Friends are made by spending real live time with each other. Together you consistently dig past the small talk and into how real life feels and affects each person. You test loyalty, generosity and either agree on life’s issues, or respect each other for why you don’t. Friendship does not involve passive-aggressive memes or little, blue thumbs up cartoons. It takes consistent time to find out who each person really is. Friends are not made with little, blue buttons and digital hugs. Social media may be a gateway, but it is not a true test. Our ability to love and honor is not validated by how many people are on our social media list. Our value is not determined by the reactions we get from posting our looks, opinions or activities. This is my kid. I do not use stock photography. See more of my own images in my portfolio. “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” 1 John 4:18 KJV In other words, if you’ve ever used social media to bash anyone, to validate or sell yourself or to make a passive-aggressive post, as I’ve regretfully done, that gives you and I an opportunity. We can do ourselves a favor and read that screen like a mirror before we click send. There is still, and will always be value in being wrong. The moment we use social media for education, love and respectful conversation, we go against the world and join something bigger and far beyond.

So many times I faced a choice to comfort myself or sacrifice what I want/need to help someone else. And while I'm finding more and more value and strength in that, there have still been many times I chose my own relief over someone else's. We've all done it and we've all heard the excuses to not help others, like: "They made their own choices". And yet the life we celebrate today belonged to a human who had no excuses. Jesus kept a vision of love and rescue for you and I through tremendous pain and sacrifice. His journey is provable. His gifts are easily accessible and they last forever. Merry Christmas!

Gotta hum-dinger for ya! I do not use stock photos. See this photo and more in my personla portfolio. Christmas wasn’t actually Jesus’ birthday, but was put on its date, not only to celebrate the approaching time of renewal, but also to overshadow pagan holidays while celebrating “Christs’ Mass”. That often causes argument and accusation toward myself and other Christians, until I explain how Halloween was placed on the 31st of October to overshadow the original holiday; Reformation Day. But it gets even more ironic. Reformation Day was created by a man who opened minds to a crooked system, one that used its own version of “Christianity” to dig deep into people’s pockets. Today that practice is known as “Religion” (different from Christianity, which is a relationship with Christ). The man who caused that reform was Martin Luther. Later, in the 1950’s, along came a man who largely shared that name, Martin Luther King Jr. He, understanding and following true Christianity, made some very painful sacrifices to bring the real Christian attitude into everyday life for everyone. Today, even secular folks appreciate Martin Luther King’s work, while ignoring how such an intelligent man based that work on what he knew was provable; the life and work of Jesus Christ. He, like Jesus, carried a cross because he understood what it means to have an often misunderstood freedom; not a worldly freedom, but an eternal one. And now we have people who knowingly benefit from the works of them and others like them, but don’t understand the core of the work and the comfort and safety those people give up. #IronicWisdom

I put people on my social media account for two reasons: 1. I see something special in someone and I’d like to know more about them. 2. They’ve personally been an important part of what makes me who I am. Because I like to sometimes see what those people are up to and I have a few groups and pages, I keep social media. But I struggle with how I feel about it. At times I just can't stand it, probably most of the time. It’s because I can't stand anything that suggests promises, but the promises are illusive, the supposed rewards are few, the consequences can be heavy and the payment belongs to the end users. And what I’m about to say, I say out of love and interest in creating more useful, common ground (as social media should be, but most often is not). With social media, we’ve created platforms that can uplift, but also cause great damage. Often, it’s a tool we use, not just to damage our perception of who we really are, but to damage other people. We live in a world that, every day, exponentially grows more comfortable with wrong behavior. Things/groups/behaviors we now accept and even justify, we used to see for what they are. We used to use much more caution, but these days, comfort usually wins. Photo taken by the writer, found in his portfolio at Slyfocal.com All living systems look for the easiest path. Electricity loves wires, insects prefer existing holes over making their own, and humans often look for acceptance of self and behavior even if that acceptance has negative consequences. So, in comes social media where we can pretend we have hundreds or thousands of “friends”. (Just to clear that up; a friend is someone who knows you well, doesn’t judge, and will go out of their way for you as much as they can, in person. A click of a blue button labeled: “add friend” is not the same as hanging out with someone repeatedly and testing each other’s love and loyalty.) But here we find ourselves, often on social media, where we can post a meme, an opinion or a photo of ourselves engaging in something wrong. It doesn’t matter if it implies hate toward someone. It doesn't matter if it empowers damage, addiction, narcissism or gives someone else the means to misuse our words or photos. Even though those acts are usually not our intentions, they are quite often the results. And because we have enough people on our “friends” lists, we will have enough digital high fives to feel like the wrongs we post are justified. I’m not saying the idea of social media is bad. In fact, I think it has great potential. But what I know is, it hasn’t yet lived up to that potential. Instead, it’s become a tool of ease, one we use to bypass the benefits of building true friendships, bypass the benefits of deep communication, and bypass the benefits of being wrong. Thanks for looking :) I spend a lot of late nights and challenging moments working hard. 99.9% of the content here is done by me... the writing, recording, editing, web design and setup, photography and publishing content. If you find value in it, please consider any of the following: Supporting my work, Passing it on, subscribing for free updates.

It's very rare that I use photos here that I didn't take myself, but, a while back, this one hit me hard enough that I never forgot it. Who knows if this photo is technically accurate, but it still represents what church is, the body of Christ, those who gather in the name of the Holy Trinity. "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." - Jesus Christ - Matthew 18:20 (KJV) As I said in Uplifting The Church - Pt 1 - What IS Church?: "A church is not a building. It's not a bank account. It's not a piece of land, a mill that produces media or a copyrighted logo. Church is not a company, a mission or an idea. You don't need money to protect it, and get this, you don't even need a specific place to build it." I was pretty clear in that series of articles about what a church really is. So in this series, as I write it along side of my own attempt to create a local church group, I will be looking at how we build it from the ground, up. Building the church at the core I do not use stock photography. See this image in my personal, photography portfolio. Though my family and I have seen things done right in two of the many church buildings we've attended, we are frustrated at the hypocrisy we've found in every other one. So, as of right now, we are taking a break from those buildings and services. This does not mean we don't need a church community. In fact, we do. But what this break is good for is for us to heal from some of the mistreatment we'd found in church buildings. And, while we're in the midst of patching up those bruises, we're digging deep into the words of God and The Christ. We're finding those seeds and roots that Jesus laid out, teaching us to do this church thing with consistent respect for the sacrifices He made. With just the three of us gathered in His name, we've been holding our own, private, mini services. Sitting on the rocks among the desert trees and stunning views; we pray, read scripture and discuss the lessons we feel it's time to learn at that moment. As a family, we let God and the gospels guide us through our potential worry, hardships and not knowing what our next steps are in life. We started a separate bank account just for tithes. And as we see the need to support ourselves and members of the community, if need be, we take that account down to practically nothing. Remember, the church is not about a building, a bank account, or any material thing. If we never have a building to welcome our church into, then we'll do it outside or in someone's home. If we lose all of our resources, that doesn't mean we lose the church. We will take that bank account down to zero every single time we or a member of our community struggles for basic needs. And in living that philosophy, God has never let us down and has always replenished our resources. "Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." - Jesus Christ - Matthew 6:30-33 (NKJV) I spoke about this a lot in my article series called Being A Conduit. In that series, I tell the story of how my wife and I were first scared about living this kind of philosophy. Having been under financial strain for quite a while, we felt it was best to protect our resources and keep them all to ourselves. At that point, feeling incredibly protective of the few resources we had for ourselves and our new baby girl, we never gave anything to anyone else in need. But then one day we attended a sermon about being generous to others with the gifts that God has given us, no matter what is going on in our lives at that moment. That's when we really started examining and testing that line from Matthew listed above: "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." In other words: put God first and everything else will fall in line. Those were the words that Pastor spoke on the stage that day, and they weighed heavy on our minds for quite some time. Later on, we decided to test those waters. We took the leap of faith and began not only tithing, but also giving money and other resources to others in need. And what came next shocked us then, and continues to surprise us now, even years later. A new consistency of giving to others, even through poverty, created a consistency in getting things back. Sometimes it was as simple as handing out a few dollars, then somehow, strangely finding ways that money would return to us, but as more than we gave out. But then there were the moments when we would get scared again and try not giving anymore. During those times of refrain from generosity, all of the gifts that had been returning to us would stop. The pattern never changed, not once. The data remained absolute. Give, get. Don't give, don't get. As with every other test of all of God's other instructions, this one rang true. Image found in writer's Fine Art gallery. Personal Examples When we first started tithing, we immediately began noticing resources pop up in our lives that we never had before. Deals worked out in businesses and with other people that almost seemed humanly impossible. "With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible." - Jesus Christ - Mark 10:27 (KJV) Money would come to us from the strangest places. For example: we prayed at one point for God to help us with a car payment. Within a few days, a check showed up in our mailbox for one portion of the car payment (I can't remember exactly what the strange place was that it came from, but the next one is the kicker). Also in our mailbox was a check from a previous tax year. They said they discovered that, three years before, we over-paid for our federal taxes. They were giving us that overpayment back (how often does that happen?). We knew nothing about it until we received that check. The two checks put together, almost exactly equaled our car payment. During another moment, we prayed that on the following Thursday we would have enough money for a Thanksgiving meal. I specifically said: "even $50 would help us have a nice meal". The next day while driving toward town, my wife, Grace, felt a very strong push to go out of the way to a gas station we almost never go to. Even though she kept thinking it doesn't make any sense to go that way, she gave into the urge. She stopped in, filled up the tank and went inside to pay. When my daughter asked if she could buy a granola bar and a sticker, Grace said she was sorry, but we couldn't afford it at that moment. That's when the stranger behind them told her to get the sticker and the bar for little Jewel, that he wanted to pay for it. After that, he handed her a $50 bill, telling her to have a nice Thanksgiving meal with her family. I could go on and on about finding random money, gifts and resources; the kind that never came to us before we began trying generosity. But when I follow God's word and understand basic physics, I don't need to. We live under a system designed by the greatest engineer that ever existed. And in His system, the inputs don't work unless the outputs are opened up. Things like greed or fear can override that rule for some time, as we have the option to gather and cling to our resources. But eventually, worldly and spiritual consequences always close in. "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.'" - Matthew 19:23-24 (KJV) "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." - Jesus Christ - Matthew 6:19-21 (NKJV) Multiple ways to give Even folks in a secular society understand how things like friendships and romantic relationships work. If you want to get from others, you have to be willing to give. People in any society, especially those who operate in the body of Christ, have many things they can be generous with. And, just like with the financial end, things like our personal time and other resources can sometimes be hard to give away. I'm sure we've all been there, a moment when a friend is in need, but all we want to do is relax, unwind and exist in our own space. I've had moments of guilt and regret when I chose my own comfort over the needs of someone else. In my younger years, I was a much more selfish person. But these days I'm much better at doing the right thing, being there for someone else during their time of need. And, even though I still have moments where selfishness wants to override generosity, I still help whenever I can. The rewards always outweigh the sacrifices. So, in the church, the body of Christ, from here on out my family and I will carry the same practice taught by Jesus Christ. We will support the core of the church, the people that come to worship. And, after having so many solid examples of this truth in our own lives, we will do it without fear and without worry. We will let God take care of the number in the bank account and the timing of its rise and fall. We will let God take care of blessing us with things like a church building and other resources. Our job is to follow that word found in the Bible. We will be generous and uplifting at the core of our church, toward the people who attend, in turn, showing others the glory of God. Thanks for looking :) I spend a lot of late nights and challenging moments working hard. 99.9% of the content here is done by me... the writing, recording, editing, web design and setup, photography and publishing content. If you find value in it, please consider any of the following: Supporting my work, Passing it on, subscribing for free updates.

Sometimes the need for spiritual strength in the church goes far deeper than we can imagine. This is why we work with a blanket policy laid out by Jesus Christ, one that welcomes and uplift us all. The video interview I mentioned: A past full of abuse, the loss of a child and an amazing story of strength in the face of extreme adversity. Other stories of faith. Thanks for looking :) I spend a lot of late nights and challenging moments working hard. 99.9% of the content here is done by me... the writing, recording, editing, web design and setup, photography and publishing content. If you find value in it, please consider any of the following: Supporting my work, Passing it on, subscribing for free updates.

A good and bad way to wake up I don't like alarm clocks, especially the ones with the nasty repeated buzz sound that makes you feel like you've been jolted out of your sleep. I do not use stock photography in my articles. See this image in my own portfolio. We’ve probably all been there, the moment when someone else wakes you up by turning the lights on or pulling off the blankets. It’s usually not meant to be mean, but it doesn’t feel nice when you're wrapped up in sleep and unwilling to give up the comfort zone. I’m not judging those who do it, but I’ve never had the heart to do it to my own kid. When I need to wake her up, I simply lay down next to her and start rubbing her back, arm or face. I hold her hand sometimes and maybe say a few kind, soft words to her, like: “Where’s my baby girl?” 99.9% of the time she wakes up and immediately engages with me, usually with a hug or a few kind words of her own. I’m a realist and I don’t have a bleeding heart. I put my foot down where it belongs and speak up when it’s right. But the wake up thing, it’s important, because when I wake my daughter up with love, she stays engaged and doesn’t shrink back into the blankets. She wakes up feeling refreshed, respected and open to whatever comes next. "Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light." - Ephesians 5:14 (NKJV) What do alarm clocks have to do with uplifting the church? Part of uplifting the church is to be Honest and speak for what’s right. It means waking people up from their comfort, much like you do when you’re digging a child out from under the covers. And like that sleeping child, if you don’t wake someone with love, they’re going to want to bury themselves back in their comfort zone, pull the blanket over their eyes and hide from the light. So instead of yanking the covers away, you get beside the person and, with love, you basically say: “hey, I’m here to wake you up". And, like how it is with that sleeping child, it’s a lot more likely to bring them to a state of openness. That’s that light I talked about in Uplifting The Church Pt 4 - Shining The Critical Light. Instead of hammering away at someone with judgment, you show them the light they may not have seen before, or maybe just haven’t seen in a while. That’s one big reason we as Christians leaders have to act with the behavior of Christ, not that of the world, because the world's tactics go completely against the gospels'. Delivery Psychology 101: force-feeding anything to anyone will almost always make them resent it. Browbeating information into someone will make them hate it. Bullying people into becoming part of the church will turn them away from your presence and possibly God's. This all has to do with a worldly sense of education and Justice. It’s the old: “I’ll teach them” attitude and it has no place when uplifting the church. Rock Face 2022 A - by Shawn P Keenan (article writer) One of the most important things I learned as an early childhood educator was the true meaning of the word “teach”: to draw forth. It means you don't expect people to see everything the way you see it. Instead, you find out how to deliver information based on their interests and experiences. If you’re not learning who people are so you can help them understand the subject you're teaching, you’re not teaching. In fact, you’re probably just lecturing. If you’re not using church resources to take care of their needs as a church, you’re not leading, you’re just collecting resources and dictating. So how do we do it? How do we reach people where they are, instead of expecting them to come to us? How do we wake people up gently? Sometimes we have to dig into our own past and remember the experiences that shaped who we are now. Doing that can give us empathy and sympathy for what our students feel and help us humble ourselves. Sometimes we have to just imagine ourselves in their position instead of judging them. But, in any case, we have to speak and act with love, compassion and generosity. The right of being wrong I want to be told I’m wrong. I want to be told when I'm not following the words of Jesus Christ. It gives me a chance to become what I want and need to be. It’s also okay to not want to be told your wrong. You have the right to crawl under the covers and never come out. But if you're put in a place of setting examples of Christianity, you have to be humble and willing to be set straight. If not, you can’t lead because, at that point, you’re setting an example of pride, pretending you’re not a product of this broken world like everyone else. But, in keeping with my philosophy of being woken up gently, I say this with love and humbleness; as Christians and especially Christian leaders, we need to be told when we’re wrong. "Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." - Hebrews 12:11 (NKJV) Being brave See this image in my personal photography portfolio, inside the Human gallery. Leading a biblical life and teaching others the same, it's tough, especially in today's world. It’s incredibly hard to wake up and face the damage often done by comfort zones. And it’s next to impossible to predict the rewards of breaking away from them. I’ve personally been through it, as we all have at some point in our lives, that moment when you take a leap of faith. It’s like standing under a cloudy sky, striving for what you can’t see above it. And when we finally get the courage to reach a hand through the clouds, that hand is either met with nothing, something painful or something supportive. If it’s not something supportive, it’s a safe bet that the person reaching will pull that hand back down and never reach again. Do we do that as Christians? Do we meet those hands with either nothing or by causing them pain? No. We greet them with the truth; the need to wake up with love and adapt ourselves to the instructions found in the Bible. We greet them with warmth, welcome and a strong example of compassion and support, just as Jesus and His Father do. "I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance." - Luke 15:7 (NKJV) Thanks for looking :) I spend a lot of late nights and challenging moments working hard. 99.9% of the content here is done by me... the writing, recording, editing, web design and setup, photography and publishing content. If you find value in it, please consider any of the following: Supporting my work, Passing it on, subscribing for free updates.

Original photo by article writer, seen here in my full portfolio. Living Out Forgiveness I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard people discredit Christian leaders for their past mistakes. And I mean, Christians discrediting other Christians. The point that's often missing is that we live in a broken world, and a broken world produces broken people. In other words, no one has ever gone through life without causing damage. And the level of that damage never actually relates to the level of a person’s self defense. In other words, people often go on claiming, or even believing that there’s always someone else who’s damaged the world more than they have. But the truth is, a few simple words can do as much damage as a few simple bullets. I know, because I’ve personally seen words end lives. This is why the New Testament groups those who use ugly words (murmurers), right there with those who kill. "For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell." - James 3:2-6 (NKJV) "These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage. But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; 18 How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. 19 These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit." - - Jude 1:16-19 (KJV) But there’s good news too, Jesus also made forgiveness a very clear command: "Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven." - Matthew 18:21-22 (KJV) "Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." - Matthew 6:11-15 (KJV) Who needs this? Who needs to know this stuff? Simple answer: everyone, especially Christians and especially Christian leaders. The way we treat others in the church can actually lead as far as life or death. "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof." - Proverbs 18:21 (KJV) I not only survived suicide myself, but I’ve lost three people to it (hear my podcast on it here). I’ve also talked a handful of people out of it. That’s one of the many ways I've seen words kill. And like other ways I’ve tested the Bible and Christian faith, it’s one of the many ways I’ve proven the word of God to be true to everyday life. I can tell you with 100% certainty, everyone in our church needs it to be a sanctuary. Everyone in our universal and local churches needs a place where, no matter what experiences they have outside the church, inside the church they need to know love, compassion, empathy, sympathy and support (spiritual, emotional, social, financial, etc). That needs to happen as close to 100% of the time as possible. When that kind of dynamic is missing, Christ’s reputation is damaged. Not only does that help give Christianity a bad name, it ejects people from the local church. It even kills faith that hasn’t grown enough and crucifies our savior again and again. "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame." - Hebrews 6:4-6 (NKJV) How deep it goes You can often see the wounds and scars left by a weapon, an accident, a surgery or any other physical damage. It’s much harder to see the wounds and scars left by words, vengeance, pride or the friend of the world game (cliques). "...know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." - James 4:4 (KJV) Therefore it’s sometimes hard to see when people are doing such damage in the church, especially when they’re trying to hide it. It’s also much more comfortable to let it slide without standing up against it. So then how do we uplift our church and hold it above such behavior? Like any other life that grows correctly, you start by supporting the core. "...even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish." - Ephesians 5:25-27 (KJV) Bighorn Stars, found in Shawn Keenan's personal photography portfolio. The support I spoke about earlier, it’s key to uplifting the church and building that core. Having a formal education and experience in Early Childhood and family psychology, I can tell you it takes at least a small system of people to maintain a harmful dynamic. That system includes those who go against the behavior Jesus taught us, those who enable it by never taking action and those who don’t know it’s happening. The more people who learn to act like Christ, the more they’ll recognize those who don’t. The more support the church feels, the more those within it will uplift and preserve it. Taking action Here’s the interesting part, and one that gives us an opportunity to learn more Christ-like movement. You don’t go for hurt and damage, the kind of vengeance we’re warned againast. "Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord." - Romans 12:19 (NKJV) Trying to harm others and cancel them is the worldly approach and quite honestly, it’s reserved only for those who don’t understand the gospels. Jesus didn’t do it that way. Jesus made immense sacrifices so that everyone would have a chance to grow out of those things. A Christian’s course of action is well defined by Christ; we are to aid the system our Heavenly Father built. It starts with love, compassion and a lack of judgement for those who offend. It continues with prayer that is strengthened by a Christian lifestyle. The more sins you remove from your life, the stronger your prayers. You pray for your church to be uplifted, for poor behavior to be weakened and good behavior to be strengthened. You pray for the awakening of those who do the damage. You pray for God to guide your steps while uplifting the church and make sure you’re helping, but not going against the teachings of Christ. Go to those who commit the offenses. Tell them how you and others are being affected. You may not always get the reaction you want, but hiding how you feel and not trying to help someone understand is not what Jesus would do. If you have to, approach church leadership with information about the offenses. If you see anyone being damaged by poor behavior in the church, talk to them about their issues. You don't need to gossip about the offender, but rather, reenforce the positives and help plan out how to openly and honestly deal with the harm. Openly and verbally express empathy/sympathy for the damaged person's situation. Openly and verbally appreciate the positive things you see in that person. Always make sure they know they have support in the church, at least from you. I do not use stock photography. Find this image in my personal photo portfolio. "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." - Romans 12:21 (NKJV) Don’t waste time in this. Remember how critical this is, especially for those who need Christ-like support in developing early faith. God presents us with constant and consistent moments to nurture growth within ourselves and our church. Each moment is a gift, an opportunity to help people move out of the wrong paths and into the path of Jesus Christ. The best way to respect each of those gifts is to use each one of them, putting aside our own uncertainty to help others build their faith. It's within those moments and moments of prayer and standing against worldly behavior and judgment, we find our truest selves and the light we are given to show God's glory. "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." - Jesus the Christ - Matthew 5:14 (NKJV) Thanks for looking :) I spend a lot of late nights and challenging moments working hard. 99.9% of the content here is done by me... the writing, recording, editing, web design and setup, photography and publishing content. If you find value in it, please consider any of the following: Supporting my work, Passing it on, subscribing for free updates.

If you haven't already, please consider reading Uplifting The Church - Pt 1 - What IS Church? and Uplifting The Church - Pt 2 - A Personal Story This is not a stock photo. See it in my personal photography portfolio. I spoke in part one of this series about the people who believe they're going to heaven just because they claim Jesus is Lord, yet Jesus Himself was quite clear about that misconception. “Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’" - Matthew 7:21-23 (NKJV) In that passage, Jesus is not speaking about man's law. He's talking about God's law, a set of laws that Christ laid out very clearly in the rest of Matthew chapters 5 through 7 (AKA: The Sermon On The Mount). These are laws including the two most important commandments: love God with everything in you and love your neighbor the way you want to be loved ("neighbor" meaning all people). Jesus continues in this sermon by not requesting, but by steadily commanding us to be humble, not prideful - giving, not withholding - honest, not deceitful - compassionate, not judgmental. He makes it even more clear as he continues: “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” - Matthew 7:24-27 (NKJV) So how does this play out when uplifting our church? It means that those who set examples of Christian behavior must follow the guidelines given by Christ in Matthew 5-7. This includes church leadership, ministers and anyone who has studied the Bible enough to know and strive toward maintaining these laws. It also means that everyone involved in the church should either stand tall for those laws or learn how. And when those laws are applied to how we interact with each other, our church is uplifted and becomes the warm, inviting sanctuary it should be. I do not use stock photos. See this one in my own photography portfolio. What does "Lord Jesus" mean? I once sat in a Christian class where a man asked the head pastor of the church: "I'm saved, so why do I need to worry about not sinning if I'm going to heaven no matter what I do?" Dumbfounded, I listened to the head pastor as she replied: "I don't know. That's a good question." So I stepped in and told the man about the benefits of eliminating sin. And if I had had the courage I have now, I would have flat out told him, he didn't know the truth. That's because you don't just make Jesus Lord of a few things in your life, you make Him lord over all. For some Christians that means taking a hard, unexpected look in what is usually a broken mirror. So many leaders exist with so many people who refuse to call them leaders. I personally never call someone my leader if I don't agree with how they lead and what they do. So why would you call someone Lord if you don't agree with and follow all of His commands? And why would Jesus say: "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!" to someone who prophesied and worked in His name? Those questions are arguable to many, but let's settle it with one more question: If a person goes to church every day, gets down on their knees and prays for hours, praises God all day and night and is saved, will he/she still go to heaven if they're continually spending their outside time robbing banks and shooting people? "Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven." - Matthew 5:19-20 (NKJV) Who we serve I've never been addicted to alcohol, but I've attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings in support of a friend who is. In a recent conversation, that friend told me about why visitors like me are not allowed to share our life experiences in the meetings. That sharing time is reserved only for those who have battled alcoholism, and for good reason. My friend basically explained it like this: "The time in those meetings is absolutely critical. If we let outsiders speak in place of those with the experience of alcoholism, then we lose time to share life saving information from those who've lived it." And then my friend went on to say something I will always remember, word-for-word: "If we serve everyone, we serve no one." That last sentence hit me hard, in direct relation to who we serve in our group, the church. Suddenly a landslide of memories came flooding in, all about the good and bad moments I've collected from all of the churches I've ever attended. I began to realize what happens when Christians go against the gospel, lacking forgiveness, love, generosity, compassion and other Christian qualities. A very serious spiritual danger is allowed to flourish. People get robbed of precious time, moments when they desperately need to witness the light of Christ. It chimed in with the instances I've personally seen. People were driven from church, left damaged by lacking examples of ministry and poor use of resources. Some even left faith completely. That's when a new philosophy lit up within my heart, ideas about my own ministry and how we (as Christians) should lead people. Do we serve anti-Christian behaviors like pride, fear of generosity, deceit and other disregard for Jesus' instructions? The answer is a clear and astounding "no!" "These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men." - Matthew 15:8-9 (NKJV) We live not for our broken world, our stuff or to be part of the in-crowd, but to grow and help others grow toward God and Christ. While our flesh is prone to make mistakes, we don't make them a lifestyle and we ask God to change us for the better, every day, ridding us of un-Godly behaviors. We speak boldly of God and Jesus. We give freely and trust that God will always supply our needs. We keep no place for vengeance or pride as we know deep down that God is all-mighty and in control. And we realize that the more we clean our lives of such sin, the more He answers our prayers and supports our needs. Wind Generator 3 BW - By Shawn Keenan (writer of this article) We serve God and Jesus. We serve the church (the body of believers). We serve love, compassion and the needs of those who uplift us and need to be uplifted. And while it's okay to use a building, a group or a website to welcome the new, the curious and the unsure, we need to reserve leadership roles as special places for people who lead in Christianity. That place is held for those who follow the Gospel and respect the way Jesus behaved and the hardships and sacrifices He went through. And when those leaders serve the congregation, they must serve the way Jesus would, without worldly conduct, and with the two greatest commandments. But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. - Matthew 22:34-40 (KJV) Conclusion Sometimes uplifting the church means doing hard things. It means checking the behavior of leaders and churchgoers, making sure they learn and engage under the guidelines of the Bible, especially the New Testament. But, as Christians, our job is to make sure people are getting the right information. We have to set the right kind of examples, not only in true Christian behavior, but also in admitting when we need repair of ourselves and our church. The rewards are not just about sharing the glory of God through a stronger, brighter, more welcoming church. They are also about leading people to an infinite future with the greatest being that ever existed. Further Reading Uplifting The Church - Pt 1 - What IS Church? When we do this within our core group first, that group becomes strong enough to set examples and support for those outside of it. Uplifting The Church - Pt 2 - A Personal Story It became an extension of some of the negativity that came from others. It was at that moment I had a chance to put up a barrier between us. “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.” - Hebrews 6:10 (NIV) For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” - Galatians 5:13-14 (NKJV) If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? - 1 John 4:20 (NKJV) Thanks for looking :) I spend a lot of late nights and challenging moments working hard. 99.9% of the content here is done by me... the writing, recording, editing, web design and setup, photography and publishing content. If you find value in it, please consider any of the following: Supporting my work, Passing it on, subscribing for free updates.

If you haven't already, please see: Uplifting The Church - Pt 1 I want to continue this series by telling you a personal story. During my time in one of the churches I attended, I had ample interaction with a certain woman. For the sake of her anonymity, I'll just call her: "Alice". Alice is, in my experience, a more rare type of person. Where many of the people I've known are often vengeful, a trait that doesn't belong in a Christian lifestyle, Alice is different. Refreshingly, even though Alice has her breakage like the rest of us, she's always trying to do the right thing and uplift people, a trait that does belong in the Christian lifestyle. And I learned this about her, just after a moment when we didn't get along well. I do not use stock photography. This is my own photo and can be found here in my portfolio. At one point came a time of crisis for my family when our housing status, financial standing and health were under serious threat. During one of the hardest times of our lives, we were actually met by a church community with resistance. It came in the form of cold shoulders, ignited and inflamed by insults, gossip and slander. But then came Alice. Along with some of the other church members, she uplifted us with words and gifts that brought hope and positivity. But, back to the time when Alice and I weren't getting along as well as we could have. In a conversation, over the disagreement of something we were working on together, I felt wronged by some of her words. And, even though she wasn't aware of it, it became an extension of some of the negativity that came from others. It was at that moment I had a chance to put up a barrier between us, to stop the hurt I was feeling at that moment. I had a firm text written and ready to send, poised to stop what felt like an argument. But somehow, I felt a very strong influence to not send that text. And the next day, I found out why. Days before that moment, Alice had told me she had a gift for my daughter, a children's Bible. And even though we ended our conversation the night before on what felt like a negative note, the next day in church, that Bible was sitting right in front of my little girl's seat. Alice and I didn't speak at first, both of us seeming to have a look of worry about what had been said in our previous conversation. But there it was, that Bible, stunning me, not only because of how pretty it is, but also because Alice had followed through. Feeling emotional, I rejoiced at the fact that I didn't send that text the night before. Without my coaching, my daughter wrote a wonderful thank you letter to Alice. And, like that Bible that sat glowing at me on that table when I came in, that note was carefully and beautifully created. And then there was one more thing that happened. Alice had spent months, patiently working with my daughter, trying to help her with a problem of shyness and not speaking to most adults. My child struggled even just to say "thank you" when Alice would give her a gift. But on the day that Bible was gifted to her, there was a breakthrough. My daughter spoke to her. It wasn't much, but it was a triumph, and the whole thing could've been shut down if I had sent the text I had previously prepared. This image comes from my own photography portfolio. That was part of uplifting the church. Through my struggle to replace self-defense with empathy, I found a reward. I had listened to the words of Jesus Christ and put aside my pride and my worldly desire to defend myself. I had listened to the words of Jesus Christ that told me to have forgiveness and compassion, when I could have made an enemy. And as I stood in front of Alice, ignoring what had happened between us during our confrontation, I told her what a great thing it was that she'd never given up on my daughter. As she and I smiled together over the moment of breakthrough, brought on by her patience, I felt the Holy Spirit rush through me. It didn't just uplift Alice. It uplifted both of us, in turn, eventually helping to uplift the entire church. "God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them." - Hebrews 6:10 (NIV) "For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!" - Galatians 5:13 (NKJV) "Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." - Galatians 6:2 (NKJV) "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." - Jesus Christ - Matthew 5:16 (KJV) "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others." - Philippians 2:3-4 (NIV) Thanks for looking :) I spend a lot of late nights and challenging moments working hard on this ministry. 99.9% of the content here is done by me... the writing, recording, editing, web design/setup, photography and publishing content. If you find value in it, please consider any of the following: Supporting my work, Passing it on, subscribing for free updates.

See image in my personal photography portfolio. Misuse of the church The miss-use of the Bible is quite a common thing, and really, it's the main reason why Christians get a bad name. I've seen people who believe they're going to heaven no matter what crimes or sins they knowingly and willfully commit, just because they say: "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus". I've watched, in person, as pastors got on stage and told the whole congregations about how very big their bank accounts are. I've known people who were kicked out of churches for using the very tools we were given by God, Christ and the Holy Spirit. And in my own presence people have been intentionally destroyed by church leaders who gossip, slander and insult, even using the pulpit to pass those things on. "thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these." - Jesus Christ - Mark 12:30-31 (KJV) Frankly, I'm frustrated at the hypocrisy I've seen and the forcefulness of its use. I'm downright sickened by those who knowingly make a lifestyle out of going against the gospel, while still calling themselves "Christians". And the thing that bothers me the most is that so many people are missing both the meaning of the word "church" and the way it should be treated. So before I get too high on my soapbox, let's explore what a church really is. Actually, let's start with what a church is not. A church is not... A church is not a building. It's not a bank account. It's not a piece of land, a mill that produces media or a copyrighted logo. Church is not a company, a mission or an idea. You don't need money to protect it, and get this, you don't even need a specific place to build it. So now let's get to the good part, the best part in fact. Let's get to what the church really is. A church is... A couple of references in the Bible are as follows: "He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord (loves) the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones." - Paul, Apostle - Ephesians 5:28-30 (KJV) "Christ is the head of the church" - Paul, Apostle - Ephesians 5:23 (KJV) Christ does not love a building, nor is He the head of one. Jesus loves the people in that building, park or any other place they gather in His name. "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." - Jesus Christ - Mark 12:30-31 (KJV) No stock photography here. See image in my personal photography portfolio. Brittanica says it like this: church, in Christian doctrine, the Christian religious community as a whole, or a body or organization of Christian believers. The Greek word ekklēsia, which came to mean church, was originally applied in the Classical period to an official assembly of citizens. In the Septuagint (Greek) translation of the Old Testament (3rd–2nd century BCE), the term ekklēsia is used for the general assembly of the Jewish people, especially when gathered for a religious purpose such as hearing the Law (e.g., Deuteronomy 9:10, 18:16). In the New Testament it is used of the entire body of believing Christians throughout the world (e.g., Matthew 16:18), of the believers in a particular area (e.g., Acts 5:11), and also of the congregation meeting in a particular house—the “house-church” (e.g., Romans 16:5). - Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "church". Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Jun. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/topic/church-Christianity. Accessed 22 August 2023. In other words, the entire church is the worldwide body of Christians, people who truly strive to follow Jesus Christ. My church is the body of people I meet with in my local area. Therefore, Church is not dependent on money, place or structure. Church is dependent on the group of people we meet with and their desire and ability to follow Jesus Christ. So while a building or a bank account are convenient ways to support the church, they are not the church's core. Simply put, the church and its core are made of people. From the inside out So how do you really support the church? How does God want us to support our church? The answer is simple, by applying what Christ commands us to follow, the second greatest commandment... love. And here are the two best descriptions I've found in the Bible for what love is: "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NIV) "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again." - Jesus Christ - Luke 6:38 (KJV) This is not a stock photo. See image in my personal photography portfolio. In other words, none of the negative things I've seen in churches belong in a group of people who strive to follow Jesus Christ. I've worked in the Early Childhood, media production, computer, automotive and electronics industries. I've been involved in peer counseling and Christian ministry for many years. They've all taught me one of the most important things I've learned about all life, that everything that grows properly, it grows from the inside out. A human infant first develops his/her inner most functions, such as heartbeat and breathing. Socially, the young baby is only aware of itself and the few people who deliver its needs. Later on, babies begin to develop strength and dexterity in their limbs. Then, even later, the infant will develop efficient use of their fingers and toes, along with the social awareness of other people's needs. Other animals, plants and even solar systems are the same way. Even human-made products share this trait. They all depend on their core becoming strong before their outer features can be supported. Anything that does not develop in this way will, throughout its entire lifetime, be plagued by turmoil and breakage. The main church and our local church are no different. So what is the core that we have to strengthen before the church can grow outward, then begin to support the communities around it? Again, it's the people that gather together in the name of Christ. How to not properly grow from the inside out I don't think I know a single person within or without of the Christian faith who hasn't seen what I've seen, a disregard for those within the church who need help. This is especially true when it comes to financial help. My wife and I, for example, have always tithed, even in times of financial hardship, even when we had no income at all. And in the same churches when we or others we know have needed that kind of help in return, the answer was almost always "no". That's happened in all of those churches I've attended except two of them. I've been to churches that had thousands or even millions of dollars stashed away. Many of them were led by people who have excessive financial lives. They talk regularly about the support they give to the outside world with little or no proof of that support. But when it comes to the needs of the people that donate that money to them, they are often met with excuses as to why there is no help. And, at times, I've even heard pastors say that the poor cannot be supported, citing miss-used Bible quotes. And yet the Bible is clear about how we are to support each other. "And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them." - Acts 4:33 (NIV) How to properly grow from the inside out All images are original, not stock. See this one in my photography portfolio. Recently, my family and I have had a turn of hardship and unusual events. During the approach of homelessness, serious physical illness and the loss of a parent; one of our church communities helped support us financially, emotionally and spiritually. They prayed with us consistently, helped with funeral costs and, in person, offered nothing but kindness and friendship. Unfortunately that community is out of town for us and was just a temporary revisit. Yet they reinforced our vision of being conduits for God's gifts. In other churches, we'd witnessed pridefulness, gossip, virtue signaling, slander, bigotry, lack of love for one's neighbor and the fear giving back the financial resources God brought in. The worst part was seeing these behaviors grossly embedded into church leadership. So in our rebellion toward such anti-Christian behavior, we did something unusual. Grace and I opened a separate bank account. This is now where our tithes go. Now, with complete transparency, all of the money that goes into that account goes back out to other people in our community who need it. And when we finally start our own church, that transparency and support for the people around us will come with it. Our goal is to both, strengthen the core of the church before moving outward, and to set an example of following the scripture that clearly tells us to be generous. And that is only step one. Where we've seen behaviors in churches that are anti-Christian, we replace those behaviors within ourselves with that which is Christian. That means not retaliating when we are attacked with gossip, slander or insults. Instead, we search within ourselves for empathy or sympathy and an understanding of why people become angry enough to do such things. When we see someone who needs help financially, we give what we can even through poverty; looking past our financial fears and into the faith that God will always give it back (because we trust our endless examples that he will.) When people have skills that can uplift the church, we uplift those people and welcome their strong points while lovingly helping them overcome their weak points. We let God decide where the resources go, not our fears. We fill people with love and positivity over what they do right, but don't judge them for what we think they do wrong. We forgive and move forward, 7×70 times (meaning don't keep track) as Jesus has instructed us. And when we do this all within our core group first, with transparency and open communication, that group becomes strong enough to set examples and support for those outside of it. "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." - Jesus Christ - Matthew 5:14-16 (NKJV) For more information See Uplifting The Church - Pt 2 for a personal story of how I put aside self-defense and opted for positivity. I have an article called "Being A Conduit" that gives much more detail about how and why we pass on God's generosity. Read the Bible, especially the New Testament, especially Matthew 5-7 and Acts Thanks for looking :) I spend a lot of late nights and challenging moments working hard. 99.9% of the content here is done by me... the writing, recording, editing, web design and setup, photography and publishing content. If you find value in it, please consider any of the following: Supporting my work, Passing it on, subscribing for free updates.

I'm tired of the arguments. It's time to cut to the chase. Thanks for looking :) I spend a lot of late nights and challenging moments working hard. 99.9% of the content here is done by me... the writing, recording, editing, web design and setup, photography and publishing content. If you find value in it, please consider any of the following: Supporting my work, Passing it on, subscribing for free updates.