Dr Paul Allen

These may be unprecedented days in our lifetimes, but they are not unprecedented in the life of Hope Church Australia. God's church has endured such suffering and uncertainty before, and much worse, just by way of the pandemic, not to mention persecution. In days like these, and in every season of our lives, we do well to remember the certainty and centrality of the church in the care of the living Christ. To be clear, this is not a word about being the church in the coronavirus age. This is the church’s age, not a virus’s.   The church will not pass. Coronavirus will. And this is our Father’s world. This is Christ’s world. And as his Bride, this is true, in a real measure, the church’s world. Not the news media. Not the epidemiologists’ and statisticians’. Not the economists’ and politicians’. The church will endure these days, and outlive this trial, and be stronger because of the footnote that is our present distress. Main Story in the World Today The main news hap...

We are living in very uncertain times. I’m sure we are all scared and going through difficulties that we never imagined before. People are worried about, the jobs, about their bank accounts, about their health, and about their loved ones. If you’ve been to the store lately, you’ve seen some hoarding going on, you’ve seen the empty shelves! What a crazy and scary time to be alive! I hope that throughout the craziness when you put your head down on the pillow you ask yourself this question? What has really changed? Yes, there seems to be a threat to our stability. But what really can we control in life?  Someone in Italy recently said that this CoronaVirus situation has shown them just how strong they are, but is that true? I would say the opposite! This has shown just how frail we are as people. And really how little we really can control in life. We can’t control other people. We can’t control what country we’re born in who our family will be what colour our hair is, ...

The fear of COVID-19 that grips the globe right now is spreading faster than the Coronavirus itself. Some (rightly) feel that much of the hype is induced by the self-interested media— nothing goes viral like the story of a virus. Others are (just as rightly and more correctly) adamant that the more we do in the early stages of any exponentially infectious condition, the greater the effect on curbing its spread. Part of the angst is stoked by the unknown . Do you recall when people thought that HIV could be contracted by sitting on toilet seats? But I think we all agree that until more is known, we ought to err on the side of more caution, not less. Imagine how many more people would have contracted mad cow disease if governments didn’t take precautions to temporarily curtail beef exports from the UK. Here are four simple responses Christians should consider in a time of fear about disease… Take reasonable precautions without being unbalanced. This is fairly subjective. Wha...