Dr Paul Allen

In the spring of 2023, J. T. Reeves was a senior at Wheaton College. He and his friends drove to Asbury University when they heard the reports of the spiritual awakening happening on that campus. Eight months later, TGC asked Reeves to reflect on the lasting effects of that experience in his life and the lives of his fellow students. Since last year, I’ve often been asked how all this changed my life. But God is a frustratingly elusive subject to pin down with words. So I won’t describe the Outpouring here. I only want you to imagine it with me. Secular Blitz Imagine that, like me, you grew up in a hurricane blitz of secularism that systematically dismantled your belief in the unseen. Even if a miracle should happen, you’d probably be too sensible (or cynical) to believe it. Before you hit puberty, rampant individualism forcefully placed you in a cage like a circus animal and handed you an iPhone so you could pretend you’re not lonely. You use the phone. And sometimes it works. When it...

The statement from Paul to Timothy regarding spiritual discipline in 1 Timothy 4:7—“train yourself for godliness”—takes on not only transcending importance but personal urgency. There are other passages that teach discipline, but this is the great classic text of Scripture. The word train comes from the word 'gumnos', which means “naked” and is the word from which we derive our English word gymnasium. In traditional Greek athletic contests, the participants competed without clothing so as not to be encumbered. Therefore, the word train originally carried the literal meaning “to exercise naked.” By New Testament times, it referred to exercise and training in general. But even then it was, as it remains, a word with the smell of the gym in it—the sweat of a good workout. “Train yourselves, exercise, work out (!) for the purpose of godliness” conveys the feel of what Paul is saying. Spiritual Sweat In a word, he is calling for some spiritual sweat —so we must get ...

Vertical is how we talk about godwardness, transcendence, holy moments, the reverent hush of the sanctuary. Horizontal describes handshakes, exhortations, brotherly affections, the cheerful chatter of the lobby. I am not altogether dissatisfied with these two words as a device to describe elements of corporate worship. But at times I find myself at a complete loss how to divide certain activities in our services. Which kind of moment is passing the communion bread? Should singing to God build up my neighbor? Can I worship while greeting or ushering? These two planes intersect in these remarkable words from John: If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. (1 John 4:20) John writes his first letter to help readers increase confidence in their faith (1 John 5:13). He weaves together these simple and profound tests for Christian legitimacy. One of the tests is affecti...

Why do so many followers of Jesus suffer with such unsatisfying prayer lives and consider themselves hopelessly second-rate Christians because of it? Method Is Our Madness For almost all followers of Jesus, I believe the problem in prayer is not with the quality of the Christian, but with the method of their prayer. Of course, no change in method will make prayer consistently meaningful to someone who is spiritually dead. But it’s different for those who are spiritually alive. They are born again through faith in Christ and indwelled by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit’s presence causes them as God’s children to cry, “Abba, Father!” (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6), giving them a Godward orientation they didn’t have before. In other words, all those indwelled by the Holy Spirit really do want to pray. And if an individual Christian sincerely seeks to live for Christ, and has no specific sin issue that he or she refuses to confess and fight against, then the basic problem in prayer is not ...