Megan and I recently took a special trip celebrating our tenth wedding anniversary. We spent time reflecting on how much our lives have changed since May of 2009, three kids being the most obvious. Marriage remains a very important institution in our culture but one that takes ongoing effort, sacrifice, and intentionality. Psychologist John Gottman, known as “the dean of marriage scholars,” says this: “Happy marriages are based on deep friendship, mutual respect for and enjoyment of each other’s company. These couples tend to know each other intimately – likes, dislikes, personality......

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THANK YOU to everybody who has made a commitment to support Woodmont’s mission and ministry for another year. We have had a very strong response and now we are moving into the follow up phase of our campaign. You can still email your pledge to Chris Beck [email protected]. We set our operating budget every year based on these commitments. The new church year runs July 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020. Last week, I attended the funeral for real estate developer Jimmy Webb. Jimmy was a friend, a great man, born and......

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I was recently conversing with a well-respected marriage and family therapist here in Nashville. He has been in private practice for decades and has counseled numerous couples and families through infidelity, mistrust, suicidal ideations, alcoholism, addiction, financial disaster, and the unwanted challenge of children who decide to not grow up. We were discussing the attitude of the older brother in the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15) and how he became filled with jealousy and anger, bitterness and resentment when his younger brother returned home and his father threw a massive......

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We are officially kicking off our spring stewardship campaign with the theme “Sustaining Generosity.” Paul writes in II Corinthians 9: “Those who sow sparingly will also reap sparingly; those who sow generously will also reap generously…the Lord loves a cheerful giver.” Mark and Kasey Clymer will be our chairs this year and I am grateful for their leadership and passion. The stewardship campaign is different from the capital campaign. The stewardship campaign happens every April and it funds the basic ministries and operations of the church. Here are some of the reasons......

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In Luke 6, referred to as the Sermon on the Plain, Jesus says this: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” These words are familiar among Christians, but much more difficult to live out. Arthur Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute, has released a brand new book titled “Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt.” This book is very timely and relevant. Brooks’ main thesis is that we now live in......

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We have entered the Season of Lent, the forty-day period leading up to Easter, reminiscent of the time Jesus spent alone in the wilderness before his public ministry.  It is a season of soul searching, penitence, and spiritual growth. If we are honest, we will admit that inner work and personal growth is challenging.  Pointing out the flaws in others is much easier to do but is often a convenient way to avoid examining our own hearts and lives.  Judgment and blame is far too common in this culture.  Jesus offers a......

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We are continuing to make significant progress towards breaking ground on our new addition this summer. The construction committee is meeting regularly with Centric (our architect) and Batten and Shaw (our contractor). We are still aiming to break ground in May or June. The vision that the congregation embraced this fall with a very successful capital campaign is still very much needed. Our children’s classrooms are overcrowded (a nice problem to have). The Bridge has grown significantly and will be ready to move to the new chapel so we can utilize the......

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In the ministry, I find myself on the front lines of people’s deepest pain. A young mother diagnosed with cancer; a husband deciding to leave a marriage; alcoholism, addiction, severe depression, suicide, bankruptcy, financial struggles, miscarriages, the sudden loss of a loved one, and much more. Ministers get invited into situations that many others never see or even hear about. All human beings suffer to various degrees. This is simply inevitable. What is fascinating is how different people process and handle their pain and grief in a variety of ways. Some seek......

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Retired Harvard theologian Harvey Cox has observed that at some point in the middle of the twentieth century, Christianity began its gradual transition into what he calls the “Age of the Spirit.” However, it is clear that “spirituality” means different things to different people. In his book The Future of Faith, published exactly ten years ago, Cox argues that there are three basic reasons why spirituality remains on the rise. First, it is a form of tacit protest that demonstrates why a growing number of people are dissatisfied with shrinking the faith (Christianity......

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