The Church at West Franklin

Peter, Peter, Peter

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Tonight was the last Wednesday night Bible study at the church for a bit. At least until August. But it was a good one. We had Matt Pearson from the West Franklin campus leading us through the last of Praying through the Psalms, looking at Psalm 118 through the lens of the events leading up to Good Friday.

Specifically, he talked about how so many missed the meaning behind Psalm 118 as they most likely sang it on the night Jesus was betrayed and arrested. It was one of the Hallel Psalms that faithful Jews sang during the week leading up to Passover. Yet they were thinking military takeover and completely missed the point of the stone rejected becoming the cornerstone.

I’d never thought about why Peter denied Jesus. Actually, I never really thought about his motives at all. It was just something he did in the moment when abruptly confronted by people who had seen him with Jesus. But maybe Peter had reasons?

According to what I learned tonight, perhaps Peter had been disappointed in the reality of the Messiah versus his own expectations. When the anticipated overthrow of Rome didn’t begin, he decided he was done being a disciple. Hence the denial.

In a way, Peter was rejecting the stone that became the cornerstone. Ironically, Peter’s name means rock, yet he was anything but during those crucial moments after the arrest of Jesus. The only difference between Peter and Judas was that Judas showed only remorse while Peter displayed true repentance.

And it could have been me. In fact, it has been me or any number of us. How many times have we been anonymous rather than bold with our faith? How many times has it been easier to fade into the background or go with the flow rather than stand up for what we believe?

I love that later Jesus brings Peter back to that moment in the most loving way possible. For every time Peter denied Jesus, Jesus asks “Do you love me?” giving Peter a chance to affirm his faith. All in front of the same kind of coal fire where Peter had first denied Christ. I’d never thought about all those similarities before.

The same Peter who was always putting his foot in his mouth and later denying Christ became one of the most outspoken leaders of the faith. All because Jesus didn’t quit on him when He very well could have. Remember that the next time you fail. God’s love is still for you. The goal is not condemnation but restoration.

My Plan for 2016 — The Saga Concludes (Or Does it?)

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As you probably know by now, I made it a goal of mine to visit all the regional campuses of Brentwood Baptist Church in 2016.

As of today, that mission is accomplished. That is, until the next regional campus springs up into existence.

I really liked everything about The Church at West Franklin. The music was great, the people were warm and friendly, and Matt Pearson is a fantastic communicator of God’s Word.

I’m thankful that I was able to see each of the campus pastors when I visited their respective campuses. I’m even more thankful that Brentwood Baptist Church is able to reach such a diverse group of people with these campuses that share the same message of hope but convey it in different ways.

In Nashville where 95% of churches are in decline, it does my heart good to see that all these campuses are growing and thriving and each making inroads in their communities.

I can’t wait to see what God does through the next regional campus (possibly in East Nashville). I have my GPS and I’m ready to travel, especially if the new campus is close to The Pharmacy (one of my favorite burger places in the world).

Speaking of good places to eat, I managed to end up at the Henpeck Village Market after church services for some quality brunch buffet. It was every bit as good as I had been dreaming it would be.

I still love that every new day can be a new start. You may not be able to make a new beginning, but you can always start toward a new ending and change the current chapter you’re in. God is always willing to work in the life of the man or woman who can offer even the most hesitant of surrenders and gives Him even the tiniest of places to start.

So, this concludes my updates on visiting all the regional campuses of BBC. For now.

 

My Plan for 2016– The Saga Continues

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I managed to make it to another of Brentwood Baptist’s campuses today. Originally, I had planned to go to The Church at West Franklin today and then hit up The Church at Woodbine in May. Plans change.

I found out last night that a friend of mine was playing in the worship band for Woodbine, so I went there. The newly revised and updated plan is to visit West Franklin on May 8, God willing.

That was the main focus on the verses that Doug Jones preached from. The gist of the passage from James 4 is this: don’t make your plans and assume that God will automatically bless them. Instead, you and I need to make plans with the added tag of “God willing.”

You aren’t promised next year or next month or even next week. In fact, no one is promised a tomorrow. Every day you and I wake up is a gift from God. Every day we survive is only due to the grace and mercy of God.

Still, I’m thankful I chose this day to visit Woodbine. I got to see the beautiful old church building that has been revitalized and re-energized with new lifeblood. I got to see a visiting middle school choir from Atlanta that plans to stay the week and help out The Church at Woodbine and the surrounding community.

Afterward, I hit up a few thrift stores that I hadn’t been to in a while. I came up with a few finds, including one that may or may not be worthy of Antiques Roadshow. More on that later.

I’m grateful for The Church at Woodbine and for Doug Jones for a community that reaches out to their neighborhood with both love and truth. You need both to see lives change. Too often (especially in this current culture) the church has shied away from convictions under the guise of acceptance and ended up offering cheap grace that comes without repentance or transformation and with little impact on the community. But that’s another topic for another blog.

I’ll give you a full report on The Church at West Franklin two weeks from now.

 

 

My Plan for 2016 — So Far

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“We are confident that God is able to orchestrate everything to work toward something good and beautiful when we love Him and accept His invitation to live according to His plan” (Romans 8:28, VOICE).

It’s not really a new year’s resolution, but I’ve made a plan for 2016. My goal is to visit all the campuses of Brentwood Baptist Church in this calendar year. Obviously, I’ve been to the main campus and I’m a member of the Avenue South campus, so those don’t count.

So far, one down and two more to go.

I visited the campus of The Church at Station Hill. That place is blowing up (in a good and non-destructive way). What I mean is that this congregation has doubled since they moved into their new facility.

In a city where 95% of the churches are either plateaued or declining, that’s pretty remarkable. That speaks to what God is doing in the Spring Hill and Thompson’s Station area. That speaks to people who are completely committed to following the vision God has laid on their hearts.

They have a dynamic pastor in Jay Strothers. They have a really good contemporary worship team (with a brass section that reminds me of the old band Chicago). They are warm and friendly people who made me feel right at home.

Next month, the plan is to visit The Church at West Franklin. I’m very excited to see this church, once failing and now repurposed and thriving once more.

In May, I want to see The Church at Woodbine. I’ve heard really good things about this congregation, how they’re so ethnically diverse yet unified in their focus of reaching the lost for Jesus.

As Brentwood Baptist adds more regional campuses, I hope to be able to set aside a Sunday in the month to visit those as well.

So far, so good.