My Platform Response to Ahmaud Arbery’s Death

Here are my comments regarding the Ahmaud Arbery shooting and subsequent video, shared from the platform of New Hope Church on May 10, 2020: I have to take just a moment and acknowledge something that has dominated the headlines these recent days, and, if I may say, should have been dominating the headlines these recent READ MORE

An Invitation to Fast

An invitation: In light of the COVID-19 pandemic I am inviting the New Hope Church family to set aside Wednesdays as a day of fasting and prayer during which we seek God’s mercy for these uncertain and grievous days. -Pastor Matthew Responding to an existential threat from an approaching army, one ancient monarch, Jehoshaphat, called READ MORE

Think Small; Think Big

As summer is slipping away and fall is descending upon us, at least here in Minneapolis, I offered these words to the scores of phenomenal staff that help New Hope Church shine. Perhaps these words can encourage you as well. Here you go:   As we step into this new season I wish to ask READ MORE

A Prophetic Plea for Deep Compassion

The observant person knows there is a great deal of pain across our land. The deaths of a number of African-American men and women at the hands of police officers, regardless of the respective circumstances, have exposed a deep wound within the souls of our African-American friends. It is noteworthy that for many in the African-American community this is READ MORE