As some of you know, I have a business. I never dreamed at this stage in my life I would start a business and three years later start a church. Eight years down the road and here we are. The words of my father still ring loudly in my ears, “Son, learn a trade, if you will you can go anywhere God leads you and make a living for yourself if you have to.” Very prophetic, more so than he knew. I have been in Ohio ten years, eight of those I have had my own business. The trade I learned while pastoring in Virginia Beach has now come about as the method God has used to sustain us while founding this church. Who knew? Evidently God did! I learned the trade that now is the basis of my business through the back door. That is, I started helping a businessman in the church I pastored as an attempt to keep him in church. He and his wife were the first people to be saved in the church after Joanne and I went there to pastor. God did great things in their lives. Yet, he had the tendency to be a workaholic. After missing several Sundays in a row I made a phone call. I asked if he needed any help. He indicated he did and then asked why I was inquiring. At that point I informed him that I thought if I could lighten his work load by helping him, he might be able to come to church on Sunday. The rest is history, over the next nine years I helped him off and on. As long as I worked with him he had no problem getting out to the house of God to worship. I thought I was just helping a man get established in his walk with God. God, on the other hand, was preparing me for this wonderfully difficult task of founding a church. The point is, we do not have to know everything and its purpose, as long as we have hold of the hand of He who does.
PASTOR’S NOTE
August 17, 2008
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S.H.O.W. Teens Learn to Battle
August 15, 2008“You can’t fight a good fight if you don’t know the rules” was the theme of the night Thursday for S.H.O.W. Teens. “The Word of God is our most powerful weapon” was a close second in the battle for the theme.
Using Jesus’ example of a battle with the devil in Matt. 4, S.H.O.W. Teens studied the power of the Scriptures. The Word of God demolishes strongholds, arguements and every thing that makes itself bigger than the knowledge of God. II Cor. 10:3-4. (At the end football knowledge was discussed among the guys.)
This week’s meditations are not on football. They are:
Friday-Psalm 6, Sat.-Ps. 7:1-8, Mon. Ps. 7:9-17, Tues. Ps 8, Wed Ps.9:1-10
S.H.O.W. Teens: Don’t forget to put your new journals to good use!!!
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PASTOR’S NOTE 08/10/08
August 10, 2008The Olympics kicked off this week. I have watched some of the competitions and a little of the opening ceremonies. I had some difficulty with it due to the forty billion dollars spent on building the facilities needed for the event. In addition to that, the three hundred million spent on the opening ceremony, while a large majority of China’s one and a third billion live in poverty, making only two dollars a day on average. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Olympics and I will watch as much as I can. But in this extravagant obsessed world with its over-the-top mentality, the disparity in China is too great to be appreciated. But enough of my soap box. Yet, it brings up a thought. Since mid-June we have felt like we were in our own king of olympic competition. After receiving the keys to our present church building, our congregation immediately began moving out of the old location and moving into the new one, at the same time up-dating our new facility. We targeted the first weekend in August, which was Safe House’s fifth anniversary, as the date for our Grand Celebration, a combination anniversary and grand opening. We made it! There are some things yet to be done, nevertheless we were able to invite guests in and have a wonderful time of worship and fellowship. The people of Safe House labored hard and long, of that I am pleased. But their true grit has been manifested in their spirit. They prayed and stayed faithful until God answered prayer. This is more impressive than running a marathon or power-lifting several hundred pounds. This group of once broken people lifted the load of planting a church and have run the race with patience and moved the hand of God. These are my true Olympians.
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S.H.O.W. TEENS BEGIN LECTIO DIVINA
August 9, 2008
S.H.O.W. TEENS began the study of meditating on the Word of God. Lectio Divina, a method handed down to us through the centuries, is the method being utilized. Following the example of David in Psalms, we began to learn what to meditate on: the unfailing love of God, God’s precepts, to focus on God’s decrees when we are slandered, God’s wonders, and God’s laws. We began with Psalm 1.
For a step by step guideline on how to mediatate on Scripture click here: Lectio Divina
This week’s meditation list for S.H.O.W. TEENS is :
Friday: Psalm 2, Saturday: Psalm 3, Monday: Psalm 4, Tuesday: Psalm 5, Wednesday: Psalm 6.
Next S.H.O.W. Teens meeting is Thursday August 14, 7 P.M. in the fellowship hall.
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Pastor’s Note 08/03/08
August 7, 2008Hallelujah and Wow! There are just not enough words to express the feeling around here. It does not matter if we use what I call christianese (the language of the church) or modern vernacular. Right now it is just hard to express our joy in the Lord and our awe of His great love and mercy. So much has gone on so fast and here we are. We have come so far. There is an excitement in the air and a gratefulness in our hearts. There is also a sense of destiny that has come along with this miracle. Our eyes are looking to the future. What all God has in store for this church is yet to be seen. Yet, we are confident that it is something far greater than we first supposed. This is one the things that makes living for God such a wonderful experience. So many think that once they have made a commitment to Christ they have arrived. On the contrary, you have just begun. Put in its simplest terms, coming to Christ as your Savior is an attempt to get from point A to point B, from earth to heaven, from the temporal life to eternal life. But there is much living to be done along the way. It is in that living we discover the riches of the journey. Living for God is a life of discovery. If He is truly God and if He is all He declares that He is, and I believe that He is, it is feasible that we could live our entire existance and never uncover or learn all there is to know about Him. Rather than being frustrated by that possibility, we should be overjoyed with the concept. As thrilled as we are about the riches of His grace and mercy, His love and compassion, not to mention His power and knowledge, think of it, we have just begun to understand God. Hallelujah and Wow!
Pastor’s Note is written and printed weekly by Pastor Desi Allen. Welcome and look for more!
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Looking For Safe House?
August 6, 2008If you are interested in joining us for worship this week but need directions, click here to get directions. We look forward to meeting you.
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Safe House Workers Are Incredible
August 4, 2008The tenacity and energy of S.H.O.W. is unbelievable. All have worked so hard and it really showed yesterday at our Grand Celebration. The building that was so dark and dreary with blue windows and dark paneling now is airy and inviting. There are too many updates to mention. I started typing them and ended up deleting because they were so numerous. BUT, it just goes to show that “together we can do more” is not just a motto but a fact.
Thank you, thank you, thank you Safe House workers for everything. You have accomplished an almost impossible task in just 6 weeks. Whats more, you brought friends and family that tripled our normal size and put on a Homecoming Dinner that could have fed twice as many people.
Please accept our thanks and appreciation. You are an incredible group of people that are loved very deeply.
Pastor Allen & Joanne
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Pastor Desi casts Vision for Church
August 4, 2008
In his sermon on Sunday, August 3, Pastor Desi Allen recast the vision of Safe House of Worship. According to Pastor Allen, the vision and mission of Safe House is found in Deuternomy 22:8 (TLB):
Every new house must have a guardrail around the edge of the flat rooftop to prevent anyone from falling off…
A verse given to Pastor Allen five years ago at the start of Safe House of Worship, Pastor Allen explained that what God wanted of the church was a place of safety where people can come who have been wounded and broken to find healing and where those seeking to find God can do so without fear of reproach or rejection. In other words, God desires a church that has a guardrail. Pastor Allen explained that Safe House seeks to make people the priority. According to their stated purpose, Safe House of Worship exists…
To create a safe, secure and comforting environomnet, leading to healing for the hurting and disillusioned, restoring the disengaged to a healthy relationship to God, and reaching the unchurched for God.
The message electrified the church sending them forth into a new season of ministry together.
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Safe House Makes The News!
August 4, 2008On Saturday, August 2, the Dayton Daily News ran the following article. Enjoy! Local congregation gets church free of charge
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Safe House Grand Celebration TODAY!
August 2, 2008
Welcome to the Safe House of Worship website! Today as we launch our new website, we also celebrate our fifth year anniversary as a church. On Friday, our Bishop, Brad Reynolds, with E4 Network was with us to installation service in which our Pastor, Desi Allen, was reaffirmed as the pastor of Safe House and as the new pastor within the E4 Network. On Saturday, The Rev. Canon Randall Allen, pastor of St. Andrew’s Charismatic Episcopal Church and brother of Pastor Desi Allen, was present to lead the congregation in the blessing of our new building. And today, we gather with guests, friends, and clergy to celebrate our fifth year anniversary in what we are calling our Grand Celebration, a homecoming styled service (with food and fellowship following the morning service).
We are excited about what God is doing in our midst and pray that if you live close by you will come and be a part of it as well. Our service today and every Sunday begins at 10:30 AM. Come and join us.
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