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How Should We Respond to Crisis?

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AChuckAllen | Monday, August 1, 2022

Every week we are bombarded with another crisis. A school shooting, mass shooting, flood, fire, riot, shortage, war, and the hits keep coming.

How can we respond to these crises without remaining angry, bitter, or hardened? How do we hear about more crises without growing jaded or curled up in anxiety? Fair questions for a country that regularly finds its way into trouble.

As a pastor, coach, and counselor, I’ve learned four things that we can all do to respond appropriately to the next crisis.

  1. DON’T CATASTROPHIZE THE CRISIS
    Fight hard not to let your mind convince you that things are far worse than they are. If we aren’t careful, our brain will convince us that we are like our preferred news outlet. We can be so active in telling ourselves that the sky is falling everywhere. We can make every crisis our crisis. Yes, we should be concerned, moved, and burdened, but you cannot own and exasperate every situation. My friend Julie Homrich would say, “don’t believe everything you think.”
  2. ACTIVELY LISTEN
    In most crises, loud voices point fingers, find fault and politicize the situation. Friends, this is not how to help or how to respond. There is a reason our Creator gave us two ears and one mouth. The single best way to respond to a crisis is to exercise your capacity to listen actively. Yes, affirm your connection to those affected. Affirm their heartache or pain, but at all costs, hush and let them speak. Let them find solace in your presence without your words. Keep this in mind. If you don’t know what to say, please don’t throw a catchphrase or random Bible. Verse their way. Just be there and listen. It’s okay to have a ministry of presence. While meeting the wonderful people of Uvalde, Texas, I heard, over and over again, “you are the only people asking us what we need.” In most points of crisis, words are cheap. Listening is golden.
  3. PRAY AND THEN PRAY SOME MORE
    We Americans are such activity-based people. When a hurricane happens, we get out the chain saws and wet vacs. When a shooting happens, we tend to do the same thing. What in the world? Prayer should never be seen as the last resort. Prayer is the single most extraordinary power on earth and requires zero travel! The minute you see or hear of a crisis, start praying. I’ll never forget seeing a horrific auto crash and hopping out of my truck to see if I could help. I got to the driver and realized they were already in the process of bleeding out. An incredible EMT jumped in, and I started praying for this mom out loud in the middle of highway 78. At that moment, the single greatest thing I knew to do was to PRAY! Before I finished, there were more than 20 people that had gathered around and, in their way, joined me in praying. Five days later, I got word that this dear lady had lost her leg, but she had her life and her toddler in the backseat. Prayer works! Pray, and then pray some more!
  4. ACT WITH GRACE AND SERVE WITH HUMILITY Determine not to join the fray and jump on the whiner train. Here is an equation from my friend Brad Rhoads, “Grace + Intentionality = Transformation” grace extends forgiveness and continuously extends a benefit of the doubt. Grace doesn’t blame. It smooths. And here is an authentic truth – WHEN WE EXTEND GRACE, WE SERVE OTHERS WITH HUMILITY!” According to the poster child of humility, Mother Teresa, this is what humility looks like: These are the few ways we can practice humility:
  • To speak as little as possible of one’s self.
  • To mind one’s own business.
  • Not to want to manage other people’s affairs.
  • To avoid busy-body curiosity.
  • To accept contradictions and correction cheerfully.
  • To pass over the mistakes of others.
  • To accept insults and injuries.
  • To accept being slighted, forgotten, and disliked.
  • To be kind and gentle even under provocation.
  • Never stand on one’s dignity.
  • To choose is always the hardest. And best.

The evil in this world will continue to be a struggle from now until we reach Heaven’s gates. We will have minimal power over what they might be or where they will happen, but how we act and react to crises is entirely within our power.

Let us be a people that act and react in and through crises with grace, decency, and kindness. The world has a widening depletion of women and men that will respond in love. If we want to improve this world, let us act in these four areas.

Go in Peace, Chuck

4forFRIDAY with Chuck Allen

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4forFRIDAY AChuckAllen.com July 29, 2022

ONE
A REALLY GOOD ARTICLE: WHAT DO CATHOLICS BELIEVE?
FIND IT HERE

The beliefs of different Christian denominations throughout history have caused everything from minor skirmishes involving distinctives of the faith (how often to partake in communion, etc.) to major battles over non-negotiable doctrines (the Bible is God’s Word, infallible and inspired by Him. Salvation is in Jesus alone, etc.). Though Catholics and Protestants share some parallel beliefs, there are some non-negotiables as outlined below. The relationship has softened, but life-changing differences remain.

–CROSSWALK

TWO
ANOTHER AWESOME ARTICLE FROM BRIAN DODD: 10 Things Which Can Disqualify You From Leadership Which Are Rarely Talked About
FIND IT HERE 

We are very aware of the things which often disqualify someone from leadership. This list includes sexual misconduct, financial impropriety, and abusive behavior. However, there is another list of items which can disqualify you from leadership which are rarely talked about.

–BRIAN DODD

THREE
A THIRD GREAT AND SHORT ARTICLE: How To Develop The 3 Essential Qualities In Kind Leadership
FIND IT HERE

Kindness is action-oriented and is an essential component of influencing lasting impact. Think of the qualities you have found in leaders who have had the greatest personal impact on your life. I’m sure that words like courageous, decisive, and visionary are somewhere on your list. But whenever I’ve asked that question, it’s been rare that the word “kind” hasn’t also shown up. So, what are the qualities that make up kind leadership?

–SCOTT COCHRANE

FOUR
AND, ONE LAST REALLY GOOD ARTICLE:
Four Creative Ways to Live in the Present Moment
FIND IT HERE

To put it negatively, the worst thing you can do is try to live outside of this moment. It’s actually impossible to live outside of the present moment, but it is possible to think outside of it. That means thinking about the past or future rather than focusing on your current action. Here are four creative and specific strategies you can employ to enter the present moment quickly and experience the numerous benefits that go along with it.

–STEPHEN GUISE

GO IN PEACE, Chuck

I Might Be Wrong, But I Doubt It WHY AMERICA IS IN TROUBLE

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AChuckAllen.com July 28, 2022

Nope! This is not a bash America, pro any political party, point fingers, and play the blame game article. This is a hard look at where we are as a nation and what we can each do to make this place better than the way we found it. But to be clear, I love America. I am proud to be an American. But we can be and are better than the America we are living and portraying today.

Here are my I MIGHT BE WRONG, BUT I DOUBT IT thoughts for this week

I really do not think that the problems reside in Washington DC. I do not think that the primary issues at hand are about party platforms, progressives or conservatives, or right and lefts. I do however believe that we have a very real problem within our two-party system. I’ve written plenty about my beef with both donkeys and elephants. But they are simple-minded, easy targets. The problems run much deeper than those issues. You pick the party and you will find plenty to gripe about and find fault in – either way, every day. So where then is the problem? Because if we can address the problem, we can discover solutions. We solved talking to people around the globe with a piece of plastic the size of our palm. We have sent people to the moon, split atoms, and cooked in air fryers. Come on. How hard can it be to determine the problem and create solutions?

As it turns out, pretty dang hard! Because the problems with America are people problems, not platform and party problems. Here are two problematic areas of American life, and a few potential solutions.

SELFISH LEADERSHIP

Every study, poll, and experiment points to one fact that is true in every organization, team, or industry. The fact is that servant leaders are the leaders that change the world. Servant leaders are the people that others want to follow. Servant leaders are people that change the temperature of the world. These are people that put others in front of themselves, help others succeed, and revel in seeing someone other than themselves achieve great things. Servant leaders aren’t about pumping up their private brand, they are about making a difference in this world.

Sadly, we elevate those that talk loudest and longest and those that seek the spotlight, not the Light of the World. The real problem is that we continue to elect, hire, and celebrate these folks. The solutions may seem simple, right? But they aren’t. Like all sincere issues in this life, the closer we get to the problem, the more complex the solution. But in this case, I’d like to offer three difficult, but attainable solutions.

  1. Take a hard look in the mirror and search deep within your soul. Are you that person? I hate to admit it, but I have been and at times, still am that person. The solution is to stop comparing ourselves to others and compare ourselves to our Creator and the design He has within each of us. Simply talk to the Divine and ask for Him to search your heart, point out every selfish attitude or habit. Ask Him to replace them with His wisdom and His will/way, and watch the changes that start in your life. My experience is that when I get less selfish, I get more peaceful and more productive. Funny how that works, huh?
  2. Choose every day to give a part of you away. Your kindness, your money, your time, your attitude. Whatever you do, become a leader that lives with open hands. The stress will melt away, and the view of the rest of the world will radically change in just 2 weeks of daily servant leadership. I promise!
  3. Stop complaining about everybody else and their leadership. Get your attitudes in check and your heart in line first and foremost. It’s not fun. It’s not easy. It is necessary. Make servant leadership personal, because it is radically contagious.

When Jesus and His disciples came to the town of Capernaum, He asked them about a dispute they had on the way. They were arguing about who would be the greatest, and Jesus took the opportunity to speak about true leadership — the concept of servant leadership.

And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.”

Mark 9:35

But what is servant leadership? The concept isn’t fully defined in Jesus’ words or any other simple phrase. It is, however, illustrated and illuminated in Jesus’ life and ministry, and that’s where we should start if we want to become a more impactful leader. By studying other godly men and women who demonstrated the core qualities of a servant leader, you can better appreciate their triumphs and struggles, as well as your own.

I might be wrong, but I doubt it.

THE ALMIGHTY BRAND

In Ulvalde, Texas this past week I experienced something odd. I stood at the memorial in the city park and at the site of Robb Elementary School and saw the outpouring of thousands of individuals. I saw banners and stuffed animals. I saw crosses and flowers. When I spoke with leaders and city workers I heard story after story of companies and non-profits trying to show up and “do something.” I heard of organizations wanting to burn sgae around the city, bikers wanting to “just be there,” and people with chain saws wanting to cut things down. My goodness, such an outpouring of folks wanting to do what they wanted to do.

The one thing I heard a lot of is, “nobody has really asked us what we need.”

It isn’t just Uvalde, or the places of crisis around the world, it is everywhere. Doing good is good for business is a new marketing ploy. Just pay attention to the organizations whose commercials are focused on the “good that they do” while watching any media outlet. It is reportedly 50% of ad space these days.

My point isn’t that they aren’t doing good. It is that they are doing good, BUT, does the good have to come with the obligatory photo opp? I’m not immune from this. Heck, I’m actually writing an article, under my name about this. But, can we not treat needy people and crisis as opportunities to grab a pic for the sake of telling the world what we did? Again, guilty as charged right here, but I felt guilty and sick about even snapping pics at the hallowed ground of Robb Elementary. As for me and our team, we will not be on a promotion tour. We will be the peeps in the dust and sweat, and hopefully nobody there sees us as a people seeking another photo opp on the backs of their burdens and grief.

I realize we have to raise awareness, and money to do some good, but folks the pushing of our brands is in the way of making people our priority. The brand shouldn’t be the key figure here. It should be the motivation to serve, to help, to give and to go. Without fanfare, credit, or photo opp.

A few years ago, I was with a group of folks helping serve a local ministry cooperative. These folks had been toiling for about four hours. They were tired, having worked a full day and then giving there time to serve. No t-shirts, no photo opps, just good people doing good work. Another organization came in about the time these servant leaders were taking a ten minute coffee break with bright yellow t-shirts with there brand emblazoned upon them and said, “let’s get this done.” They burst on the scene, made a mess of what was being done. Stayed 45 minutes, huddled for a photo opp, pushed the others out of the way (quite literally) and left in a blaze of glory.

It’s typically more subtle than that, but the almighty brand has replaced the intention of doing the right thing, at the right time, for the right reason. And it sickens me.

And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.

James 4:3

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.

Philippians 2:3

I might be wrong, but I doubt it.

I’d love to hear from you. Email me HERE.

Go in Peace, Chuck

In the Bordertown of Uvalde, Texas

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AChuckAllen.com July 26, 2022

I’ve spent the last couple of days in Uvalde, Texas. After landing in San Antonio, my friend Mauricio and I met another pastor from El Paso, Ozzie. Both are great guys and both have genuine hearts for helping people. We grabbed a car and headed to Uvalde, about a 90-minute ride. I soon learned that there are 75 mph speed zones on two-lane roads in Texas – We made it in 70 minutes.

I wasn’t prepared for the wave of emotions that hit me when we walked onto the hallowed grounds of Robb Elementary School. Just a quick refresher – 2 months ago, to the day that we arrived, Salvador Ramos crashed a truck into a culvert and ran into Robb Elementary School. There, he took the lives of twenty-one innocent people, including 2 teachers and 19 precious children.

 Their names are:

  • Makenna Lee Elrod
  • Layla Salazar
  • Maranda Mathis
  • Nevaeh Bravo
  • Jose Manuel Flores Jr.
  • Xavier Lopez
  • Tess Marie Mata
  • Rojelio Torres
  • Eliahna “Ellie” Amyah Garcia
  • Eliahna A. Torres
  • Annabell Guadalupe Rodriguez
  • Jackie Cazares
  • Uziyah Garcia
  • Jayce Carmelo Luevanos
  • Maite Yuleana Rodriguez
  • Jailah Nicole Silguero
  • Irma Garcia
  • Eva Mireles
  • Amerie Jo Garza
  • Alexandria “Lexi” Aniyah Rubio
  • Alithia Ramirez

My reason for being here?

I was asked to serve Border Patrol Families in the Uvalde and Del Rio sectors. These men and women are some of my favorite people on the planet. Having been at multiple Border Patrol Stations across the Southern Border, I’ve seen the men and women in green serve immigrants, communities, and difficult situations with humanity, grace, and decency. As a result, I was thrilled to answer the call and help create a way to serve these heroes and their families.

While here, I was deeply moved by the thousands of reminders and remembrances of these teachers and children murdered in such an evil, senseless manner. I found the city to be in a daze and the whole town seemed to be clouded in suspicion, anger, and fear. No, I’m not catastrophizing the challenges. The raw emotions are so tangible that I can feel them on my skin. From the schools to the parks and rec department. From the police to the churches. From Border Patrol to food servers, this city is a powder keg awaiting another eruption. Again – not any exaggeration is involved.

I spoke with a city worker who said, “Pastor, we are exhausted, tired and frustrated.” A pastor said, “we don’t really know what else to do.” A Border Patrol agent said, “Chuck, I spent two straight weeks at the school with angry, grieving families. I am coming apart at the seams.” That is just a sampling. To try and state the devastation thrown upon this little Bordertown is impossible to do with the written word.

So, where do we go from here? Here are the next five steps in trying to serve the people in Uvalde, and the Customs and Border Patrol families.

  1. Host an event for Uvalde school families on Friday, August 5. We will provide gift cards, school supplies, backpacks, food, an Amazon store filled with household needs, baby needs, food, and supplies, a water park for the kids, a bbq meal, pizzas for each family, live music, a lot of love, tons of prayer, and the love of Christ. All at zero expense to the people, churches, schools, etc.
  2. Host an event for the Uvalde and DelRio sectors of Customs and Border Patrol families with all of the same on Saturday, August 6. All without asking for handouts, taxing the locals, burdening the schools, or disturbing the already stressed law enforcement community.
  3. Set up a 5-year strategy to serve the families of Uvalde by helping serve the faith community, providing quarterly events like the ones in August, and helping bring hope to this hurting community with ministry, service, love, and resources. Not because they can’t, but because they are great people that will need help far beyond an event or two. One of the significant challenges in the American church is that we follow the same news cycle as the rest of the world. These folks in Uvalde deserve more than a news cycle and certainly more than one more photo opp or media opinion.
  4. Create a backpack ministry that mimics the 400-plus backpacks prepared at Sugar Hill Church and delivered to local schools for the four local schools in Uvalde…each Friday, every school week. This is a blue-collar town – my kind of people – and if a mom and dad can receive a little help and the local school counselors are the heroes, that’s a big win!
  5. Provide quarterly gatherings with live music, meaningful, encouraging messages, emotional support, and hopefully a way to provide additional mental health support. Finding a way to provide what we provide through ClearPath Counseling in Georgia, here in Uvalde would be a huge task and an equally huge win. Pastor Ozzie, who runs a first responder ministry and was on the scene the day of the shooting, stated that “every single family in Uvalde is part of a victim.”

It’s not free. It’s not sexy. It’s not simple. It’s the Gospel.

I’m headed back to Atlanta later today, and I’ll let you know more as our plans are finalized.
In the meantime, thank you for your prayers! For those of you that have already provided monetary support, thank you! For those of you that are interested, please send me an email HERE.

Have to go – I’m Exhausted, Chuck.

4forFRIDAY with Chuck Allen

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4forFRIDAY with AChuckAllen.com July 22, 2022

ONE
A REALLY GOOD BOOK: The Quest: Discover a Way to Enjoy the Second Half of Life
FIND IT HERE

Not many books make me pause a rethink so much as The Quest has. I encourage you to jump in whole-heartedly if you are more than 50 years of age. Here is the promo from Amazon: When America became a nation, only one in five people lived to age seventy. Now more than four out of five do. The average life expectancy in America is currently around eighty years—and increasing. This expansion begs the question, what are we to do with a second half of life that could last forty or more years? The additional time makes it inevitable that somewhere between age thirty-five and sixty, many of us will find ourselves at the cusp of a massive (and possibly catastrophic) transition. A decade ago, Randy Elrod created a live experience (a rite of passage) called The Quest for people age 35 and over. Since then, he has guided Quest experiences in New Mexico and Tennessee with participants from all walks of life. While there is nothing like attending The Quest in person, the hope is that this book will become a well-worn guide map for one’s journey into second life.

–AMAZON

TWO
A FREE AFTERNOON TO COOL DOWN AND ENJOY A BIT OF NATURE ON THE HOOCH
FIND IT HERE and HERE

My son-in-law and I fished the stretrch of the Chattahoochee River from McGinnis Ferry Rd to Abbotts Bridge Rd and it took us about 4 1/2 hours. The input at McGinnis Ferry is just east of Peachtree Industrial (see link on left) and the out ramp is just east of Peachtree industrial odd Abbott’s Bridge Rd (see link on right). If you aren’t fishing it, it should be about 3 1/2 hours. You need a life jacket as there are some spots that reach 6-8 feet, but most of it is 2-4 feet, with a few shallows to stop and eat a bite. We caught 12 nice Trout, but saw several folks just floating. The best part is that it costs you nothing! Enjoy!

–Chuck Allen

THREE
An Affordable, Awesome Set of Bluetooth Headphones from SONY
FIND IT HERE

I bought these during PrimeDays for just $64.99. I have had Beats, and I have had Bose, but these are equal to either and at the price, I think they might be the best I’ve had for walking, calls, distraction free work, etc. Easy set up, USB-C charging and plenty of battery for the entire day, plus some more.

–Chuck Allen

FOUR
An Action Packed TV Series from FX:
THE OLD MAN
FIND IT HERE

The first 10 minutes made me wonder why so many people has suggested that I might like The Old Man, but then the action kicked in. Jeff Bridges, a retired ex CIA man is being hunted and the twists and turns are really exciting. If violence isn’t your thing, avoid this one. If you don’t mind a few folks getting shot and beat up, then you’ll love it!

–Chuck Allen

GO IN PEACE, Chuck

I Might Be Wrong, But I Doubt It

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Welcome to a new weekly offering entitled,
“I Might Be Wrong, But I Doubt It.”
It’s pretty simple. Every Thursday, I would like you to join me in a common sense discussion, and I’d love to hear from you as you tolerate my assumptions and studies that range from politics to faith, psychology to sports, and much more. Thanks for coming on board!

Now that I am considered in many places as a Sr. Adult (oh dear Lord), I have found that you can say almost anything and people just roll their eyes at you. As a result, I am highly motivated to say them! I went to a store the other day and was asked if “do you qualify for our senior discount?” My answer seemed polite enough, “how much is said discount?” And immediately, the eyes rolled. Her answer was relatively brief, with a dash of angst mixed with southern sweet tea kindness, “10% suga.” Are you kidding me? On a $28 purchase, I admitted to being 62 years of age and was happy to save that $2.80. And then, the gut punch, “Suga, you have to be 65 to receive the senior discount, I just thought you might be there.” Well, bless her heart. I’ll be back in three years, Suga.

Having gotten that off my chest, here are a few things that I am confident in.
I might be wrong about them, but I doubt it.

  1. PICK YOUR POISON – BUT THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A “NEWS SHOW”

    In a recent Gallup Poll, the following was no shock:
    -36% of the U.S. have a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in mass media.
    -68% of Democrats, 31% of independents, and 11% of Republicans trust the media.
    -Democrats’ and Independents’ trust is down five points since 2020, and the GOP’s flat.

    These aren’t exactly shocking, but what is shocking is that the singular reason for this shift is that the business model for these outlets is designed to capture like-minded viewers and feed them what they want to hear. It is NOT to share the news. It would seem to me that if there were a new model that was designed to share the news, minus the biased commentary, people would actually watch and support that service. But then, I doubt it. We seem to enjoy getting all exacerbated about what the far left or far right have to think, as opposed to thinking for ourselves. I might be wrong, but I doubt it. The cure – STOP WATCHING BIASED-BASED COMMENTARY THAT ONLY BOILS YOU TO THE POINT OF ANGST, ANGER, and FEAR! Don’t take the bait!
  2. AMERICA DOESN’T TRUST HER LEADERS

    In a recent Washington Post article (not exactly a right-leaning outlet), their data shows that about two-thirds of adults, “including nearly identical shares in both parties,” said most people seeking elected office at all levels “do so to serve their own personal interests.” That data was reported by Pew Research. The article continues by saying that “the public has much more confidence in career federal employees than political appointees, but that is declining. The 52 percent confidence rating in career feds dropped nine points since 2018. That’s still significantly higher than the 39 percent rating for appointees.”

    I might be wrong, but I feel strongly that we need more than the standardized two-party system. We somehow seem to continue being directed toward leaders (and I use that term liberally) who represent the 15% margins on the right or the left. I know folks that are on those fringes, and most of them are obsessed with their news outlet of choice. But let’s face it, most of us are somewhere in the other 70% of the middle. We have left ourselves in a continually binary thought process that causes us to elect people with sketchy character, but somewhat favorable platforms when we should have the ability to elect leaders we trust. Trust is about at least two things – character and competency. We have women and men that have both, but as long as we sustain and tolerate a two-party, media-sizzling system, these folks are locked out. I might be wrong, but I doubt it!
  3. MOST OF AMERICA IS TIRED OF CHURCH, AND I DO NOT BLAME THEM

    In 1937, says Gallup, when they first measured formal membership in houses of worship, some 70% of Americans had formal church membership, and that measure remained steady for the next 60 years until it began a steady decline in 1998. In 2020, formal membership in houses of worship stood at 49%. Yikes! I would argue that in our post-COVID reality that the 49% number is low! Even prior to COVID, the church was in a steep decline and I would offer the following three reasons which just touch the surface of the problem:

    1. The church tried to copy the mainstream entertainment industry in its style of worship. They did so without understanding that Bride of Jesus was not another concert venue. The old adage that “what you reach them with, you keep them with” has never been more true. For the vast majority of churches attempting to mimic their Saturday night concert-going crowd, they just couldn’t pull it off!

    The church was designed to help people, of all colors, races, religions, backgrounds, identifications, pronouns, and political affiliations know God and discover their purpose in this life. The job wasn’t to be the coolest, hippest place in town. It wasn’t even designed to be the biggest church in town. The church that Jesus launched was to have the biggest heart in town.

    2. If you have the truth, speak it in love! Stop trying to scream down to folks that need hope. Stop, talk with them and encourage them. But by all means, stop screaming out all the ways in which they are wrong. Love folks, especially folks that seem to be most unlovely. Sounds so easy, doesn’t it? And yet, I know it is not. But the church must stop being known for all that it dislikes or even hates. The church must become known for Jesus and the cause, way, and life of Jesus – Period! When we act and react like Jesus, it will not be a result of which church or denomination we attend, but rather, that we attend church because of Jesus, not the music, preacher, or facility, or cool factor.

    3. Jesus cared about serving people and introducing them to the Kingdom of God. Both/And. Jesus taught us to love one another, with no condition. Jesus taught us to serve one another, with no condition. Jesus taught us to pray for one another, with no condition. Do you see the pattern? No condition. When Jesus says that the world will know us Christians by how we love each other, we should not be surprised when they yawn and roll over for a bit longer rather than joining in the worship in which our lives do not match up.

    I might be wrong on these, but I doubt it. What do you think?
    Please reply to THIS EMAIL and join my conversation.

Go in Peace, Chuck