Author Archives: chappelltemple

(Note:  The following was shared in a blog written five years ago.  Given the contentious state of both the nation and the church today, however, it seems appropriate to repost it on this Christmas Eve Eve. For while I’m not … Continue reading →

(Several have asked for a copy of the prayer I gave this morning at Christ Church following the tragic shootings on Saturday in El Paso and Dayton.  As I post it below I pray that all may find peace in … Continue reading →

I was only a teenager at the time, but growing up in Houston with a father in the news business, I felt a special connection to NASA from early on, even getting the chance to sit once or twice in … Continue reading →

I could have walked from Atlanta to Los Angeles by now, or to put it on a more global scale, almost halfway across Russia from east to west, or the same distance across Africa from north to south.  For today … Continue reading →

He attributed the phrase to Benjamin Disraeli, but you won’t actually find it in any of his works. But in speaking to the power of numbers to bolster an otherwise weak argument, Mark Twain was probably correct to say that there … Continue reading →

I can’t begin to imagine it. But for a twenty-five year young captain from Arkansas, today was one that forever changed his life.  For after having enlisting in the infantry, J.W.’s talents quickly propelled him to a leadership role.  He arrived … Continue reading →

To be sure, no one is ever really out, even if those on the other team somehow manage to catch the ball in flight, throw it back, and physically chase down and tag the hitter. For in Dream League baseball, it’s … Continue reading →

It’s now been two weeks since the General Conference and the twitterverse is still atwitter.  Moving beyond some of the hype and hyperbole, however, here’s what the Methodists actually did and did not say: Methodists did not say that LGBTQI persons … Continue reading →

Nobody won this one. For though the One Church Plan was defeated and the Traditional Plan was adopted, the reality is that the Church itself had a terrible day here in St. Louis as the United Methodist General Conference concluded … Continue reading →

I’ve been getting their emails and letters almost every day, so it seems.  For in preparation for the General Conference of The United Methodist Church next week in St. Louis, a group advocating for one of the plans being proposed … Continue reading →