If you’re new to the Institute, you may have heard the phrase “Gotham” and felt a bit perplexed.
Gotham is the Nashville Institute for Faith and Work’s flagship nine-month faith and work intensive that helps leaders embrace how their work fits into God’s unfolding story.
Already in its third year, the program has 80 current or alumni Gothamites who have participated in Gotham Nashville.
Georgia Edgeworth, a pop music songwriter here in the heart of Music City in Nashville, shared a few thoughts as she reflected on her experience with Gotham this year.
Q: How is your Gotham experience still specifically impacting in your day-to-day vocation?
A: Gotham has helped me realize that, though sometimes my work feels tedious, it has a bigger purpose. Gotham has proved to me that I should use my gifts for God's glory, making His name great and not my own. In a business obsessed with success, this has been a recurring take-home point for me. Serving the work itself and being obedient to the gifts that God has given me has, in many ways, been freeing. Knowing that I am serving God by simply using the gifts He gives was a huge realization for me personally.
Q: What has been the biggest area of impact in your work due to your Gotham experience?
A: I have had to let go of a lot of my fears in my work, and I'm still working on this. A lot of times I'm fearful of what others might think, but sometimes God pushes us to take leaps of faith. To simply surrender and trust instead of being anxious and fearful has been a big learning curve for me this year.
Q: Could you discuss the ways authenticity and vulnerability have impacted your Gotham experience?
A: I think the authenticity of my fellow Gothamites has been so great to know. I feel like the whole group has been vulnerable, especially during prayer request times. Having this group has enriched my life in so many ways and I hope to keep up with them as much as possible.
Q: In what areas of your work do you find your identity that distracts you from God?
A: Definitely validation/approval. In music, we often just want to hear a 'yes.' Most of the time for most creative people in the music business, it's a 'no' (unless you are Adele!). It's highly competitive and sometimes I struggle with just knowing that I'm enough. Something I've learned is that God's "yes" is all that matters and that I have to put one foot in front of the other and keep moving on from the world's 'no.'
Q: What is an example of an area of darkness in your workplace where you are able to shine light?
A: I'm actually in the middle of wrestling with this right now as I'm exploring my Cultural Renewal Project. There are so many broken aspects of my business that I don't know where to begin. There is the fact that it's so hard to make money in music. There is also the fact that people don't have a safe place to go to play their songs and not feel critiqued by someone in the industry. There is the fact that there are so many artists in town who are hanging their whole life around 'making it' and end up disappointed and heartbroken; I've seen this happen. Then there are relational aspects that are truly broken, people pretending to be friends with 'important people' to get something out of them. I'm praying a lot about this project as it's so important to me to be a light in a very dark place.
Learn more about Gotham, NIFW’s faith + work leadership program designed for Christians seeking to steward their role for God’s glory & the common good.
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Georgia Edgeworth is a mother to her two sons, Ladd (14) and Adam (11), and wife to Mike Edgeworth. Georgia is a Nashville based singer, songwriter and producer. Her songs have been on hit TV shows such as ABC’s "Nashville" and Showtime’s "Shameless". Focusing on music for TV and film, Georgia is currently a signed songwriter with Lyric House Co. based in Los Angeles.
Want to know more about Gotham? You can register for one of our upcoming informational sessions in March/April HERE or register for any of our other upcoming events HERE.
Applications open April 1 for the 2018-19 class. You can learn more about the Gotham experience and apply for the program on our website.