Kids today have no memory of the draft. I do. I missed being eligible for Vietnam by two years, but I had friends whose older brothers served there… and brought back horror stories. When we pulled out of Vietnam I must admit that, as a teenage boy, I remember thinking, “I am really glad that […]
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When you come to church Sunday, you will wonder if you’ve skipped about seven months. You will see candles, hear Christmas carols… and likely be confused. What’s going on? This Sunday is Pentecost, the celebration of the coming of the Holy Spirit as recounted in Acts chapter 2. Jesus told his disciples to wait in […]
For 25 years of ministry, I have mostly depended upon my work, my research, my reading, my stories to craft my weekly sermons. For our just-completed Encounters series, however, I invited you to share your stories with me… and with your whole church family. Stories of loss, fear, doubt, and last week—remarkably–even your stories of […]
I played golf the other day with two strangers. At the end of the round, the woman said, “I’m surprised to hear you are a pastor–(Uh oh)–you were too fun!” (Whew!) That’s not a very strong affirmation of people in my profession, is it? But my guess is, that might be a common perception of […]
Do you remember who died on November 22, 1963, six days following the founding of Chapel Hill Church? Yes, JFK. But early in that same day, C.S. Lewis collapsed and died in the bedroom of his home, “The Kilns” in Oxford, England. At that moment, President Kennedy’s motorcade was just leaving the Dallas Love Field […]
Read More… from The Lion, the Witch and What Might-Have-Been
Many of you don’t remember this far back. You are new to our church. But seven years ago or so, Chapel Hill went through a mid-life crisis. We had been growing in every way that impresses—worship numbers, membership numbers, financial numbers—but we suddenly discovered that we were disconnected from our congregation. We had become something […]
Sheila Raye Charles rocked the house! Monday night, the daughter of the legendary singer Ray Charles, had them on the edge of their seats. She spoke and sang at the Purdy Prison as part of our Celebrate Recovery Team. She shared a story of terrible physical and sexual abuse, a twenty year addiction to crack […]
Read More… from How would you like to hear from Ray Charles‚Äô daughter?
I’ve been carrying it around for three days, now. A printout, 23 pages long, single-spaced. A running list of what I asked from you in an e mail last Monday. I asked you to share your deepest experience of loss, and it unleashed a torrent! Death, disease, abortion, desertion, divorce, imprisonment… the words on the […]
One of my favorite moments on our tours to Israel is when we drive to the top of the Mt. of Olives and let the people out to gasp at the view of old Jerusalem below them. After taking a hundred pictures and the obligatory camel ride, we begin our walk down the steep hillside, […]
Dr. Luke wrote the book of Acts to describe the birth and growth of the Christian Church. Early on, in chapter 2, this is his summary comment about the early Christians: “Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. […]