Sigmund Freud famously remarked, “Life as we find it is too hard for us; it brings us too many pains, disappointments, and impossible tasks.”  Freud says, “We are threatened with suffering from three directions: from our own body, which is doomed to decay; from the external world which may rage against us with overwhelming and merciless forces of destruction including earthquakes, floods, and other natural disasters.”  But finally, he says, “we are threatened with suffering from our relationships to other human beings.  The suffering that comes to us from this source is......

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This past Sunday, June 20, we voted to approve both our proposed operating budget and our new leadership slate for the upcoming church year. This coming Sunday, June 27, we will install our new leaders at the 10:45 AM service. Our final “Leadership and Character” class will be this Wednesday night, June 23, with Hunter Mobley at 6:30 PM in the chapel. Thank you once again to everybody who made a commitment to support Woodmont’s ministries for another year. On Sunday, I shared with you the words of one of my Princeton......

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Former Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam is a rare breed in American politics. He is a moderate Republican willing to work with the other party to get things done for the common good. He is also a strong Christian who claims that his faith inspired him to first serve as Mayor of Knoxville and later as the Governor of Tennessee. He has just published an insightful new book titled “Faithful Presence: The Promise and Peril of Faith in the Public Square.” Just as Dwight Eisenhower warned of the “Military Industrial Complex” back in......

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I want to thank everybody who has made a commitment to support Woodmont’s ministries for another year. So far we have received 350 commitments totaling $2,707,169. We are still hoping for additional participation in our “Rising Strong Together” campaign. The pandemic has created significant challenges for churches and faith communities. Clergy and faith leaders have a multitude of questions as we emerge from this unprecedented time, not to mention severe fatigue and exhaustion. Will the church return to where it was pre-pandemic? Are people still afraid of Covid or simply out of......

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This Sunday, May 9th, which is Mother’s Day, we will formally dedicate our new building at 10:30 a.m. We have already moved into this beautiful space and it has been a tremendous blessing for our church as we continue to come back from the pandemic. The new Chapel is being named “Carpenter Chapel” to honor five generations of Carpenters and Drowotas who have provided strong, visionary leadership and generosity at Woodmont since the church began in 1943. The new Kids Area is being named “Johnson Family Commons” to honor Milton and Denise......

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I want to thank everybody who has made a commitment to support Woodmont for another church year. It’s still not too late to do that. Click here to make your pledge online. This Sunday, we will begin a new sermon series based on Ephesians titled “Family Dynamics: Navigating Life’s Important Relationships.” In this series, we will talk about love, marriage, parenting, values, boundaries, in-laws, drama, resentment, and how our faith should impact family life. When it comes to living with emotional and spiritual vitality, men and women face unique challenges. For example,......

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This Sunday, April 25, is Commitment Sunday. We are asking for our members to make a financial commitment to support the mission and ministries of the church for another year. These commitments are simply “estimates of giving” for our next church year (July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2022). We set the operating budget based on the results of this campaign. The Bible talks about the tithe, or 10% of what we earn should be given back to God. Not everybody has achieved that but it’s a worthy goal for all Christians.......

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Many Christians and spiritual seekers severely underestimate the importance of mindset and the key role it plays in the spiritual life.  Mindset and attitude are always a choice.  Victor Frankl clearly argued that although we may not choose our circumstances, we can always choose how to respond. Moving beyond Easter, I see three different mindsets from which we can now choose.  The first is what I call the “Good Friday Mindset.”  With this approach, we are always afraid, always disappointed, disillusioned, and never satisfied.  Nothing is ever good enough.  Life is unfair......

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I hope everybody had a wonderful Easter. It was certainly a special day at Woodmont with services held both inside and outside. I enjoyed getting to see many faces for the first time in quite a while. This Sunday, April 11th, we look forward to baptizing 25 members of our Disciples Class who have made their confessions of faith and are now joining the church. Some of them will be baptized at 9:15 and the others at 10:45 service. Please keep these young people and their families in your prayers as they......

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