Woodmont Hills Church of Christ

About
The Family of God at Woodmont Hills is a large Church of Christ located at 3710 Franklin Road in Nashville, TN. Rubel Shelly was the minister for Woodmont Hills for 25+ years. Dean Barham of Virginia is it's current minister. It is perhaps one of the more controversial Churches of Christ within that brotherhood due to its views on: instrumental music, women participation in worship, praise teams, clapping, raising of hands, grace orientation, views on Christian unity etc... that is not normally found in many Churches of Christ. However, Woodmont Hills is seen as "breath of fresh air" for those still in the Church of Christ but have a more "progressive" mindset.

Importance
Woodmont Hills serves as an example for Churches of Christ across the globe to become more open and to think outside of the box. The relationship between Woodmont Hills and First Christian Church Nashville (now Aspen Grove Christian Church) is extremely important within the American Restoration Movement in particular. Woodmont Hills is a very good example for Churches of Christ that are becoming more modern and relevant to today.

History
Woodmont Hills is the result of a number of mergers of former congregations over the past 80 years which include: Waverly-Belmont Church, University Church, Ashwood Church, and Green Hills Church. All of the above mentioned churches merged in 1988 and became Woodmont Hills. In 1997, Woodmont Hills moved into it's new home at 3710 Franklin Pike.

Today
Recently, Woodmont Hills was once again thrown into the spotlight within the brotherhood when First Christian Church of Nashville moved into the Woodmont Hills building following the sale of their property on Franklin Road to Franklin Road Academy. This was seen as controversial among the conservative churches due to FCC's use of instrumental music on Sunday's at the same time Woodmont Hills assembles. On the flip side many people, many within the Churches of Christ, have viewed this "cohabitation" between Woodmont Hills and FCC as very important with all of the recent discussions on unity between instrumental Independent Christian Churches/Churches of Christ and a capella Churches of Christ.

First Christian Church recently purchased a building in nearby Brentwood, TN. They will be leaving the Woodmont Hills facility in late 2007 and have changed their name to Aspen Grove Christian Church.

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