Dr Paul Allen

Stephen O. Presley As the iron gate slammed behind me, I read the sign, “Inmates taking hostages will not be allowed beyond this point.” It was an ominous beginning to a life of teaching. After graduating with my divinity doctorate from the University of St. Andrews, I hoped to land a tenure-track teaching position. I imagined strolling the grounds of some seminary or university campus with my students, discussing the deep thoughts of Augustine or Calvin. Instead, in the Lord’s kindness, I got so much better.  I was hired to teach at a seminary extension site with a course load that included several classes in a newly formed prison seminary program. This initiative, launched by the Heart of Texas prison ministry, offered seminary training for convicted felons serving life in prison. Like raising Indigenous missionaries in a foreign country, these seminary graduates would remain incarcerated and help minister to the prison population.  For four years, spanning 2011-2015, I was in prison

One recurring question regarding women in the church goes something like this:  What does the Bible say about women teaching and prophesying?  The follow-up question is usually, And what does that mean for us now? LET’S START WITH DEFINITIONS Teaching : Imparting truth to another person. The truth can be spiritual in nature, explaining things of God, but also practical in applying Gods word to life. Prophecy: A direct message from God, mediated through an individual and directed at a person or group, intended to elicit a specific response. As the spokesperson of God, a prophet held great spiritual authority with the people. Forthtelling: Exhorting the audience to obey God, encouraging them that God would save and provide for them. In the Old Testament, prophets were truth-tellers, often blended their speeches with foretelling and forthtelling.  In the New Testament, prophecy is listed as one of the most desired spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 12) and is generally understood to include fortht

The Way Jesus Answered What was so unusual and so attention-grabbing about Jesus’s teaching? Part of it was that once people began to challenge him and ask him questions, Jesus proved to be a masterful chess player. He simply refused to get caught in verbal or intellectual traps, and in fact, always managed to turn the heat back on the one who posed the challenge in the first place. And even then, he did it in a way that would not only win the argument but also spiritually challenge everyone listening. Let me show you an example. Matthew 22 recounts a time when Jesus was teaching in the temple in Jerusalem and a group of Jewish leaders approached him in order to challenge him. Now, this wasn’t an accidental meeting. These leaders had planned the whole thing; the story even starts by saying that the Pharisees “plotted how to entangle him in his words.”  They also wanted to do it publicly, so they walked up while Jesus was teaching in the temple, probably pushed through a crowd, and inte

“No one ever spoke like this man!” Even his enemies had to admit it. Jerusalem was teeming with travellers during the Feast of Booths, and Jesus was teaching in the temple. A new excitement was in the air. And controversy. Some said he was a good man; others thought he was leading people astray (John 7:12). The Pharisees overheard the muttering and conspired with their political rivals, the chief priests, to send officers to arrest Jesus, if he were to misspeak. The officers were there, on the last day of the feast, when Jesus stood up and cried out like no one else would dare, If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:37–38) The people were first stunned, then divided. Some wondered if this was the Prophet who was to come. Or even the Christ himself. Others argued back that David’s heir would not come from Galilee. The officers, equally stunned, returned with empty ha