Brentwood Baptist Deaf Church

Third visit on our list, Brentwood Baptist Deaf Church. This is one "small" sanctuary (seats 257) in the mega church that is Brentwood Baptist (175k sq. ft building). The Deaf Church was built in 2003 and the sermons are simulcast in 24 different churches across the country for the d/Deaf Community.

Nathans View: The floors are rubberized and they reverberate the base in the worship music. This was a worship service where the primary form of communication was Sign Language and the hearing had an interpreter. It was an environment where awkward silences are the norm. Where there is a "Culture" not necessarily of my own. Aside from a different worship environment, not to mention the separation from the rest of the congregation, the sermon intrigued me a great deal. To sum it up in one sentence...ah how I love to generalize...it would be this. We choose whether we want to stamp Jesus on our foreheads...and once we do you better not act up or when you die and can finally cash in on your holy life insurance policy...God might say "too bad so sad...it wasn't good enough"...and you will be stuck with all your high school buddies in hell!! Kind of like an eternal high school reunion eh? This is a perfect example of my frustration with this school of thought. They pitch the "Walk the Talk" however, it seems rarity in the world I run into on a daily basis. They encourage everyone to be "saved" and be "born again" and then after the holy firework show is over it seems you are left with a scarlet letter for the rest of your life...the new is worn off and you go back to what is truly human nature...routine!! Then you are left going through life opening doors for old people at the grocery store in an effort to be more Christ like. The pitch for today's sermon was to open our eyes to a whole new reality, a new way of living, which theoretically should change the way you interact with the world you live in. The "I" is erased by the interconnectedness of humanity and the world all around us. This is a fantastic idea...and one...frankly...I am into. But here is where it starts to get muddy. Christianity would suggest this can only be achieved through Christ. Buddhism is very similar, when I compare them, in this concept of understanding "Gods Presence". It would be considered a state of Nirvana and to be Enlightened. The only difference is the enlightened don't consider the Buddha a God...rather it is an example of how far one can go in the pursuit of understanding. Maybe I am missing the point of Jesus and trying to merge two religious entities but I believe there is something to be learned here. It seems to me that the overall message Jesus was trying to portray is the internal relationship YOU are fostering with God overshadows this world. To approach your world with reverence of every living being including the blind, the deaf, the leaper. Perhaps I am wrong...but Jesus was leading a revolution away from a world where money and status defined who made it to "heaven". He fought to eliminate that caste system and instead, set forth the idea that the "meek shall inherit the earth". Is it me or was Jesus trying to say once you see how beautiful and fulfilling understanding can be...riches do not matter...social status does not matter...your life situation does not matter. But in the message given today at church, a time frame clouded that idea with a healthy fear of Hell and a public call to speed up your understanding of this intensely difficult concept because "if you where to die tomorrow...where would you spend eternity?" So we force it...maybe even fake "it"...and secretly keep looking for "it" hoping no one will notice. Perhaps I have stumbled upon a fantastic possibility. It seems to me the stick that trips a Christian in this world has always been the Devil...dare I suggest that his residence, Hell, is the very thing that keeps the Christian Industry alive, deeding its multi billion dollar industry. What would Jesus think about that. Perhaps Hell is helping to blind Christianity from a deeper, more powerful existence on this earth. I have gone down a very muddy road here but I will end with this...imagine there is no Hell...no fear of losing or coming up short...no walls...no barriers...no expectations...just you, the world around you, and God. What is your purpose now? And perhaps more importantly, does the answer to that question give you peace?

Ashley's View: I'm enjoying having Nathan blog first in these, because he always seems to give me more fodder to write about. It's interesting that this time, instead of him critiquing the church, he really ends up focusing on the sermon. And thus I'm reminded as to why we're doing this in the first place. We want to be pushed. We want to be inspired. We want to be, dare I say, "enlightened." We want to grow and be challenged and find the good out there, not just pick apart a church that members call home. Nathan's rant above gets me excited--because the wheels are turning--conversations are started as soon as we get in the car and we're getting fired up talking about things. If ultimately this brings us closer to God, then regardless of whether we agree with the sermon or the church, I feel this is all worthwhile.
Now, going to my view of the church. It's funny to hear how Mel and Nathan were uncomfortable in this setting, while I felt alive in it. It was very charismatic and 'churchy' like what I've been to before, but watching all of the signing and understanding it--it got me excited like I used to be when I was in school. I got an Associate's degree in American Sign Language Interpreting, and I haven't really been around any signing since. I've plan on raising all my kids fluent in ASL, and Clara knows a lot already, so I was eager to have her see a whole room of people signing. I was especially thrilled about signing during praise and worship. As much as I'm not for the more charismatic churches, I contradict myself because the singing is what always brought me closest to God in a church setting. And what I always wanted to do was sign while singing. In most settings, that would have been odd, but here it was the norm. So, that was fun.
We met the pastor, Brian, as soon as we walked in. However, I'm not sure if it was a warm greeting, or more an awkward standing next to each other that finally got him to talk to me. And...other than one guy signing to me that I could go in a side room to calm down a screaming Ellie during service, no one "talked" to us at all. Kinda disappointing since I was all eager to brush up on my signing skills. Out of the three churches so far, the FUUN church was definitely the most welcoming! Going to the info center at the main Baptist Church here, I didn't feel welcomed as much as I felt a full on sales pitch, complete with about 50 brochures on how you can get involved 24/7 in this mini-world they call community. And hey, if you're 10 minutes late for service, you can go in the other sanctuary and watch the whole sermon on the 11 minute delay in hi-def. "It's just like he's standing up there in person!" Yikes. Not my cup of tea. This place was all about community, but not in a warm welcoming way--seemed like it was nothing or it was a sales pitch.
Just to add my two cents on the sermon part...I like what Nathan has to say above, as this has been a soap box of mine for a while--that evangelical Christianity seems to me to be focused more on heaven and hell than on what you do now--it's all about x+y=z and you better play your cards straight or else. I want to live my life the best way I know how to honor God, but I'm doing it because I feel it's the best way and I love my life--not just to get the ticket to heaven. If heaven/hell weren't real, I'm not going to be mad because I missed out on murder and adultery. Darn.
The sermon was two-fold. There was the whole talk about us being getting the "seal" by God, of his owning us and how we should respect this body He has lent us...but then he had to backtrack, almost, to explain that although when you rent a car you don't care and don't take care of it as well, even though we're "renting" this body and God owns it, we should treat it well....yep, starts to get a little confusing. I'm thinking that he was going on the understanding that he can't assume that everyone respects stuff that isn't there's. Speaking very generally here, some deaf people tend to fall into the same bracket as some people on welfare--just waiting for the handouts and taking for granted things that they "borrow." So he went back and forth in his sermon--some of it I recognized as catering specifically to deaf people. I appreciated this, and also see how someone like Mel and Nathan can be left going what the...?

Bottom line, Mel stated in the previous post about how Christ Church Cathedral seemed to cater to people looking for a personal experience...well, I'm with Mel in that I am looking at church for community. I'm very into the personal experience with God, but when I go to a traditional institution like a church, I'm going not to stand isolated but to find others to commune with. This church, both the little service we went to and the big one that engulfed it, seemed to be brimming with people and we were like specks on the wall. Basically, if you're looking to get involved, go to the sales rep at the info booth and schedule your meeting to get with the "in" crowd. Otherwise, hasta la vista.

Melissa's View:

Forgive me for taking so long to blog...and because of that I have really forgotten the details of the service, but I do remember the feeling so I will go based on that...I don't know that I had much of an opinion (much unlike Nate) but more of an experience. I enjoyed being part of a world where people have found joy in what some may say is a handicap. I can't imagine the world without being able to hear and these people were happy and ready for praise and worship. I thought it was so cool to be able to feel the vibrations in the floor as the music played. It was a little hard to follow the sermon, seemed a little choppy. There were some things he talked about that I thought were right on and was looking for more depth or expanding on the topic, but then he would just switch gears and made it hard to follow. Overall I was more overcome with joy as I watched Clara stare at the others in the room and move her little fingers. She has been learning sign and you could tell she was soaking it in and excited to see others doing something she had been learning about!

Christ Church Cathedral

Stop number two...Christ Church Cathedral. This is probably the most beautiful cathedral in all of Nashville. This church is probably the closest to the European-style Episcopal churches in the area.

Nathan's view:  This was a gorgeous church and is known for its European architecture.  This was a church that bled pomp and circumstance.  The irony was I grew up in an Episcopal church and should be used to it but I kept waiting for someone to jump out and attack the scripture readers as they were escorted to the pulpit by a guy with a stick.  One of the things that jumped out at me was the power of the worship environment.  We discussed how an environment can direct the way we worship.  C.S Lewis suggested that you need to be careful where you look for god...that the church brings value to your relationship...however this gorgeous location brought an untouchable reverence to the experience for me.  Patrons quietly lowered their heads in the fear of god and it seemed to create an untouchable relationship.  If you are into an environment that promotes a quiet reverence for the almighty then this is the church for you...and if you enjoy gorgeous architecture then this is perfect...however I became frustrated by the level of pompous reverence that this environment fostered.  Give me wide open spaces or give me death...and then I will ask the "man" or woman his/her thoughts when I see em. : )

Ashley's view: First off, as stated above, the church is absolutely beautiful. We ended up talking, though, about how we think your surroundings can affect the atmosphere. I guess that's a given, but we saw it here, especially. Going into this incredible artistic structure creates a sense of awe and respect. It permeated the sanctuary and you didn't see people just visiting and making idle chit-chat. The service was very serious--no joking around, kids weren't making lots of noise, and it was very, very, steeped in traditional Episcopal ways. Many people genuflected and the parade of children in robes singing was so sweet, and reminded me of Catholic choir children...maybe it was the same thing?
It's funny--although the service was very traditional and serious, on the website, they are very technologically savvy. They even have an option for the youth to sign up for text messages to stay up to date! Additionally, I saw they have pilgrimages for children...what a great term instead of "missions" trips! Instead of the goal being evangelism, the focus is on serving others, and just showing love. Which, in my book, is what ministry and evangelism should really be about.
I don't think this church is the perfect fit for me...it's a little too serious for me. But...I think they've done a great job of hanging on the the traditions of their denomination without stubbornly watching the modern day pass them by.

Melissa’s View:
This church was BEAUTIFUL!!! Although beautiful, it felt and sounded like a museum. I think Ashley summed up the experience best once we got back in the car, “Awkward, party of 1” (although her reasons for this statement had to do with a particular situation when her and Clara got left at the alter with no bread to dip in the wine for communion and they had to hunt down bread man to be able to take communion…so yes, awkward!)

I’m finding that you can tell a lot about a church before it even starts…this one was so quiet as people were coming in and finding a seat. I was holding Ellie and felt like every whimper she made that someone might say “umm, you might want to take her outside, she is disrupting the stale museum feel in here.” OK, not really, but she was the only one you could hear with a 1/2 full Cathedral. I’m sure our “threesome circus act” only added to the confusion of why people might have been staring at us. Nathan and I were talking and sharing a hymnal while I was holding his child, only then to lean over and kiss Ashley…so yes, we probably drew some extra attention to ourselves with the confusion of who is he married to and who do all these children belong to!
Once again, I enjoyed the experience, but never felt spiritually fed through the whole hour we were there. Lots of readings, a 10 second “sermon” (which I thought was just an intro to the Baptism until Nate told me differently), some songs, stand up, sit down, cross your arms, shake hands, peace be with you and go home! The setting overall was pretty stale and boring. I guess I am really understanding more about myself and how I crave community in a church. Not that I want church just for another “social outlet,” but I really rely on that community to challenge me and keep me accountable. With Christ Church Cathedral, it was so quiet and ritual that I am assuming they use church on Sundays for more of an alone personal experience. As a visitor, I felt very out of place and hate having to be cautious of every move I make not to disturb someone around me. I would defiantly recommend anyone to take a fieldtrip sometime to experience the architecture, but don’t talk while you are there :)

First Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashville

Our first stop was the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashville (we have to say, we were intrigued when we saw their acronym for their site is FUUN...must mean good times, right?)

Nathan's View: I had fuun at this church. Upon first entering for the the 8:30 service we were a little concerned due to the number of cars in the parking lot...but quickly realized the majority of the members of this church were members of the "last minute" crew...also know as the "by the skin of my teeth" team. My wife, Ashley, is also a member and seemed to fit in with the depth of breadth of the few of this group. To sum up the Unitarian view it is one of mutual supportiveness (yes I made up a word...welcome to my world!!) as a collective group during your individual walk. I enjoyed the structure...one of the members discussed her walk in Mysticism. This is one where you slow down and take the time to witness the beauty and intense complicated structure of the amazing world around us all. As it turns out...this particular member would lose herself in the awe of the moment and loose all track of space and time...which she admitted was dangerous to do while driving. There was a blind "faith" with no real direction other the belief that it will all be ok. The example that the Mystic speaker gave was she quit her job...bought a house and is trying to sell her old house all during a historic recession. The Mediator, as I call her (she was actually the Reverend and leader of the Unitarian Church) would stand before the group and explain the historical factors and connection to Mysticism which I really appreciated. At the end of the "discussion" I walked away with an interesting point of view. Coming from a Christian foundation, it is easy to look at Mysticism and say it is hocus-pocus devil worshiping hodge-podge. Before we all start judging the Mystics we should remember that other religions...including Christianity, document "Mystic" decisions and encounters. A Christian made a life decision that came from a burning bush...Christians have built boats...taken their only son to the top of the mountain to kill him...and led people through deserts putting other lives at risk of death or starvation, all with direct orders from unverifiable sources called God or inanimate objects which God was hiding in. Furthermore have you ever heard someone say...I really feel God is leading me to do...I prayed about it and really felt God wants me to...I guess there is another lesson I am suppose to be learn from all this. I guess as long as God is the one "telling" you what to do and it is not the awe inspiring power of the world around you it is constituted as faith in God and then we feel all warm and conservative inside. As a shaky Christian and a cynical person myself, I feel that it left this...people are either in left field as Mystics and they have no one to blame but themselves when they fall after they leap or are using God as a reason for their irrational decisions and if it does not go their way either have someone to blame and will end up either confused or angry...I will let you be the judge of which one is healthier. Either way it is irrational...and only is transformed into faith when the "leap of faith" works out in the individuals favor and it ends up with a positive outcome. After all, if it had never rained...would Noah have made the cut in the Bible? I see a good number of similarities in two concepts that I originally considered to be on opposite ends of the gamut. Perhaps when our gut reaction to Mysticism or anything outside our comfort zone for that matter is to label it as a bunch of bull hockey we should stop to consider how similar these concepts are to other...more conservative or socially acceptable beliefs. I have walked away with the realization that first it is important to take the time to stop and listen to the world around you no matter if you do that in a car while in an awe-struck trance or you are deep in prayer. We should take those lessons we get...meditate on them...and take the leap...as an individual. We should get comfort in the hope that no matter what the out come...there is a lesson to learn. Either you knock it out of the park and survive the flood or you are left jobless and homeless wondering what it was all for. At the end of it all...you made the decision...and you learned the lesson.


Ashley's View: I'll try to just add in a few cents off of Nathan's here. I really connected on some levels at this church. We weren't just lost in a crowd and were greeted by almost all of the leaders in the church at various points. Like Nathan said, it really was a place to embrace and support everyone, regardless of their viewpoints. Although I liked the "free love" atmosphere, I wonder how many get overwhelmingly lost in their questions without a definite basis on where they stand. I noticed that one of the classes was "creating your own theology," though, so apparently you can make it concrete in your own head, at least.  This is gray to the ultimate extreme, I'd say. I liked that the church was a small setting, and anticipated a very casual atmosphere. Although everyone was very friendly, there was a level of awkwardness to the service. Maybe it had to do with a lot of people being out of town? Contrary to my assumption, it wasn't full of young hippies--the majority of people there were elderly! That probably had something to do with the lack of outspokenness. I was hoping for a service where members could interject freely...instead, it had awkward silences, and our toddler's chatter didn't exactly put everyone at ease. (Hey, at least I thought it was funny when they asked what praises or prayers people had and Clara loudly exclaimed "there are no more monsters here!" at the perfect timing. No one else commented. Crickets.)
Afterward there was fellowship time, and we told one of the leaders about our quest. She was very intrigued and asked us to come back at the end of it and share our story. I thought that was neat, and was glad to see that she accepted it so warmly. Then again, that seems to be what Unitarians are all about. 

Melissa’s View:
Well, it was FUUN…that’s for sure! We were talking about The Unitarian beliefs in the car that morning and I was under the impression that they all believe the same thing, “that how ever you find your way to God is acceptable”, but it ended up that they all believe something different and this was just simply a location where they all come together. I don’t know if every Sunday is like the one we were there for, but sounds like they pick a different person to speak on their religion each week, so every week you get a snippet of a new religion.
As I was reading the bulletin waiting for the service to start, I noticed the word “God” was mentioned once. Every song (which were very odd), the “sermon”, the stories and there was no mention of God. I really missed God that day!! As the lady was talking about Mysticism, I was like “Where is their hope and direction??” It was just so nonchalant…whatever you feel like doing, do it and Good Luck! I hated that there was no structure to their religions…where do you find answers? If I only got to hear a small portion of a different religion each Sunday, where does more depth, community, and challenging come from? I have to say that I did laughed out loud when the “mystic lady” guided us through a “meditation” by having us close our eyes and find god in everything around us….including the pencil in the pew and the black electrical tape running through the floor!

Overall, I enjoyed visiting and think they really do have big hearts, care for others and want to see good done in the world. Although I didn’t feel comfortable there at all, I found an appreciation for their non-judgmental approach. I liked that we were greeted from start to finish and felt very welcomed…later I said we should have made up some great story about how Ashley was Nate’s 1st wife and they had Clara and I was his 2nd wife and we had Ellie just to see how they received us :)

About Nathan

I am the instigator of the group.  I get sadistic pleasure in getting on my religious high horse.  I have a nasty case of devils advocate and am recovering from religious narcissism.  I find myself consistently looking at both sides and coming on the other side with the no outcome other then the continuing existence of the mystery. My goal is to come to the end of the tour with an understanding of religion, specifically how the members of those institutions behave and present themselves as well as how they contribute to god, faith, and humanity.  I hope to broaden my view of those three previously mentioned areas through human interaction.  Now that the politically sappy piece is done...odds are it will either support the common stereotypes of religious groups already ingrained in my mind...or I will become so blindly in love with a group of like minded people I will be initiated into a world of potential non growth and pleasantly live a life of blissful ignorance.  Either way it will be a fun ride and I will...ideally be growing. 

About Melissa

I am Melissa, the encourager of the group…”come on Ash and Nate, you have to find excitement in religion somewhere” is where I think this all started.
I was raised Southern Baptist where you wear the perfect dress, with the perfect shoes, the pretty bow in your hair and then head off to church where you act like everything in your life is….perfect! You go to church Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night, because of course if you don’t go three times a week, people might start to think something is wrong.
Growing up for me was all about image and you should believe “this” because you are a part of this family and you don’t have a choice…believe, act, pray, dress, talk, BE this person, “because I said so.” After a very rigid childhood of control and manipulation I finally felt freedom after high school when I got away from Nashville and experienced the joys of college…WAR EAGLE :) Not that I found God or religion in college, but I did find that I can be myself and be accepted for that. I believe this was a stepping stone for later in life to truly know what I believe.
This has sent me on a life long journey of “what do I believe?” Not because I was told to believe something, but because I wanted to discover it for myself. As previously stated, we all have different reasons for this “quest.” For me, I am very strong and confident in my relationship with Christ. This past year has been an especially quiet time for God and I to connect on a personal level that I always “heard” about but have never experienced. I now have a new appreciation for who God is in my life and the peace that I have experienced from trusting rather than trying to control.
I am super excited about this journey! With the strict religion that was forced on me growing up, I was never allowed to explore other religions. I am looking forward to see what others believe, why and how they worship. I have a respect for other religions that show great dedication and more of a servant’s heart than “Christians”. I think that they truly get the sprit of worship instead of using “God” as an excuse to judge. I know that Nate, Ashley and I can ask honest questions of one another that will really challenge what we think….Nathan has alrady pushed my buttons with the famous 2 year old child question "WHY" over and over.....I’m eager to see where we all stand at the end of this “Tour De Faith”

About Ashley

First off, I'm Ashley. Proud mommy of two, wife of one. My reason behind this quest...well, I guess at this point in my life I'm what you would say as a very "gray area" person. I don't have a lot of black and whites, but instead am perfectly happy with living in the gray area where I don't have all the answers. However, especially now as a mom, I'm going to have to figure out not only my faith, but how to explain it to our kids. Like I've said many times before, I've never questioned my belief/faith in God...but I have questioned religion. I know that Christianity--specifically Episcopalian--is where I am most comfortable. It's the religious culture I know and have been in for the past 7 or so years. Before then, I've experienced many Protestant denominations--Mennonite, Baptist, First Assembly of God, United Methodist, Non-Denominational, Presbyterian, and Pentecostal to name a few. I've had both amazing experiences and bad experiences in a church setting. I get frustrated with the perspective that, to me, seems focused on what is wrong, or a sin, instead of what is right. We strive to be more Christ-like...but sometimes get so caught up in judgments and telling others how Christ should be represented and forget to look at our own lives and the art of living day to day. We focus on one specific Bible verse and create our opinion of what God says is right or wrong, and it's not about just loving everyone and embracing them as a child of God, but of taking on the role of teacher and correcting their sin. Maybe I'm just more content in a hippie "All we need is love" perspective on religion. I'm not sure if that's good or bad yet.

I'm ready to look at all areas of faith--different religions, and my own religion, and be open to what I can find. I think God can be present in many different ways, and it's not confined to one specific denomination, or even religion, for that matter.  My reason for this quest is to bring back that spark of spirituality in my life--and to better understand how I can explain it to my children.

And I want to have a better explanation than this: