Good evening, friend: I know, I know…I said last Friday’s Sleep on This reflection would be the last for a while. I lied. I have one more thing I need to say. Many years ago, I was returning home from a particularly boring committee meeting, tooling along in the fast lane on cruise control. I know […]
Sleep on This: Shaking in front of the microwave
Good evening, friend! Most mornings I start my day scrambling two eggs in the microwave. It only takes 55 seconds and produces a surprisingly yummy…and quick…protein shot. But if you decide to try it, be forewarned: it must be carefully monitored lest you blow the whole thing all over the inside of the machine. Trust […]
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Sleep on This: Color blind? Yuck.
Good evening, friend! A year ago, Cyndi and I celebrated our 30th anniversary with a trip to the Big Island of Hawaii. One of our anticipated adventures was a drive up Mauna Kea for world-class star-gazing. We parked in one of the lots and walked up a nearby peak to join others in waiting for […]
Sleep on This: Where do we even start? (June 3)
Good evening, friend: If you had told me two weeks ago that the COVID crisis would soon disappear from the headlines, replaced by something even more virulent and devastating, I wouldn’t have believed you. But as I write this, nearly every major city in America has been and is being convulsed by violence. It is […]
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Rachel breaks up a fight
Last week, my daughter Rachel was driving through her tiny town of Black Mountain, North Carolina, when she saw two men fighting. One black, one white, with the white man’s girlfriend shooting video and the black man’s male friend just standing there, watching. There were two other onlookers as well. Rachel stopped, rolled down her […]
Sleep on This: The pillaging of hope (June 2)
Good evening, friend! As I have shared over the last two nights, the horrific murder of George Floyd has jolted me into a deep, personal review of my own attitudes towards race relations in this country. Like many of you, I have been largely shielded from racial strife. Growing up in Yakima, we who lived […]
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Sleep on This: Racist? (June 1)
Good evening, friend. He was, LITERALLY, the only “black” kid in our high school. (No one said “African American” back in the seventies.) His name was Clint and he was my friend. I know…the proverbial black friend that every enlightened white person claims. But it was true. We hung out together. He visited my youth […]
Encouragement!
This weekend I will be preaching on the topic of encouragement. Did you know that encouragement is a spiritual gift? It is also called “exhortation.” But “encouragement” is less inscrutable! And even if you don’t have to have the spiritual gift of encouragement, you can hone that skill. All you need do is practice! I […]
An urgent update from Pastor Mark
My dear Chapel Hill family: Lord have mercy! Christ have mercy! Lord have mercy! I am grieved by the unrest that is rending our country as we speak and feel compelled to reach out to you again, twice in one morning. One of the challenges of our present digital reality is that we are working […]
Sleep on This: Come Holy Spirit
Good evening, friend! Do you remember the Inauguration Day windstorm? January 20, 1993. At the time, we lived on a one-acre parcel of land with beautiful Doug Firs on the back property. By the end of the day, we had 22 fewer Doug Firs…and a slightly smaller garage on one side! If you’ve ever lived […]