I grew up in a loving “churchgoing” family. Our family’s Christian faith was primarily based on how regularly we attended church and how often we recited a memorized prayer before meals during my formative years. Looking back, I recognize that God was someone I learned about instead of someone that I could know and have […]
Welcome Our New Student Ministries Director!
I’m thrilled to announce a significant addition to our team that marks a new chapter in our commitment to youth formation and discipleship. We have just hired our new Student Ministries Director, Caleb Bagdanov, who brings a wealth of passion, experience, and dedication to our mission of nurturing the next generation of leaders to be […]
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Seamless Succession
It hardly seems possible that it was 13 years ago last January that I first laid eyes on him. I had just taken a red-eye flight to London and taxied into Oxford. Rich Jasper and I went right to a class being taught by our friend, John Lennox. Only one unoccupied seat remained, and I sat in it. […]
Always and Forever Love
My household in my teen years was predominantly female. You’d frequently find me and my sister hanging out with mutual girlfriends, wearing one other’s clothes, doing each other’s hair, and watching chick flicks with our mom (always with the all-important Galaxy chocolate bar!). My poor little brother had to put up with a lot! Now […]
Belonging Beyond Boundaries
When a mother and her teen daughter magically trade bodies in Freaky Friday, the spring musical opening this weekend at Peninsula High School, audiences will experience a hilarious and very literal lesson in empathy. Who do you find exasperating? Or maybe just hard to figure out? Would you be willing to swap places in order to […]
From Announcement to Anticipation
Last Sunday morning I was on a plane back from a family trip. When I took my phone out of airplane mode at 10:30 am, I already had six text messages from people saying, “Did you hear the news?” I really wanted to respond, “What news?” and see how people navigated telling me via text […]
Two Great Reasons!
Cyndi and I had the privilege of attending the Masters Golf Tournament last week. It was a true bucket-list experience. Even if you aren’t a golfer, you know of the Masters. This was one of those times when the experience exceeded the expectation. And…there are things I learned at Augusta that translate well back into our life […]
Who Will You Invite to Alpha?
Sometimes the “yes” takes you by surprise. I’ve been praying for my little brother for years and we’ve had countless spiritual conversations over those years. But as you know if you have a family member or a friend like that, you grow used to their rejection and even if you continue to share, you don’t […]
An Incredible Hire!
Five years ago, I began to think seriously about my retirement date and the process of transition. I wanted to do all I could to ensure a smooth handoff of leadership to the next Senior Pastor. But I was also aware of several key administrative leaders on our staff who are of my “vintage” and […]
My Last Easter as Your Senior Pastor
I still remember my first Easter at Chapel Hill. It was April 3, 1988. (I didn’t actually remember the date! I had to look that up.) We were worshipping in what we now call the Memorial Chapel. Chapel Hill offered three services and packed the place out with more than 700 in attendance regularly. It […]