Happy Fourth of July! Paisley to Headline 2021 Musical Celebration Downtown
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T UE, ENN V E E S L S L E E E B THE 20 14 A N N S VUE IO P T LL A THE C PUBLIC VUE Vol 3 Number 12 TheThe Community Community Newspaper Newspaper of of Bellevue Bellevue TN June 30, 2021 Happy Fourth of July! Paisley to Headline 2021 Musical Celebration Downtown Nashville will once again be home to one of the best fireworks displays in the county this Fourth of July and country superstar Brad Paisley leads an all-star line-up of performers. File photo Country music superstar Brad Nashville Symphony. give back to our community. As will be located at First and Broad- Paisley will headline Nashville’s “After the year that Nashville has well, our visitors have always sup- way, and the Nashville Symphony July 4th celebration on Lower had, from a tornado to a bombing, ported us through challenges, and will perform at Ascend Amphithe- Broadway, the Nashville Conven- Nashvillians deserve something to this is the perfect way to welcome ater at the conclusion of the multi- tion & Visitors Corp announced look forward to coming out of the them back and welcome live music genre concert. today. The Let Freedom Sing! pre- pandemic,” said Butch Spyridon, back to Music City.” Let Freedom Sing! is expected to sented by Dr Pepper event will fea- President and CEO, Nashville Con- Let Freedom Sing! Music City be Nashville’s first major post-pan- ture the largest fireworks show in vention & Visitors Corp. “More July 4th presented by Dr Pepper is demic event. Paisley, who was pre- Nashville history with the pyrotech- than ever, we want to deliver a a free, family-friendly event. The viously scheduled to headline in nics synchronized to a live perfor- world-class concert and fireworks event has regularly drawn more 2020, agreed to come this year in- mance by the GRAMMY-winning show to commemorate July 4th and than 200,000. The concert stage stead. INSIDE THIS ISSUE God’s Words for Warriors Part 2 of Bellevue Pet Series Iroquois Steeplechase Returns Page 2 Page 5 Page 6 2 Nashville Sports Publications June 30, 2021 God’s Words for Warriors Marine Vet Launches Program to Help Returning Warriors By Vince Troia ting people to our classes and open- Vue Contributor ing up. So many just don’t want to. One veteran whose wife finally got Dr. Thomas L. ‘Tom’ Seals left him in class said, ‘God hates me Nashville at 17 to join the U.S. Ma- because to this day I love the smell rines and now in his seventies has of Muslim blood.’ That was intense set up camp in Bellevue to grow his but these people wrestle with these God’s Word for Warriors program moral and spiritual problems with that he helped launched a decade nobody to really share them with.” ago at Lipscomb University. Being a Christian in the mili- Through its veteran’s services tary must seem like a contradic- program, Lipscomb has served hun- tion when your job trains you to be dreds of student veterans through ready to take another person’s life. the Yellow Ribbon Enhancement Is that where the spiritual injuries Program, and Seals, who has earned Dr. Tom Seals has set up camp in Bellevue to grow his God’s Words for occur? three degrees in theology, taught Warriors program. “One of the biggest problems we classes and served as chaplain for Photo by Vince Troia face with God’s Word for Warriors these students. is ‘I carried a weapon and I shot 200 veteran students at Lipscomb. I getting veterans to talk about their Over time, his class transformed people.’ I had one student who had started reaching out to VFW, Amer- experiences. Why do they not want into “Faith and Culture: God’s shot a 12-year-old girl and killed ican Legion, YMCAs, churches to tell their stories? Words for Warriors,” a safe haven her, and prayed the whole time, for help, saying ‘if you have these “Many of them feel you would for Lipscomb vets to deal with their ‘oh, please let her be wired (with an veterans, let’s help them.’ I started never understand. You almost have military experiences while accli- explosive),’ and she was. Even so, training church leaders who were to be there. But never talking about mating back into civilian life. It is they deal with those issues. veterans to become teachers.” (His the experience is the worst thing now much more than that. Leading “Let’s face it, in the military you book, used in these training classes, you can do. I urge veterans, ‘Write up to the Fourth of July holiday are trained to be a killer. You cannot was published in 2016.) your story,’ because it is so import- The Vue sat down with Dr. Seals to take a life without being affected. In the book, you say returning ant to share those stories. learn a little more about him and his I don’t care how justified it is, it is soldiers get a lot of help, medi- “I had a young lady in one of my program: going to change you.” cally and psychologically, but not classes at Lipscomb that was raped When did you decide you were With your ministry, and pro- help morally or spiritually. Is that in the military, then violated again going to dedicate yourself to help- grams such as Operation Stand a hole that the ministry is trying to when the (commanding officer) ing veterans, and is that when the Down, which as you have said is fill? transferred the offender out. She God’s Word for Warriors program working to get homeless vets off “I believe that everyone is creat- would break down in class talking and subsequent book started? the streets, or Rock House Center, ed with a spiritual foundation. We about it, and later wrote her own “Well, first, this is not so much a which offers Biblical counseling are all spiritual people, whether we book about the experience. Now program as it is a ministry for veter- for emotional issues, are we seeing believe in God or whomever. Now that was not me, it is not the book, it ans of all eras – World War II, Viet- a growing trend for this type of vet- most veterans come back okay is God working in their lives, open- nam, Korea, Afghanistan, Iraq -- we eran assistance? without moral or spiritual injuries, ing them up. I was so proud of her. work with all those veterans. “Maybe. I don’t know. There even if they do not like to talk about You see, they need to tell their sto- “Years ago, the president of Lip- are just too many veterans. Even it, but about 30 percent or more do. ries. That is why these classes are so scomb came to me when the univer- though veterans make up only one “Our veterans are spiritually ori- important.” sity was getting a lot of veterans on percent of our population, that’s a ented, almost all are to a certain de- Is it a fault of the military that campus through the Yellow Ribbon lot of veterans. The VA just cannot gree. The Veterans Administration they can train soldiers to kill with- Program and asked if I would be get to them all. (VA) is doing a great job, but they out somehow explaining the psy- their chaplain in addition to the Bi- “Then you have veterans who shut are not touching the moral and the chological repercussions of taking ble classes I taught. So, I said, ‘yes.’ themselves out of services. I myself spiritual aspects. The reason they a life? I started counseling a few of them don’t go to the VA because I don’t are not doing that is because of the “I don’t think so. The military is and quickly thought there should be want to take the place of another separation of church and state. just now beginning to talk about a class for veterans only, that deals veteran that might need it more than “You know, most of our problems moral injury, and that’s good, but it with issues like anger management, I do. However, I get criticized be- stem from what we think about is still different than spiritual injury. depression, survivor’s guilt, rela- cause by not going the government ourselves. A lot of veterans come Moral injury is what you worship, tions with family members, etc. can say it is taking care of our mili- home, and they are fine. They ac- who do you serve, who is your God. when they come home. Here was an tary, when in reality it’s not.” climate back in society, buy homes, Spiritual is more to the core. opportunity to really help these vet- Where are you looking for help get jobs. We are focused on the thir- “Moral injury is you shall not do erans from a veteran’s perspective. to advance your God’s Word for ty percent that don’t and why that is. this; you shall not do that – more “I teach biblical principles as part Warriors mission? A lot is guilt. Many see themselves black and white. But you know that of the course, but I am not jamming “Of course, we would love expo- as killers, and they begin to feel like religion is not black and white. God it down students’ throats (as some sure in the media. Word of mouth they are not really worth anything.