Allen's Blog

                                                         You Gotta Have Faith Some very well meaning people have said to me, “If you had enough faith then God would do what you’re asking.”  They are referring to verses like: Matthew 17:20 “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” or Acts 14:9 “He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed.”  I do believe that God can certainly heal, move mountains and anything that He wants.  What part do we play in all this?  What is this thing called ‘faith’?  I...

                                                                                                                           Do Hard Things I want to brag on the young people at my church.  I have had the pleasure of attending retreats with them, see them working at VBS and to hear amazing reports of the work that was done on their mission trip.  Ever since I can remember... adults, w...

                                       Are We a Small Church or a Growing Church? All kinds of literature is written about the uniqueness of small churches.  One statistic claims that 90% of all churches in the United States are less than 100 members.  Our Presbytery is sponsoring a music seminar for the challenges that ‘small’ churches face.  There is even a website called Small church.com: “A Big Place for small Churches”. When I was in college I was involved in Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship and we changed the name of our small groups to ‘Action’ groups.  Some see the word ‘small’ as limiting.  Others probably place no value on it…it just is.  Having served in a handful of churches of around 100 members, I have heard other language from members that tells m...

                                                              How’s Your Vision? I think it’s a miracle that when two people view a rainbow, they see the same thing.  Or we can stand side-by-side and enjoy an amazing sunrise or sunset.  I just watched a documentary on PBS about Yellowstone National Park and to everyone who saw the towering rocks, steaming pools and erupting geysers all agreed that these were marvelous things.  So, why is it when we discuss theology, sociological issues, psychology and so many other things that we come up with different viewpoints?  Is there ever a common denominator to even our differences?  Is there an ultimate right and wro...

                                                                                                                                A Moving Experience Tracy and I met on the day she moved in with her roommates.  I was working with Young Life and one of her roommates was the Area Director, so she had leaders and high school kids that she could call on in an instant....

 If History Was Different How would history have been written if Joseph, remember the one with the multicolor coat, was freed from prison soon after he got there?  He was sold by his brothers and eventually found himself in Egypt where he practiced an uncanny ability to interpret dreams.  For years he languished in a foreign prison and anyone of us would say it would have been better for him to be out of prison rather than in.  What if Daniel, who was thrown into a lion’s den, instead, escaped through a secret passageway?  What if Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had escaped the fiery furnace through the intervention of their friends on the outside?  And don’t forget the Apostle Paul who was shipwrecked, whipped and also put in prison.     None of us would ever wish to be put in such horrible situations and yet, look what God did.  Through Joseph, all of Egypt and the surrounding countries were saved from famine.  Daniel and h...

  The Importance of Money “If we didn’t tithe, give money to the church, and support our missionary friends, we could buy a Hummer.”   That’s what I told my kids several years ago when Hummers were in vogue and we were struggling to make payments on our minivan.   I wanted to make an impression on them that we were sacrificing in order to support God’s work, but that it was a joyful sacrifice as we watched what God would do with our money.   I remember getting my first job out of college in Roanoke at Moore’s Building Supply and I was so proud to be able to pay my own bills and really begin to tithe.   I had grown up in a church that had emphasized the that tithing was a duty but also an expression of thankfulness to God. I felt like it was part of being a mature Christian to be able to say that I was participating fully as a follower of Jesus Christ. Notice I didn’t say that it was part of being a mature adult.   When w...