buried & burned

hey there.

i've never been more proud of our undergrounders.  this past wednesday night, we buried and burned the cultural idols that are keeping us from growing deeper in Godly relationships.  strong decisions were made to escape futures of sinful strangleholds.  i would not be surprised if the total worldly value of what we destroyed was in the thousands of dollars.  what a powerful night!

don't ever forget:

we must make the idols in our lives useless to us,

so that our lives can become useful to God...

-pm@

stranglehold

hey there.

it's been a bit...  we've been kinda busy, huh?

[living our lives on purpose will do that].

we started a new message series at underground fellowship:  STRANGLEHOLD  the kick-off night this past wednesday had to be one of the top ten nights we've ever had!  the big idea is that we've let some things slowly creep in and take death grips of our lives.  bad decisions, bad habits, bad self-image, bad culture...  and this march is all about allowing God to break us free from those entrapments.  don't let your friends miss this, [it would be good to see you too].

every wednesday @7pm in pocono community church

north of mount pocono on highway 611, next to the airport

FREEDOM!!!  [picture william wallace]

-pm@

pure

hey there.

today was the first day of february, which prolly has to be one of my top ten fave months of the year  [...letting that last statement sink in...]  the reason being:  as a student ministries pastor, it is when i get to focus all of my attention on relationship and purity issues.  [put simply:  sex]

there is no question that this topic is exciting, controversial, and sometimes even uncomfortable to talk about.  but during the pure series, we are going to discover that sex is one of God's greatest gifts to us.  the key is to remain pure.

i invite you to come along for the ride if you live in the area.  we meet every wednesday night @ 7pm just north of mount pocono, pa on highway 611 at pocono community church.  we'll be looking for ya!  [if you can handle it...]

-pm@

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@

violated

[posted first on february 1, 2009]


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

the pocono community church family has spent a ton of time preparing to move into our new building. every detail has been carefully considered... anything from which trees to clear off of the lot, to which color flecks to include in the different carpets. every step brings more excitement, as we get closer to actually moving in. now, after all of that, how tragic would it be to learn that someone had come in and single handedly destroyed the new building. every class room had been vandalized with graffiti, every bathroom sink had been broken, every piece of video or audio equipment had been stolen. how hurt and violated would we feel? think about it... then show up for our underground services in february. we will connect our relationships to these strong emotions about the building. you won’t want to miss it! trust me.

[pm@]

shut the door!

[posted first on january 1, 2009]

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

life is very sticky. we go through our routine, mind our own business, when BAM! out of no where, and without even asking, life attaches itself to us with a very strong death grip. eventually, the layers of life begin to get kind of heavy. it’s like an old door that has been painted over and over through the years. at some point, the layers of paint get so thick, that the door can no longer close. truth is: we have several layers of life on us by now. honestly, some of them are great parts of our life... but others just aren’t. we’re gonna spend the new year stripping away all of the layers, so God can repaint us. don’t miss it, you will look much better!

[pm@]

ditch the party

[posted first on december 1, 2008]

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

some kids have all the luck. they get all of the alphabet blocks in preschool. they win all of the tetherball games in grade school. they get the brand new car at their sweet sixteen birthday party. they even marry their high school sweetheart. and then there’s the rest of us: the people who get the leftovers... the point? life is not fair. only God knows why good things seem to happen for some, and not for others. the problem with pity parties, though, is that our perception rarely lines up with our reality. we are taking a step back from our circumstances this month so we can see the greatness that God has planned for our future. don’t miss it! 

[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@]

shorty tall

[posted first on september 7, 2008]


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

being vertically challenged (short) has it’s advantages. you can hide a lot easier in math class when mrs. deucy is looking for someone to solve the latest problem... the problem is that you don’t have the foggiest idea how to figure out the answer because you stayed up until late-thirty playing mariokart with your little brother, who beat you so bad that you started crying like a baby. that’s when it comes in real handy to be short-er. even though being not tall is occasionally good, it is also convenient to be gigantic-ish. think about that time when the very last box of hot and spicy cheez-it’s were just out of reach on the fourth shelf of your mom’s favorite grocery store... a sad day, indeed.

the perfect solution would be if everyone were shortall. small or tall as needed. but until we solve this very real problem, just make sure you and your friends climb higher w/God @ elevate.08!

[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@]

solo sock

[posted first on july 1, 2008]

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


losing stuff is not cool at all. you know that your phone is right where you left it, the only thing is, you’re not sure where it is that you left it... what about that one time when your backpack literally grew arms and crawled underneath your bed? and why is one sock in every pair genetically programmed to disappear into the abyss? i am convinced that we spend most of our lives doing one of two things:

1. looking for our lost stuff

2. organizing our stuff so it doesn’t get lost

but when we stop to consider our spiritual lives, the stakes grow much higher than mismatched socks. the price we pay for being lost is death... good news: we can receive the gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus! even better, we can share our faith with others so they can also be found! join us as we study the book of acts and discover God’s plan to rescue this lost planet.

[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!

i like sunflower seeds... but not too much

[posted first on may 1, 2008]


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


there are several things in life that are important me. a good pair of socks. a hat that fits just right. a big bag of sunflower seeds. a cup of strong coffee. even a big juicy burger. but i’ve made up my mind that i will never bow down and worship a cow! there are many people in life that mean the world to me. my wife and kiddos. my other family members, (even the weird ones). friends that have been with me through thick and thin, (what were you thinking?). but i will never bow down and worship any of them!

here’s the deal. worship is a very sacred act. the truth is, though, that worship is a mystery to many. so we will take the month of may to ask four important questions:

||| who do we worship?

||| why do we worship?

 ||| when do we worship?

||| how do we worship?

join us as we study this very important part of our lives.

[pm@]

wii went bowling

[posted first on april 22, 2008]

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

old people rule the world because they are better bowlers. 1 super long lane, 10 annoying pins, 2 terrifying gutters, and 1 stupid-heavy ball. all that just takes an awful lot of life experience to overcome. practice makes perfect, they say. and the more often we are able to stare down our goals, the more often they fall over in fear of our scary face. so, keep aiming down the middle and staying out of the gutters. you’ll eventually see all of the pins rolling around in pain and agony as you squint down the long lane of life in your bifocals. oh yeah... j.high averaged 65 per game, sr.high averaged 90 per game, and the old people averaged 108 per game... enough said. ;~)

[pm@]

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@]

i've got gas

[posted first on march 8, 2008]


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

why is having gas such a bad thing?! if you ask me, it’s kind of a necessity. when we release gas in a constant and steady flow, it keeps us warm on those frigid pennsylvania nights. when we release gas in sudden powerful bursts, it can move people around fairly quickly. the fact that it smells so good is just an added bonus!

speaking of said gas, i want to personally thank all of the undergrounders who took part in the pocono community church gas buy down today! it was a great success. we pumped out nearly 4,000 gallons of gas at 3 different stations, saving everybody in line over 60 cents per gallon. it is the kind of stuff that Jesus is all about. (serioiusly, just read your bible.) let the impact of this day spill over into every other day of your life. always look for real and creative ways to give cups of water to the community that God has planted us in.

[pm@]

dagwood heaven

[posted first on march 3, 2008]

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


the quarterly uplink meeting is all about bringing parents and students closer. our first meeting yesterday was stinkin’ incredible! we knew that our time together was going to be a great success... we just didn’t know that it was going to be stinkin’ incredible. so many parents and teenagers showed up that we completely devoured a 24 foot sub sandwich. do you understand that? 24 feet! truth be told, though, the most important part of the meeting is happening right now. we fool ourselves when we think that a 2 hour meeting will give us a perfect little family. so, as you are busy being a parent, or busy being a student, don’t forget to do your life homework: make sure that you remember those things that we should never be guilty of, and remember those things that we should always be guilty of. 

if you weren’t able to attend for whatever reason, contact me so i can get one of those cool resource booklets in your hands. '8~)

[pm@]

mdavis@poconocc.com

the loneliest number

[posted first on march 1, 2008]


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


one is the loneliest number. unless of course, we are talking about one giant bag of skittles. don’t believe me? just try to open one big bag of skittles, and keep the masses away for more than eighteen seconds... you can’t do it, you can’t! 


here’s the deal- one is not a lonely number when it is that one thing that pulls people together... like one bag of skittles, for instance. and what about one of those state championship football teams? just ask them what it was that made them the best. they will tell you that their team was unified, they were all one. this unity stuff also has everything to do with underground fellowship. when we combine all of our efforts to accomplish God’s one plan for us, nothing or no one can stop us! join us during march for 1.

[pm@]

baby, don't hurt me

[posted first on february 1, 2008]


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


the centuries are full of stories, and thousands of books have been written. everyone is desperately trying to figure it out. it seems to be elusive. it slips just out of reach the second we think we can grab it. the whole world is wondering: what is love? (baby don’t hurt me, don’t hurt me, no more...)


so, for the next 40 days, we will be taking a close look at love. here’s the thing: God has already told us that He is love! the only way we will ever scratch the surface of understanding love is by growing deeper in our relationship with God. join us as we discover authentic love!


[pm@]