I want to thank everybody who has made a commitment to support the mission and ministries of Woodmont for another year. We’ve had a strong response but we still have a ways to go to reach our goal. It’s still not too late to make a commitment. Click HERE to do so. Thank you again for your generosity! When baptizing Montgomery on Sunday, I got choked up. Why? I’m not completely sure. Maybe it was because she is the first of my own children that I get to baptize. Maybe it was......

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One of the greatest truths in life is that our mindset, attitude, and outlook is completely our choice. Some understand this, but many do not. We don’t always choose our circumstances or what might come our way, but we always get to choose how we will respond or not respond. This Easter season, it occurs to me that there are three basic ways we can choose to live. The first way is to be “perpetually disappointed.” Life is always a burden. You are always the victim. Nothing ever seems fair. You can......

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Our world needs Easter. We’ve been through a brutal pandemic, political upheaval, racial tension, and we continue to watch innocent people being killed every day in Ukraine from a senseless invasion. We all long for the promise and hope of Easter. I once had a conversation with a prominent therapist in town who told me that most of the clients he sees come into his office at 5 pm on the Saturday before Easter. He did not mean that literally, but metaphorically. Life is full of Saturdays. The worst has happened. Plans......

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This Sunday, we will officially launch our spring stewardship campaign. The theme this year is “Choosing Generosity” with I Tim 6:17-19 being our text. I am grateful to Alex and Polly Ryerson for serving as our chairs this year. Commitment Sunday will be the week after Easter (April 24th), the same day we baptize our disciples class. You can turn in your commitment card any time in April. Every spring, we ask our members to make a commitment to support Woodmont for another year (beginning July 1). We then take these commitments......

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Just war theory is primarily a Christian philosophy, dating back to St. Augustine that seeks to establish when a war is or is not just. It contains seven basic principles that should be applied. First, a just war can only be waged as a last resort after exhausting all non-violent options. Second, a just war can only be waged by a legitimate authority. Third, a just war can only be fought to address a wrong suffered. Fourth, just war is one that has a reasonable chance of success. Fifth, the ultimate goal......

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We are now entering the Season of Lent which is the forty-day period leading up to Easter (not including Sundays). Easter falls on April 17 this year. Lent is an intentional time of spiritual growth, a time of soul searching, a time of introspection – looking within our own hearts. Lent reminds us of the time that Jesus spent alone in the wilderness where he fasted and prayed for 40 days and overcame temptation. Many will give something up for Lent, others will take something on. We would all admit that as......

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As a madman is aggressively on the march in Eastern Europe, our community just lost an incredible servant leader and peace advocate with the passing of Tallu Schuyler Quinn at the young age of 42. Tallu was a Nashville native, a graduate of Union Theological Seminary in New York City, and the founder of The Nashville Food Project, a thriving non-profit that first started at Woodmont Christian Church and is now headquartered in The Nations. She had a heart for the poor, a passion for justice, and a drive to bring people......

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In recent weeks, I have been intentionally asking different friends and colleagues what they see as the most pressing challenges facing our culture right now. Specifically, what concerns them most about our society, human interaction, and the issues we face? Polarization and division were mentioned often, how we have dehumanized one another and those with whom we disagree. This even affects relationships with close family members and friends. Selfishness seems to be on the rise as we have become a culture of “me and I” rather than “we and us.” Self-promotion and......

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As a church, we are now launching a new visioning initiative at Woodmont for 2022 to prayerfully look ahead to the future. I am recommending a great book by Tod Bolsinger called Tempered Resilience to accompany this. We have accomplished a lot even during the challenges of the pandemic: completed a significant capital campaign, expanded our facility with no debt, enhanced our digital ministries, and now it’s time to keep looking ahead to the future. What will be different about this new visioning process is that it will happen on multiple fronts......

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