Dr Paul Allen

It was a jail break 10 years ago that helped make Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life one of the best selling books of all time. In Atlanta on March 11, 2005, an inmate awaiting trial for rape found himself in an isolated hallway with a lone female deputy. What followed became a nationally televised man-hunt that you likely remember. The inmate, Brian Nichols, punched the deputy in the face so hard he put her in a coma, stole her gun and radio, entered court, murdered the judge and a court reporter, and then killed another deputy while fleeing the building. Once outside he carjacked several cars, ultimately killing a fourth person before finally escaping. While he was only on the loose for 24 hours, his escape mesmerized the nation. Most jail breaks in the US are from remote prisons, with inmates that sneak out, or dig out—but a violent escape from a jail in a major downtown area is practically unheard of. When Nichols was captured, the news reported that The Purpose Driven Life ...

Pastor Rick Warren at Saddleback Church. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Same-Sex Marriage . Immigration. A Culture of Inclusivism. Changing Sexual Norms . Social Justice . Like it or not, we all have to face cultural issues like these as church leaders. But the stakes are higher now than ever before. In the media, we only hear the extremes from the church... those that are 'pro' this or 'con' that. But it's never that easy. We think pastors and church leaders have a unique role and an important challenge to address these issues redemptively and proactively. It's time to start that discussion. It's time to talk 'to' each other rather than 'at' each other. We'll share how some church leaders are dealing with these issues, and learn how to 'be the Church ' in a faster-than-ever changing culture. Culture Crash #1: The Church and Same-Sex Marriage There is no greater and faster shift in culture today than the swing towards the acce...

Rick Warren (Photo credit: jurvetson ) Rick Warren Returns  -  TIME  reports on Rick Warren’s first sermon since his son’s death.  “Almost four months after their son committed suicide , Pastor Rick Warren and his wife Kay addressed their congregation for the first time, promising to remove the stigma of mental illness from the church” Related articles Rick Warren back in the pulpit (PHOTOS) (christiantoday.com) Pastor Rick Warren Returns To Pulpit After 16 Weeks (losangeles.cbslocal.com) Quote of the Day: Author and megachurch pastor Rick Warren (religionnews.com) Pastor Rick Warren Returns to the Pulpit After Son's Suicide (ktla.com) Rick Warren returns to pulpit for first time since son's suicide (christiantoday.com) Rick Warren returns to pulpit four months after son's suicide (foxnews.com) Rick Warren Preaches First Sermon Since His Son's Suicide (swampland.time.com) Rick Warren returns to pulpit for first time following son's sui...

, American religious figure. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The White House blushed pink with embarrassment and issued this statement: We were not aware of Pastor Giglio’s past comments at the time of his selection, and they don’t reflect our desire to celebrate the strength and diversity of our country at this inaugural. ” What an honor. Evangelical preacher Louie Giglio was invited by the White House to pray at President Obama’s second inauguration. This is an honor bestowed on Evangelicals like Billy Graham (ten times over) and most recently Rick Warren . It’s a good move to invite an actual Christian to pray, since God only accepts the petitions of believers (Prov 15:8, Prov 15:29). What a faux pas. The inauguration committee summarily uninvited Giglio and basically apologized to the nation for even having considered him. So what did Giglio do since the invitation’s arrival to elicit the unceremonious retraction? Nothing. What happened was that someone trawling for controve...

Theologians and some significant others explain why the chicken crossed the road  Greg Boyd : It's a possibility that the chicken crossed the road. Rick Warren : The chicken was purpose driven. Mark Driscoll : The chicken crossed because of the rooster's leadership. Rachel Held Evans : We're talking about chickens here, not pigs. Pelagius: Because the chicken was able to. John Piper: God decreed the event to maximize his glory. Irenaeus: The glory of God is the chicken fully alive. C.S. Lewis: If a chicken finds itself with a desire that nothing on this side can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that it was created for the other side. Billy Graham : The chicken was surrendering all. Pluralist: The chicken took one of many equally valid roads. Universalist: All chickens cross the road.  Annihilationist: The chicken was hit by a car and ceased to exist.  Fred Phelps : God hates chickens. Martin Luther : The chicken was leaving Rome. Tim LaHaye : The chicken didn...

Image via Wikipedia One Bible story that stuck with me ever since I was a kid is the story about Peter asking Jesus how many times he should forgive someone who has sinned against him. Jesus first replies with what would seem to be an absurd number of times – "seventy times seven" – and then He follows with a parable about forgiveness ( Matthew 18:21 -35). Hearing this story as a child, I thought, "Man, 490 times? That's a lot of forgiving!" But, that's the point, isn't it? We are to never stop forgiving. And Jesus makes the point very clear that unless we forgive others, our Father in heaven will not forgive us. (Matthew 6:14-15, Mark 11:25) Forgiving the Unforgiveable But, you may be thinking, "What if my spouse does something  unforgiveable ?" Jesus never said forgiving would be easy. But, He did say that we need to forgive, over and over again. There was no caveat that said to forgive only when the other person deserves it or to forgive...

Image via Wikipedia Paul says in 1 Timothy 2:12 , "I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man ." In light of this, is it appropriate for men to listen to female speakers and teachers ? I'm a guy. Is it wrong for me to listen to Beth Moore ? No. Unless you begin to become dependent on her as your shepherd—your pastor .  This is the way I feel about women speaking in Sunday school . The Bible is clear that women shouldn't teach and have authority over men.  In context, I think this means that women shouldn't be the authoritative teachers of the church—they shouldn't be elders. That is the way Rick Warren is understanding it, and most of us understand it that way. This doesn't mean you can't learn from a woman, or that she is incompetent and can't think. It means that there is a certain dynamic between maleness and femaleness that when a woman begins to assume an authoritative teaching role in your life the manhood of a...