s example will reach the next generation of Christians on the small Caribbean island.

#4. Speaking of the World Cup and the 4th of July - GOD BLESS AMERICA.

The heartwarming visitor continued writing in the post that has over 17 million views and counting, “They come with the TABLE. In my land, hospitality is a debt. Every gift creates an obligation, weighed carefully, returned in the proper season with interest of feeling. Here, the gift arrives before you have even proven you can pay for dinner…”

#5. I thought this was an interesting opinion on Texas requiring Bible reading in schools.

Last week, the Texas State Board of Education approved a mandatory reading list for its public schools. The change making the most headlines is the new curriculum requirement for Language Arts that includes Bible stories and passages from the Bible. Countless Christians (and others) are now weighing in on whether or not the Bible should be required reading in public schools given the pluralistic character of our nation.

Whether or not the Bible should be required reading in public schools isn’t the right question, however. Nor is it the most pressing one for Christians.

What texts are taught (and what ones are excluded) is an important matter, of course. So, too, is the separate matter of the qualifications of the teachers who teach the material. But a teacher who is qualified to teach Dr. Suess or Shakespeare is just as qualified (or not) to teach the Bible as literature.

This podcast episode is the best thing I listened to this week.

Rather than offering a defense of Christian power in America, Lee reckons honestly with the ways Christians have often been bad neighbors, especially when faith has been reduced to “values” extracted from the story of Jesus and used to control others. Together, Lee and Russell explore how Christian witness might still serve the common good through humility, prudence, and the imaginative power of art. In a divided and weary public life, this episode asks what it would mean for Christians, and all people seeking the good life, to trade domination for service, despair for action, and ideology for the patient work of human flourishing.

Quote(s) of the Week:

“. . . resentment is useless, and so is blame. It only makes you miserable.”

“. . . salvation is by faith alone, and not by works. It’s already there for everybody. Nobody has to run around looking for it. All they have to do is believe it - trust it, accept that it’s true already - and they’re home free.”

Each week (usually Tuesday afternoon), I send out a letter to the congregation at ClearView Baptist Church. It’s a tiny way I hope to shepherd them during the week. Perhaps it might encourage, help, or challenge you as well.

ClearView Family,

I’m not real sure how it happens - but it does. It’s like a default mode in our psyche. We can’t help it. I’m sure there is a scientific or psychological name for it. As far as I’m concerned, it is embedded in our human nature. At the very least, I am certain it’s wedged in all Southern Baptists’ souls somewhere deep.

What am I talking about? The tendency to live in the past. The assumption that if something was tried and deemed successful years ago, then it must be a viable option now. Outside of John 3:16 and the beloved “Just As I Am” hymn, the words most heard in Baptist churches are, “Well, I remember when we did _______. Let’s try that again.” Or, “That’s what we did when I was growing up!” Or, “We did it last year. It was a huge success.” Or, “Yes! I think puppet ministry would be a great idea for today’s teens.” Or, “Our middle school boys would love to put on a handbell concert this Christmas. That would be wonderful outreach to our community!” Or, “Remember when we used to pass out tracts on Tuesday nights? Let’s try that again.”

You know exactly what I mean. You’ve either thought it, said it, been in a meeting when someone suggested it, or are sitting in your seat - right now - wondering whatever happened to puppet ministry.

There are sacred cows walking around the halls of most Baptist churches that no one wants to shoot. In fact, if we’re honest, most of us want to nurture the cows in the hopes that they live on. You’ve done it. I’ve done it. We all have, and we are all prone to revert back again and again and again.

Sacred cows make great hamburgers.

That’s not original with me (I wish it was). But it’s true. Most sacred cows have been dead for years, yet we continue to try to resuscitate them back to life. That must stop. We need to grind ‘em up, smash ‘em on a Blackstone, put them between two toasted buns, add a slice of cheese, eat ‘em, and forget ‘em. Yes. Sacred cows make amazing hamburgers.

ClearView, hear me: I wish it were 1985 or 1995 or 2005. That’s where I cut my teeth on church stuff and when/how I was trained to do Gospel ministry. I’m really good at doing ministry in those eras of time. But we have to face the facts: we ain’t there anymore. The times - there not just “a-changin’.” They done changed. As much as I loved doing church during those seasons, we aren’t living there anymore.

You’ve heard me say it before and I will probably say it many times more: The page must be turned. We are in year 41, approaching year 42. Walking with Jesus, with others will not look like it did in 1992. It just won’t. How the Gospel is shared and shown is different. How disciples are made looks different. How and when small group’s function is different. How we measure success will look different. How we engage Franklin with the good news will feel incongruous from the past. But if we want to walk with Jesus, with others - we must embrace it and jump all in. The God of the Bible, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the reality of the Holy Spirit never change. Hallelujah. But our imagination and creativity in how to invite the world to join in on it must.

What does it look like, exactly? I don’t know. I wish I did. Do I think the Father who loves us and Franklin more than we can imagine will show us? Yes. Do I think joining Him in what He is doing now will be better than we could have ever dreamed? Yes. Do I think you, ClearView, are eager and ready and primed and hopeful to follow His lead together? Yes.

Here’s what I want to call you to do: (1) Notice when you find yourself defaulting to a way of doing church that lives in the past. Consider it a sacred cow. Make it into a juicy hamburger. Eat it and forget it. (2) Call out a member who has the same tendency. Help them make a hamburger. Add extra cheese if preferable. (3) Ask God to give you and our church His mind, heart, imagination, ideas, creativity, etc. for how He wants to use us for kingdom impact here in Franklin in 2026 and beyond. (4) Listen. Watch. Anticipate. Hope. (5) Follow His lead and enjoy the ride!

I’m not real sure how it happens - but it does. Recognize the tendency. Fire up the Blackstone. Eat ‘em. Forget ‘em. Move on.

I’ll see you this Sunday (July 5^th - ONE SERVICE IN THE CHAPEL @ 10 AM) with my Bible open to 2^nd Samuel 7. Can’t wait.

Because It’s Worth It,

Pastor Matt

When it comes to searching for sermon illustrations, I am like water seeking the lowest point. I’m like a dog sniffing out its target. I’m like a college football fan in August, anticipating the first kickoff. This means I am constantly scouring the landscape for articles and research and podcasts and news and resources and documentaries, etc. that might help me understand and/or explain a Scriptural reality. That said, weekly I come across rich information I wish I could share with the congregation at ClearView. Thus, until further notice, I hope to share some of my findings with you here each Saturday. Perhaps you will find them as insightful and interesting as I do. Enjoy!

#1. Astronaut struggles to articulate God’s glory beheld in space.

According to Glover, his crewmates were frequently at a loss for words as they gazed back at an Earth that grew ever smaller throughout their journey. He often heard them exclaiming reverently to each other, “Oh my God.”

“We Christians are often, too often, quick to say, ‘do not use the Lord’s name in vain,’” he said. “I will tell you, I never felt it was in vain: I thought that is the appropriate utterance for this moment. It’s truly a God moment.”

#2. 7 Habits Quietly Killing Disciple-Making

Most of the people God wants you to reach feel like inconveniences first.

When there’s no margin, the coworker who stops by your desk wanting to talk becomes something to manage. The friend who texts asking to grab food gets “can’t, this week is crazy” because it actually is. The downstairs neighbor stays surface-level because you’ve never had an unscheduled hour to just sit on the stoop. Productive life. Not much room for actual people.

#3. If you’ve ever wondered whether or not we have free will - now you know** - we don’t.

Shedding new light on the concept of voluntary behavior, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign contend in a study published this week that the existence of free will can be disproven by the fact that people repeatedly eat at chain sandwich restaurant Jimmy John’s.

**Please note: this article is satire. I thought you might get a chuckle, as I did.

#4. The Atlantic published some not-so-breaking (but necessary) news: We need human teachers.

Ed-tech experiments have driven home what educators have long intuited: Learning is a largely social and relational enterprise, and bots have yet to replicate the value of a human touch. Teachers are still our best source of motivation for students, not only because strong ones know how to push kids to learn new things, but also because education works best when it happens in a group.

#5. A interesting take (and challenge?) on church small groups.

I believe in the power of Scripture and its promises. I love the Bible. But my experience of modern small groups has been a group of people, who mostly aren’t friends at all, sitting in a living room reading the Bible and then going home.

Which… is not a bad thing.

But, is that community?

Does that alone transform people?

Does that alone transform a city?

I read through the Bible cover to cover in 2021. I was in full-time ministry. I was a part of a wonderful church. I was practicing the spiritual disciplines and confessing sin. I was a part of a small group with good men who were good to me.

And yet, my marriage was falling apart. I was consumed by unresolved trauma. It was the worst year of my life and also the year I was in Scripture the most.

Can anyone else relate? Was I doing it wrong? Did I not try hard enough?

Best quote I read this week:

“(God) does not go after sinners with a stick. Instead, he forgives. And on the cross - in the death of Jesus - his final word on the subject of all our sins and all our guilt is simply to shut up about it forever.”

Robert Capon The Mystery of Christ. . . and Why We Don’t Get it

Each week (usually Tuesday afternoon), I send out a letter to the congregation at ClearView Baptist Church. It’s a tiny way I hope to shepherd them during the week. Perhaps it might encourage, help, or challenge you as well.

ClearView Family,

Today I want to give you a hodge podge of things for you to consider.

First - Revenge and Forgiveness.

Sunday morning, we learned that David refused to be formed by revenge. By way of illustration and application, I quoted from and pointed you to this book by James Kimmel, Jr.. Learning that humans are hard-wired to seek revenge is not news. No surprise there. Though Kimmel’s research and findings are very interesting and somewhat frightening - I wasn’t shocked by our tendency to want to hurt people who hurt us. What IS shocking is what he says researchers have learned cures revenge: forgiveness. Yep. Even the practice of imagining what it would be like to forgive someone and their grievance is healing. Since Sunday morning, many of you have shared with me how poignant the sermon was and how timely the content was for you. I don’t mean five or six of you. I mean, like, dozens. This tells me that, indeed, revenge is something all of us struggle with. And it tells me that it is probably doing a lot of damage to our soul’s, our selves, and our relationships. That said, if the Spirit struck a nerve with you on Sunday morning, I want to encourage you to visit Kimmel’s website. He has several resources to help you work through revenge and forgiveness that I believe might be helpful. There’s an app. A forgiveness first aid kit. And even a link to a community called “Revenge Anonymous.”

Now. I have no clue whether or not James Kimmel, Jr. is a Christian. His work is not purported to be “Christian” the way we would understand a Christian book or website. So, take the practices he provides with a grain of salt. HOWEVER - I believe what the resources help us do is put into practice what Jesus tells us to do. Read His words here, here, and here. He says what He says, and commands what He commands to set us free. To lead us to being fully alive, whole, and with rich relationships. In other words, Jesus is completely for our well-being. The Science of Revenge and its subsequent resources are merely tools to help us better apply the words of Jesus.

Second - ClearView’s Students.

Before next week’s letter goes out, our students will be leaving for Fuge Camp in Jackson, TN (June 29th - July 4th). Around 40 or so students and adults will spend a week away from the norm, away from their phones, away from home, etc. to learn about, grow in, hear from, and worship God. I share this with you because every person reading this right now has a deep burden for the next generation. You’ve told me. You have children and grandchildren who are growing up in the world in 2026. You ache for them to have a rich and meaningful and enduring relationship with the Lord. You have a deep desire for them to be formed in a way that enables them to “keep the faith” throughout their lives. And we all know that, though camp isn’t everything, it can certainly be a time and place where God speaks loud and clear to our teenagers. So, ClearView family, pray. Pray for our students. Pray for God to stir in their souls. Pray for God to speak to their mind and hearts. And pray for Jesus to become and remain the literal center of their lives.

Third - John Garner.

The late Rich Mullins has a song called Elijah. One of the lines is, “When I leave I wanna go out like Elijah.” I’ve been singing the tune in my head for the past several days. But I’ve changed the lyrics. In my mind, I am singing, “When I go, I wanna go out like John Garner.” It’s true. When it’s my time to retire, I wanna go out like John Garner. Though he and his precious wife Judy will remain active members at ClearView, he is officially retiring this Sunday, June 28th. We will celebrate them throughout the day. Time and space limit my thoughts about John here in this letter. But you need to know, if I am able to retire with half the kingdom influence, character, Christ-likeness, and love for the local church that John Garner has - I will consider it a massive success. I haven’t known John that long. We met right at a year ago. But I have observed and had the honor of serving with a man who is the epitome of what a minister of the Gospel is and does. If every church had a John Garner, our churches would be vibrant, healthy, and on mission for Jesus. Paul told Timothy that those who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor. John and Judy are beyond worthy. You won’t want to miss Sunday. John will open God’s Word for us and preach from 2^nd Samuel 6. I’ll see you then, if not before. I can’t wait.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Matt