my friend steve

check this guy out:  steve parsons dot net

hey there.

God knows.

He always knows!

it never matters what we've been through, or even where we've been...  God knows how to reach us with His relentless love.


it's like when a stranger from the other side of the planet shows up to worship with you at church, and then he sings a couple of songs that God uses to bring you crashing to your knees.


steve parsons is a funny guy.  i really think you'd like him.  his humor is perfectly dry, and his sarcasm is perfectly dropped.  he's not some pre-packaged squeaky clean plastic christian.  he's real.  he's been there.  but He is madly in love with God as he follows Jesus in real life.  and i haven't even know him 24 hours, but we are kindred spirits.  his lyrics are honestly raw, leaving no room for excuses:

one truth can set a man free, lift him up out of the dark, give him a reason, give him a new song to sing. one Man nailed to a tree, paying the price of a new beginning.  love is His answer and life is the gift that He brings.

i want to care without a stony heart.  i want to love and never lose the spark.  i want to go illuminate the dark.  and i want to, want to love.

[from 'one life'  _  written by steve parsons]

 check this out:  i attended central bible college with danae rutherford, who married steve parsons [singer/songwriter from the uk], who was invited to attend a conference in estes park colorado with eugene peterson [the beast behind 'the message'], and then got in touch with paul church [college friend & current pastor], to finally minister to the body of believers at dakota ridge assembly [where i just happen to attend].  you can call all of those details a tangled mess of happenstances, but i would simply call you crazy.


thank God for working all things together for the good!


_that's what matthinx

FALLON!

hey there.

so, for the last three months, i've been going to my blog with great anticipation.  i would describe it as the kind of excitement that you feel on christmas eve, especially when you know that saint nick is bringing you that new ipod touch.

and then the disappointment would set in, as if you didn't get the ipod touch after all.  in fact, santy claus left you a stupid blues clues connect the dots coloring book.  uber bummer.

but then, just when i had lost all hope...

FALLON PRINZIVALLI BECAME MY 1ST OFFICIAL BLOGSPOT FOLLOWER!!!  may her good decision inspire you to do the same.  '8~]-

thanks falledega!

-pm@

repeatable comebacks

hey there.

i'm happy for the saints.

it's just a really cool story:  a city that is left in ruins.  a people that refused to give up.  a nation that rallied behind them.  a pro football team with 2 total post-season wins in the previous 42 years; to then win their very first superbowl appearance in 2010.  an epic comeback for the ages.

and the best parts of this story CAN be played out over and over in our own lives...

there are moments when we seem to be left in ruins.  there are moments when it seems like we haven't 'won' in years.  but when we follow God with our life and refuse to give up, we can experience miraculous comebacks.

that's all.

-pm@

p.s.  i would really like to be buried with a casket full of doritos...

submerge.2010

hey there.

holy cow!  this month is almost over.  guess i've been kinda busy catching up on ministry since my vaca.  needless to say, submerge.2010 was STUPID AWESOME! there were 500+ in attendance, with 79 decisions to follow Jesus.  WOOHOO!

if you could slow the shutter speed waaay down on your camera and take a 2-1/2 hour long picture of submerge...  first of all, it would be kinda fuzzy; because we did a lot of cool stuff.  but it would also be the PERFECT picture of student ministry.  thank you underground staff members for all of the countless hours of hard work.  thank you underground students for blowing this event up.  and thank you most of all to God, who allowed us to see a short glimpse of how fun heaven is gonna be!!!

here are a few of my fave pix:

don't you dare stop havin' fun.


-pm@

supersize me!

[posted first on november 1, 2008]

hello, my name is matthew and i’ve been thinking...

it has been said by a lot of people that bigger is better, and i believe them. who, in their right mind, would take a 6 ounce sip of mountain dew when a 64 ounce bucket is also available?! why would we watch our favorite movie on a 2.5 inch screen, when there is a 5 foot screen in the next room?! how could we ever eat a regular meal deal, when we can supersize that bad boy for 50 cents?! bigger is better. 

and this is the point that Jesus makes in matthew 28.19: ‘go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life...’ 

following Jesus is one thing; but bringing others along for the ride of a lifetime is something much, much bigger. and since we’ve established that bigger is definitely better, let’s make our following of Jesus BIGGER than ever. 

[pm@]

looky here

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS!!!

[posted first on october 1, 2008]

hello, my name is matthew and i’ve been thinking...

follow the leader is a great game. especially when you are the leader, and the cool kid in your class is playing, and you make him do things that are not cool at all. that is just good clean fun. (not that i would ever even think about doing that, or have actually done that, or have ever laughed quietly to myself after doing that...) anyway, one of the important parts of follow the leader is knowing who you’re following. you will always lose the game if your eyes aren’t glued to the one who is leading the way... which brings me to the point- we fool ourselves when we try to follow Jesus without knowing Him. it is one thing to know Jesus as your Savior, it is something entirely different to know Him as your Friend. this month is dedicated to growing deeper in our relationship with Jesus. and don’t miss your opportunity to join one of the underground fellowship community groups! this is gonna be good. 

[pm@]

long live unboredom!!!

[first posted on august 18, 2008]

hello, my name is matthew and i’ve been thinking...

some things just don’t make sense... like the h3 hummer that is never driven off of the pavement, or the boeing 747 that is never taken out of the hangar, or the nuclear submarine that is never even allowed to go underwater... and this is only a short list of untapped potential. but one of the largest wastes of possible effectiveness has to be the Christ follower who never shares their faith with anyone. this is why mission arizona and the lost planet series are so critical for our fellowship. when we choose to live out the plan Jesus gave us for saving the lost, life begins to make sense! never forget that we were made to live our life on purpose, not on accident. so get off your backside & join us in august as we discover how to really live life. let the adventure begin... and long live unboredom!

[pm@]

road trip!!!

[first posted on june 16, 2008]


hello, my name is matthew and i’ve been thinking that i know what you have been thinking...

where have all of the ublogs gone?!

my world is spinning.

can’t focus.

please, someone help.

well, there is no reason to fret any longer. just dust yourself off and enjoy the latest ublog, free of charge:

it would be great if we could know what goes through a bugs mind the last seconds before they come face to face with our car’s windshield. are they planning their day? are they thinking about that one dandelion that all of the cool bugs are hangin’ out at? maybe they are just wondering why this big box of people is getting so... WHAM!!! but what about the other side of the glass? how is this road trip called life going for you so far? are you driving the car, or is God? the truth is, nobody likes back seat drivers, not even God. join underground fellowship as we learn how to hand over our life keys to the One who made us. we will discover how to win in this race of life.

[pm@]

p.s. it will totally be worth it when we get to heaven and can ask God what all of those bugs were thinking about!

un-complicatingly...

[posted first on march 27, 2008]


hello, my name is matthew, and i’ve been thinking...

life has a way of getting all complicated. there used to be a day when home was a place to sleep, eat, and play... but somewhere along the way, somebody thought it would be a great idea to throw work into the mix. homework. that’s just stupid. we don’t go home to work. we go home to sleep, eat , and play. somebody needs to find that person who created homework, and do something to them. not something really really mean, just something that would make them say: ‘oh hey, everybody, i was just kidding about that homework idea. heh heh. sorry about all of the confusion.’ man that would be cool.

anyway, life just gets super complicated. this is why we are taking a few weeks to simplify. what is following Christ all about? what is at the core of our Christian faith walk? come along for the ride as we, basically... try to un-complicate life.

[pm@]

3, 2, 1...

hello, my name is matthew, and i’ve been thinking...


sometimes, our life just becomes one day that runs into the next.  it’s like every year is a carbon copy of the last, except a little bit of us fades as we go on.  this year should be different.  it has to be different!  the truth is that good routines can sometimes turn into bad ruts.  God is challenging us to jump up out of those deep ruts in our lives, to discover the greatness that He has prepared for us!  let’s get 2008 kicked off the right way.  let’s get this new stage of pcc student ministries off to a great start.  let’s follow Jesus closer than we ever have before.
let’s get launched!

 [pm@]