Cullen Allen

3 Powerful, 3-word Phrases

I love preparing teams for the mission field.  One of the challenges I give each team that I work with is something I call, "3 Powerful, 3-word Phrases."  I always tell people that these phrases aren't something to "use" on others, but rather something to use to challenge yourself.  These phrases may seem a little extreme, but I've often found that conditions on the mission field call for extreme preparation in order for teams to perform at an effective level.  After all, our goal is to reach people who don't know Jesus!  That goal deserves the best preparation possible.

While these 3-word phrases are great to be used on the mission field, they aren't confined to a mission context.  They can also be used to help challenge ourselves to a higher level in everyday life.  

#1 - "Deal With It" - On the mission field (and in life), things will not always go the way we want them to go.  Schedules will change and unexpected things will happen.  That's something you can guarantee.  At those moments when expectations aren't met, we must "deal with it."  It's important to maintain the best attitude possible and turn the situation into something positive.  Otherwise it destroys team morale and prevents us from accomplishing our goals to impact people's lives.  This principle is a matter of overcoming the situations that we face instead of being overcome by them.  

#2 - "Suck It Up" - I've faced some pretty crazy accommodations on the mission field such as: sleeping on the ground, a hole in the dirt for a toilet, nowhere to take a shower or sleep for 3 days straight, plus a whole lot more.  It's easy to let our emotions take over when we face these unique situations.  So if we don't quickly gain control of ourselves, our effectiveness will be greatly reduced.  That's when we need to "Suck it up" and remember that we're there for others and not for ourselves.   This principle is a matter of putting our preferences aside to pursue a higher goal.  

#3 - "I'm A Warrior" - A warrior remains tough in all situations and does whatever that need to do to win the battle their facing.  What a great way to approach the mission field and life as well!  Sometimes, however, we don't "feel" like a warrior.  That's why it's so important to confess that (with the help of Jesus Christ), "I'm a Warrior!"   I'm convinced that each of us can do more than what we think we can.  This principle is a matter of reminding ourselves that, through the power of Jesus Christ, there is nothing that I can't do!

Unshakeable - Winter Retreat 2011

 

What's On Your Mind

Download Cullen Sermon 10-20

Tweeting The Entire Bible. . .

Twitter is a growing phenomenon, and I like it just as much as anyone else.  It's a "mini-blog" that people use to connect with friends, increase their social network, follow their favorite star, advertise their business and everything in between.  One of the things I personally enjoy is tweeting key Scriptures as a means to encourage others.  But I have to admit I never thought of tweeting the entire Bible.  I just read an article that documented a worship director in the UK who plans to do just that. . .tweet the entire Bible over a period of 3 years.  That's a pretty big feat!  You can read more about it Here. 

Incredible Students at National Fine Arts

We had over 30 students go to the National Fine Arts competition in Detroit, MI this past week.  Their performance was absolutely amazing.  Click here to check out Jeff Leake's blog for all the details. 

How to Introduce a Guest Speaker. . .

Our media guy at APC, Brian Lippert, made this video that we used to introduce Greg Hubbard in our weekend services.  It's hilarious and an instant classic!  Great job Brian.

Where Is Your Focus?

Have you ever looked through someone else's glasses?  Chances are, everything was probably blurry.  Why?  The glasses were the wrong prescription for your eyes.  They caused everything you looked at to be out of focus.  Without the proper focus, your life is significantly impacted.  Hebrews 12:2 says, "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus. . . ."  Another way to say this is "Let your eyes be FOCUSED on Jesus."

Having the proper FOCUS us actually one of the keys to living in spiritual victory.  Here's fact: Whatever you focus on is what you will follow.  If focus on failure, compromise and temptation, then that's the path that you will follow. . .you will fail, compromise and give in to temptation.  That's not the kind of live anyone wants to live.  When you FOCUS on things you don't want to do (even if you're trying to avoid them), you'll find find yourself defeated, depressed and falling for the very things you're trying to stay away from.  Why?  Because you were FOCUSED on the wrong things.

The Bible never tells us to FOCUS on what we should NOT do.  That would just give more opportunity for the enemy to work in our lives.  Instead, we should FOCUS on Jesus Christ and the victory He provided for us.  Remember, whatever you FOCUS on is what you will follow.  If you really want to follow Jesus, then make Him the primary FOCUS of your life. 

To All Dads & Those Who Have Them. . .

Teenagers That Set The Standard (Kidz Kaboom Ministry)

Teenagers That Set The Standard from Cullen Allen on Vimeo.

This is a video that I recorded and edited all from my iPhone 4.  It shows our teenage workers getting ready for the last day of Kidz Kaboom by worship God and praying.  They did such an amazing job this week.  I'm so proud of them.  They truly set the standard for what God can do through young lives fully surrendered to Him!

An African Safari in Tanzania

Today we went on an African safari on our day off. The drive took about 3 hours to get there from where we were staying in Moshi. The location was a very remote area of Tanzania where the animals live in their natural habitat. On our way to the safari we saw an ostrich and a herd of zebras. I have to admit, it was very unique to see these kinds of animals outside of a caged setting. Little did I know that was just a taste of things to come. . .

On a safari of this kind, there is no guarantee that you'll see any animals at  all. It's not a "controlled" environment so you really never know what to expect. We were very fortunate because we got to see some of the most interesting animals in Africa.

Some of our team was able to see a lion from a distance walking with some of her young ones. There were many elephants (both young and adults) that we were able to view from a very close distance. We also spotted some giraffes and got within several car lengths from them. Let me just say that giraffes are pretty tall when you're in such close proximity!

There were numerous species of unique birds and I saw several bald eagles  as well. Monkeys, wild hogs and impalas (like an antelope) were among some of the other animals we discovered. We stopped for a picnic lunch at a lookout point and rested a bit before completing the 2nd half of our safari. Just the drive through the raw, untouched, African landscape was absolutely amazing. It was another reminder of the beauty of God's creation. This will definitely go down as one of those "once in a lifetime opportunities."