Tom Allen

I think if you asked just about anyone on the street what they'd really like to see happen soon, the top answer you'd get would be, "I'd just like everything to return to normal."  Don't we all? Wouldn't that be wonderful! I know it seems pretty awesome to me.  I know everyone's definition of normal isn't the same, but I still miss that time. You know, when we went to movie theaters and malls. When we didn't need to wear masks, we didn't argue about them or label people for their opinions on them. When people didn't huddle in their homes in fear. When we went to church on actual church campuses, in-person, and shook hands...and even hugged each other!  Yep, I want to get back to some sense of normalcy so bad that I just ache for it. All the things I took for granted...I don't take any of them for granted anymore. Back to normal would be so awesome! Or would it? Recently, someone suggested that I watch a documentary. I'm not oppo...

I recently read a report from the Barna Research Institute that totally caught me off guard and blew me away. They predict that  1 out of every 5 churches in America will close permanently over the next 18 months.   There are more than 300,000 Evangelical churches in the U.S. That means that over the next year and a half,  60,000 churches will close their doors and disappear.  That's the most frightening thing I have read throughout this entire pandemic.  So, the obvious question is  WHY?  Well, the answer isn't a simple one, as several components have collided to create this dire prediction. Some of those are... FINANCES.  It's evident that it takes money to run a church and that money comes from the tithes and offerings of its members. Even before the pandemic hit, some churches were struggling financially. With the advent of COVID-19, those struggles have only multiplied. Some churches had no way to receive funding except through in-person...

I don't think there's any argument that we live in unprecedented times. Never in my life has anything drawn our nation to a total standstill quite like this. There has never been a time when we honestly have had no idea what will happen tomorrow. We haven't ever been so aware of everything we have taken for granted. Our "normal" has had the rug pulled out from underneath it.  Nothing is normal. Nothing is the same. No one knows where this will take us, how long it will take us to get there or what it will look like. We're not just dealing with something new...we're dealing with something we don't understand, we don't know how to eradicate it, and we absolutely cannot agree on how we should move forward. I've grown weary, as I'm sure you have as well, of this Novel COVID-19 virus. If I am honest, I've grown much more intolerant of the whining, griping, moaning, and ranting over the whole "To mask or not to mask" deba...

These are strange times we live in. Nothing we consider normal seems to be normal anymore. Things we take for granted, we no longer take for granted. There is fear and frustration, and no one seems to agree on what we should or should not do. What we can agree upon is that COVID-19 is not a good thing. It has afflicted millions, killed over 100,000 people, destroyed our economy and put more people out of work than anything since the Great Depression. It's the work of the ENEMY. It's BAD. It's a CURSE. Or is it? When you look in God's Word, you seem to find a pattern. You find that our God is not only great and compassionate but purposeful and intentional. Throughout history, whenever God was about to do something BIG, it was preceded by a time of waiting; A time when He put His people on the shelf. A time when they were required to shelter in place. A time that looked bad on the surface  but ultimately revealed the greatness and glory of His plan and purpose.  ...

One of my favorite lyrics ever written comes from the song Rebel by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers ..."I've got one foot in the grave and one foot on the pedal, I was born to rebel." I can so identify with those words. As a white man currently in my sixties, living in the South, who believes that black lives actually do matter, I sometimes feel like I'm swimming a bit upstream. But, this is not something new for me. It's not just the "flavor of the month." Not just the coolest trend to jump on board and quickly jump off when the newer cooler thing comes along. It's kind of in my blood and my history... When I was about 10 years old, my father's best friend lived on the other side of Houston (which at that time seemed like the other side of the world). They and their wives would get together about four times a year. Twice at our house and twice at theirs. When it was at our house...no problem. When it was at theirs...big problem. Dad...

What's the most challenging part about parenting during a pandemic? There's a lot of really great answers to that question...and none of them are wrong. But, I think the hardest thing is having no template to compare it to or use as your "Go-To." We're entering into new territory. No books to read or podcasts of the past to listen to, this is  new . No one can honestly say they've been through this before. Nor have I. Despite that, I still believe some parenting absolutes, sprinkled in with lessons learned from past disasters, can serve as a guide. These principles might not make parenting in a pandemic easy, but at the very least, they can make it tolerable. Be the leader of peace for your children. Many great leaders throughout the ages have managed to keep their heads when those around them were losing theirs. When reflecting on those who have done it best, I remembered the words of Franklin D. Roosevelt during WW2, "We have nothing to fear bu...

Recently, I did a special message recently called  REAL TALK, A Conversation About God and COVID-19.  I tried to answer as many of your questions as possible but obviously couldn't get to all of them specifically in the time we had. So, I'm following up with a blog post to try and address some of those that we may have missed that morning. I'd like to hear Tom explain the difference between the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament...how He brought on plagues and floods, yet operates completely in love now. That's a great question. Actually, it's a great, HARD question. I believe that the Bible plainly states there is one God and He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His plan and desire have always been to bring the whole world to Him. His method of doing that in the Old Testament was to create a nation, Isreal. They would be an exclusive group of people He created out of nothing. He would make them a unique and different group of pe...

Hope that title kind of got you. Please, let me explain. Much bothers me about the world we live in...especially in our nation these days. Here are some of the choices we face: *Are you a Trump supporter or a Trump hater? *Do you support the 2nd Amendment or are you for gun control? *Do you support Colin Kaepernick and the kneelers or do you support our troops and love our  country and its anthem? *Do you believe Black Lives Matter or Blue Lives Matter? *Do you support Gay rights or do you believe homosexuality is a sin? Let's face it, you and I both know I could go on and on and on ad infinitum...ad nausium. We're posed with choices, but usually only two to choose from. Both seem to be the most extreme versions of any argument. In fact, that's what our nation has become...a nation of two choices juxtaposed at two very opposite extremes. We find solace in asking, "Which extreme do you identify with? Are you one of us or one of them. Can we be friends or not?...

This past weekend I went to a marriage conference. OK, so that's not my idea of a good time. Don't misunderstand me, I love my wife. I even want to have a better marriage. But, sitting in a hotel ballroom for three days is not my idea of a good time. It's one of those..."I know this is a good thing... I know this is a needed thing... I know I will be better off for doing it... I know, I know, I know... I'm doing it... just don't ask me to get excited about it. It's the weekend. It's a 4-hour ride. It's expensive (conference, hotel, meals, gas, books I KNOW my wife is destined to buy) AND, could it be a better college football weekend. Finally, good games. (Played while I'm in a hotel ballroom). UGH... But, I said, "Sure, let's go" (fake smile required). And, we did. She's worth it, right? The 4-hour drive, honestly, seemed like 6. Then, we finally got there. I think more of Dallas is under construction that Houston. (is that ...

In the very last book of the Bible, we’re told something unbelievably intimate about who we are and why we exist. “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.” Revelation 4:11 (NLT) We exist to please God. Did you catch that? We have the capability of pleasing God. We were planned for God’s pleasure. You exist for His glory, His honor, His purpose and His delight. Bringing enjoyment to God, living for His pleasure, is the first and foremost purpose of your life. The Bible has a word it uses to express how we bring pleasure to God. It’s the word WORSHIP. But, worship is one of the most misunderstood words in the English language…especially in the Church. Worship comes from two words: Worth and ship. When and what we worship, we literally attribute worth to something. Worship is an expression of how much something or someone is worth to us. When we worship God...

In the book of Acts, Jesus has resurrected from the dead and now is leaving this world to return to his home in Heaven. Right after that, the Holy Spirit comes and Peter stands up and preaches his first sermon…and his best. That day, 3,000 people choose to follow Jesus. So, what do you do with 3,000 new Christ followers? Well, you have to help them grow in their faith. So, here’s what they did.   “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”  Acts 2:42 They  devoted themselves  to 4 things. Three of those things were done in small groups that collected in homes. They  fellowshipped.   That word fellowship comes from Greek word  koinonia.  It simply means to share. They spent time with one another to the point that they trusted each other enough to share their lives with each other. They  ate.  Interesting thing, food. When you share a meal with others, you tend...