We recently connected with Dr. Kevin Murriel and have shared our conversation below.

Dr. Kevin, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you tell us about a time that your work has been misunderstood? Why do you think it happened and did any interesting insights emerge from the experience?

Absolutely. Historically, people have created a social construct of what a “pastor” should be, look, sound like, etc. Most of the time, people, especially Baby Boomers and up say, “you’re too young to be a senior pastor.” This has been both a blessing and a burden. A blessing, because I can reach across generations and adapt in ways that connect a message of hope to more people. And a burden because there is often an untrue and automatic assumption that I’ll neglect an older generation.

So, I’ve learned to manage the imbalance of mischaracterization by walking in humility and going overboard with love and intentionality to foster intergenerational relationships. This is also true when it comes to issues of class, race, ability, etc. I’m clear that my job isn’t to convince people to like me; rather, it’s to show God’s love to everyone so they know they are loved unconditionally.

Dr. Kevin, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m Kevin Murriel and I’m a husband, father, and pastor. I have the honor of serving as the senior pastor of Cascade United Methodist Church – a congregation in the historic Cascade community in southwest Atlanta. Our vision is to be a light in the community and around the world through discipleship, service, and social justice. We exist to serve our community and beyond and are on the cutting edge of intergenerational ministry – believing that each generation can learn valuable lessons from one another.

We serve well over 100,000 people each year through our Outreach ministries and have awarded over two million dollars in college scholarships to students. Our membership spans from across the U.S. to other countries such as Nigeria, Kenya, France, England, and beyond. We believe in supporting minority businesses through our Cascade Business Alliance and are serious about engaging our youth through innovative initiatives such as our robotics program.

We have a very active young adult ministry that is creating a movement in the city of Atlanta that takes seriously our call to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. Cascade is a place where love meets our call to action and we are always looking for more ways to grow into that call.

Have you ever had to pivot?

During the pandemic. Churches across the globe were hit hard by Covid-19. There was so much uncertainty and in March 2020, we closed our physical doors. In hindsight, as difficult as it was, this opened our ministries to more possibilities than we could have imagined. We had to pivot and do ministry differently. Through this, we were able to grow our online and social media presence significantly and also cast the vision for a second campus, Cascade Midtown.

Some things we tried worked, others didn’t. However, we learned that failure is the cost of innovation. But one good success will often outweigh many small failures. So, two years later, our church is healthier, more agile, and on a strategic trajectory of growth.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Take the limits off of God and your dreams. We started the year off at Cascade with the theme, “Dream Bigger.” It emerged from good things happening even in the midst of a pandemic. I’ve learned that the greatest breakthroughs are often birthed in the most difficult seasons.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kevinmurriel.com; www.cascadeumc.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pastorkrm/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pastorkrm
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-murriel-95573379/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/KevinMurriel
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZG2wEgv-TaZK-qbb1aoIVg
• Other: https://linktr.ee/kevinmurriel