"Continue the Conversation" with Dr. Don Allen

  A recent survey at the Public Religion Research Institute dated April 25, 2013, Survey | General Public, Christian Young Adults Divided on Marijuana Legalization : Link to the article (survey): http://publicreligion.org/research/2013/04/april-2013-prri-rns-survey/ Before I make any comments or thoughts on this heated topic I must make some of my personal demographics clear. I’m a 53 year old, white male, married (for 27 years) with two children (in their early 20’s), living in small town America (the Midwest). I hold a PhD in Psychology and Christian Counseling and I’m a Licensed Independent Chemical Dependency Counselor-Clinical Supervisor, currently working in the field of addiction counseling (for over 23 years), and working with a small church in my community. As well as having written widely on the topic of addictions, grief, stress, and pastoral ministry. ·          This survey is showing that “50% of Christians between the ages of 18 – 29 said they “favor”

Pastors Coping with Stress             Over the past 35 years of my involvement in pastoral ministry I have found stress to be the one constant factor that I have had to deal with. I realize that some church members feel that stress should not be a factor in a pastor’s life. However, when you work with people and address their life issues, stress will enter the conversation.             I was recently asked: In your personal life, what have you seen as the key factors leading to stress in pastoral ministry? I have attempted to answer that question by compiling my list of top five stressors (not in any particular order).             When we address the stress we fill in our lives, we need to understand that there are two contributing factors:  The FACT - these are things that are really happening and causing anxiety and stress and, The PERCEPTION - things that I believe are happening that create stress for me. Member’s expectation : The expectations that I acc

Since elementary school I have loved to read and study history, especially biographies of famous people. Understanding the circumstances in which they lived and the events that formed their life, and how they became an individual that someone would want to write about is amazing to me. I have especially enjoyed reading the biographies of some of the great spiritual leaders of the past. The encouragement to me to remain faithful despite the challenges I face, how they were able to remain true to the word of God despite the possibility of being exiled or even killed, and how their personal relationship with Christ has changed history. I need an understanding that these individuals have coped with all the same struggles that I face today, and some of their struggles make mine look like a cake walk. The challenge in reading a great biography is realizing that it is about learning from the past, applying it to the present, and seeking to remember it in the future. These men and w