Dr Paul Allen

There is no doubt that recent times have seen a number of disasters. Just over a week ago, the world witnessed a semi-rare three hurricanes simultaneously in the Atlantic basin . Houston has experienced  three “500 year flood events”  in the past few years. Having dropped about 52 inches of rain locally and  nine trillion tons of water , Harvey is considered a  “1000 year or more” event . Irma is still deluging the States after  devastating entire islands . While Americans were thus occupied,  monsoon-related flooding in Asia   exceeded the deaths, damaged, and displaced of the States . Water wasn’t the only carnaging culprit. Wildfires in Washington, Oregon, California , Montana , Idaho, California, and Utah  brought unexpected havoc to the west . We could go on about wars, rumors of wars, and other mayhem. Your co-worker philosopher is right: things  are  happening. But the question is, what? Many have postulated....

During Hillsong Conference Sydney , Pastor Brian Houston asked Carl Lentz to speak on Hillsong NYC. Carl delivered a message about the church 's humble beginnings and the importance of remaining close to God through life's highs and lows. "The story of Hillsong Church has never been about chasing a movie, or chasing the spotlight, it's always been about chasing the Shepherd! Sometimes when you don't know the journey, people can look at certain moments and say that they want that but they don't understand that our pastors , all they've done their whole lives is chase the shepherd ," said Lentz. His message was given days after Hillsong announced a new film "Let Hope Rise," which will document the international rise of the church's Hillsong UNITED worship band, is currently in the works. Lentz's message was solely focused on Psalm 23 but he also addressed the speculation that people oftentimes make when pastors and ...

Hillsong Church London logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Brian Houston , senior pastor of Hillsong , led a "Let's talk church" segment on the final morning of the Hillsong Conference in London . Joined by a panel which included his wife, Bobbie, and Gary and Cathy Clarke, who head up Hillsong London , Brian led a discussion on the importance of good decisions, and making a positive impact on the lives of generations to come. "Some of you haven't met your children yet, but you're making decisions now that will affect them," Brian noted. "We can't be indecisive - never underestimate the power of decisions. There is no such thing as a small decision, if the consequences are great - that's just a big decision in disguise." He offered some general advice, suggesting that we "don't make permanent decisions in temporary circumstances," before highlighting the seven most significant decisions Christians are faced with in life...

Your Best Life Now by Joel Osteen Joel Osteen was born on March 5, 1963, the son of John and Dolores (known as “Dodie”) Osteen. John founded Lakewood Church in Houston Texas on May 10, 1959, and pastored the church until his death in 1999. While he began his career in ministry as a Baptist, he later experienced something he believed was the baptism of the Holy Spirit and founded Lakewood as a haven for charismatic Baptists. By the 1980s John and Dodie had become well-known among their fellow charismatics. The church had over 5,000 in attendance and their services were broadcast across the world. From a young age Joel was involved in this work, laboring behind the scenes in support of the family ministry. When John Osteen died suddenly of a heart attack on January 23, 1999, Joel, who had preached his first sermon the week before, succeeded him as pastor with his wife, Victoria, serving as co-pastor. Very quickly, the church exploded in growth and Joel’s broadcasts bec...