Challenges of Our Community Met by Believers' Hope

Dr. Tony Hodges, Pastor, Scenic Hills Baptist Church

Dr. Tony Hodges, serving as the Education team leader for the Shalom Project, finds that he’s learning a few things himself.

“I’ve seen things that surprised me, and I was already involved in education,” he says. “When you look at the hard data and facts, and connect them with real people, it brings about a real paradigm shift in your thinking,” he admits.

He hails the Shalom Project as a wonderful blessing for the body of Christ, a network of leaders and teams who are trying to build successful relationships among themselves while reaching out to others.

“Shalom is really connecting us as a body; it’s a vehicle God is using to move us forward. It’s a movement, not an event, designed to seek the peace and prosperity of the city. We all have different cultures and points of view, but Shalom is about breaking down those barriers and understanding that we’re all human and we all share this city,” he says. This relationship building among the team members is key, he thinks, to the success of the entire movement. If they learn to work together effectively, then he feels it’s only natural that the spirit of community will trickle down.

“When people see things changing, then they begin to have hope,” he says. He believes that a vibrant partnership between churches and communities means a bright future for Memphis.

When confronted with what some would characterize as Memphis’ bleak outlook, Dr. Hodges has a quick answer. “Believers always have hope,” he says. “God restores our hope to us. He has called us to be salt and light. We should pick up that challenge. We could move mountains together.”