One of the most interesting sites in Rome actually lies UNDER Rome. 90 miles of catacombs were carved in ancient times as burial sites. But these underground cemeteries were transformed into churches when persecuted Christians began to worship in them during the first and second century. It was certainly not as convenient as an above-ground […]
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Pastoral response to the coronavirus
UPDATED March 9, 2020 In AD 251, a plague struck the Roman Empire. We now believe it was measles, but then it was a devastating, mysterious illness that seemingly struck at random and ravaged the population. No one knew why or how the disease spread, so fear spread thick. It was recorded that five thousand […]
Leadership factory
It is a great source of pride—I hope a sanctified sort of pride!—for us at Chapel Hill to say that we have raised up 16 young leaders to ordained pastoral ministry. Well, I’m delighted to announce that number is about to go to 19! As of today, I have handed Julie Hawkins, Ryan Palmer, and […]
Something special
I always hope and expect that our weekend services will be special; that there will be a strong sense of the Holy Spirit moving through our music, worship, prayers and spoken word. But last weekend was something REALLY special. And if you missed—dang! I’ll give you a recap. At the end of the sermon in […]
Secret sauce
I think Hires is my favorite burger joint. It’s in Salt Lake City, my wife’s hometown. Every time we visit, we have to go to Hires. Fresh, never-frozen ground beef, homemade buns, vegetables that taste like they were just picked from the garden—mmmmm, so good! But the topper is the sauce. The secret sauce. It’s […]
Get out of the stands and into the game
(Okay, first things first. We are going to reveal some very exciting news at our services this weekend. You won’t want to hear this second-hand!) Now—I still remember the school we played. It was Washington. A tough, inner-city (at least as inner-city as Yakima got at the time) football team. I was playing on the […]
Drumroll please!!!! Chapel Hill Port Orchard will be meeting at…
…South Kitsap High School! We are thrilled to announce that our first Sunday morning service for Chapel Hill Port Orchard will be Easter Sunday, April 12, 2020, in the auditorium of South Kitsap High School. What an incredible space God has provided for us! The auditorium seats more than 250, with two smaller auditoriums immediately […]
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Kobe
I was still at church Sunday morning when I saw the headlines beginning to scroll across my phone. A helicopter carrying Kobe Bryant and an unknown number of other passengers had crashed near Calabasas, California. There were no survivors. One of the greatest basketball players ever to take the floor was dead. Even if you […]
Making history—and history in the making
If you were here for our 10:45 am service two Sundays ago, you made history. Through a scheduling error, I realized I had to fly out of Sea Tac on Sunday afternoon at 2:30 pm, which meant I could not possibly preach the 10:45 am service. I realized this just the day before and our […]
May God give us his passion for kids
Five years ago, had I heard there was a sermon series called “For Our Kids” coming up, I probably would have stayed home. Larry and I were in the eighth year of infertility and I didn’t need another conversation about kids I didn’t feel like I could be a part of. But now as a […]