Summer is winding down, and we are finally getting ready to break ground on our new building. August 18th will be a very BIG DAY in the life of our church as it will be Homecoming Sunday, Promotion Sunday (for the kids), and Groundbreaking (10:45 a.m. – South Lawn) all rolled up into one. The Woodmont Construction committee, led by Dr. Tom Gormley, has been working very hard this summer to oversee the final design and keep this project as close to budget as possible. We should receive our building permit any......

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Much has been written about the Evangelical Christian embrace of Donald Trump. Many are perplexed and do not understand it. There was an interesting article published July 5th in The Atlantic by Peter Wehner stating, “The enthusiastic, uncritical embrace of President Trump by white evangelicals is among the most mind-blowing developments of the Trump era. How can a group that for decades—and especially during the Bill Clinton presidency—insisted that character counts and that personal integrity is an essential component of presidential leadership not only turn a blind eye to the ethical and......

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Exactly thirty years ago this summer (1989), Steven R. Covey published his now famous book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. It has become a classic in the business and leadership communities, challenging and influencing millions of people across the globe. What are the seven habits? First, be proactive. Take initiative and don’t live life in a reactive mode. Second, begin with the end in mind. Know where you want to be in the future and then move towards it. Make decisions that move you towards your goal. Third, put first things......

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We have started a new church year and have installed a new class of church leaders. Leadership in the church is essential on every level. Former Roxbury Latin headmaster Tony Jarvis once made the following observation about the challenge of leadership: “Whatever power a leader has is overshadowed by the second-guessing and criticism he receives for the decisions he makes. Leadership does not confer happiness…. at the heart of all leadership, at any age, is character; the courage to cling tenaciously to a vision, the grit to exhaust yourself in helping others......

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It is now cliché to point out that we live in a time of deep polarization. That is stating the obvious. We have members of our church who believe Donald Trump is saving America and others who feel very differently. We have members on the far right and on the far left. They worship together on Sunday mornings and may even be in the same small group. The conversations are always interesting, lively, and yes, can become awkward. At this particular point in American history and in American Christianity, there is a......

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During the month of June, we are studying Paul’s letter to the Philippians. I am encouraging everybody to read, study, and reflect upon this very powerful and timeless Epistle. Here is what I shared Sunday morning as a basic introduction and overview of the epistle: • Philippians was written by Paul around 62-63 AD when he was in prison most likely in Rome • It is perhaps the most unique of all Paul’s letters because he is not dealing with doctrinal issues but he’s basically writing a thank you letter to the......

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Last Saturday night, country music star Eric Church took the stage in downtown Nashville at the Titans stadium as a part of his “Double-Down Tour.” He broke Taylor Swift’s attendance record for a concert at Nissan Stadium. One of his new songs is called “Some of It.” It accurately tells the story about the many different ways we learn timeless lessons in life: “Some of it… you learn the hard way. Some of it… you read on the page. Some of it… comes from heartbreak. Most of it… comes with age. None......

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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 pledge@woodmontcc.org. 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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