theamenministry

Dear Friends & Partners,

God is so good.  He keeps His promises and He loves you very much.  I want you to know about something new that we now have on the Resources page.  As of today, there are pastors, Christian workers, and others from FORTY-ONE nations who visit the AMEN website.  Many of these pastors, teachers, and believers are serving the Lord in difficult places.  One of the reasons we began to do this ministry full-time was to be able to encourage and equip those who serve the Lord.  Because of this, from time to time on the Resources page I will offer a sermon/teaching outline or a devotional for those who serve the Lord.

Am I doing this because I think my sermons are great or that I have all the answers?  Of course not!  However, as I have been blessed to teach pastors in other nations and in knowing what it is like to face a Sunday deadline for a sermon or Bible study lesson, I simply want to make these tools available for anyone that they may encourage or help.

As I stated above, this is one of the reasons why we began to serve in this ministry full-time.  Please keep in mind as you pray for us that every gift counts and they all add up to enable us to continue to serve the Lord full-time in the AMEN Ministry.  As we continue to draw closer to our November trip to Romania, we still have a need for Bibles and medicine.  Would you prayerfully consider a gift toward these needs?

Lisa and I thank God for you.  Thank you for your prayers, your encouragement, love, and support.  May the Lord bless in every way!

In Christ’s service,

Allen

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Lisa and I are still amazed that two years after we started the AMEN Ministry as our full-time ministry, there are many people who do not understand what it is we are doing.  There are still people who think we have lost our minds.  Fairhaven was a wonderful church, God blessed in many ways over the eleven years we were there, and we could have stayed longer…”BUT GOD.”

I continue to run into people around town who think that I have retired, or semi-retired.  There are those who think that we just lay around the house between mission trips.  The all-time best story comes from a friend, who for his sake, will remain unnamed.  He called me one day and said, “You will not believe what I heard today.”  He went on to tell me that he overheard a group of people talking about us and that they were discussing why we may have left Fairhaven.  He said one of the persons standing there explained, “Well, I heard that Bro. Allen left Fairhaven so he could take acting lessons.”  I am not making this up.  The only thing Lisa and I can figure out is that because Lauren and Faith were in the movie, “Courageous”, we suppose that people think that I am now, in reality, pursuing an acting career.  You gotta love it.

So, what are we doing now?  We are walking by faith, living by faith, and seeing that God keeps His promises.  We have been able to minister to ministers and their wives in a very special way.  Lisa is leading a ladies Bible study in our home.  I have been able to teach and preach in several wonderful churches and God has blessed every time.  Many people do not realize it, but it takes several months to prepare for each mission trip.  I will not bore you with all the details, but it is almost like a full-time job unto itself.  I have also been able to encourage and counsel several committees and churches that are without a pastor, or concerning other issues within the church.  This November, we have mission trips to Romania and Poland.  Already for 2015, I have been asked to help with teaching pastors in India, Nepal, Albania, South Africa, and there are other projects that have been discussed.  However, we want you to fully understand that these opportunities are only possible when God’s people stand with us.

Yes, in many ways it would be much easier to still be the pastor of a church and maybe take a couple of mission trips or so each year.  However, God has called us to this ministry full-time and that is what we will continue to do unless He leads otherwise.  Because of this, it is so vital that we continue to have people who will pray for us, encourage us, and support us in this ministry. I can literally sense when people are truly praying for us.  You have no idea what that means to us.

Also, please pray that the Lord will lead pastors to invite us for ministry opportunities.  An immediate need that we have is for the provision for Bibles and medicine for the November trip to Romania.  This usually totals around $12,000 or more.  Perhaps the Lord will lead you to help with this great opportunity.  The giving information is found elsewhere on this website.

This is just a part of what we are doing now.  It is all possible by the grace of God and the generosity of His people.  Thank you for standing with us.  May the Lord bless each and every one of you.

In Christ’s service,                                                                                                                                                                                                               Allen

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One of the cool things about this website is that it shows me the various countries where people live who visit the website.  So far, people from 32 nations on 6 continents have visited us at least once.  I am amazed and we thank God for each and every one of you.  There are many within the United States who regularly check it out, but some of the other nations represented have really overwhelmed me.

So, I just want to say, “Hello. Thank you, and, God bless!”, to our brothers and sisters in places like: India, Poland, Romania, Germany, Czech Republic, Canada, Kenya, Brazil, the Netherlands, Russia, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, Singapore, United Kingdom, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Australia, Denmark, Uganda, Italy, South Africa, Costa Rica and many more.  There are several others who have visited from nations in Africa and Asia that I will not mention because of security reasons for believers in those countries.  Please do not be offended if I did not mention your nation.  We praise God for you!

There are many blessings that come from being able to serve the Lord in various places.  One of those blessings, of course, is meeting brothers and sisters in Christ around the world.  What a reminder that the Family of God is so much bigger than our own little corner of the globe.

God has blessed us with many friends around the world.  We have gotten to know pastors, missionaries, their families, and others whom we love and pray for.  To those of you who pray for us and follow the ministry, we hope we get to meet you in person one day, but if not here, one day we will fellowship with you in Heaven!

Let me encourage you to love Jesus, walk with Jesus, live for Jesus, and serve Jesus all the days of your life.  Along with the Apostle Paul let me say, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.  My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen”  1 Cor. 16:23-24 (NKJV)  I am so glad that we’re a part of the Family of God!

In Christ,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Allen & Lisa

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If you know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, you are His disciple.  I want to encourage you and exhort you to continue to grow in the Lord.  Never be satisfied with where you are in your walk with the Lord.  Continue to desperately hunger and thirst for Him.  Walk with Him all the days of your life.  Behold Him daily, fix your eyes on Him. Spend time in fellowship with Him and in His Word.  Ask the Holy Spirit to continually transform you into the image of Jesus.  Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ all the days of your life.

As you walk with the Lord, be part of His Great Co-Mission, be part of His command to make disciples.  Share Christ everywhere you go.  Help others to grow in the Lord.  Help them to become 100% sold-out followers of Jesus Christ who, as they walk through this life, begin to look more and more like Jesus.  Encourage your pastor and other church staff to begin to disciple others, if they are not currently doing so.  Help to guard and protect their time so they can prioritize disciple-making over some of the other things that church members can keep their ministers busy with.

Jesus said, “GO, MAKE, BAPTIZE, TEACH.”  Let us, by the grace of God, joyfully fulfill this command.  Let us also remember His words:

-“I have all authority.”

-“I have commanded you.”

-“I am always with you.”

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all as you make disciples of Jesus,

Allen

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I want to ask the question again, “How are we doing when it comes to making disciples of Jesus Christ?”  As I stated before, it is much easier to plan activities and offer programs than it is to spend the time, energy, blood, sweat, and tears that it takes to pour into people’s lives and make disciples.  Also, please let me remind you again, this is not a command that was given just for those who are in vocational ministry.  The Great Commission is a command to all believers.

My hope and prayer is that those of you who read these articles will be stirred by the Holy Spirit to action.  I pray that God will give you the burden and the vision to disciple others.  Even though the command to make disciples is for every believer, I pray that pastors and other ministers in particular will begin, if you have not already, to prayerfully recruit one, two, three, or more men and begin to disciple them.  I pray that you ladies who have grown in the Lord will follow the Scriptural command of Titus 2:3-5.

Discipleship can happen in so many ways.  Ask the Lord to direct you to the people He wants you to disciple and to give you ideas on how to fulfill His command.  He will.  Look at how Jesus did it.  He trained them, He took them with Him, then He turned them loose.  Take people through the Word of God.  Ground them in the basics of the faith.  We live in a wonderful day and time in which we have so many resources to help us with this.  Of course, when it comes down to it, all you need is the Word of God itself.  Then, take the ones you disciple with you to do ministry.  Model ministry, serving, loving, etc., for them.  Then when the Holy Spirit lets you know that the time is right, turn them loose to serve the Lord and to be witnesses themselves.

One reason why many of our churches are in conflict and decline is because we are not making disciples.  Our churches are filled with immature believers who have never been discipled.  If we want to see more people come to know Christ and if we want to see stronger, healthier churches that are making a difference in this world, we need to start making disciples!

Until next time–in Christ’s service,                                                                                                                                                                                 Allen

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When we look at the daily life of Jesus, we see that He loved, prayed(worshiped), taught, healed, evangelized, served, and fellowshipped.  Is this what our life looks like?  I cannot produce these things in my life.  It is the Holy Spirit of God who has to transform me daily more and more into the image of Christ, but do I even desire these things?  Ask God to give you the desire to hunger and thirst for Him.  Ask the Holy Spirit, daily, to make you more like Jesus.  Daily, count yourself as crucified with Christ and ask the Lord Jesus to live His Resurrection Life in you and through you.  Over time, Jesus will be seen more and more in you.

As Jesus lived His daily life and lived out the seven characteristics we have discussed, we see that He lived them out with authority and by faith.  Jesus said that ALL authority has been given to Him.  What does this mean for us?  It means that you and I can live our daily lives with confidence and assurance because of who we belong to.  We live and love and pray and share His Word, and are agents of healing and evangelize and serve and fellowship in His authority.  Now that should give us confidence for everyday life!  The book of Acts states that we live and move and have our being in Him, so He has all authority and He passes on that authority and power to us. (Acts 17:28; Act 1:8)

Even Jesus lived His life by faith.  Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God.  Jesus lived His daily life and served God by faith.  When He held up a handful of fish and bread before thousands of hungry people and asked the Father to bless it and multiply it, He was living by faith.  When He stood before the open tomb of Lazarus and asked the Father to hear Him, He was asking by faith.  What are you trusting God for today?  What are you believing Him for?  What are you asking Him to do in your life, for your family, your church, or even your nation?  How big is your vision of God?  A disciple of Jesus will live in His authority and will live by faith a life that brings honor and glory to God.

Until next time–In Christ’s love,                                                                                                                                                                                      Allen

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JESUS SERVED:

Jesus said that He came, not to be served, but to serve.  In the Upper Room, the disciples argued about who would be the greatest in the Kingdom and who would have the choice positions.  Meanwhile, Jesus quietly got up, took a towel and a basin of water, and began to wash His disciples’ dirty feet.  It’s true, many times actions do speak louder than words.  In this simple, humble gesture Jesus showed the disciples that greatness is not determined by how many people serve you, but by how many people you serve.

When you serve, you are giving of yourself.  Jesus gave Himself for us when He died on the cross for our sins.  As His disciples, you and I are called by Him to die daily to self, deny ourselves, and follow Him.  We are to give ourselves to Him and to others.  Our lives are not our own.  When we serve others, we are living like Jesus and giving evidence of being His disciples.

JESUS FELLOWSHIPPED:

This one may surprise you, but as you look at the daily life of Jesus, He loved spending time with others, especially around the table.  We see this over and over again in the Gospels.  Fellowship is much more than sharing a meal, but great times of fellowship have occurred over good food.  Also, think about how many of Jesus’ parables, especially the ones that speak of the Kingdom, have as the centerpiece an invitation to a banquet.

Fellowship is the sharing of the common-life we have in Jesus.  As followers of Jesus, we are not to live in isolation, but in fellowship with one another.  Believe it or not, we really do need each other in the Body of Christ and we are to live in right relationship with the Lord and with one another.  Go back and read 1 John 1 again and see what the Lord has to say about this. Jesus wants to spend time with you.  He wants to share His Life with you and He wants His disciples to live in fellowship with one another.

Until next time may the Lord Bless,                                                                                                                                                                                 Allen

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JESUS HEALED:

We know that healing was a great part of Jesus’ ministry.  As Jesus looked over the many crowds that would follow Him, the Bible states that He was moved with compassion.  We should also meditate upon the fact that even though Jesus saw the crowd, He also always saw the individual.  What a lesson for us today.

Jesus can still heal today.  I have seen God heal instantly in answer to prayer.  Some may have a problem with this, but regardless, it is true.  Ultimately, all healing comes from God.  As followers of Jesus, you and I are to be agents of healing.  This does not mean that God will use us for the physical healing of others, although He can still do that if He so chooses.  Healing can come in many different forms.  Our words, for example, can heal or hurt others.  Do our words, actions, and ministries bring healing to others?  It’s interesting to note that in the New Testament whenever anyone needed healing, help, or hope, you never see them go to the Pharisees.  They went to Jesus.  Do people know they can come to you for healing, help, and hope through Jesus?

JESUS EVANGELIZED:

Jesus continually called people to follow Him.  He called them to choose.  In His Great Commission, when He states, “Go therefore…”, it literally means, “as you go.”  The idea is, as you go throughout your daily life, be His witness, make disciples.  As you go to the store, to school, to work, to the game, wherever, as you go realize that you are always a witness for Christ, for better or worse.  You may not be a vocational evangelist, you may not have the spiritual gift of evangelism, but all disciples of Jesus are commanded to be His witnesses.

Ask God to give you opportunities to share Jesus with others, He will.  He will also give you the boldness, the confidence, and the clarity you need to be His witness.  Sometimes we make it harder than it has to be.  A witness is simply someone who shares what they have seen, heard, and experienced.  We “witness” to others about all kinds of things that happen in our lives and about things that are important to us.  When we lead others to Christ, this is part of what it means to bear fruit.  In John 15, Jesus said that when we bear fruit, the Father is glorified and we prove to be His disciples.

Until next time,                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Allen

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As Jesus lived His daily life He loved, taught, prayed, healed, evangelized, served, and fellowshipped with others.  Let’s take a brief look at each one of these areas.

JESUS LOVED:

Jesus loved people and they knew that He loved them.  You have heard the old saying, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”  It’s an old saying because it’s so true.  I often tell young pastors, “If your people know that you really love them, and they can tell if you do or not, that’s about 90% of the ‘battle’.”  When people know that you truly love them they are much more willing to follow your leadership.  This is true in a church, a home, the workplace, and in other settings.

Let Jesus love others through you.  Jesus said that we are to love one another.  He said that others will know we are His disciples when they see our love for one another. (John 13:34-35)  Disciples of Jesus will love others.

JESUS TAUGHT:

Jesus taught others.  You may be thinking, “Well, I guess I can’t be a disciple of Jesus because I can’t teach.”  You may not be a teacher, but basically what I am saying is that Jesus continually shared the Word of God with others.  Jesus read, studied, meditated upon, memorized and shared God’s Word.  He immersed Himself in the Word of God and it naturally flowed out of His heart.  He wove God’s Word into everyday life situations.  You and I can do the same.  Are you spending time daily in the Word of God?  Jesus said that His disciples will abide in His Word. (John 8:31)  Ask the Lord to give you a hunger for His Word.

JESUS PRAYED:

Prayer was one of the great marks of Jesus’ life when He walked this earth.  It was His lifeline to His Father in Heaven.  It was a time of worship for Him.  Disciples of Jesus will be people of prayer and worship because apart from Jesus we can do nothing.(John 15:5)  If prayer was so important to Jesus, who do we think we are if we neglect what was so valued by Him?

The disciples were fascinated by the prayer life of Jesus.  They were so blessed and challenged by His praying that they asked Him to teach them to pray like Him.  I want to challenge you to study the prayer life of Jesus, especially in the Gospel of Luke.  Ask the Lord to make you a person of prayer and worship.  Ask the Lord to give you an ever-increasing love for Him and desire to spend time with Him.  Worship the Lord everyday.  May you worship Him throughout the day in your heart, out loud when you can, and in all you do, live a life that gives Him honor and glory.

Until next time,                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Allen

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How would you describe Jesus in only a few words?  It is virtually impossible.  There are so many things we can say about Him and the ways to describe Him are almost infinite.  In relation to our being like Him, the Holy Spirit transforms us into the image of Christ daily as we die to self, surrender fully to the Lordship of Christ, and as we are filled with the Holy Spirit.  It is the Holy Spirit who produces the character of Christ (the fruit of the Spirit, etc.) in us and makes us more like Jesus.

As we think about Jesus, we can say things like, “He was faithful, holy, kind, gentle, obedient to His Father’s will, etc.  All of these characteristics and so much more are to be part of who we are as we grow in Him.  But, as I asked in the last post, as you look at the daily life of Jesus and how He lived His life, what are just a few one-word descriptions that give us insight as to what it means to live as one of His disciples?  Let me offer just a few of these.

When you look at the Gospels and see how Jesus went through His everyday life, you see that on a daily basis He loved, He taught, He prayed, He healed, He evangelized, He served, and He fellowshipped.  Again, let me say, we are looking at Jesus’ daily life with a telescope, not a microscope.  Many of the other qualities you could use to describe Jesus can be placed under one of these seven areas.  I am certainly not suggesting that these are the only seven ways to describe how Jesus lived His daily life.  In the next post, I want to begin to share how this relates to us as His disciples, how these qualities can be lived out in our daily lives, and how this relates to Jesus’ command to make disciples.

In Christ’s service,                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Allen

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