Welcome to Recentered Group

Helping recenter church leaders on what matters most to Jesus.

We walk alongside wounded and hurting pastors, leaders, and couples who are weary and heavily laden, needing rest and strength to carry on in ministry.

When I was 38, Judy and I moved our little family to an extremely small church in the foothills of the Cascades. It felt like our dream ministry. Fast forward eight years, and I was feeling a strange sense of sadness, despite our success and the surrounding beauty. Controlling leadership kept making demands, and I was going under. Never taking a day off, the church was growing, and we were making disciples. On the outside, everything looked great, but I was drowning, with no one to talk to and nowhere to turn to..

I risked finally telling the truth to our board and discovered that not only was I in a sad place, but it was also an unsafe place. In a matter of weeks, I was forced to resign, uproot our family, and start looking for a new ministry.

From this place of desperation and brokenness, the Lord Jesus took me by the hand and His Spirit started me on a journey away the false identity I had embraced as “super pastor” to becoming a vulnerable but effective shepherd, willing to risk telling the truth about me and my family, while leading a flock that Jesus Himself, true to His promise, would build.

One of my passions at this stage of my life is to help others through, or even to prevent them from experiencing the darkness of living in an unsafe environment with no one and nowhere to turn. It’s a recentering of life and ministry that prayerfully and gently guides pastors and leaders toward the health and loving connections their new heart in Christ longs for. 

Ed Underwood
Shepherd to Shepherds
Contact Ed

Testimonials

  • Recentered Group's material is unlike any other. What I love about it as a pastor is how it grounds our people in the gospel, gives them understanding in their identity in Christ and how to live out grace in relationships with other believers. The best part is it's easily reproducible in the lives of others. Anyone who goes through it can take someone else though. I can’t recommend Beginning in Grace more highly.

    Pastor Mark M.

  • Thanks to Ed and the Recentered group team I agave been able to smoothly guide our church through a restructuring process that honors the past while moving forward together in unity. This journey has shaped our leadership team, guiding us to be driven by the Grace of God. We have come to understand what it truly means to shepherd the flock rather than control it.

    Pastor Mike W.

  • While attending a conference, I heard Ed speak on church trauma and the necessity of a "High-Trust-Culture" and I realized he was describing my current situation. Recentered has helped us prioritize trust and openness within our leadership. We are thankful to the Lord Jesus for the wisdom, love, and practical applications we received from Recentered and Ed Underwood.

    Pastor John B.

Resources

  • Sermons

    Click here for Ed’s sermons from Church of the Open Door.

  • Discipleship Materials

    Click here for our discipleship manual and guide.

  • Podcast

    Click here to listen to our podcast, Recentered on the Word.

  • Blog

    Click here to access Ed’s blogs on a variety of topics including Christian living and church leadership.

  • Ebook Library

    Click here for our library of eBooks written to strengthen and encourage ministry leaders.

  • Courses

    Click here for online courses, including The Recentered Intensive