Thoughts from Pastor Don Filcek.
We need good news. Every direction I turn, there is negativity, division, fear, and worry. And for this reason I continue to point to Jesus. I cannot think of a more stereotypical Christian cliche than “Jesus is the answer.” Whenever I hear that phrase, my mind hopes that the question wasn’t “what is 8×4?” But…
Linda and I have had the joy of hosting a friend for the week. We have known Ben Glupker as long as we have known each other. All three of us counseled at Camp Barakel back in the mid-90’s. He is that kind of friend that has kept in touch over the years. He visited…
Quarantine has caused us to redefine many things. For example ‘social’ in the phrase “social distance” means something like “unsocial.” And the ‘distance’ in that same phrase means 6 feet. But there is one word that is close to my heart and close to my area of expertise that I have seen shifting over the…
As I sit here at the local coffee shop, I have the privilege of having my daughter sitting beside me. She is listening to music on her phone and texting friends while I have been studying and writing this blog. She is now in high school. She is a freshman. Every glance in the proverbial,…
I could never imagine when I became a pastor, that I would be called upon to declare my personal stance on murder. Nor could I conceive of a cultural climate in which I would be pressed to verbalize my opposition to racism. These are two things that have felt so self-evident to me that I…
I must confess that I keep up with social media. And over the course of this lock-down I have observed phases of online content. There was the initial light-hearted phase where every other post had something to do with Corona Beer. Staying humorous, but getting more serious we went through the shopping and acquiring toilet…
It didn’t take long to figure out that Mattawan Consolidated School is the heartbeat of this small community. Back in 2009 I moved my family here from Portage with the goal of planting a new church that would be centered in the Bible as the Word of God, and motivated to give love and blessing…
Rather than add more content to an expanding body of opinions and speculation, I have decided to blog about 5 random points of gratitude that have nothing to do with COVID-19. 1. The Snow Drops are Up in the Woods by My House This is always the first sign of Spring around my house. The…