Pop the Corks & Pass the Butter Tarts with Norm Allen Norm Allen

I’ve spent probably thousands of hours with people in lakeside chairs, living rooms, board rooms, bars, golf carts, restaurants. There is nothing particularly religious on the surface of such scenes, but at a deeper level there is something sacred that happens when friendship with God in Christ is the reason we are sitting together.

Almost 200 friends celebrated Touchstone’s 10 th anniversary under a marquee on the property of our family home. With food, music, laughter, and storytelling we looked back over a decade of discovery. By then many circles of friendship had been established. In them we learned to become better at listening than advising, creating environments of safety and confidentiality.

As we brought people together in board rooms, restaurants, and coffee shops, we realized they were coming from different backgrounds, denominations, and spiritual experiences. In and through it all, our focus was to determine what it means to be a friend in Christ, where Jesus Christ is the highest common denominator.

Ah, the ‘60’s! While I was trying to figure out a lot of things about God that have always been above my pay grade, I was also trying to figure out love and vocation. Lest I give you the impression that life was all seriousness, I also got introduced to jazz during that time and played lots of sports with the guys.

This first reflection begins with 76 years of my rich family history and 40 fruitful years of spiritual exploration that produced the entity we call Touchstone – offering encouragement, and teaching friendship in Christ among leaders in the business, political, arts, and spiritual marketplaces.

Pop the corks & pass the butter tarts; June 2024 will mark Touchstone’s 40th birthday.

1984. That year, Apple launched the McIntosh, its first consumer computer; the brand-new video game Tetris was released; then Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau announced his resignation; and a group of friends empowered me to start what would become Touchstone.

Over the past four decades, Touchstone grew into a ministry that offers, encourages, and teaches friendship in Christ among leaders in the business, political, arts, and spiritual marketplaces.

Over the years, friends and colleagues encouraged me to write about my spiritual journey as it has woven together with Touchstone’s. After contemplating this for some time, I realized that I have a storeroom of treasures that ought not to be archived or stowed away, rather, they are tools, treasures, which I’ve brought out again and again, to help people who are part of our community.

This Introduction will serve as the first of several chapters recounting that story, which will be released in podcast and blog formats over the coming six months, culminating in a digital book and print version.

It will also lead up to Touchstone’s 40th Birthday Party on June 9th, 2024, when we will celebrate the Touchstone years one last time. And, you’re all invited.