NASHVILLE, Tenn. — For nearly 100 years, the Central Church of Christ preached the Gospel, welcomed the vulnerable and served the city. Now, the one-time downtown anchor faces litigation and a future full of uncertainty.
Insurance magnate Andrew Mizell “A.M.” Burton — a benefactor of Lipscomb University — built the Central church in the city’s heart in 1925. For nearly a century, the church used its location to meet the needs of people downtown.
But in recent years, a sweeping slate of changes has engulfed the church: Central became a nonprofit corporation and renamed itself the Nashville Church of Christ. It launched a renovation but then ceased meeting in its historic space in 2018. Now, worship occurs on Zoom. Longtime church members have left…