Tom Allen

I have watched in amazement as our new campus has been built.  From the first turning of the dirt to pouring the walls right there on the foundation and hoisting them into place to painting and lights...all the way to, at least externally, the finished product.  But, nothing has made the entire construction project come to life like what has happened over the past few days.  LANDSCAPING. Trees and shrubs and grass and flowers.  This beautiful, but dead, concrete building has come to life.  There's something about things that are alive...that live and grow and change...that changes everything about a building.  I think it's an outward reminder of an inward reality.  IT'S NOT ABOUT A BUILDING...IT'S ABOUT PEOPLE. During his presidential campaign, Bill Clinton's campaign manager had a huge sign printed and hung in the campaign headquarters.  It was to help keep the candidate focused and on message.  It simply read, IT'S ABOUT THE ECONOMY, STUPID.  Maybe, we nee

We live in Texas.  In Texas, the number one sport is Football.  The number two sport is Spring Football.  You get the picture.  Football is BIG!  HUGE!  It's not LIFE & DEATH...it's BIGGER THAN THAT!!! We don't just love football, we love OUR TEAM.  We're FANS.  FANS is the shortened version of FANATICS.  That perfectly expresses how we feel about "Our Team".  We bleed red or green or orange or maroon...whatever our team's colors happens to be.  They win...life is good.  They lose...life is bad.  We are true-blue, honest-to-goodness, cross-our-hearts-and-hope-to-die-stick-a-needle-in-our-eye fans! Count me in.  I'm an Oiler fan (the Pearland variety).  I'm a Bear fan (the Baylor variety).  I'm a Texan fan.  OK, so I don't paint myself. And I don't make that many games.  And, if they should lose, I never contemplate ending it all.  But, I am a fan...at least, I think so.  Being a fan is great.  But, even so, it appears that Satan

I have to admit, I was a little excited when they told me we were getting our clothes back yesterday.  When the fire happened, we were told to pull out "emergency clothes", and the rest would come later.  What does "emergency clothes" sound like to you?  A few days?  A week, maybe?  I had no idea that it would mean a month.  I've worn the same pair of shoes every day since the towering inferno.  My wardrobe was a bit repetitious as well.  So, needless to say, I was happy at the thought of wearing different shoes today. One thing I wasn't prepared for.  As the gentlemen brought the stacks of hanging clothes up the stairs, I felt like it was a scene out of Jesus' feeding the 5,000.  Our clothes were the stand-ins for the loaves and fishes.  They just kept coming and coming and coming...  I'm pretty sure there were numerous basketfuls left over.  WAY over! My emotions went from joy to total embarrassment.  We have too many clothes.  As I hung them u

I've asked my church to be part of a 30-Day Prayer Experiment.  For those who opt in, they will receive a text message each morning with one thing to pray for.  We started on Monday, praying that our church would be a family.  Yesterday's prayer was that God would provide for us financially as we move into a new campus. Usually, the Sunday giving totals come in on Monday, but with the holiday, they arrived yesterday.  What's normal?  Around $25,000-$30,000.  But, the report read almost $50,000.  I asked to make sure it was correct and was assured it was.  Almost simultaneously, someone walked into my office with 2 envelopes that had just arrived in the mail.  One was a check for $1,000 and the other a check for $15,000. Normal expectations:  $25,000 to $30,000 This day:  Almost $65,000 Coincidence?  Maybe.  But, then gain, we prayed for financial provision and it came.  So far, GOOD EXPERIMENT. Want to be a part?  Text PRAY30 to 4411.  You'll get a prayer text

College football has begun.  The calendar has rolled over to September.  The kids are back in school.  Starbucks has broken out the Pumpkin Spice Lattes.  IT'S FALL!  Can't you just feel it in the air?  The Dog Days of Summer are over.  There's a crispness in the air.  Soon the leaves will be turning.  Time to pack up those summer clothes and break out the cardigans. I WISH. My thermometer in my truck read 101 yesterday.  Not quite the picture of Fall I was having.  No rush to cut firewood. OK, so it doesn't feel like Fall...but it is.  (sorta)  School is back in session.  Football has, indeed, started.  And, in two Sundays it will be NATIONAL BACK TO CHURCH SUNDAY.  I'm not sure how I feel about that.  Thousands of churches around the nation are involved in this...program?...celebration?...movement?  What do you call it? So, what is it, exactly?  Does this mean that, as the church, we recognize and endorse the fact that many of our members will simply take