Posts

CREATIVE EASTER CELEBRATION

Image
  Easter is not over. Of course, it is never over because we celebrate the resurrection every Sunday. But musically it is not over for this year either. Deo Cantamus of Minnesota will present a choral response to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ tomorrow, April 11. “The Cross, the Grave, the Skies” will include selections from Bach, Handel, Mozart, Rheinberger, and Vaughn Williams, as well as hymn arrangements by Dan Forrest and Marianne Forman. It begins at 4:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon at the Fourth Baptist Church of Plymouth, Minnesota. Richard Joseph is the new Executive Director of Deo Cantamus. Artistic Directors Josh Bauder and Raymond Graybar will be conducting the chorus for this concert. Al Hawkins continues as the director for the “Let the Children Praise” concerts of Deo Cantamus. “The Cross, the Grave, the Skies” is a concert which should not be missed. General admission and student tickets will be available at the door. The address for Fourth Baptist ...
Post a Comment
Read more

CREATIVE REUNION: WHAT A GREAT IDEA!

Image
  A trumpet trio called The Anchormen traveled for Baptist Bible College of Pennsylvania from 1967-1970. The name reflected the theme verse of the college, “Holding Fast the Faithful Word.” The trio included Chirs Hindal, Roger Kilian, and Fred Whitman, with accompanist Paul Plew. Fast forward to 2026. The Anchormen planned a cruise reunion to the Caribbean Islands, the Bahamas, and the Dominican Republic. Chirs had been a pastor and the head of Gospel Literature. Roger served in church music first in Ohio and then at Fourth Baptist Church of Plymouth, Minnesota. Fred became a missionary to Italy with BMM and still lives there. Paul served as head of the music department of the Master’s University. After the cruise they returned to Fort Myers, Florida. The Daniel’s Road Baptist Church, where Chirs had been pastor and was still serving part-time, invited them to provide special music at their Missions Conference. Arrangements of their trumpet trio songs from the 60s had been r...
Post a Comment
Read more

CREATIVE FUTURE FAMILY TREE

Image
  Today I want to share with you a plan for preparing a future family tree. The one I am working on I have called “Prayers for the Future: Allen Family” 2026-2126. The idea comes from one of my books called Dare To Walk On Water: Treasuring God. This DARE is one of more than eighty in the book. Each DARE provides a practical and action-oriented way in which you can put into practice Biblical truth about God Almighty. Here is the DARE from chapter 41, The God Who Is Enough. DARE to commit the future of your family to the God who is Enough. Write out a 100 year “hope” for your children and later descendants. Plan the godly future you would like to have them experience. Ask God to give your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren godly spouses. Ask Him to be preparing right now the parents of those who will one day marry your descendants so that those parents will raise the future spouses in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Outline the education you would like you...
Post a Comment
Read more

CREATIVE CHILDREN'S BOOK

Image
  Katie Allen writes: After 9 years of writing, sketching, repainting, editing… I am SO EXCITED to say we have (self) published our first children’s book!!! Backstory: About 9 years ago, in a small and cozy townhouse, it was 20 below zero and I desperately wanted to be gardening in the sunshine. Seed catalogs were coming in, and all I could do was plan and wait… and then I started sketching veggie dragons. And where would said dragons grow? In a castle! Who would tend them? A shy but brave girl who has Vitiligo. Why Vitiligo? Because a friend of mine was struggling with it and I think it’s absolutely beautiful. I can’t write. But Chris sure does! So here we are! This is our first book in a series. You can find it here: https://shop.ingramspark.com/b/084...  
Post a Comment
Read more

CREATIVE COOPERATION

Image
  After publishing “Who Killed the Bible College?” I heard from several individuals concerning the continued prosperity of some schools. That was great news because the success of biblical institutions of higher learning is exactly what I would like to see, and is the reason I wrote the book. One of those individuals was my friend Rick Brooks who has served with Word of Life Bible Institute for many years. It has just been announced that Word of Life has formalized a new partnership with Dallas Theological Seminary. This involves three primary components. Word of Life and DTS will become symbiotic partners across all Word of Life regions. This involves unity and continuity theologically, ministerially, and philosophically. Secondly, the two entities will provide a united framework for collaboration in biblical and theological education worldwide. And finally, it will allow regional agreements to be formed as opportunities develop. This is already underway in Brazil and Argentin...
Post a Comment
Read more

CREATIVE MUSEUM

Image
  One of the blessings of working with the Golden Agers at Fourth Baptist Church is the privilege of discovering sites here in Minnesota which I never knew about before. One of the places we visited recently was the Bible Museum in Apple Valley. Although the Museum is small and could certainly use more room, it is full of fascinating and insightful information concerning the Bible. Our host began by taking us into the art gallery. He introduced just a few of the many reproductions of famous paintings depicting scenes from the Bible. We could have spent the entire day just gazing at the ways artists have brought Bible events to life through painting. Next, we visited the Bible exhibit. A display of the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls at Qumran explained that more recent discovery. Codex from Sinai, numerous copies of the Bible from various time periods, and a model of the Gutenberg press brought the history of the Bible to life. The museum is open on weekdays from 10 to 4 ...
Post a Comment
Read more

CREATIVE SCHOLARSHIP

Image
  The germination of a scholarly book takes time. Seeds were planted during the process of writing a doctoral dissertation at Dallas Seminary in 1999. Growth came through the development of a presentation for the MacDonald Lectures at Central Baptist Seminary and the preparation of articles published by Shepherd’s Seminary, the Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal , and Gloria Deo Journal of Theology. Now the full plant has emerged in the form of a new book called My Sheep Follow Me , published by Kregel Academic. Dr. Jon Pratt explained the process in an interview with Micah Tanis on the Central Seminary Podcast Videos, episode 79, which can be viewed on You Tube. The subtitle for Dr. Pratt’s book is “A Study of Perseverance and the Threat of Antinomianism.” The book surveys New Testament teachings about sanctification. It explores what progress toward holiness looks like and reminds Christians that all those who belong to Christ, who are His sheep, will follow Him by living h...
Post a Comment
Read more