Our Core Values
We are formed by the truth and love of Jesus.
We will be a church centered and shaped by the truth and love of the Good News of Jesus Christ as revealed through the Scriptures. The Gospel will be taught, preached, and demonstrated in the full life of our church.
We worship together joyfully.
We will be a church who expresses our praise, joy, and love of what God has done and who God is in worship together. We believe worship should speak to all generations and relate to real life as heaven meets earth.
We love and welcome all.
We will be a people who love and cares about our church family, our neighbors, and everyone we encounter. This includes encouraging, forgiving, and showing others grace. We will be known for our friendly, welcoming, hospitality to all of our guests whether in our sanctuary or our homes.
We serve others before being served.
We will be a people who care more about serving others rather than being served. We believe we are called to love and serve God, by serving others first. This includes a great emphasis on prayer.
We share what we have been given.
We will be a church defined by the self-giving nature of God as seen through Jesus. As Jesus gave his time, energy, resources, and life to honor God and bless others, so will we be defined through our giving and our stewardship of what we have been blessed with.
We are intentionally intergenerational.
We will be a multigenerational church woven together through our intergenerational relationships. In all that we do we will seek to foster relationships across generations through listening, sharing, and learning from one another. Our church will speak to grandparents as well as grandkids.
We live on a mission.
We will be a church who exists not for ourselves, but to share the Gospel and our lives with our neighbors. We will be a sphere of influence for Christ and for blessing in our community.
Basic Beliefs
Our basic beliefs as a church are in line with the Cumberland Presbyterian Church’s Confession of Faith and the Apostle’s Creed. We have also listed some of our basic beliefs below that might be helpful to you.
*The official Confession of Faith and Government of the Cumberland Presbyterian Churches
The Trinity
We believe in God as Creator and Caretaker; in Jesus Christ as divine Savior and Lord; and in the Holy Spirit as God present and at work everywhere in creation.
Sin and Salvation
The story of God and humanity is one filled with both broken relationships and restored hope. All humanity breaks trust with God choosing to live apart from God’s good purpose and design for life. We are all in need of spiritual restoration and reconciliation with God, ourselves, and one another. God initiates salvation through the free gift of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, sending the Holy Spirit to all persons, calling them to repentance and faith. Salvation is a gift of God’s grace, not something earned or merited. Once God makes covenant with persons, and they with God, they will never totally fall from the state of grace, nor withdraw permanently from God. God never forsakes them, and continually works to maintain the relationship.
Christian Growth
We believe God calls all Christians to become disciples, or apprentices of Jesus. It is through living an intentional lifestyle modeled around Jesus’s life that we mature and grow as people filled with love, grace, and truth. The maturity process takes a lifetime of growth.
The Bible
The holy scriptures are the infallible rule of faith and practice, the authoritative guide for living. The holy scriptures are the 66 books contained in the Old and New Testaments. We recognize that while the scriptures are infallible their translation from ancient languages is subject to human limitations.
The Church
The Cumberland Presbyterian Church considers itself to be a part of the Universal Church, consisting of all who have made covenant with God through Jesus Christ, of all denominations and expressions. We are one of the many communions who belong to God. At Brush Hill we humbly seek to have a kingdom collaboration mindset with our sister churches.
The Sacraments
The Sacraments are celebrations of the covenant in which Christ mysteriously is present and active. We affirm two Sacraments, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper or Holy Communion. Through God’s presence, work, and will, the common elements of water, fruit of the vine, and bread become signs and symbols of God’s salvation in our lives. The Sacraments are not essential to salvation but are a unique means of grace. The Sacraments are administered in the context of Christian worship and are central to worship.
Death and Resurrection
The presence of sin within our lives and in the world leads to a world in which we are all subject to death. Yet, eternal life is a gift from God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. As Christ was resurrected so we are raised with him through our conversion. Eternal life is a living relation with God (John 17:3) which continues more completely after death when full redemption shall be ours in the resurrection of the body.
End Of Days
The Cumberland Presbyterian Church accepts what the Bible says about heaven and hell, though the *Confession of Faith speaks but briefly about them. There is a divergence of opinions concerning these concepts. There is no full statement in the Confession of Faith about the Last Days and the Second Coming of Christ. No speculation is done about the time and manner of these events. However, Cumberland Presbyterians declare in the final words of the Confession of Faith, “in the consummation of history, at the coming of Jesus Christ, the kingdoms of the world shall become the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”
CP Church History
Often when people hear the words “Cumberland Presbyterian Church” they are usually hearing them for the first time. So before we get into the details of our specific church history, we believe it is important to tell the story of our denomination. The Cumberland Presbyterian Church had its beginning as a frontier movement in America. It was born out of the Great Revival of 1800 in Kentucky and Tennessee. Three Presbyterian ministers — Finis Ewing, Samuel King and Samuel McAdoo — organized a new presbytery called Cumberland Presbytery, and after a night of praying, on February 4, 1810, near Dickson, Tennessee, a new denomination was born. Cumberland Presbyterian is known for its “middle” theology and for emphasizing a “whosoever will may come” gospel.
Brush Hill Church History
Brush Hill Church was first organized on May 5, 1872 in the Edgefield section of East Nashville. The Brush Hill Cumberland Presbyterian Church has been serving God and community at its present location since 1963 when it was relocated from Edgefield to the Inglewood area of East Nashville. It was a difficult decision for the church to move from its storied location, but the direction God placed on the hearts of the church leaders far outweighed any reservations. Like the first Cumberland Presbyterians, it was time for the church to begin a new ministry in the “frontier” Inglewood.
Today, the Brush Hill Church “family” is still involved in ministries in the community. We are still actively reaching out to the immediate area; we still have the same God-given burden that our leaders had years ago to faithfully serve the people of Inglewood and beyond. We pray that the work of our hands continues to be blessed by God as we strive to build people up within our doors so they might go out to love God and love others.
Our Staff
Our church is headed by Rev. Paul Tucker and our church elders who make decisions for the church.
Rev. Paul Tucker - Pastor
Rev. Paul Tucker has been a part of the Brush Hill church family since 2010 beginning by serving as Youth Pastor. In 2015, Paul was officially ordained by the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and took over his role as Associate Pastor. In 2020 we officially welcomed him as our Lead Pastor! Paul has a heart for the outdoors, good coffee and good books, his family, and the people of Brush Hill and East Nashville. Paul envisions Brush Hill as a group of people formed and shaped by the grace of Jesus who welcome and love others exploring life and faith. Paul shares life with his beautiful wife Katie, and in their spare time you can find them walking their three dogs, fostering kittens or eating at any of their favorite Nashville restaurants!
Lauren Sellers - Music Director
Bio Coming Soon
Mark Clifford - Custodian
Church Elders
Elders are members of the church who are elected and ordained to represent, lead, and care for church members. Persons who fill the office of elder may be male or female, young or old. Elders exemplify the gospel by their good character, sound faith, wisdom, maturity of judgment, discretion, conversation, knowledge of the doctrine and government of the church, and competency to perform the duties of the office. Our elders serve three year “active” terms.
Sylvia Slack, Class of 2023
Kenzie Wetz, Class of 2023
Gloria Gregory, Class of 2024