Bio
“When I look back across the years, I can see the hand of God guiding and directing me when I thought I was in control and making my own decisions. God works in mischievous ways. He had far more in store for me than I ever dreamed possible. Mine is and has been a blessed life.”
-God Works in Mischievous Ways: A Memoir Amazon
Paul W. Powell was a servant leader in kingdom work throughout his lifetime. Most important, he was a friend to all.
He poured his life into pastoring Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler, Texas, for 17 years before following God’s call to lead the Annuity Board (now GuideStone Financial Resources) from 1990-97. He also chaired his beloved Baylor University's board of regents before becoming dean of Baylor's Truett Theological Seminary in 2001—something he often said he felt God had prepared him throughout his life to do. During his six years there, the seminary’s enrollment more than doubled, and its endowment increased to more than $38 million. The seminary’s chapel is named in his honor.
Although his high school teacher told him he would never make it to college, he received a bachelor of arts degree from Baylor, a master of divinity from Southwestern, and honorary doctorates from four universities. His long career in ministry included pastorates at five Texas churches, including Belfalls, Troy, Taylor, and San Marcos before serving at Green Acres in Tyler. After a lifetime of faithful service, Paul W. Powell was promoted to heaven at 83 years of age on December 28, 2016.
The Paul Powell Legacy Library is dedicated to providing pastors, students, ministers and believers with free, permanent access to the biblical insights, ministry principles and truths about everyday Christian living learned over his lifetime.
Why the KJV?
Why does the Library use the King James Version? In Paul’s words:
“I’ll be reading and preaching from the King James Version of the Bible. I know that’s not the best translation. But in East Texas, the only Bible we used was the King James Version, red-letter edition…the truth is, we were on television and I figured if anyone out there watching had a Bible in their home, it was probably the King James Version. And if the person had two Bibles, they could take care of themselves. So I’ll be using the King James, and besides, I grew up on that and memorized a few verses in that, and I don’t want to change. I’ll let you change.”
The KJV (first published in 1611) is public domain. Note: You’re not seeing spelling errors—you’re simply seeing unique spellings of common words, along with some archaic words no longer in use today.
About the Library
If you knew Paul W. Powell, you know he was a meticulous keeper of records. He wrote in a notebook the name and date of every funeral he performed and every wedding ceremony he officiated. Paul also kept in his study's closet a 60+ volume set of hand-typed sermon notes, articles, and manuscripts of every sermon he preached, even from his earliest days as a young bachelor.
With his family’s permission and blessing, the Paul Powell Legacy Library was created in 2017 to ensure that this treasure of insights was not lost. Each notebook of sermons has been carefully scanned into documents and then lightly edited for clarity, preserving the statistics and world events unique to his time. The daily devotionals are based on Everyday Christianity articles he wrote for the local paper in the cities where he served, and their references have been updated for today’s readers. Paul also published over 50 books, many of which are available in the Library.
The hope is that people will read, post, forward, and share these insights with their friends, colleagues, and family. The goal is to present Paul’s writing and teaching in more ways—and to more people—than ever possible during his lifetime and by doing so influence the world for Christ and his kingdom.
Contact us here.