A message from Pastor Larry: Three years ago, Megan and I went to a church-planting assessment in Indianapolis. Being assessed as a church-planter is no joke; the process is meant to expose potential planters to stressful and challenging scenarios and experiences and see how they bear up under it, all under the watchful gaze of […]
Big news, Chapel Hill!
In consultation with the Session, we’ve decided that starting Sunday, January 9, our classic worship service will be at 9:00 am and our modern worship service will be at 10:30 am (with nursery and children’s ministry at BOTH service times…yes!). There are a few reasons we’re making this change: the first is resources. Our services require a ton of teams: worship team, welcome team, tech team, security team, and kids’ ministry team, to name a […]
We really missed you!
“Welcome back, Pastor Mark. We really missed you…but we really didn’t miss you!” That was one of the welcomes I received when Cyndi and I returned from our sabbatical. And I understand…and am DELIGHTED…with what I know they meant by that. They love me and are glad to see me. AND…they are telling me that […]
How to grow in prayer
Every year I set myself some goals, and one of my goals for 2021 was to read 12 books on prayer. I had a real desire to go beyond the typical prayer list and grow in greater intimacy and depth with my relationship to the Father through prayer. Last week, I completed book 12 of […]
Take us with you
Earlier this year, I walked off the stage at our modern service and into the band room. As I did, I took out my headphones (you wouldn’t believe what the band hears in our headphones when we are leading worship—check out this video if you want to know), and I began to hear music playing […]
Membership has privileges
I wonder how many of you have signed up for a free trial of something and then forgot to cancel it. Maybe it was an app or a magazine. I was talking to a friend who told me that her son is the member of a gym in Arizona, but he lives in Washington. I […]
Trick or Treaty?
Last Halloween my family and I were on a Pokémon kick. We’d played a lot of the video game and the trading card game during the lockdown and so we dressed up as Pokémon. Ezra was Pikachu, Evelyn was Eevee (go figure), and Rachel and I were Pokémon trainers. We had a great time at the Candy […]
What is my Origin Story?
My paternal grandparents were Irish immigrants to London in the late 1940s. They ran pubs all across west London, including their very first pub being at the end of the driveway to Holy Trinity Brompton, the church where Alpha originated. My grandmother returned to Ireland 30 years ago, and lives on a farm in the […]
Why are we so divided?
“Why is half the church made of cinder block, and the other half red brick?” That was the question a friend of mine asked his father, who had just taken a call as the pastor of the church in question. The church sanctuary was literally split down the middle with half of the room made […]
I was out, when I thought I was in
I recall coming to biggest rugby game of the year when I was in my second year at university. The announcement for the team was to take place one Sunday night with all present. I was sure I would be in the starting line-up. Yet, when the names were read, I was left on the […]