The story of New Life Homes in Swaziland is captivating. It’s a narrative of orphaned children being placed in loving, stable homes on a beautiful farm in the Swazi countryside where they can go to school, be part of a family, live in a Christian environment, and continue being kids. From the beginning, Chapel Hill […]
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The Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. This might be surprising to any of you who know me well. I am not overly patriotic, and I hate being startled and don’t like loud noises. However, since we moved into our home six years ago, I have grown to love the Fourth of […]
This week I have had the privilege of dressing up like a mad scientist, dancing and singing like a little kid, and presenting the good news about Jesus to more than 300 kids attending this year’s Day Camp: Maker Fun Factory. This weekend we’re excited to tell you more about how God has been at […]
At our Beyond These Walls town hall meeting a few weeks back, there were a variety of questions. But one stands out. One of our sweet, enthusiastic members asked, “What if we hit $6 million? I think we can!” I remember the chuckles from both members and elders…and pastors, honestly. Well—who’s chuckling now? As we move towards […]
Somehow, those lines from the classic Beatles song were whirling through my head. The secret of how much our congregation has pledged toward our Beyond These Walls initiative will finally…finally!…be revealed this weekend. It’s kind of killing me, honestly! But on Saturday night at 6:30pm (in the sanctuary!) when I open the envelope, we will discover together what that […]
Read More… from Do you want to know a secret? Do you promise not to tell?
As a kid, our family opened Christmas presents on Christmas Eve. So perhaps I can blame my parents—I am a victim—for not being very good at waiting for surprises. Frankly, I’m not very good at keeping that kind of secret, either. I love to spread good news! Which is why I told Dawn Davis in […]
If you’ve been around Chapel Hill for a while, you probably have those moments—those shared community moments—that stand out in your memory. You know, the reminiscences that start with the words, “I was there when….” I have a bunch of them. I was there when we baptized my kids. I was there when we ordained […]
If you weren’t able to be with us for worship last week, you missed one of the greatest audible gasps in our worship history as a congregation. When I announced that several dozen of our leading families, from across the financial spectrum, had pledged an astonishing $2,640,450, you almost felt the exhale of air! It was such […]
We are on the downhill stretch of our “Beyond These Walls” initiative. I wish you could hear the enthusiasm I am hearing about this vision to eliminate our debt, free up $600,000 annually, and begin to invest in beyond these walls ministry as never before. One of our leaders has three men in his LifeGroup […]
As far as I can remember, I’ve visited the country of Mexico six times, one of those times before I arrived at Chapel Hill. These visits have always been worthwhile, sometimes challenging, sometimes surprising, and always memorable. But never before have I been so excited for our church to revisit our southern neighbor. This year […]