Over 20 years ago, I went on my first mission trip with Chapel Hill to Mexico. Back in those days our Mexico trip was in the summer, we rode buses all the way down I-5 to Tijuana, and we slept on church floors along the way. We are all grateful for the introduction of midwinter […]
A Peek Inside Sermon Planning
One of the great challenges of pastoral ministry is the answer to this question: what should I preach next? It’s not quite as simple as you might think. I try to bathe the process in prayer, asking the Lord what our congregation needs to hear from His Spirit through His Word. I prefer to preach […]
Marriage Seminar
In case you missed it, last weekend’s Marriage Seminar was well worth the price of admission! Guest speakers David and Kelsey Burke did an outstanding job. They were winsomely transparent as they talked about their marriage, especially regarding sensitive issues and how that affected their relationship. Most speakers shy away from being too vulnerable and […]
Thailand Team Returns
Dear friends & family, Our time at the House of Blessing has come to an end. Some of the team are still traveling, but the bulk of us are back at work this morning and beginning the process of integrating our “life there” and our “life here.” Our experiences were meaningful, plentiful, and Spirit-filled. Most […]
An Innocent Man
Imagine returning home from work one day to find your world completely shattered. Michael Morton doesn’t have to imagine. When he left for his office one day in August 1986, his wife and son were still asleep after a late-night birthday celebration. Michael returned that afternoon to a home encircled by police tape and discovered that he […]
Full Circle
It’s hard to believe our time here at the House of Blessing is almost over. It has been a week full of emotions ranging from intense heartbreak to overflowing love. It has filled me up and drained me, both at the same time. It really is hard to put into words what I have felt. […]
Heart Heavy and Humor
Heart heavy day… We went to our fifth prison today, the largest women’s prison in Thailand, with 6000 inmates. Nikki and Maureen shared their powerful testimonies; and the team as well as the inmates were deeply moved. There were over 300 inmates in the service; Kathryn lead the team in worship and the inmates knew the […]
One God, The Father of All
Greetings from Thailand!As I sat down to write this quick update, I thought about checking in with some of our faithful worship department staff holding down the fort this Sunday morning- just a quick text to say “Thanks and praying for you!” Then I remembered that even though it’s 8:00 in the evening here and […]
Cuteness Overload
DAY ONE in ThailandAfter a long two days of travel we woke up to toddler’s voices outside our room and found that they were being bathed by their caregivers from the House of Blessing at an outdoor shower. We immediately experienced cuteness overload! Our team spent the morning with Pastor Soonthorn sharing the past, present, […]
I Was Embarrassed!
The other day, Cyndi was in the attic looking for pictures, and she came across letters from the early months of our courting. She was living in Detroit at the time—training with Northwest Airlines—and later in Boston where she was based. I was in the first year of my ministry at Chapel Hill. “Let’s read […]