I have the pleasure of mentoring three young pastors-in-training every Tuesday morning. We cover a wide variety of topics that will better prepare them for a life of vocational Christian ministry—one example of our Beyond These Walls commitment to “Releasing Leaders.” This week, however, we were discussing a topic that, I promise you, never came […]
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How to Create Some Space for God!
Have you ever felt that nudge? A friend, co-worker, family member, or someone you just met is talking, and you sense the conversation could take a spiritual turn. But what do you say? What don’t you say? How can you bring up God without shutting the connection down? About 150 of you been gathering for […]
The ugliest weekend of the year!
Every year on the weekend prior to All Saints Day (the Christian version of Halloween!) we at Chapel Hill celebrate St. Andrews Sunday. This is a moment for us to look back at our Scottish roots and celebrate the lives of our spiritual ancestors. It is very Scottish—bagpipes and everything! (I know, it can sound like […]
The Power to Redeem Our Broken World
Sometimes our default is to look around us and see the glass as half empty. The world is filled with brokenness and it doesn’t look like things are getting much better. It can be downright depressing, am I right? When I first met Joseph Bataille from World Relief Haiti, he talked about a similar experience […]
A Father, Two Sons, and a Letter to Rome
One of the basic facts you probably learned about the epistle to the Romans was that Paul wrote it. It’s distinctly Pauline in its logical, argumentative style, requiring us to put our brains in gear and really think. It can be a lot of work to read! But Paul wasn’t entirely original in what he […]
A Vigil and a Seahawk
On Monday morning I sent out an emergency blog regarding the shocking assault on a crowd of concert-goers in Las Vegas the night before. Like all of you, I was having trouble grasping the enormity of the carnage. At the time, we were receiving reports of 50 dead and some 400 wounded. I challenged you, […]
Las Vegas
My beloved in Christ: I rarely watch TV in the morning but happened to turn on the news this morning to find the horrific account of the mass shooting in Las Vegas. I haven’t heard anyone say so but surely this is the worst terrorist attack on American soil since 9/11. And yes, I realize […]
A Sweet Family
This weekend Cyndi and I traveled north to perform the wedding of Philip Saucier and Megan Liepman. The Liepmans once worshipped at Chapel Hill before they moved. The Sauciers have been beloved members of this church for 20 years. It was a glorious family reunion. It was not a short trip, and it wasn’t that […]
Until All Are Free
One of the things I love about Chapel Hill Church is that we don’t shy away from the difficult things in life. We wade into addiction with our Celebrate Recovery Ministry. We don’t look away from issues like homelessness with the Compassion Kit Builds and partnership with Tacoma Rescue Mission. We love our neighbors at […]
Releasing Leaders—Michael Bouterse and Thrive
Introduction by Pastor Mark:Last weekend in worship we celebrated the first of ten $500,000 Beyond These Walls pay-downs on our mortgage. Huzzah! You will recall that one of our three emphases for our BTW initiative was to “Release Leaders.” Well, one of the most gifted young leaders to come through our church is Michael Bouterse. […]
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