Greetings from Knoxville: It is early morning and I am writing this as I prepare to leave for the opening of our first morning of business at the 34th General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, our annual “family reunion.” I ate lunch and caught up with Jeremy Vaccaro yesterday. I chatted with Moderator Bill […]
Wear RED this Sunday to Celebrate Pentecost!
Pentecost is a strange church holiday. Christmas we get. The baby Jesus, born in a manger, visited by shepherds and wise guys. Easter we get. The crucified Jesus raised from the dead. But Pentecost… a little strange. Acts 2 tells the story. The Jesus-Followers were gathered in an upper room in Jerusalem (maybe the same […]
Read More… from Wear RED this Sunday to Celebrate Pentecost!
Shoveling Manure Against the Tide
Recently I wrote here about a resolution adopted by the Peninsula School District Board urging the Gig Harbor City Council to limit or restrict entirely retail marijuana outlets in the city of Gig Harbor. Because marijuana use among minors is higher than average in our area and because of the proven damaging effects of marijuana […]
Marijuana in Gig Harbor
We are all aware of the recent decision of our state to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. It would not surprise you to hear that I think this is a foolish and destructive decision. And I suspect that the early, frightening reports coming out of Colorado of the damaging effects of easily-available marijuana are only the […]
Life Lessons from the Bar Cart
On this Thursday before Mother’s Day during a season when I am preaching on “work,” I thought I’d share with you some ramblings from our daughter, Rachel, who turned Cyndi into a mother and me into a father 21 years ago. She graduates next weekend from Whitworth and is headed to Gordon-Conwell Seminary in Massachusetts […]
I Struck Another Nerve!
A few weeks back I blogged about our upcoming sermon series on the topic of work. The first half of the series will be called “Blue Collar God” and the second, “Undercover Boss.” I asked for your input on this topic and, wow, did I shake a tree! Obviously and understandably, you are interested. And […]
I Like My Church Quiet
The first thing we built after my arrival at Chapel Hill in 1987 was our gymnasium and Christian Education Wing. That wasn’t our original plan. It wasn’t long before we were worshiping in three services and considering a fourth. We needed a larger sanctuary and first drafted plans to expand the Memorial Chapel. But even […]
The Condemned’s Last Meal
Two years ago I heard the news of the death of Michael Clarke Duncan, the mountain of a man who played John Coffey, the strangely-gifted convict on death row in the superb movie, The Green Mile. That idea of “Death Row”—a gathering place of the condemned, the Green Mile, the last stretch of green linoleum leading to […]
Nah, angel. I think I’ll pass…
As we approach Palm Sunday, the start of Holy Week, I want to jump ahead to Easter for a moment. When Mary and the other women showed up at the empty tomb, they were met by an angel who announced that Jesus was alive. Then he said, “…go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has […]
Blue Collar God
What would your answer be to this question: “When do you worship God during the week?” Perhaps you would reply, “On Sunday mornings with my Chapel Hill family.” Maybe it would be, “When I gather weekly with my LifeGroup around scripture and prayer.” Hopefully it would include, “When I meet God alone every morning, starting […]