Book is 'wake-up call' to understand time reference
By Alyssa Waters
Leader-Telegram staff
Sixteen years ago Mike Mathews was living in Eau Claire and working for Cray Research. He considered himself an alcoholic.
Then, on a memorable Sunday, both he and his wife, Pam, were "saved" by God.
"I was so grateful for what the Lord did in my life," Mike Mathews said.
He studied to be a minister. After being ordained, he decided not to become a full-time pastor. Instead, he worked in rural churches part time. He continued his work with computers during those years.
In the past 16 years, Mathews has been asking himself some questions - and answering them. Now he's put his research in a book.
Mathews will sell and sign "What in Heaven and Hell Is Happening," from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, March 8, at Hope Gospel Mission Bargain Center.
The book focuses on the present.
"We have a tendency as humans to always live in the past," Mathews said. "Sometimes we get excited about the future and we miss the present."
Mathews, who grew up in a small town near Green Bay, went to college in Minnesota. He worked at Cray Research for 12 years.
He moved away from the area for three years and he came back to work at National Presto Industries and eventually began working for SunGard Higher Education, a company that provides technology management services to help institutions improve performance. One of his projects included working with Chippewa Valley Technical College.
Mathews now lives in Springfield, Mo., where he travels with SunGard.
Mathews said working with technology helped him to see the world was changing, but the church doesn't follow suit.
"The book in general is a wake-up call to help people understand a reference in time," he said.
People often celebrate the birth of Christ and his resurrection, Mathews said. Instead, people should be more in tune with what's happening today and how Christ will appear when he comes back.
"We need to get more in alignment with what he said he would look like more at the end of time than at the beginning of time," Mathews said.
Also, Mathews said recent weather patterns, school shootings and other worldwide destruction is God's way of shaking the world to see where people's faith lies.
Mathews said the weather patterns do not prove that God is mad, nor are they occurring because of global warming.
"In the (Bible) it's neither," Mathews said. "The reality is, every time God speaks, nature has to respond."
He said there are at least 30 references of nature's response to God's words in the Scriptures. Mathews wants to show there's a balance to both extreme ways of thinking.
"It's all good news if you take it in the context that he is coming back," Mathews said of Jesus. "We're caught up in ministry of religion - it's about faith."
Mathews also said the more production that goes into marketing the church, the more there is a reverse effect on society in relation to the church.
"It's not about music or books ... it's about faith alone," he said. "If you keep repeating the baby in the manger (story), you're missing what's happening today.
"I want to live today, I don't want to live some 2,000 years ago."
Waters can be reached at alyssa.waters@ecpc.com.
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