What a great privilege and delight it is to be a part of Striving Together Publications! I thank the Lord for a great team of co-laborers who work with excellence to produce biblical resources for local church ministry and for personal spiritual growth! We are happy to introduce to you two new books that we [...]
One of the reasons I began this blog is to share helpful resources, book reviews, and ministry ideas. Many people are presently using Striving Together Publications, but not everybody is aware of what Striving Together and our ministry is offering at no cost. Our goal is to charge only for the things we must. Anything [...]
Please forgive another health update. This is my easiest way to communicate with people who have questions and to make sure everybody understands what’s going on in our lives. Last Friday afternoon I received my official diagnosis—Hodgkins Lymphoma. Until that phone call, I was preparing for the real possibility of an early passing, while simultaneously [...]
God gave us a GREAT weekend—one of the greatest of my life! Here’s the story. A few months ago, the Lord intersected Pastor Chappell’s path with NBA basketball player Michael Redd (shooting guard for Milwaukee Bucks, NBA Allstar, and Olympic gold medalist.) It was a “chance” meeting at an airport. Michael was sitting reading his [...]
The September Spiritual Leadership Podcast has posted—a lesson from Dr. Chappell entitled “The Disciple-Making Church.” This lesson will challenge you to focus on the heart of New Testament ministry—developing disciples. How easy it is to get distracted into well-meaning but diversionary ministry efforts. Lessons like this remind us what we’re really supposed to be doing [...]
Are you looking for a good way to get to know your students or those to whom you minister? Here’s a quick and simple way to get a glimpse into the heart and cause someone to think more deeply. This past week, in our 12th grade Sunday school class and at our Single Life retreat, [...]
It’s no secret that in the past few years, George Barna and people like him have given up on the local church (the flawed model they invented) and have documented a revolution of people leaving the organized church to simply go and be the church. While there are a lot of biblical problems with this [...]
Spiritual Leadership Conference 2010 wrapped up last night. God gave us a fantastic week. Today, in the midst of decompressing, I couldn’t help but sit down and journal some of the highlights of the week for me. Here’s what God used to impact me the most: 1. The Preaching. Every single message was a grand-slam [...]
Today we completed a wonderful week of teen camp. Here’s a short recap. First, we were able to return to Pine Summit Camp in Big Bear, California. Operationally, this was the best week of camp we’ve ever had. The good team at Pine Summit served our group well with great food, tremendous facilities, and a [...]
New Data on the Growing Distance Between Youth and Adulthood The New York Times ran a fascinating article yesterday entitled “The Long Road to Adulthood Is Growing Even Longer” by Patricia Cohen. The article reinforces a growing body of research, much of which I wrote about in Life Quest: Braving Adulthood with Biblical Passion. The [...]
In John 11, the amazing story of the raising of Lazarus unfolds. Not long ago, I was studying this passage and it occurred to me that there were three distinct groups of people at this resurrection, and those groups are still pretty much “alive and kicking” in today’s local churches. Picture the scene—Jesus has waited [...]
A Story of the Power of Local Church Ministry Opening scene—a young family of five is running late to church on a Sunday morning. Three lost, long-haired, little boys (all younger than seven years) sit quietly in the back seat of the car, while a frustrated mom and dad debate over “why” they are late. [...]
We just completed two huge events in our ministry—Easter weekend and West Coast Baptist Youth Conference. After many months of diligent prayer and preparation by a large team, God gave us a great week of decisions for Christ and personal life-change. Over the course of both events we had at least 200 people trust Christ [...]
Seven Myths of Single-Life Myths abound in today’s culture—through urban legends, chain emails, speed-diets, and beyond! Thanks to snopes.com, it’s pretty easy to run an email, a story, or a bizarre event through a quick research test to find out if it’s true or not. So—do you have a “snopes” for life? Has it occurred [...]
This past Sunday, my path intersected with a gracious man who has served the Lord in our church for many years. He’s been steadfast—even through much personal pain and many trials. When asked “How are you doing today?” He promptly replied: “I’d better be doing great! I’m at church! And this is my only sanctuary [...]
