Greetings Holy, Healthy and Happy People of God,

As I write this eNote to our faithful and radically loving community, I am thinking about the question, “What it will take for our city to be unified?”  It‘s an extremely complex question in a city where unity is discussed but the urgency and hard work is apparent.  Think about the recent events: the Waffle House where four young people were killed, voter suppression, human trafficking, budget cuts for education with metro schools, homelessness increase, sky-rocketing housing costs, voting on the referendum for a transit system, and most recently, another twenty-something year old was shot at the Opry Mills Mall.

Where is the urgency and the hard work needed to start to restore our city to a place of harmony and welfare for all?  In Jeremiah, the Prophet offers a compelling vision and hope for every city in the world, “Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile.  Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”  Jeremiah 29:7

After sitting in the downtown public library and listening to Mayor’s State of the City address, I recognized the ongoing work we need to do around human relations.  We need more relationships that expand our spiritual and human prospective.  Like Jeremiah then and Nashville now, many people are in places of exile, places of uncertainty.  However like Jeremiah, we need people who are faithful and courageous enough to stop using rhetoric as a means of diminishing people and to shift our perspective for a time of three things:

We need to be intentional about PRAYING together!

We need to be expecting PEACEFUL solutions for the city!

We need to be willing to PARTNER with others!

Nashville is a great and gracious city, but there is still much work to be done.  And this work will take all of us, and not just public officials.  In times like these, Christians cannot retreat, but rather should boldly step forward and speak on behalf of those in exile.  We need the spirit of Jeremiah and should not be afraid.  Unity is not a function of speaking, but an action of faith.

Hear the W.O.W., the Words of Wisdom,
“God desires that we seek PEACE and PROSPERITY for ALL of us!

Remember to pray The Lord’s Prayer every day at 12 Noon!

As always, remember, God’s will for us is good, we must do the rest!
Pastor Stephen