Author Archives: Clay Stauffer



Clay Stauffer

Being “Christian” in an Election Year
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Being “Christian” in an Election Year

This Wednesday night, October 9, we will conclude our “Faith, Values, and the Public Square” series with a panel of ministers talking about “Being Christian in an Election Year.” This is a difficult yet very...

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October 08, 2024
Balancing the Ego & Soul
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Balancing the Ego & Soul

I recently preached a sermon on the importance of humility because I believe it is a Christian virtue. If you read the gospels carefully, it appears that Jesus lived a humble life. But why is...

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October 04, 2024
Dealing with Life's Disappointments
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Dealing with Life’s Disappointments

Rabbi Harold Kushner once wrote a powerful book titled Overcoming Life’s Disappointments. The book is based on the story of Moses, a pivotal figure in the Hebrew Bible. We can learn a great deal from...

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September 27, 2024
Christianity's Challenge in the West
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Christianity’s Challenge in the West

Teacher, writer, and pastor John Mark Comer recently published a fascinating book titled Practicing the Way. His basic claim is that many people in our culture are Christians, but a much lower percentage of those...

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September 19, 2024
Forming Moral Leaders for the 21st Century
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Forming Moral Leaders for the 21st Century

My undergraduate course at Vanderbilt this fall is titled “Moral Leadership, Virtue, and Character in American Life.” Human institutions and systems are unable to function effectively without formal leadership. However, if those chosen to lead...

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September 04, 2024
Why Going to Church Still Matters
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Why Going to Church Still Matters

Homecoming Sunday was a great celebration. It was great to kick things off for the fall! Pew Research has been tracking religious trends in America for many decades. Some of the most recent data is...

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August 23, 2024
Political Violence is Never the Answer
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Political Violence is Never the Answer

Greetings from my summer sabbatical. Everything is going well. I have been recharging, reading, writing, planning ahead, and spending some quality time in Sewanee with my family. Montgomery, now 14, and Wade (8) both celebrated...

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July 25, 2024
Celebrating Woodmont’s 81st Birthday
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Celebrating Woodmont’s 81st Birthday

This Sunday, Woodmont will celebrate its 81st birthday (we just lost our oldest member – Terry Cheek who was 99 years old). Our church was “planted” in the summer of 1943, during World War II,...

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July 10, 2024