tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45132511878062862672024-03-14T01:54:20.518-07:00Matt's Ministry UpdatesMatt Carothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16068651617190349650noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4513251187806286267.post-30637500549188420542023-03-02T13:53:00.000-08:002023-03-02T13:53:54.980-08:00February '23 Update<h2 style="text-align: left;"> A Prayer</h2><div><span> God, you are very good. Thank you for being a God worthy of praise. Continue to give us eyes to see your goodness, ears to hear your word, and hearts to love those around us well. Above all, have grace and be patient with us as we strive to look more like your Son.</span><br /></div><div><span><span> We love you, God, and we know you love us! Amen.</span><br /></span></div><div><span><span><br /></span></span></div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span><span>A Word of Thanks</span></span></h2><div><span><span><span> As always, thank you never goes without saying. Thank you so much for everything you do! For your financial support that allows me the time and flexibility to do what I get to do. For your prayer that doesn't go unheard. And thank you for being someone in my life that believes in me and believes in what CTF is trying to do in Wylie and for believing that we serve a very good God.</span><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span> </span><br /></span></span></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikMUV8LMoqHA-KDBrP4JEkaPDuwVTDCufEozflGQUKKVRICAbxmWh-pDQVtkUgxACDtLLPj9k1ibiyDRUVpXgqXr4ynL_vAn4Gj9D0PNdmjUBtp88d7_ucOjP4TrPAaIRFFRg754bDe44wSHcNdJ5nxwlx7R7GJenPWBLgbPn5iPaU03WgJW-7Fhi0fA/s2560/DSCF0088.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="2560" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikMUV8LMoqHA-KDBrP4JEkaPDuwVTDCufEozflGQUKKVRICAbxmWh-pDQVtkUgxACDtLLPj9k1ibiyDRUVpXgqXr4ynL_vAn4Gj9D0PNdmjUBtp88d7_ucOjP4TrPAaIRFFRg754bDe44wSHcNdJ5nxwlx7R7GJenPWBLgbPn5iPaU03WgJW-7Fhi0fA/s320/DSCF0088.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A few of our Sophomores</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">CTF </h2><div><span> Our ministry continues to be such an immense source of encouragement for me. I don't know how many of you are familiar with the axiom "You win people to what you win people with". I'm honestly not sure I even typed that right but the meaning behind it is unforgettable and one that I've seen ring true time and time again. </span><br /></div><div><span><span> If you fill seats every Wednesday night with gimmicks and games then you shouldn't be surprised by teens leaving when the games stop and the focus shifts to Jesus and, ultimately, truth. You won them to a facade with a facade. And herein lies one of the great challenges of teen ministry, of any ministry: what are you winning people with? This is a question that really can only be answered by the teens involved.</span><br /></span></div><div><span><span><span> We had our students fill out an anonymous survey asking various questions ranging from the personal fears and doubts they may have to simply why they like CTF. I've included below some responses from our teens to the question "Why do you personally go to CTF?"</span><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span>- I can grow even more and not lose touch with God</span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span>- Because it really does make me grow in my faith and it doesn't feel forced</span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span>- It makes me happy</span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span>- Because it is fun, helps me build relationships with people, and I love the sermon and small group time.</span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span>- To grow my faith</span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span>- Everyone is so close</span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span>- Because I never was interested in God until I came to CTF</span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span>- I have amazing mentors and it always helps me grow my relationship with God</span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span>- To know about Jesus and learn about him and worship</span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span> This is what God is doing at CTF. This is what is happening in the hearts and minds and lives of 25 (give or take week to week) junior high and high school students in Wylie, TX. What are we winning teens with? Christ and him crucified.</span><br /></div><div><span><span> I'd be lying if I said I wasn't starting to get teary-eyed writing those responses. I love these kids so much and I want nothing more than for them to know and love Jesus. The heart cry of so many teens is to be seen and loved. To be known. And I get to be a part of a ministry that strives to do just that. From large group every Wednesday </span>night to one-on-one bible studies to tough phone calls and everything in between, these teens are never alone even when they are, if you know what I mean.</span></div><div><span><span> To see them interact with one another at CTF and to hear their hearts for each other and for their classmates and families in one-on-ones. These teens are special. Teenagers will live up to or down to your expectations for them and I refuse to write them off or look down on them because they are young. </span></span></div><div><span><span><span> </span>Are they perfect? Absolutely not! Are you? Are they incredibly frustrating sometimes? Absolutely! Aren't I? I am incapable of loving them perfectly since I myself am sinful. So in the meantime, all I can do is point them to the one who loves them infinitely better than I can even imagine, and allow them to point me to Him as well.</span></span></div><div><span><span><span> I love what I get to do and I thank you for joining me in it.</span><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvBV1Zj-KCa2U3751wrsJvOCC0-iFB8zJ0IixHzCe76zf7shHBSuzxkCgSVXSW3Us79TnQcm_ZSwXmddAKFgbtvBc6hRGG7W5_y7ead5CeXht7wvX3PwW9RiEi5U4PuOfZ3FtUSBj_M4GmDGZNcQLSy7bblOD8BIUIbXzdAY_yeMrGClju1qEKNPRm5A/s2560/DSCF0048.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="2560" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvBV1Zj-KCa2U3751wrsJvOCC0-iFB8zJ0IixHzCe76zf7shHBSuzxkCgSVXSW3Us79TnQcm_ZSwXmddAKFgbtvBc6hRGG7W5_y7ead5CeXht7wvX3PwW9RiEi5U4PuOfZ3FtUSBj_M4GmDGZNcQLSy7bblOD8BIUIbXzdAY_yeMrGClju1qEKNPRm5A/s320/DSCF0048.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Selfie from the CTF Christmas Party<br /><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span><br /></span></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxBhGka39meMHtEDBmFZlsV7JRDE35-aQH9yzAEQoQvIGHfe4Il3MBUPOn6u8Bpcpus6kNN-Az-0Hi8v1iB3QBwEcD2lNeJCrpkkZ4GyAPRhNjyusK3msBecmh-_KB0YdlP93yqWNetsjBluA-thHra0RWlJUUim2-DSbNZtHP9f8pVS87QCIPay9_-g/s2560/DSCF0021.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="2560" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxBhGka39meMHtEDBmFZlsV7JRDE35-aQH9yzAEQoQvIGHfe4Il3MBUPOn6u8Bpcpus6kNN-Az-0Hi8v1iB3QBwEcD2lNeJCrpkkZ4GyAPRhNjyusK3msBecmh-_KB0YdlP93yqWNetsjBluA-thHra0RWlJUUim2-DSbNZtHP9f8pVS87QCIPay9_-g/s320/DSCF0021.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The chaos of an icebreaker game (I promise they aren't beating each other up)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></div><div><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Grief Ministry</h2><div><span><span><span><span> Last month Wylie Northeast started a grief ministry for any and everyone who has lost a loved one and is in the process of grieving. I get to lead this group with Erin </span>Cavanaugh.</span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span> We've been able to have a few meetings now and they have been impactful in ways I didn't foresee. When we started this ministry I was both very excited and very, very nervous. I am not a trained or licensed counselor or therapist. So why try to be? A ministry like this isn't one you lead from the front. Especially not when you yourself are grieving. It's a group you lead from alongside and beneath. I am not a counselor, but I am able to listen and cry. And that is what we get to do together. We get to realize that even though OUR grief is unique, grieving itself is not. You're not alone. You're not crazy. You're wounded.</span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span> A lot of people have lost very sweet relationships sooner than we would've liked and now we have to figure out what to do moving forward. A group of about nine of us meet up every other week and talk about the people we miss, talk about the doubts we have, and talk about the God we are still trying to believe is good.</span></span><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span><span><span><span><span>Me Personally</span></span></span></span></span></h2><div><span><span><span><span><span><span> I've been learning a lot. I feel like last year while doing the </span>apprenticeship I grew a lot in my knowledge of scripture. I grew in my ability and even comfort when it comes to discussing theology. This year, however, I've shifted toward less graduate-level study of theology and toward more applied principles of ministry. I love to learn. I love to challenge myself and study God. I love God with all my mind. But now I'm learning how to love Him with all my heart. And how to love His children with all my heart.</span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span> </span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span><span><span><span><span><span>Prayer Requests...</span></span></span></span></span></span></h2><div><span><span><span><span><span><span>- Wisdom and love </span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span>- That I can continue to become a better husband to Sam</span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span>- For our teens that are just trying to figure things out</span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span>- That CTF can continue to be a little piece of the Kingdom for those teens</span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span>Thank you all!! God Bless.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span><span>Matthew Carothers</span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span><span>214-695-4733</span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span><span><span><span><span>matt@ctfwylie.org<br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span> </span><br /></span></span></div>Matt Carothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16068651617190349650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4513251187806286267.post-20476498634824128302023-01-30T09:01:00.001-08:002023-01-30T09:01:45.740-08:00January 2023 Update<h2 style="text-align: left;"> New Year, Same Blog</h2><div><span> 2023 is off to a great start! There is SO much to update you all on and even more to be thankful for. But, per usual I'd like to begin this blog with prayer...</span><br /></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span><span> God, thank you so much! I don't deserve the good gifts you continually give to me. I thank you for the close friends who consistently point me back to your son. For the mentors who pour into me and challenge and trust me. For my marriage to Sam and how sweet and beautiful a gift that has been. For the countless ways you are moving and acting in the lives of the students I get to work with. You are a good God worthy of praise. You are a relational God that knows and sees us intimately. You are a loving God and a good Father. In Jesus name, Amen!</span><br /></span></div><div><span><span><br /></span></span></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span><span>A Word of Thanks...</span></span></h3><div><span><span><span> Thank you supporters! You are the lifeblood that keeps the wildebeest that is my ministry chewing its cud slowly but surely. None of what I get to do would be possible if you weren't partnering with me in this. So as you read the following updates, consider them your own ministry because you did play a role in all of this! You guys rock! I'm so so so thankful! Sorry for the wildebeest thing.</span><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span><span><span>CTF</span></span></span></h2><div><span><span><span><span> CTF is in a very good place! Consistently each Wednesday we have about 20-25 students showing up. Of this students we have about a 60/40 split of girls to guys. We have a budding junior high group beginning to grow. All but a couple of those young ones have a mentor that they spend regular time with and study the bible with! This is such a big deal when you stop and consider where our ministry is going! We are a sweet spot right now, but when I let myself dream about the next 3, 4, 5 years down the road I start to get really excited. </span><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span> These junior high students have already shown that they are willing to ask questions, willing to open up and discuss their own fears and doubts, willing to invite their friends from school who they think could use a community like what they've found in CTF, and willing to just show up.</span><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span> As for our high school students, we have a solid core of about 8 who have really stepped up to help lead and serve their peers. We just had a leader meeting the day before writing this where these students discussed how to better reach out to their friends at school, prayed together, read scripture together, and helped plan and prep for how CTF can keep getting better. </span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> Overall, we have a great and sweet and really impressive crew of junior high and high school students who are visibly transitioning from being curious students to serious disciples. And that is something to praise God for!</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>McMillan Junior High</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h2><div><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> Another cool opportunity that has been in the works now for a few months is the small group that we are trying to start in McMillan Junior High.</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> I have partnered with a teacher and we have started a prayer group that meets in the Library every Thursday after school. The long-term goal is to move this from a prayer group to a bible-study group. So far, we've had 1 student show up each time. Humble beginnings, for sure. But where 2 or 3 are gathered in Jesus' name, we believe he is there also. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Grief Ministry</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h2><div><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> Myself and a sweet friend, Erin Cavanaugh, have started a ministry here in Wylie for those members of our body who are dealing with grief. The goal being to offer a place where we can come together and pray, read scripture, talk, cry and even laugh together. To communicate that our grief is unique but that we are not alone and we are not crazy. </span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> I realize I am not a trained or licensed counselor or therapist. That is why "leading" a ministry like this, at least for me, is not done from the front of the group. This isn't a time where Matt Carothers shares all of his expertise on grief and death. This ministry is lead from the alongside and beneath. I'm a wounded friend that God is healing. And if I can use my own experience and misery to point others back to Christ, then I feel that is worth doing. </span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> We had our first meeting a couple weeks ago and it was very sweet. </span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Prayer Requests</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h2><div><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>- As always, please pray for wisdom and discernment in my ministry</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>- Pray for our students and that they know they are seen and loved</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div>- Pray for what we are trying to start at McMillan </div><div>- Pray for our grief ministry and that God will move in big ways in peoples lives</div><div>- Pray for my marriage and that I can continue to grow and change in the ways I need to change and that I can love and serve Sam well</div><div>- Also, pray I start to remember to take pictures over the course of the month because blogs without pics are BORING</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Matt Carothers</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">214-695-4733</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">matt@ctfwylie.org</div><div><span><span><span><span> </span><br /></span></span></span></div>Matt Carothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16068651617190349650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4513251187806286267.post-8921520852881631972022-11-01T16:47:00.000-07:002022-11-01T16:47:41.949-07:00October 2022 Update<h1 style="text-align: center;"> It's Been a While...</h1><h2 style="text-align: left;">A Word of Thanks</h2><div>Thank you never goes without saying. You are reading this blog because you have either offered financial support, have offered your prayer, or both. You are the reason I get to do what I do. You are the reason I can spend the majority of my time meeting with and ministering to teens here in Wylie. Along with you all, I am thankful to God. He has been so incredibly faithful and I have no reason to believe he won't continue to be. The work He is doing in the hearts and minds of our students is apparent and very encouraging. And our ministry at large is the healthiest it's been since I have been working here. God is a very very good God.</div><div><br /></div><div>God, you never cease to amaze me. Thank you for being a good God. Thank you for being a God worthy of praise, a God worth emulating. Thank you for being an invitational and relational God and for working so beautifully and wonderfully through our relationships with one another. I love you God and I know you love each and every one of us.</div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Why It's Been a While...</h2><div>I'm a dum dum who didn't realize until about a week and a half ago that I haven't done one of these updates in probably 9 months...</div><div>I just completely forgot about it. But not anymore!! I'm back and better than ever. At least until the next time I forget.</div><div>But you're not here for my excuses or an apology, you're here for my wisdom and insight. You're here to gaze in wonder and awe at me. You're here because you're asking yourself, "Man...how can I be more like Matt?..."</div><div>Good luck.</div><div>Do you see how I'm trying to use humor to make you forget the fact that I have neglected my blog for nearly a year? </div><div>Is it working?...</div><div>Well, let's move on.</div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Ministry Update</h2><div>I wrote above that CTF is the healthiest it's been since I've started working there. What do I mean by that?</div><div><br /></div><div>1.) We are small</div><div><span> I know that, for a lot of ministries and churches, size is an indicator of health. That being said, I also know that if you spend much time around the Northeast family of churches or our FOCUS ministries that you will hear that we don't play the numbers game. That we aren't worried about how many people are </span>showing up, we're going to continue to work and serve faithfully those that are showing up. </div><div><span> The same can be said for CTF. We are going to faithfully serve and love and teach however many students show up, whether that's 10 or 110. So why is the fact that we are small a good thing?</span><br /></div><div><span><span> Because we have been able to really pour in to the students that we have. Our students are becoming more and more familiar with each other, albeit slowly. We have been able to offer 1-on-1 discipleship to all of our students and most of them are being met with consistently. CTF feels warm and welcoming and I think it has a lot to do with the fact that our numbers are down a little bit. </span><br /></span></div><div><span><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span>2.) We are young</span></span></div><div><span><span><span> Heartache to heartache we stand. </span><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span> I feel like a lot of people wouldn't view this as a strength. But the reason I think this is a sign of health has a lot to do with my previous point. Take everything from point 1 (the size of CTF, discipleship, warmth and welcoming, consistency) and imagine what it would be like to spend the next 3, 4, 5 years of your formative middle and high school years in a community like that.</span><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span> I'm just very excited for where our ministry is going to be in the next 4 years. The depth and willingness of our students to reach out to friends and invite them in, to point them to Christ. It's very exciting! </span><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span>3.) We know our kids AND we're getting to know their parents</span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span> CTF is cool in the sense that it isn't technically just Wylie Northeast's youth group. Like FOCUS, we have students who don't go to a Northeast church, and a few who don't go to church at all. CTF is their church body. And I love that about our model of ministry. You don't have to go to our church to go to our youth ministry.</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> But, we're starting to get more and more kiddos whose families DO go to Northeast on Sundays. We get to see them weekly and go to lunch with them and talk to them. They see our faces and hear us speak. It just makes it easier to partner with the parents of our students when we actually get to spend time with them. </span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>And I could go on, but those are just a few reasons why I'm very excited about where CTF is at right now as well as where it will be in the years to come.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Along with CTF, I am also helping a couple of teachers at McMillan Junior High start a small group bible study on the campus! We are partnering with an organization called Bridge 2913 and FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) to get that up and running. Please be praying for that group and that we can find students to help lead it and that it can be a light on that campus.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">My Life</h2><div>Really the biggest thing to say here is that I married Sam on August 27th!</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX_8QAlPWgw7x7DLeThHxQw_ejF-Rwa_P886qCobYMX89n2hxoUBJ_2BDk6ZVQfeQglnxc29II8RFJN2O1EkMsL3qafCnV68Tpa5CjeF4SvF8Hq_UUb6LJZV5lXe7FhumLzRi2feGBqPP7R3DP9obpncOfB6eLJG5zPYfH2lop7QJBVAIpccKkktiPRA/s2736/80F83FFC-DED0-43B4-84F9-80002B16626B.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2736" data-original-width="1824" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX_8QAlPWgw7x7DLeThHxQw_ejF-Rwa_P886qCobYMX89n2hxoUBJ_2BDk6ZVQfeQglnxc29II8RFJN2O1EkMsL3qafCnV68Tpa5CjeF4SvF8Hq_UUb6LJZV5lXe7FhumLzRi2feGBqPP7R3DP9obpncOfB6eLJG5zPYfH2lop7QJBVAIpccKkktiPRA/s320/80F83FFC-DED0-43B4-84F9-80002B16626B.heic" width="213" /></a></div><br /></div><div>Marriage has been a blast and God has already been so faithful and blessed us immensely!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Written on My Heart</h2><div>The point of this section is to share with you all a piece of scripture that has been encouraging, challenging, confusing, etc. to me recently and see if it doesn't elicit similar responses for you all.</div><div><br /></div><div>The scripture that has been written on my heart recently is Psalm 1, specifically the first 3 verses:</div><div><br /></div><div><span> "Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the Law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither - whatever they do prospers."</span><br /></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>This challenges me. Is my delight in the Law of the Lord? If not, where is it? What does this even mean? On the other hand, it is an encouragement and I want to become the kind of person described in this psalm. </span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span>Prayer Requests</span></h2><div><span>- For our students. That they truly come to love Jesus.</span></div><div><span>- For our staff. That they continue to work and rest well.</span></div><div><span>- For McMillan. That God moves powerfully on that campus.</span></div><div><span>- For Sam and I. That we continue to love and serve each other as Christ does.</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>Thank you all so much!</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span>Matt Carothers</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">214-695-4733</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">matt@ctfwylie.org</div><div><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></div><div><span><span> </span><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Matt Carothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16068651617190349650noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4513251187806286267.post-4979292243006635522022-03-02T11:09:00.001-08:002022-03-02T11:09:56.359-08:00<h2 style="text-align: left;"> A Word of Thanks</h2><div>God, you are unwaveringly good. I pray that as you continue to bless me I will in turn be able to bless those around me. God, no one can outgive you. I thank you (though admittedly not enough as I should) for the good gifts you pour into my own life and for the gifts I see you giving others each and every day. And if you never give me another good thing for the rest of my life, God you have already given me too much. I love you and I know you love me. Amen.</div><div><br /></div><div>As for my supporters, I know I say this often but truth is truth is truth and it's worth repeating: you are just one example of the physical blessings God sees fit to give me every day. Any learning I've been doing, any student I study the Bible with, and any purchase I make I do so with the humility and the thankfulness and the confession that, in this season of life, I can only do those things because of you all. I thank God every time I think of you, and I think of you every time I thank God.</div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">A Word of Apologies</h2><div>I'm bad at writing blogs. </div><div><br /></div><div>Twice now, I have completely forgotten to update you all on what has been going on in my apprenticeship and ministry. I forgot to write a blog for November and now for January. I speak with a lot of you often simply due to proximity and the regularity of our seeing each other. But for those of you who I see less frequently, I really am sorry about not keeping up with this blog better. </div><div><br /></div><div>If I had to give a reason as to why I didn't write a blog for January, I think it's just because I'm kind of lazy. My conscience is not clear, and I am most definitely not innocent. </div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Apprenticeship</h2><div>We have been continuing through the New Testament. We began with the gospels of Mark and Matthew, then we read Luke and Acts, and now we are moving our way through Paul's letters. </div><div><br /></div><div>Probably the most interesting thing I've learned in recent weeks (albeit inconsequential) is that there were actually probably 5 letters from Paul to the Church in Corinth. I didn't learn this through any research of my own, rather, through the research of those much much smarter than I. We are reading through a textbook called <i>The New Testament in It's World </i>by N.T. Wright (whose name actually means New Testament Wright....just kidding). This text is exactly what it sounds like and its purpose is to look at the New Testament less through a theological lens and more simply through a lens of history. Who wrote this? To whom was it written? When? Where? Why? </div><div><br /></div><div>It is through this book, as well as a New Testament Foundations lecture taught by Rikk Watts at Regent Seminary, that I learned 1 Corinthians was actually the 2nd letter written to the church. And 2 Corinthians seems to be a combination of the 4th and 5th letters. Meaning we do not have the 1st or the 3rd letters that Paul wrote to the church in Corinth. Again, this doesn't really do much other than give me a good bit of information to use at a dinner party when I want to impress (or bore) my friends. And whether they are impressed or bored does not affect me, but eventually they will have to answer to Jesus. </div><div><br /></div><div>As far as something that actually affects how I do ministry, we have discussed regularly how pastoral Paul's letters truly are. He did not set out to write down a systematic theology. Rather, he was speaking to the needs of his flock as those needs arose. That being said, I have learned that is very dangerous indeed to try and place Christ and his teachings into a Pauline theology. I must learn to view Paul (and everything he wrote) through the lens of Christ. And as a pastor often times sitting across the table from another living, breathing human being, I need to understand they probably don't give two figs about my theology. What they need is to be known and seen. I need to sit and be prayerfully asking God "what does this person need in this moment?" And what they need each time is Christ. So how do I help them take that next step toward Jesus? And a lot of times, as I'm learning, the next step can look very different depending on who you're speaking to. </div><div><br /></div><div>That's probably about as Pauline of a theology as you can get. We don't point people to Paul or his works as if he was the one that was crucified and raised for us. We don't do that because that's not what Paul was doing. Paul was on about pointing people to the cross. So the question is do I know Paul better than Jesus? If so, why?</div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">My Ministry</h2><div>Pretty exciting news! I gave my first ever Sunday morning sermon on February 20th. </div><div><br /></div><div>https://wylienortheast.com/content.cfm?id=213&download_id=1319</div><div><br /></div><div>Above is the link for the sermon I gave and if for whatever reason it gives you trouble, you can go to wylienortheast.com and find it under the "Sermons" tab. </div><div><br /></div><div>Myself, William Royal and Brianna Marble (all CTF staff) were asked to do a 3-week sermon series in the month of February. You can find their sermons on the church website as well. The title of our series was "Written on Our Hearts" and each of us took a week to do a deep dive into a certain verse or passage from scripture that is written on our hearts. Meaning; a verse that we have not only dedicated to memory (which would just be "written on our brain") but one that has had a lasting impact in our lives. One that has helped shaped our view of ourselves, of others, and of God. I preached on Proverbs 12:15</div><div><br /></div><div><b>"The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice."</b></div><div><br /></div><div>If you're interested in how that verse has been written on my heart, go listen to my sermon!</div><div><br /></div><div>As for CTF...</div><div><br /></div><div>I went ahead and bought another Bible for a student that I've been meeting with. He was using the ESV, which is a great and helpful translation, BUT he wasn't understanding what he was reading. And the language used in his Bible as opposed to the NIV that I use was just different enough to be more confusing than helpful. So I went ahead and got him a new NIV Bible and I'm excited to give it to him the next time we meet.</div><div><br /></div><div>And I'd like to take this opportunity to honor God and paint myself as a fool...</div><div><br /></div><div>I meet with a freshman who has been pretty non-responsive to my texts recently. We met up every week last semester but I've seen probably twice since New Years. And the last couple of weeks, it was more of the non-responsiveness and, to be frank, I found myself becoming frustrated. You do ministry long enough and you get used to people ghosting you and deciding that there are other things they'd rather do with their time than meet up with you. So, Sunday morning, I was sitting in church writing out the following text to send to this student:</div><div><br /></div><div>"Hey man. If you still want to meet up with me I still want to meet up with you. But if that's something you're interested in doing, I'm going to need you to start being more responsive and a little more respectful. Simply ignoring my texts isn't the most mature way to say you'd rather not meet up anymore..."</div><div><br /></div><div>It was as I wrote that last sentence that something felt a little off. I couldn't tell you exactly what thought came into my brain, but I decided to erase that text and sent this instead:</div><div><br /></div><div>"Hey brotha! You free this Friday?"</div><div><br /></div><div>To which the student who hadn't been responding much texted back immediately, saying:</div><div><br /></div><div>"Hey Matt, I am. Craziest thing happened. I am in the hospital right now, on Friday my lung collapsed and I had to have surgery fast. So sorry I couldn't make it last week."</div><div><br /></div><div>.......</div><div><br /></div><div>I have since determined the Spirit was tapping me on the shoulder saying "No no, don't send that text. You don't have all the information. There's something going on that you don't know about."</div><div>With a tube in his chest helping him breathe, he decided to text me back apologizing for not meeting with me the Friday before, and saying he would in fact be free to meet me the next Friday. </div><div><br /></div><div>He has since had surgery and is recovering and doing very well! Praise God. But I just thought that little interaction between myself, this student, and the Spirit of God was noteworthy and perhaps encouraging for anyone of you who read it. If it is encouraging, let it be so. If not, go about your business.</div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Prayer Requests</h2><div>- The usual: wisdom in my leadership, endurance in my education, love for my students and co-workers. Pray that I can lead, love and serve people well.</div><div>- Prayers for my fellow apprentices who, given the nature of campus ministry, are FAR busier than I. Some of them regularly put in 55-60hr weeks.</div><div>- Prayers for the freshman mentioned earlier and that he heals from his collapsed lung completely.</div><div>- Prayers for myself and Sam as we continue through our pre-engagement counseling and move closer to deciding to spend the rest of lives together.</div><div>- Prayers for our CTF students, that they can learn to love God with all their mind, their souls and their strength.</div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">To End, A Poem</h2><div>I wrote this poem for a sermon I gave back in December. It doesn't have a title.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>I thought that I was on my own.</i></div><div><i>A scared, lost child; afraid, alone.</i></div><div><i>I sought for something, anything, anyone.</i></div><div><i>And eventually learned that I was on the run.</i></div><div><i>That I had not lost, rather I'd left to roam.</i></div><div><i>I'd fled my one and only home.</i></div><div><i>But in the midst of my lone wander,</i></div><div><i>I had a thought I thought I ought to ponder.</i></div><div><i>Remember who you called you Lord.</i></div><div><i>You have a home to head back toward.</i></div><div><i>You are not on this path alone.</i></div><div><i>The entire time you have been known.</i></div><div><i>And if I remember this bold truth,</i></div><div><i>The truth I've known since my youth,</i></div><div><i>I'll find the strength to carry on,</i></div><div><i>And toward my home I will be drawn.</i></div><div><i>Where streams of living water flow,</i></div><div><i>and Love reigns King I'll surely go.</i></div><div><i>By Lamb's sweet blood and sacrifice,</i></div><div><i>His hand I'll hold in paradise.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>God bless!</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Matt Carothers</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">matt@ctfwylie.org</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">214-695-4733</div>Matt Carothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16068651617190349650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4513251187806286267.post-80210345410479316472022-01-01T10:31:00.000-08:002022-01-01T10:31:10.268-08:00<h2 style="text-align: left;">A Word of Thanks</h2><div>As always, thank you never goes without saying. So I'd like to begin this blog with a prayer of thankfulness:</div><div><br /></div><div>God, you are so incredibly good. Thank you for being a God worthy of praise, for being a God that sees and knows us intimately, for pursuing us. Thank you for pursuing me, my heart and my mind. Thank you for pursuing all of us. Thank you for the opportunities you've placed in front of me this year and that you will put in front of me this next semester. Thank you for all of the people in my life who have decided to partner with me this year and support me in my ministry, either financially or with their prayers and advice. You have truly blessed me so that I, in turn, may try and bless others around me. You are so good and so faithful and I am thankful every day for you. Amen.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now, for all my supporters, I feel like a broken record but I mean truth is truth is truth and it's worth repeating: this year, and all I've experienced and learned, would not be possible without you all! I am currently working on individual thank you letters for each of you so expect those sometime within the next month.</div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">A Word of Apology</h2><div>I completely forgot to do a blog for the month of November and I've been on break for a good chunk of December so a lot of this is going to be kind of old news that I've spoken to a lot of you about already. So I am sorry for that. I am also sorry for the lack of photos in this blog. I apologize and I beg your forgiveness. The last time I apologized for something in a blog though, my sister Chelsea made sure to let me know that I was not forgiven. But you know what, "where sin abounds" and all that stuff.</div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">The End of the Semester</h2><p style="text-align: left;">A quick recap of my first semester as an apprentice is necessary. </p><p style="text-align: left;">We read all of the Old Testament, which I had never done before. Paired with this, we listened to a lecture series called "Foundations of the Old Testament" taught by Iain Provan, a professor at Regent Seminary. If you have never read the entirety of the OT, first of all, I get it. It is jam packed with a lot of weird stuff and it has more than it's fair share of uncomfortable situations and wild moments. Second of all, I want to encourage you to read it! It is beautiful. It explores the human condition in such a way that the New Testament simply doesn't. It makes up 75% of our Bible, to ignore it or outright condemn it is a dangerous and ultimately detrimental. After all, when Paul says that "all scripture is God-breathed and useful..." the New Testament hadn't been written yet and the scripture Paul was speaking about would have been the Old Testament. Not to mention how knowledgeable Jesus was with the OT. All of that to say, whether you've read the OT or not, I urge you to approach it and let God reveal himself and his character to you anew. Be rooted in the word, friends.</p><p style="text-align: left;">To finish the semester, all of the apprentices gave sermons with the prompt "This is My Gospel".</p><p style="text-align: left;">The purpose of this was to find our story, our song, our gospel and to share it with our fellow apprentices. This is not an exercise in relative "your truth. my truth" exposition, rather, it is an exercise in discovering and describing how the Jesus' truth has impacted our lives. So in a weird and beautiful paradox, it is both subjective AND objective.</p><p style="text-align: left;">My gospel that I chose to share is that I am never alone. By far, the most formative experience of my life was the sickness and subsequent death of my mom. And by far, this is when God showed up the most in my life. The low point in my life connected me to God in ways I had never fully appreciated. It wasn't that God had been distant and decided to come close, rather, I began to realize how close God had always been. I realized that I am never alone. I have the word of God, the body of Christ, and the Spirit of God living within me. I knew all of this to be true when my mom was completely healthy, but the longest journey a disciple has to make is from his head to his heart. I knew it, but now I believe it.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">All of this has left me so excited and ready for the next semester of the apprenticeship and what it holds for not only myself but for all of the apprentices.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">My Life...</h2><div>Every New Year's, myself and a group of close friends take a trip. Last year we began the new tradition of going up to Edwards, Colorado. A city high up in the Rockies. A city I am currently writing this blog from. It is beautiful here and while surrounded by the mountains and some of my best friends, I can't help but imagine this is a tiny glimpse of Heaven. I'll most likely include some pics of some of our views in my next blog.</div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Prayer Requests</h2><div>- both of my grandparents on my mothers side recently came down with COVID and both have improved but both could definitely use some prayers.</div><div>- the teens that I am working with...winter break can be a beautiful and restful time for some, and a hard, stressful, and perhaps unhealthy and dangerous time for others. Please be in prayer for their hearts and minds and families in this season and that we can start the Spring semester off with a bang and can pick up right where we left off in the winter.</div><div>- my own head and heart...please be in prayer that I can continue to grow and develop as a leader, teacher and disciple and that I can lead, serve, and love the people around my well.</div><div>- as always, prayers for my fellow apprentices and their own ministries and that this winter break has been a restful one for all of them as well</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Matt Carothers</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">matt@ctfwylie.org</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">214-695-4733</div><div><br /></div><p style="text-align: left;"> </p>Matt Carothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16068651617190349650noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4513251187806286267.post-86767716456874985492021-11-01T20:14:00.000-07:002021-11-01T20:14:21.220-07:00<h2 style="text-align: left;"> A Word of Thanks</h2><div>Per usual, I would like to begin this months blog with another prayer of thanks to God as well as a brief letter of thanks to all of you.</div><div><br /></div><div>God, I am consistently left in awe of you. Words truly escape me when it comes to how good you are. Thank you for being a God who is worthy of our praise and adoration. Thank you for being a relational God and for making us relational beings. Thank you for sending your son so that we may find life and have it to the full. Thank you Christ for being our Lord and savior. Thank you Spirit for your consistent presence and activity in and through my life and the life of my brothers and sisters in the faith. Continue to guide and teach my, o God, and continue to bless me so that I may in turn bless others. Amen.</div><div><br /></div><div>Another month in the books! Another month of learning and serving made possible by you all. Thank you never goes without saying and I want to once again say just that; THANK YOU!! I know I've said it before, but what I am doing would not be possible if it weren't for you all. I wouldn't be able to devote all of my time to either serving the teens in my ministry or to studying scripture so diligently if it weren't for you. I have been so immensely blessed by this apprenticeship and I've been able try and be a blessing to my teens. </div><div><br /></div><div>Before I continue I'd like to mention that I won't have as many pictures this week as I normally do. Funny how that happens when you don't remember to take pictures...I apologize. I have failed you all...</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyways</div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">What I am Learning...</h2><div>We are almost completely finished with the Old Testament! We have read all of the prophets and history texts this past month and all we have left is Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Songs, Lamentations, Daniel, Ecclesiastes, and Job. It's kind of hard to believe that we're this far into scripture. I've never read this much of the Bible over so short a timespan. </div><div><br /></div><div>We've been learning about what a prophet even is. I feel there is a common idea of what it means to be a prophet and more often than not, it almost seems to elicit ideas of divination and crystal balls. Absolutely, every now and then, we see a prophet speak confidently about events that haven't yet happened. BUT, the prophets seemed far more concerned with speaking the truth of God into their current situation. I will say though that the prophets were emotionally draining for me. Reading over and over again how humanity has gotten God wrong made me legitimately sad. But within the harsh warnings and strong language are glimmers of hope. Hope for a future messianic king. A king we know to be Jesus Christ.</div><div><br /></div><div>We've learned about the seemingly satirical nature of the book of Jonah as well as the dangers of missing the heart of God in Ezra and Nehemiah. The Old Testament Foundations class taught by Professor Iain Provan has been immensely helpful and thought-provoking as usual. </div><div><br /></div><div>We also started a class devoted entirely to learning about the Holy Spirit. We are reading through a book called "Paul, the Spirit, and the People of God" by Gordon Fee. It focuses on exactly what the title suggests; how Paul understood the Spirit not as an impersonal force, but as an experienced personal being. The Spirit is the experienced presence of the living God dwelling within his children...simple right? I'm excited for the remaining chapters and classes devoted to this topic because it is very difficult to understand. </div><div><br /></div><div>On top of that, we are continuing to learn how to apply all of this knowledge we're trying to retain to our lives and ministries. Basically, we're learning why what we're learning is significant and a lot of it goes back to something I mentioned in my opening prayer. We serve a relational God who takes very personally how we treat his children.</div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">My Ministry...</h2><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjgBLZ78m3ytxjvp5rl0c4MCD6jWphr1zqbdxEgpsqyrqWRglWTO1qmkkBUYLmw6Wd7l2kgiK6L1kHKhWgsUjLKulii6nDHBdRJaix6m1yvnT0q7kStlrnCSpVgw2rLuGKTGKm926X5Lzg36upWJqJ1ZyLUKeJ8xtxWmHxmf_VAkKisqzPXdjltNMqTCA=s4032" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjgBLZ78m3ytxjvp5rl0c4MCD6jWphr1zqbdxEgpsqyrqWRglWTO1qmkkBUYLmw6Wd7l2kgiK6L1kHKhWgsUjLKulii6nDHBdRJaix6m1yvnT0q7kStlrnCSpVgw2rLuGKTGKm926X5Lzg36upWJqJ1ZyLUKeJ8xtxWmHxmf_VAkKisqzPXdjltNMqTCA=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William and myself preaching</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div>As the picture above suggests, this past month I got share another sermon with our CTF students. The difference this time is that I got to do it with my best friend and brother in Christ, William Royal. We continued in our "There's a Better Way" sermon series and the title of this specific sermon was "There's a Better Way to Relate".</div><div><br /></div><div>I've already mentioned it twice in this blog update, but the whole idea, the main crux of the sermon was the fact that GOD CARES DEEPLY ABOUT HOW WE TREAT EACH OTHER!!</div><div><br /></div><div>We spoke specifically about the one another passages that we find all over the New Testament and the implications those have on our current relationships. We spoke about how we as humans are image-bearers of Yahweh and we need to treat each other as such. </div><div><br /></div><div>An aspect of that is dating, but we didn't focus on dating. Rather we focused on friendships, relationships with siblings, classmates, parents, teachers, etc. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRaHBHTFLYAEbYTHe8RZVvQdY0oMAn5jK1U1LMDMjQk55mRiYBcgYFUr8GL9DiCy6EQt4Y_r2pqiPH3IC6xercirn_-s_PNWHrQkIYH2TfZKLn9OWtmlXklvPjhrDY1PXEgxGr_q5bv_ObnubeNDEqg8gWa0zJG-yuqaHprCSgHuIyg1VGZNRIF9Svkg=s4032" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRaHBHTFLYAEbYTHe8RZVvQdY0oMAn5jK1U1LMDMjQk55mRiYBcgYFUr8GL9DiCy6EQt4Y_r2pqiPH3IC6xercirn_-s_PNWHrQkIYH2TfZKLn9OWtmlXklvPjhrDY1PXEgxGr_q5bv_ObnubeNDEqg8gWa0zJG-yuqaHprCSgHuIyg1VGZNRIF9Svkg=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From our Songs & S'mores Event<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></td></tr></tbody></table>We were also able to come together as a community for a fun night of worship, games and sweets in our Songs & S'mores event. <div><br /></div><div>The weather has been beautiful recently and we were able to take advantage of it and enjoy the presence of God by singing songs to him with one another. We also gave a few of our students the opportunity to share some of their takeaways from our sermon series thus far. Overall it was an awesome night! It was a good change of pace from our normal Wednesday night.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>But all of my ministry hasn't just been our large group meetings. I currently get to study and meet up one-on-one with 7 awesome young men. Some of those meetings are spend studying the Word of God, and others are literally just a trip to Sonic for a Blast. God is moving in and through these young men already. It's my job to continue to point them to the cross, to point them to Christ and to encourage them to continue to take ownership of their faith. </div><div><br /></div><div><h2 style="text-align: left;">In Conclusion...</h2><div>God is moving. It's up to us to follow.</div><div>God is speaking. It's up to us to have ears to hear.</div><div>God is active. It's up to us to have eyes to see.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'd like to close this months blog with a psalm I wrote. It is inspired by the Lord's Prayer and is aimed toward saying the same thing:</div><div><br /></div><div><b>My king, my Lord, my love</b></div><div><b>You will be praised for ever and ever.</b></div><div><b>Equip me to be led by you and allow me to usher</b></div><div><b>in your Kingdom, to do your will, to surrender</b></div><div><b>myself daily to the call of your Son.</b></div><div><b>Provide me your strength today as you have</b></div><div><b>every other day before.</b></div><div><b>My life today is a gift and I won't misuse it.</b></div><div><b>Change my heart, my mind.</b></div><div><b>Mold it after your own.</b></div><div><b>Have mercy on me and teach me to forgive.</b></div><div><b>As I am now, I am incapable of loving as you love me.</b></div><div><b>Protect me as you are faithful to do and lead me </b></div><div><b>how you see fit.</b></div><div><b>Remove from my heart my sinful</b></div><div><b>desires and keep close watch over my steps.</b></div><div><b>The evil one will be destroyed but until then,</b></div><div><b>protect me from his advances.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Amen</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><b>Prayer Requests...</b></h2><div>- the usual...please pray for the teens involved in our ministry. That God protects them from this world and that they feel and experience his love for them.</div><div><br /></div><div>- continued prayers for my relationship with Sam. We are still doing pre-engagement counseling and it is going so well! Please pray for continued wisdom and that we can learn to love and serve each other well</div><div><br /></div><div>- prayers for my fellow apprentices. For endurance and rest. I stay busy with my schedule but college campus ministry is a different beast! I feel incredibly blessed with the current schedule I have when I compare it to what some of my fellow apprentices do with their weeks. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Matt Carothers</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">matt@ctfwylie.org</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">214-695-4733</div><div><br /></div></div>Matt Carothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16068651617190349650noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4513251187806286267.post-7654674273479428642021-09-30T16:21:00.000-07:002021-09-30T16:21:09.625-07:00<h2 style="text-align: left;">A Word of Thanks...</h2><p style="text-align: left;">I truly believe that thank you never goes without saying, so I would like to begin this months blog with a prayer of thankfulness to God and by showing my sincere gratefulness and appreciation to all members of my prayer and financial support teams:</p><p style="text-align: left;">God, you are far too good to us. Thank you so much for being a God worthy of our praise. Thank you Jesus for being a savior and king worthy of emulation. Thank you Spirit for being a constant source of encouragement and guidance, for challenging when necessary and affirming when needed most. Thank you for equipping me to meet and serve the young men and women in my immediate ministry. Thank you for giving me an entire team of fellow students and apprentices so that I have people to learn and to grow with. Thank you for any and everybody who has decided to join me in my ministry by financially supporting me, and thank you for all who have asked me questions and prayed prayers on my behalf and on behalf of the teens who have stepped into my life and my heart. My prayer, God, is that I can love, serve and lead them well. We love you so much, God and we know you love us. In Christ's name we pray, Amen!</p><p style="text-align: left;">To all of my supporters...</p><p style="text-align: left;">I am truly thankful to God every time I think of you. Your generosity, your support, the ownership that you have taken in all of this has continued to bless not only myself, but dozens of young people. Some who are experiencing God and community for the first time, other who I have had the pleasure of knowing since they were little ones. You've purchased countless meals and cups of coffee for the high school students that I get to study the Bible with! Your support even purchased a copy of the Bible itself for one of the freshman that I meet with! And it was one of the nice ones with the thumb index on the side and red letters so you know when Jesus is talking! Really fancy stuff. I can't stress enough how none of what I am doing would even be possible if it weren't for your partnership. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so very much!!</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgH1h0XLAA69uaDEgQRBHtMp3viyFJVznYIE9vgitIn8_xU56FSdgKPLInPFcJd4BRkDB4GZ_3l6iZqG8peCD04fHp9PgJf633dczb57Pkq9riuPRvdy1JTgptRhW0v8NcB0EEpEXHjeuGiOjJyoNKMUqhZKuj3BYRtTV2YF0GicjElBOSud5xtXqlXTw=s582" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="582" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgH1h0XLAA69uaDEgQRBHtMp3viyFJVznYIE9vgitIn8_xU56FSdgKPLInPFcJd4BRkDB4GZ_3l6iZqG8peCD04fHp9PgJf633dczb57Pkq9riuPRvdy1JTgptRhW0v8NcB0EEpEXHjeuGiOjJyoNKMUqhZKuj3BYRtTV2YF0GicjElBOSud5xtXqlXTw=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From our class with Ronnie Worsham (senior pastor of Northeast Garland Church)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">What I am Learning...</h2><p style="text-align: left;">Myself and my fellow apprentices have been slowly and rigorously working our way through the Old Testament. We have read the entirety of the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy), about half of the historical narrative of the OT (Joshua - 2 Kings), and have dipped our toes, so to speak, in the major and minor prophets (Isaiah, Hosea, and Joel). </p><p style="text-align: left;">Coupled with this, we have been listening into lectures from Regent College (a seminary in Vancouver, British Columbia) specifically an Old Testament course taught by Iain Provan, which has been incredibly enlightening and challenging.</p><p style="text-align: left;">In a couple of our other classes, we have started the process of learning how to think pastorally and what it means to be an effective Christ-like leader to help those we are serving best grow as well as how to mature in our own relationship with God. </p><p style="text-align: left;">So, in short, I'm learning a lot........like A LOT!</p><p style="text-align: left;">I'm learning how to read scripture, ancient Hebrew text, through a lens that tries to combine what these words meant to its original audience and how to extrapolate relevant, transcendent and transformative truths in our modern world and lives.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I'm learning to ask questions like "what am I supposed to do with the violence that flows throughout Joshua and Judges?" and "how do I take ancient law written to a foreign people and pull any relevant truth out of it?" and perhaps most importantly, the questions of "what does this tell me about God?" and "what does this tell me about myself?"</p><p style="text-align: left;">I've had to wrestle with preexisting misconceptions I have held not only toward the Bible, but toward humanity and toward God himself. This can be a rather scary practice. Try asking yourself sometime "how have I gotten God wrong?" and then humbly letting the Spirit, Body of Christ, and the Word of God respond with "I'm glad you asked..."</p><p style="text-align: left;">But for any ways I have gotten God wrong, I have gotten certain things right: He is a just and merciful God. Amen!</p><p style="text-align: left;">Micah 6:8 says <b>"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."</b></p><p style="text-align: left;">If what is required of us by God is justice, mercy and humility, what does that tell us about the being we call Lord? I would posit that He is in fact a good and loving God.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">My Ministry...<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgIytZNMP3wStcwLtbDEiKJivTyVIxiEsA0ncNnTHOCMDuo_Dz5dsJl6fqNu0PjtHs7SMDqCCVBamv4Y8Agey52wmVZNq33Dl2Y80KukpiF7OzzFRR7pwwVvp3CJqT3K4EvexXJ9FiqekSxKq869iM0br7hZoEZoggufr5pd7G8BLfDpai2O34qt_qcJA=s4032" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgIytZNMP3wStcwLtbDEiKJivTyVIxiEsA0ncNnTHOCMDuo_Dz5dsJl6fqNu0PjtHs7SMDqCCVBamv4Y8Agey52wmVZNq33Dl2Y80KukpiF7OzzFRR7pwwVvp3CJqT3K4EvexXJ9FiqekSxKq869iM0br7hZoEZoggufr5pd7G8BLfDpai2O34qt_qcJA=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me preaching</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></h2><p style="text-align: left;">A few weeks ago I was able to give a sermon to our youth group. We are in the middle of a series called "There's a Better Way". The series has tried to present various trials, vices, sin struggles, and just things our students can expect to come up over the course of their lives and set it up against the life that Christ offers.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The title of my talk was "There's a Better Way Than Anger" and I tried to guide them through how tricky and dangerous responding in anger can be. There are absolutely times where anger is warranted and appropriate. After all, we see Christ and God angry in scripture. But the danger of anger is that it tricks you into thinking that you are completely in the right, and everybody else is completely in the wrong. You become incapable of seeking peace and instead seek retribution. </p><p style="text-align: left;">The question "is my anger justified?" is good but it is incomplete. You must follow that question with "what then does my anger justify?"</p><p style="text-align: left;">But it hasn't been all anger! We had an event where we went roller skating and Thunderbirds roller rink in Plano. It was supposed to be 80"s themed, but it kind of just turned into "wear something ridiculous" themed.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhZgM5krQdRLEB7-W3qPMoQyDNV2ay6g5kcKMI5FEZraNZva_HrJDfujQFZcDZkd-IGkzPRyS-kmn61NiuHykArqFLv80MUC_rX8NeSrUQqiuhbLwsO-u83I25Wzv7Dl60bHypP6ZMvgvXtRU96NFKHRIE8zeggnX27Ku1pcC2NfuubLxuHJrglArJwHg=s4032" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhZgM5krQdRLEB7-W3qPMoQyDNV2ay6g5kcKMI5FEZraNZva_HrJDfujQFZcDZkd-IGkzPRyS-kmn61NiuHykArqFLv80MUC_rX8NeSrUQqiuhbLwsO-u83I25Wzv7Dl60bHypP6ZMvgvXtRU96NFKHRIE8zeggnX27Ku1pcC2NfuubLxuHJrglArJwHg=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Matt G., Ian, me, William and Kole (left to right) at Thunderbirds</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi7rQvdb09m9kc9nHg5OwrFC5a0-fDo7l_JqVDvbw4aT-CPJh7cXS3rqQlzT9tGPOsuNEpzPbO-KzX_hsbR9GBpsmIuYRrDjMjfYW4MOM56Hd_d5-pZeANhB23vNNsLjzEyQhhGDFD83pr4ul48lBOm6heYiRd55Pw4trbvGjMsGBJ6lFz1IlDRfnEGaA=s4032" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi7rQvdb09m9kc9nHg5OwrFC5a0-fDo7l_JqVDvbw4aT-CPJh7cXS3rqQlzT9tGPOsuNEpzPbO-KzX_hsbR9GBpsmIuYRrDjMjfYW4MOM56Hd_d5-pZeANhB23vNNsLjzEyQhhGDFD83pr4ul48lBOm6heYiRd55Pw4trbvGjMsGBJ6lFz1IlDRfnEGaA=s320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me not knowing how to skate (at Thunderbirds)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: left;">Overall, I am so thankful to God for the fact that our ministry is in a very healthy place right now. God is moving in some really really cool ways!</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">In Conclusion...</h2><p style="text-align: left;">It's kind of like drinking through a fire hose (forgive me if I used this analogy in my last blog)</p><p style="text-align: left;">I definitely feel sometimes that I am being exposed to more things than are possible for me to actually retain. Which is why I am trying very hard to take good notes. After all, the dullest pencil is sharper than the sharpest mind when it comes to remembering things. </p><p style="text-align: left;">I am so thankful again to all of you for your continued support and prayers! You have blessed me so that I may in turn be a blessing. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Prayer Requests...</h2><p style="text-align: left;">- My girlfriend Sam and I have begun pre-engagement counseling. We are learning a lot about ourselves and about each other. Please be in prayer for our relationship and that it is God-honoring and that I can continue to learn how to best love and serve her.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiccfdkWhfazN1YF5Zpw-hN17fdp3DJiaB2WRWyVCzUz0LnnIZVV3EtD-L_1n9Uzh4hzUkKY8MadN40GVPzG6sj2n3OMNxKdwKUNsySm6imSS6-V9GzmgMJWXf-APhclhLTWSTXU3Pt1LCWNICu6NDlIMHbU33S6tG-dTt5h2qrC_VCGs9MpHBUvt5w0Q=s3088" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3088" data-original-width="2316" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiccfdkWhfazN1YF5Zpw-hN17fdp3DJiaB2WRWyVCzUz0LnnIZVV3EtD-L_1n9Uzh4hzUkKY8MadN40GVPzG6sj2n3OMNxKdwKUNsySm6imSS6-V9GzmgMJWXf-APhclhLTWSTXU3Pt1LCWNICu6NDlIMHbU33S6tG-dTt5h2qrC_VCGs9MpHBUvt5w0Q=s320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sam and myself (dressed poorly at Thunderbirds)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: left;">- My fellow apprentices. A few of them have begun to feel the effects of burnout. We are all so busy and are schedules are jampacked, so if you all could be praying for endurance, peace, rest, and a spirit of enjoyment and thankfulness.</p><p style="text-align: left;">- My teens. That they can begin to taste and see how good the Lord is and that we can plant seeds in their lives that will ultimately blossom into a beautiful and lifelong faith.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;">Matt Carothers</p><p style="text-align: center;">matt@ctfwylie.org</p><p style="text-align: center;">214-695-4733<br /></p><div><br /></div>Matt Carothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16068651617190349650noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4513251187806286267.post-4346344378832828092021-09-01T11:58:00.002-07:002021-09-01T11:58:37.736-07:00<h2 style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"> <b>WOW WOW WOW! Where to begin...</b></div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></b></h2><div>It has been such an incredible first month of the apprenticeship and I have so much to update you all on but first, some thank you's are in order.</div><p>First and foremost, thank you and all praise be to God! We serve an incredibly good God, one worthy of adoration and full of mercy and grace. Amen! He is already moving in some pretty big ways in the hearts of these teens as well as in the minds of my fellow apprentices. </p><p>Thank you to all members of my financial and my prayer support teams. None of what I will be updating you on in the coming months would be happening if it weren't for your faithful support and your earnest response to the invitation to join me in my ministry this year. Through your support you have purchased everything from lunch to football game tickets that have allowed me to try and point teenagers to our Lord Jesus Christ! You are doing just as much as I am, and God is doing all of it. I am truly thankful to God every time I think of you all.</p><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: center;">CTF Camp </h2><div style="text-align: left;">It's been over a month now since we took our teens to Sacramento, NM, but the effects of that week are still shining through. We saw minds changed in favor of pursuing God more intently and hearts turned away from the world and toward the love of Jesus. We shared meals together, sang songs, played games and heard from some of the most talented and wise speakers our family of churches has to offer. We confessed sin to each other, sought forgiveness from those we may have wronged, and began the long process of just doing life together. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Our theme for this year was God is With Us and we spent the week driving home the significance of what it means to have the Spirit of the living God dwelling within us and how he has always been there and will continue to be.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I feel a common scripture for young people comes when Paul writes in 1 Timothy <b>"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity."</b> But let me tell you, these teenagers have caught the vision and they are doing incredible things! Young people will live up to or down to our expectations of them. They are young, inexperienced, steeped in the sin of this world and need guidance but who among us isn't?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">While his letter to Timothy is helpful for our young people to meditate on, the verse I have been trying to drive home with them is Romans 8:6 which states <b>"The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace..." </b>There is a constant battle within each of us between our flesh and the Spirit and teens are no different. But every little victory, every base hit, is significant in what will be a lifelong battle for any and all who call Jesus Lord.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">While base hits and little victories are crucial, we also experienced some pretty huge victories at camp. The week culminated with two baptisms and two young people determining to no longer chase what the world has to offer, and to run after the God who has been with them all along. Amen.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhflWIcekKwRQqW_cA-HJZAbhcR18LuKezftxilk7BV19Mx6BKD32bTbHg8YCzXiBCKH1zvxJfeEG4MkqMH08cLXsKkSiLxSySGTcgo63etqrMg4e68ycL-9LPxFxgXglOHa8xAAtlt-3z6/" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="625" data-original-width="899" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhflWIcekKwRQqW_cA-HJZAbhcR18LuKezftxilk7BV19Mx6BKD32bTbHg8YCzXiBCKH1zvxJfeEG4MkqMH08cLXsKkSiLxSySGTcgo63etqrMg4e68ycL-9LPxFxgXglOHa8xAAtlt-3z6/w329-h228/image.png" title="William baptizing Tyler" width="329" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William baptizing one of our teens, Tyler</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOw12m-I1aJ17vW0anLlBzGaCTpAvFsExTBgGUtyrFQPUpYu-3Y0E3oNInXUQUJG12FvF7v8QC4VinI19FBLY61Ng6btozPE19bWqMLglpb88_-AUaUhjqjCfmBaSOACksvIjh7G12U4fN/" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="625" data-original-width="835" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOw12m-I1aJ17vW0anLlBzGaCTpAvFsExTBgGUtyrFQPUpYu-3Y0E3oNInXUQUJG12FvF7v8QC4VinI19FBLY61Ng6btozPE19bWqMLglpb88_-AUaUhjqjCfmBaSOACksvIjh7G12U4fN/w305-h228/image.png" width="305" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bri baptizing one of our summer interns, Nicole</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><br /><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: center;">The Apprenticeship Begins</h2><div>As all of you know, my time this next year will be split between active ministry (things like studying the Bible 1-on-1 with teens, CTF Camp, outreach, preaching, etc.) and seminary level pastoral training and learning. </div><div><br /></div><div>Our classes began and we have been focusing a lot on the Old Testament and how to read it. The Bible itself is a small library filled with different genres and styles of writing. We see everything from ancient Hebrew law to poetry to personal letters. That being said, we can't just open it up to any book and read everything the same way. One of the things we are learning to do with each and every book is first ask "who wrote this?" and then ask "why did they?" </div><div><br /></div><div>A helpful analogy we learned in one of our classes is the difference between how you would describe your house as opposed to how you would describe your home. Two words that mean the same thing yet mean something completely different at the same time. The description of a house could deal with the physical layout, the things that filled it, what your backyard was like. Whereas describing your home elicits ideas of memories and experiences, the people that filled it, the good, the bad and the ugly, so to speak. </div><div><br /></div><div>So we look at the Old Testament and have to wrestle with how this ancient near-Eastern text is not relevant to us today, but it contains truth about a being that transcends space and time and is teaching us about the heart of God as well.</div><div><br /></div><div>But all of this said, it has been so encouraging and challenging already and we are just getting started!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA3gXsgc8P90Ucwbm9fKnlqGjmj97oa_zFMOu4yxmUoh9cTj5A4AbJ2FYcyYTI1AUzY7AiQeabndSnTfJu7HuEss4zLu4tSIj1px8bOimS47pcEtRueCeelRUY0KpDIdB0qbv_9GPmWBw1/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="625" data-original-width="1076" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA3gXsgc8P90Ucwbm9fKnlqGjmj97oa_zFMOu4yxmUoh9cTj5A4AbJ2FYcyYTI1AUzY7AiQeabndSnTfJu7HuEss4zLu4tSIj1px8bOimS47pcEtRueCeelRUY0KpDIdB0qbv_9GPmWBw1/" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My fellow apprentices reading together</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: center;">In Conclusion...</h2><div>Again, a most sincere thank you to everyone who has joined me either financially or prayerfully. Thank you to everyone who has asked me how I'm doing and what I'm learning. Please continue to do this! My cup is quickly filling up and I love having the opportunity to pour some of what I'm learning out and into your lives. </div><div><br /></div><div>I want to ask for continued prayers for my own wisdom and growth as a disciple and a leader as well as the growth and hearts and minds of the teenagers that I am working with. For next month's blog I'll be sure to give an update on the lives of some of the teens that I get to meet up with.</div><div><br /></div><div>I love you all and I'm thankful every time I think of you. God is good!</div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: center;">Prayer Requests</h2><div>- Myself and all of my fellow apprentices as we learn and grow and apply what we learn in our own lives and ministries.</div><div><br /></div><div>- The teens in CTF...for wisdom and the desire to seek Christ and Christ-like mentors.</div><div><br /></div><div>- My fellow youth leaders and CTF staff....that we can seek out and meet our students needs and that we will step into their lives and hearts and serve and love them well.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Matt Carothers</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">matt@ctfwylie.org</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">214-695-4733</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Matt Carothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16068651617190349650noreply@blogger.com1