Dr Paul Allen

These past two years of the pandemic have undoubtedly been the most difficult of my 15+ years in pastoral ministry here in India. I became the lead pastor of our small urban church in 2009, and since then by God’s grace, we have become a cluster of four churches with about 600 members—many of whom come from different faith backgrounds. In May 2021, our church family was shattered by the deaths of four highly active and beloved church members in just over three weeks. In addition to this, almost all of our people lost at least one relative due to COVID, several of our members lost jobs or experienced pay cuts, many have struggled with post-COVID anxiety and panic attacks, and our children did their schooling online for 23 months straight. Every person in our church has been affected negatively by this pandemic in some way or another, and many have been devastated. As a church, it’s also been challenging to navigate the unchartered territory the pandemic led us into: not being able to me...

English: Abraham Kuyper 日本語: アブラハム・カイパー (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) In 1905, Abraham Kuyper , the Dutch statesman and theologian, set forth on a journey around the Mediterranean Sea , visiting 80 sites and cities in 20 countries. His travels brought him to ancient lands and some of the most revered sites of Christianity . They also brought him face-to-face, for the first time, with the Islamic world . When he returned, he wrote a series of reflections on his travels, now captured in a newly translated volume, On Islam , which includes select writings from his original two-volume work, Om de Oude Wereldzee (Around the Old World -Sea). Through these writings, we see Kuyper’s unique theological and cultural perspective applied across his individual encounters in the Muslim world, as well as to Islam itself. As editor James D. Bratt explains in the book’s introduction, the collection “aims to show how an outstanding thinker from a century ago spoke to a now-pressing issue in our own ag...

picture of a wallpainting in a Laotian temple, depicting the Bodhisattva Gautama (Buddha-to-be) undertaking extreme ascetic practices before his enlightenment. A god is overseeing his striving, and providing some spiritual protection. The five monks in the background are his future 'five first disciples', after Buddha attained Full Enlightenment. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Maha Bodhi Temple, Bodhgaya, India. ไทย: วัดมหาโพธิ์ พุทธคยา ประเทศอินเดีย (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Buddha in Bodh Gaya, India. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) You hear it often these days in one form or another. “I’m not really religious, but if I was, I would be a Buddhist.” “I don’t believe in organized religion, but I hold to the ideas of Buddhism.” “I’m attracted to Buddhism because it is so peaceful, loving, and free.” It’s becoming increasingly trendy to display Buddhist prayer flags on homes and public places. A form of Buddhism is increasingly embraced in the United States, with an estim...

New Testament (Photo credit: Violette79 ) All Scripture is given by inspiration of God , and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.— 2 Timothy 3:16 I knew a man from India who got hold of a New Testament , was converted and started to preach, but he had no background at all. That is, he started from scratch. He did not have a Greek Orthodox or Roman Catholic or Protestant background. He just started from the beginning. He didn't know anything about churches. He testified, "What I did when I had a problem in the church was to go straight to the New Testament and settle it. I let the New Testament tell me what I was to do." The result was that God greatly blessed him and his work in the land of India. This is what I would like to see in our church—the New Testament order of letting Scripture decide matters. When it comes to a question—any question—what does the Word of God say? All belief and practices should be...

English: Icon of Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “ I have decided to follow Jesus ” is a polarizing hymn. Made popular by the Billy Graham crusades , it is inseparable from the concept of alter calls and emotional pleading. For some, it stands as a sort of Arminian anthem—a testimony to the power of human volition and an example of all that is wrong with modern Christian lyrics. For others, it is a song celebrating the simplicity of conversion–simple and sincere. But when you know the story behind the song, you realize that it is not a statement about free will, nor about the ease of placing your faith in Christ . It actually stands as a monument to the international nature of the gospel, as well as a radical call to suffer and die with Jesus. The late 1800’s saw an evangelistic explosion in India . Entire provinces formally closed to the gospel were swept up a missionary movement perhaps unparalleled in history. Wales in particular sent hundreds of missionaries to Northe...

China Inland Mission. Rev. J. Hudson Taylor & Wife, with Group of Christians (Photo credit: Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library ) Hudson Taylor almost killed (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) From The Story of The China Inland Mission; Mary Geraldine Guinness; 1893 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) From the Jubilee Story of the China Inland Mission; Marshall Broomhall 1915 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Hudson Taylor circa 1865 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The missionary spirit is utterly contagious. Even just one life burning brightly for the gospel can ignite the hearts of hundreds of others for generations to come. What a powerful thing it is to contemplate that reality in the history of missionary work! Consider, for example, the following chain of gospel influence: 1. John Elliott (1604–1690) was a Puritan settler in New England who began evangelizing the native Americans. Known as the “apostle to the Indians,” he translated the Bible into their native language, helped to establish churches, ...

Image via Wikipedia   "And Thomas answered and said unto Him, My Lord and my God ." ( John 20:28 )   Thomas has been called " doubting Thomas " because of his initial reluctance to believe in the Lord's resurrection, but neither the Lord nor the other disciples ever viewed him in such a light. His later ministry, as the first missionary/martyr to India , speaks clearly of his great faith.   It is only in John's gospel that we have any specific insight into Thomas' character. When the other disciples sought to dissuade Jesus from returning to Jerusalem , it was Thomas who urged, "Let us also go, that we may die with him" ( John 11:16 ). Thomas understood the dangers awaiting them, but was ready to go wherever Jesus desired him to go.  In the upper room when Jesus spoke of going away, Thomas, still willing to go with Him anywhere, was the only one to ask, "Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?" ( John 14...