Achuckallen

Instigating Better

God and Country

The Burden of Blight

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The Burden of Blight by A-ChuckAllen

When humans exist in an elongated period of sorrow, loss, tragedy, or poverty, they can fall into a state known as human blight. It’s that place where hope seems to have been gone forever and hurt seems to have taken up residence in the human heart.

Human Blight is what I experienced on the Abacos Islands last week. I arrived into Nassau Thursday and immediately hopped in the back of a Piper Cub and flown into Marsh Harbor. Marsh Harbor is truly a disaster zone, but it was nothing compared to what I saw on Man-O-War Cay or Hopetown. These are just two of the complete disasters in the Abacos Islands.

What I saw would crush any person’s heart. What was an oasis of beauty and what was once quaint little beach towns, untouched by the rapid westernization and chain hotels and restaurants, is quite literally destroyed. Nothing is left that is green. Every leaf and every tree – gone. Every colorful hamlet – gone. Most every boat sunken, capsized, tossed into parts, or picked up and carried miles inland. While flying about 300 feet over the islands on the way back to Nassau, I spotted boats that had been picked up by winds or by storm surge and placed entirely miles inland in the middle of a chicken farm.

The natural disaster left in the wake of Dorian is overwhelming. The task to clean up and rebuild seems impossible. There is more debris than the islands can burn or bury. Every home is either destroyed or already covered in mold. Every resource is down. No running water, very little electricity, and then comes what I believe to be the worst disaster of all. The catastrophe of human blight.

People are destroyed under the enormous loss and chaos created by the sustained 185 miles per hour winds and island swamping water surge. What didn’t blow away, has been washed away. To add insult to injury, there is very little mass coordination regarding the relief efforts, and of course, there are the sin-filled and evil people that are seeking to profit from these folks’ misery and lack of resources. I wouldn’t consider myself an angry or violent man, but some folks need to have their hind parts beaten because of their insensitivity and wicked ways. And just to put the rotten cherry on top of the spoiled whipped cream, these tiny ports are under stress to manage duty on the incoming relief supplies in container ships. Small ports used to handling wholesale goods to mom and pop shops are trying their best to adjust to the new demands…and not terribly well, quite yet.

I honestly could talk for hours about the problems, and the pictures do no justice to the damage as you can see in most pictures the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean just beyond them. So what are we regular, American folk to do? Here are what I believe to be the best avenues to help, considering that it might take three years to restore these gorgeous islands.

The burden I feel for these folks is more than I can carry and more than our church can carry alone. I’ve been so blessed to have become a part of a vast network of organizations and people that can help.

  1. PRAY! Pray for these poor folks. And yes, I mean sick as in economically, spiritually, and emotionally. The only way that these gracious people recover is by the hand of God and the sweat of God’s People!
  1. Start with rebuilding and restoring the churches. Most of the small churches on the islands were completely demolished. Start with the easiest to restore and get them rebuilt, dried in, mold-free, and operating. You cannot imagine the importance of the local churches and their pastors on the islands. The church is the center of hope, food, restoration, recreation, and health. These churches aren’t worried about how big they grow, but how they love their people – Great concept, right? One church, like the church I pastor, could rebuild and sweep debris away from the local church and set up extraordinary temporary structures in one week! Sugar Hill Church will start with one and restore as many as possible! Please, join us!
  2. Restore the homes of the local pastors. Many of these folks have had to relocate to shelters. If this were the American church, I’d say, restore them last, but the people of Abaco see their pastors differently. These leaders are more than pastors. They are the connection of God to a tiny part of the world, filled with the similar strife that we Americans deal with, minus the affluence. Sugar Hill Church will start with the pastor’s home of our first church and continue to restore as many as possible. Will you and your church consider helping us?
  3. Restore dignity and hope into the lives of the Bahamian people, Bahamian-Haitian people, and Haitian migrants, both legal and illegal. Yep! You heard that right. The Bahamas has a much smaller immigration challenge, but a challenge for sure. They also have a race problem. All three of the people groups I mentioned have great need, and none of them are immune from to blight of hopelessness. As a supporter of the Prime Minister and the government of the Bahamas, I want to support and aid their rebuilding agenda…but not at the loss of human dignity and human rights of the Haitian people. Sugar Hill Church will help rebuild homes and start providing help for any people. We aren’t that big, but human dignity requires very little money. It does require a great deal of empathy and compassion. Will you and your church consider helping us?

I know this may feel cold, as this short agenda seems focused on rebuilding things, but friends, this is about restoring hope, health, and order found in the love of Christ Jesus and the power of the Divine God of all Creation working through His people and His church. We do not have much time to wait and get structured. I’m building a website that can update people on how they can travel to help, pray to help and give to help. I’ll also pass along ongoing work with a few heroic organizations that have been on the ground from day one. One such group, led by a superhero, Austin Holmes, has already restored the structure and dried in six churches. And every one of those churches held worship gathering s last week (more to come). As soon as the site is live, I’ll connect you guys.

More to Come – Go in Peace,

A-Chuck

The Sermon Not Preached Sunday.

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The Sermon Not Preached Sunday 9/29 by AChuckAllen

It was a perfectly beautiful Sunday, if it were the middle of July. Ninety degrees and a heat index adding another 10 degrees made for a challenging morning for an outside Worship Gathering. That’s why this sermon wasn’t taught. So, here you go…The sermon not preached on Sunday!

Can you imagine what it’s like to be blind? I mean, what if you couldn’t see anything? What if you couldn’t even imagine what the world’s most beautiful beach looked like? Or what if you had never seen a sunset as the purple turns to orange and the orange fades to pink on a beautiful summer evening? What if you felt like you offered nothing to society? That you were considered a problem rather than a person?

What if, like the character in our story today, you had to panhandle, you begged for your sustenance and survival? Having to sit there every day in the hot sun and call out to people walking down the street, people you can’t even see, who might be mocking you even as they drop something in your cup.

So it was with a man by the name of Bartimaeus. Every day on the side of the road, sweaty and grimy with the nasty dust kicked up in his face, and the stinking animals…well, let’s not go there today..

Let’s try to walk alongside Jesus as we see Him through the eyes of Witnesses. In Mark’s account today from the New Testament writer of Mark 10:46-52.

Mark 10:46-52

[46] Then they reached Jericho, and as Jesus and his disciples left town, a large crowd followed him. A blind beggar named Bartimaeus (son of Timaeus) was sitting beside the road. [47] When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus of Nazareth was nearby, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” [48] “Be quiet!” many of the people yelled at him. But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” [49] When Jesus heard him, he stopped and said, “Tell him to come here.” So they called the blind man. “Cheer up,” they said. “Come on, he’s calling you!” [50] Bartimaeus threw aside his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus. [51] “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked. “My Rabbi,” the blind man said, “I want to see!” [52] And Jesus said to him, “Go, for your faith has healed you.” Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus down the road.

I wonder, as he awakened that morning, if Bartimaeus thought there to be anything unusual about this day? I doubt it. It likely dawned like any other day; he was likely awakened by the early-morning noise of the city of Jericho.

Bartimaeus clutched his ever-present coat around himself and struggled to his feet. His crude living quarters provided him shelter and little else. With matted hair and unshaven face, this blind beggar began to make his way into town.

Most of those who did see him diverted their attention away from him quickly. It is difficult for the sighted to fathom the handicap of blindness; it is difficult for us to fathom what grinding poverty must be like. He lived a life of surviving on charity, on people’s leftovers. He experienced little joy in life, little success, little peace. His daily goal was survival.

And so he sat. Passover was coming, and the crowds in the streets would be larger—maybe this would be a more profitable day than most!

Meanwhile, a crowd had gathered around Jesus. Jericho was only about 15 miles away from Jerusalem, and the main road ran right through town. Jesus was on His way to the Passover; and so, people gathered around and listened to his teaching on the trip.

If Vice-President Pence were walking through Sugar Hill, a lot of folks would come out! So the streets would be lined with people. And maybe, just maybe, this would be a red-letter day for a beggar like Bartimaeus!

Anticipation was heavy in the air as the crowd began to enter the city of Jericho. The mood was festive; people were hopeful that they were in the beginning stages of ushering in God’s long-awaited Messiah, the political deliverer who’d get them out of this bondage to the Romans.

They say that when a person loses one of their senses, others compensate to the degree that they are able. His sense of hearing then being keenly developed, Bartimaeus could tell that something had caused a huge crowd.

He had to find out what all the commotion was all about, and so he cried out, asking if anyone could tell him the reason for the ruckus, and he was told: Jesus of Nazareth was coming that way!

He had heard stories about the rabbi, the miracle worker.

“How could a man do these things unless God is with him?” Many times he had thought, “If only I were in the presence of this Jesus, he could heal me too!”

He had no eyesight, but perhaps he had remarkable insight. Helen Keller said, “Better to be blind and to see with your heart, than to have two good eyes and see nothing.”

This was Bartimaeus’ moment of truth; it was act now, or forever be consigned to blindness; forever wonder what might have been; forever live with regret and pain. There come such moments of decision in this life for all of us. Moments which, looked back upon, are make-or-break moments.

He swam in the sea, drank of the deep Embraced the mystery of all he could be. This was his time!

For Bartimaeus, the opportunity was now-or-never. He didn’t allow the negativity of the crowds deter him. He didn’t worry about his handicap; he didn’t lament what he couldn’t do, rather he just did what he could. He didn’t hesitate; he began calling out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Did you catch the response of resistance from the crowd; they tried to shut him up. Why spoil the Passover celebration? “We’re on our way to the Holy City; we have no time for a blind beggar!” “Don’t bother the Master, you old beggar man!” “He’s got more important things to do than to fool with you!”

Oh the irony here!

This is the church crowd, on their way to a religious festival! These are people who are listening to Jesus’ talk about the kingdom of God! They are in the right place, listening to the right thing and they completely miss the point!

Sunday morning doesn’t matter a whole lot if what we do when we leave this place doesn’t reflect the truth that we have met with Jesus, the Son of the Living God!

There were people who were with Jesus, listening and taking it all in, in the right place, if you will, but when it came to helping out a blind man, they told him to shut up. They failed to seize a golden opportunity that smacked them right in the face. Does that represent what the church does sometimes? They were so interested in listening and so woefully short when it came to obeying. They told the blind man that Jesus wouldn’t have time for him.

But that’s where they were wrong, dead wrong. Jesus was far more concerned with the hurting and the needy than His schedule or His fame.

Bartimaeus just cried out all the more, “Jesus, Son of David, hey, have mercy on me!” When the cry reached Jesus’ ears, it froze Him in His tracks. That phrase, “Son of David”, had significant overtones; this is the first time we read that anyone had publicly referred to Jesus as such. He heard a plaintive cry and a prophetic salute at the same time! Jesus knew who was crying out for Him and why.

And so Jesus, on His way to becoming the Savior of the world, stops to become the servant of a blind beggar!

The fickle crowd had been saying, “Shut up!” Now, their refrain changes, as they say, effectively, “Cheer up!”

There was a real reason to cheer up, to take courage, for Someone was here Who could make a real difference! Now the crowd said, “Get up!” The Master was calling, and when Jesus calls, we better not stay where we are. Up to his feet he leapt, and following as best he could the sound of the voice, he made his way to Jesus. Tossing aside his old coat he made his way to Jesus. Bartimaeus responds to the call of Jesus.

“What do you want?” Jesus asked. In Bartimaeus He saw true faith. God responds to faith! And He asks Bartimaeus, “what do you want?” He asked Bartimaeus to articulate the words of faith, words that acknowledge why the blind man had called for Jesus in the first place: “Teacher, I want to see!” And Jesus granted His request!

Think of it: total darkness to 20/20 vision in a millisecond! And just think – the very first thing that blind man saw was the face of Jesus! He once was blind, but now he sees!

But the story doesn’t end here. Bartimaeus “began following Jesus on the road.” He never went back and grabbed the old coat. When Jesus changes us, we don’t need the old things anymore! Just imagine the things that Bartimaeus would see just a few short days later, as this gentle Healer was scourged and mocked and then crucified.

The faith that caused Bartimaeus to call out “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” was a faith that sustained this man, having been delivered by the mercy for which he cried, through the most trying of times, a faith that was bolstered by the event of the resurrection!

And there, lying on the ground by the Jericho roadside, is an old coat, no longer wanted or needed by a man whose life has been radically transformed by Jesus, now a memorial of the fact that, when Jesus changes a life, we don’t need the old stuff anymore!

Are you ready to lay down your old coat and let Jesus, the same Jesus that stopped for Bartimaeus stop here in Sugar Hill and offer you healing, forgiving mercies?

Peace by Yours, ACHUCK

The Christian and Impeachment

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The Christian and Impeachment by A-Chuck Allen

I realize that the hate mail might flow from both sides of the aisle after reading today’s article, but here goes. Let me start by saying, I am in no possible way endorsing any candidate by writing this article.

This effort to impeach the President seems like another multi-million-dollar burn rate hunt that seems, from all apparent speculation to be poor partisan leadership that’s running wild at best and fool-filled hatred at worst. That’s not a good rock or a hard place to be.

I’ve been vocal on this BLOG to point out what I see as presidential errors and foolishness, but let’s face it…the country elected him, and he is our Commander in Chief. I’ve also praised him for opening more doors for the faith community to serve in areas previously off-limits to churches and faith-based non-profits. As best that I can tell, President Trump may have opened more faith based doors than any president in our history.

But dang it, he makes it so hard to love him and at times, even like him. I do indeed praise him for the efforts that have allowed me (first hand) to play a small role in the Southern Border Crisis and lending resources and aid to The Bahamas. For that I am grateful. For the judges that have been appointed, I’m grateful for that.

Now, after the Mueller Report seemed to be much laborious reading about nothing, we are opening official impeachment hearings. Yep, with tongue entirely in cheek, that’ll surely help the country!

I detest President Trump’s horrific description of women, caught on tape with Billy Bush. I daily want someone to close his Twitter account. I do not like or admire his language, especially when my Lord’s name is taken in vain. But are we really to believe that dragging the country through more hate-filled, hate-speech, petty bickering is going to lift our country to it’s highest decorum in decency and kindness? Not a chance.

You might have read this far and want to firebomb my car, but give it another paragraph before bailing out.

Let the man serve his four years and if you don’t like him as the POTUS, elect somebody else! Stop finding every possible way to derail and sabotage our country by attempting to undermine his administration. There are good people serving in so many offices that spend more time dodging hateful barbs thrown their way than doing their job.

You might be saying, “great Chuck, but as a Follower of Jesus, what should I do?”

  1. Don’t get sucked into the partisan, binary hate-speech and innuendo.
  2. Stop joining the arguments on either side. Start offering to serve in one of the many ways that you could help and make a difference instead of loading up with pundit popularism about the latest “he-said-she-said-they -said” gossip and half-truth. At best, don’t speak at all unless you are better educated than the casual viewer of CNN, MSNBC, FOX News or any other pundit rants.
  3. Stop assuming that someone – anyone on the “other side of the aisle” is wrong in every way. There are great people in both camps and we do them a disservice to lump them all into the same basket.
  4. Please stop the mindless arguments on social media that seem to be more hateful as the days go by.
  5. If you think someone offers a better future economically, in the appointments of faith-friendly judges, and in allowing the faith community go to work beside governmental friends, then defeat Mr. Trump in November 2020.
  6. Please stop expecting the pulpit to become a politically supportive cowbell, calling in all of the chips to make a point about politics and not Jesus. I’ll stick to my guns. If we were to elect God’s person to lead this proud land, it most likely woudn’t be anybody in the running! But if we were to put Jesus in the right priority in our life, the rest is a forgone conclusion.
  7. PRAY without ceasing. Pray for wisdom from on high for the Trump family. Pray for his cabinet. Pray for wisdom on the other side of the aisle and pray for ways that you can impact your community without the argumentative process of offensive, angry pundit talk.
  8. Serve people in need and watch how the Lord will elevate your voice and your potential to make a difference in the lives of real people with real problems. Jesus was Waterford crystal clear on this: “If you want to be great, you must become a servant.”

I’m no longer able to watch the political trash on any network, but I do pray every single day for Mr. Trump, his family, his pastor, Paula White and for the Democratic leaders, especially those running for the highest office in our land. All of Washington needs our prayers and according to God, “The effective prayer of righteous people avail much.” So pray!

Support whoever you wish, but do so because you have a deep conviction in what is right and just and holy. You might have to look really deeply into your soul. If you seek the Lord in all of your ways, He will use you in the effort to serve people in need and vote with conviction…regardless of who you vote for.

As Chuck Colson (a man who knows a few things about impeachment) said,  “Politics is nothing but an expression of culture. It is not enough to win elections, for political power alone cannot change how people live or change their values. It is essential to change hearts and minds as well. And that starts, not in Washington, but with our neighbors.”

Go in Peace,
AChuck

DORIAN and the BAHAMAS

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Dorian and the Bahamas by A-Chuck Allen

Where to start? Oh my stars! Hurricane Dorian came to the Bahamas and camped out on the little island of Freeport. On the east side of this tropical island, the best word to describe what I saw was DEVASTATION! There isn’t much that either wind or water hasn’t ruined on this place where sunshine and cruise ships connect affluent travelers to the clear aqua waters of the Caribbean.

It was hot and breezy when we arrived, and it didn’t take long to see that Dorian had left a calling card of trees snapped off like twigs and buildings destroyed by either the fierce winds or the water.

There isn’t enough fresh water here yet. The municipal water system is slowly catching up, but it’s nowhere near potable. Thank God for Convoy of Hope and Paula White Ministries. These folks have done a massive work already and eighteen-wheelers, filled with fresh water from Convoy of Hope are on their way. Paula White’s Chief of Staff, Todd Lamphere is a pretty amazing guy. He is like the hub that keeps the resources and the ministry work on track. Jensen Franklin’s ministry has jumped in and is providing huge support for the people here. One of my favorite groups, (of all time) is Operation Barbecue Relief. These guys, lead by a former Green Beret, with a prosthetic leg, is all in. Last year, Operation Barbecue Relief provided more than 1.2 million HOT meals following disasters and humanitarian crises. I’ve gotten to know these guys, through our work on the Southern Border and they are the real deal. They have committed more than 24,000 meals, each day. They are starting today with 5,000 meals and ramping up to 24,000 by Tuesday September 17.

I’ve seen people in triage units (thank you Samaritan’s Purse). I’ve seen people whose homes were literally washed away while they clung to trees, as the winds whipped and the water rose. But what I’ve really seen is the resilience of these fine people. It is fascinating. They aren’t looking for someone to come give them out of this mess. They want people to know that, with a little help, they can rebuild the Bahamas into an even better land.

Yes, I’ve seen some good people, doing some good work. Yes, I am proud of Sugar Hill Church for their sacrificial work. I am honored to be a small part of a process that is in full force, doing good work. But I am really, truly, encouraged at the faith community that has stepped in without regard to denominations and orthodoxy, and simply done good work for the Kingdom of God. My faith in our people and the people of the Bahamas is that we can indeed do more and do better, together. Between the sacrificial giving of God’s people, the willingness to go and serve people that could never repay you and the graciousness of a people that have just literally had their lives turned out to sea, my faith in our Creator is greater than ever.

His desire for His children to serve side by side,with no concern about who gets the credit, is being played out with the many faith focused partners here in the Bahamas.

Please join us. The needs are great and the people are more than worth it!

Go In Peace,
A-Chuck

More from the Southern Border

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More from the Southern Border by A-Chuck Allen

I am writing this articled from the El Paso Airport. The President is flying in and while I respect the office, POTUS is messing up my airspace and departure time!

I spent a few hours in Juarez, Mexico yesterday. I walked across the bridge from El Paso to Juarez and within five steps realized why people from Mexico and the Northern Triangle of Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras try anything to get into the United States. I visited a few shelters and saw what is in store for the folks that are awaiting their NTA (Notice to Attend). The NTA is a good indicator of their qualification to claim asylum in the States. Like him, hate him, or just cannot take the tweets, this administration has opened doors for faith communities to step in and help more than any administration than I have been aware of in my short 59 years on this planet.

As folks say, the proof is in the pudding. And here is the latest from the Southern Border of these great United States of America:

  • The guy in the picture above is Chief Clay Thomas of the El Paso Border Station #1. He’s a 25 year veteran of the Border Patrol. I’ve seen this guy interact with the Border Agents and Migrant families. I have tangibly felt the character, competence and commitment he brings to the job. I want to vote for him! This dude is all that is right with America. He loves baseball, he’s a family man, he’s a straight shooter and he’s the right man for what we need on the border! He’d make a great President, but then he’d have to take a demotion from his role. Here’s to you, Clay!
  • The administration’s MPP (Migrant Protection Protocol) is working. The threatened tariffs have forced the Mexican government to create a very nice shelter that can house some three-thousand people that have expedited notices to appear to plead their case for asylum. I visited that shelter on Tuesday while in Juarez, Mexico. I saw the food that they were being served by Mexican soldiers and it looked great. According to the folks in the shelter, “it was really good.” The people in the shelter are comfortable, safe and well cared for. They can only be there for two weeks before they either have their NTA or need to seek shelter elsewhere on the Mexican side of the border. That’s where the breakdown occurs. But there are faith groups, churches and NGO’s (non-governmental organizations) that are trying their best, but they need a lot of help. They need food, clothings, necessities and they need on-mission churches (stateside) to come to their little spot in this world and help make their stay productive (as in training them in real-world skills), comfortable (as in air conditioning, clean water, food, diapers, beds and generators), and meaningful (as in showing them the love of the Divine). Many of these folks are already returning to their home countries and the Mexican Department of Immigration (IOM) is delivering these folks as far as they can (Guatemala). Many will await their NTA, and many will be placed on US soil and discover a new community and the experience of living in the greatest country on the planet. It’s not ideal yet, but it is a far greater situation than just a few short weeks ago.
  • Families are only separated when they are proven to not be a family at all, the parent is a know felon with proven criminal activity, or the child/parent has a viral sickness, and that is temporary. To continue that line of political positioning is unfounded and irresponsible. But we can help by assisting the families that are placed on US soil and our friends at Care Portal are preparing a Border database that will allow families in the States (connected to churches) temporarily “adopt” these folks and meet their needs as they get acclimated to a new way of life. This is a joint effort with Care Portal, Operation Border Blessing, Sugar Hill Church and the United States Health and Human Services in Washington. I have found that all of these parties are committed to discovering long-tern solutions. When people claim that the church cannot work side by side with our governmental agencies, that’s just a lie. They are working with us. I’ve been on multiple telephone and zoom video calls putting this in place. They are no different than me and you. They just want us to offer some gratitude for what they do and help them to succeed.
  • The city of El Paso is in a state of shock and grief following the shootings last Saturday. After spending a few hours with victims at University Hospital, I stopped by “ground Zero (Walmart) and there were still hundreds of people there with flowers, candles and objects that, in some way, were conveying their deep sorrow. It was reverent and respectful. As you looked over the hill into the parking lot, it was startling to see the remaining cars of the victims parked in what feels and smells like a place where death resides.
  • My time of prayer and grief counseling included a family of three survivors. A daddy that had attempted to hide his wife and nine-year old daughter in a small office when the madman chased them down and shot all three. The dad is still in ICU and is touch and go. The wife had additional surgery and the little girl is still healing from her wounded thigh. This dad did what daddy’s are supposed to do…protect his family. The family is from Chihuahua, Mexico, some four hours from this Walmart. They had come to visit family in Juarez and shop a bit at Walmart and then head back to Chihuahua. Now, they face months of hospital recovery and rehab. My assurance to them was that the CHURCH would step up and make certain that they would be cared for. While I was with them, Pastor Paula White called and assured them with the same comfort and prayed with us all. More details on how you can help with that next week.
  • I was able to visit two of the Border Stations in the El Paso Region, agaion and I am happy to report that the numbers are still higher than the old normal, but are manageable to yje new normal, and the Border Patrol have done a great job. While at the centers, the agents displayed some of the biometric tests, document proofs and DNA rapid results. Not only did it amaze me, it shows the degree of commitment that while there is still so much to do, our Border Agents are doing a great job. Did I mention that I’d vote for Chief Clay Thomas in a heartbeat?

I’ll share more about how we can all help next week, but for now, please pray for El Paso. They are reeling from the fear, the new normal and the fact that their typically safe West Texas town has been thrust into the national spotlight in the worst possible way.

There is so much to do and I am working with many in preparing a more comprehensive serve strategy that can assist Migrant Families, Border Patrol Families and all involved. In the meantime, please pray for this dear family. They are in need of our financial assistance to continue remaining together through this trial. The doctors have prepared them that they will need to stay in El Paso for at least 7 months. That’s a lot of meals, housing and expenses for a small Mexican family. If you would like to help this family, please email me – chuck@achuckallen.com

One other encouraging word is that my good friend, Todd Lamphere has coordinated the efforts of the National Association of Christian Counselors to provide the spiritual, emotional and familial counseling and grief recovery counseling for any of the families that have been involved in this crisis, including the first responders.

Finally, I want to thank Sugar Hill Church! You folks are the most generous, gracious people ever! You have shared your pastor and your gifts with Migrant families, Border Patrol Officers, families in the midst of horrific grief and I am so grateful. I love you, Sugar Hill Church!

More to Come,
AChuck

The Hatred of Mass Shootings

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The Hatred of Mass Shootings by AChuckAllen

It seems so incredibly terrible that we now have to think of an active shooter at every place that large groups gather. I am beyond greived that this is the new normal in America. This evil could happen anywhere in our country.

There is no explaining how an individual can be so overcome by evil that they might actually load a magazine and empty it’s contents into the bodies of unarmed, innocent people. I understand that many of these evil perpetrators are mentally ill, but even in that state, it requires an evil presence that extends beyond the typical barbarian bigotry that resides in their souless person.

My heart breaks for the families in El Paso and Dayton. My heart still breaks for the familes at Sandy Hook, Charleston and Columbine. I am not here to ask for more stringent laws for guns, although I must ask, “why does any civilian need an assault rifle with extra large magazines filled with enough amunition to reel off multiple deaths in a few seconds?”

I am appealing to the churches and the people that attend them to rise up in a radical force of graciousness, kindness and service to our neighbors! I am asking each of you that read this article to start where you are and offer a graciousness to every person that your life crosses paths with. I am asking you use what you have and extend grace to the extent that it changes the narrative from what is wrong in our society to what is great about walking in the peace, power and presence of Jesus, the Son of the Living God! I am asking each of you to do what you can, and create an attitude of servanthood, that causes you to act more like Jesus and serve others as His story of the Good Samaritan describes.

I greatly appreciated the wise words of Dr. Jim Denison in the wake of these needless killings – “While society should obviously take all effective measures to protect itself, here’s my biblical point: Jesus can change any life he touches. He can heal any trauma. He can redeem any crisis. The God who turned a murdering Pharisee into a missionary of grace can transform anyone. The more secularized our culture becomes, the more evangelistic our churches must become. The more people during a crisis ridicule our prayers, the more they need our prayers. The more traumatized and victimized our society, the more vital our compassion.

As I write this article, I am on the way to El Paso to help minister to first responders and families that have been scarred forever by the evil hatred deployed by a madman intent on breaking our will and thus allowing evil to win.

I beg you, do not allow hate to win! Don’t allow the wild-eyed, bigoted haters infect you with their vile evil. Do not let the fear of hate-filled evildoers rob you of your peace! Do not give in to bigotry and to those who spew it from their mouths! Don’t buy the lies that good and godly people are extinct! To give in is to join these wicked, cowardly people in their desire to rid our world of people created in the image of God.

I plead with you to not join the ranks of “us versus them” in your conversations. Please don’t join the likes of talk show pundits on the right or left side of the aisle. To do is to grant the wish of every evil shooter that has ever walked the face of this planet. This isn’t about Republicans, Democrats, Independants or politics. This the result of sin and hate-filled hearts. Yes, politics and policy are part of the discussion, but we must cease the rediculous finger pointing and blame game.

The only way to defeat hate is to overwhelm it with love. Like many of you, I enjoy a good ol rip roaring dress down of whoever “the other side is.” But friend, we cannot afford to only see solutions in others! We can no longer cast blame to whoever or whatever is the “other side.” We can no longer fall prey to the ratings demons that clammer for our attention as we nod our heads as though the shtick they play is the gospel truth. We must have an answer within us, before the problem comes to our door. That solution has been clearly described in the four gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. In short, it is a world striving to live more like Christ and walking away from the bait cast before us as though we were being fished for, only to be weighed, fileted and displayed as co-conspiritors in Satan’s grand game of evil.

For the first time in my ministry, I received a threat that disturbed me. I feared for my family, my church and my community. But hear me! I will not be detoured from the high calling to love one another and neither should you. It is in that faith-filled commitment that we will regain the sanity of this run amuck evil.

I cannot adequately write how desperately I long for you to stand firm on the foundation of Jesus and proclaim in your words, actions, attitudes and convictions, that He was right when He walked on this earth and He is still right. We are to love one another. We are to love white people, brown people, black people and all people. We are to love the immigrant, the migrant, the Muslim, the Jew, the Athiest, and the Hindu. We are to love gay people and straight people, the transgender and the redneck. We are to love the rich, the impoverished, the single mom, the addict, the widow, the orphan and the hardliner. We are to love each other. Not just those we agree with, but love others…period!

If you are sick of this evil, stop blaming congress, the administration, the gun, the educational system, or the government! Take a deep and sincere look at your own heart and ask where bigotry, hate, anger, pettiness or unconfessed sin might remain in your heart. Confess that before the God of all Creation and receive His forgiveness…and then open up your heart and hands to love people into a radical, life-altering relationship with His Son.

For those of you that know me, you know that I can be sarcastic, quick tempered and completely biased. I am asking you to hold me accountable to a higher standard! I am part of the problem and I desire to part of the solution. Will you join me in taking the high road when everything is screaming to take a bite of justice on your own? Will you join me in seeking to take the lowest possible position and serve others in the model of Jesus, instead of demanding more rights? Will you lay down your pitchfork long enough to allow the voice of reason, found in a daily walk with God to shock you into the trust that God can and will deal with evil, if we will simply trust Him more and enough?

One last thought, for those of you that might say, “Chuck, that’s just preacher-talk.” Will you try the way of Christ before you jump to earthly assumptions? I think you know what assuming does to us.

Choose Peace Today,
AChuck

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