Yesterday, I, along with many of our staff, returned from the Leadership Institute, a large United Methodist conference hosted each year by Church of the Resurrection in Kansas City. This year, more than 1000 leaders from around the country gathered to worship, learn, and connect with one another.I had the opportunity to teach two sessions of a workshop entitled "Burnout: Sabbath, Rest, and Spirit...  Read More

Eleanor Roosevelt once said "Do one thing everyday that scares you. Those small things that make us uncomfortable help us build courage to do the work we do.” It was a bold way to look at stepping outside of a comfort zone.  That isn't easy for all of us.  Taking a leap of faith can be downright frightening, but sometimes those leaps lead to wonderful things.Icebreaker - Have you ever felt compell...  Read More

CoreGroup Guide | Inside Voice - Week 2Welcome! Last week Pastor Matt Miofsky began a new sermon series called Inside Voice: A Study of the Holy Spirit. Part 1 of this series focussed on the Holy Spirit as Fire – a fire that refines, illuminates, empowers, and energizes our lives. As part of last week’s discussion, we watched a meditation video from Pastor Adam Baker. Take a few minutes at the beg...  Read More

This weekend is The Gathering’s golden birthday. We will turn 17 on September 17th. In honor of this milestone, I thought I would share 17 of my most memorable moments here at The Gathering. 1. The time I had to sit on the floor during an Easter service at Webster because both the sanctuary and overflow room were full.2. The Sunday I preached a message via video from the site of the very first wel...  Read More

Welcome to CoreGroups! Ice Breaker: Share a brief introduction (if there are new people in your group) OR share a highlight from your summer (if an existing group) and one or two words that come up for you when you hear Holy Spirit.Opening Prayer: Holy Spirit, we are so grateful to be together today. We thank you for you presence with us among us. May you illuminate what we most need to hear as we...  Read More

September 17 is The Gathering’s golden birthday, meaning we’ve been worshiping together for 17 years! I still remember the first worship service in our old McCausland site, on September 17, 2006. There was no air conditioning (brutal), no cross on the wall (we were still building it), and no technology to speak of (someone held a projector on their lap with song lyrics). It was rough around the ed...  Read More