by Paul Chappell | May 16, 2012 | Christian Life, Current Events
I recently came across a New York Times article that floored me. The article described how the Catholic church has reinstituted the distribution of indulgences. I learned about indulgences in high school history (when we covered the middle ages and the Reformation),...
by Paul Chappell | Apr 9, 2012 | Media/Resources, Ministry Leadership, Spiritual Leadership Podcast
How did the ministry of Christ continue after the Resurrection? In the salutation to Acts we find the answer: “The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach” (Acts 1:1). Jesus didn’t simply do the ministry Himself, but He...
by Paul Chappell | Apr 6, 2012 | Christian Life
Jesus didn’t just tell us to love our neighbor. He did it Himself. In the darkest scene of utter injustice, Jesus was stretched on a cross between two thieves: “Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left” (Matthew...
by Paul Chappell | Jan 26, 2012 | Media/Resources, Ministry Leadership, Spiritual Leadership Podcast
This lesson speaks to the very heart of local church ministry. Jesus Himself came “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). But in so many of our churches today, I see pastors fervently reading books and attending conferences, but never really settling...
by Paul Chappell | Dec 7, 2011 | Christian Life
When I look at my December calendar, I just about break into a cold sweat. You probably feel the same way. It seems there is no end to how many wonderful activities can be packed into this special time of year! And yet, one of the decisions that I make early every...