David Foster TV

It’s hard to believe that The Gathering was four years old last month.  Where has the time gone? This has been one of the most fun, rewarding journeys of my life so far.

Since it has been awhile since I’ve really focused on the nature of the church, the meaning, the why the church, and therefore The Gathering  is important, I decided today to talk about just what is the church?  I’m not talking about the institution or the denominational flagship.  I’m talking about the church taught in the Scripture.  What is it?  What is its nature?  Why is it important? And why is it so many people opt out of going?

I also talked today about what our future looks like.  What are some of the ideas that are driving our vision and mission?  The Gathering mission is simple: helping people connect to God and each other for the purpose, ultimately, of changing the world.

I addressed people with the question about whether or not The Gathering would ever seek to have its own building; and if we did, where would it be and when would it happen?

I truly believe, without reservation, that the church is the hope of the world.  When it’s done right, there is nothing like it, no organization that can take its place nor do its job.

To all of my friends out there who love Jesus but somehow have lost touch with His church, I beg you to get a bigger vision, to not let some disappointments, hurts, conflicts, and even a church split keep you away from the Bride of Christ.  You are needed. Your gifts, your talent, your love, your joy, your own personality is needed in the mosaic of redemption.

We finished our “Moneyology” series today, the last installment on how to save and invest for the long term.

It sounds odd to be talking about saving and investing in church.  It’s only true because of the woeful neglect we’ve given to teaching the biblical concepts of money, abundance and truly God-blessed achievement.

Today we talked about the four principles of investing: withholding, willingness, watering, and waiting. We also talked about the three areas in which you should gladly and consistently invest; particularly those areas that bring about the most long term benefit.

One of the greatest days is when you wake up to realize that you’re not just a consumer, you’re not just a debtor, but you are, before a good and generous God, a wise manager. The day you embrace the fact that there is one source in many resources is the day your job, your friends, the economy, or anything else will lose its strangle-hold on your joy, your happiness, and ultimately your future.

I’ve had an overwhelming response to our new series called “Moneyology.” I knew people were hungry to learn the basics of how to win at life with money.  And all that’s been confirmed with the buzz that’s going on around The Gathering.

Today we talked about spending; some of the reasons why we spend against our own self-interest.   If spending is a good thing, it’s a God thing when we spend our money in ways that are helping and productive.

We asked the question today, what kind of spender are you? We identified four kinds of destructive spenders and what motivates them.

We also talked about the three principles you need to ingrain in your life that govern and inform your spending habits.  Also I printed on the outline today 10 spending pledges and 10 spending promises.  Listen to the talk here, and see what you think.

You can go to TheGatheringNashville.com, go to the media archive and download the outline and fill it in. Print out the pledges and the promises and keep them with you as a reminder as you go through the week.

Today at The Gathering we continued in our current series, “Moneyology: How to Win at Life With Money,” with installment number 3, the Bible’s teaching on the essential nature of generosity.

Today I gave 10 reasons why I tithe.  A lot of controversy surrounds tithing.  As a matter of fact, most Christians don’t practice it.  And yet it’s a fundamental teaching of Scripture.  So today we talked about practical reasons why we tithe; the benefits that come and can only come through generosity.

Today we talked about this single principle:  that all the wealth and goodwill that gets created in your life, is created in the principle of joyous generosity.  What you have to give to the world, how you give it, what needs you meet, what wrongs you right, what service you render, alone determines what kind of prosperity and what kind of joy you have.  Learn more about it as you listen to today’s talk.

Today at The Gathering we continued with our series, “Moneyology: How to Win at Life With Money” by talking about the first idea you must master if you’re going to enjoy your God-given blessings.  We talked about earning money the old-fashioned way: by working.

Every day on TV in editorials from commentators we hear about the demise of the American work ethic.  The idea that work in and of itself is a virtuous, noble act is losing ground in our culture.

In order to give you a biblical foundation on which to base your work life, we talked about the seven solid biblical reasons why we work.

We also talked about, when we employ these principles in our lives consistently, there are certain things we can expect. Which simply means when we work for the Lord and when we work like the Lord, we can expect a sure reward from the Lord.

We ended our talk by asking the question, “What is your earning potential given your understanding and engagement in work as of today?”  We asked three questions to allow an understanding of what your earning potential is.

The attendance-based compensation world is going away.  And for that, I say, “Yea God!”  Today we’ll help you understand what’s replacing it and why it’s good news.

We launched the new year at The Gathering with a timely study on money; not just preaching for it or against it, not begging people to give more of it, but really stepping back to get an understanding of what the Scriptures really teach about money, and how we can use it to win at life.

We talked about the four basic resources God has put into our life.  We talked about the three things money can never, never, never do no matter how much it you have.  And then we talked about its nature so we can understand what money is.

If you listen to today’s talk, download the outline, fill it out, and study it together, you’ll have a solid, fundamental foundation on which to build a life that can win.