Posts with the category “m-note”

The Exodus is the central story of the Old Testament. It is the story of God using Moses to lead the chosen people out of slavery in Egypt, through the uncertainty of the wilderness, and into a new land of freedom and possibility. Over the centuries, it has shaped the faith and offered hope to billions of people and was central to Jesus’ own story. A few years ago, I wrote a book called Let Go: Le...  Read More

Easter at The Factory was nothing short of amazing! From the music, to the message, to the energy in the room — it was an incredible day of worship and a celebration of hope. I want to thank every person who served, showed up, and helped create such a welcoming and joyful space. This weekend, we will celebrate some of the cool things that happened on Easter Sunday.And to those who checked out our ...  Read More

Easter weekend is here! Once again this year, we will have TWO worship services - 9 and 10:45am - this Sunday, at The Factory. If your Easter plans are still undecided, or if you need help convincing family or friends to join you, here are 10 reasons why you won’t want to miss EasterSTL at The Factory:Incredible live music! The Red and Black Brass Band will greet you between services as only they ...  Read More

In our current culture, most of us are so busy thinking about and managing our own lives that we have little room to think much about others. I get it. Between work, my family, stuff to do around the house, and keeping up with a few friends, my time is tapped. Yet, this way of living can negatively impact us. When we are too focused on self, we can grow stressed, anxious, and overwhelmed. Ironical...  Read More

Last week, a guy in our church told me that he can’t wait for Easter. He said that it was two years ago on Easter Sunday that their family was invited and decided to give church a try. Since that time, their family has been through turmoil, seasons of celebration, and a lot of transition. But, the church has made a life-changing difference in their ability to weather it all and stay hopeful. It wa...  Read More

It is an incredibly busy time here at The Gathering, and a lot of ways for you to take a step forward in your faith. The Easter season is all about new life and to experience something new in your life, you often have to try something you haven’t done before. Here are some ideas for what that next step could be for you. 1. If you are relatively new here at The Gathering or having been coming a whi...  Read More

I firmly believe that the success of a church rests not just on the people who are reached and invited to know Jesus, but the leaders that are formed and sent out to multiply that work in the world. Two years ago, The Gathering felt a strong call to develop pastors who were interested in starting new churches. This led to the creation of our Church Planters Lab, and last year we welcomed our first...  Read More

You may not know this, but Pastor Charity on our staff is a champion of Emotional Intelligence, which is simply the ability to name and manage your feelings. In fact, if you come to my office, you will see a sticker on my desk of an Emotions Wheel. It is a diagram with several feelings listed, along with characteristics of that feeling, and what you can do with that emotion. Our Wellness Ministry ...  Read More

A Note From Guest M-Note Author, Pastor Charity...Thank you for leaning in to The Beloved Community series. I know some of you leave this series anxious to do more anti-racism work, while others may have felt challenged unnecessarily. I suspect most of you are somewhere in between. I’m simply grateful for the fact that you are engaging the content and facing yourselves and our bias. I want you to ...  Read More

Despite the cold, there is a lot happening here at The Gathering and several ways for you to take a new step in your faith. Many of you started the new year with an intention to try new things or recommit to making faith a priority in your life. Here are a few concrete ways to do it! The Gathering is officially exploring two new potential sites in the St. Louis area, one in the metro east and one ...  Read More

Last weekend, we began a new series The Beloved Community: Pursuing Racial Justice. If you missed the first week, I encourage you to listen or share it here. In the message, I argued that racism is a sin that is both historic and still present in our country. It is one that the church ought to be actively working against. This may sound obvious to some, but right now, efforts to address racism in ...  Read More

As a new church 19 years ago, The Gathering has always had a heart for reaching people who are curious about faith but did not go to church. Some people have written the church off as boring or irrelevant. Others have been burned by a church that didn’t welcome them or people they love. Many people just don’t think the church would be a place they could find meaning. Regardless, The Gathering is a...  Read More

Our aptitudes, values, and behaviors are influenced by the people we listen to. For the past several weeks, I have been challenging each of you to consider the voices that you are allowing to influence your life. This includes voices on the macro level - the entertainment you watch, the media you consume, and the social influencers or apps that you follow. Together, these macro voices can account ...  Read More

As many of you know, I plan my sermon series (along with the scriptures that I’ll be using) months in advance. In fact, I outlined this current series way back at the end of last summer! Of course, a lot has happened just this past week alone. We saw the transition of power from one president to another. And President Trump has already signed a flurry of executive orders that have some people scar...  Read More

Recently I read the results of a survey asking churchgoers what they most want to see in a sermon from their pastor. The answer wasn’t compassion, relevance, boldness, or knowledge. Instead, the number one response was honesty about their own doubts. Whatever the topic and whatever the viewpoint is on that topic, people want honesty from their leaders, especially a transparency about a leader’s ow...  Read More

Perhaps you’ve heard the saying, “you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” Our attitudes, beliefs and behaviors are shaped by the people we spend time with and the voices that we choose to listen to. Many of us start a new year with hopes, intentions, and goals for change in our lives. But if we want to change our lives, we must pay attention to voices that we are list...  Read More

I want to thank all of you that worshiped with The Gathering throughout the Christmas season. Christmas Eve was an incredible week of worship. There were so many highlights for me, including: getting to see so many of you, meeting your friends and family, working alongside so many of you who volunteered, watching over 650 kids and families worship at our two Kids Christmas Eve services, preaching ...  Read More

Christmas Eve is almost here!...  Read More

Even though December 24 is over a week away, Christmas Eve festivities start next week at The Gathering! On Wednesday, December 18, we will have our first early Christmas Eve service for those of you who are heading out of town. It will be the same message and music as Christmas Eve (including candlelit “Silent Night”), just a few days early. It will also include a chance to give to the Christmas ...  Read More

When I moved to Atlanta to attend Emory University I met a friend named Seren on the first day of class. By the end of class, she invited me and Jess to check out the small United methodist Church she attended. We didn’t have a church yet, so we went with her. The rest was history. We got connected, made great friends, got involved, and I ended up serving on the staff for 2 years. And it all start...  Read More

Happy New Year! I know, I’m a little early on the well wishes according to our secular calendar. But, by the church calendar, this coming Sunday is the last one of the year. Traditionally, the new church year begins with the first Sunday of Advent, the 4-week season leading up to Christmas. Much like its secular sibling, the church new year is a time when Christians historically were challenged to...  Read More

Recently, I was talking to a person who was working their way through the grief of losing someone they love. We were talking about what has helped them the most and they said, “people just showing up to hang out with me.” It reminded me that presence is powerful. This fall, we have been studying the book of Job at The Gathering. Most of the book is about Job’s friends trying to make him feel bette...  Read More

I have been reflecting a lot this week about the importance of the church. In the wake of our national election, we once again see the divisions of our country laid bare. Some people are celebrating, others grieving, some excited, and others scared. Looking at the electoral map and exit polls, we see that we are divided by geography, income, education, race, gender, as well as by our politics. It ...  Read More

On my shelf at home, I have a Bible that is special to me. It belonged to my grandfather and each morning he would read from it later in his life. Though I never talked to him about it when he was alive, I suspect he liked this particular Bible because it has study notes and commentary printed in it to help you better understand what you were reading. He was smart, very faithful, quiet, but with a...  Read More

Early in my ministry, I began asking people in the congregation about the questions they (or their friends who don’t go to church) would most like to hear me preach about. I have gotten all sorts of interesting ones over the years but certain topics or questions come up every time I ask the question: Is Jesus the only way to heaven? How do we reconcile science and religion? What about forgiveness,...  Read More

This week, I received a note about our current series Hold These Truths: Centering Jesus in a Divisive Political Season. The person (who happens to be engaged with politics and people on both sides of the aisle) shared with me how much fear there is ahead of this upcoming election. She is right. Fear, anxiety, and even panic are at an all-time high. People are scared about what the results of the ...  Read More

Last weekend, I began a new sermon series, Hold These Truths: Centering Jesus in a Divisive Political season. I talked about two myths we often hold when it comes to Jesus and politics. It was an important message given the season so if you missed it, I really hope that you will listen or share it here. Some believe that Jesus is not political, and therefore politics has no place in the church. Th...  Read More

Like many of you, I watched the vice-presidential debate this past week. Even if you only saw clips on TikTok or Instagram, you likely heard or saw that the tone was different. On several occasions, the opposing candidates talked to each other, agreed with one another, and even offered the other candidate words of kindness. While some people cynically warned not to overstate the seemingly kind ton...  Read More

When I am stressed, I usually don’t show up as the best version of myself. I can be irritable, on edge, and not always treat people the way that I intend.  We can all probably identify with this feeling. I was thinking about this because collectively, our country is “stressed.” We have a major presidential election coming in November. No matter where you fall politically, many of us are passionate...  Read More

People often ask me, “how did you become a pastor?” It is a hard question to answer without unpacking a lot of my life story! But, one of the earliest influences on my life and faith was the youth group I was a part of in my home church. I was reluctant, but in that youth group people saw in me certain gifts, and invited me to begin practicing leadership at a young age when I didn’t really think t...  Read More

I have a more recent friend who doesn’t go to church. In fact, when I met him and when we started hanging out, he was clear with me that he doesn’t really believe in God and that he wasn’t going to come to church. I laughed and said, “That’s ok. Everyone I hang out with doesn’t have to go to church. But, if you ever change your mind, just know I will have a seat for you.”Over the years, we have go...  Read More

Last weekend was my 47th birthday (thanks to all of you for the birthday wishes!). After a busy month of moving kids around and getting them settled in new places, we are falling into a new routine here at the Miofsky house. It is quieter and, well, just different. I find myself missing the way it used to be, and not yet adapted to the way it will be. If I am not careful, it is easy to focus on th...  Read More

During our first few years of marriage, Jessica and I were going through a lot of transitions. We had moved to a new city, didn’t have a social network, had to be financially independent, and were adjusting to working full-time jobs and graduate school. It was a lot. Amidst that, we gave little attention to our marriage. We recognized that we needed help and wanted to focus on our relationship as ...  Read More

This July was a busy one for my family. I took a couple of weeks off to spend time with my family before we moved Carly into her dorm last weekend for her freshman year in college. This meant that while I got to worship online, I was not present for in-person worship for three weeks in a row. For me, this is rare! I grew up in a family that went to church and have worked in churches as a pastor si...  Read More

When I was a kid, we played a made-up game that was a cross between capture the flag and tag. We had neighborhood boundaries, special house rules, always played at night, and played on several teams. Each team had a home base. Like any normal game of tag, you could wander and roam, but you always wanted to be mindful of where your base was. You never wanted to get too far away. The further away, t...  Read More

I just returned from Northwest Arkansas where I attended the last of the big United Methodist Conference meetings of the year (it has been a lot). This Jurisdictional Conference is a meeting of the United Methodists in the south-central part of the United States. Typically, it is where we elect new bishops. This year, I was honored to be able to give a short talk to the conference about the future...  Read More

Wednesday, I did something that I have never done. I mounted a flagpole at my house and hung up the American flag in preparation for the 4th of July.  Some of you love the flag. Others of you, not so much. I get it. I had mixed feelings about hanging up the flag. With injustices still pervasive in our country and the broken nature of our politics, there are many who wonder if our country is worth ...  Read More

Recently someone asked me, “Matt, why do you talk about Jesus so much?” They went on to explain that they usually think more broadly about God. After all, God is universal, encompassing a lot of viewpoints, perspectives, and traditions. But Jesus. He seems so…specific! They confessed to me that they struggle thinking about Jesus, especially equating him with God.They aren’t alone. I think this per...  Read More

Last week, I ran into a retired pastor who recognized me (and I confess, I didn’t recognize her). She remembered me because her church and my childhood church would team up for student mission trips each summer. Way back when I was in high school, I went on several of those trips. We talked, swapped a few memories, and talked about what those trips meant to us. At the end, I thanked her for being ...  Read More

I just returned from spending time speaking and teaching at the North Georgia Annual Conference of the UMC. They bought every participant there, lay and clergy, a copy of The Methodist Book of Daily Prayer, and then graciously invited me to speak about the importance of sabbath, rest, and having a spiritual healthy rhythm of life. It was a special time to be in the conference where I started my mi...  Read More