Author: Paul Simrell

The Reverend Paul W. Simrell has served for over thirty years in a variety of congregational and institutional settings. He is a recognized minister with standing in the Virginia region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada and is nationally endorsed by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for specialized ministry in both pastoral counseling and chaplaincy. Ordained in 1982, he has served congregations in Kentucky, Texas, Florida, and Virginia. He currently serves as the pastor of Elpis Christian Church, a small, historic congregation located just a few miles west of Richmond, Virginia. Elpis is the Greek word meaning “expectant hope.” He also serves on the associate clinical staff of the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care, Richmond, Virginia, both as a pastoral counselor and a ministerial assessment specialist, specializing in executive, clergy and relationship coaching. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and Lexington Theological Seminary and has done advanced clinical training in chaplaincy and pastoral counseling at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, Children’s Medical Center and Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas and the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care in Richmond, Virginia. He is a Certified Pastoral Counselor, an ACPE Practitioner, and a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. He is a Certified Facilitator of the Prepare-Enrich relationship assessment and skills-building program and served as a volunteer chaplain for over twenty years with the CJW Medical Center campuses in Richmond, Virginia. His avocational interests include playing the piano and drawing. He is very happily married to his wife Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell, a free-lance writer, who is also a Certified Facilitator for the Prepare-Enrich program.

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton

When?

It is the simple, powerful, heartfelt question I can imagine them asking as they drew near the religious holiday. When would Jesus finally act? After all the miraculous things they had witnessed… After all the wonderful, and troubling, things they had heard him say… After the mountain top – and deep valley – experiences… Surely… Continue reading When?

Moving Closer

As Jesus drew closer to Jerusalem for that final encounter with destiny, he spoke of how God would be glorified by what was to take place.  He knew, better than anyone else, how difficult these last days would be.  He also knew how necessary they were.  So, as the Scripture says, he “set his face… Continue reading Moving Closer

A World Turned Upside Down

As I write this post, on Monday of Holy Week, the world is still reacting to the news that the great Notre-Dame Cathedral has been virtually destroyed by fire. I am struck by the fact that while we consider how Jesus turned the world upside down with his everlasting message of love, the world is… Continue reading A World Turned Upside Down

A Different Kind of Royalty

Tonight as I watched a report on the insanely popular series “A Game of Thrones,” I couldn’t help but notice the contrast between royalty as portrayed there and royalty as celebrated on Palm Sunday. Jesus Christ was – is – a different kind of royalty, to say the least. Today in church we recalled His… Continue reading A Different Kind of Royalty

The Anointing, Part 3

John 12:2-8 Now, we finish out our look at this wonderful story of the anointing of Jesus prior to his death… What details does John bring to the table? We have the name of the woman who anointed the Lord: Mary.  Not Mary his mother, but Mary the sister of Lazarus, who had seen the… Continue reading The Anointing, Part 3

The Anointing, Part 2

Mark 14:3-9 So what detail can Mark bring to the story of the anointing of Jesus by a woman, shortly before his betrayal and death? We learn today that it happened in Bethany, at the house of Simon the leper, as a meal was being served. We also learn that the woman anointed Jesus with… Continue reading The Anointing, Part 2

The Anointing

Matthew 26:6-13 OK, so here’s some good news. The Scripture passages we have been looking at lately have been, well, difficult – to say the least. The tale of the rich man and Lazarus; the sufferings of Jesus foretold; warnings about unfaithful servants being punished – you get the picture. So, for the next few… Continue reading The Anointing

A Man of Noble Birth

Luke 19:11-27 It sounds like a chidren’s bedtime story, the kind that begins, “Once upon a time….” “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return.  So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas.”  (A mina was about three month’s wages.)… Continue reading A Man of Noble Birth

A Wee Little Man Was He

Luke 19:1-9 “Zacchaeus was a wee little man, a wee little man was he…” I remember singing that song.  In fact, it may have been one of the first songs I ever learned as a child in church. It speaks of Jesus specifically reaching out to a rich man who was “small in stature,” and… Continue reading A Wee Little Man Was He

Following and Glorifying

Luke 18:35-43 One of the things I learned early on in seminary was that when a particular event in Jesus’s life is recorded by Matthew, Mark, and Luke – all three, the Synoptic Gospels – pay attention. Well, the healing we have been examining over the last few days is one of those events. What… Continue reading Following and Glorifying