My sabbatical is winding down and I will be back in the office next week. This time has been both restful and productive for me. Dr. Greg Jones, President of Belmont University and long time Dean of Duke Divinity School, will bring the final message this Sunday in our “What the World Needs Now…” series. I have thoroughly enjoyed hearing all of these messages this summer. I will begin a new sermon series on August 18th, Homecoming Sunday, titled “Jesus’ Parables & the Moral Life.” We will look at some of Jesus’......

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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 birthdays at the Outer Banks earlier this month. I have also been enjoying the Sunday messages focusing on the important question “What Our World Needs Now.” I look forward to being back with all of you very soon! Homecoming Sunday and fall kickoff is just around the corner! A lot is happening in the world. History is......

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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, by members of Vine St. Christian Church when it was located downtown. Woodmont has certainly grown, changed, and evolved throughout its history. The religious landscape in America is certainly very different than it was when Woodmont first opened its doors. We now find ourselves living in an age where many consider themselves “spiritual but not religious.” I......

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As I begin my summer sabbatical, here are my main priorities. First, to rest and recharge. Ministry can be taxing and I look forward to this designated period of rest and rejuvenation. Secondly, I want to spend quality time with Megan and my three children. Our kids are growing up very fast and I want to savor the time I have with them. Third, I plan to pray, read, and plan ahead for my fall sermons. The weekly routine of writing sermons is both spiritually rewarding and taxing. Somebody once said, “Sunday comes around often.” I will use this time......

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On Sunday, the congregation voted to approve the leadership slate and the proposed 2024-25 operating budget. This new budget reflects a year-over-year growth of 17.7% which is phenomenal! Thank you for making our mission and ministries possible! Please pray for the individuals who have accepted new leadership roles. Installation Sunday will be on June 30 at the 11:00 AM service. During the month of June, we are talking about “Authentic Leadership & Character.” Recently, I have had conversations with our staff and elders about John Maxwell’s 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.  Some of these laws are more relevant......

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This Sunday, we will recognize and honor all fathers and grandfathers in worship and have our congregational meeting at 10:40 AM in the sanctuary to vote on the proposed budget and leadership slate. Installation Sunday will be June 30. We live in a very loud and busy world. Vast amounts of information are coming at us constantly thanks to our smartphones – emails, text messages, alerts, social media dings, and news updates. Our politics have become highly dysfunctional. People are out to smear each other and embarrass each other instead of working......

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May has been full of graduations – high school, college, and beyond. New graduates are seeking wisdom and advice as they move ahead to life’s next chapter, whatever it may be. Graduates find themselves reflecting on what they have learned and preparing for an unknown future. I heard David Brooks speak on senior day this year at Vanderbilt. He reminded these young twenty-two-year-olds of something important: the person you choose to marry will account for eighty percent of your happiness or eighty percent of your misery in life. That decision is much......

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Leadership matters! It always has and it always will! Leadership matters in any local church. Leadership is not easy but everything rises and falls on leadership. Edwin Friedman said that leaders must learn to manage anxiety and be a non-anxious presence in any organization. Ron Heifetz talks about the importance of “holding steady” and learning to take the heat, whatever it may be. But for any of this to happen, a leader must find his or her own sense of inner peace and joy that cannot be tied to the words and......

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