Paul W. Powell Legacy Library

  7 Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. 8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. 17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it...

32 And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment. Introduction       You and I happen to share this planet and have been called on to minister for Christ in the most explosive time in the history...

When Peter the Great, the eighteenth-century czar of Russia, came to power he determined to modernize Russia and bring it out of the dark ages. So he traveled incognito throughout Europe learning as much as he could from other countries. When he returned to Russia he said to his people, “I will drag you, kicking and screaming, into the modern world.” ...

What, then, is the authority of the pastor? There is none! Except that which is given to him by the church or the power of his influence. There is no authority inherent in the office, and there is none invested in it by a religious hierarchy.  When it comes to authority in my church I feel like the man who was approached by a committee that said, “We are l...

In the old Amos ’n’ Andy show on radio, Amos once asked the Kingfish why he had such good judgment. “Well,” said the Kingfish, “good judgment comes from experience.” “Then, where does experience come from?” asked Amos. “From bad judgment.” Good leaders learn from their own mistakes and from the mistakes of...

There is an old saying, “A pessimist sees a difficulty in every opportunity, and an optimist sees an opportunity in every difficulty.” Good leaders focus on objectives, not obstacles. They are like a good hurdler. The hurdler doesn’t focus on the hurdle, he just sees the finish line. He looks at the destination, not at the obstacles to prevent his ge...

I heard about a young preacher one time who was interviewing for his first church. He had never pastored a church before and the pastor search committee had invited him to come for an interview. As he was being questioned by the committee, the chairman asked, “Son, do you know the Bible?” He replied, “Yes sir, I really know the Bible.” The chai...

Walter Shurden tells of an incident someone related to him about a Southern Baptist pastor invited by a pulpit committee to meet with the deacons of the church for a preliminary conversation. After the usual light chitchat they got down to business. One of the deacons, a delightful wholesale grocer, looked at the candidate and said, “Sir, what one question do y...

I was returning from a convention recently and seated next to the late Ramsey Pollard, pastor of the Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. He said to me, “Paul, after 47 years in the ministry, it is harder to be the pastor of a Baptist church now than any time in my ministry.” The US News & World Report an article entitled “Why Churches...