by Dr. Paul Chappell | Sep 21, 2011 | Media/Resources, Ministry Leadership, Spiritual Leadership Podcast
A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor. But too many sailors want to quit when the sea becomes choppy! Those in ministry regularly experience heaving seas. From personal trials, to ministry needs, to the hostility of our secular culture, ministry has a host of...
by Dr. Paul Chappell | Sep 3, 2011 | Christian Life, Ministry Leadership
If pompous discord sowing is not pure religion (as we saw in our last post), what is the true “old time religion” supposed to look like? Our natural tendency is to create our own definitions of purity—building longer and more impressive lists of rules every year. But...
by Dr. Paul Chappell | Sep 1, 2011 | Christian Life, Ministry Leadership
I preached last Sunday night on “Give Me that Old Time Religion.” But my text wasn’t from Jeremiah 6 about the old paths. In fact, the message itself wasn’t about the “old time religion” in the sense of preserving a culture from earlier days of fundamentalism. From a...
by Dr. Paul Chappell | Aug 11, 2011 | Ministry Leadership
One of the greatest enemies to a spirit of grace in a church is criticism—from within or without. Our carnal nature is easily drawn into defending and taking sides, but doing so breeds a spirit of defensiveness and cynicism within a church. As a young pastor, I...
by Dr. Paul Chappell | Aug 8, 2011 | Christian Life, Ministry Leadership
Constructive criticism is an incredible asset. Proverbs 27:6 says, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend….” Some of the most helpful advice and counsel I have ever received has come in the form of such “wounds.” Yet, destructive criticism can be incredibly damaging to...