"Continue the Conversation" with Dr. Don Allen

2011 Through HIM Ministry Report & 2012 Through HIM Ministry Vision Summary REPORT FOR 2011: This was a year of change for my family and I; We moved to a new town, we changed local churches & yes we even changed denominations, my wife and I became empty nesters with both our children off to college, my wife changed work schedules (for the better), and I became Men’s Ministry Director of our new local church. This does not include how awesome God was in blessing Through HIM Ministries this year. With the help of four awesome men of God (Robert Harper, Gray Stanforth, Chuck Clevenger, and Ethan Allen) we formed a board for THM, the vision is to take the ministry to the next level of Ministry to Men over the next couple of years.   God has blessed me with some great opportunities this year; I preached for several friends of mine, hosted a Men’s conferences, spoke in breakout sessions at three men’s conferences this year, spoke at two local churches men’s retreats, spoke at th

                It is always fascinating to me that when we talk about the manger we focus only on two groups of men that came through the little door on that special morning - the Shepard’s and the Wise Men.   Of course we know that Mary and the baby Jesus was there.   However,   I believe that we miss some sufficient men that would influence the course of history by their presents that night. Let’s think about a few men that were around that night, or very close there upon.   The first guy present that night was a man that had already been in the presents of God (the angel of the Lord had visited him), and he has agreed to be the step-father to King of King, Lord of Lords, and the “Great I Am.”   Now,   I don’t know about you but the thought of raising the Son of God would scare me. What if I made a mistake!,   what if I taught him the wrong thing!,   what if he could read my mind (like God can)!, what if something happens to Jesus!, what will God do to me?   Yet, Joseph sat there

Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011) has died to today at 62 years old, the self-proclaimed atheist with a passion to challenge the religious establishment across denominational, religious, and cultural lines. He is being exalted as a free thinker, honored as a humanitarian, remembered as a radical voice for the masses. He stood his ground for the beliefs he had, he made you stop and think about why you believed what you claim to believe, and he gave the Christian community something to criticize. I will be honest I never agreed with Mr. Hitchens while he was alive about many things, and I sure did not agree with him about his position that God was a crutch, and figment of a weak mind, and those who believe in God where responsible for all the evils of the world.   However, I enjoyed watching him debate with those that believed they were his equal in intellect, and knowledge. He had a keen grasp of history, politics, and yes even religions. And the unique ability of making even the most ed

Instructing Men to be the Pastoral Theologian in their home! When we think of a Pastoral Theologian, I think of the old gray hair guy in front of the classroom who is so boring that I want to fall asleep. Having attended Bible College and went on to earn a PhD in Psychology and Christian Counseling, I’m now one of those gray haired professors standing in front of the room. However, let me tell you at 51 years old, and far from boring. I love the opportunity to share with Pastoral Students about how to be effective in their ministry to the body of Christ.   Gentleman, I consider myself a Pastoral Theologian, and in most of my teaching on the college level I taught courses around this subject Pastoral Theology. However, as a parent of a 21 year old daughter, and the father of 18 year old son who has been married to their mother for 25 years, I believe my first role is to be the Pastor of my home. Pastoral Theology is generally the study of topics tend to include: homiletics, pastoral car

How to have an Impactful Ministry to Men in your local church! Several years ago I was given the challenge of being the Men’s leader at a local church and the responsibility to take the lead in what would become the most challenging and rewarding ministry of my lifetime. In my experience I have found five essentials to Ministering to Men. These are the principles that I use daily as a Men’s Leader, and that teach in seminars throughout the Midwest. My prayer is that you will be blessed by these thoughts and encouraged in your ministry. 1.        Prayer: Prayer is the essential factor to the beginning and the continued success of any ministry; Ministering to Men is no different. I personally maintain a list of every man within our church and make it a point to pray for them weekly, dividing them over the Monday through Friday.   I pray for their personal needs, that they have wisdom in leading and being the spiritual head of their family, that they will continue to grow spiritually, an

As I have ministered to men over the years, I’ve noticed that men truly genuinely want to succeed at work, with their families, in their churches and personal relationships, and yes, even in their personal walks with Christ. However, the struggle today is that we often don’t know how.   I believe today more than any other time in history it is essential that men learn to Advance Through HIM.   When an Army begins to go into battle, there is always a preparation stage. They cannot advance on the battlefield until the logistics are taken care. Sadly, today we have Men attempting to advance in the battle of life without all the prerequisite logistics being taken care of. It is so important that we take the teaching of Him (Christ) and apply it to our lives so that we can advance in the battle of life and be victorious as Men of God! How do we do that? First we must learn to spend quality time with HIM - through our devotion, prayer, and ministry time. Too many men struggle to find a quie

As I sit here reflecting back to ten years ago, it is hard to believe the horror and fear that swept the nation and world that morning. I sat at my desk here in Cincinnati, when my wife called and said someone flew a plane into the World Trade Center in NYC. I was in shock, and even considered that she was joking. However, soon I realized that it was no joke; it was the nightmare that hit to close to home. I remember standing with friends at work watching the second plane hit the tower, the Pentagon getting hit, and hearing of the plane crashing in Pennsylvania.   I remember to this day hearing the words come out of my mouth, “I wish there was something I could do.” God heard those words. Three months later my family and I are visiting in NYC as a candidate for the position as Director of the Hope Center, a post 9/11 organization being put together by the Assemblies of God churches on Staten Island, to minister to the folks affected by that horrifying day. In May of the 2002 I would m

Stephen             Stephen had the unique opportunity to be first at a couple of things. Looking at the comments made about him in Scripture, I’m not sure he minded being the first at either.               He was chosen by the church of Jerusalem to serve as one of the first deacons. Deacons were gifted men who willingly helped the pastors/apostles handle what some would call the mundane jobs in the church – waiting on tables, visiting the shut-ins and maybe even cleaning up after the church event.             However, just a short time later, we find Deacon Stephen preaching.   (Deacons, just like every other member in the church, are to be active sharing their faith.) People didn’t like his message.   Doesn’t that sound familiar even in today’s world? The Scripture says they took him and stoned him for the message he preached.             Not only was Stephen one of the first deacons, he was also the very first Martyr for Christ. He knelt as a Man of Intensity for his faith and p

Jarius             The story of Jarius begins in Mark 5: 21 – 24 where this leader of the synagogue a man of intensity, and integrity comes asking Jesus to help his daughter. His daughter is sick and is going to die unless God does something. The story has a brief interruption, as Jesus heals the women with the issue of blood, and returns to the conversation between Jarius and Jesus in verse 35 – 43.   However, at this point Jarius is informed that it is too late and he should leave Jesus alone.   His daughter is dead.             I love this Man of Intensity heart, I believe that his look to Jesus said it all “Please no” … and Jesus responded “Don’t be afraid, just believe” and as we progress with the story in verse 42 Jesus spoke and the girl stood up and walked around.   It say’s they were completely astonished. I’m not sure about you but I would be astonished too.             Maybe our prayer should be “God don’t let me astonished by your miracles, let expect them daily”

Apostle John …             It is often believed by most scholars that John was the youngest of the twelve disciples, and the one often referred to as the one Jesus loved some place John at about 15 years old when Jesus called him.   I can personally relate to this, because my personal call to the ministry came at age 13, and like John I have never looked back on that call.             John was going to have an opportunity to see it all the teaching of Jesus both in a small group with the disciples, and the large grow do thousands, kneeling in front of the cross as his savior died, looking at in the empty tomb seeing the angels who proclaimed HE is alive, to watching Jesus ascending into heaven 40 days later, to the founding of the church, and out-pouring of the Holy Spirit.             As I look at this individual story his conviction to stand firm in his belief that his friend Jesus, was truly the Son of the Living God and Savior. He even was faithful in the boiling oil, and exile to

Apostle Andrew …             The first of the Twelve Apostles, and outside of the list of the Twelve and the few times he is mentioned with his brother Peter he is only mentioned three times.   However, what is significant about this Man of Intensity is that when mentioned he is doing the same thing every time.   He is bringing someone to a personal relationship with Christ (in the church today we call it “Soul winning”). Notice the three references to Andrew outside of the being mention with the other apostles. ´         John 1:41 … Andrew found his brother Peter and brought him to a personal relationship with Christ. ´         John 6: 1-14 … Andrew found a young boy with food, to feed the five thousands.   However, my personal belief is that Andrew was more concerned about the young meeting Jesus than feeding the people. ´         John 12: 20-26 … Andrew brings the Greeks to meet Jesus, after others were reluctant to do so. It is clear that Andrew was a Man of Intensity and had a

Zachariah … the father of John the Baptist : Luke 1: 5 - 25             This gentleman is clearly a cornerstone of what it is to be a Man of Intensity for God.   He has spent his life serving God, daily in the temple. He new the Law of Moses as well as anybody, and expected God to fulfill the promises of the Old Testament about a coming Messiah.   However, like most of us he did not expect to be a part of the promise.             As you read the unfolding of this great man encounter with God (the angel of the Lord), you realize that his relationship to God was special.   He had a heart to seek after the righteousness of God. However, he also was skeptical as many of us are especially when the Angel of the Lord told him that his barren (couldn’t have children) wife, who was also old, was going to have a child.             I believe that even today as there was with Zachariah, there is an expectation from God when he blesses each of us with the miracle of having a child.   As Men of In

As I sit tonight and reflect on today (Good Friday)   I understand that it was actually the greatest day in history, because it was this day that settled the fact for each of us that we can know without a doubt we are loved and THROUGH HIM we will spend eternity in heaven... Thank you Jesus for loving me so much! A preacher I once heard preached, the pastor said “it is Friday, Jesus died, Jesus paid for my sin, and Jesus showed how much he loved me! BUT SUNDAY IS COMING, Jesus will defeat the devil, Jesus will prove he is God, and Jesus will seal our salvation experience” I don’t know if is this direct quote … but we get the idea. From today (Good Friday) through Sunday (Easter) … everything about our salvation experience comes to light … Jesus love me and you, and paid for our sin, and, sealed us till day that he comes if we will love him with all our heart! I wish you all a wonderful Good Friday and a fabulous Happy Easter … May your relationship with Christ be so wonderful that you

The Man Thing … Introduction: Men have a vision of what it is to be a man, it is based on three separate but unique philosophies, and the goal is to see what make us the Man we are! The MAN THING! 1)                   The World philosophy ·          Success ·          Fame/Recognition ·          Power/Authority ·          Money □    Every man is looking for Success, fame, and power it is apart of our normal male makeup. Ø   From the gang member wanting to be the leader of the gang, to his talking about the number of people he has killed. Ø   To the office worker looking for the next promotion, to all the display of accomplishment on the wall in our office. Ø   To toys in our driveway, we want success and people to know we are successful. 2)                   The Churches philosophy ·          Teaching/Preaching ·          Active at something within the church ·          Controlling ·          Leadership □    The church philosophy is simple, walk and talk like me! Unfortunately w

Is the Holy Spirit in Residence? There is POWER in Acts 1:8 …. It reveals a awesome force that a great majority of our Christian counter parts are missing in their very lives.    That is the very presence and power of   the Holy Spirit.    We find that God in his form of the Trinity allowed each personage of God to take on the role of a specific part of the human race.    God fortold itin Joel 2:28-32) I.     God the Father planned our existence and salvation. II.   God the Son willingly laid down his life for our salvation III. God the Holy Spirit took up residence in our life, and keeps out the burglar.   (I Peter 5:8 …   “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, about seeking whom he may devour ) A. The Holy Spirit stands there in the door and sounds the alarm and set of the warning (conviction)   B.   Sealed us…. (Eph. 1:13 and 14)   This is the Holy Spirit give us assurance of God’s ownership of our lives.   He holds the deed to