Dr Paul Allen

When public health collides with identity politics The fact that even such a bastion of contemporary cultural orthodoxy as the New York Times carried an article that highlighted the role of Pride Month in the spread of monkeypox is a fascinating sign of the times.  In retrospect, the monkeypox outbreak brought about the collision of two of modern America’s moral absolutes:   1. The unconditioned legitimacy of consensual sexual self-expression, and the  2. The imperative of public health.  In such a scenario something clearly had to give, and in this case, public health got the boot. At least in the short term, the general policy among the nation’s public health officials was to avoid making a clear connection between gay promiscuity and a highly elevated risk of catching the disease. But the victory was somewhat Pyrrhic, coming at the cost of the health of the very people this policy was meant to protect. Cultural protection of a politically favored community came at the price of immen

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

I think it’s fair to say that the year 2020-21 were stressful years for the global population. The COVID-19 pandemic was a large part of that, but people are also worried about the government, the economy, their health, their jobs, their loved ones, and their futures. In 2022. Omicron arrived. A survey of 3,013 adults conducted on behalf of the American Psychological Association (APA) in 2020 showed stress levels in American adults as the highest since these levels started being recorded, and “marks the first significant increase in average reported stress” since the survey began in 2007. According to the APA, parents are more anxious than adults without children, reporting stressors related to education, basic needs, access to health care services, and missing out on major milestones. The poll found that nearly 80% of adults say the coronavirus pandemic is a significant source of stress in their lives, while 60% say the number of issues America faces is overwhelming to them. Australia

Pastor James Coates of Grace Life Church in Spruce Grove, Alberta was jailed this past Tuesday. As of February 17th, he remains imprisoned with a possible trial date to be set next week sometime. Currently, his wife and children are prohibited from visiting him. Coates is a graduate of the Master’s Seminary, was a personal classmate of mine, and has faithfully pastored Grace Life since 2010. Here is a brief summary of the situation. Grace Life suspended corporate worship services in the spring of 2020 in response to a largely unknown covid situation. On June 21st, the church resumed meeting for a corporate gathering. The lawyer representing the church stated, “Even in the summer of 2020, it had become apparent to congregants of Grace Life that government lockdowns cause far more self-imposed harm than the natural harm of covid.” In early July, two people who attended Grace Life tested positive for covid, upon which the church shut down for two weeks. They then resumed meeting when it w

In November 2020, the State of Washington instituted a government mandate which read “congregational singing is prohibited.” Just last week (Jan 11, 2021), they now only permit up to 15 people to sing together indoors and each singer must stand nine feet from others making it unrealistic for congregations to sing indoors.  The Bible both commands and commends congregational worship. So how should Christians respond when their governing authorities prohibit (or now severely restricts) something that the Bible commands and commends? There are at least four examples of this that come to mind.  My point in writing this is not to compare COVID restrictions to being burned in a fire (Daniel 6), but rather to closely examine the Scriptures and draw Biblical principles that we can then apply to our individual circumstances. Example One: Daniel 1 – Defying Dietary Instructions Daniel was a young man who was deported to Babylon where, “The king appointed for them a daily ration from the king’s c

Covid has made the past year a unique time in world history. With lockdown and social isolation mandates, the church has been afforded the opportunity to revisit biblical commands on worship. Scripture teaches that God’s people ought to do whatever they can to meet in person. Certainly, there are times when we cannot do so (e.g. illness, vacation, work, emergencies, etc.). However, in light of God’s glory and salvation, Christians are to prioritize gathering for in-person worship as a regular way of life in New Testament local churches. Here are ten thoughts on why God would have his people prioritize in-person worship. God is a God who declares he is worthy of worship. God introduces himself to humanity in Scripture as a God who is to be worshipped. A worshipped-deity is the kind of God he is. Many of the Psalms declare that God is this unique kind of God; a kind of God who must be worshipped by a corporate redeemed people. Psalm 29:1-2 Ascribe to the Lord, O sons of the mighty, ascri