I’ll admit it: one of my all-time favorite movies is Braveheart. It’s a VERY fictionalized account of a Scottish rogue-hero named William Wallace. VERY fictionalized. But it’s also very fun. One of the iconic moments is when Wallace, played by Mel Gibson, cries out, “…they may take our lives, but they’ll never take…our freedom!” I […]
Knocked down but not knocked out
The Apostle Paul once wrote these words to the Corinthian Christians: “But we have this treasure in clay pots so that the awesome power belongs to God and doesn’t come from us. We are experiencing all kinds of trouble, but we aren’t crushed. We are confused, but we aren’t depressed. We are harassed, but we aren’t […]
Seeking good-news ambassadors
When people ask me what I do at Chapel Hill, and I tell them I lead the Communications and Marketing team, sometimes they ask, “Why does a church need to market itself?” It’s a fair question. Ideas about the role of communications in a local church have evolved over the years. I remember my former […]
Celebrating Alpha!
Today, I’m filled with joy and gratitude for how good our God is. Alpha launched last week and I couldn’t be more thrilled to report how well it went! I’m especially celebrating the engagement from our congregation as we launched our first Alpha in person since the pandemic…last week we had 54 people praying for […]
What it’s like to be an exile
“What’s it like, living in a country that isn’t your own?” That was the question I was asked as our pastoral team began studying a new book called Faith for Exiles. If you didn’t know, I grew up in a “green and pleasant land,” as the old hymn goes, namely, England. For more than a […]
Strong start, strong finish
Will you indulge me as I take one last backward glance at 2021? I know—many of you would rather leave that year firmly in the rearview mirror. But 2021 brought a lot of blessings to Chapel Hill and the last two weeks felt like God’s huge exclamation mark on those blessings! Let’s review: • GLOW, […]
A fresh start
Ordinarily, I might be inclined to say as I begin this blog, “I don’t know about you….” But in this case, I think I DO know about you when I say, “Aren’t you ready to launch into a New Year with fresh beginnings and the past couple years firmly in our rear-view mirror?” I’m excited […]
Christmas greetings
Merry Christmas! I hope you were able to attend one of our five Christmas Eve services over the past couple of days and I pray you’re able to enjoy today as well. It’s one of the most important birthdays we Christians celebrate! Because your day is likely filled with all the things that make Christmas […]
Christmas Is Coming!
We did a whirlwind tour of New York City last week. The six-month cohort we’re part of met there (who gets a group of pastors together the week before Christmas?!). Well, they promised Christmas magic, and New York City delivered. I don’t just mean Rockefeller Center or the Disneyland-style presentation on Saks 5th Ave. The […]
Peace on earth
I have led 10 pilgrimages to the Holy Land. As you might imagine, much of that ancient land remains unchanged from trip to trip. After all, the place has existed for millennia; what difference could a few years make? But there IS one place that is very different from when I first visited in 1984. […]