Rev. Michael Nathan Mattox

Married to Myranda Mattox

We have four children in our blended family: Wesley Mattox; Mia Stites; Julianna Mattox; and Madden Stites.

Education:

Master of Divinity, Claremont School of Theology, 2005

Bachelor of Arts in Religion (with distinction), Hendrix College in 2000

Advanced Diploma, Arkadelphia (AR) High School in 1996

Pastoral Experience:

Pastor, Meadowcreek United Methodist Church, Collinsville, July 2020-present

Senior Minister, University United Methodist Church, Tulsa, June 2011-June 2020

Pastor, First United Methodist Church of Morris, June 2006-June 2011

Pastor, First United Methodist Church of Waldron, AR, June 2005-June 2006

Assistant Chaplain, Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA, September 2003-June 2005

Assistant Director, Wesley Foundation, UCLA, CA, September 2002-June 2005

Youth Minister, First United Methodist Church of Bartlesville, June 2000-July 2002

Community Activities and Engagement:

Lead chapel service monthly at Restore Hope

Frequent attendee of TU Chapel functions and Board member of the TU Wesley Foundation.

Advisory Board and former Chairman of the Board of Kendall-Whittier, Inc.

Board Member of Tulsa Interfaith Alliance

Participant in Groundworks, a Racial Justice Initiative of the YWCA

Supportive Parent in school activities for our four kids in Tulsa Public Schools

Gifts for Ministry

I believe God has gifted me to lead worship and enrich the spiritual lives of a congregation by attuning our hearts and minds to a meaningful engagement with God by preaching and teaching and creating experiences that speak to the soul in ways that transcend words. I believe in the power and presence of the sacraments and means of grace, and do all I can to find new avenues to let ancient practices speak to us in fresh ways. In the past few years, I have done so by taking communion out to the streets with a “pop up communion food truck” at a neighborhood food truck festival, a blessing of the animals at the Gathering Place, and other “outside the box” ways to make the church interesting to people outside the church.

Since my context over the past 9 years has been a university campus, I have focused on that particular context by building a nationwide network of churches that share this context, the University Church Network, which met 5 times in each of the jurisdictions to share best practices and ideas for innovative ministry. I was assisted by the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry and the General Board of Discipleship in this endeavor. I have sought to increase impact between the church in the campus community—a sidewalk “coffee and conversation” cart that provided for engagement with passers-by, and signage around the church that tapped into the cultural awareness of our church (Tulsa World profiled our “Common Grounds” coffee cart, and a few of the pictures of our church marquee “went viral,” with a tribute to Prince upon his passing in 2016 reaching over 4 million views on social media.

Now that I am remarried with a blended family, I have been dreaming of ways the church might be more open and beneficial to other families in the same kind of arrangement and have been developing an idea for a support group, “Building Blended Families” for which I’ve been putting together some leadership and ideas for curriculum.

I have been fortunate to receive several grants and fellowships through the years that have enhanced my ministry. I received a Fund for Theological Education fellowship in my first year of seminary that helped me explore connections between the church and ecological concerns, and a few years ago I received fellowship from my undergraduate school called the Hendrix Institute for Clergy Civic Engagement that helped 10 clergy find avenues to bridge the church with the civic concerns that we all face as leaders in our communities.