May 9 2009

Mother’s Day!

Be @ The Gathering tomorrow!

Mother’s Day is going to ROCK!

40 + Children being dedicated, it’s going to be AWESOME!

Pastor Gene has got an UNBELIEVABLE Word for our Church and Our Generation!

Be There! 9:30 & 11:30


Apr 12 2009

AWESOME!

WOW! That is all I can say! God is so good, I am so continually blown away by ALL that He is doing right here in Sevier County! Just a quick breakdown of this weekend!

  • End of 21 Day Fast for our entire church family!
  • Over 600 people made decisions to follow Christ in 7 services during Easter week!
  • We held our first weekend services in our new Freaking Awesome facilities!
  • We had people gathered from ALL over the nation experiencing God in a unique way!
  • It was great to see all of the people entering the new building, their/you’re the reason this building has been built, more space = more opportunity to reach more people for Christ!
  • The Worship Team brought the house down and led us to Him!
  • Pastor Gene broke it down for us and allowed Judas and Thomas to speak to us, it was incredible, had so many people say they had never heard it in such a simple way and it rocked their world!
  • The new Grounded Bistro was rolling, the coffee was INCREDIBLE! Way to go Gathering Baristas!!!
  • Volunteers were All Over It! We could not have pulled this week off without ALL of YOU!!!
  • What a great opening paragraph to the second chapter in the life of The Gathering!

Can’t wait to see what God is up to next!  Happy Easter! Jesus is ALIVE!!!


Apr 3 2009

The Gathering New Address & Phone Number

The Gathering

Mailing Address

PO Box 5049

Sevierville, TN 37864

Physical Address

1250 Middle Creek Rd

Sevierville, TN 37862

Phone Number

865.868.5000

Fax Number

865.868.5030


Mar 29 2009

Can’t Sleep

Sometimes I just cannot fall asleep at night. Either my mind is racing or Lily is up or Nikki wants to talk or something, but there are times when I just don’t fall asleep. Tonight is one of those nights, and I am so glad that it is. I am glad that I decided that there must be a reason that I couldn’t sleep and so I came out to spend some time with God. He never lets me down.

You know, I have always heard people talk about the promises of God. And growing up in church I was familiar with some of the classic verses on promises. But to be honest with you I am not sure that I ever really caught onto what people were talking about. I would hear people say, “God promised me this or he promised me that.” And I would think, well that’s cool, but it really never went much farther than that. 

However, as I have grown in Him and have opened myself up for Him to speak to me I can truly say this, His Promises are GOOD! To know that I have a Heavenly Father who has promised me things that my mind can’t even truly comprehend is mind boggling (in a good way). I know that He wants so much more for me than I can even begin to realize and I am beginning to see that before He does it either in me or to me He wants to first SHOW me through His Word the promise of what He is about to do! (I told you it’s hard to even comprehend!) It is almost like He wants me to TRUST Him with the promise He has made before He gives it to me just so He can say, “See, I deliver what I say I’m going to deliver!”  I told you He’s GOOD!

Well, I don’t want to ramble on all night, but I wanted to briefly share with you how GOOD our God is and how WONDERFUL His promises are to us!!!


Mar 23 2009

CREATIVE ARTS!!

I just wanted to take a quick chance to give a HUGE shout out to ALL of the Creative Arts volunteers who were up at the new campus late tonight! You guys are AWESOME!

The sound is great, the video is looking good and the lights ROCK! I can’t wait for Easter weekend!! Go GOD!


Mar 16 2009

Dada

I love hearing Lily learn how to say new words. Right now her vocabulary consists of Mama, Dada, Dog, Hot Dog, Night Night, Bye Bye and she can sing along with some Choo Choo Soul. It is one of the sweetest sounds anyone could ever hear. As a dad, I am always amazed at how much and how quickly she can learn a new sound/word. It makes me burst with pride each time I hear her speak something new, almost as if she were the first child ever to speak a word at her age. I believe she could be the President of the United States all because she has learned how to speak one new word. Even better than hearing her speak a word is when she looks up at me with those big, blue eyes and pats me on the arm or chest and says Dada. I could just melt. I am the world’s proudest papa all because she is talking just to me.

That’s when I think about our Heavenly Father and how much he delights in us. Even though we have nothing to offer that is worthy of Him he still delights in us. He wants us, he longs for us to draw close to him. He wants us to learn to delight ourselves in Him, to trust Him, to give Him our everything. As much as I love Lily, as much as I find joy in her smile it can never, NEVER, compare to God’s love for me, His love for Lily, His love for you. I want to wallow in that love, to fall deeply into His joy, to know the power of His salvation. I long to sit in His presence and hear His voice as He sings over me. I am so thankful that I have a ‘Dada’ that knows my deepest thoughts and loves me all the same.


Mar 15 2009

Many Thanks

We could not do what we are doing at The Gathering without our faithful/committed volunteers.

Just this past Friday we asked Marvin Fisher to come out to the new building and undertake a project that could take someone a week to get it done. However, Marvin and his crew of helpers undertook hanging our new curtain, border and four legs this weekend and did an incredible job! It took them two full days of planning, preparing and execution, but they took to it with a determination and intensity that is so prevalent among the people at The Gathering. Now, our curtain is hung and we are almost ready for all of our media, lights, video and sound to be commissioned this week.

Thanks Marvin, Tony, Alan, Chris and Tony G, we could not do it without you!


Mar 15 2009

Lily Paige

Lily Paige

Lily Paige


Mar 15 2009

Pictures at Dusk

The Gathering Lit Up at Night

The Gathering at Dusk

The Gathering at Dusk

The Gathering Lit Up at Night

Mar 15 2009

Thoughts at 6 am.

  • It’s 6:20 am - I’ve been up since 3 am
  • Electricity went out 3 am - Lit an oil lamp, felt like the 19th century (except for my iPhone)
  • Church was great last night - Bobby and Warren do a great job!
  • New Building is looking AWESOME! Thanks to Marvin Fisher and his team for hanging the curtain!
  • Looking forward to next 3 weeks in the old gym and Pastor’s last few messages before we move.
  • I love being a husband - I’m married to the greatest woman in the world - hey, she puts up with me!
  • I love being a dad - there is nothing like that little girl’s smile when I get home! It’s addicting, sometimes I leave and come back in just to see her smile :)
  • I am blown away by the passion of our staff, it is a privilege to work with each and every one of them. Amazing to see how God has gathered such a gifted group of people to assist in leading The Gathering.
  • I am blessed to work with a Pastor who God has entrusted so much to and who not only has a vision, but is committed to seeing the vision realized! There are many who have vision, but few who have the ability/commitment/drive/passion to make it happen.
  • I am so thankful for people who are willing to give of their time/energy/resources to make this dream a reality - 22 people showed up Saturday morning simply to sweep floors and dust counters!
  • I am pumped about the thousands who are going to hear the message of Hope of Jesus Christ in 7 services Easter weekend! 3 LORD’S Child services, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday - April 7,8 & 9 and 4 Easter Weekend Services - Saturday, 5 pm; Sunday, 8, 9:30 & 11:30 am. We are going to offer Hope before we celebrate Hope!
  • I am looking forward to The Thanksgiving Offering on Easter weekend, what a privilege to bring an offering of thanks to our God!
  • I’m going to try and figure out how to put pictures on this blog, there are some SWEET ones of the building…is SWEET even a cool word to still use?