Allen's Blog

                                                                                                           When Theology gets in the way Main Point: Christ calls us to love first, not proclaim the truth as we see it.  When we reverse this, we turn to judgment rather than mercy; law over grace. When I graduated from seminary way back when, it was popular to take tests or surveys to determine your spiritual gifts.  These tests were comprised of choices between extremes and people inevitably came out favoring one set of gifts over another.  Someone might b...

                                                                                                                     What is a Missionary? So many people have a messed up view of what a missionary is.  Here are some common misconceptions:  My top 10 list : 1. You can’t do anything worthwhile in your home country so maybe you can be successful overseas. Obviously, you have never lived overseas.  It’s v...

                                                           Life On The Other Side The following is a letter posted by a friend of ours...primarily Tracy’s from her single days living in Connecticut.  Jeff just lost his wife to a battle with cancer.  He offers challenges, perspective and honesty as he writes to his friends who stood by him and his wife during this traumatic time.  May you be blessed by his musings.  I was.  Posted on January 14th, 2014 by Jeff Miserocchi I guess the thing that seems most important to me to share is what I have taken out of this experience so far. First, MEN, (I'm sure women also live out some version of this too), but MEN, you get up in...

                                                                         I Get It Now I attended a church service where I would not normally attend.  I usually go to religious establishments where the values are similar to mine, so this was the exception.  I had heard that the music was good and the service would be better than usual.  So, why not?  Tracy and I arrived and immediately we were not disappointed.  The decor beautified the already aesthetically pleasing sanctuary.  In a way, I felt at home because the architecture was similar to the church in which I was raised.  The proceedings began with a baritone solo of professional quality and was followed by an excellent choir.  The pipe organ began to play and then the ‘hired’ trumpet ...

                                                               At My Wits End I can hear my mother now, “I’m at my wits end with you!”   She is so exasperated that one more stupid move on my part and that will be it.  But what does that mean?  I have friends who have spouses with cancer.  Friends who are in difficult marriages.  I know there are people who are suffering from a physical illness or have children that are driving them to the edge of sanity.  They are at their ‘wits end’ or are they?  What I mean is that I’m wondering if we humans are more remarkable than we give ourselves credit for.  The WWII generation was known for thei...

                                                               What If I’m Wrong? What began as a significant blow to my ego and self-confidence has become an effective ministry tool where I am able to see things from God’s perspective.  During our last 6 months in Cameroon many things happened that caused me to wonder if people were losing their minds.  Issues would arise, discussions would ensue, and I was convinced that I held the only rational opinion possible.  Each time I would push the issue to a point and drop it...thus walking away wondering why they didn’t see things my way.  You can probably guess how that went. Admittedly, I have a histor...

Hitting the Wall “Don’t worry, God won’t give you any more than you can handle.” Ever had anyone say that to you? Did you believe it? They probably used this verse: 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” I wonder what Paul meant when he said this. If you look at what he had to deal with in his life, you have to wonder if he meant what people mean today. 2 Corinthians 11:24-26, “Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, i...