Tag: calling

• Still Waters to Waves

  On returning from my sabbatical this Sunday, I had the privilege to baptize a young woman. Those who know me know that my favorite part of ministry is walking people in baptism. I go out of my way to participate in this act of worship because it is the crossroads of devotion, the gospel, testimony,…

  matthewcgillum

  March 22, 2026

  Uncategorized

  baptism, bible, calling, christianity, faith, god, jesus, metamodernism, ministry

• David’s Last Giant

  In 2 Samuel 21:15-22, we read about King David’s last expeditions against the giants at Gath. The CSB version calls them “descendants from the giant of Gath.” It is likely that these four giants described in the passage are in the lineage of Goliath. I had never considered it before, but Goliath was not the…

  matthewcgillum

  March 18, 2026

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  bible, calling, david, delegation, equipping, faith, god, goliath, jesus, king david, leadership

• Dust Doesn’t Lie

  The other day I was watching a mystery show (Iove me some Masterpiece Theater), and the lead detective in investigating made the statement, “Dust doesn’t lie.” He made this statement as he discovered a ring of an artifact that had been removed, but the dust circle had remained. That strikes true doesn’t it? When we…

  matthewcgillum

  March 17, 2026

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  beauty, bible, calling, christianity, devotion, faith, god, jesus, mental-health, metamodernism

• Where Am I?

  Are you ever annoyed at your map app? Yesterday as I was driving from somewhere out in the middle of nowhere to a restaurant in a different part of nowhere, I experienced that frustration of my mapping app being slow to respond. My literal thought: “Why won’t this stupid thing work?” But then I had…

  matthewcgillum

  March 10, 2026

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  beauty, bible, calling, christianity, church, faith, god, jesus, metamodernism, travel

• In Shadows, On Shoulders

  This past week, Adrian and I traveled to Chicago for a late anniversary trip. We’d never been to the city, so were excited to experience a very new environment for us. The city did not disappoint. We had wonderful experiences and food together, and I love traveling with my bride. But I’ll save the travelogue…

  matthewcgillum

  March 5, 2026

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  beauty, bible, calling, chicago, christianity, church, city, faith, jesus, light, metamodernism, travel

• Alchemy on an Airplane

  I don’t enjoy random conversations with people on airplanes (way too close sitting in the seat next to me, but that’s my introvert neurosis), but I love listening to other people have weird conversations. The other day on a flight that I had strategically planned to have no one else on my row, I overheard…

  matthewcgillum

  February 3, 2026

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  beauty, bible, calling, christianity, faith, god, jesus, metamodernism, ministry

• The Nintendo Prayer

  With our family’s propensity to spend too much time on video games, when we got our Nintendo Switch I made the decision to put time limits on the device, specifically 15 minutes before getting locked out and asking for parent permission to reactivate. It creates a fun interaction most afternoons after school where one of…

  matthewcgillum

  January 30, 2026

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  beauty, bible, calling, christianity, faith, god, jesus, mental-health, nintendo, prayer, video games

• Snorkeling the Heights

  I was online today (as one does when in a Texas ice day and the boy is having him some Cocomelon on TV), and ran across the phrase “Deeper Christian.” It caused me to pause. This idea the cause for a lot of our problems in Christianity. I think we need to ditch it. I…

  matthewcgillum

  January 26, 2026

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  beauty, bible, calling, christianity, faith, god, jesus, mental-health, metamodernism, snorkeling

• The Erasing of a Workaholic

  If you know me, you know that my mind is usually running on 5 different rails with various tasks popping up at different times. It’s both the blessing and the curse of an Executive Pastor that every day has variety and responsibility. As part of my survival, I rely on a whiteboard that I keep…

  matthewcgillum

  January 20, 2026

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  bible, calling, christianity, faith, god, jesus, metamodernism, workaholic

• Maybe You’re Here

  Having worked in ministry for a long time, I often latch onto strange phrases that become part of the normal language of ministry. We can do this with other churchy words like sacrament and doctrine and liturgy, etc. One phrase in particular that makes me stop in my tracks, but which I hear almost every…

  matthewcgillum

  January 5, 2026

  Uncategorized

  beauty, bible, calling, christianity, faith, god, jesus, love, mental-health, metamodernism