Achuckallen

Instigating Better

Life and Happiness

Troop Zero

by

TROOP ZERO by AChuckAllen

Jenny and I watched an Amazon Original the other night and I thought it was a must watch for America, especially during this political season of open name calling and deep-state poop that every aisle is slinging. It’s an odd movie with one of the most powerful message that I’ve seen in a long time.

Hear me on this, the language can be a bit salty and the characters are not what many folks would hold up as a model, but I fell in love with the misfit kids and adults of this fictional, tiny town in rural Georgia.

I learned three things from this simple movie.

1. I Greatly Dislike Mean People. I’m serious. I know that mean people seem to occupy our airwaves of audio and video content, but I want to call for a cease-fire on the hate talk and cruel spirited talk that is considered a norm today. Stop it! Nothing can suck the life-giving oxygen out of a room more than hate talk and mean spirited attitudes.

Proverbs 15:1-2
[1] A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare. [2] The tongue of the wise makes knowledge appealing, but the mouth of a fool belches out foolishness. …

2. Unique is Awesome. I mean it. This group of misfit kids were being raised by misfit adults that had totally given up on their future. I’m now sixty years old and I’ve got dreams of what I want to conquer and create, like never before. These are the things that wake me up every morning. Somewhere along the way, we must continue to give kids an opportunity to celebrate their weirdness. I am an odd bird. I think counter culturally and I am drawn to folks that think counter culturally. America was birthed on the unique concept that all people have great value. Friends, we must stop telling people, with our words and attitudes that they are somehow less valued than we are. If you claim to be a Follower of Jesus, walk, talk and live with a graciousness that comes from being a Child of the King!

“The only humility that is really ours is not that which we try to show before God in prayer, but that which we carry with us in our daily conduct.” Andrew Murray

“True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” ― C.S. Lewis

3. True, Unscripted Authenticity is Powerful. I watched this fictional little girl, known as a bed wetter be belittled and picked apart. The back story was that her mother had passed away and her daddy was ill equipped, in his own grief to be a healthy daddy. I understood that more than most folks. But still, this little girl and her band of equally authentic friends took that emotional trigger of anxiety and in it, discovered authentic community and joy. If only our messed up, self-centered, mean-spirited adult world could simply discover joy in who we are and in all that God made us to be!

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”
2 Corinthians 8:9

“But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”
James 4:6

As I wrap this up, I realize that this movie would never take America by storm or win any accolades on a red carpet. It’s not a “Christian film,” or filled with stars. It’s just a movie that moved me to write about these three life lessons.

Please don’t read between these lines and make the assumption that I have arrived in these three areas, but God knows that I desire to do so. May we become a people that want to make America great by the people of God becoming more like He asks and calls us to be.

Go in Peace,
AChuck

KeyBoard Warriors

by

My Pop used to have a good word for folks with a poor mouth. He’d say, “If you haven’t got anything good to say, it’s your fault.” Pop was a wise man, with a guarded tongue.

I’ve noticed how critical and calloused the world has become, haven’t you? It’s as though we have the willpower of a cockroach when it comes to the critique of others. I remember the first time that I heard the terms, “armchair quarterback and backseat driver.” The implication of those phrases are that it is pretty stinking easy to sit in the cheap seats and critique the players on the field. It’s even easier to try and make the right calls from a distance. But hey, we live in a world where keyboards are the weapon of choice.

I’ve been in full time ministry, public speaking and the pastorate long enough to know that the only way to not be criticized is to never do anything, say anything or write anything. I’ve also experienced enough criticism to know that there are times when it is helpful and beneficial for everyone involved.

I’m one of those folks that has never professed to being one of the extraordinarily bright people. If you’ve been reading my posts over the past few years, you already know that. I am however, someone that is making an effort to better the lives of as many people as possible through the work and ministry of Sugar Hill Church, podcasts, teaching, coaching, writing, raising funds and serving wherever possible. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a knucklehead at times. I’m self-centered, sinful and occasionally angry. And yet, the Lord continues to use the foolish, thank the Lord.

I’ve determined that although the world of social media is filled with praise for folks that have a quick wit and a sharp response, that’s not what I choose to do with my keyboard. And, like me, you have a choice of what to do with yours, as well.

I served with a fella, years ago that is really bright, witty and always on the hunt for a post or article to attack. Bless his heart, he’s never enjoyed the freeing feeling of offering up an original thought, but he can slam the door on somebody’s writing and quotes like a champ. I’ll bet that many of you know a person like that. On behalf of all the authors and creators out there, I’m so sorry you have to hear from these small minded, gutless and critical-spirited bullies that only peek out from behind their keyboards when in the friendly confines of like minded people.

Here is my recommendation for you, as you move forward with your creation. Drop these critical spirited folks from your list and block them on your social media platforms. Or you could do the more difficult thing and tolerate their often wicked critique until you are so jaded that you laugh out loud as you read their bully replies and critiques. Come on folks! We are better than that, right?

It’s easy to offer blistering critique from a thousand miles. I doubt that many of these folks would say the same things to you face to face. Keyboard Warriors are like that. Keep on creating and keep efforting to instigate better in this messed up world. Taylor Swift was right. “Haters gonna hate.”

I’m reminded of Dr. Kent Keith’s Paradoxical Commandments. Especially number ten, “Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway.”

Thanks for Reading,
AChuck

Pride First then Fall

by

Pride First – Then the Fall by AChuckAllen

I’m a political junkie. I enjoy the foolishness of the primary season, the debates and the politics of wooing voters with promises and intentions…regardless of the reality attached to them.

But I must admit, this political season is so wonky that I cannot seem to find firm and solid ground from which to park my passion and influence. I am a conservative in my theology, economy and fundemental beliefs regarding the United States Constitution.

Having said that, I cannot help but wonder what our Founding Fathers would think about our modern political process? From Russian intervention to hanging chads, we are a people in search of a crisis, a challenge and a controversy.

Having had three plus years of President Trump’s bravado and bluster and now with the eye buldging socialist retoric of Senator Sanders, I am left with one thought – STOP IT!

I truly believe that if there were to be one candidate that could speak with a voice of reason and speak to the masses with a firm, yet gracious presence, that candidate could carry the day.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m thrilled with our economy. I’m thrilled with the faith community being turned loosed to serve more than ever before. I love the judges that are pro-life and pro-family. I am thrilled with a renewed sense of national pride and the strength of our military. As a conservative, I love all of those things and have been enjoying them over the past few years.

But I must wonder if there is anyone left that is both electable and firm, yet gracious in their life and leadership? Maybe not. My guess is that we live in a society that will never again allow any person, of any party, race, color, faith or liniage to lead this great land without attacking every decision they have ever made, second guessing every policy that is put in place, or destroy their family for the sake of political expediancy.

Maybe the problem isn’t so much with the men and women that place themselves in the race, but rather with us? Maybe we have grown so jaded about anybody that is elevated into leadership, that we automatically charge the hill with pitchforks and flamethrowers. Maybe we enjoy the hunt of destroying another person and their life and leadership so much that we cannot stop anymore than we can stop watching a train wreck.

It’s worth considering this mythical place where we might could rally behind a leader and agree to disagree on the minors, while struggling to serve the greater good on the majors. I fear that we have long past the stage of allowing anybody to help settle what are majors and minors. So, in the meantime, we simply scream, shout, bicker, harass and utter hateful things about those that are at least brave enough to enter the arena.

The Scriptures give us a glimpse into all of our futures and the results of how we go about our politics, “Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18) It’s been proven true in my life over six decades and will be true long after I am gone. If we could somehow muster up enough humility to recognize our desperate need for Heaven sent wisdom, we might turn the corner and discover the blessings of the Divine once again. But then, it’s easier to keep screaming at each other. Pride first, and then the fall.

“I’m Chuck Allen and I approved these wandering thoughts.”

Seriously,
AChuck

Ash Wednesday and Protestants

by

Ash Wednesday and Protestants by AChuckAllen

I grew up in some pretty strict, legalistic, Southern Baptist churches. As I remember them, they were really great for me. As a kid, I remember Bible drills, Sunday School, Vacation Bible School and virtually nothing about the preaching. As a result, I had no idea about Ash Wednesday or Lent. I remember seeing people with ”dirt on their face,” but hadn’t a clue as to why. I never knew the story behind it and never had a clue about Lent. I’d never been to a Good Friday Service until I preached at my first in 2008. I can’t believe what all I had missed out on.

Before all my Baptist acquaintances get fired up and start emailing me regarding my orthodoxy, hang in there for a few minutes and lay that flame-thrower down. Why on earth would I wish to leave the testimony of repentance of sin solely in the hands of my Catholic and Episcopal friends? Why would I not want to engage with fellow Followers of Jesus in the worshipful reminder of my sinful humanity, the never ending love of God and reverent repetance?

Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent. The biblical witness of this ”ash” is found in the opening epic of the human story: “you are dust and to dust, you shall return.” In the tenth century, the use of ashes was employed in visibly reminding worshippers of their mortality as they began their Lenten “watch by the cross” concluding on Resurrection Sunday, the Day we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus the Lord. It is the way of the Cross. “Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death?” (Romans 6:3).

New life with Jesus involves a daily surrendering of the old life. The first step of this spiritual journey to the Cross of Jesus invites us to acknowledge our sinful humanity by the imposition of ashes.

Traditionally, the ashes for the service are placed on each participant in the form of the Cross and the formative Scripture is repeated each time: “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.” The imposition of ashes is preceded by a call to confession and followed by a corporate prayer of confession, calling to mind the words of Job, “I repent in dust and ashes.”

Like every worshipful gathering, here at Sugar Hill Church, Ash Wednesday is about the heart. Everything that matters is a matter of the heart. So, as an act of repentance and remembrance, we will gather on this special evening of reverent worship as we remember and repent, both personally and corporately and begin our journey to the Cross over the next 40 days of Lent.

Rather than asking you to abstain from something through the 40-days of Lent, we are inviting you into four, ten-day periods of focused, guided prayer.

Sometimes it is healthy to call into question our orthodoxy, or even our lack of orthodoxy as we seek to follow the only way to peace, through Jesus the Lord.

Maybe, just maybe, in the midst of trying to be a hip, happening, relative, hipster church, it might be really healthy to step back into the deep wonder of God’s rich and enduring love for us and remember how unworthy we are…And how grateful we should be. I think I need a bit more ash on my forehead. How about you?

Go in Peace, AChuck

These Ten Minutes Will Change Your Life

by

These Ten Minutes Will Change Your Life by AChuckAllen

I’ve read more leadership development and spiritual development books than I can count. I’ll continue to do so, as reading is one of the best ways to constantly sharpen your life, love and leadership.

After all of those books, I’ve determined that you can radically improve your life, if you will consistently do these three things, over just ten minutes, each day.

1. Gratitude! I’ve said it at least one thousand times, but gratitude will radically change your life. Don’t just think what you are grateful for, write it down. Use your phone, a notebook or my Power Routines Journal…but whatever you do, insert the intentional effort to be grateful for at least two things, every single day! The science and the Scriptures agree that gratitude, when intentionally added to your daily routine will put you in a far better place to succeed wildly. This takes three minutes, max!

2. Pray Outloud! That’s right, talk to the Divine, vocally. There is nothing that will jumpstart or get your prayer life started, like talking to God outloud. I struggled with keeping my eyes closed and trying to pray “correctly” to the degree that I was actually frustrated with prayer. When I started keeping my eyes open, my head up and speaking out loud, my prayer life took on an entire different trajectory. Stop worrying about if you are “praying correctly” and just talk out loud. God knows what’s going on and nothing you can do will wow Him anyway. So just talk. This can be as short as three minutes!

3. HUSH! That’s right. Just get quiet and get still for three minutes and listen or feel for what the Divine wants to speak into your life. Prayer has always been designed by your Creator to be a discussion, not a monologue. When we stop in a brief moment of quietude and solitude, we will all learn how God speaks truth, wisdom, peace, power and direction into our lives. I’ve never seen a bush burning, that wasn’t consumed, but I am given daily peace, power and direction when I stop and ask the Divine for each of those things. He pushes me, prods me, prompts me, speaks to me and gives me nudges within my soul. He will do the same for you when you ask Him to. I don’t know anybody that couldn’t benefit from a greater sense of peace, power and direction in their life! You can do this in three minutes!

I get it. You’re saying, “Chuck, you can’t promise that will happen. Yes, yes I can. God has promised to be with you, to comfort you, to give you wisdom and give you peace. I am living proof of what life can look like when you don’t activate these ten minutes in your life and I’m living proof of what happens when you do. If you need a fresh start and a new and better way, get serious with these ten minutes and watch what happens. Let me know by shooting me a note at chuck@achuckallen.com.

Go In Peace,
AChuck

If I Were Forty Again…u

by

If I Were Forty Again by AChuckAllen

You know what? We get older every single day. That’s the end of this lesson. But! Every single day, you should get wiser. I have definitely gotten wiser over the past twenty years and here are four lessons that I would love to pass on to my forty year-old self. They might even help you.

  • Life really is hard, but it can be so much fun when you stop caring about what everybody else thinks about you and your alleged state of income. Take time to be very grateful for the billions of things that you could enjoy. Don’t spend another second chasing something for the nanosecond of pleasure keeping up with your neighbor and their “stuff.” You will always have folks that are smarter, wealthier, better looking, or seem happier than you are. Celebrate them and celebrate you! Life is so much fun when you live in the contentment of what you have! Before the Apostle Paul uttered the words, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” he said that he “had learned to be content with having much or having little.” I cannot even count the times that I have missed a full and rewarding moment by burning foolish energy on foolish thoughts regarding what someone else thought of me. If you live by people’s acceptance, you’ll die by their rejection.
  • Life is so much fun when you don’t make a big deal about everything that doesn’t go your way. I wasted a lot of happiness getting frustrated or angry over the smallest things. I have learned that there are very few things that are worth getting bent out of shape about. If you take the news too seriously, you’ll forget that it is their job to get you all twitter-pated (my dad’s term). I’d love to have a five dollar bill for every time that I got exasperated over someone that did something ridiculous while driving. I’ll never forget driving from Snellville, GA to Lilburn, GA in 1976. An older dude in a Subaru pulled a little further into the road than he might should have and I hit the horn and added my middle finger for emphasis. Not cool! That guy sat at the same table I did, twelve years later as I was newly entering the ministry and he was the chairman of the personnel team – OUCH! Calm down. You will really benefit from this. James was right, “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”

  • Life is full of hope and full of possibility. I spent far too many days fighting on the edge of depression and too many times surrendering to it. I realize that many folks struggle with mental illness, but my challenge wasn’t about mental illness, it was fighting the endless expectations that I placed on myself. One might think that it is a good thing to set high expectations and goals for your life, and they would be correct. Where they might be incorrect is that life punches you in the gut sometimes, and you need that, sometimes. Every time that I couldn’t achieve some other level of expectation, I would crash and burn. Not from some external factor, but from the internal war between my ears. Who knew, that all along life’s journeys, I could actually choose to be at peace with the Divine and be at peace with my own self? Jeremiah reaffirms this as he penned these words, “God has plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”
  • Life might change your plans, but roll with it. A friend of mine is fond of saying, “blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.” I have always welcomed change, but not so well when “change has been done to me.” I’ve learned this lesson well. Every thing, big or small, that happens in your life is there to sharpen and better you for your future. Stop learning that and your life will come off the rails. Learn that early and you’ll begin to enjoy a far better life! Let’s face it…”for everything there is a season.”

    • As I say at the end of every sermon, Go In Peace!

    –AChuck

    %d bloggers like this: