Dr Paul Allen

Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553): Adam and Eve. Beech wood, 1533. Bode-Museum, Berlin (Erworben 1830, Königliche Schlösser, Gemäldegalerie Kat. 567) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) God ’s goal in all of His creative and redemptive work is to bring glory to Himself (Isa 43:7; cf. Eph 1:6, 12, 14). This is expressed in His creation mandate to Adam and Eve , in which He commissions man, as those uniquely made in His image, to rule over the earth in righteousness (Gen  1:28 ). Man is to bring glory to God by their manifesting His presence as His vice-regent throughout all creation. But immediately Adam and Eve fail in their commission. The serpent deceives Eve, Adam eats of the forbidden tree, and in that moment the human race is catapulted into spiritual death and damnation (Gen 3:1–7). The Seed of the Woman And just as immediately, God graciously promises that He will send the seed of the woman to crush the head of the serpent and undo the damage of man’s curse into...

English: Caricature on "The great epidemic of pornography". From 19th-century French illustration (in Courrier Français?). (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) It is going to take time—decades at least—before we are able to accurately tally the cost of our cultural addiction to pornography . But as Christians we know what it means to tamper with God ’s clear and unambiguous design for sexuality: The cost will be high. It must be high. We all know the cost will be high in fractured families and heartbroken parents, husbands and wives. Already we are seeing far too many of these and each one is its own tragedy. We know the cost will be high in the countless thousands of women who are used and abused in front of cameras so they can be violated for other people’s pleasure. That is a sickening tragedy as well. But an overlooked cost, and one that will only become clear in time, is that porn is stealing the best years from a million young Christian men and women. Porn is dominating ...

A bible from 1859. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.” ( 1 Timothy 4:13 ) In this video age, Christians are in grave danger of forgetting the importance of reading. The word translated “reading” in this verse is the Greek anagnosis, a compound word meaning essentially “renewed knowledge .” A sermon or lecture is knowledge heard; an educational film or video is knowledge seen; but reading is knowledge that can be read, rehearsed, reviewed, and renewed again and again, until fully and securely learned. In fact, it is necessary for students to take notes, even when hearing a sermon or seeing a film, if they expect to retain any knowledge received by such means. The importance of reading is also pointed out by the verb used in the verse. “Give attendance” means, literally, “continue steadfastly.” It is so translated in Acts 2:42 : “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine.” Reading and studying the Scr...

English: Peresopnytsia Gospels. 1556-1561. Miniature of Saint Matthew. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Do potential pastors need a powerful, divine, subjective call to ministry that overwhelmingly points them in their God -ordained direction? I don’t see support for that sort of normative experience in Scripture . People understand that pastoral ministry is weighty work, not to be entered into lightly. So naturally they want to know that their inclinations are not self-serving and their direction is not a fool’s errand. They are looking for a few signposts along the way to show them that they’re not obviously on the wrong road. That’s a commendable impulse. Here are several questions you should ask yourself as you ponder a call to pastoral ministry. 1. Do I meet the qualifications laid out in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1?  This is the place to start. If your character is not mature, stable, and (in a non-perfectionist way) exemplary, then you are not ready to be a pastor. Th...

When most people get started in the ministry, they’re usually  moved  by the right things. They want to change the world for the glory of God . Make an impact on their generation. See God move in bold, fresh ways. But it doesn’t always stay this way.  Before long you can start being moved by all the wrong things. Critics. Competition. Fear. Bitterness. Comfort. And then you’re no better than the people you swore you would never be like back when you started. You lose your center. And if you don’t lose your effectiveness, you at least lose your joy. Which is just as bad. I don’t know how many years you’ve been in ministry. And I don’t care. I don’t know what moved you in the early days of your ministry.  And I don’t care. Whoever you are and whatever got you into this, you’ve got to  make sure as you get more mature in the ministry that you’re moved by the right things. Salvation. Compassion. Unity. Life change. Truth. In short, you...

Image via Wikipedia I think the greatest challenge any minister can face in ministry , especially in today’s world, is to maintain faithfulness to the Word of God over the long haul.  There is always a temptation to tickle ears, follow trends, or grow lazy in weekly study. But since pastors are called to faithfully preach the Word, they must resist those temptations; and they must do so each and every week. When a pastor maintains his commitment to the faithful study and preaching of God’s Word, nothing else will have a greater impact on his life and ministry. Not only will he be blessed, because his soul is continually being fed; but his people will also flourish, because there is nothing more relevant to their lives or necessary for their spiritual growth than the pure milk of the Word. Sometimes pastors grow weary in the ministry, especially if they stay in the same place for a long time. But the key to avoiding debilitating weariness in ministry is perso...

A friend in ministry recently asked me what questions church leaders should be asking . When was the last time I heard from God ? Am I doing what he called me to do?  This is the “ Acts 6″ question. Acts 6 is a great reminder that it’s possible to be doing the ministry of God without doing the ministry God has called us to do. What should our church be known for in this community?  For a moment, ignore anyone who attends your church. What does the rest of the community know about your church?  That’s a better reflection of whether or not you’re really accomplishing your vision. Are we really focusing our time, money, leadership, prayer behind the things that will produce life change and community impact?  If not, there’s a good chance that “fairness” is driving these decisions. Fairness never produces revolution. Is our church growing both spiritually and in numbers?  Churches that are stuck and not bearing fruit hate this question. As I’ve shared before, ...