Dear Visitor,

Perhaps you consider yourself to be more spiritual than religious. That’s a slogan widely used in popular culture. By that, most people seem to mean that God stuff or organized religion is pretty much a matter of personal choice… like which apps to install and use or which ideas to keep or throw away.

The ironic thing about slogans is they imply independence of thought while often actually being more about going with the herd. When you are still trying to figure out who you are and where you want to go in life, you can be afraid of calling attention to yourself by holding to culturally unpopular beliefs.

The Christian faith doesn’t play the identity politics game. When you are baptized, you are a child of God. You know who and Whose you are. You know your life has meaning and purpose. Indeed, you know that by your gifts and talents and your relationships, God is calling you to a life of joyous service.

This fall at St. Matthew’s, we will be hearing about following God’s Son Jesus. As we listen to the appointed Bible readings in worship, mostly from the Gospel of Luke, we will be discerning “not this, but that.” After all, following anyone implies going one direction rather than another. But, more basically, we will be asking ourselves, “Why follow Jesus, when I could be on my own and do what I want?”

We are a congregation that values the lives and witness of the generations of Christians who have gone before us. Week after week, we do and say what those who have followed Jesus have said and done in worship for 2,000 years. The worship is beautiful, rich in imagery, and definitely not about the pastors, the musicians, or the people. It’s still about God’s Son Jesus and what He has done and promises to do! We invite you to walk through the glass doors parallel to South College Road across from UNCW.

Thanks for stopping by!

Pastor Sam Zumwalt+
szumwalt@bellsouth.net