Hold it! Don't pay the ransom! I escaped!!!!

No, not really. I just took a small break that lasted a little longer than I expected. I have been working on some other writings and needed the time to stop and reflect on where this blog should go.

I started out to document the process of starting a new program at a nudist church. I wanted it to be a primer for what one could do to make a church available at every single nudist location in the USA. To that end, I have made some good suggestions, but the blog still lacks the specific instructions needed. So, in case someone out there in the fog wants to start a nudist church, here we go.

Over the next few posts, I am going to write a primer how to get one started. If there are people out there who want to know my credentials for such an undertaking, read through and decide for yourself.

First, however, some caveats.

1. Not all locations are the same. What works at this resort might not work at yours. Be prepared to adapt.

2. Not everyone is called to this ministry. Some are called in the support side. If you are called to support a person starting a new mission, you have the hardest job and the one with little recognition. I fancy there will be special dispensation in heaven, but I can't promise you that.

3. Not all locations will be open to a chapel or church. Deal with it. Move on if you are truly chosen to start a work.

4. Never, and again I say Never let Satan stop you from your appointed task, no matter how hard the going gets.

5. The only people who succeed are the ones who are willing to be bold and be seen. If this isn't you, God might have other plans for you.

6. Not every post will deal with this. I will still digress often.

Now... For the first installment.

The decision to start a community gathering of Christians should start with why we gather. First, God commands us not to forsake the assembly of believers. There is a strength in coming together and socializing. We are creatures that need each other to survive. The belief that we need to offer a place to converge and hold fast to one another in support and comfort is paramount to the Christian lifestyle.

"For where two or three are gathered, there am I also." When we assemble, we are closer to The Son than we could ever be alone. What other reason could we need? Well, how about this.

Most nudist parks are deserts of church support. A church is an assembly of believers who come together as a traditional village. The church supports its members from the cradle to the grave. In our parks and resorts today, there usually isn't anyone to be with the family members in a spiritual way when a baby is born. Or when one of the community gets married. Or when there is a death in the family.

Nudist communities are devoid of the basic support systems necessary for the human experience, that of love, pain, hurt, and sadness. The emotions of our existence can be handles outside of a church, but it is the church's job to do these things.

So, how do you proceed here? Prayer.

1. Pray that you are the person to do these things.
2. Pray for the knowledge to handle these problems as they arrive.
3. Make time for others to come in and pray with you.
4. Ask the churches around you to pray for this mission.


In all fairness, I didn't do this. I was wrong.

During this time, some of you will find you are not cut out for this. That's ok. Many aspire to this, but only few are called.

Second, education.

Some of you have the education already. Others will need to boost up your training. Here is your first assignment. Go to the dollar store or a place where you can buy a bible for a few dollars, one you will not mind writing in or if the cover gets torn, etc. Begin reading the bible from Genesis and continue until you reach Revelation. Mark every passage that deals with building a church. specially in the Old Testament, there is much about Prophets who built the temple back. These guys had the right stuff and the method. You can learn much from them.

Your training will continue for the rest of your life. Learn to enjoy it.

Third. Open a dialog with the someone who you think will be a good co-leader. This person is more important that anyone else in the process. Choose wisely. John is my co-pastor. He and I share a vision for this ministry. He is the advisor and the person who delves deeply into the matters where a descerning heart is necessary. One thing, though, this person can't be your spouse. This is nothing to do with gender, it simply has to do with the fact that if the marriage is working correctly, you and your mate are one. As such, you do not get the back and forth checks and balances.

Whatever the role the two of you develop, having a person to hold you accountable is important.
Remember, Iron sharpens Iron.

If, after all these things, you still think a church or chapel is a good thing, and your co-leader is also thinking the same thing, you are now ready to start.


Till next time.

Thought I'd Forgotten You?

No, not quite. I have been busy trying to catch up on things I have neglected recently.


There is hope for tomorrow. Hope that we will see God on His throne. Hope that we will sit at the table with Jesus for our feast when we all get to heaven. There is hope that I don't think too many people believe in now.

Our days are numbered here on earth. We live, toil, and die to this worldly abode. The good news (gospel) is that we are eternal creatures, built by God for one function, to enter heaven and live a life prepared by God.

In heaven, we will begin to live a pristine life. We will know happiness unlike we have ever seen. There will be no crying, no sorrow, and no pain.

But, what of those that don't find their way home? What about the people who deny Christ, God, and the Holy Spirit? What happens to them?

For centuries, people have been saying that God saves all of us. They offer as a platitude, "I will never worship a God who would condemn a person to hell." We have all heard that. We have all heard people accuse God of horrible things. What we never seem to hear is about the just God who has to send people who choose to denounce God to hell.

There is justice. God is a God of justice. It is only fair that a man who suffers through this world while praising and serving God get the reward promised them. A worker is worthy of his wage.

In the same light, a person who denounces God as irrelevant, unloving, or non-existent is worthy of the wage he earned. Hell is that wage.

It would not be fair for Christians to live among Christ's love and enter heaven and to allow the others the same privilege without the same commitment. It is fair they be given what they earned.

The next time you hear God being maligned in this matter, you have an obligation to point out this misconception out to whoever is spreading the untruth.

The other problem comes from the group that believes everyone goes to heaven. Some people preach that heaven is the reward for everyone. The mansions prepared are there for the taking and no one must believe to get in.

Both the Old and New Covenants bear witness against this. "No one comes to the Father except through me." "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall have everlasting life."


The world around us is trying to keep people from coming to God by so many different ways. Deception is one primary tool used by Satan to deny us of our gift from God. It is important that we sweep away the deception.

Till then...

Today Is The Day You Finally Get To Act

Okay fellas and lovely ladies,

Today, I need action from you. I want the Relationship Weekend to be a success. For this to happen, I need people willing to sign up when the time is right, people willing to announce the date and place for the event, and people coming to the event.

This is where you can be of help.

In the next few weeks, I am going to launch a website with a sign up blank for the event. I will unveil the site on the blog. All I need for you to do is to let every nudist you know and everyone who might try nudism to come to the blog and check out what we have to offer.

Next, I need you to start making plans to come yourself. Mark the weekend on your calendar, tell your boss you need that Friday off. Grab a couple or a single friend you think would benefit from this and plan on carpooling together.

If you camp, clean up the camper or tent and get it ready. If you think roughing it means no room service, call for reservations at White Tail Resort and start practicing not making the bed.


To open this discussion with others, here is the tentative weekend events

On Friday evening, after dinner, we will have an ice breaker and meet the folks time. Part of this time will be to introduce the leaders of the group and what we will talk about. Some of the time will be spent in games. All of the time will be fun.

Saturday will start at 10:00 with a session tailored each group.

11:00 will bring us back together to start interactive programs.

12:00 will bring lunch.

We will return to our sessions at 1:30 and will end around 2:30 From 2:30 until after dinner, we will have time to mingle among ourselves, go to the indoor pool, hot tub, and and enjoy the other amenities of the resort.

After dinner, we will meet again at 7 to have a great session together, where we will all meet for a time and we will have a time in our small groups.

On Sunday, we will have a meal together at Trade Winds Restaurant for lunch and finish up our time with a sendoff 1:00.

The cost to all of this? Well, that varies by your accommodations and what you spend on food. The weekend retreat's cost will be minimum. We are trying to assess the actual cost at present, but we feel it will be around $25 dollars.

The website will have all of this and more. So pray that the site is ready shortly and that the sign ups begin soon.

Relationship Weekend

As promised, I am returning to the topic of a Relationship Weekend. We will be talking about this off and on for the next few months because we now have a date and a place.

White Tail Resort in Ivor, Virginia has agreed to host our weekend. For those familiar with the resort, you know there will be lots of things to occupy your free time. They have a good restaurant and several nice rooms. An indoor pool, a game room with billards, ping pong, and a hot tub highlight the many special features. There are just too many to name.

Now, the date. Tada!!! February 5th, 6th, and 7th. Mark your calendars. Grab some vacation time. Make reservations early.

This relationship weekend is not just for married couples. This is for people who are in a relationship, looking for a relationship, or might want one later. This is about learning the biblical way to interact with your mate.

When we get a little closer, I will have a better idea of a schedule and material for the weekend.

There will probably be a small fee for the event, not counting the day fees and accommodations. For those who have been to a retreat weekend with us before will know that the fee will be small.

We probably will have a meal together in the restaurant. Please plan to be with us for that.

One topic I know we will discuss is the contract and covenant of marriage. John, the co-pastor at WTC will be heading that class.

We will have some sessions specific to each groups' needs. Married couples will have a class especially aimed at them. Relationship couples will have a class prepared for them. Singles will not want for good instruction, either. And so on.

This is going to be a great weekend. Husbands, you owe it to your wives to bring them here.

Making reservations now might not be too early.

I am leaving the comments section open as usual. If there are things you would like to see at this weekend, mention them in the comments and I will see what we can do.

till next time...

Love Our Enemies

Ever thought about loving your enemies. No, not that "I love everyone" type of love, but the kind of love that means making a difference in your enemies' lives. Jesus taught us to love our enemies. The best example is near his death.

Jesus was in the garden, praying for a reprieve from his death sentence. He knew the guards were on their way and in a few hours, he would be tortured, and later killed in a most brutal way. The first tool of his death would be the guards leading him away.

Peter, in his zeal for a physical Messiah, cuts off the ear of one of those tools.

Jesus knows these are the men who will escort him to his trials. He could easily let that man suffer for his part in His death. Instead, Jesus rebukes Peter and repairs the man's ear. He heals his enemy. He has compassion for His enemy.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I believe I would be less likely to be so kind. Loving our enemies is all about seeing them as God's children. I often fail in my quest to be a loving member of God's family. I forget that each of my enemies are my brothers and sisters.

In this time of grace, where God sent His only Begotten Son to us, it seems like such a small sacrifice for us to start learning to love our enemies. We can start to make a world vision to take small steps toward making our world a little nicer by making our enemies' world filled with love.

The first step? Find the person you think you could never love, and begin praying for that person. Ask God to give them peace and love, to bless them, and bring a life of happiness between you and your enemy.

try it for a week and let me know how it goes.

Hope and peace to all of you... Allen

Christians often spend enormous time getting ready for Christmas. We spend hours shopping and decorating. not to mention the time spent cooking and cleaning. When we compare the time we spend on Christmas tot he time we spend preparing for Easter, it pales in comparison.

Sure, we buy our kids toys and we read the Easter story. We bake a meal for the family and the festivities roll through like any other Sunday. Not that I want to diminish the importance of any family gathering, but I want to point out a few things.


First, Passover. Passover is a time celebrated as far back as Israel's captivity in Egypt. The Hebrew nation began to commemorate this special season as a time of learning and fellowship, as well as a time of bringing families closer together. Families took special notice of the grace extended to His people. And in case you haven't noticed, we have been grafted into the House of YHWH and are His people.

Shouldn't we give Passover a look?

I was an adult before I really realized that the Lord's Supper had special meaning because the Passover had special meaning. I was also an adult before I realized that celebrating the Lord's Supper should include the elements of the Passover. Why? you ask.

Well, I'll tell you. We are celebrating our own passover. Instead of passing over our first born males, we are celebrating the passing by of our own lives. The Angel of Death will not stop at our house when we are right with God. The Jews celebrate being freed from the Egyptions. We celebrate being free from sin and its grip on our lives.

Lastly, we need to stop thinking of Easter as a time of firsts, but as a time of many. The Jews celebrate Passover each year as a renewal of their faith and the reminder that their world changed in a night. It is a time when they renew their faith in a God who is capable of great works in our life.

We, too, should think of Easter as a time to renew our pledges and our beliefs. Seeing such a miracle happen in our lives can bring forward a new time of celebration and hope for the future.


I urge you to pick this year to learn as much as you can about the Easter season and to experience it as the first Century church did. The internet is full of good information about Passover and Easter. Make this Easter special. Then continue to work to make our Savior's sacrifice and important event.

until the next time...

Followers

You might notice I have added a Follower's gadget to the left of this post. I have added this benefit to the blog for the convenience of the people who like to keep up with what is happening here.

It is simple to sign up and is really painless. The one millionth customer to sign up will get a free set of steak knives, hand delivered by me. If you win, please bring your own cigarette and blindfold.

I am hoping for three, count them, three bloggers in the next two or three years. Let's see if I am right.

Oh, and did I mention that you get to put a picture of yourself on the page under followers? Pretty cool, huh!

Till then....