by Paul Chappell | Dec 31, 2014 | Christian Life, Ministry Leadership
I’m not much of a slow-down-and-look-back person. Ask me right now about God’s greatest blessings, and I’m likely to tell you about what happened last Sunday or what I’m looking forward to in the coming days. But I did something this December that I don’t normally do:...
by Paul Chappell | Dec 26, 2014 | Christian Life, Ministry Leadership
The week between Christmas and New Year’s has long been claimed territory on my calendar for goal setting. In the weeks previous, I’ve jotted down general ideas for goals for the New Year, but on this week, I prayerfully finalize these goals. I don’t know if you’re a...
by Paul Chappell | Dec 24, 2014 | Christian Life, Ministry Leadership, Spiritual Leadership Podcast
Christmas is a time of high expectations. Actually, life is a time of high expectations. We all carry expectations—whether we specifically identify them or not. Often these expectations are brought to our attention when they go unmet—when life suddenly goes very...
by Paul Chappell | Dec 22, 2014 | Christian Life
As our family gathers for Christmas each year, we read the Christmas story. Actually, we read part of the Christmas story. We don’t include the genealogies found in either Matthew 1 or Luke 3. But these 32 verses are part of the Christmas story. In fact, they are a...
by Paul Chappell | Dec 20, 2014 | Christian Life, Ministry Leadership
Do you yearn for a greater burden for the lost at Christmas time? Do the words burden and Christmas not sound right in the same sentence? The paragraph below is an excerpt from Dr. John R. Rice’s final Christmas letter, dictated just days before his death. I think it...