Pastor Mark has rightly deemed Chapel Hill the “Sweetheart Church” because you care for one another and your pastors well. I want to add that we are a fun church! I would even say that one of our main cultural values as a congregation is playfulness. Allow me to make my case:• The Shy Boys […]
I‚Äôm glad I never had to, but I‚Äôm grateful someone did…
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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Christmas Carols in May?
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 […]
What’s Your Story?
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 […]
Swaziland, Dubai and Home
4 – 6 May I left Swaziland on Saturday and landed in Johannesburg where David Derr, a friend from church, picked me up and took me to the Apartheid Museum. The museum chronicles the history of European settlers in South Africa, the socioeconomic factors leading to Apartheid (segregation), the Apartheid system, the struggle against the end […]
Swaziland / New Life Homes
28 April – 3 May Today is my first day of Internet since my previous email. I arrived safely in Swaziland (SD). I went from the huge Tambo Airport (named after Oliver Tambo former General Secretary of the ANC during “The Struggle” aka Apartheid) to SD airport. Peter and Mary Jean Kopp greeted me and […]
Is It Christian to Have Fun?
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 […]
The Lion, the Witch and What Might-Have-Been
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 […]
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Training in Neighboring Villages
24 & 25 April We trained teachers from neighboring villages Wednesday and Thursday. Fifteen of the anticipated 47 teachers appeared Wednesday morning. By afternoon we had an additional 3 teachers. Unlike Lusaka, most of the teachers in Eastern Province are male. Four female teachers joined the training. English proficiency was less than Lusaka as well. […]
BOMA Church Training
23 April Tuesday in Lundazi was again quite warm, 91+ in the BOMA church where I trained. The 3 top trainees from last summer arrived on time eager for training. The other 5 had not learned of the training. We discovered 1 of the 5 left his village and could not be reached. Kondwani phoned […]