BRENTWOOD, TENN. — For more than 160 years, the Owen Chapel Church of Christ stood as a monument to tradition, its identity shaped by early ties to prominent Restoration Movement figures such as David Lipscomb, Tolbert Fanning and E.G. Sewell.
At the congregation’s 150th homecoming celebration in 2009, more than 150 members filled the pews.
The Owen Chapel Church of Christ sign on Franklin Road displays service times.
But for years, numbers dwindled as church elders dipped into the congregation’s trust fund to keep the lights on.
Elsewhere in the Nashville area, a group of Christians, unsettled by a doctrinal disagreement with their church’s elders, was looking for a new home.
“There was a group of people who were looking for help, and there was another group of people looking for a place to help,” said Dan Harrell, Owen Chapel’s minister. “And God brought us together.”
Arrival of ‘Cowboy Dan’
In 2024, Owen Chapel placed advertisements searching for a new minister. From that search came Harrell, a West Texas native better known to the congregation as “Cowboy Dan.”
A graduate of Abilene Christian University, Harrell moved to Middle Tennessee as an aspiring songwriter before building a career in agriculture. Outside of his ministry, he creates songs that spotlight agriculture while sharing his faith.
“Cowboy Dan” Harrell preaches to members of the Owen Chapel Church of Christ.
Known for his cowboy boots and Western style, he quickly brought a friendly, outgoing presence to the congregation.
Before his arrival, Sunday attendance had fallen to 10 to 15 worshipers.
“Then here comes Dan, who brings in warmth and hugging, like everybody is coming together as a group.”
“Then here comes Dan, who brings in warmth and hugging, like everybody is coming together as a group,” longtime member Sharon Cummings said.
Outside his bandana-print ties and country drawl, Harrell also brought about 70 Christians from a Bible study at his previous congregation, where the doctrinal dispute occurred. Soon, new faces filled the wooden white pews.
Members of the Owen Chapel Church of Christ laugh during a Sunday service.
For Cummings and other longtime members, the new arrivals breathed life into a church that had struggled to keep its doors open.
The influx required a few adjustments for the old-timers. For example, they were used to hearing the names of everyone on the prayer list during announcements. The growth meant a running list in the bulletin — too long to recite out loud each Sunday.
“We had a few discussions about it,” Cummings said of the prayer list. “We just needed to know, where do we go from here? How do we mesh it together?”
‘Kept moving forward’
The question of how to mesh together two groups of Christians with different traditions created a new church environment built on an ongoing conversation.
“When you bring two groups together, you’re going to have changes,” Harrell said. “But we’ve worked through them and kept moving forward.”
Dale Denny leads a hymn during worship.
The congregation’s growth also drew in Jerry Jennings, now one of Owen Chapel’s three elders. After his wife’s death, Jennings searched for a new church home. What first caught his attention was a full parking lot, up from five or six cars on Sunday.
Word had spread among neighbors that Owen Chapel was filling the pews. Intrigued, Jennings visited and found his new spiritual home.
“I walked in, and I already knew most of the people here,” the shepherd said. “It was kind of a ready-made family for me.”
Tradition and change
Over the last two years, the church’s growth has blended tradition with change. New technology includes a modern speaker system, a microphone passed around during Bible study and television screens displaying hymns and Scripture readings.
While the congregation has experienced a revival and technological updates, much of the original building remains unchanged.
Owen Chapel’s meetinghouse, built in 1867, includes two entrances that were once for men and women to enter separately.
Owen Chapel’s meetinghouse was completed in 1867, making it one of the oldest churches in Williamson County — a fast-growing county of about 750,000 people south of Nashville. It’s one of two Williamson County churches built during the Civil War that are still standing.
On Oct. 23, 1986, Owen Chapel was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The building contains many of its original features, including wooden trusses imported from Liverpool, England, and pews that have remained in place for generations.
A historic marker details some of the history of the Owen Chapel Church of Christ and its connection to David Lipscomb. A separate plaque notes the buildings place on the National Register of Historic Places.
The simple architecture — including separate entrances that once divided male and female members during services — reflects the church’s founding ideals.
For a congregation that once worried about survival, Sunday mornings now fill with laughter, conversation and hymns echoing beneath the aging wooden trusses.
A seat cushion at the Owen Chapel church is embroidered with the words of Psalm 100, “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord.”
“We walk by faith and not by sight,” Harrell said. “That’s what we’re doing. That’s the only thing we’ve got.”
Inside a church whose brick walls have stood beside Franklin Road for almost 160 years, new life has taken hold.
At Owen Chapel, new members now sit side by side with longtime worshipers — two groups that have become one congregation.
EPHRAIM RODENBACH, a sports journalism major at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn., is a Christian Chronicle intern.
