Midtown

Disclaimer: this isn't really about my teaching experience. I said I would talk about the church I've been meeting with and being a part of. Mrs. K and I have been going to this place called Midtown Fellowship on 12th Avenue. We were told about it by a friend of a friend, and it's really close to our place. We felt like we really started connecting with people there and God was really speaking to me through the pastor. The first like 4 weeks we were there the new pastor talked a lot about being in transition, and dealing with new changes and sacrifices. We were planning on trying other places, but we liked it there so much we didn't bother.

We have had lunch with some cool people and young married couples our age including a couple really great folks, Joe and Tiff, that just got married and moved here earlier this summer. Tiff is a resident at Vanderbilt med school, and Joe is going to school for airplane mechanics. So they're very fun to be around and have turned out to be great friends. All four of us decided we really wanted to join one of Midtown's small groups, so we added into a group of three other younger married couples and we have loved being a part of that. One of the things I really like about Midtown is that they understand that real fellowship, accountability, and an intentional community like the Acts church is best done in a small group dynamic. So Midtown's plan is to grow by getting smaller. They are a plant church which means that their goal is to reach the larger community of Nashville by planting other congregations of Midtown around the city instead of having one huge church. The small groups are another part of the plan to allow real intentional church to happen with people really sharing their lives together and serving one another. So far we've dedicated each night to one couple sharing their life stories so we can have a better idea of where people are coming from and know more about each other. But eventually, the plan is to study the word or some other book together while intentionally building our community.

I've been learning a lot about Midtown's philosophy and plans by going to their membership class the past 3 Saturdays. Mrs. K and I want to become members of the church, so they have this class that talked about the gospel, community, and service. And then we had dinner with a special long-standing member of the church (or elder) which for us happened to be the founder of the church, who is really cool. We don't get to see him that much since he's at the original location. Our congregation at 12 South is the first plant church and just started last year some time.

We're really excited to be a part of this church, and we're looking forward to really love on the community we live in through it. I really think God is doing something special in Nashville. Apart from the people in TFA, we've met so many people at Midtown that just ended up here, and they can't really tell you why they're here. It's kind of the same with us. We can explain why we're here, but if you told me a year ago that I'd be teaching high school where I'm at now after declining to go to med school... It's a God thing.