Just finished my guys’ Thursday morning small group via Zoom. We’re eight guys, the majority who play ice hockey, who have been meeting for seven weeks focusing on living out our life’s purpose. 

We just began a new study of the book of Philippians. We chose this book because the Apostle Paul wrote this letter of encouragement while socially distanced, under house arrest. Paul spent four years in Roman custody, awaiting Emperor Nero’s final decision in his case. 

The Apostle’s circumstances were far from ideal. His was a very difficult and challenging situation. Yet, he maintained positive. 

And maybe this is part of the reason why. Note that he did not focus on himself and his terrible situation. He focused his thinking on others. 

The church is not the building! No doubt, you've heard that before.

The church is people, indwelt by and empowered by the Spirit of God, who serve God's glorious purposes by using the gifts of the Spirit He has entrusted to us.

The Corona virus epidemic has quite literally catapulted the church out of our buildings, and perhaps out of an old paradigm. Perhaps for too long we have overly associated the church with buildings, programs and performances.

For sure, there will always be a need for the church to gather. But maybe we have overplayed the gathered church and underplayed the importance of the scattered church which Jesus spoke about in Acts 1:8, when He said, "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Wednesday, April 16, 2020

This morning I received a text, from a number I did not recognize. The text read:

“Good morning Chaplain Harpell. My name is John.* I met you a while ago in front of the arena after I picked up my guitar. I'm the one-legged marine you talked to. I'm asking for nothing but your prayers. We recently found out that our 6-month-old daughter has cancer. If you could pray for her I would greatly appreciate it.”

Dr. Brian Harpell recently joined with the ACTION Pastor Leadership Development Program, though he has been partnering with ACTION for over a decade. Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, Dr. Harpell came to the United States in the early 70s to pursue his Master of Divinity degree and later his Doctor of Ministry degree, and now lives in the United States.

He has served as a lead pastor of three churches for over 42 years, his most recent church in Everett, Washington, for 30 years. He is much sought after as a teacher for workshops, seminars, conferences and at seminaries in Canada, the United States and Cuba on the topic of leadership.

There is a huge difference between an authoritative boss and a trust-building, influential leader. What’s the difference?  

What does a boss do? A boss drives with authority. “I’m the boss. This is the way it’s going to be.” A boss drives with authority. Pharaoh, in the Exodus story, is an example of a boss.  

LEVEL 1 LEADERSHIP = POSITIONAL LEADERSHIP. This is actually the lowest level of leadership. At level 1, you are a leader because of a certain job position or title. At this level, people follow you because they feel they have to. Pharaoh clearly had positional leadership. He had the title and position of “Pharaoh.”