7 Practices to Build into Your Annual Calendar
If planning counts as productivity, the week between Christmas and New Year’s is my most productive! This is my week for setting goals and planning out the “big rocks” in my calendar for the coming year. I have found that if I am to wisely steward the multiple roles...
When God’s Gifts Aren’t Wrapped How You Hoped
Life has a way of handing us unexpected and unwanted packages. A pink slip from your employer. A bad report from the doctor. An eviction notice from the bank. A harsh email from a strained relationship. Too often, the package delivered with your name on it isn’t a...
6 Ways to Help your Children Love Being in Ministry (even during the holidays)
The Christmas/New Year’s season is incredibly busy if you are a pastor or ministry leader. Not only are there special church programs and services, but December is also a full month for outreach, weddings, school events…and all while you are wrapping your mind around...Growth Points 73: Preparing Gospel-Focused Christmas Messages
With just eight days between now and Christmas, I’ve counted seven Christmas services yet remaining before I sit down for Christmas dinner with my family. It’s a blessing throughout the month of December to focus on Christ’s birth and what He means to us....
7 Tips for Effective Follow Up
This past weekend—Saturday and Sunday evening—was our annual Christmas musical at Lancaster Baptist Church. The amount of work put into these projections is staggering—not just in the thousands of hours given by the choir, orchestra, and drama teams, but also the...
5 Christmas Gifts Every Christian Parent Can Give
Every mom and dad knows that one of the best things about being a parent is giving to your children. Parents delight in sacrificing to meet their children’s needs and to bring them happiness. That’s one of the reasons Christmas can be a stressful time of year for...
10 Ways to Share Christ during December
One of the reasons I love the Christmas season is that it is such a great time of year for initiating gospel conversations. Between the special church events and the fact that many people still do want to go to church to celebrate Christmas, this is also the easiest...
7 Ways You Can Keep Christ in Christmas
You’ve heard it (and maybe shared it): “Keep Christ in Christmas.” It’s a great thought…but do you do it? December can be such a busy month. Even busy with ministry. But sometimes in all the busyness of the season, we’re as guilty as the innkeeper of not making room...
7 Ways to Actually Decompress on Your Day Off
Have you ever gotten to the end of a “day off” and felt just as exhausted as you did at the beginning? Have you ever looked back over the day and wished for a do over? God so kindly designed our lives to function best with one day out of seven as a day of rest....
The Resilient Life
Overcome the Crises and Anxieties of Life through Christ
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Pastor Paul Chappell
Dr. Paul Chappell is the senior pastor of the Lancaster Baptist Church and president of West Coast Baptist College in Lancaster, California. His biblical vision has led the church to become one of the most dynamic independent Baptist churches in the nation. He has been married to his wife, Terrie, for over forty years and is the father of four married children all serving in Christian ministry.
