Blog Archive

Nov 2020 fresh thoughts on the parable of the talents

“Now you are older, what do you think the purpose of life is?” this was the question my friend was asked on their birthday recently. That seemed a good question – it got me thinking. What would my answer be? (if I was asked) What is a simple answer? (if there is one) I thought […]

Listen to sermons held at Holy Trinity Church in Devonport by David Allis Sunday Sermon by David Allis 25-Aug-2019 Sunday Talk by David Allis 23-Jun-2019    

These thoughts were prompted by comments & discussion with some friends about the concept of “Leaving a Legacy” …  and some of the thinking seemed to be about leaving a legacy for our children. So these are my thoughts about the concept of Christians leaving a legacy. We are all reasonably healthy, wealthy and educated […]

Is Christianity Good News for Animals? A great podcast about a theology of animals (including human animals), reflections on how we treat animals etc From Nomad podcasts   Is Christianity Good News for Animals? (N142)

What is a Life Worth? What price would we pay to save a life? I’ve been pondering this question lately.*  I was especially stirred to see a TV News report on the tragic death of 2 Aid workers in Sudan, and the risk that a NZ Aid worker there was facing, as they sought to […]

I was asked today “Are you a red letter christian?” The context for this was a Facebook ‘discussion’ (an oxymoron?) about the Israel Folou tweets and the traditional conservative view of same-sex relationships. As part of this discussion I had said “The religious hypocrisy I see Jesus attacking is the religious leaders who place heavy […]

Hero The flickering of fluro lights cast shadows on white walls. Clean. Sterile. Safe. Through heavy eyelids, and fuzzy consciousness, Sam struggled to understand where he was lying. A morgue? A hospital? Alive? Dead? One way to find out – Sam tried to move his hand – it felt tight, heavy, trapped – but it […]

I talked to a community group (comprising older successful people) recently about Effective Altruism, adopting a village, and personal commitment to making the world a better place. Following the talk, two questions/comments stood out. Person A, who was invited to thank me for the talk, pointed out the personal challenge of giving 50% of our […]

At a New York Social Enterprise event called the Feast I had the privilege of hearing Matthew Bishop, author of Philanthrocapitalism which is about the “head and the heart coming together” in a new model of capitalism. We should use the present financial crisis to build something worthwhile, said Matthew, and shared with us that more will be explored in […]

In a previous article, I discussed some of the problems with hell – that is, some problems with the traditional Christian view of hell being a place of permanent conscious punishment for those who haven’t been saved while alive on earth. This traditional view typically relies on four theses: Punishment – the purpose of hell […]

Hell is potentially a hot topic, and I approach it with some fear & trepidation. Yet it is an incredibly important topic, as, in it’s typically accepted form, Christians anticipate that many (possibly the majority) of people who have ever lived will spend eternity suffering there. Surely the expected permanent destination for so many people […]

A few weeks ago, I raised the question in this email “”what are the Biblical essentials for a church? As part of figuring out what these biblical essentials are, I suggested considering 3 levels Biblical essentials (you must have these to have a ‘church’, & they all have sound biblical basis) Very important things (but […]

Here are 3 quick things …. FYI-IMHO (for your info – in my humble opinion) 1. I’m now an ex-Apostolic ex-minister. We joined the Apo church in 1985 & I was ordained in 1996 – so the Apostolic Movement has been part of our lives for a long time. I’ve always believed that we shouldn’t […]

Thanks for the encouraging feedback regarding my last email … particularly 1. my now being an ex-Apostolic, ex-minister & 2. the challenge to love the poor this Christmas FYI – here is some of the feedback (with a couple of comments from me in pink) 1. Re ‘EX’ – speaking as an ex-Baptist, ‘ex’ is […]

Here is the 3rd ‘Act’ in the discussion (debate) about preaching which has been appearing in the NZ Baptist magazine. Act 1 was a shortened version of my article ‘The Problem With Preaching’ which was published in the July magazine. Act 2 was 3 responses from Baptist lecturers, plus a few critical letters in the […]

“Where is it? If a new thing is happening, why can’t we see it? If these new models or wineskins of church are so great, why aren’t they strong and visible now?”  A friend involved in leadership of a ‘normal’ church regularly throws these questions at me. Other leaders raise the same issue in the form […]

An excerpt from “Reframing Paul” by Mark Strom Following on the theme of the ‘Problem of Preaching’, & my article on preaching in July’s NZ Baptist, here is an excerpt from the book “Reframing Paul” by Mark Strom.  Mark is now the principal of BCNZ (Bible College of NZ) here in Auckland.  His book “Reframing Paul” (IVP, 2000) and […]

By David Allis   September 2006 edited by NZ Baptist editor Preaching is a big problem. After many years of preaching, listening to sermons, studying the scriptures, participating in church leadership and studying the Western church (in New Zealand), I’m becoming convinced that preaching often does more harm than good. Preaching as it is practised in modern […]

Shorter version from NZ Baptist Magazine David Allis, a member of the Apostolic Church movement, was a guest speaker at last November’s Baptist Assembly in Nelson. He was invited to argue the affirmative in a moot entitled, The Church Has Had its Day. The following is an edited version of a paper he made available […]

I’ve been reflecting on some things over the past couple of months relating to poverty in the world … every day 35,000 people die from starvation – they will die today, and another 35,000 will die tomorrow, & so on … until some people do something about it ….. A few days before Christmas (last […]

This is part of a House2House email recently – a short excerpt to consider. If you want to receive the House2House email regularly, go to http://www.house2house.net It raises a good question … “how many people were ‘saved’ & added to our church last year?” & a good follow-on question is more personal … “How many people […]

Greetings.I want to wish you a blessed Christmas …. before I ‘switch off’ until sometime in the New Year. I have more great articles ready to circulate next year, & also ideas for more articles I might write (God & time willing) … on things like “Do Christians need to gather together?” “The problem of […]

By David Allis We’ve been asked to debate the moot ‘The church has had its day”, or maybe in product terms the debate would be that the church is ‘past it’s best by date’. With a little bit of thought, it’s obvious that at a higher level, this moot can never be true. The universal […]

This article is a compilation of ideas from others & myself. (2 Oct 2006) In this article, the term “church” refers to the people of God, who are joined together as His body, with Christ as the head. It doesn’t refer to a building, denomination, physical location or weekly meeting. So when you read “church,” think of […]

By David Allis This article is a compilation of ideas from others & myself. In this article, the term “church” refers to the people of God, who are joined together as His body, with Christ as the head. It doesn’t refer to a building, denomination, physical location or weekly meeting. So when you read “church,” think of […]

By David Allis david@edgenet.org.nz Preaching is a big problem. After many years of preaching, listening to sermons, studying the scriptures, participating in ‘church’ leadership & studying the western church (in New Zealand), I’m becoming convinced that preaching often does more harm than good. Preaching, as it is practiced in modern churches, is extra-biblical, a poor form […]

Giving By David Allis – written 1999, revised 11/4/06 1. Giving Is An Act of Worship Both stewardship & giving are acts of worship. – God is owner of all things. When we give a gift to ministry, it is one way to thank Him for His love & generosity shown to us. – We […]

By David Allis One of the common questions raised regarding house churches relates to their involvement in ‘mission’.  What can a (little) house church do, that is effective in its local community and for overseas mission?  This question often comes from the perspective that larger churches have more resources, and hence can be more effective in ‘mission’ […]

By David Allis   david@edgenet.org.nz I have always thought that ‘good’ and ‘best’ were very close together.  When I was at school, on the occasions that I got a ‘good’ result in a test or exam, it was usually very close to the ‘best’ result. In a strange paradox, I can now see situations where ‘good’ is not […]

By David Allis This week I went to a churches Risk Management seminar sponsored by EIG-Ansvar (a great insurance company).  It was a good seminar, covering areas of risk such as buildings – insurance, replacement, alarms, alarm monitoring, fire protection, fire evacuation plans etc equipment – how to stop your flash sound system & projector getting stolen, insurance etc public liability insurance […]