25
Oct 2021
This fall, I am teaching a class at Vanderbilt called “Morality & Happiness in a Post-Corona World.” We are exploring morality, how the pandemic has permanently altered certain aspects of our culture (workplace, school, health care, religion, community life), and the different ways that we all seek to pursue happiness and live meaningful lives. In his book The Happiness Hypothesis, Jonathan Haidt identifies three different theories of human happiness. The first theory is called the “progress principle:” happiness comes from success and acquiring things. This principle clearly dominates our consumer culture. We......
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07
Oct 2021
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06
Oct 2021
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28
Sep 2021
The next two Wednesday nights (Sept 29 and Oct 6), Hunter Mobley will be back at Woodmont at 6:30 PM in Carpenter Chapel to talk about “The Enneagram, Marriage, and Relationships.” We will also be live-streaming these talks. Dinner is being served beforehand in Drowota Hall. The Enneagram is a key tool when it comes to self-awareness and understanding others. One of the most common criticisms of Christians is that they are judgmental, self-righteous, and hypocritical. Gandhi famously claimed, “I would have been a Christian were it not for all the Christians.”......
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16
Sep 2021
Twenty years ago, our nation was attacked. Do you remember where you were on that fateful Tuesday morning? Do you remember how you felt when turning on the TV? Shock. Anger. Sadness. Dismay. Outrage. Nineteen terrorists collaborated together to hijack commercial airplanes full of innocent people, turning them into missiles. Two of the planes flew into each of the Twin Towers. Another plane crashed into the side of the Pentagon. A fourth plane was on its way to either the White House or Capitol but was brought down by some very brave,......
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07
Sep 2021
Life is unpredictable. We can not and should not take it for granted. Every day we wake up and we never really know what the day might bring. Last Monday, Aug. 23rd, longtime Anglican pastor of Nashville’s Church of the Redeemer, Father Thomas McKenzie, started a well-earned sabbatical. His first task was to drive his 22-year-old daughter Ella back to New Mexico where she was a student at St. John’s College. Tragically, their car collided with a tractor-trailer on Interstate 40 just west of Nashville and both of them were killed. I......
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19
Aug 2021
This Sunday is Homecoming Sunday at Woodmont! Summer is quickly drawing to a close, school is back, and we are now ready for fall kickoff. I feel renewed and refreshed after a sabbatical and I’m looking forward to seeing all of you. Our children will move up to their next grade level and fall programming will kick off. We have decided to hold off on our children’s moment until after Labor Day because of the rise in Covid cases. Parents will continue to take children straight to their classrooms before worship. I......
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11
Aug 2021
Woodmont family, Our leadership has been very diligent in working to keep our congregation safe during the Covid pandemic while also allowing our ministries and worship services to continue. We are certainly aware of what is now going on with the Delta variant and we are watching the data closely. Masks are strongly encouraged for those who are unvaccinated and those at greater risk of infection. Children ages 3-11 who are still not eligible for the vaccine will continue wearing masks inside the building. This has been somewhat challenging to enforce, but......
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03
Aug 2021
I’m entering the final few weeks of my sabbatical. We will welcome two very special guests to our pulpit. This Sunday, August 8th, my friend and new Belmont president Dr. Greg Jones will preach. Greg is the former dean of Duke Divinity School and a widely recognized leader and theologian in America. On Sunday, August 15th, we will welcome Dr. Lee Camp, ethics professor at Lipscomb University. I look forward to being back for Homecoming Sunday, August 22nd to begin a new fall series called “Questions of Faith” based on specific questions......
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26
Jul 2021
During the first part of my sabbatical, I have been able to rest, reflect, renew, plan, and spend meaningful time with family. We are now in the Outer Banks with Megan’s family. I miss seeing everybody and have enjoyed tuning into to worship online. It occurs to me that one of the great ironies of ministry is that all the important things pastors are called to do – preach, teach, counsel, write, administrate, lead a staff, do weddings, funerals, navigate a pandemic – do not always lead to a spiritually balanced place.......
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