It was great last night as The Gathering Church met for the first time in our new location, the United Church of Chapel Hill. Pastor Jill Edens gave us a very encouraging greeting, expressing her enthusiasm for the success of this new venture. New people joined us and plugged in right away. I am always impressed how people feel comfortable enough to engage and participate in the discussion about what God wants us to be as a new church.
We looked at the prayer in Colossians 1:9 that Paul prayed for the church in Colosse. We especially looked at the primary prayer – that God would ‘fill them with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.”  A great discussion followed about what would a person look like who was filled up with the knowledge of God’s will – that is, who was in sync with what God had in mind about how to live. Okay – sure, we came up with a list of qualities that would only describe a perfect human being – selfless, joyful, peaceful, living above the transient things of this world, yet serenely at peace in the moment, and a servant to all, among many other qualities.
The list didn’t discourage us, though. It inspired us. It also made us appreciate where we see those qualities in each other. And, we had a sense of hope that God would continue to fill all of us with what we need to grow. It’s great to see the spiritual hunger among us for the qualities that will help us know, enjoy, and serve others. And, frankly, it’s just great fun to be doing this together.