Christ City Church Memphis

Join us for a special Sunday with Rev. Ayanna Watkins as she shares a word from Esther. Rev Ayanna is a longtime friend of Christ City. She is a skilled and kind preacher who knows CCC well. She has preached for us a couple of times a year for the last several years. You don’t want to miss it!

Do you trust yourself? Should you? At some point, most of us have trusted an authority that has let us down or caused us harm. Sometimes we were fooled, tricked, or manipulated. Other times, people simply failed us. In light of those experiences, how do we develop an inner sense of discernment, of intuition, of authority? The ministry of Jesus has more to say about that than we might think. Join u...

Matthew 9:9 You probably aren’t much of a leader if people only follow you because they think they have to. What makes someone worth following? And how do we become the kind of people others can trust enough to follow? This message will guide us into ideas and practices to help us learn more about our own capacity to lead with authority and follow with discernment. Join us for the fifth sermon in...

Did you know Jesus had issues with authority? In fact, when he saw how harassed and helpless his people were, he chose to empower ordinary disciples to help, to heal and to liberate rather than rely on those with religious or political power. Sometimes, we might think it is a bonus to have a compassionate leader. According to Jesus, we may have set our sights too low. Join us as we take a look at...

We all know what authority gone wrong looks like. We see it in news feeds, workplaces, families, institutions, and even in the stories we tell through music, movies, and literature. But "authority issues" are not new. Jesus encountered them too. When we introduced our current sermon series, Jamin asked, "What does it mean to practice giving, receiving and wielding our own authority...

Who decides who belongs? Who gets forgiven? Who gets held accountable? Often, we hand those responsibilities to pastors, leaders, or institutions and then blame them alone when things go wrong. But Jesus gives the work of forgiveness, discernment, and responsibility to the whole community. In week two of Authority Issues, we explore the difficult and necessary tension between personal responsibili...

On Pentecost, the Spirit was given to all; ordinary people spoke with authority. The presence of God was no longer limited to prophets, priests, or kings. But when anyone can speak for God, who is actually in charge? And if we’re all listening to the same Spirit, why do we so often come to different conclusions? As we begin our new series,  Authority Issues: The Harm and Hope of Spiritual Authorit...

Join us this week for a special conversation between Communications Director, Jordan Arellano, and Dr. Chris Hanson. As an epilogue to the "Miracles Everywhere" series, they will be discussing the Miracle of Time. Time passes whether we make use of it or not. How do we grow and form spiritually as time passes?

Each of us is much more than what someone has defined us as, and so is Memphis. Perspectives that reduce us to rich and poor, black and white, immigrant and native, safe and dangerous, gay or straight, flatten 3-dimensional lives, but like individuals, Memphis rejects oversimplified definitions. When a person can spend time looking and listening for more, a gradient and abundant picture of Memphis...

'Haunted house,' 'holy ground,' 'in love'–the places around us and inside of us can transform in awful and miraculous ways depending on what happens in them and what we believe about them. What does it mean for us to learn to experience miracles in the worlds we inhabit? Join us as we learn more about it in the fifth week of the sermon series, 'Miracles Everywhere.'

When we believe we don’t have enough, we are always right. When we believe we live in a world of abundance, miracles can happen. How do we live with generosity in a world that cries scarcity? Join us in exploring the power of generosity in the series 'Miracles Everywhere.'

When we learn to show up and listen with care and compassion, something begins to shift. In fact, hidden in mundane conversations could be the chance for something miraculous.  This week in  Miracles Everywhere , we’ll explore how conversation can become a place of transformation—in our bodies, our minds, and our hearts.

We all have a body, and whether we realize it or not, it shapes how we feel, how we trust, and what we believe. That’s part of what makes the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection so powerful, not just as an idea, but as something embodied, something with weight. This week in  Miracles Everywhere , we’ll explore how God meets us, through flesh and blood, not in spite of it—and how that changes th...

One of the greatest moments of human history was hidden in the ordinary. The good news of the resurrection had already happened, but no one could see it yet. Sometimes seeing the miracle takes time, takes heart, and often, loss. Join us this Easter Sunday as we open our hearts to the possibility that new life is already breaking through as we wonder together, “Could we learn to see miracles?”.

When we celebrate the life-giving, uplifting, and liberating authority of King Jesus, it agitates the powers that be. This type of celebration isn’t passive; it is an act of defiance marked by joy and courage. Will we enter into it?

What do you do when hope feels gone? In Ezekiel’s vision, God asks a haunting question:  “Can these dry bones live?”  Originally spoken to people whose world had fallen apart, this vision reminds us that God’s life-giving Spirit can bring hope even in the most hopeless places. This Sunday, we explore how resurrection is not just a future promise, but something God is breathing into our lives right...

The shadow of death touches many places in our lives, yet our faith tradition has much to teach us about how to live courageously and fully by accepting, not denying, its presence. If we desire transformative change, some perspectives, attachments, misplaced hopes, and fantasies need to die. When we allow, and even help, some of these things to perish, their decomposition can create the soil for n...

This week we worship with Rev. Kevin L. McNeil, the Regional Minister and the President of the Christian Church in Tennessee (Disciples of Christ). He shares a message from Luke 13:1-9.

Have you ever heard the saying, “You don’t have a ‘yes’ unless you have a ‘no’”? A true yes requires agency—the freedom to choose. When it comes to life in the church, that freedom matters deeply. When we serve, worship, and create because we have freely and purposefully chosen to, we tap into the inexhaustible resource of God’s love—a love that leads, cares, and supports, but doesn’t coerce. As w...

What would change if you knew—deep in your bones—that you are infinitely and eternally loved, and that no force in heaven or on earth can change that? What would that knowing bring to your life, your groundedness, your spirituality, and the way you hear scripture? As we continue naming what it means for Christ City to join the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), we turn our attention to Script...

Long-time Christ City partner and former elder  Stacie Martin  sits down with  Pastor Jamin Carter  for a reflective and sacred dialogue. They explore the ways Christ City is naming more clearly who we have been for a long time—and how we are learning to notice where the Spirit of God is already at work in our “yes” to join a greater movement for wholeness. This conversation is part three of our D...

In a world of contractual relationships and transactional faith we are learning to embrace the ancient concept of covenant-an ancient way of faith built on living, changing, and dynamic relationships. This week, we’ll explore how covenant invites both us and Christ City into an agile, relational faith-one that finds its home not in isolation, but in shared life within the wider body of Christ.

What does it mean to discover your place in a bigger story—only to realize that you’ve had kinfolk right in front of you all along and didn’t know it? That’s what it has felt like for Christ City to join the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ): not adopting something new, but waking up to a larger movement already at work—one grounded in God’s desire for wholeness in a fragmented world. This Su...

What authorities can we trust? When is it right to question them? Join us as we explore how acts of resistance—like those in Scripture—can become grounding acts of faith or become distractions that lead to the disintegration of our spiritual communities.

What do you mean when you say, “I understand”? As we enter the season of Epiphany, we take time to explore those moments when understanding moves from the head to the heart—and is felt even in the bones.