Podcast appearances and mentions of joyce meyers

Matt Slick Live (Live Broadcast of 04-11-2025) is a production of the Christian Apologetics Research Ministry (CARM). Matt answers questions on topics such as: The Bible, Apologetics, Theology, World Religions, Atheism, and other issues! You can also email questions to Matt using: info@carm.org, Put "Radio Show Question" in the Subject line! Answers will be discussed in a future show. Topics Include: Can Women Be Pastors?/Matt Reads from Joyce Meyers' Preaching/ Is There a Difference Between Hades, Hell, and Paradise?/ Is Matt a Pretribulationist?/ What are the Views on the Trinity?/Who are We to Pray to?/ What Will Christians Do in The Eternal State?/ Is it OK to Go to a Mormon Baby Dedication?/ Is it OK to Disperse a Dead One's Ashes?/ April 11, 2025

Matt Slick Live (Live Broadcast of 04-11-2025) is a production of the Christian Apologetics Research Ministry (CARM). Matt answers questions on topics such as: The Bible, Apologetics, Theology, World Religions, Atheism, and other issues! You can also email questions to Matt using: info@carm.org, Put "Radio Show Question" in the Subject line! Answers will be discussed in a future show. Topics Include:Can Women Be Pastors?/Matt Reads from Joyce Meyers' Preaching/ Is There a Difference Between Hades, Hell, and Paradise?/ Is Matt a Pretribulationist?/ What are the Views on the Trinity?/Who are We to Pray to?/ What Will Christians do in The Eternal State?/ Is it OK to Go to a Mormon Baby Dedication?/ Is it OK to Disperse a Dead One's Ashes?/ April 11, 2025

Matt Slick Live (Live Broadcast of 04-11-2025) is a production of the Christian Apologetics Research Ministry (CARM). Matt answers questions on topics such as: The Bible, Apologetics, Theology, World Religions, Atheism, and other issues! You can also email questions to Matt using: info@carm.org, Put "Radio Show Question" in the Subject line! Answers will be discussed in a future show. Topics Include: Can Women Be Pastors?/Matt Reads from Joyce Meyers' Preaching/ Is There a Difference Between Hades, Hell, and Paradise?/ Is Matt a Pretribulationist?/ What are the Views on the Trinity?/Who are We to Pray to?/ What Will Christians Do in The Eternal State?/ Is it OK to Go to a Mormon Baby Dedication?/ Is it OK to Disperse a Dead One's Ashes?/ April 11, 2025

The sermon in this review was preached by Joyce Meyers at Joyce Meyers Ministries and was uploaded to Joyce Meyers Ministries YouTube page on July 19, 2024. All rights belong to Joyce Meyers and Joyce Meyers Ministries. This video is for teaching and review purposes only and is protected under fair use. Fair use is a doctrine in the United States copyright law that allows limited use of copyrighted material without requiring permission from the rights holders, such as commentary, criticism, news reporting, research, teaching, or scholarship. Original Sermon: https://youtu.be/VqGZtyWd_JU?si=1Lf7op1CWg_6xueM

{First Person Shooter} A “pussy” is a character or player which has been shot but survives, either once or several times—the “Pussy” then becomes a priority target for other teams, and the successful assasination results in a large bounty, plus the team leader of the opposition g team's automatic annex of the team in which the Pussy belonged to—the Pussy is technically the defacto team leader, however, will usually still allocate decision making to the Captain, who protects the Pussy by keeping them guarded, and it is important that the Captain consult with the pussy remotely, as not to put the team at risk. The Pussy is given such decoration and power because of their “purple heart” status, and the ability to find special missions, objects, weapons, and portals within the game world the other team players cannot see or do not have access to. There is typically only one Pussy per team, as due to the high bounty, they are quickly ‘offed', the captain losing their status as the team merges with the team who successfully offed the pussy—however, the Captain is then given an ultimatum to return to his status by Avenging, other players given the option to kill the Captain of their own team for higher stakes, which will take the players into higher rankings than that of which they were demoted from before the Pussy's offing, however, the players also have an option to deny joining the revolt, which may result in the former opposing team captain's assasination, and savaging of the captains posessions, weapons, and status— the reason for denial of joining the result simply being that the player will lose their ranking, and safety of being on the larger team, under the safety of the formerly opposing team's flag. In Enter The Multiverse — Wait, who else has been shot besides apparently CC? DILLON You've been SHOT? CC Yeah! Didn't you see that hole in my butt?! DILLON Everyone has a hole in their butt! CC I meant my cheeks! DILLON What—? Oh. I thought those were just cute little dimples. CC Yes, The left cheek naturally has a dimple— DILLON — CC the right cheek though, has a bullet wound in it! DILLON That's…asymmetrical CC I was asymmetrical, then I got shot— DILLON That's—what?! CC Funny how shit works sometimes, DJ. what is your life. It's your life, but backwards— which is why I'm not a famous DJ, I'm just your friend. That's—yeah— Now, come on. We gotta go get this fucking Pussy. That's—- [obviously, JIMMY FALLON is a pussy.] Correct SKRILLEX is a pussy. Fair. Is Idk, we'll figure it out. Go back to that other thing. Which other. The other thing. The other thing. At that party…or rather, kind of—after. That acid that never hit Beyoncé I don't feel it. Man, I'm a terrible influence(r) Just take it. Nah, I'm good— PUSSY. -_- Give me three. K. —suddenly hits BEYONCÉ. BEYONCÉ …I got this. [BEYONCE] however, does not Ohh, shit. — “got this.” A very stranded, very sober Johnny depp stumbles upon what appears to be a college frat party, where the only thing they have is light beer, and nobody even recognizes him as a celebrity, because the attendees are all gen z What's even after gen z? The fucking apocalypse. Anyway. The acid hits Beyoncé on her way to make coffee, which extends the trip from the living room to the kitchen infinitely. Multidimensional Anne Hathaway hulks the fuck out and saves the day by ruining everything, which actually fixes everything— and *spoiler* helps Jesus to remain as the king of kings at beer pong. Lol In the late 90s in New York City, the keystone cast of Saturday night live learns of each other's formerly sexret* (lol keep the typo) psychic abilities, and uses the radio technologies of Rockefeller plaza to develop a research center for the telepathically gifted, eventually discovering and perfecting time travel. Supacree (the kid version) appears in and out of her ideal and desired realities, baffling ‘the Hollywood people' and later ‘the New York people', becoming the legendary central figure of the Illuminati, as the original timepiece — a pyramid shaped extra terrestrial vehicle which contains an ascended hyper conciousness, which I can't remember how it goes, did the supacree leave to find the Skrillex, or was it the other way around? I think it was both ways at some point, but the whole thing was this, just in case I never wrote it but just saw— These space god (humanoid evolved) are some kind of scientists/ doctors— there are four timepieces, each representing an era upon our planet; earth, which is distant but sacred— these four time pieces each depart their given “docs” in time to appear on earth at specific Fuck this— it's hard to explain. Times in history, at which the first worlds, or previous human eras were known to have been destroyed— these time pieces travel through time space with the full record of these events in order to alert the current human era of its imminent doom, as an attempt to prevent such disasterous events, typically war, which will lead to the annihilation of the human species; these Gods, one male and one female, a king and queen, a married couple are the rules of the humankind, technically worshiped as a whole as one God, with whom the human design was modeled after, however, the true source of all things is the cosmos, known and unknown, in its totality—neither man or woman, but the force of creation. Anyway, what else is happening Oh. All of the celebrities are stuck in— [the festival project] in some way, shape, or form until its creator finishes it—and though it in itself is infinite, its 'finishing' notates its eventual production, which lol. That never going to happen. Because. Let's face it. I'm scared of …rich people. Yeah, sure. Yeah. I'm scared of The effect of the race war, which has been to pit the white woman against the black woman, which allows and maintains the continuation of war mongering male dominance over the entire planet, which remains as a destructive force of greed, racism, and inequality. So why try? ___ Hi, I'm looking for—James Cannon? I'm James Cannon. Really? Your name is James? Yes. Oh..hah. That's funny. I had an uncle named Tracy once—I thought that was weird. I guess this is sort of like that. No, it's not, Well, anyway, here. What's this? You've been served. Of course. Later, James! “Haha” —Now it's funny. Got seven stops to just sit in this Listening to some nigga with a list speak in Spanish Something's been different since cooking with Jimmy Something's been different, I cooked up chaos Instead of ambition I cooked up a job, But is a crock pot, I got a long time to let it simmer I remember trying to remember, But couldn't get back there Not ever Sucks like a penis Or wishes them with one is, Huh? Nevermind, ye is back Nevermind, the K is whack I might as well just smoke some crack Go back to that hole The coffee's not cold, but the cup is old I think it might have rusted… That shit is diagusting and I should trust it, but trust me It's money over nothing Fuck New York I think this show's about to go back on line You think I'm late but I'm right on time With 9 cold opens I don't know him No, Don't open the drawer up! Don't go there' You fuckin poser Check my posters, I'm the dopest hope out of nowhere She got them Tights with the hearts, Them Patent leather platform Mary Jane's I know you hate me, baby But can you blame me? I'm just a toy in your basement! Your bitch is basic Watch your tv out it s for they become words Watch your words, for they become actions Watch your actions, for they become habits Watch your m habits, for they become your character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny What we think, we become. Cool. Apparently I'm about to become Skrillex Beyoncé And Jimmy Fallon. That's…that's cool with me. Joyce Meyers “A Brief history of the future” {Enter The Multiverse} [The Festival Project.™] COPYRIGHT © THE FESTIVAL PROJECT 2019-2024 | THE COMPLEX COLLECTIVE. © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. © -Ū.

{First Person Shooter} A “pussy” is a character or player which has been shot but survives, either once or several times—the “Pussy” then becomes a priority target for other teams, and the successful assasination results in a large bounty, plus the team leader of the opposition g team's automatic annex of the team in which the Pussy belonged to—the Pussy is technically the defacto team leader, however, will usually still allocate decision making to the Captain, who protects the Pussy by keeping them guarded, and it is important that the Captain consult with the pussy remotely, as not to put the team at risk. The Pussy is given such decoration and power because of their “purple heart” status, and the ability to find special missions, objects, weapons, and portals within the game world the other team players cannot see or do not have access to. There is typically only one Pussy per team, as due to the high bounty, they are quickly ‘offed', the captain losing their status as the team merges with the team who successfully offed the pussy—however, the Captain is then given an ultimatum to return to his status by Avenging, other players given the option to kill the Captain of their own team for higher stakes, which will take the players into higher rankings than that of which they were demoted from before the Pussy's offing, however, the players also have an option to deny joining the revolt, which may result in the former opposing team captain's assasination, and savaging of the captains posessions, weapons, and status— the reason for denial of joining the result simply being that the player will lose their ranking, and safety of being on the larger team, under the safety of the formerly opposing team's flag. In Enter The Multiverse — Wait, who else has been shot besides apparently CC? DILLON You've been SHOT? CC Yeah! Didn't you see that hole in my butt?! DILLON Everyone has a hole in their butt! CC I meant my cheeks! DILLON What—? Oh. I thought those were just cute little dimples. CC Yes, The left cheek naturally has a dimple— DILLON — CC the right cheek though, has a bullet wound in it! DILLON That's…asymmetrical CC I was asymmetrical, then I got shot— DILLON That's—what?! CC Funny how shit works sometimes, DJ. what is your life. It's your life, but backwards— which is why I'm not a famous DJ, I'm just your friend. That's—yeah— Now, come on. We gotta go get this fucking Pussy. That's—- [obviously, JIMMY FALLON is a pussy.] Correct SKRILLEX is a pussy. Fair. Is Idk, we'll figure it out. Go back to that other thing. Which other. The other thing. The other thing. At that party…or rather, kind of—after. That acid that never hit Beyoncé I don't feel it. Man, I'm a terrible influence(r) Just take it. Nah, I'm good— PUSSY. -_- Give me three. K. —suddenly hits BEYONCÉ. BEYONCÉ …I got this. [BEYONCE] however, does not Ohh, shit. — “got this.” A very stranded, very sober Johnny depp stumbles upon what appears to be a college frat party, where the only thing they have is light beer, and nobody even recognizes him as a celebrity, because the attendees are all gen z What's even after gen z? The fucking apocalypse. Anyway. The acid hits Beyoncé on her way to make coffee, which extends the trip from the living room to the kitchen infinitely. Multidimensional Anne Hathaway hulks the fuck out and saves the day by ruining everything, which actually fixes everything— and *spoiler* helps Jesus to remain as the king of kings at beer pong. Lol In the late 90s in New York City, the keystone cast of Saturday night live learns of each other's formerly sexret psychic abilities, and uses the radio technologies of Rockefeller plaza to develop a research center for the telepathically gifted, eventually discovering and perfecting time travel. Supacree (the kid version) appears in and out of her ideal and desired realities, baffling ‘the Hollywood people' and later ‘the New York people', becoming the legendary central figure of the Illuminati, as the original timepiece — a pyramid shaped extra terrestrial vehicle which contains an ascended hyper conciousness, which I can't remember how it goes, did the supacree leave to find the Skrillex, or was it the other way around? I think it was both ways at some point, but the whole thing was this, just in case I never wrote it but just saw— These space god (humanoid evolved) are some kind of scientists/ doctors— there are four timepieces, each representing an era upon our planet; earth, which is distant but sacred— these four time pieces each depart their given “docs” in time to appear on earth at specific Fuck this is hard to explain Times in history, at which the first worlds, or previous human eras were known to have been destroyed— these time pieces travel through time space with the full record of these events in order to alert the current human era of its imminent doom, as an attempt to prevent such disasterous events, typically war, which will lead to the annihilation of the human species; these Gods, one male and one female, a king and queen, a married couple are the rules of the humankind, technically worshiped as a whole as one God, with whom the human design was modeled after, however, the true source of all things is the cosmos, known and unknown, in its totality—neither man or woman, but the force of creation. Anyway, what else is happening Oh. All of the celebrities are stuck in— [the festival project] in some way, shape, or form until its creator finishes it—and though it in itself is infinite, its 'finishing' notates its eventual production, which lol. That never going to happen. Because. Let's face it. I'm scared of …rich people. Yeah, sure. Yeah. I'm scared of The effect of the race war, which has been to pit the white woman against the black woman, which allows and maintains the continuation of war mongering male dominance over the entire planet, which remains as a destructive force of greed, racism, and inequality. So why try? Hi, I'm looking for—James Cannon? I'm James Cannon. Really? Your name is James? Yes. Oh..hah. That's funny. I had an uncle named Tracy once—I thought that was weird. I guess this is sort of like that. No, it's not, Well, anyway, here. What's this? You've been served. Of course. Later, James! “Haha” —Now it's funny. Gotcseven stops to just sit in this Listening to some nigga with a list speak in Spanish Something's been different since cooking with Jimmy Something's been different, I cooked up chaos Instead of ambition I cooked up a job, But is a crock pot, I got a long time to let it simmer I remember trying to remember, But couldn't get back there Not ever Sucks like a penis Or wishes them with one is, Huh? Nevermind, ye is back Nevermind, the K is whack I might as well just smoke some crack Go back to that hole The coffee's not cold, but the cup is old I think it might have rusted… That shit is diagusting and I should trust it, but trust me It's money over nothing Fuck New York I think this show's about to go back on line You think I'm late but I'm right on time With 9 cold opens I don't know him No, Don't open the drawer up! Don't go there' You fuckin poser Check my posters, I'm the dopest hope out of nowhere She got them Tights with the hearts, Them Patent leather platform Mary Jane's I know you hate me, baby But can you blame me? I'm just a toy in your basement! Your bitch is basic Watch your tv out it s for they become words Watch your words, for they become actions Watch your actions, for they become habits Watch your m habits, for they become your character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny What we think, we become. Cool. Apparently I'm about to become Skrillex Beyoncé And Jimmy Fallon. That's…that's cool with me. Joyce Meyers “A Brief history of the future” {Enter The Multiverse} [The Festival Project.™] COPYRIGHT © THE FESTIVAL PROJECT 2019-2024 | THE COMPLEX COLLECTIVE. © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. © -Ū.

{First Person Shooter} A “pussy” is a character or player which has been shot but survives, either once or several times—the “Pussy” then becomes a priority target for other teams, and the successful assasination results in a large bounty, plus the team leader of the opposition g team's automatic annex of the team in which the Pussy belonged to—the Pussy is technically the defacto team leader, however, will usually still allocate decision making to the Captain, who protects the Pussy by keeping them guarded, and it is important that the Captain consult with the pussy remotely, as not to put the team at risk. The Pussy is given such decoration and power because of their “purple heart” status, and the ability to find special missions, objects, weapons, and portals within the game world the other team players cannot see or do not have access to. There is typically only one Pussy per team, as due to the high bounty, they are quickly ‘offed', the captain losing their status as the team merges with the team who successfully offed the pussy—however, the Captain is then given an ultimatum to return to his status by Avenging, other players given the option to kill the Captain of their own team for higher stakes, which will take the players into higher rankings than that of which they were demoted from before the Pussy's offing, however, the players also have an option to deny joining the revolt, which may result in the former opposing team captain's assasination, and savaging of the captains posessions, weapons, and status— the reason for denial of joining the result simply being that the player will lose their ranking, and safety of being on the larger team, under the safety of the formerly opposing team's flag. In Enter The Multiverse — Wait, who else has been shot besides apparently CC? DILLON You've been SHOT? CC Yeah! Didn't you see that hole in my butt?! DILLON Everyone has a hole in their butt! CC I meant my cheeks! DILLON What—? Oh. I thought those were just cute little dimples. CC Yes, The left cheek naturally has a dimple— DILLON — CC the right cheek though, has a bullet wound in it! DILLON That's…asymmetrical CC I was asymmetrical, then I got shot— DILLON That's—what?! CC Funny how shit works sometimes, DJ. what is your life. It's your life, but backwards— which is why I'm not a famous DJ, I'm just your friend. That's—yeah— Now, come on. We gotta go get this fucking Pussy. That's—- [obviously, JIMMY FALLON is a pussy.] Correct SKRILLEX is a pussy. Fair. Is Idk, we'll figure it out. Go back to that other thing. Which other. The other thing. The other thing. At that party…or rather, kind of—after. That acid that never hit Beyoncé I don't feel it. Man, I'm a terrible influence(r) Just take it. Nah, I'm good— PUSSY. -_- Give me three. K. —suddenly hits BEYONCÉ. BEYONCÉ …I got this. [BEYONCE] however, does not Ohh, shit. — “got this.” A very stranded, very sober Johnny depp stumbles upon what appears to be a college frat party, where the only thing they have is light beer, and nobody even recognizes him as a celebrity, because the attendees are all gen z What's even after gen z? The fucking apocalypse. Anyway. The acid hits Beyoncé on her way to make coffee, which extends the trip from the living room to the kitchen infinitely. Multidimensional Anne Hathaway hulks the fuck out and saves the day by ruining everything, which actually fixes everything— and *spoiler* helps Jesus to remain as the king of kings at beer pong. Lol In the late 90s in New York City, the keystone cast of Saturday night live learns of each other's formerly sexret psychic abilities, and uses the radio technologies of Rockefeller plaza to develop a research center for the telepathically gifted, eventually discovering and perfecting time travel. Supacree (the kid version) appears in and out of her ideal and desired realities, baffling ‘the Hollywood people' and later ‘the New York people', becoming the legendary central figure of the Illuminati, as the original timepiece — a pyramid shaped extra terrestrial vehicle which contains an ascended hyper conciousness, which I can't remember how it goes, did the supacree leave to find the Skrillex, or was it the other way around? I think it was both ways at some point, but the whole thing was this, just in case I never wrote it but just saw— These space god (humanoid evolved) are some kind of scientists/ doctors— there are four timepieces, each representing an era upon our planet; earth, which is distant but sacred— these four time pieces each depart their given “docs” in time to appear on earth at specific Fuck this is hard to explain Times in history, at which the first worlds, or previous human eras were known to have been destroyed— these time pieces travel through time space with the full record of these events in order to alert the current human era of its imminent doom, as an attempt to prevent such disasterous events, typically war, which will lead to the annihilation of the human species; these Gods, one male and one female, a king and queen, a married couple are the rules of the humankind, technically worshiped as a whole as one God, with whom the human design was modeled after, however, the true source of all things is the cosmos, known and unknown, in its totality—neither man or woman, but the force of creation. Anyway, what else is happening Oh. All of the celebrities are stuck in— [the festival project] in some way, shape, or form until its creator finishes it—and though it in itself is infinite, its 'finishing' notates its eventual production, which lol. That never going to happen. Because. Let's face it. I'm scared of …rich people. Yeah, sure. Yeah. I'm scared of The effect of the race war, which has been to pit the white woman against the black woman, which allows and maintains the continuation of war mongering male dominance over the entire planet, which remains as a destructive force of greed, racism, and inequality. So why try? Hi, I'm looking for—James Cannon? I'm James Cannon. Really? Your name is James? Yes. Oh..hah. That's funny. I had an uncle named Tracy once—I thought that was weird. I guess this is sort of like that. No, it's not, Well, anyway, here. What's this? You've been served. Of course. Later, James! “Haha” —Now it's funny. Gotcseven stops to just sit in this Listening to some nigga with a list speak in Spanish Something's been different since cooking with Jimmy Something's been different, I cooked up chaos Instead of ambition I cooked up a job, But is a crock pot, I got a long time to let it simmer I remember trying to remember, But couldn't get back there Not ever Sucks like a penis Or wishes them with one is, Huh? Nevermind, ye is back Nevermind, the K is whack I might as well just smoke some crack Go back to that hole The coffee's not cold, but the cup is old I think it might have rusted… That shit is diagusting and I should trust it, but trust me It's money over nothing Fuck New York I think this show's about to go back on line You think I'm late but I'm right on time With 9 cold opens I don't know him No, Don't open the drawer up! Don't go there' You fuckin poser Check my posters, I'm the dopest hope out of nowhere She got them Tights with the hearts, Them Patent leather platform Mary Jane's I know you hate me, baby But can you blame me? I'm just a toy in your basement! Your bitch is basic Watch your tv out it s for they become words Watch your words, for they become actions Watch your actions, for they become habits Watch your m habits, for they become your character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny What we think, we become. Cool. Apparently I'm about to become Skrillex Beyoncé And Jimmy Fallon. That's…that's cool with me. Joyce Meyers “A Brief history of the future” {Enter The Multiverse} [The Festival Project.™] COPYRIGHT © THE FESTIVAL PROJECT 2019-2024 | THE COMPLEX COLLECTIVE. © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. © -Ū.

{First Person Shooter} A “pussy” is a character or player which has been shot but survives, either once or several times—the “Pussy” then becomes a priority target for other teams, and the successful assasination results in a large bounty, plus the team leader of the opposition g team's automatic annex of the team in which the Pussy belonged to—the Pussy is technically the defacto team leader, however, will usually still allocate decision making to the Captain, who protects the Pussy by keeping them guarded, and it is important that the Captain consult with the pussy remotely, as not to put the team at risk. The Pussy is given such decoration and power because of their “purple heart” status, and the ability to find special missions, objects, weapons, and portals within the game world the other team players cannot see or do not have access to. There is typically only one Pussy per team, as due to the high bounty, they are quickly ‘offed', the captain losing their status as the team merges with the team who successfully offed the pussy—however, the Captain is then given an ultimatum to return to his status by Avenging, other players given the option to kill the Captain of their own team for higher stakes, which will take the players into higher rankings than that of which they were demoted from before the Pussy's offing, however, the players also have an option to deny joining the revolt, which may result in the former opposing team captain's assasination, and savaging of the captains posessions, weapons, and status— the reason for denial of joining the result simply being that the player will lose their ranking, and safety of being on the larger team, under the safety of the formerly opposing team's flag. In Enter The Multiverse — Wait, who else has been shot besides apparently CC? DILLON You've been SHOT? CC Yeah! Didn't you see that hole in my butt?! DILLON Everyone has a hole in their butt! CC I meant my cheeks! DILLON What—? Oh. I thought those were just cute little dimples. CC Yes, The left cheek naturally has a dimple— DILLON — CC the right cheek though, has a bullet wound in it! DILLON That's…asymmetrical CC I was asymmetrical, then I got shot— DILLON That's—what?! CC Funny how shit works sometimes, DJ. what is your life. It's your life, but backwards— which is why I'm not a famous DJ, I'm just your friend. That's—yeah— Now, come on. We gotta go get this fucking Pussy. That's—- [obviously, JIMMY FALLON is a pussy.] Correct SKRILLEX is a pussy. Fair. Is Idk, we'll figure it out. Go back to that other thing. Which other. The other thing. The other thing. At that party…or rather, kind of—after. That acid that never hit Beyoncé I don't feel it. Man, I'm a terrible influence(r) Just take it. Nah, I'm good— PUSSY. -_- Give me three. K. —suddenly hits BEYONCÉ. BEYONCÉ …I got this. [BEYONCE] however, does not Ohh, shit. — “got this.” A very stranded, very sober Johnny depp stumbles upon what appears to be a college frat party, where the only thing they have is light beer, and nobody even recognizes him as a celebrity, because the attendees are all gen z What's even after gen z? The fucking apocalypse. Anyway. The acid hits Beyoncé on her way to make coffee, which extends the trip from the living room to the kitchen infinitely. Multidimensional Anne Hathaway hulks the fuck out and saves the day by ruining everything, which actually fixes everything— and *spoiler* helps Jesus to remain as the king of kings at beer pong. Lol In the late 90s in New York City, the keystone cast of Saturday night live learns of each other's formerly sexret* (lol keep the typo) psychic abilities, and uses the radio technologies of Rockefeller plaza to develop a research center for the telepathically gifted, eventually discovering and perfecting time travel. Supacree (the kid version) appears in and out of her ideal and desired realities, baffling ‘the Hollywood people' and later ‘the New York people', becoming the legendary central figure of the Illuminati, as the original timepiece — a pyramid shaped extra terrestrial vehicle which contains an ascended hyper conciousness, which I can't remember how it goes, did the supacree leave to find the Skrillex, or was it the other way around? I think it was both ways at some point, but the whole thing was this, just in case I never wrote it but just saw— These space god (humanoid evolved) are some kind of scientists/ doctors— there are four timepieces, each representing an era upon our planet; earth, which is distant but sacred— these four time pieces each depart their given “docs” in time to appear on earth at specific Fuck this— it's hard to explain. Times in history, at which the first worlds, or previous human eras were known to have been destroyed— these time pieces travel through time space with the full record of these events in order to alert the current human era of its imminent doom, as an attempt to prevent such disasterous events, typically war, which will lead to the annihilation of the human species; these Gods, one male and one female, a king and queen, a married couple are the rules of the humankind, technically worshiped as a whole as one God, with whom the human design was modeled after, however, the true source of all things is the cosmos, known and unknown, in its totality—neither man or woman, but the force of creation. Anyway, what else is happening Oh. All of the celebrities are stuck in— [the festival project] in some way, shape, or form until its creator finishes it—and though it in itself is infinite, its 'finishing' notates its eventual production, which lol. That never going to happen. Because. Let's face it. I'm scared of …rich people. Yeah, sure. Yeah. I'm scared of The effect of the race war, which has been to pit the white woman against the black woman, which allows and maintains the continuation of war mongering male dominance over the entire planet, which remains as a destructive force of greed, racism, and inequality. So why try? ___ Hi, I'm looking for—James Cannon? I'm James Cannon. Really? Your name is James? Yes. Oh..hah. That's funny. I had an uncle named Tracy once—I thought that was weird. I guess this is sort of like that. No, it's not, Well, anyway, here. What's this? You've been served. Of course. Later, James! “Haha” —Now it's funny. Got seven stops to just sit in this Listening to some nigga with a list speak in Spanish Something's been different since cooking with Jimmy Something's been different, I cooked up chaos Instead of ambition I cooked up a job, But is a crock pot, I got a long time to let it simmer I remember trying to remember, But couldn't get back there Not ever Sucks like a penis Or wishes them with one is, Huh? Nevermind, ye is back Nevermind, the K is whack I might as well just smoke some crack Go back to that hole The coffee's not cold, but the cup is old I think it might have rusted… That shit is diagusting and I should trust it, but trust me It's money over nothing Fuck New York I think this show's about to go back on line You think I'm late but I'm right on time With 9 cold opens I don't know him No, Don't open the drawer up! Don't go there' You fuckin poser Check my posters, I'm the dopest hope out of nowhere She got them Tights with the hearts, Them Patent leather platform Mary Jane's I know you hate me, baby But can you blame me? I'm just a toy in your basement! Your bitch is basic Watch your tv out it s for they become words Watch your words, for they become actions Watch your actions, for they become habits Watch your m habits, for they become your character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny What we think, we become. Cool. Apparently I'm about to become Skrillex Beyoncé And Jimmy Fallon. That's…that's cool with me. Joyce Meyers “A Brief history of the future” {Enter The Multiverse} [The Festival Project.™] COPYRIGHT © THE FESTIVAL PROJECT 2019-2024 | THE COMPLEX COLLECTIVE. © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. © -Ū.

{First Person Shooter} A “pussy” is a character or player which has been shot but survives, either once or several times—the “Pussy” then becomes a priority target for other teams, and the successful assasination results in a large bounty, plus the team leader of the opposition g team's automatic annex of the team in which the Pussy belonged to—the Pussy is technically the defacto team leader, however, will usually still allocate decision making to the Captain, who protects the Pussy by keeping them guarded, and it is important that the Captain consult with the pussy remotely, as not to put the team at risk. The Pussy is given such decoration and power because of their “purple heart” status, and the ability to find special missions, objects, weapons, and portals within the game world the other team players cannot see or do not have access to. There is typically only one Pussy per team, as due to the high bounty, they are quickly ‘offed', the captain losing their status as the team merges with the team who successfully offed the pussy—however, the Captain is then given an ultimatum to return to his status by Avenging, other players given the option to kill the Captain of their own team for higher stakes, which will take the players into higher rankings than that of which they were demoted from before the Pussy's offing, however, the players also have an option to deny joining the revolt, which may result in the former opposing team captain's assasination, and savaging of the captains posessions, weapons, and status— the reason for denial of joining the result simply being that the player will lose their ranking, and safety of being on the larger team, under the safety of the formerly opposing team's flag. In Enter The Multiverse — Wait, who else has been shot besides apparently CC? DILLON You've been SHOT? CC Yeah! Didn't you see that hole in my butt?! DILLON Everyone has a hole in their butt! CC I meant my cheeks! DILLON What—? Oh. I thought those were just cute little dimples. CC Yes, The left cheek naturally has a dimple— DILLON — CC the right cheek though, has a bullet wound in it! DILLON That's…asymmetrical CC I was asymmetrical, then I got shot— DILLON That's—what?! CC Funny how shit works sometimes, DJ. what is your life. It's your life, but backwards— which is why I'm not a famous DJ, I'm just your friend. That's—yeah— Now, come on. We gotta go get this fucking Pussy. That's—- [obviously, JIMMY FALLON is a pussy.] Correct SKRILLEX is a pussy. Fair. Is Idk, we'll figure it out. Go back to that other thing. Which other. The other thing. The other thing. At that party…or rather, kind of—after. That acid that never hit Beyoncé I don't feel it. Man, I'm a terrible influence(r) Just take it. Nah, I'm good— PUSSY. -_- Give me three. K. —suddenly hits BEYONCÉ. BEYONCÉ …I got this. [BEYONCE] however, does not Ohh, shit. — “got this.” A very stranded, very sober Johnny depp stumbles upon what appears to be a college frat party, where the only thing they have is light beer, and nobody even recognizes him as a celebrity, because the attendees are all gen z What's even after gen z? The fucking apocalypse. Anyway. The acid hits Beyoncé on her way to make coffee, which extends the trip from the living room to the kitchen infinitely. Multidimensional Anne Hathaway hulks the fuck out and saves the day by ruining everything, which actually fixes everything— and *spoiler* helps Jesus to remain as the king of kings at beer pong. Lol In the late 90s in New York City, the keystone cast of Saturday night live learns of each other's formerly sexret psychic abilities, and uses the radio technologies of Rockefeller plaza to develop a research center for the telepathically gifted, eventually discovering and perfecting time travel. Supacree (the kid version) appears in and out of her ideal and desired realities, baffling ‘the Hollywood people' and later ‘the New York people', becoming the legendary central figure of the Illuminati, as the original timepiece — a pyramid shaped extra terrestrial vehicle which contains an ascended hyper conciousness, which I can't remember how it goes, did the supacree leave to find the Skrillex, or was it the other way around? I think it was both ways at some point, but the whole thing was this, just in case I never wrote it but just saw— These space god (humanoid evolved) are some kind of scientists/ doctors— there are four timepieces, each representing an era upon our planet; earth, which is distant but sacred— these four time pieces each depart their given “docs” in time to appear on earth at specific Fuck this is hard to explain Times in history, at which the first worlds, or previous human eras were known to have been destroyed— these time pieces travel through time space with the full record of these events in order to alert the current human era of its imminent doom, as an attempt to prevent such disasterous events, typically war, which will lead to the annihilation of the human species; these Gods, one male and one female, a king and queen, a married couple are the rules of the humankind, technically worshiped as a whole as one God, with whom the human design was modeled after, however, the true source of all things is the cosmos, known and unknown, in its totality—neither man or woman, but the force of creation. Anyway, what else is happening Oh. All of the celebrities are stuck in— [the festival project] in some way, shape, or form until its creator finishes it—and though it in itself is infinite, its 'finishing' notates its eventual production, which lol. That never going to happen. Because. Let's face it. I'm scared of …rich people. Yeah, sure. Yeah. I'm scared of The effect of the race war, which has been to pit the white woman against the black woman, which allows and maintains the continuation of war mongering male dominance over the entire planet, which remains as a destructive force of greed, racism, and inequality. So why try? Hi, I'm looking for—James Cannon? I'm James Cannon. Really? Your name is James? Yes. Oh..hah. That's funny. I had an uncle named Tracy once—I thought that was weird. I guess this is sort of like that. No, it's not, Well, anyway, here. What's this? You've been served. Of course. Later, James! “Haha” —Now it's funny. Gotcseven stops to just sit in this Listening to some nigga with a list speak in Spanish Something's been different since cooking with Jimmy Something's been different, I cooked up chaos Instead of ambition I cooked up a job, But is a crock pot, I got a long time to let it simmer I remember trying to remember, But couldn't get back there Not ever Sucks like a penis Or wishes them with one is, Huh? Nevermind, ye is back Nevermind, the K is whack I might as well just smoke some crack Go back to that hole The coffee's not cold, but the cup is old I think it might have rusted… That shit is diagusting and I should trust it, but trust me It's money over nothing Fuck New York I think this show's about to go back on line You think I'm late but I'm right on time With 9 cold opens I don't know him No, Don't open the drawer up! Don't go there' You fuckin poser Check my posters, I'm the dopest hope out of nowhere She got them Tights with the hearts, Them Patent leather platform Mary Jane's I know you hate me, baby But can you blame me? I'm just a toy in your basement! Your bitch is basic Watch your tv out it s for they become words Watch your words, for they become actions Watch your actions, for they become habits Watch your m habits, for they become your character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny What we think, we become. Cool. Apparently I'm about to become Skrillex Beyoncé And Jimmy Fallon. That's…that's cool with me. Joyce Meyers “A Brief history of the future” {Enter The Multiverse} [The Festival Project.™] COPYRIGHT © THE FESTIVAL PROJECT 2019-2024 | THE COMPLEX COLLECTIVE. © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. © -Ū.

Ever faced a mountain so steep, you thought you couldn't possibly climb it? Mindi Lyons, known fondly as "The Fenyx," joins us on Shine on Success to share how she soared above life's fiercest fires. Her journey is steeped in resilience, from a restrictive upbringing to personal tribulations that many would find insurmountable. As a teen mother who grappled with her spouse's incarceration and the complexity of creating a blended family, Mindi's candid storytelling is nothing short of awe-inspiring. She embodies the spirit of someone who refuses to let the past smother her future, offering rays of hope to those entrenched in their own struggles.Imagine transforming your darkest moments into a treasure hunt for joy and fulfillment—that's the essence of Mindi's transformative approach to life. In our conversation, she lays bare her once-cloaked battles with mental health and the stigmas that so often silence many. From the depths of despair to the pinnacle of parenting against the odds, her vulnerable reflections underscore the importance of hope and the power of a strong support network. The metamorphosis Mindi underwent is not only a personal triumph but a beacon for anyone teetering on the brink, showing that change is possible and that love—both for oneself and for others—can be the compass guiding us toward a brighter tomorrow.As we round out our discussion with Mindi, she imparts wisdom on how humor and positivity can fundamentally alter the atmosphere of a home or an organization. Injecting her insights on personal growth, she credits transformative figures like Joyce Meyers and Rick Warren for steering her towards a life marked by grace and compassion. The episode is peppered with practical takeaways for those seeking to cultivate self-love, embrace personal development, and make incremental strides toward a life filled with purpose. Mindi's story is an empowering testament to the fact that with the right mindset, support, and a dash of levity, overcoming adversity isn't just possible—it's within reach.Connect with Dionne MalushInstagram: @dionnerealtyonepghLinkedIN: /in/dionnemalushWebsite: www.dionnemalush.comFacebook: /dmalushLinkTree: https://linktr.ee/dionnemalushConnect with Dionne Malush Instagram: @dionnerealtyonepgh LinkedIN: /in/dionnemalush Website: www.dionnemalush.com Facebook: /dmalush LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/dionnemalush

[00:00:00] Alec Hill: There is something remarkable when you put it on paper, how you create a distance from yourself. It objectifies it, and you're able to stay away from it a little bit. And this has been shown in research out of the University of Texas. So, I'm a real believer in journaling.  It has been a constant and continues to be a regular outlet for me with my pain, with my lamentations, with my anger. And it releases me. I don't know. It's just been a discipline for what now - 50 plus years and it's one of God's gifts to me.  ++++++++++++++++ [00:00:31] Tommy Thomas: Our guest today is Alec Hill, the President Emeritus of InterVarsity USA.  For regular listeners, you may remember Alec from Episodes 18 and 19 where he and a former board chair at InterVarsity discussed the CEO/ Board Chair working relationship. Alec was President of InterVarsity for 14 years before retiring for health-related reasons. When I recruited him to be the President of InterVarsity, he was the Dean of the School of Business and Economics at Seattle Pacific University. Alec took his law degree from the University of Washington.  Alec, welcome back to NextGen Nonprofit Leadership. [00:01:06] Alec Hill: It's always good to be with you.  [00:01:10] Tommy Thomas:  Episodes 18 and 19. Those seem like a long time ago. [00:01:14] Alec Hill: To you, time is, it has a different clip for me, but yeah, for you it's, you're up to a hundred something now.  [00:01:20] Tommy Thomas: We'll, yeah, I think this we'll be 92 or 93, and yeah, we'll hit Episode 100 sometime in early August. I was trying to remember that quote. That guy told me one time about the early episodes. He said, “The bad news was they probably wouldn't be very good, but the good news was you won't have very many listeners then either”. So, I don't know, some of the early episodes might have been like that. Thank you for coming back. I read the article that you posted on the Christian Leadership Alliance Blog and I was intrigued by it knowing a little bit about your history there, I thought I have to get Alec back.  Maybe take us into that.  As I remember, the name of the article was Finding Gold in Manure. [00:01:59] Alec Hill: Yeah, so the image is when we lose a wedding ring down the sink, we dive in, and even if it goes down the toilet, we go in because the ring is so valuable. So the metaphor is, as leaders, when we go through really bad experiences, I mean we think back on the two or three worst experiences we've ever had as leaders, whether they are our fault or not. And the temptation is just to let the ring go. And not dive, do the dive. But what I've learned is that when you go and you find the ring maybe 80% of its draws are manure, but 20% of it is pure gold. And so often in our worst moments in the suffering that we have we find great meaning. And if we don't learn those lessons at that point in time they'll come back and bite us again.  “If we pause and reflect long enough, pain is a great teacher. Our characters can be transformed more through a day of suffering than a month of study” [00:02:42] Tommy Thomas: I think one of your quotes was “If we pause and reflect long enough, pain is a great teacher. Our characters can be transformed more through a day of suffering than a month of study” [00:02:53] Alec Hill:   Yeah, I think that's really true. And I say that, I wrote that as an academic, right? So, I believe in study, but clearly if we, you by the way, you can learn poorly from pain if pain, if you reacted adversely to it. If you deny it. Or if you're triumphal in some ways over it, if you don't walk right through it head on it's a totally negative experience. But if you actually can redeem the pain is awful. Pain sucks. I'm a two-time cancer survivor, including a bone marrow transplant. I know about pain. So pain is no fun. And likewise, leadership failures. And when people accuse you of being incompetent or immoral that's no fun. But there's a side to this where you have to learn the lessons from that, and then you become a better person and a better leader.  [00:03:37] Tommy Thomas: So why do you think it's so hard for us to reflect on past painful situations?  [00:03:43] Alec Hill: Oh my goodness. I think we hate pain. We're wired to hate pain. Part of my bone marrow transplant was a spinal tap, and I was reflecting on that the other day. And a spinal tap is one of the worst procedures you can ever have, right? They're going in through your back with a needle and they're trying not to hit nerves, and of course they do. I don't want to think about the spinal tap, but what the spinal tap told the doctors was that I didn't have certain conditions so they were able to go ahead with the treatment. And it was a positive treatment with a lot of pain. And I think, again, that's not a bad image here for these. And what I would've asked our listeners to think about is the one worst experience you've ever had as a leader where everything went wrong, where everybody thought you were an idiot or an immoral person. And they lost confidence in you when you came in a room you had, they looked like they had knives out and they were suspicious of you. And that's the moment that we want to capture in this podcast.  [00:04:33] Tommy Thomas: But take me back to some of the other painful experiences. A man with as much leadership as you've had, both at Seattle Pacific and InterVarsity no doubt has had several painful days.  [00:04:44] Alec Hill: Two of my worst moments or months, or even in one case years, one involved, and this is a common one, hiring someone to my senior team who didn't work out. And the person was popular and well liked and I had to let the person go. And then when I let the person go, I couldn't tell all my reasons for doing so when people ask questions. So, you look like you are incompetent in making the hire. You are incompetent in making the dismissal. You're being disingenuous because you're withholding information that few people feel they have the right to have. And you feel like a failure on all counts. I think that particular situation lasted for several months when I just was underwater. And people again lost confidence in me. I think the second one was a more dramatic one, and it involved more people conflict between a senior leader and a director below a report to that person and it blew up. It involved race and gender and all sorts of things, and I didn't particularly handle it well in terms of how I processed and dealt with it, and that pain lasted for a year and a half. And my sort of, I think the sense of my incompetence and how I handled it I felt acutely was the first time I'd gone to see a counselor. I was having dreams. It was one of those completely underwater experiences. That was worse than a spinal tap. If I could put it that way. It was worse. And feeling responsible for allowing people to get hurt that if I'd handled things differently there would've been a lot less hurt in other people's lives. And this is what, 15-20 years ago. I still feel this acutely to this day. So again, my hypothesis, Tommy, is that every leader, every senior leader has a situation like that, that when you ask them what is the main pain point, the worst moment of your leadership time, they have one of these. And that's the kind of situation where you. Your temptation is just to bar the door. Never think about it, just deny it. You don't deny it, but you just relegate it. But the thing is, I learned a lot about myself both good and bad. Through that, I learned about the positives, I learned about my resilience. I came to work every day when I felt like people were extremely doubting me. And I didn't know I had that kind of resilience. So that's one positive aspect of it.  [00:07:00] Tommy Thomas: So you mentioned you went to the counselor for the first time. Was that a hard thing to do to make that appointment? [00:07:05] Alec Hill:  No, I'm not proud about, I don't, I'm not macho in the sense that I wouldn't go to a counselor. I just never felt that kind of need. But I was so far out of it and self-doubting. The disequilibrium in my life was so great. I didn't even know where the ground was, and so I just needed someone to tell me I wasn't crazy, right? And to assure me that this will over time improve because I think when we get into a hopeless spiral as leaders and this is why, as Tommy, you've seen people quit. You've seen people fired there. It's dark. It's just really dark and all of the lightness when you first take a job in senior leadership, you go, why in the world did I ever do this? There's so much pain associated with these senior roles of vicarious suffering for the community. Not to mention my own mistakes that you go, this is overwhelming.  +++++++++++++++++ [00:07:59] Tommy Thomas: I read a lot of Joyce Meyers. She's a good writer. And she talks about, in one of her articles, something called the Judas Kiss Test, the test of being betrayed by friends we have loved, respected, and trusted. I guess my hunch is that most people in leadership, who've been there very long, have had an experience like this. Have you had one of those and how did you deal with it?  [00:08:20] Alec Hill: I don't know if betrayal is the word, I would use the word undercut. I have been undercut and it is a horrible feeling with someone who you reasonably expect loyalty. And a common sort of friend who goes around you to do something that is intentionally harmful. It's a smack of ice. Remember the ads where they would put the ice buckets on people and they would, the ice shower or whatever it was? That's one of those experiences. So, I think that's another example of the kind of pain that leaders experience. When who you thought was a friend turns out to be someone who's out to get you. And it's a horrible, lonely spot. And I think, I'm reading about David and King Saul now, and of course, Saul threw spears at David, he did all sorts of things, when David had done nothing wrong. And how did David handle that without killing Saul when he had the opportunity or taking revenge? That's what we, and that's the Christ-like characteristic of not being naive and saying it isn't there and not confronting it. We have to do those things, but not taking, not seeking vengeance or vindication. I think when we seek our own vindication, where we run into trouble that's the Lord's job, but we have to be resilient. We have to call it out. We have to not pretend it's not there. But when you don't, you can't, when you get in a hole, when somebody betrays you, you can't really vindicate yourself. And that's really hard. Others have to do that for you, and the Lord has to do it. I had one situation. I'm shifting gears. I'm just thinking about where my vindication probably took five years and it wasn't complete. But I did see some measure of vindication. I had one person who told me that I was a pretty bad person and a bad leader. Come back several years later and say that she understood why I did what I did. And the story on the street had changed during those years, but it was a very slow. I wanted to fix it a lot quicker. Someone explained it's like when you hit a feather pillow and it explodes and goes all over the place. It's like trying to, when your reputation is out, you're trying to recapture all those feathers and you can't, and if you're a control person, it's really hard.  [00:10:36] Tommy Thomas: You write a lot. Your articles are many, you have published two books.  But do you journal much about your inner feelings and if so, what have you learned from that?  [00:10:46] Alec Hill: It's funny you should ask because I am now transcribing all my journals from when I was 17 years old, so I'm now up to age 29 in transcribing. There were those dark nights of the soul where I would wake up at 2:00 AM and I would journal for two hours. And there is something remarkable when you put it on paper, how you create a distance from yourself. It objectifies it, and you're able to stay away from it a little bit. And this has been shown in research out of the University of Texas.  So, I'm a real believer in journaling. It has been a constant and continues to be a regular outlet for me with my pain, with my lamentations, with my anger. And it releases me. I don't know. It's just been a discipline for what now - 50 plus years and it's one of God's gifts to me.  [00:11:34] Tommy Thomas: I've been a journaler if that's the word you use for it - maybe not 50 years, but a long time. And this morning I woke up with a couple of dissonant thoughts and I just, I went to my journal and I said, I don't feel much like journaling today, and then I went through those and yeah, after about 30 minutes, I came away with maybe a little bit of distance and maybe a feeling that this is not so bad after all [00:12:00] Alec Hill: Getting back to our theme of gold and manure, one of the things that journaling does is it makes you crystallize your thoughts and put them in writing, and that's where you really learn your gold is the goal. Gold is by reflection. If we don't reflect and so many leaders aren't reflective, I'm by temperament. I'm a future-oriented person. So, reflection is hard for me, and part of the reason I journal is because it compels me. To reflect and what are the lessons learned from this last experience? [00:12:27] Tommy Thomas: I was reading, I don't know if it was a blog or what, by Bob Haskins, the President of One Hope down in Florida. And he wrote, surround yourself with people who know you better than you know yourself and will tell you the truth out of love. This is how we grow. Is the digging in manure, is that a solo act, or is that a cadre or a cohort of friends? [00:12:50] Alec Hill:  It's a very small group of trusted friends. And I'd say it's both. I do think you have to do the solo reflection as we were just talking about journaling, but clearly. I had a chief of staff who I gave total permission after every meeting, after every event, after every conference, after every conversation to tell me what he heard. And he would be quite candid with me. And it was painful. And also, I had a number two person who was my COO, and he had the same green light. And what I found is that they would often tell me things that I did or didn't do in a meeting, and I didn't always agree with them, but I gave them the green light. So, in a sense, I was increasing my level of pain and discomfort by telling these two that they could say to me whatever they saw, but I trusted them that much. And then there was a third person, a VP who I also trusted at that level. And I think you can only take so much beating on your bodies, like being boxed. It looks like being a boxer and some of these are poundings you take when you open yourself up. But the right chastisement from a friend who's loyal and trusting is again the pathway to growth. But you can only take so much of it. I think there it's a limited dose and that's what has to be a limited number of people, that kind of vulnerability. [00:14:03] Tommy Thomas:  I'm a big fan of Nicky Gumball and his Bible in One Year. I'm in that maybe not every day but fairly regular. And recently, one of his comments was,  “Confrontation is not something that I find easy. It is crucial to find the right approach, the right words for the job, or to use a golfing analogy, it's like the skill of knowing which club to use. Those who are skilled at confrontation have a great variety of approaches and words and know when and how to use the appropriate one”. What have you learned about confrontation through your many years in senior leadership? [00:14:41] Alec Hill: First of all, I'm intuitively lousy at it. I'm an angiogram three. I like to be liked. I think that I can fix every situation with charm and with compassion and pastoral skills, and when it comes to really confronting people, I had a VP who was fabulous at it, and I learned a lot from Jim.  It was really funny.  Jim had people who he corrected all the time who loved him. And I asked him How do you do that? How do you speak that kind of truth? It was because he did love them, but he also wouldn't drop bombs on them. He would chunk it out and give them criticism or confrontation in the short term. Now, I will say this, I had a bone marrow transplant eight years ago, and I am much better at confrontation now than I was before. And I think in part what the cancer taught me was life is short. Be more candid, be blunter. And my wife looks at me sometimes and she goes, is this really you? Cancer changed me for the good in this regard in that I'm a better confronter and I'm less worried about what people think of me. Because cancer changed me for the good in this regard in that I'm a better confronter and I'm less worried about what people think of me. Maybe the part of that's aging too, and I don't have a position that I have to defend anymore. I think the other thing is I had to let my reputation and sense of competence, my public competence die when I was at InterVarsity and that's liberating. It sounds crazy to think that when you give up your reputation, it's going to be freeing, but I think that process took 20 years. ++++++++++ [00:16:05] Tommy Thomas:  I know you retired from InterVarsity for health reasons. Did you find when, and I'm sure that was foremost in your mind, but I always like to ask people who've been longtime successful leaders, was much of your identity tied up in being the president of InterVarsity? [00:16:22] Alec Hill: You used the word, successful leader. I'd say I have a mixed report card, to be honest. So that's the first thing I just want to say. This is where the cancer's been a real gift. So, when you almost die, when you're expected to die, you get your identity detached from your role real quickly. And when I left, I was diagnosed, and I was gone six weeks later. And then I had a year of isolation to think about all these things. But I do think I was always aware in the 14 years at InterVarsity that my identity could be too wrapped up. So, I consciously tried to work on that issue. It was something I named, and I recognized it as a great temptation. So, I wasn't perfect, but I think I always recognized that I had been given the baton for a period of time. I would pass it off. It wasn't proprietary and this is what I did, not who, what, not who I am, not who I was. And that was liberating, but the claw of the temptation kept reaching up to grab me. I will say this, Tommy, I was surprised when I left after 14 years with the cancer, how little the identity trapped me. I didn't have this longing for the perks of the job. I didn't worry when people didn't recognize me. I think I'm so grateful to be alive. So, I think that was the gift of the cancer, right? I didn't have what a lot of leaders have when they leave, that huge identity crisis. I was trying to live, and so it just, it went underground. It didn't seem very important. And then by the time I came out, I had a different identity. Yeah so, the identity question's a tricky one for me because what would I have been like without the cancer? I don't know.  [00:17:59] Tommy Thomas: Yeah. Now I was talking recently to a pastor of a huge megachurch, and he retired maybe three years ago.  From all appearances, it seems to have been a very successful transition, and this guy has always been, in my mind, the epitome of humility, and yet he was candid enough to say, Tommy, it is disappointing that the phone doesn't ring as much anymore. That he said that, and I just, I was taken back. I thought, wow, this guy I would've thought if anybody probably had mastered that it would've been him, and yet he said, the phone doesn't ring anymore. And every now and then, that kind of bothers me.  [00:18:36] Alec Hill: Back to the gold image here. I get this bone marrow cancer and I'm in isolation. I come off disability after six months, but I can't be with people because I'm in isolation for another six months. The COO who's acting is the interim president, Jim and I agreed I would be a mentor for six months and then I could do a real job. During those six months, I had 12-14 staff from InterVarsity I was talking with monthly. And I discovered this pastoral sense of who I am. And now that's seven years ago. And so, I never got the sense of being, I worked really hard on what my new purpose was. It was the next generation of leaders, and it was investing in them. The phone rings all the time, but it's because I have, I think largely because I proactively put myself out as a mentor and the richness of these really. I have one guy who I've been with for six, seven years now who just sent me a Mariners jersey. Edgar Martinez is a gift for the year. Totally unexpected because we're both baseball fans and I just am thankful for the depth of these friendships. And then other opportunities have opened up as well. So, I do think that this is back where near death when you face mortality, there's a sense of which everything is a grace. And everything is a gift. So, I have a deeply appreciative sense and I don't feel, the glass is more than half full. It's full. It's a full glass.  +++++++++++++++++ [00:19:54] Tommy Thomas: Yeah. I want to switch to something maybe a little more global. A study by the UK Finance and Mental Health First Aid Department in England said that 83% of the City of London Financial Services employees, so they've considered changing jobs due to stress on their mental health. 83%. How prevalent do you think that might be in the nonprofit sector in the United States? [00:20:19] Alec Hill: I think it's very prevalent. I think when you have undoable missions, which you know, any mission's worth of salt is huge, it's going to transform the world. And you combine that with limited resources, which nonprofits have much more than for-profits, right? You have little money. And you have lots of responsibility which is a pivot point for depression, for feeling like a failure. When you throw into that Covid and the fragility of this new generation coming up in terms of anxiety and mental health, and I actually just wrote a piece on my own anxiety issues I think it's a recipe for problems within nonprofits. And I think generationally, each generation approaches it differently. You have the stoic generation, then you have, as I say, the more the people want to talk about it all the time, it's not going to go away. This is a real problem.  [00:21:11] Tommy Thomas: Here's a Mother Teresa quote, I'd like to respond to. Mother Teresa said, I'm not called to be successful, but I'm called to be faithful. [00:21:20] Alec Hill:  Amen. And we can't guarantee the outcomes. We can guarantee the process. I do think though, when she talks about being faithful, another word for that is accountable. And so accountable, just to be faithful doesn't mean that we're freelancing it or that we cannot think about the consequences of our actions. We are accountable but again, we are accountable to be faithful in what we do, not in exactly what happens. And I think as I reflect back, Tommy, I'm a real strategic planner and I love putting out goals and going for them. I still do, but I'm softening on this one. I think that I will say this, that I think what we said is our strategic plans were always dynamic. And that we would, by the time we were done, about a third of it would be rewritten. The mistake a lot of groups make with strategic plans is they're like cement. You're relying on the Lord for wisdom. When you write them up, you're dreaming about what can be, and then you have to hold them real loosely and you have to constantly change them and edit them. I think the sense of being faithful, that context is we're going to work together towards this common mission in these four or five areas for the next three or four years. But we don't know how it's going to turn out. Let me give you an example. At one point, InterVarsity Press, we had hoped that it would grow by X percent and then we hit the great recession of 2009 and there was no way we were even going to get back to zero, right? Because the publishing industry was underwater. We rewrote the goal. And the goal went down, I'm going to guess 35, 40% and we hit that goal well because of the external environment, because the way you don't control, you have to. So, for us, that was a feel-good, even though it was a loss.  Rather than that, we failed. [00:23:06] Tommy Thomas: It's been said that we probably learned more from our mistakes and our successes. If that's the truth, why? Why are most of us so afraid to make a mistake? [00:23:13] Alec Hill: I'll go back to the spinal tap. We hate pain. And, this false self-truth, back to identity, that we want to project a certain image of who we are and how competent we are, especially people like me. When we realize there's a gap between what we project and who we are, we can do one of two things. We can honestly admit that, or we can fake it.  And faking it really takes a toll. You've seen this, I've seen this. Leaders who are faking it are living on the edge. They become unkind, they become self-protective, they become vindictive, and they don't even recognize themselves in the mirror. So it's really hard to remain truly human as a senior leader if you're a perfectionist, if you're a control freak, if you value your public image, all those things have to die. And it is a very, and the crucifixion of those is very painful and it's ongoing.  [00:24:13] Tommy Thomas: If you could go back in time and tell a younger version of yourself one thing, what would you say? [00:24:19] Alec Hill: I think I would say care less about what other people think. And back, this is a common theme here. Don't think so highly of yourself. Relax. Enjoy the ride. I think future-oriented people like me tend to miss the aha moments and the savoring of moments. And I've always been pretty relational, but I'm so goal-oriented and so project oriented that I think that I miss a lot of the magic and the splendor along the way. And again, cancer taught me to slow down and savor. One of the things I do daily, pretty much daily is there's a, near us, there's a city park and I'll go over, it's a five-minute walk and there's a grove of cedar trees and I just go through that cedar tree and I just stop and smell them and I touch them and I just have this sort of sense of God as creator and father. And so I think that's a new wrinkle for me, because I've always been in such a hurry.  [00:25:15] Tommy Thomas: So, what are you most excited about in life right now? [00:25:17] Alec Hill:  Grandchildren, of course. I've got three of them and they're just wonderful. I think I just turned 70 and when I first had the bone marrow transplant, I didn't know that I would live to 70 and now I'm thinking I could live to 80. The whole journey of full-body radiation chemo has taken some years off my life. So, there's this sense of living in a cycle of appreciation and joy and just being relatively healthy. That's also a real joy. I had two new hips put in a couple of years ago because the full-body radiation killed off some of the blood flow to the head of the joint, and I'm going to have more of those coming up. But I think the awe of my wife, having been married for 45 years, and grandkids.  I'd say little kids just light up. Every they're like little energy buckets. They're like batteries. And so even though I come back with a sore back and bent knees and all that stuff, it's just wonderful. So I think that's what I'm most excited about. And I think the other part on the professional side is I'm not retired. I'm working 30 hours plus a week. And one of the big changes in my life, Tommy, has been from having one activity, which is whether it's being a dean or regional director for world relief or doing InterVarsity to having this portfolio of activities. And so I've got a lot of buckets. I have multiple bosses. I teach at Regent College in Canada. I write for Tammy Heim.  There were boards in the past, and so the challenge now is, how do you take all of these activities and make them flow so that they work? And I will say this, everything I do is pretty much, it's fun, wonderful, mission-driven stuff. But what I do miss is doing a mission together with a team. And I think that's the one thing about leading is that, you see a goal, you're doing a mission and you're doing it with a group of people you love. That is really a special time. But that time has passed for me. I've accepted that, but that's probably the one thing I do miss.  [00:27:23] Tommy Thomas: What's the best piece of advice anyone's ever given you? [00:27:25] Alec Hill: I thought about this one. I think that freedom comes through surrender. And I think that this is counterintuitive, but that when we become slaves of Christ, we truly find our freedom because he's a good master. And for someone like me who likes to maintain control, it's a very hard lesson to learn. But when I do it well, there is such lightness because I'm not carrying the world. I'm not a false Messiah carrying around all the problems of the world and being responsible for them. I'm actually surrendering to the true Messiah who carries the world on his shoulders and I'm under his wings, and therefore I'm in the right flow, doing the right things, but I'm not catching all the headwinds like he does. All the crap, all the hell that he caught through the, through his who he was. And that is a really good place to be. [00:28:25] Tommy Thomas: If you were a judge or I guess one of the wealthy people on the Shark Tank and nonprofit people came to you with their ideas.  What have you got to know before you invest? [00:28:35] Alec Hill:  I would ask them if they have a coherent strategic plan.  I would ask them to describe their last executive director transition.  I would ask them do they do an annual evaluation of the executive director regularly, consistently?  I would ask them, are all your trustees giving? And describe how you handled your latest crisis. What was the crisis and how'd you handle it? Now hopefully they'd be honest and tell me, but, if they came up with a sense that they weren't doing these things well, they were sloppy. We did a review a couple of years ago, the strategic plan. Yeah. We've got five or six ideas on a sheet of paper. I'm not going to invest in that nonprofit. So I think there are basic principles of I would, I'd also ask, do you regularly survey your employees? And what do you do with that feedback? So what kind of feedback loops do you have? How are you improving yourself as an organization, as a ministry, as a board? And if they don't, if they look at you blankly, then you just go, so I'd ask some governance questions as well. But you're trying to get to culture and what they're really like in their default manner. [00:29:45] Tommy Thomas: If you were creating a dashboard that at a glance would give you some indication of the health of a nonprofit what would some of the gauges be? [00:29:53] Alec Hill: This is a great question. I think the first thing is, are there metrics tied to their strategic plan? And it sounds like a really simple thing, but it's amazing how many metrics are in these dashboards that aren't directly tied to the strategic plan goals. So that's a real basic one. My advice is if you have a board that's used a certain dashboard for years, but you have a new strategic plan, you're going to have to rewrite your dashboard. And that people, sometimes they don't, they disconnect the two. I think I would want to know is do you have three-plus months of reserves and finances? I think that's a big one, and I would want to try now, once you get over six months, it gets a little way too much. But if you're under three months in your reserves, there's instability and a scarcity mentality that can set in that's unhealthy. I want to look at debt, if there's a line of credit. I think that, obviously the finances, but those are a couple of particular things. And then I mentioned this in your earlier question, but I think the employee satisfaction survey, I, as a board member, I'd really want to look to see that there's an annual regular and I want to see what, how the employees are feeling about the organization. Boards can be too connected with the organization, but they can also be disconnected. And I think the evaluation of the executive director and employee satisfaction surveys give you a sense of the health of it. I think it should be on the President, the Executive Director's plate to be looking at that employee satisfaction survey and making changes and improving year by year.  +++++++++++++++++++ [00:31:23] Tommy Thomas: I'm grateful to Alec Hill for being our guest today. His candor and transparency are always encouraging to me. As he mentioned in the podcast, Alec is a frequent contributor to the Christian Leadership Alliance Blog. He's also a published author of two books. Living in Bonus Time: Surviving Cancer, Finding New Purpose and Just Business: Christian Ethics for the Marketplace. We have several links to Alec's writing in the show notes.  Thank you for joining us today. If you are a first-time listener, I hope you will subscribe and become a regular. You can find links to all the episodes at our website: www.jobfitmatters.com/podcast.   If there are topics you'd like for me to explore my email address is tthomas@jobfitmatters.com.   Word of mouth has been identified as the most valuable form of marketing.   Surveys tell us that consumers believe recommendations from friends and family over all other forms of advertising.  If you've heard something today that's worth passing on, please share it with others. You're already helping me make something special for the next generation of nonprofit leaders. I'll be back next week with a new episode. Until then stay the course on our journey to help make the nonprofit sector more effective and sustainable.    Links and Resources JobfitMatters Website Next Gen Nonprofit Leadership with Tommy Thomas Living in Bonus Time: Surviving Cancer, Finding New Purpose Just Business: Christian Ethics for the Marketplace InterVarsity Press - Alec Hill The Huffington Post - Alec Hill   Connect Tommy Thomas - tthomas@jobfitmatters.com Tommy's LinkedIn Profile      

I know what it is like to think negatively and assume the worst when a situation occurs. I've felt the anxiety and overthink the consequences but being in this state of mind is a choice and it's not God's plan for us. He wants us to have The Ready Mind! Inspired by Joyce Meyers and part of living the #abundant life!

Here at Thek-talks I share my highlighted moments through faith building inspirational books. To hopefully help spur a conversation among other believers and for one's personal faith journey with the Lord. May this bless you as you go about your day and feel free to use this for your small group. Let me know in comments where/ how you like to listen. And, let me know if you do plan on using videos for your small group. Thanks! Thekla Wright ps. please check out my books in Amazon. go to Redbubble.com/thekla21 for more Christian content.

#god'swill #god'swillnoteasy #godisforyou *I explain how God's own son, Jesus, understands us and that doing His father's will wasn't easy for him as well. *I share why I do these videos. *Also, my book I was going to share didn't come in the mail in time! ugh! So, hopefully next week I will share chapter 1 in "Perfect Love" by Joyce Meyers. ***Registration is free of- She Leads Church 2023: Purpose All access to teaching videos are available for 2 days, otherwise you can purchase replays to be set a side in your email inbox. I do get a commission if you do decide that you purchase a ticket. Thanks!! https://www.sheleadschurch.com/a/2147.

Can I Learn to Hope Against All Hope?Romans 4:18-21 “In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations; as he had been told, “So shall your descendants be.”  He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead because he was about a hundred years old, or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb.  No distrust made him waiver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.”  There is so much in these four short verse.  It begins with, “In hope he believed against hope that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told.”  I wish we could believe in hope against all hope.  We have all been in one situation or another when it looked like it wasn't going to work out.  We have all been in a situation where what we wanted seemed to be agains all hope.  Think back to a time when all hope was lost.  Can you think of a time when you were telling yourself, or maybe others were telling you that there was no hope?  This is the type of situation Abraham was living.  God told him he would be the father of all nations and yet he was 75 years old, which was pretty old in that day and age and he didn't have any children.  Abraham had plenty of reasons to doubt what he was told.  I like how the verse says his faith did not weaken when he considered his own body, “which was as good as dead because he was a hundred years old.”  The author of this section is even saying that Abraham was as good as dead.  According to several sources I found online Abraham was 75 years old when God promised he would be there Father of nations and his descendants would be like the stars.  Then he was 100 years old when Isaac was born.  Can you imagine waiting 25 years for a promise from God?  Maybe you can.  Maybe you have been waiting 25 years to meet your future spouse, maybe you have been waiting 25 years to have children, maybe you have been waiting 25 years for your child or your spouse to become sober or get off all drugs.  If you have been waiting a really long time for your dream to come true, or a promise to come true, look to Abraham for guidance.  I want to have the faith that Abraham had.  I want to have a faith that believes in hope, against all hope.  I want to stand firm in my faith and not have it weaken when I see all that is up against me.  I want to have total trust as Abraham had.  It says in this verse, “No distrust made him waiver concerning the promise of God.”  How amazing would it be if our trust was so great that nothing could make us waiver in it?  I have had this type of trust before.  When my niece was born early, I believed that God was not going to take her from us.  I believed in hope, against all hope that she would live.  The doctors told us she would not, and we continued to hope and believe in God.  The nurses told us that she would not make it and we believed and trusted God against all hope.  They told us to say goodbye and we decided to praise God instead and we kept trusting, kept hoping and kept believing that our God could do anything, and He did.  This believing in Hope for us lasted months, months that seemed like years, but it was still months.  I don't think I have ever waited for something for 25 years.  Actually I did wait for a long time for things to get better in my family with my husband and with my children.  It was not 25 years, but it was at least 15 or so.  I trusted that God would work it all for our good, I trusted that God was in control and that He was there with us through all of it.  I believe I was given this kind of trust because I asked for it, because I looked for it.  I don't believe I have this trust in God because I am special, I don't think I am just lucky, I think God gives us what we ask for.  Have you been intentional in asking God for what you need, or giving Him permission to give you all that He thinks you need?  God tells us in Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”  Ask God for what you want.  Ask Him for a deeper faith, ask Him for a deeper trust, ask Him for more strength, ask Him for whatever you need and then praise Him when He gives it to you.  I knew I needed more God in my life when I was facing the things I was facing.  I knew I couldn't do it on my own and I knew He was the only way we would all make it though.  I know God can do amazing things and so I decided I wasn't going to be afraid to ask for them.  I wasn't going to be afraid to seek Him and His gifts more.  He never looks at us like we are greedy when we are seeking His gifts.  He wants to give them to us.  His gifts only bring us closer to Him and help us spread His word.  Nothing bad comes from the gifts of the Lord.  We don't have to be afraid to ask for them, he loves when we seek Him and desire Him.  Sometimes I feel insecure talking about my faith in God because I feel as though others will think I am bragging, or think I am exaggerating.  I feel the Lord has been telling me lately to talk about it more, to not hold back because if others see the kind of faith that is possible, they can search for it too.  The kind of faith that Abraham had is not impossible.  The faith that Daniel had in the lion's den is not impossible.  If you want to have a faith like this the first step is to ask for it and to keep asking until you get it.  We heard in Luke 18:1-8 about the parable of the persistent widow.  God likes when we ask Him for something over and over again.  That is one way He knows how much we want it.  The next thing to do is to seek it.  Ask God what you need to do and then follow His promptings.  Increased Faith is a gift from God.  There are things you can do and should do, such as follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit, but ultimately, it is a gift from God.  I have a sticky note right by my computer that reminds me to keep asking God for His gifts.  That sticky note says, “It's not that I am greedy, it's that I am needy.”  I need all that God has to give, especially if I want to become more like Him, especially if I want to spread His love all over the world.  If you want the trust, faith and hope that is talked about in this verse above then the first step is easy, just ask for it.I just want to take a minute to point out the last sentence in this verse, “No distrust made him waiver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.”  The part of this line that I want to highlight is when it says, “but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.”  Abraham grew strong in his faith as he gave Glory to God.  How often are you giving Glory to God?  Are you doing it even when you aren't seeing the answers to your prayers?  Are you doing it even when you have been waiting a really long time?  I think we can all learn a lot from these few verses and one thing for sure is that his faith grew strong as he gave Glory to God.  If his faith can grow by doing that, so can ours.  What if we all gave a little more glory to God this week and this month?  What if we praise him more and more and see what that leads too.  I once heard a quote that I will never forget.  I think it was Joyce Meyers that said it, but I can't be 100% certain.  The quote is, “If you complain, you remain, if you praise, you will be raised.”  I truly believed that part of the reason my faith in the Lord is so strong is because I love praise music and I love gratitude.  Those two combined have been huge in helping me grow in faith.  Give it a try, and see if you love it as much as I do!Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today.  Lord, you are amazing and we want to trust like Abraham trusted.  We want to have faith and hope like he had.  We want to believe in hope against all hope.  We want to be unwavering in our faith, even when we look at all that seems to be against us.  We want to wait faithfully, even if it takes 25 years for you to fulfill that promise you made to us.  We love you Lord and we are so grateful for you.  We are grateful you answer when we ask, we find when we seek and that you open doors when we knock.  You are truly powerful and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus' holy name, Amen!Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus.  I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow.  Remember Jesus loves you and so do I!  Have a blessed day! 

Digital Media expert Phil Cooke (Disney, Dreamworks, Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyers, The Museum of the Bible) shares secrets from his book 'Maximize Your Influence' on how to harness the power of social media to accomplish the dreams God has put in your heart.Learn More About Phil CookeGet the book 'Maximize Your Influence'FacebookTwitter_______________________________________________________________________________________________>>>Find Out More About Our Ministry: >>>Support Our Partner Organization | The Missional Store Your purchases help change the world:>>>Follow Us On Social Media:>>>Visit Dan's YouTube Music Channel for Instrumental Worship Music:>>>Visit Dan's Music Website

INTRODUCTION: Stuart Delony is a storyteller, seeker, sojourner, question-asker, and provocateur. He's a former pastor and the creator and host of Snarky Faith Radio, a podcast for the spiritually disenfranchised.Stuart has a Masters of Global Leadership from Fuller Theological Seminary andlives in Chapel Hill, NC with his wife and kids. INCLUDED IN THIS EPISODE (But not limited to):  ·      The Insanity In Christianity ·      How Pastors Are Like Drug Dealers·      The Simplicity Of Jesus Christ·      God Is Pro-Choice·      Jesus Loves Broke Bitches!!!·      Shitty Seminaries ·      The Lord Speaks To Us Through Movies·      Lakewood Church Shade·      The Production That Is “Church Service” ·      The Marriage Of Church & State CONNECT WITH STUART: Website: https://www.SnarkyFaith.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/stuartdelonyInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/stuartdelony/ STUART'S RECOMMENDATIONS: In God We Trump: https://vimeo.com/234002024 CONNECT WITH DE'VANNON: Website: https://www.SexDrugsAndJesus.comWebsite: https://www.DownUnderApparel.comYouTube: https://bit.ly/3daTqCMFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/SexDrugsAndJesus/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sexdrugsandjesuspodcast/Twitter: https://twitter.com/TabooTopixLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devannonPinterest: https://www.pinterest.es/SexDrugsAndJesus/_saved/Email: DeVannon@SexDrugsAndJesus.com  DE'VANNON'S RECOMMENDATIONS: ·      Pray Away Documentary (NETFLIX)o  https://www.netflix.com/title/81040370o  TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk_CqGVfxEs ·      OverviewBible (Jeffrey Kranz)o  https://overviewbible.como  https://www.youtube.com/c/OverviewBible ·      Hillsong: A Megachurch Exposed (Documentary)o  https://press.discoveryplus.com/lifestyle/discovery-announces-key-participants-featured-in-upcoming-expose-of-the-hillsong-church-controversy-hillsong-a-megachurch-exposed/ ·      Leaving Hillsong Podcast With Tanya Levino  https://leavinghillsong.podbean.com  ·      Upwork: https://www.upwork.com·      FreeUp: https://freeup.net VETERAN'S SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS ·      Disabled American Veterans (DAV): https://www.dav.org·      American Legion: https://www.legion.org ·      What The World Needs Now (Dionne Warwick): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfHAs9cdTqg  INTERESTED IN PODCASTING OR BEING A GUEST?: ·      PodMatch is awesome! This application streamlines the process of finding guests for your show and also helps you find shows to be a guest on. The PodMatch Community is a part of this and that is where you can ask questions and get help from an entire network of people so that you save both money and time on your podcasting journey.https://podmatch.com/signup/devannon  TRANSCRIPT: [00:00:00]You're listening to the sex drugs and Jesus podcast, where we discuss whatever the fuck we want to! And yes, we can put sex and drugs and Jesus all in the same bed and still be all right at the end of the day. My name is De'Vannon and I'll be interviewing guests from every corner of this world as we dig into topics that are too risqué for the morning show, as we strive to help you understand what's really going on in your life.There is nothing off the table and we've got a lot to talk about. So let's dive right into this episode.De'Vannon: Stewart Delony is a fun and beautiful man. He is the host of the Snarky Faith Radio podcast. Stewart has himself a master of global leadership from Fuller Theological Seminary. And he worked for over 20 years in ministry. Now, in this episode, we about to shred modern day Christianity and read them for all the filth they damn well deserve.And as always, I will be throwing all the shade at [00:01:00] Lakewood Church because they deserve it more than most. I hope y'all enjoy.Hello, all my beautiful souls out there and welcome back to the Sex Drugs in Jesus podcast. I'm super excited as I always am. Everyone says that before every fucking show. So anyway, I hope this one is like super badass and we're gonna talk a lot about Jesus and, and those damn Christian people who seem to have attached to themselves, to him for some bizarre, unbeknownst reason today.Have Stewart Dani with me. He's the host of the Snarky Faith Podcast, Lion Ash Radio Show. And it is pretty snarky, . I do have to say something myself, Stewart, how you are? How, how are you today? Stuart: I'm great, Danna and I, I'm excited to be here hanging out with you and talking about all sorts of stuff today.De'Vannon: All sorts [00:02:00] of things. And so I remember whether the I had discovered as you add or how, I don't know, I'd just be on the internet digging up shit. And somehow I came across, maybe I did like a religious search on Apple or something. And then I came across your podcast, Snarky Faith. And then I looked at some of the show, show titles and everything like that.And I was just, just as fascinated as I could be. So just to read, we're gonna actually talk about your podcast towards the end of the show because we wanna talk about a couple of documentaries first. But I do wanna read the description you have for your podcast just as a little titty teaser for my beautiful audience.And so, and that quote, Stewart Snarky Faith is a space where we ire ire. Haven't had my wine today. Ire wrestle through life, culture and spiritu realities. It is a skewing of religion and culture today. The questions are even, [00:03:00] answers are never the point. It's all about the conversation in the quote, and we'll jump back on that later.So one of your major themes that I came across for you is this, you've coined this term the insanity in Christianity, and I'm just wondering what that means Stuart: to you. Well part of it has to do with, with a bit of my past too, if I was, I was raised in the south. I was raised in, in, in, around the Atlanta metro area, was raised around conservative Christianity for the most part, and then for some odd reason, decided to get into ministry for a number of years.I was, I worked like 20 years in church ministry and. Began, the further I was working in there was just began to see just the weird, crazy dysfunction. Like, like the, the idea that there is the stuff that Jesus talks about and then there's the stuff that like Christians [00:04:00] talk about in politics and those two things, those don't really match up at all.And you know, and so that just started kind of ticking me off over the while of being able to say, Wait a second. I know you guys have Jesus bumper stickers or T-shirts, but nothing about what you're doing. Seems like you understand the simple teachings of Jesus. So yes, my job a lot of times I feel like is to be able to point out the insanity, to be able to say that's not what Karate's talked about.Mm-hmm. , it's just a lot of American Christianity, . De'Vannon: Right. And that is our task because, you know, our market is not, I feel like I could speak for you when I say this. You know, our market is not. The church. Mm-hmm. , it's not church people. Our marketer are people who are considering their path and pondering at whose minds have a risk of being overthrown.By the way, Christianity is branded, especially here in the States. And so when people like us rise [00:05:00] up and go, there's another approach to God, you know, this, this fooly that that we're seeing play out before our eyes isn't him. And so I don't want people to actually believe that this is all God is reduced to his evangelical and Republican philandering, you know, and cocaine ORs and whatever the hell else they do.I don't judge it for the cocaine orgies, Mr. Matt Gates and you know, Mr. Wannabe speaker of the house. Cause I've had a few of those myself. But I wasn't judging people , Stuart: you know, you weren't oppressing people for the things that you were doing. Which that ticks me off like more than anything. It does, It does it.I, I've never understood that. So for people to kind of, and that's a weird part about Christianity, I think that the, for lack of a better term, the inbred nature of a lot of the, the thought processes that go on within there, I, I think it keeps people in a space where they feel like they have to keep coming back.Where they feel like it's, you know, [00:06:00] either fear or shame or whatever keeps you coming back. Even though probably every bit of the logic in your brain is saying, This place is crazy. We gotta get out. But somehow you just leave that door open, put you don't know what God's doing, which is a recipe for abuse, , anytime you kind of enter that into it yeah.De'Vannon: Yeah. Yeah, those are the dangling carrots, you know, the vague promises. You know, it's like when I was a drug dealer, I wasn't a shady ass drug dealer, but I hung around a bunch of shady ass drug dealers. Mm-hmm. . And that's how you always get people, you know, like, Oh, this is gonna be the best thing, you know, all these promises, or, Give me your money and I'll come back with even more than what I've, you know, more doped than what I have right now.You know, Just let me borrow this. Let me hold onto it for a second. You know, it's the same Stuart: energy. Oh, I've been around some shady ass pastor, so I, I totally agree. That is . That is the exact same energy . De'Vannon: Then I heard you say the S word when you were referring to Jesus' [00:07:00] ministry, which is simple. Mm-hmm.and, and so I just wanted to echo that cuz I always like to remind people that it was a remarkable thing and one of the gospels and it was talking about how Jesus taught with such simplicity. Mm-hmm. , you know, I find it remarkable because they, they couldn't write everything down in the Bible or, or even the scribes of the day.They couldn't literally account for everything in the whole day. They only wrote down what stood out to them. So the fact that Jesus' ministry being like, chill was noteworthy, just lets, lets me know that the the Republicans of his day, , the Pharisees and the sades were being really, really extra. Yeah.You know, because there, there was a contrast there. Jesus wasn't showboating and causing a whole scene except for when he threw over the temple, which I, you know, I'm with him on that. Mm-hmm. and you know, so Jesus was chilling. So when we look at, you know, Republicans, evangelicals you know, people who tout the name [00:08:00] Christianity and how hard they come for, for people, you know, they're being, you know, the exact opposite of how Christ was very humble and meek, he spoke his word, but he didn't, by no means go around trying to force it upon people.Mm-hmm. . And so he never did that. And so I just wanted to talk about the simplicity of the Lord. Stuart: Yes. And, and even in that regard, like if you don't talk about, even about the simplicity of scripture, one of the ideas, core ideas of scripture is choice. In the Bible, you know, allowing people to have choice, which is really funny because Republicans don't like to allow people to have choices to be able to go and do stuff.But that's very, very central to really a lot of the narrative of scriptures in the Bible is that God gives people the opportunity to do stuff. God doesn't compulsively make people do things like Republicans want to do and are doing in certain places right now too, which is terrifying. Yeah, The, I believe they do it in the name of Jesus, which is also sickening De'Vannon: too , when anybody can pick [00:09:00] up the name of Jesus and go trotting down the street with it.I know where people have to get is that, you know, when the Bible talks about woo and sheep's clothing, it has to be somebody, when the Bible talks about the hypocrites and stuff like that, it has to be somebody. Every generation has people who claim to be of God and are not, and people who say one thing and do the opposite, it happens everywhere.So in our day and time, I believe that that is our Republican party and. The Evangelical party and people who, who don't seem to have a problem with what Republicans are doing. Mm-hmm. . So this is our, these are our Pharisees right now. Stuart: Oh, absolutely. Because Christ talks a lot about, I mean, there, there is so much that is like anti empire and anti-establishment in what Jesus is talking about, about the structures of power of the time.And it's funny to be able to see where we see like a lot of conservative Christians running, We want more power in government, we want more power, we want more of the empire. And that whole thing was antithetical to everything Jesus was talking [00:10:00] about. He was trying to talk about whole different system of power and a whole dis different system of living, but some of them didn't get the memo apparently.Mm. De'Vannon: They can't because, you know, as the Lord said, if he were to open their eyes and they would see, and he would open their hearts and they would hear, and they would feel they would be human and they would be converted, but he has not given them the kingdom. And, you know, whoever the, whoever the hypocrites of the day are, are never, ever gonna see fault in themselves because it's always gonna be a problem with what someone else is doing.Mm-hmm. because their minds have been overthrown in a, in a and that makes life harder for everyone else. But yeah, I choose to believe that the problems that they bring up on our lives are, they're to strengthen us because it's gotta be something if it's not them and there's gonna be the bitch next door or the bitch at the grocery store, , we gonna always have motherfucker somewhereSo, so we can't escape. And so, but it is [00:11:00] about choice. And Deuteronomy, you know, in the Old Testament, the Lord is always trying to give Israel a choice. Choose, choose you this day who you're going to serve, but I'm not going to force you. I hope you pick me, is what God is saying. But he never, ever, ever, ever was forceful.And my favorite example of Jesus being anti-establishment, if you will. Entire rich people was when the, the lady came in with only the two mites and all the rich people were in there making it rain. And, you know, he didn't compliment them, he didn't say anything good about them. The person who made him stop in his tracks was the broke bitch.Mm-hmm. , you know, the, the, the, the bitch bleeding from her pussy. You know, I met respectfully ladies and and I realized how that sounded when I said, Stuart: You mean it in love. You mean it in love. That's De'Vannon: all love. And so, so, you know, you know, the broken people or the people who stood out to him, but in this is the town people wanna talk about the richest pastors, the richest people in [00:12:00] the world.This is not how God is. Stuart: No. No, and that's, and again, like circling back to the simplicity, it really just goes back to like, how are you loving people? in your area, like in your own sphere? Like, do you love your neighbor? Do you love the, those that aren't nice to you? I mean, they're really simple things in many ways that will change how you walk.That'll change how you even like look within yourself when you're actually learning to deal with other people. Seeing your own junk when you see other people's junk. And then, you know, the hope is that it makes you way, way, way more compassionate moving forward as you engage with other people. But at the same time, yeah, sometimes it's too simple for Christianity.We need to make it into some sort of a thing where we're drawing a line in the sand and the, these are going to hell, these are going to heaven. And when they always draw the line, the line's always on their side. Mm-hmm. De'Vannon: So, so how you went to seminary? Which seminary [00:13:00] was it again? Stuart: I went to a Fuller Theological Seminary.It's it's mainly in Pasadena, but they have a few other campuses. De'Vannon: Yeah. Cause I thought I remember like World Campus or something like that in there somewhere. But I went to seminary too. I left, I didn't stay long, just only a few semesters because the the guy who taught law, he just one day he was like, Yeah, we, we really like to control people in the church and everything like that.And oh my God, I was the only person in class who was like, I don't think we should be controlling , you know? Yes. Yes. I don't think we should be doing that. And, you know, and I did a double take, you know, and I asked him, you know, the fuck you. You know, I was speaking more similarly and the aloud. Stuart: Of course, of course, of course.But that's the trans, that's the translation of . De'Vannon: Yeah. In, in, in the Greek. That's the translation. Yeah. The fuck you say. [00:14:00] And he just like, he was like, Yeah, we wanna control people in the church. And he said it as casually as there's clouds in the sky. And everyone else in the class was nodding along with him besides me, and I was like, Oh, hell no.Mm-hmm. , I got to go . Stuart: So, Oh, I, I've had moments like that too. This was, I mean, this wasn't, I mean, I appre for me, I, I enjoyed the seminary I went to for the different viewpoints. It pushed on me. I enjoyed, See, I'm a person, I don't know if I'm just like a intellectual status, but I don't mind being wrong in my head,So if there's like new information out there, I don't mind messing around with it. But watching other pastors like lose their mind. Like when certain professors would tell them scripture in this way or this way. Like, Oh, you know what, if the creation story is not literal and then you watch a bunch of other guys just heads blow up at that moment.But, but you're right. I've been in other places, not at my seminary, but when I've been to different conferences and stuff where I've heard back when I was a church planter, like heard people talking about gathering [00:15:00] people together. If you're planting a church and those people don't worry too much about them, they're scaffolding on the building that you're kind of really trying to set up here.So they're just useful tools and if they leave, that's fine, but they're, and hearing that, it's the most dehumanizing thing that I've ever heard about people, especially from a perspective of we're starting a church. People that you're gonna start it with, ah, it don't matter that much, but they'll be useful idiots for a while.And, and, and, and that's just what gets me so much about Jesus is that Christ saw the humanity in people. Price didn't see them as, as marks or numbers or, or any of this stuff. And it, it's just gross. It's gross in so many ways how Christianity has become in this way. De'Vannon: I think some people start off corrupt like that, and I think some of them start off with the best of intentions, but money and power corrupt some slowly, gradually over time.Much like the ring did Smiggle in the Lord of the Rings. Yeah. Yeah. I don't think that cinema and, and all these shows we watch are just [00:16:00] entertainment. I really think that the Lord is speaking through us through these things. The slow corruption of Ankin Skywalker, the Vader. You know, I don't, I don't, I think that this sort of stuff happens in people in real life, although they're not running around shooting electricity outta their hands and forgot and disappearing when they put a ring on.You know? But you know, what does disappear? You know who you used to be? You know, by the time Ankin is Vader and by time, by the time Smiggle is Gollum, that old person is, you know, their original more pure form is no more. And they can't even tell you the point which they changed cuz it happened so subtly.Mm. But in their mind, they still feel like they're just as justified today as Vader and Gollum as they were when they were Ankin and Smiggle. Mm-hmm with everyone else who has a problem. . Stuart: So, No, you're right, you're right. And I've been in places where like, yes, it feels like to stay on this track it means I'll have to lose a part of my soul or have to swallow part of who I am to in order to remain here.And that was, that was a learning curve for me cuz I'd worked for a, I [00:17:00] worked as a missionary for a while and I was on the leadership board of their organization and I was the guy that was always pushing back against what they were doing. And so for a season of life, I was like, Oh, I'm doing God's work.I'm trying to push back and give a different perspective. And then after a while you begin to realize, no, I'm just really being a pain in the ass to them, and they really don't want me around anymore because my perspective is too challenging to what they're talking about. And at this point, I probably just need to gracefully exit because it's just, you know, there's that idea of Yeah, am I helping or am I just a pain of the ass?And at some places, if you're a pain of the ass, you're just gonna leave. De'Vannon: Right? And, you know, church is just like a lot of Yes. Men around them and, and stuff like that, which is something I'm, I believe I have in my notes here too. You know, well, I'll just say now, you know, you know these churches, they surround themselves with people who agree like them and they think like them.And so they don't really wanna be challenged. But the danger of that is if you're not, if you don't have opposing [00:18:00] viewpoint, You keep hearing all of these yeses and you begin to think that you're right when you objectify people like that and you think that you're right. Well, whatever it is that you do, Cause ain't nobody telling you no.Mm-hmm. . Stuart: So I'm, And, but there's, there's a danger in folks just in the audience, just a similarly, like for people in the congregations, effectively taking their brains out when they hang out in church and being like, Yeah, whatever he said, I agree with it. I have no idea how he got to these points. You know, his theology's already been predigested and he's giving it to me, so sure, I'll take it.Even though we don't, like, there's not that whole like, internal process of learning and growing and it, we just end up almost taking the regurgitated vomit like a mama spitting into a, a baby bird's mouth. I, I feel like that happens at church way too much. And I just think that would taste terrible. So and so I, I, yeah, it, it pushes back on just the fact that we've taught people, like you'd mentioned to keep under control and we've taught them to not really question.[00:19:00]And just listen and agree. And that's also incredibly dangerous when PO folks are at a position where they just agree with what the pastor's always De'Vannon: saying. And I used to be that, that guy, honestly, I think the vomit from the mama bird would be more nutrition than no more nutrition. That's true. That's true.Than what these pastors bullshit is spewing out. Mm-hmm. . But I used to be that person. I would hear something I didn't agree with and I would say, Okay, he's up there, so I'm gonna change my mind to what he said rather than to critique him. Yeah. So or as, as I learned and when I was getting my hypnotist certification, that's called hypnotizing people and using it in a negative way.Mm-hmm. . So but I'm reminded, I wanna throw a little bit of shade at Lakewood Church since I used to be a member. Stuart: Okay, let's do it. I game for that De'Vannon: before they kicked me out for not being straight. And so and you know, so I know Joel gets on TV and acts like he's all [00:20:00] nice and everything, but behind the scenes they have policies and effect that really, really hurt and damage people.Yeah. So in terms of objectifying people, while when I was volunteering in the kids' ministry there. I walked back into the office one day and I heard the leader of the kids' department saying something like about the volunteers, the effect of like, you know, we're smarter than them, we get to he was talking to the staff about the volunteers who were not in the room.I was a high level volunteer and so I was, I was given a lot of access to stuff, but he was saying like, you know, basically we're really clever. We're gonna use these volunteers to work ourselves out of a job. You know, thumbs up kind of thing. He, he, he, and that didn't set well with me, but it was, no, it was on those situations where I was like, I'm gonna show grace and mercy.No place gonna be perfect. I'm just gonna go ahead and overlook that. You know? And I wish I hadn't done that. It, it's, Stuart: it's, it's funny cuz I'll, I'll do the same thing where like, I replay this in my head, [00:21:00]but, you know, if you would've been like, Excuse me. What about this does anyone realize this is pretty fucked up right now?I think no one would've said anything and that you, you would've been just escorted outta the building and that would be the end of it. Because again, yeah, you have a bunch of Yes. Men or sheep or people that just go along with it because it sounds good and it, and, and because of course it's a church, so of course God's part of it.Right, right. And I feel like that's the assumption a lot of times. And it just creates a lot, a lot of baggage. De'Vannon: I'm gonna throw a little bit more shade at them though, though. This is, this is cause this is another form of censorship that they do. Mm-hmm. . So I saw this woman catch the Holy Ghost one time when I was in the main sanctuary at Lakewood.And look, I get some people fake dancing in the spirit. Some people don't believe in it at all. Okay. And some, sometimes it's real. I've had that experience like maybe less than five times, four or five times in my whole life. I've never been this sort of person that, you know, Sister Sally [00:22:00] every day on Sunday at exactly 1115 here she go down the aisle.No. If it's going. It's gonna happen. It's gonna have to be like legitimate. So sometimes it's real, sometimes it's not. This woman was, this was real, and now she's in the largest church in America in the middle of, I'm pretty sure it was probably like the 11:00 AM service, the largest service. But this other fucking matter cuz all the services are huge.Mm-hmm. , I'm like, this girl caught the holy goes down in the front, you know, I guess maybe like 20, 20, 25 rows back, maybe 15 or 20 rows back from the front, which is like nothing in a place that big. Sure. But she got up in the spirit was moving her and the ushers kicked her out, . And I thought like, this was another one of those moments that I was like, Okay, I don't like this, but I guess I should overlook it.I'm all like, how you gonna censor the spirit in the middle of the church? I don't. [00:23:00] I don't, Stuart: Well, that, that's one of the things that, that, that grabbed me early on in when I was working in ministry is that it's, it's a production, you know, that Sunday morning is a production and it's about like eliminating any mess.It's about eliminating like anything that would get in the way of the production, which, which is really kind of sick and twisted if you really think deeply about that. Because if, if God is trying to reach out to humans and we're all messed up , we've all got shit and, and we're all messy. But I think that like ministry, if you're actually doing ministry with God, I mean, it's going to be messy because we're messy and that's okay.Cuz God knows what we're messy and and I, I just find it weird when we tend to like whitewash our services into making themproductions or pageantry. De'Vannon: I couldn't said it better myself. And I always like to remind [00:24:00] people that when these people, your worship leaders, your pastors, and I use the word pastor loosely because I don't believe many of these people are even called I haven't heard any of their stories, of their true conversion when God met them and the books they write or never really about themselves.But remember I, you know, they're at work , you know, and just like most people when they go to work, they're being fake as hell and putting on whatever face they need to, to, to get the job done. I just wanted to throw that out there Stuart: and Well, and if you wanna throw out that, just, just a little addendum to what you're saying is that there are many pastors that write books that are ghost written as well.To where I've, I, I know I've known of hu few instances cuz I do have a friend that's a ghost writer where they'll just kind of give a bunch of ideas to a person, you know, like couple stories, couple things. And they're like, boo, go make it happen. So again, you're right, it's like this whole like Christian marketing complex that we kind of find ourselves under that's really just about De'Vannon: money.And there are [00:25:00] also regurgitated sermons too, because one of Joel's books I read, I know, I was like, I heard this in a sermon before. You know, it's just regurgitated sermon. It's a, it's a system. It's a, it's an equation that they have to constantly books like that. And, and I know that they're not writing them.I know. I know. Mm-hmm. . And so I put a note here about the war on drugs because of something that you said about like like government control. I felt like I was watching shit, I've consumed so many documentaries in the last, like I watched the, the new one on Netflix, How to Change Your Mind, where the guy's going over How he used like the me school and the cide bin and the MDMA and everything like that.And I watched the history of mental illnesses on pbs. And and it was interesting to find out how like, You know, the psychedelics were used and being like, studied in clinical settings, you know, Then the government wanted to control people cuz people started using the psychedelics and they didn't wanna fucking go to war, [00:26:00] you know?And then, then they, then they was like, Oh, we gotta stop this shit. So let's make these drugs schedule one narcotics, you know, in, and then let's put fear in everyone about the evils of what may happen, even though people weren't really doing anything evil. Mm-hmm. . And then I feel like the church locked arms with politicians back in those days.And then they started calling drugs the devil, you know, the spirit of Satan and everything like that. And I don't know, I just wanted worded what you thought about, you know, how deep the history of church people and politicians go and the, what they did to stifle America's impression of drugs. Stuart: That's a good question.I, I, I feel like that, I mean, it kind of circles back to what you'd mentioned earlier, that it all falls into some sort of a system of control. You know, if we're able to paint a line and be able to say, Oh, those in this tribe are good, but those that are outside of our tribe are bad. And, and they've done that on, on, on so many different social issues throughout the [00:27:00] years.And I mean, it's been alcohol, it's been, it's been like I, I worked, I, I was even attending a church, this is when I was a missionary, but I was attending a church in the a in an area, and I was like, Oh, you guys, I would love to just start doing a bar ministry. This is like 15 years ago, just going and hanging out with people and just talking to 'em, not trying to convert 'em, just talking to people in bars, just to be able to kind of break down walls.And they were like, you know, you can only do that as long as you're drinking a Coca-Cola or something else in that building. And I'm like, Wait, wait, I don't work here, but you guys know me and you do not want me to go and try to share stuff with people and just get to know people in bars because alcohol, I mean, again, I feel like that these are all scapegoats that, that we tend to demonize in so many different areas.I think that we've seen it, especially like recently, probably since at least 2020 ramping up of how the conservative right. Is finding like, I feel like we're back in the Satanic panic like 2.0 like back from the eighties when like there was [00:28:00] this whole like, ah, Satans everywhere and there's all these crazy things that I, I feel like we've just reinvented that cuz I grew up around some of that stupidity of the Satanic panic and, and I feel like this is just a new version of it or it's Yeah.A cue version of it now or some other craziness that they're adding to it. De'Vannon: Well, the devil isn't particularly creative man. He just tends to copy shit and repeat cycles. He's not really all that inventive. But if you, if you think about it, and that's why I believe in the book of Revelation when it says that when Satan's true form is like revealed and then the nation looked at him and was.Okay. Is this the nigga that was fucking with us this whole time? this little thing over here, reallyHe's not that impressive, you know, in terms of analyzing his mechanics, you know? Mm-hmm. , you know, is he powerful and shit? Yeah. But you know, like this, this is why, perfect [00:29:00] example, like a broke ass hustler who ain't got a penny to his damn name, can talk a smooth game and get a whole lot of money from people.I've seen it happen a thousand times when I was a drug dealer. They use what little, they have good looks, big dick or the reputation or whatever, but zero actual fucking thing of worth in terms of money. Yeah. And can get damn near anything they want, but really any shit. Mm-hmm. , Stuart: and even mentioning that, and I don't, I don't, this is, this is, this is your interview.I don't wanna go down any revolution, rabbit holes or anything like that too. But I also feel like that's one of the books of the Bible that is messed up. More people with bad interpretations and reading it. I literally, I, I was going before my, this is years back, but before my ordination hearing and they're grilling me on all these things.And some guy asked me and I didn't know him and I was an idiot, but he was like, Tell me about how do you feel about the end enzyme on the book of Revelation? And I was like, I feel that's probably done more damage to Christianity than anything in a while, because we focus [00:30:00] on the end and we don't pay attention to what's now in this.And depending on how you read it, some people read it exact, literally. Some people see it figuratively. Some people pick and choose between the two, which is a terrible way to read scripture, to hop between those two standpoint. But yes, I remember some guy got so mad at me, explain yourself, Why is this?Because I was like, Does it really matter? Does it matter what's gonna happen fully in the future if we're supposed to be digging in now towards loving people and kind of walking out the simplicity of Christ? Because sometimes if we focus too far in advance, I feel like it takes us away from the present.De'Vannon: Hm. Or as they, or as they say in the Pentecostal churches, you don't wanna be so heavenly minded that you ain't no earthly good. Amen.Oh my gosh. I really don't like the fact that I still have in me things from my church days. But, you know, I guess it wasn't all bad. Stuart: No, I, I, And I think that's, that's the hard [00:31:00] thing. I think that oftentimes when people go through, like deconstructing and walking through, processing out their faith, we can end up kind of feeling bad or ashamed of where we, we were.But I, I, for me at least, I've gone like, Okay, that's what I was raised around. I, it's taken me time to figure out which baggage is shit and which baggage needs to stay and, and, and kind of processing through all of that along the way, because there are nuggets that have happened, but by and large, there's probably like more dump truck loads that were.Not helpful, but, but I do think that's essential in the spiritual path of being able to, is being able to figure out, yeah, what can I take from this? What good can I take from this? And then let me flush the rest of it down the toilet. De'Vannon: Mm-hmm. . So speaking of putting on a production and a show, you had quite the quite the choice words for the the movie through the eyes of Miss Tammy Faye.Stuart: Oh, . Okay. That one. Okay. De'Vannon: Yes. . Now for those of you [00:32:00] don't know Tammy Faye Bacon, Miss Mr. Jim Baker. Were probably the most colorful people on television, especially over there at tbn back in the day. Stuart: back in the day, which became I think, yeah. But yeah, keep going. Yeah. De'Vannon: personally. I loved it. I loved the show because I like anything that exposes the foolishness of Yeah.Television ministry and the bullshit side of Christianity. You didn't like it though, so tell, talk, Stuart: give me your, Oh, my, my pushback on, on it was cuz I, I have, I have, I had a, I had a gullible mother who loved Televangelist and Jim and Tammy were on all of the time and those folks, and, and, and my only issue was with the movie.I think Tammy Faye figured stuff out and went on to do good stuff. I think the movie kind of gave her a free pass of being a part of this whole whatever that was, you know, the [00:33:00] cluster fuck of Christianity that was going on. That was ptl. And, and I just, I, I thought some of it film wise was just a little.I wish they would've dialed down on some of the bigger stuff because there was, there was abuse like supposedly. I mean, I don't, I don't think they even hint on the fact that Jim Bakkers been accused of raping someone as well too. And so there's, there's a bunch of weirdness surrounding that and just trying to glaze our way out towards the end.That's what kind of left me with a bad taste in my mouth cuz I remember, I remember a lot of that and, and I do, like, I, I, I appreciate how Tammy Faye changed and how she changed stuff within it, but at the same time I thought the filmmakers were a little they were a little heavy handed and made it just all bad, Jim, but I think that they were two people that were involved in whatever that craziness was.De'Vannon: I wonder why that may be, maybe they were so overwhelmed with so much bullshit that they could pick from, they just didn't know how to handle Stuart: it. No, you and you're right, and [00:34:00] I've had to do that too. Like you, when you get raised around stuff, like I've, I have friends that are worship pastor. That have had to work through the idea that like, wait half of what we do all the time is almost just psychologically messing with people, you know, just the lights and the music and getting everyone in that right mood and they can, they know what they're doing with it.And you'd mentioned hypnotism earlier, and I'm not saying it's hypnotism, but it's definitely conditioning people for a situation and creating the expectation for people in the situation. So, I mean, to give Tammy Faye a, a fair shake, which I would say is that she may have been swallowed up in all of that, you know, to where this is all God's work.And it is, it's very, it's very it can be very intoxicating and, and it can be something that really, like you'd mentioned earlier, turn you into a wolf and sheep's clothing. De'Vannon: Yeah, you know, there's a lot of makeup to keep on all the time. it cause money. Stuart: Oh my gosh. I felt bad for Jessica Chastain cuz I think they said [00:35:00] she's like the actress that was portraying her, she had like four hours a day.I'm like, oh that. No, that sounds awful of trying to recreate that look. De'Vannon: That's drag queen say all the time. It takes a a lot of money to look this cheap.So that's in the eyes of Tammy Faye. You could find it on different networks and shit. I recommend it and I love it because these, these people are kind of like at the beginning of the tell tele evangelical wave. So these people pave the way for your Joel O Stings and for your T Jakes and for your Joyce Meyers and everything like that.You know, it's not like I don't see similar practice. Know across all of these ministries, it's up to you to decide who you can trust and who you can't. But, Mm. fuck with churches. I don't, I don't walk, walk in 'em. I don't know none of that no more. And I'm not bitter. I'm just logical now. And I, you [00:36:00] know, and I critique things and it's not okay with me for these churches to break in all this money.And I, I talk about Lakewood a lot cuz that's just where I was, you know, had I been at Felicia's Church of Latter Day Saints and I would be talking about fucking Felicia, but that's not where I was. And so, you know, did, did break in all this money and then be firing volunteers. Mm-hmm. for where they hang out at when they're not at church, you know, when you're off camera.Mm-hmm. . So I'm not okay with Stuart: that. It's a business, it's a, I think it's easier if you begin to see it as a business and not a church. De'Vannon: Oh, it's, it's a grif. And so for those of you don't, Oh yeah, Grif is a Grif Is this religious shit we're talking about? Or Republicans or like when Donald Trump's wife, one of one of his ex wis fell her ass down the stairs and died the other day, you know, he took to his, his social media platform he created and gRED, he was like, She's dead.Would please donate ? So that, that's like a gr yeah, if you want further education, what Grifting is, [00:37:00] I do recommend Ms. Betty Bowers on Facebook. That's hilarious. She's hilarious. Trademark Glory, as she always says. She's very funny. Look up Ms. Betty Bowers. Very funny. And so now you were on a documentary called, In God, We Trump, I'm gonna include a link to this in my showy notes.I watched it on Vimeo earlier. It's the good like hour and a half of your life. I suggest everyone watch it. It's called In God, We Trump in this documentary. Traces the parallel parallelization, That's not a word. I've decided that it is the parallelization of Trump and Evangelicals. And how basically evangelicals created the ability for Donald Trump to become the president of these United States, and then all the as fuckery that followed.Talk to me about your experience on this documentary and why you agreed to be a part of it. [00:38:00]Stuart: I don't know how I got involved it in the first place but when I heard, I think it was through a friend, I think a friend of a friend knew the documentarian and was telling me about what was going on. He was trying to like find people to talk to as he was going around the us and so I reached out to him and we became friends too through the process of it.But he was just like, Yeah, I just want pastors that'll actually be honest about stuff that's going on here. He had a lot of conservative pastors that would not go on camera talking about what they honestly felt like. and yeah, when he traveled down here, cuz I'm in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, I was part of that leg of the tour.He, we set up a spot and talked about it and I was, I do much of what I do on the radio. I just tell it like it is, is the way I see it. And yes, this is the do, I mean really what's been happening is, especially with Roe v. Wade falling recently, this has been the conservative, like evangelical rights essentially wet dream for [00:39:00] 40 to 45 years.And so they've been moving this for years, this amongst other social issues and trying to ingrain them within politics because they saw politics as the way to be able to make social change happen, which is hilarious because they talk about God being the God of the universe and he being all powerful.But God needs us to infiltrate the government because God's too flacid to do anything. I, at least that's how I do it in my own head when they talk about it. But it is, it's, it's, it's a weird, disgusting thing that began to happen. Well that's been happening for a while. If anyone remembers like eighties, like the moral majority or like promise keepers, all this other BS that was kind of all in the line of where, where we are at now with what happened with the Supreme Court.And it'll be interesting to see what happens because I feel like, cuz this, this, I don't think this is in the documentary, but they're, they were, the, the Christian right was toying around with different issues that they thought would be flash points in culture to be able to beat their drum [00:40:00] on. And they, Jerry Falwell on a bunch of them, they would try certain ones, they wouldn't work.Eventually abortion became one of those things. Because before that actually Evangelicals and Christians really didn't have as much of an issue with abortion. With this, I mean, our country has been, we've had abortion since the beginning of the beginning of our country. What? Well, we're founded with what do we, you know, we're a Christian nation, we're founded with values, eh?They like to play around with the fact that we don't know history well, and they like to reframe history and tell us like how it's going to be. But we're now at a weird point in history where I feel like the, the dog finally caught the car, and I, I don't think the Republicans know what to do with it.I think they finally got what they wanted and now they're like, Oh, all right, let's just go take more . Like, we have nothing else to do. We've already stormed the castle. Let's take more. Which is also a terrifying period of time that we're moving into De'Vannon: mm-hmm. . Yeah. It sucks to be a woman right now. Yeah. [00:41:00] I mean, if I could scoop you all up and whi away to the the, to the island of Lesbos where supposedly so many of you emerge from, you know, I would let y'all just go have all the hot lesbian sex with each other for the rest of the time and just do whatever the fuck you want or invite occasional deck over or whatever.And so, but that's not gonna happen. So whatever I can to stand in solidarity with, with you women, folk, I'm more than happy to do. Stuart: And the sad part of it is with all of this is that it is really all a show with conservatives. I, I've I re this is years back when I, when I was at a pastor's meeting in our community, I was in, and this one pastor used to love to brag about how they would go and picket abortion clinics.And about what great work they're doing in the church. And I remember afterwards I didn't like call 'em out in front of it, but I was like, Hey, like, wouldn't it be easier? Like, wouldn't it be more Christlike to go and be like, Talk to these young women, say like, Our families will take your [00:42:00] children in.If that's really what you care about, we, we'll pay for your medical. We'll do all of this. And literally, after I do this whole thing with the music, man, that's too much work. He literally told me that. I mean, not in front of anybody else, but he told me in my face, Oh, that's too much work. So essentially picketing and shaming people, that's God's work.Caring for the children and the women that are in these situations, eh, it's inconvenient. And you know, he kind of said the quiet part out loud, but it's what so many folks, so many folks I think are in that weird dichotomy of this is evil. All right, well if you think it's evil, how could you fix it? I don't wanna fix it.It's too much work. De'Vannon: Sounds about Republican. Yeah. Because, you know, they only need, and I just wanna remind people that there is no national religion. The, the last time that I checked, this is not like the Middle East or something where we are officially the Nation of Islam, or everyone here is a Muslim.The, the United States is not supposed to be that way. Everyone here, this [00:43:00] is not a Christian nation. Mm-hmm. , but don't really like the fact that we have God on money and his name is invoked. Personally. I liked hearing about God since I follow him, but at the same time, we don't have a national religion.And so really, I think everyone should be left to themselves. But Stuart: Well, and God, we trust wasn't even added to the money until like the fifties. So again, like this is when they get all mad, like, Oh no, it's, it's this recent history. You guys, you've put a bunch of dbags about this. De'Vannon: And I'm sure that was, there was some sort of political advantage to that at the times.They wouldn't have just done that out of a love for God Stuart: because, Oh, even that, even, I mean, how you hear a sock about it, how the prayers been taken out of school. I, this is what's burned me. How do you take prayer out of school? Like, are you like, Oh wait, hey Johnny, your eyes are closed. Are you praying?Stop it. No, Maybe they took public ative school, which public prayer a lot of times is fairly useless. I feel like it's just pageantry and [00:44:00] speeches, but they, they don't understand even what they're saying, I De'Vannon: think anymore. And the thing that gets me about like the Republicans and the evangelicals, you know, as you're saying, they only wanna take their agenda as far as it goes to achieve whatever their end goal is, which is to be reelected.So ban this, Ban that, okay, I have more power, you know, fuck 'em. If we care that same mindset, people who are on drugs, people who have certain sicknesses and stuff like that, you know, let's just be against it. You know, let's just lock 'em up and stuff. Mental health issues, but we're not really gonna fix it.Like, it's absolutely senseless to me, like in my case, to lock me in jail for, carry a bunch of meth on me, or for getting caught high, or whatever the reasons people may be in there. But you're not gonna rehabilitate me for all that time. I'm just gonna get it back out. I'm gonna do the same shit. Mm-hmm.So, but when these people, these Republicans and these supposed Christians, all they, their talk is always about how they can change someone else. I never hear them say, [00:45:00] You know, and at least in those sincere way they talk about their relationship with God. You know how they love him or what the spirit is doing in their life and you know what's going on with them.You know, it's always about how we can go and fuck with people over here. Yep. But, but the Lord already told them that there's gonna be many people that says to him in that day talking about when they stand before the judgment thrown, we cast out devils in your name and we did this and we, we fucked with this person and we banned this.And the Lord told you that He's gonna tell you that depart from him, you, he, because you never knew him. You were too busy putting your energy into changing other people that you never bothered to cultivate a true relationship with the Stuart: Lord. I, I think you're right. I mean, I think in so many ways, and that's been one of like growing up as a kid around church, you learn how to do church.Like, you learn how to act, you learn how you're supposed to show up and do. And then even working in ministry for years, it was like, again, it's like a, it's a higher level of knowing what you have to [00:46:00] do. But, but some of the biggest growth I've had is, is, is that internal work. You know, it's, it's that internal space that it's not about performing, it's not about that.Some of it is about . Yeah. About seeking the god of the universe. Some of it's about learning to heal broken places within me and, and being able to do the work to, to, to process through all of that. But I think it, it takes a lot of contemplation and introspection, which I, I, I, again, I don't feel like a lot of modern day Christianity, at least in America, pushes a lot of contemplation and deep thought.And, and also they do a terrible job with mental health cuz a lot of time it's just pray it away. You're depressed, we'll pray for you. Hmm. That's not gonna always fix things. , sometimes you need to go to a counselor and that's okay. Or a therapist. De'Vannon: Yeah. Right. That's like that shit. There was a politician some damn where, and there was like a shooting that happened and like, or maybe [00:47:00] they had like a really bad trouble with like people getting shot, but this one lady's son had got shot like in his neck when a bullet came in the house.And the, this politician, I think it was in Kentucky, you know, he got on TV and he was like, I have a solution. We're all gonna pray and . Stuart: Yeah. Yeah. That's, that that, that's been one thing that has like gotten me like for, for the longest time I think prayer had been set up as some sort of like, almost like a, just dropping a penny in like a fountain kind of a thing.And, and one thing I've grown in as they've kind of grown processing myself, spirituality in spiritually and kind of walk with God is that if we're praying for a problem that we can already fix, I think God's gonna be like, Why are you talking to me about this? You know what I mean? Like, you have it within you already to do it.You're just being lazy and you don't wanna do it. We'd rather just punt and just say, All right, God's gonna do it because it makes us feel better for the moment. De'Vannon: But you know it.[00:48:00]Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. So, so, so, so much of what, you know, the church has preached these days is about like, either against people or the acquisition of things. Mm-hmm. . And so, which still takes your attention outside of yourself, but, you know, the Lord said that you can gain the whole world and lose your soul.He says you can take a whole city and not be able to control yourself. There's so many warnings, you know, in the Bible about being mindful about, you know, redirecting your attention, getting back the center mm-hmm. . So, so don't get so caught up on going, knocking on people doors, trying to convert them, or trying to go and get rich.When you forsake the thing that's the most important, which is your own damn self improvement. And so, I don't know, the Lord already has beat this dead horse all throughout all the scriptures. I don't think Republicans really read the fucking Bible, but I don't know. It's [00:49:00] already been said either, either y'all hardheaded asses are gonna listen, are you not?And when I say y'all's hardheaded asses, I'm not talking about my base. You know, my beautiful cus listeners and my audience, I'm talking about the, the, the conservative person who happened across this show, . Stuart: And that's Yes. Who, who, who ends up seeing, like being able to use scripture as a weapon against people, which it was never meant to be that way.We've got cloer passages, we've got all sorts of other stuff that people use Scripture and, and it's not meant to be. In that way. De'Vannon: Mm-hmm. . But when people are insecure and shit and they're not whole on the inside, then that's just a form of abuse. You know, they may not be taking their fists and punching someone in the face, but using a scripture to punch someone in the spirit or in the heart, it's still abuse so Stuart: well, and so much of that's taught where there's just like, I think we, we make everything so binary, like, you're good or you're bad.Like this is either good or bad. And we take like, any kind of [00:50:00] gray thinking or any middle ground or context out of situations, because a lot of folks read scripture without context, which is a terrible way to read scripture without understanding what else is happening, Like what is the author trying to convey, all those kind of a things.But I, I, I feel like that we get taught to do all of this, and then at some point, if we're just told, we're all sinful, we're all terrible, and God's not happy with us. Well, I can see a system where people be like, Well I don't, I don't sin or quote unquote sin like he does. So I can really push that cuz it makes me feel better.And then the worst folks that would say that, and again, quote unquote sin because I think that we've used sin very incorrectly in lots of different ways, but where people would be like, Yes, I don't struggle with that, but I really do struggle with that and I don't like what you're doing with your lifestyle even though I really wanna live that lifestyle.So somehow I'm gonna continue to do this and just be a big f and hypocrite in the whole process. So RINs and repeat RINs and repeat for American Christianity. De'Vannon: I want [00:51:00] you to talk about, from the documentary you were talking about how, how Oral Roberts had laid hands on you trying to heal you of asthmaAnd he, I think he forced you to lay on the ground. I've had this happen to me before, certain churches, but you actually were not healed of asthma. And give people background on who Oral Roberts is. Ah, Stuart: I'll give you just snippet in my background. Again, I told you conservative, conservative, conservative.When I was three years old, my I, a sister that was born that was severely like autistic and especially back in eighties, nobody knew what to do with it. So my mom's answer is, We gotta get her healed, right? Fix. We have to fix this because that's what we do. We want to have like a nice little middle class family.We need to fix it. So they would drag, she would drag me around cause my dad wouldn't go cuz he was a good conservative. But she would drag me around with her and my sister to tent meetings, revivals. Eventually we end up with, or Roberts or Roberts again, counter prosperity preacher before the time kind of a thing back in the day.But again, Griffy and all sorts of other fun stuff. [00:52:00] And so then I found myself, I think I'm probably about seven at the time I was, look, I was a kid, grew up with asthma, and my mom just like shoves me in line, doesn't tell me anything. She just shoves me in this line to like get marched up on the stage and I, I figure out what's happening.But again, I'm standing there and they're. Do like the hand to the head, like an asthma, You're healed. Cuz they, Oh cuz what they did is they wrote, they asked me what my problem was and I had a card to my hand and I had to write down asthma. So like I hand it to a dude, he whispers the oral and then, you know, which again that name, I just feel so weird about it anyways.But , it just feels like a pet name. He had a whole background, I don't know, continuing on, but yeah. Or Roberts. So yeah, whispers, asthma grabs my head, pushes me back and I'm not trying to be like, I was a kid wanting to be like, I want God to heal me. And he pushes me back and I just step back and I keep standing there cause I'm like, I don't feel any different.And then, so it happened like a few times eventually to where they had these guys kind of like, they push me where they kind of made sure they caught me and pulled me [00:53:00] back cuz hey man, he's healed. And I'm like, I, I knew as a seven year old, I need my inhaler. I'm not healed. But then the answer for my mother was, Oh, you just didn't have enough faith, which is the loop hold.They put you into that trap with. If it didn't work, not my fault, it's yours. You didn't have enough faith, which again, is hugely abusive, especially to children and actually any human to say that, yeah, if only you had enough faith, God would've fixed you, but not sucks to be you. De'Vannon: It reminds me of a lot of bullshit that I heard when I, I was watching a, again, another documentary on Netflix to keep sweet prey and obey documentary.Is that good? I Stuart: haven't, I haven't, I haven't dipped my toes in that one yet. De'Vannon: I bing the whole damn thing. . So you dip your toes, your dick and everything else in it. I, it is worthy. Okay. Thank you. And, and that, so that [00:54:00] documentary all is about the I think the fellowship of Latter Day Saints Jeff's, you know, the them people and people living offensive seclusion and, you know, 50 wives and a shitload of children and everything like that, and so on and so forth.It's, it's, it's, Stuart: they, they're the folks that even the mor, like the, the normal Mormons are like, those folks are crazy. Which youDe'Vannon: So tell me about the time and Oh, and speaking of documentaries, look, is there any documentarians running around out there? You can come recruit me because I'm ready to spill all kinds of tea. I'm ready to bring my mouth and talk. I ain't shy about shit. I'm ready to go on some documentaries. Right. This audition taper here,I will use it. It worked for Steve Harvey before he, yeah, before he had all of his five businesses and shows now when he was still doing standup and stuff. When, when he had a, whenever he had a camera in front of him, he just looked through the camera and said, [00:55:00] Hey, you people who control the shows, I want a talk show.I want, you know, he's looked into whatever camera was in front of him and said what the fuck he wanted and he got it. So, so yes, I wanna be on documentaries. I want my talks yet, I want, but deals. Give me everything. Fuck it. . Tell me about the time you smuggled a Cameron to the Trinity Broadcasting Network.Stuart: That, Okay, so I, I, this is part of me being probably a counter cultural Christian, even back when I was in the mix of it. So I, I'd worked for an evangelistic organization where we would we worked with like at risk street kids type of stuff. And so the whole goal is that we're supposed to just evangelize them, send 'em to the kingdom.But I, that never sat right with me cuz I was like, what are we inviting them into? Like, just pray a prayer so you're not going to hell. And then No, no, I was like, it needs to be, you're inviting someone [00:56:00] into something greater, like a different way of doing it. And so we were, we, I took some of these kids, like street kids, which is hilarious.Like you're taking them down to do missions work in la. So, you know, so their whole idea is I'm spending my spring break helping other people that are doing the, in some like, yes. So when I took them down there, I just I was like, I know TBN is around here. And I told them, I was like, I just wanna take you into the thing that is absolutely not Christianity, , none of this has anything to do with Christianity.And so they let us in, they let us, I didn't even really smuggle it that much. It was mainly just the idea where, I think the guy at the door, I was like, Oh, I'm such a fan. I love this and everything. And he was so great. So I. Essentially just lied. And so he led us with a group of kids in, Cuz I was like, Oh, we wanna show the Youth of America how wonderful this is at TBN Studios.And it led me to walking around and mocking everything on video that I was seeing cuz it is nuts. Spray painted gold toilets, all the other stuff. Like, it's, it's, it's [00:57:00] gross. It was like, yeah, it was like Liberacci had an orgasm somewhere and it is tbn like it was, everything is painted gold. Everything was just over the top like decadent in ways that you're kind of like, what is, is this Vegas?It really felt like Vegas more than it did any kind of a Christian ministry. But like cheap Vegas, whatever that is. , like, we're fake in Vegas, so, so it's more like Reno, I guess. . De'Vannon: But that's a part of the hypnotherapy though, you know, So the basis or, or conditioning, you know, it's all a part of hypnotherapy.And then h therapy, all it means is to overload the conscious mind so that you can gain access to the subconscious. And you do that by simply making the conscious mind focus on more than one thing. Because my conscious mind can only focus on one thing at a time. And so if you've got all of this crazy, fake, opulent shit going on and bitches running around where faces full of clown makeup and the [00:58:00] shouting, and the hollering the music, you don't, you, you, you don't have no ability to be critical unless you intend to be critical.You know, you're, you, you are in conscious overload. Mm-hmm. . And then that's how you become suggestible, as we call it in Hy therapy. Your mind is now in a suggestible state and you will receive what's being presented to you. With much less criticism, if any at all. Stuart: Did you just describe a Sunday morning service?Oh. Oh. Was hidden it there? I'm joking. . But it almost, I mean, that's the whole idea we're we conditioned you to be receptive to what we're saying in, in a weird, manipulative way. I feel like church ends up kind of doing that in their own controlling, non-controlling way. De'Vannon: You know what, say having this discussion right now makes me think about that chant that Joel does before each time he preaches.So he'll get his Bible and wave it around and the whole church will chant with him and he'll say, This is my Bible. I am, I have what it says I have. I am what it says I am. And he'll say, You know, my [00:59:00] mind is opened, My heart is Seth if I'm about to receive, you know? And then there's just this whole thing I'm like, and I'm thinking, Oh my God, this, you know, there was a whole, He was hypnotizing us the whole time.Mm-hmm. . You know, it seems like an innocent group chant and everything like that, but now the shit seems really culty when I look back on it. Mm. Why you can't just get up there and say, What the fuck you gotta say? Why you gotta have us chant with you to, to say that we're now gonna be vulnerable to what you wanna say.Mm-hmm. . Stuart: But it's, it's, it's about Brandon and it's about keep bringing you back every week. You know, It's about, it's again, you mentioned being a drug dealer. This is kind of being like a holy drug dealer, but it's never gonna get you what you want, but it's only gonna give you that taste and keep you coming back every Sunday De'Vannon: with promises of what could be.Mm-hmm. . Stuart: Yeah. Yes, yes, yes. You're wanting to read, you

Hello everyone and welcome to your podcast! My name is Vanessa and I'm really excited that you're here. Have you ever felt like your mind is being pulled in two separate directions? The cartoons growing up would show us that there was an angel on one side and a little devil on the other. That's cute, but it's time to open our eyes and see that we are in a daily battle and it's a spiritual one. For the next few episodes I will be sharing what I have learned from Joyce Meyers' number one seller, "Battlefield of the Mind" In this episode I discuss what a mental strong hold is and help you identify what your inner vow is. It is important to shine light into the lie that SATAN has lead us to believe. If you would like to be a guest or have any suggestions on future topics, email me at ImperfectWomanPodcast@gmail.com Let's stay connected on Instagram https://instagram.com/ness_ceballos?utm_medium=copy_link Life your life to the fullest! We'll chat soon!

https://square.link/u/8pNqPxKd?src=sheet   Wake the Faith up Slayer… This is Garth Heckman with the David Alliance and you can reach me at TDAgiantslayer@gmail.com    Brought to you by wellbuiltbody.com Gym Apparel for men and women that rocks and shocks and ain't for everybody - but just might be for you. wellbuiltbody.com     Focus and Control Joe B **this conference is not going to teach you to make a million dollars, or launch an online store or how to better yourself or get thin or strong… MORE IMPORTANT!  Hey your son or daughter ever get picked on by another kid? Do you or your sons a daughters get picked on verbally? What to do? THE WAR IS COMING, ARE YOUR KIDS READY? REGISTER NOW VIA EMAIL OR LOOK FOR OUR UPCOMING QR CODE ON OUR MEDIA… THIS WILL FILL UP FAST! July 9th - Saturday - A Father Daughter/Son conference called PROTECTOR! Speakers on how to protect your son and daughter Emotionally, physically, sexually, socially and spiritually. Ages 10 and up if you feel your student is mature enough. Price $100 per family. At HillSpring Church New prague south of the Twin Cities Just landed a speaker who will challenge you how to keep your kids safe from human trafficking… you say well my kid will never fall into that… oh not so fast. You obviously don't know what you are talking about… so get ready to sign up!     So you wanna be used by God Like a stand out, super Christian, handling temptation like a boss, praying and getting answers, healings, signs and miracles… but what do you gotta do snoopy? Know these 10 things…     -1  Your character will be tested more than your competency  You don't need to know how to read a spreadsheet or pass any test per se' you can be used by God just the way you are… but your character will be tested. Do you want to be used by God more than sleeping with your girlfriend. Do you want to be used by God more than sharing gossip about someone. Do you want to be used by God enough to tithe in hard financial times. Do you want to be used by God more than you want to make up excuses? Do you want to be used by God more than sleeping in and skipping your quiet time. Sure you want the supernatural, You want to be the next Miracle working super prophetic hyper faith healing walk on water raise the dead evangelistic prophet of GAWD.  But it's your character and your integrity that really matters. the gifts are without repentance… you get them, you get to use them and develop them… but they mean nothing without character. Are you going to stay married, stay faithful, be a loving and caring Father who is there for their kids. You want to be the next Joyce Meyers, the next Lauren Dagel - God wants to know if you can still care and love your husband even when he is a butthead… or worse yet he's not the spiritual deep thinking Man of faith that he should be… well a real woman of God still loves him, makes love to him and loves taking care of him…oh is that maybe a little tooo spiritual for you?   Its not a skill level - its a will level! Will you Serve God in ALL areas of your life… that is character!    Character is like this… if you tell me the truth all the time, I can trust you all the time. /but if you only tell me the truth some of the time then I can only trust you some of the… NEVER, I can never trust you - because you don't have character.        - 2 To be great you must know how to lead people and Leading people is more difficult than learning sign language in mandarin    Here is another secret. you must learn to lead yourself in order to best lead people. But once you get that down, leading people is still hard. But its a must if you want to be used mightily by God. Name one person in scripture who was used by God in mighty ways who didn't have to lead people. EVEN JESUS who could do anything had to lead people… and it wasn't easy with the disciples he chose.  Not everyone is going to follow - lead anyway others could lead better - lead anyway You won't always know what to do- lead anyway You will make mistakes leading - lead anyway It will drain you - lead anyway People will tear at your reputation and choices- lead anyway No one will every truly appreciate your sacrifice or wins- LA Leadership will leave you lonely - lead anyway How do you lead? Start first by leading yourself in every area of you life. Look I admire the guy who is greatly used by God, but if he is grossly over weight and out of shape… I will probably be around longer and ultimately do more. Truth hurts, but its the truth. You gotta lead yourself emotionally, physically, mentally, spiritually… How do you lead? Well just like any other skill, read books, attend seminars and conferences but the key is to be around other leaders. Sometimes things are better caught then taught and leadership is one of them. Finally have a key leader that you can turn to and run things by, debrief and even ask them to question everything about your leadership… your intentions, your choices, your habits, your tone of voice, your example… everything.  You can be Godly, but if you can't lead, you will Godly with little affect. 

Join host and founder of Women About Biz, Trina Newby as she shares ways to start and grow your small business.  Today, Trina will discusse the topic "Your Followers Are Not Your List!" Learn ways to build your connection list so you can effectively market and make money! Book of the Month: Good Habits by Joyce Meyers

I talk about how the bible shows evidence of married co-pastors, and women pastors that head over a church. The women pastors I meant to say were Sarah Jakes Roberts, Joyce Meyers, and Lisa Harper. Link To Blog Post Associated With This Episode: https://www.thebibleisinclusive.com/post/married-co-pastors-and-women-preachers Link To Article I Mentioned: https://sojo.net/articles/what-does-bible-say-about-women-ministry-pastor-preaching-church Link To LGBTQIA+ FAQ About Being A Queer Christian: https://www.thebibleisinclusive.com/lgbtqia-faq Link To "Who Told You That God Was Homophobic?" On Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08SKTDT93/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 Universal Link To "Who Told You That God Was Homophobic?" On Other Retailers https://books2read.com/u/b6KqQE Twitter: @BibleInclusive Instagram: @TheBibleIsInclusive --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/unpurifi3d/support

Lara Izokiatis is a former division 1 athlete, model, author, and has been involved in ministry for over two decades! Join us as she hits on faithfulness, beauty and endurance - building our lives and homes in wisdom. Her book “Caterfly” can be found on Amazon. We also referenced another tool - Joyce Meyers book “Battlefield of the Mind” you can follow Lara on Instagram and Facebook under her name.

Join host and founder of Women About Biz, Trina Newby as she shares ways to start and grow your small business.  Today, Trina discuss "Task Implementation: The Power of Google"  Learn techniques to accomplish your tasks and see results! Book of the Month: Good Habits by Joyce Meyers

Have you ever heard that inner mean girl tearing you down? Let's talk about it and what we can do to silence it. RECOMMENDED RESOURCES “Battlefield of the Mind” by Joyce Meyers www.dailychristianaffirmations.com. Www.raiseyoursword.com/31-biblical-affirmations-for-courageous-faith/

God Is In ControlProverbs 3:5-6 "Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths."I thought this was really fitting for something that I wanted to share with you today.  I was sent a prayer of sorts on Facebook last week and it has such a good message that I really wanted to share it with all of you.  Its an example of how something in our everyday life can help us understand God or something he has done so much more than we normally.  I feel as though God uses our every day life sometimes to show us what he is doing or what he is thinking.  For instance, if we are struggling with understanding how He can forgive us for something and then our child does something and we understand a little better how, as our father, He could forgive us as we would forgive our children.  This is one of those times when God used this woman's everyday life to help her understand Him a little better. The person who wrote this is Mary Katherine Backstrom.  (CLICK HERE for Facebook page) She is a virtual blogger, speaker, and best selling author.  I will put a link in the show notes to her facebook page because she has a lot of things like this on her page.  Hey, God.Sorry it's been a minute. But something happened today, and for the first time in a long time, I felt like I understood Your heart a little better. You probably already know why I'm talking, because well...You are God. But I guess the whole point of prayer is to talk, so I'm gonna tell You what happened.  Today, I was at a traffic light staring at Holland, who was screaming in her car seat because a friend gave her a paper clip during preschool and she snuck it home in her clothes, and then accidentally dropped it into the abyss that is my car's floorboard. Then, despite her desperate pleas, I wouldn't pull over so she could unbuckle and climb around the car looking for said paper clip.  That made her BIG mad.We are talking wailing and crying and gnashing of teeth mad.  *sigh* Moving on.Now, if she had known that I couldn't pull over because I was hurrying to take her somewhere special before soccer practice, maybe she wouldn't have minded. But she was screaming too loudly about her paper clip for me to explain. “You are an EVIL mommy! A wicked step mother! I wish I had a better mommy!” Un-freaking-believable, right? I gave birth to that little turdlet and she had the audacity to disown me over a paper clip. So, I let her mourn and scream. There was no reasoning with her, anyways. She wanted what she wanted.To Holland, that paper clip was the most valuable thing she'd ever owned. But I couldn't stop thinking: If only she knew what was coming. If only she knew why I wouldn't pull over. If only she knew that I wanted to take her out for ice cream—just the two of us—maybe she would have gotten excited. Maybe she would have forgotten about that stupid paper clip. I had something in store for her that was so much better than a milligram of bent wire. But that bent wire was her heart's desire. She could see nothing else.I was contemplating this to myself and I realized, holy cow, God. I'm no better than my toddler.I am essentially riding around in life's car seat, clutching tight to my precious paper clips, and raging at you when one falls out of my hands. My writing job changes, but I liked my job. A speaking gig falls between my fingers, but it's the one I was most excited about. My husband changes as a human, but I was comfortable with who he was. “My paper clips, God! Pull over and let me collect them! PULL OVER GOD WAAAAAAAH!”All the while you are watching my tears from the front seat, waiting for the wailing to stop so you can tell me MY DAUGHTER. Let go of that trinket. Stop your crying. I have something better just up ahead. So, God. I just want you to know that, in this one small way, my Mama heart understood a little more about your Daddy heart today.To be honest, I don't want to lose any of the things I hold unto so tightly. My youth, my writing career, my children being little, my marriage being comfortable. But, if change must happen, I pray you comfort my heart and remind me that Your plans are for my good.And remind me that for goodness sake, if I can just stop wailing over lost paper clips for one stinking minute, You've been trying to take me out for ice cream.  I think this was a prayer. Perhaps a revelation. Maybe more of a brain dump.  Either way, I feel a little closer to you tonight, God.And I think that deserves an “amen”.This touched me so much because it is something we all do.  We all want what we want and we don't understand when we can't have it.  We can't see that God has something better in store because we are too caught up in mourning the loss of the thing we didn't get or the thing we lost.  Jeremiah 29:11 says, “ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  Most of us know this, we believe this, and yet, when it comes time to trust in this, it is really hard.  We like things comfortable, we like things to stay the same.  When we are praying we may say that we want this job if it is according to God's will and yet we really mean we really want the job because we want it.  We want to want what God wants, and yet we don't want to give up on what we want.  We have all heard the phrase when one door closes another one opens.  But, what do we do while we wait for that other door to open?  What if it doesn't open for a few months or a year.  We have a sister Katie that was a member here and moved away.  She has been looking for a job for a very long time and I don't know if she has found one yet or not.  How do we continue to trust that the Lord has amazing things planned for us when we have been waiting so long?  There is an article that I will put a link to in the show notes titled When God's Timing is Taking Too Long by Joyce Meyers. (CLICK HERE for article) This articles talks about how God uses this waiting period to stretch our faith in Him and to bring about change and growth in our lives.  Joyce outlines 4 ways to make this waiting time easier.  First, she talks about Waiting with Patience.  You will be waiting anyway, so do you want to be miserable while you wait, or do you want to try and enjoy the wait.  Patience is a virtue and it is also a fruit of the Spirit. It is developed under trial, so we can't avoid difficult circumstances if we want to grow in patience.  This is why people say not to pray for more patience, because as soon as you do you will find yourself stuck in a situation that helps your develop more patience, like sitting in traffic.  The second thing is to Accept God's Timing.  This is not easy, but it is necessary.  Joyce states that although it is frustrating, not knowing God's time might be the thing that keeps us in the game.  If we knew how long it would take, we might give up.  Do you think the Israelites would have left Egypt if they knew they were going to wander in the desert for 40 years?  Joyce said, “We know that God's plan for our lives is good, and when we entrust ourselves to Him, we can experience total peace and happiness.”  The third things she talks about is Learning to Rely on God.  Proverbs 16:9 says, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps” and Proverbs 20:24 says “Man's steps are ordered by the Lord. How then can a man understand his way?”  We don't always understand the way that God is leading us.  It doesn't always make sense to us and if we try to understand we can struggle and get confused and frustrated.  A better way is described in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.” We try to figure everything out ourselves.  Sometime, often times, we need to just lean in and trust that God has got this.  He has always taken care of us in the past and He will continue to do so.  The last thing that Joyce talks about is From Seedtime to Harvest Time.   Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us: To everything there is a season, and a time for every matter or purpose under heaven.  We will not all be in the same season at the same time.  We don't need to be jealous if we see someone else enjoying harvest while we are still planting.  We all go through these different seasons.  They went through a season of planting before their harvest and you will go through a season of harvest too.  There was a lot more detail in this article so I hope you will take some time to read the whole article.  God is in control, we don't have to understand it all, we just need to learn to trust and to have patience while we wait.  Our lives are like a mystery unfolding before our very eyes.  Who doesn't like a mystery?Dear Heavenly Father, I ask that you bless all those listening to this episode today.  Lord, we love you and we know that you want what is best for us.  Help us to be patient and joyfully wait for your timing.  Help us to loosen our grip on the things we want and accept when you have something better planned for us.  Lord, help us to see that if you are closing one door, you are opening a better door.  Help us seek out growth in our relationship with you Lord.  Help us to not avoid difficult situations but instead enter into them knowing you are with us and you are leading us to growth.  We are so grateful for all you do for us.  We love you Lord, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus' holy name, AmenThank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus.  I wanted to let you know about a change I am making to this podcast starting next week.  At the beginning of March I am going to start having “Witness Wednesdays.”  We have all experienced God working in our lives.  We need to talk about those experiences more.  We need to share them with others.  These miracles can be used for the Glory of God, but only if we share them.  We all have a story.  Actually, we all probably have a lot of stories.  I am helping to lead a Life in the Spirit Seminar and each week someone gives a witness of how God has worked in their lives.  Seeing these each week has helped me realize that we all need to be talking about when we have witnessed God in our lives.  So, each Wednesday, instead of a regular episode, the episode will be about someone's witness statement about how God is working in their lives.  If you would like to give me your witness, I would love to record it.  You can email me at catherine@findingtruenorthcoaching.com I look forward to spending time with you again tomorrow!  Have a blessed day!

This episode focuses on the life of Joyce Meyers and the result of her following her passion and the leading of the Holy Spirit. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/dailyrowe/support

Hey guys! Join me as we continue our overcoming series. This week's episode we will chat it up about coveting what others have.   Contact me at: Email: info@theelephantinapinkroom.com Ig: the_elephant_in_a_pink_room Twitter: @theelenapnkroom Blog: theelephantinapinkroom.com YouTube: https://youtube.com/channel/UC9ydo_2hoyiHvsqIb2Xoktw BOOK SPOKE ABOUT: Do It Afraid by Joyce Meyers https://www.amazon.com/Do-Afraid-Embracing-Courage-Face/dp/1546026290/ref=asc_df_1546026290/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=509467422400&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13978846464194034490&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9003494&hvtargid=pla-1210461526725&psc=1

Rather than the saying "life is like a box of chocolates..." I prefer the saying "life is like sour dough starter..." With the right care and maintenance, you can end up with a beautiful, nourishing creations. But, if you neglect it, you end up with a clump of wet flour. Our minds need to be renewed constantly. We need to fill oursleves with all that is good, kind and perfect. Today I want to talk about how we can do just that! Make sure to check out www.rootedinfaithfamilyfarmlife.com for several blog posts that fit right along with this!

Nunca es muy tarde para un nuevo comienzo en tu vida. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/belinda-jimenez/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/belinda-jimenez/support

Inspirational word by Joyce Meyers with musical confirmation by Marvin Sapp

In this episode, we discuss our adventures at Frankenmuth, our family trivia night, Grace's broken body and heart, the condiments we would like to be buried in; the most irrelevant global news ever heard, a history lesson on World War l again, Christmas plans, Joyce Meyers, heaven theories, another life coach speech by Cole himself and the importance of enjoying one's life. We thank you all so much for listening and we hope you will join us for our Christmas day episode of madness as we soon enter #SOS season 2! IG- sideof_slaw

Chris Coleman murdered his wife and two children for an affair with his wife's high school best-friend. Chris was a security chief for Joyce Meyers a well known televangelist.

Diving into this two-part episode regarding the Word of Faith gospel! Is it wrong? How do we discern? Acts 17 comes to mind! Please share, subscribe, follow, comment and RUMBLE!!Please also comment and let me know your thoughts!!

Q&A #224 - Historicity of the Bible, Is Jonah literal? thoughts about Joyce Meyer and more...Pastors discuss the following questions from our backlog.p. Where can we turn for evidence of the historicity of the Bible, especially of the Old Testament? How much weight should we put on evidence - or the lack thereof - of the historicity of the Bible in our faith? For example, if there isn't obvious historical evidence of the Exodus from Egypt outside of Hebrew literature, does/should that affect how we read the Old Testament?q. Kyle a while back you touched on the book of Jonah,do you view it as Literal or historical?r. What are your views on Joyce Meyers teachings ,and do you consider her a prosperity preacher?Thank youAsk your own question:https://livingsprings.wufoo.com/forms/s1oc9ua01mh36mq/

Q&A #224 - Historicity of the Bible, Is Jonah literal? thoughts about Joyce Meyer and more... Pastors discuss the following questions from our backlog. p. Where can we turn for evidence of the historicity of the Bible, especially of the Old Testament? How much weight should we put on evidence - or the lack thereof - of the historicity of the Bible in our faith? For example, if there isn't obvious historical evidence of the Exodus from Egypt outside of Hebrew literature, does/should that affect how we read the Old Testament? q. Kyle a while back you touched on the book of Jonah,do you view it as Literal or historical? r. What are your views on Joyce Meyers teachings ,and do you consider her a prosperity preacher? Thank you Ask your own question: https://livingsprings.wufoo.com/forms/s1oc9ua01mh36mq/

INTRODUCTION:Elijah Ware is the host of the Zephyr Podcast and he is not only a Teacher and a Preacher of Metaphysics but a student of it as well. Elijah started teaching metaphysics at the age of 14 and has blossomed tremendously since then.  INCLUDED IN THIS EPISODE (But not limited to):·      Metaphysical Perspectives On God, The Bible, Etc.·      Issues With Catholicism·      Why De'Vannon Is Banned From Bank Of America For LIFE!!!·      Should we pray to Angels?·      Angelic Appearances ·      Astral Projection·      A Message To Republicans And Conservatives·      How Nature Ties Into Metaphysics·      A Different View Of “Hell”·      Church Hypocrisy: Miscegenation Vs. Homosexuality·      Issues With Televangelists ·      The Innate Need For Community ·      Does The Bible Really Contain It All? CONNECT WITH ELIJAH:Website & Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1793952Email: WARE.ELIJAH@YAHOO.COM DE'VANNON'S RECOMMENDATIONS:·      Pray Away Documentary (NETFLIX)o  https://www.netflix.com/title/81040370o  TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk_CqGVfxEs TRANSCRIPT:[00:00:00] You're listening to the sex drugs and Jesus podcast, where we discuss whatever the fuck we want to!!! And yes, we can put sex and drugs and Jesus all in the same bed and still be all right. At the end of the day, my name is De'Vannon and I'll be interviewing guests from every corner of this world. As we dig into topics that are too risqué for the morning show, as we strive to help you understand what's really going on in your.There is nothing on the table and we've got a lot to talk about. So let's dive right into this episode.De'Vannon: Hello! Hello. Hello. All my beautiful peoples out there! I'm so happy to be bringing you this week's episode. Today, I'm talking with Elijah Ware. He is the host of the Zephyr podcast, and he is not only a teacher and a preacher of metaphysics y'all, but a student of it, as well this man started teaching metaphysics at the age of 14!!!And he has blossomed tremendously since then. On this here episode, we're going to be getting his metaphysical perspective on [00:01:00] God, the Bible and all of that. We gonna dish and spill our tea, on the issue that we have against Catholicism and the Catholic Chruch. I'm going to spill all the tea about why I got banned from bank of America for life hunty yes.I'm gonna tell you what had happened. We're going to talk about some angelic appearances. I have a message to Republicans and conservatives. And then of course, we'll talk about church hypocrisy because why not? I hope you all enjoy the episode.Elijah thank you so much for joining me on the sex drugs and Jesus podcast that they, how are you feeling today on a Friday morning? Elijah: I'm doing great De'Vannon and thank you so much. Thank you for having me really appreciate being here.How are you? De'Vannon: Oh I'm fan fucking tastic fan fucking tastic. Indeed. Wonderful. Elijah: That's the best kind of fantastic to be not really fantastic. Unless you got a few explicitives in there. De'Vannon: Of [00:02:00] course. That's what. I love swear words. There is a documentary on Netflix called the history of swear words that Nicholas cage orchestrates.And I think it's a phenomenal way to to dispel the myths, myths surrounding his, how bad and evil and treacherous, where words are supposed to be and come to learn how they're actually a good way to relieve stress. Wow. They Elijah: can be. I always say, I say, now I tell people now if you use them, you have to be, you have to be intelligent about how you use them.If you use them all the time, then people don't take you seriously when you are upset. So if you, if you drop them intelligently and systematically, when you are upset, people. The van is not playing right now. We better, we better leave him alone. If you, if you just, if you just dropping F bombs 24 7, like, I ain't upset about nothing.That's just him all the time. But when you do it, like every three months, [00:03:00] they're like, while he's not playing.De'Vannon: Yeah. That's, that's like the nice teacher, you know, whenever I was in grade school, that super nice teacher who never got upset until then until the cook class pushed, pushed it to the limit, then she finally left the dragon out and everyone was dead quiet. So, so they call you the preacher, the minister. I want to know.I want to know you're telling me your background and how you became a minister and a preacher and all that. Elijah: Well, I grew up in a school of metaphysics and metaphysics the word metaphysics. It sounds like you're going to college to learn physics. When people hear that word metaphysics, they often think that maybe you, you go to MIT or the California Institute of technology and you majoring there, but the word metaphysics, the word Netta and Latin just means beyond [00:04:00] and physics refers to the physical.So metaphysics simply means beyond the physical. I grew up along with my older brother Tony and a school of metaphysics. My, my my grandmother had seven children, four girls and three boys, and she, and my step-grandfather raised them all in metaphysics. And so when my mom graduated high school and eventually went on to meet my father.He also became a metaphysical student and they raised my brother and I as metaphysical students. And like I said, with my grandmother, having so many children and raising them all in metaphysics, I grew up with my cousins and all of them and being students of metaphysics. Many of them are not anymore.They kind of got away from it as they got older. But I was one of the few that kind of stayed with it. And so when I was about 14 I got more involved in the, what you would call, I guess, the ministry and my my local, they don't call them [00:05:00] deans. And in metaphysics, I mean, they don't call them preachers and metaphysics or pastors, they call the leader, the Dean of the school.And so my local Dean here in San Fernando, California asked me to start teach to start teaching Sunday school. And so I did, and from there. Recognized by other chapters of metaphysical schools around us. And it became, you know, kind of a young minister and what get invited to speak here and there and other states and in Canada.And when I was 17, I spoke in front of nearly 10,000 people at a metaphysical conference out in Nashville, Tennessee at the grand opera, grand Ole Opry hotel. And so from then on I just kind of continue to minister and preach. De'Vannon: So when you say you were in a school of metaphysics from young, so are you physically going to like a campus?Are you learning? This is something like knowledge being passed down [00:06:00] from the elders in your family. Where are you getting? Elijah: So there was a man named Henry, Henry Clifford Kenley. We call him Dr. Kenley and he started the school that I attended. In 1931, he was born in 1895 and he was what we call the founder of the school.And he began this school based upon an experience that he had that he said he had with the creator and he created charts to illustrate what it is. He said that he experienced and what he said that he saw. And from then on, he went about to raise up other metaphysical students and ministers that would help teach and preach.The universal knowledge that he said that he experienced just like you hadn't man, like Naval God R and Emanuel Swedenborg and Jacob bone and Manley P hall. Now these were white [00:07:00] men. So of course they were recognized and metaphysics, they are what they call luminaries in the metaphysical world.But Dr. Kenley being a black man saying that I also had this experience where he was made to understand what the meaning of, of, of existence was and what the meaning of, of creation was a black man at that time in the 1930s, didn't, you know, they wouldn't pay him much attention now, you know religion has always thought that if anybody was going to have the truth, they would be white and they would be male.De'Vannon: Okay. That's a very unique sort of a person to have. So do you feel like it was meant to be very, almost past the cross? Sure, Elijah: sure. Sure. Because Dr. Kenley started the school in Ohio and then my immediate predecessor, his, his [00:08:00] protege was, it was a man who went to school. And it's funny because I'll just call him Dr.H Dr. H he was going to medical school in the 1940s. He knew Dr. Kenley as a child and Dr. Kelly was his insurance man. And one day doctor Dr. Age mother, he was Dr. Kelly was collecting his premiums from his mother and she asked Dr. Kelly, did he know anything about the Bible, about the killing of.Sarcastically say, sure. I know a little bit about it. And so Dr. Harris, he kind of grew up that's Dr. Age, I guess you could say. And he left and went to medical school. He wanted to be a doctor. He wanted to help people at a time when there weren't a lot of black doctors, he graduated from a Harriet medical in the 1940s top of his class.He used to jokingly tell us how there was only two people ahead of him. And that was a two, two brothers, two twin brothers called the Buford brothers. And so. He [00:09:00] said that when Dr. Kenley asked a lot of them to come on out to California, because he wanted to continue to promote this knowledge and maybe even get it in film if he could, because at that time they were making the 10 commandments.And so about the Harris center, it's just odd that there were people in the, in the school that had been there longer than me here. I have a full blown medical practice. I'm a black doctor. What he said, I kept money in my pockets because a house visit only cost $5 at that time. It was kind of, you know, a bit to them, but that's nothing to us, but he said for all the people to come out there, it was out that I would come, but he ended up becoming the head of the school when Dr.Kenley transitioned out of the flesh. And he was my immediate predecessor and mentor. And yes, I, to answer your question, I absolutely do feel like our paths were meant to do cross. He was more of a father figure to me than my father and my stepfather. He, if there was any man in my [00:10:00] life that I wanted to model myself after it would have been him.De'Vannon: Well, I'm glad that you had that happen. That's, that's what I call it. Being in the right place at the right time. That's the sort of stuff that really redirects the trajectory that your life is on. You know, people, especially like in churches and stuff, say. You know, something's, life-changing, you know, far too much, it becomes cliche, but but in this particular instance, you know, having, you know, having somebody in your life, like this is something that, you know, had, had they not been there, then you probably wouldn't Elijah: be who you are today.Absolutely. Absolutely. The way my family came into the school is that my grandmother was best friends with a woman living in the projects and her and her husband were attending the school. Now my, my family was like, just regular Sunday, go lean Baptist people, my grandmother and my step-grandfather. And they meet this couple living in the [00:11:00] projects and Los Angeles in the 1960s, just like them.And they say, Hey, you know, we're going to this school and this man can leave. He's talking about the Bible in a way that we've never heard it before. Sam sounds, sounds kind of interesting. And, and, and, and he's explaining things that no other pastor has been able to explain to us. And no other minister has been able to explain.So my grandmother out of friendship with, with her friend without a friendship with Ms. Fay, she said, sure, we'll come. And the rest, as they say is here, Then from then my parents went on to raise me in it. So yes, I, I think that was divine mapping out in my life, you know, De'Vannon: can you, okay. So you mentioned like the Bible and metaphysics and you give me an example of something that these people are something that, you know, might be a common conundrum that people might be stuck on in, in, in the Bible, but you feel like metaphysics can explain better.Elijah: Sure. So, I mean, and let me say this and [00:12:00] that's the reason why I didn't S I don't want anybody to think. I'm trying to be vague by not mentioning the name of the school. I just don't speak for the school anymore. They have officials that speak on their behalf branched out to do my own podcasts and everything like that.So I don't want anybody to think I'm speaking on behalf of, of them, but if they wanted to know the name of the school, that would be fine or anything, but an example of, of something like I had an episode called is the Bible. And. One of the things I go into Davanon is this whole business in this state, and this, this has caused so much, this little parable over in Genesis about a man named Adam and a woman named he has caused so much confusion in the earth, plain.It is almost ridiculous because first of all, people think that it's a literal man named Adam, and it's a literal woman named E failing to realize that this is a parable and a parable is a, a story that has hidden meaning in it. It's not about [00:13:00] necessarily the story itself. It's about the meaning that you ex extract from the storm.So when we're talking about Adam and Eve, there are many things that it signifies in metaphysics, you will find just like perhaps in comedic knowledge, you will find that one thing may mean many things, but with Alvin E you can see how that in many ways, like for instance, The man Adam represents the physical body, the woman, he represents the mind of man.So this is why she is often blamed for the fall of the human race, because the body can't do anything, say what the mind tells it to do, but it doesn't have anything to do with a female or somebody that has an X, X chromosome. The woman is really representing the soul in the Bible. You will find that when the soul was spoken of, especially in Proverbs and in Psalms, it is often referred [00:14:00] to in the feminine sense.So when we're talking about Adam and Eve, people, Iran is lead. Think let's says in the Bible, let the woman be subject to the man. It says the woman, not the female. You see why these are energies and these are types and shadows. The apostle Paul spoke over in Romans the first chapter, and he said, you take natural things or visible things, being creatures of a lower level to understand the invisible things.So when we're looking at male a man and woman, you see we're looking at shadows of heavenly things. You see the reality. See, for instance, with the Catholic church, I was thinking about this this morning, you see the Pope is called the holy father. Now, although in the Bible over in Matthew, it says call no man upon the earth, your father, but you see now he would be the husband, man of the Catholic church, the Cardinals [00:15:00] and the rest of the princes of the church.Along with the parishioners, they will be his bride. Now they're not literally his product and he's not literally their. But in principle, he is their husband. That is why he is called holy father. When you can't have a father without some children and you can't have a children without the bride or the wander.So people have erroneously taking this to mean when Paul is speaking and a lot of his writings that he speaking of male and female, no, he is not. He is speaking of man and woman, and there is a difference between a man and a male. A male has an X, Y chromosome. A man is both male and female.De'Vannon: You know, there's all sorts of different ways to look at things. And that's why I love the diversity of both my podcast and yours, the Zephyr podcasts because, you know, Nobody really [00:16:00] gets to say that their way of looking at something is right or wrong, or, you know, you know, it's all different. It's about what works for you.Right. So I wanted to, in terms of like creation and stuff like that, it is always a curious thing. You know, I've never heard anybody talk about man and woman, the way that you do or refer to Eve referred to the whole creation story is more of a parable when it comes to man and woman, you know I've always wondered and I've heard it question before, you know, like how can the earth have come from just two people?You know, so. You know, physically Adam and Eve, and they had two sons, you know, who in the hell that came going, fuck you, you know, to have, you know, to have other, Elijah: yeah. That might be your first case of homosexuality. And even then, where did the kids come from? Right. De'Vannon: So either God made another woman somewhere, or Adam and Eve had more children than he [00:17:00] fucked his sister.And so that is the case. Then you really can't have a case against the insets if the whole world came from incest. So you've got lead people along with them. Fuck the shit out of their brothers and sisters, if they to do right. And I'm like, I saw the movie cruel intentions. Elijah: Yes. I saw it to see she was now.Now you have to be fair. She was his step sister. She wasn't actually his sister. De'Vannon: Well, all the things I'm just, I'm just glad the Lord be assembling. That looks like Ryan Philippe. OtherwiseElijah: she cannot be held liable for her actions. De'Vannon: And then now let's talk about the Catholic church, because I was thinking about the poop as I call him. You call him the poop. Elijah: They'll put, oh no, the poop is De'Vannon: I call him that, that fool you know, all right. And [00:18:00] know. And, and, and the foods that follow them. I can, I can say that because I was once a fool, blindly following preachers and stuff like that to Louisiana.Right. I'm from Louisiana Pentecostal, all of that foolishness. Elijah: Yeah, there's a, there's a strong Catholic strong hold down there. And so, but De'Vannon: the, the Pope, the poop didn't have any more power than what people give him. And so and the same thing with any of us, you know, any kind of leader or anything like that, if your people decide to pull a coup over throw you, there's really nothing you can do because there's more of them than you.But, and then you were talking about, you know, Catholic customs, like they call them father, you know, in the Bible does say not to call any man on earth, other they prayed a like dead people, you know, things as they call them, you know, and stuff like that. And I could've sworn that the angel said not afraid of them, you know, in a way that the Lord and what Elijah: they call my teacher used to call an angel.Knology when you worship it's the worshiping of angels. [00:19:00] And he said an angel, he said, you're really an angel. An angel is just a being that does not have flesh. And blood is no longer bound to the shackles of the flesh. He said, so you might as well worship you. If you're going to worship Michael or Gabriel Raphael, just beings and goes back to what I was sharing with somebody the other day, you see about the same thing about this business of man versus male or woman versus female.You see, you read about entities like Michael and Gabriel in the Bible. You see, and you say, well, well, what, what, what, isn't he a male? No, no, you'll see. Those are just names assigned to those energies or beings you see really. To be a Michael means to be a warrior, to be a Gabriel means to be a messenger.It really doesn't apply really to even one entity. There is no entity that sits on the right hand of the deity named Michael. There is no one entity that sits to the left name. Gabriel, you could be a [00:20:00] Michael, if you are a warrior for spiritual truth, if you are a defender sphere of truth, you could be a Gabriel.If you are a messenger of spiritual, spiritual truth, you see, but people have localized it and said, well that you know that Michael sits to the right. Don't see, that's all speaking. When you read over there and revelations, I was sharing this with somebody at the gym yesterday and I don't go around just talking to people.There's this, this young man just came up to me and asked me, and just, it was random. It was just really random. I'm like, why is he even that like new I look like, but he. He was asking me about this. And I was just telling him how that, you know people have gotten this so backwards. And I told him, my teacher used to say that people think that revelations is the hardest book in the Bible.He said, revelations is really the easiest book, because revelations is just a repeat of Genesis. Everything. Genesis is the physical aspect of it. And revelations is the spiritual aspect of it. [00:21:00] But you have these, these corporations, like for instance, when I was going into, in my last podcast well podcasts before, when I was answering questions, a young man wanted to know about going to church and he felt condemned he's in the military out there in Virginia.And he felt condemned because he couldn't make it to church. And I said to the young man, I said, it says in everybody's Bible, that God is not worth over in acts 17 chapter. You see Paul was over there and he was on Mars. And he said, I see that you guys are devoted to the worship of idols because as I was passing by y'all fools are so devoted that you even had a temple to the unknown god.In other words, they were so afraid of missing a guy that they built a temple and said, we gonna put this to the unknown God, whoever we might've missed you see? And then he goes on to say that Yaweh or the Lord who made the world. You see seeing that he is ruler, I'm having the nerve dwelling, not in [00:22:00] temples made with man's game, but you have billion dollar institutions like, and religion is a big business.It is a big business. It is a huge business. The Pope, the Pope, people think with the Sultan of Brunei or Jeff Bezos is the richest man in the world. No, they are not. The Pope is the richest man in the world. And the holy seat is the richest country in the world. You see the bank that you call bank of America here in this country.You see, it used to be called the bank of Italy. You see owned and operated by the Catholic church. You see if you go back and do research on the bank on, on what we call bank of America, it used to be called the bank of Italy. And it was because. People erroneously think that black people, you know, we're the only ones that have not been liked in this country as well.Italians weren't like when they first got here either to the extent that they wouldn't even be allowed to have loans given to them. So the bank of Italy was created for them in this [00:23:00] country so that they could start to have the American dream because the white folks in this country that came from England and Ireland and other places didn't want nothing to do with them.And so that's why that bank was created. You see? But again, they create these mega churches, these palatial palaces, you see, and people are so impressed with the the pomp and circumstance in the pageants, patents, pageantry of St. Peter's cathedral, you'll see, and things like that. But yet it says in everybody's Bible that the creator does not dwell in temples made with man.But he does dwell in temples that are made by his hands. You see your body, you see, I saw says over there in Corinthians is the temple of universal spirit. You see, you don't have to go to Reverend black bottoms church on the corner, you see, or to St. Peter's, but a Basilica or any of those things you see, you can sit right in the shower, you see.Right, right, right, right. In your car, [00:24:00] wherever you are and worship the creator and spit. Cause he said, he's seeking such to worship him in spirit and in truth. De'Vannon: Well, I just want to say, fuck you to bank of America. Anyway I'm man, I'm banned for life from bank of America because when I was, but I was homeless, a guy who, I didn't know, I'd never met before he had from some business in Corpus Christi, Texas, and I was in Houston.And so I was like, whatever. And so I went to the bank to try to cast cash and I got arrested. The things you do when you're home, wasn't you ain't got shit to do. And so, and so that was a part of the of the whole deal in court. You know, I got probation, but you know, but I'm banned from all bank of America, properties and business and stuff for the rest of my Elijah: life.Fuck. That's not a punishment. That's a blessing, right. De'Vannon: Fuck them for being all unforgiving and shit. And I don't know what the da told them. Elijah: Well, that doesn't matter. Does it really matter? I mean, to ban somebody for life. [00:25:00] Seriously, no longer be allowed to store your money. We will not hold your money and charge you anymore.And De'Vannon: so punishment. And so and so, and so, and a whole, like not calling any other, either any of man father, I wanted to clarify that that goes beyond like, say like your dad or something like that. When, when people say father talking about God is a more holistic and fulfilling way that you're referencing him, you know, as being like your ultimate provider and everything like that, it goes further beyond just, Hey dad, what's up pop.It's not like that. So if you call your physical dad father in like a passive way like that, and God is not mad at you, but what, what Elijah and I are talking about. Is the pedestal and how they put like the father in the Catholic church, you know, like equal to God. Like you can't even pray and ask forgiveness for yourself.You got to go and confess to a human, [00:26:00] which is completely fucked up and has absolutely nothing to do with the purpose of Jesus Christ. So like what's the point of Jesus coming to stand in the place and be the last sacrifice. And he said, no, man can come to the father, but by Jesus or Elijah: all right, you shoot you out.You out here in these metaphysical streets. So De'Vannon: what do you though, what the fuck do you need the damn preach here for or? Elijah: Well, the sad part about it is, is that they have called Peter the farmer, the first Pope and the word and Peter at first of all, if you go over there and Matthew, I kept the exact scripture is not coming to me right now, but it's in the book of Matthew where it talks about Peter's mother-in-law so the only way I know you can get a mother-in-law's if you got.So if Peter is the first point. And now of course, if you know their history, Pope's used to get married. I mean, there used to be the series called the Borgias about Rodrigo Borgia and his, you talking about [00:27:00] ancestor. That was an incestuous family. If you had ever seen one look Lucrezia Borgia and her brother Chez IRA, they used to get it on.Like, it was just the bang to do. And Rodrigo Borgia known as Pope Alexander the sixth. I mean, that's where the God, that's where the whole godfather thing comes from. You see that's where that whole idea of the guy it came from Rodrigo Borgia and is a mob dug his children. It wouldn't be like, I don't mean to get political, but it would be like Donald Trump and his kids today.Trump would be Rodrigo Borgia. Junior would be Chaz array. The youngest one would be one and Ivanka would be Lucrezia Tiffany. She just don't even fit into the equation. De'Vannon: Ivanka would be Skeletor. Elijah: Oh, I'm not going to tell you what my mom calls her. I'm [00:28:00] not going to Jerry De'Vannon: skeleton twat or some shit Elijah: gooseneck, terrible, De'Vannon: wrong with a little bit of shade, just a little Elijah: out there.I don't know how many Trump supporters are listening to the band and, or, or my pocket. And I try not to get too political. I drive too because of the type of, of, of, of, of podcast. I have you have the Liberty to do that, but I try not to, to circumscribe anybody or anything like that. De'Vannon: So I want to get back on angels because angels are very, very special to me.And it's a very. Fine line that we tread in dealing with them because we're only supposed to pray to God in the name of Jesus period. And from my reading of the, of the spirituals, I only see two angel names given, which are Michael and Gabriel, and then there's other times. And there were like, people tried to get names out of angels and they refused to give them to them probably because the person would have turned around and [00:29:00] tried to worship them.And many times the angels have to remind people, you know, so worship God, whenever they go to try to worship them like that. And and I've had a few of them in times, you know, well, they've appeared to me like in human form. And I think that that happens with people. More often the Bible does say that we have entertained angels.It unawares from the times that I remember the first one that that happened me and my dad were like, Being just typical and late last people in the grocery store back in, I think like the eighties or something like that. So we were the last car to leave. You know, the workers in there probably cussing us out, like just to get that bus out so we can go home.And it was just me and him in the parking lot. Like a parking lot was empty. And then we looked up and there's this man just suddenly standing in my dad's a window. And I'll never forget the look in his eyes. He was dressed the homeless, but his eyes had like a, an electricity and a life to it that does not [00:30:00] bespeak homelessness.And I've been homeless before. And then you lose the light really, really out of your eyes and stuff like that. And there isn't much joy there, but he was talking to, to me and he was asking me for exactly a dollar and which is all I had in my wallet. And then the Lord always knows exactly how much money you have.And I was afraid to give it to him because back then I used to get my ass beat for like everything and nothing, because I was raised in an abusive household. And so. But the Lord came the test, my heart more than my physical actions. So Lord knew I would have, because I'm not a tight or stingy person.I love giving is one of my greatest joys in life. And, you know, we, I, you know, we hesitated and we looked down and to my surprise, my dad would have been okay with me giving him the dollar. I was frozen in fear. It's like I wanted to, but I didn't want to get hit. And so, and then just, just that quick, we looked up and the man was gone.It was like a whole big parking lot. He could not have walked away in a split second that [00:31:00] fast. And I've had other instances happen like that. And I like to be transparent about that so that people don't think that they're going crazy or second guess, or question how God has come to personally deal with them.Sometimes we meet people already know our names that we know them. Well, we never met before, you know, and stuff like that. Elijah: When jelly beans first of all, the flesh we don't, we call it the veil of the flesh. And my teacher used to say all the time, he said, Now you would know this, do that, and because you you're familiar with the scriptures, but he would talk about that tabernacle that the Israelites pitched out there in the wilderness of Sinai over there and, and, and and the law and how that tent, that tabernacle was like going to be the temple on which the creator, he said, I'll dwell among you because it's not time for me to dwell in you.He wasn't going to dwell in them until pinnacle. So he said, build me a tabernacle that tabernacle went on to become Solomon's temple, the the furniture inside of it. That shows how that we go from physical [00:32:00] bodies to universal bodies when we transcend see, because Solomon's temple will be more glorified version of the tabernacle, but in that tabernacle, you would have the bales.And there were three bales. And my teacher used to say, pay attention to those veils because. When you talk not to switch, but when you, we talk about Jacob's ladder, you see, and it had angels ascending and descending upon that ladder, that ladder really represents consciousness and each wrong represents a higher level of consciousness.That's why you have now in the Catholic church, they call it the celestial hierarchy. My teacher said, it's not a hierarchy, it's an order. And you have the 12 orders of universal beings on, up from angels all the way up to supernals and each rung plea is a being are beings that experience the universe at a higher vibration or a higher level of consciousness.And that's what this school [00:33:00] is that we are in. This is a kindergarten for angelic or universal or just entities. If the word angelic sounds too abstract for you or spirit sounds too abstract. Just say anything. Because, you know, a physical entities you see, and a spirit being is just an entity. That's not limited to flesh and blood, and they have the power to descend and ascend and make their presence known at a will.That's one of the perks of having seen when they would go to reach for the Messiah and the scriptures, and he would just disappear. You see, see the flesh is determined by consciousness, by vibrational consciousness. So if you're able to descend and vibration and make your presence known, you can ascend in vibration and disappear or take away the appearance of the physical form.That's when you get into Astro bodies and all of that, and people practicing. And my teacher, Dr. Kenley would [00:34:00] set tell us, he said, now because you have people and they still do it now, practice Astro projection. He said, now don't do that because you might not know how to get back into. He said, I can do it because I know how to get back in the body.There would be people, he would go back home to Ohio, to minister, to the folks that didn't come out with the 70 souls that came out with him and this route, the school grew tremendously from then, but there were people who stayed in Ohio and then eventually it went out to other places all over the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and all Germany and all other parts of the world.And that's the school today. But people would say that they seen Dr. Kenley minister before them up in the congregation. And there would be people in California say Dr. Gibson right here. Well, y'all ran my house. We had a service today this morning, Dr. Kelly sitting here having lunch with us. And there will be elders that witness to the fact, you know, he, we saw him here today and he would tell us, and then he would and, and, and [00:35:00] I used to wonder why he never taught us the law of attract.And one of my friends, who's an elder in the school. He said, she said that her husband asked Dr. Kenley, why won't you teach us the laws of the universe and the laws that now they call in Hollywood, a secret and all that. And he said that because of, I taught it to you guys, you would destroy each other.So he, he did, he would not teach us the law of manifestation. I only know about it now because of other metaphysical teachers, Dr. Harris would often kind of insinuate about it. He would often jokingly say, when you are awakened in consciousness, you have to be careful about what you think, but he would never go in and teach the people in the school, the law of manifestation and the law of of creation, De'Vannon: right.I'm going to put it in the show notes, but I want you to tell just verbally tell everybody what your email address is, because I know that they're going to have sure. [00:36:00] Elijah: If you have any questions or anything like that, or you just want to talk to me, my email address is where that's where as in whiskey, a w a R E dot or period at Elijah, I'm sorry.W a R E dot elijah@yahoo.com. So which, where dot elijah@yahoo.com and where it's spelled w a R E E L I J H. Yes. Yes. Yeah. De'Vannon: The, the astral projection is real mom. My mentor evangelists. Nelson, who was a great clairvoyant woman used to, to tell people that in church too, like be careful where you send your you'll sell a while too, because you don't know if it's coming back.Now. I first started going onto the Astro plane when I was like in middle school, but it's not like I went looking for it, but I'm a gifted dreamer. I've been dreaming since I was like four or five and my dreams come true. And I see things and [00:37:00] receive guidance in them from God, from God, or from people who have died and who are coming back to talk to me.God dream a lot, you know, every time I nod off I'll dream. And so Elijah: you never not have dreams does some, and I've had times when I'll go to sleep and I won't dream, but you always have dreams. De'Vannon: Yeah. Like I'm, I'm like, I'm a dreamer that that's, that that's one of my strongest gifts. Elijah: And that you must, that you probably have a strong imagination.De'Vannon: Yeah, it wasn't until I I went to school for hypnotherapy and spin stuff too. And I just in different classes, I've been in different experiences. I began to understand that not everybody has the capability to like close their eyes and visualize not everybody. I didn't know that. Elijah: Just so easy for you to do it.You, we don't, we figure that we, we always figure when we could do something that way everybody can do it, De'Vannon: but things of the mind like that, like I just, because I get, I don't know, build a house or garden, I wouldn't expect everybody to do that. But to be able to, to visualize yourself doing [00:38:00] something, I would not have thought something in the head like that would have been something that's what out of reach easily on people.So that was an eye opening. Elijah: I don't really go into astrology a lot. I'm familiar with it, but they say people that have more earth sign Mo moves that are in, in, in the earth. It's harder for them to imagine. You know, because they are so grounded, I guess if it would be like a Capricorn moon or a Turismo.And it's not that I don't believe there's any truth in astrology. What I, what, what metaphysics teaches us? Is that when you are spiritually awakened, you are no longer bound to the planets. You're no longer. It talks about over there and revelations that the woman was clothed in the sun with the moon under her feet.Now again, a woman that's not talking about it, didn't say the female. It said the woman, the woman is the soul. The soul has been probed in the sun. Now, what does that mean? That means the soul has awakened [00:39:00] back onto its universal identity or his identity as a son of God. And when the moon is under his feet, the moon represents.The moon sign and astrology. You got a sun sign, which is 12 Zodiacs. And then you've got a moon sign, which is 1208, the moon representing the emotions. So when the Mo that's, when, when you're clothed in the sun, that means you received that true identity. You know, we call you the van and you don't mind us calling you then, but you recognize that the van was just the role you played.And that the moon under your feet is that now your emotions I'm governed by the soul, you are in control of your emotions, your emotions don't control. So when it comes to astrology, you see, yes, as long as you are identifying yourself as the person that was born from your father and your mother, and you think that's who you are, and this is my name and this is what it's on my birth certificate.Yes. I believe that you can be controlled by those great [00:40:00] celestial bodies that we call the planets. You see, but when you have awakened back to your cosmic or universal identity, you see the moon is now under your feet and you are now closed and universal in the sun. You see, or. De'Vannon: Absolutely. And the book of revelation is probably my favorite though.It's most certainly my favorite book of the Bible. That, and then I love the book of Daniel too, because they kind of mirror each other. So on the, on the astral projection, I just wanted to clarify. Sure that, because this is another thing. I don't want people to think that they're crazy that they're alone because it's not a sort of thing that people just talk about a lot, which I wish there was more of, but so like if you're sleeping at night, cause I did not go trying to intentionally get myself on the astral plane, I don't have to, it just came to me like that and it just comes to me like that.So I just started sleeping and I started becoming aware of the fact that I was dreaming in the middle of my dreams. I don't consider those Astro dreams to be so [00:41:00] prophetic. It's almost like I'm somewhere else. And so just a natural instinct instincts I'm beginning to see, okay, let me see if I can manipulate the environment around me and control things and stuff like that.And that's kind of like the beginning of Astro studies, Astro projection and things like that. I've read where people try to go on there and maybe find other people and send healing energy and light to them and different things like that. And so, and so, so this happens anybody who may be listening, just know that no, you're not crazy.There's a whole thing Elijah: about,you know, the sad part about it. The Davanon is that we have been in these physical bodies for so long that we have begun to think that they are the reality of us and that what is beyond the flesh is the shadow. We even think of it as shadow world. No, this is the shadow. [00:42:00] As a matter of fact, in, in comedic knowledge, when you're dealing with what they call the Egyptians, a lot of people thought that when they talked about the underworld, they were talking about the world you go to, when you're no longer in a physical body, no, they thought saw this physical world as the underworld, because you had deity condescending into a lower state.So when you are talking about spiritual things, you see, now you may, in your current condition, you seeing, when I say you only talking about you, I'm talking about any listener, you may not be sensitive to those things you see, but just like you're wise enough to know that the earth didn't start the day you were born and that it won't stop the day you die.You see, don't be silly enough to think that because you haven't experienced something, it could not be true. You see, and that's, that's, that's kind of thing that irritates me with somebody. Well, well, well, well if I haven't experienced it, it's a [00:43:00] lot of things you haven't experienced. And then this is a, we got multi versus that's.What eternal life is all about going on to experience yourself. You see, I think it was higher on Butler, a great another metaphysical teacher that said heaven. It's just an eternal revelation of itself. You see? So don't ever think that'd be what I, I haven't experienced it. There was a time when you had an experience sex didn't mean nobody else knew what the emotion was like.De'Vannon: And that's a S a damn good emotion. If I do Elijah: say, and you know, you're going to act right. The van you going to act, right. Which means I'm De'Vannon: gone act out, you were talking about how short-sighted. It is to think that, you know, this physical form is like our highest self or like the, the end and you know, and there's nothing but shadow beyond this.I think about that whenever I see like politicians or people who have physical power in this earth doing treacherous things and [00:44:00] lying. Yes. I'm talking to them like they'll Elijah: never be any consequences for their behavior. Right. I'm talking De'Vannon: to Republicans, even locals straighten up and fly, right. People wish to enforce their way up on other people.So people who are anti-abortion anti LGBTQ I a plus alphabet mafia. Yes. We're coming fromI'm talking to you because when you die, Then none of this authority on this earth matters. So the people that you have to step on to get their throw out lie and say January 6th, wasn't an insurrection. Try to justify Donald Trump and with a straight face, and think you were going to go stand before the Lord and get into heaven, bitch.You fully. AndElijah: I'm not messing with De'Vannon: you. And it's short-sighted because you have a soul to account for and spiritual currency. You are not [00:45:00] building up. That's why the Bible says hardly scarcely will a rich man enter because you priorities or a skew angels and demons don't give a fuck about money because they understand what real power is.And they could give a damn list who has a seat of authority because the ultimate decision of everything comes from the Lord, no matter how treacherous it might seem to us. And so you mentioned earlier, you know, something about what a Republican be listening to this podcast. They are going through, maybe they have Elijah: received salvation, maybe even under De'Vannon: flap.One of them motherfuckers upside the head pretty hard on a Sunday morning to get some sense than there all the earth shirts in the old world. It all the missionaries might be able to help one of them hard-headed motherfuckers. But Elijah: you know, my, my teacher used to say and this is really what prompted me to be honest about my sexuality.He used to say all the time, he said, now, if you know something, [00:46:00] then you ought to know that y'all way, or God knows it even more so. And when you run it around and you're just to your point, putting on airs, trying to impress other shadows, you see you are really telling the creator to his face. I don't really give a damn about what you think I'm more concerned about.What the people I can physically see, I physically interact with and that I physically deal with on a daily basis are about I'll deal with you when I deal with you. I'll deal with you. When I see you failing to realize that he is their very self and he is your very awareness of being, you could fall down and hit your head and they bring you in to the emergency room and they say van, and you say, I don't know, man.You say, when they asked you, where are you from? I don't know. When were you born? I don't know. Are you married? I don't know how you got any children. I don't know. Are you conscious of being alive? Yes, I am. [00:47:00] You see, you can forget everything, but you will not forget your I am or your awareness. And that is y'all way or God you see, and you can not escape that.That's why he said, if you make your bed in hell or if you make your bed and, and, and, and. That are low vibrational or negative. That's hell he, wasn't talking about a place on the earth. You see? And that's another thing we, we misunderstand and I was talking about this in my podcast the other day, this whole business of having inhale.You see, first of all, I don't have a habit to put you in the van for the things you've done or hell to put you into the things you've done. And you, now you have one to put me in. You see, I have an overhead, but when we speak about heaven or hell, we have to understand that these are states of consciousness.You see just like the example I used the other day, you have what they call the orthological kingdom. And that's the bird king you see now out here in California, we have Eagles and other different kinds of beautiful birds. And out there in New York, you have other [00:48:00] birds and Eagles and things of that nature you see, but they all belong to the same kingdom, but the kingdom is not relegated to a physical place.It is a. Consciousness and the reason they are all a part of the ontological kingdom is because they have a commonality in their nature and the way they are made up psychologically and physically speaking, they are a part of the kingdom of the birds or the orthological key. When we speak of the kingdom of heaven.You see, I'm not saying that they're on C a boat or B or, or, or planes where entities dwell and exist. But when we're talking about heaven, you see those that are, you see share the same nature. Cause the word name means nature. You were talking about the angels refusing to give their names. They refuse to give their name, not because we couldn't pronounce it or that the, the actual spelling of the name [00:49:00] or the name, the word was sacred.They, if you asked me for my name, you're asking me for my nature and I cannot give you that you see if you are a carnal minded man, and all you dwell upon is earthly things. You can never know my name. My name is a mystery to you. You see, it's just like when we say there's power in the name of the Lord, you're saying there's power in the nature you see of the Lord.You see. So when we're talking about, about the kingdom of heaven, we're talking about all those who have the same name or the same nature you see, they are, there is a divine commonality between them and that's what makes you a member of the kingdom. You see, you have the plant kingdom. See, you've got plants out there in New York and we got plants here in California.You see, but they are all members of the plant kingdom. So when we're speaking about heaven, you see, you can be on this lower level, you see, or you can be a being that well and higher. See those are the [00:50:00] heavens, but that is not heaven. You see heaven is a state in which there is righteousness. Paul said over in Romans, the kingdom of heaven is not eating and drinking, but it is righteousness, peace and joy.You see, when it speaks about different things over there are revelations about gold and all that is all symbolic gold represents the endurance and the power in the kingdom or in the nature of all those who are alike and have the same commonality. We are brothers. We are bounded, no matter where we are, we are a part of the kingdom.De'Vannon: All I know is hell seems like, and that's very, I mean, thank you for offering to an alternate way of looking at heaven, but what else? All I know is that hell feels like, it feels like it would be someplace where God is not to, whether it's flying there, whether it's here, they are across the street or across the galaxy.It seemed like there ain't no Jesus there. And that's what would bother me about it. The most Elijah: sure. Because, [00:51:00] because just to go along with what you're saying, Paul said to you that are alienated in your minds, he didn't say to you that are alienated. See the truth is if the creator is net percent, there can't be any place where he is not, but there could be some place in you where he is not.You see what I'm saying? I'll give you a prime example. This just happened to me last night. I get home. I want to run to the store and get me something sweet. Cause there's nothing in the house sweet to eat because I chose not to buy anything. Sweet. Cause that's. But I really had a wave. I have a tremendous week too.So I said, I'm going to go get me something this week. And I started looking for my wallet and I can't find it. And I look on my dresser. I looked at my bed, I look in my gym bag. I don't see it. I go to the car. It is not there. I'm looking under the seats and everything. So I said, I must have left it where I picked up dinner.[00:52:00] I run getting jumped in the car, run back to the place where I picked up dinner. I asked them that they find a wallet. The ladies telling me no, nobody has turned in the wallet. I'm like, where can my wallet be? I look under the car again, come back home, look in the bedroom again. I don't see it. Look on another part of the house where I think I'm out of flooded.I go back to my gym bag and I said, well, excuse me, let me dump everything out. And when I dumped everything out, it was right. Now I asked you the question, was my wallet lost or was it just lost to me? Was it lost in my mind? See, there was a space in my mind where the wallet was not anymore. I thought the wallet was locked.It was with me all the time. It was right here in my house, but in my consciousness, it could have just as easily been where I had picked up dinner. It could have been, it could have fell out at the gym. It could have fell out at the grocery store. You got to fill out at the gas station. [00:53:00] It wouldn't have made a difference because consciously it was lost to me.You see? So when we're talking about hell, hell, where the devil is really a state in which we think that we are separate from the creator, my wallet was with me the whole time, but in my mind, and in my heart, it was lost. But not in reality. In other words, the relationship wasn't there. Normally my relationship with my wallet is I know exactly where.But because I didn't know where it was, the relationship had been launched. So what has to be restored is not connection or, or, or, or any true sense of, of, of salvation. Salvation is really the wiping away of the idea of being honest or down. That's just another thing. De'Vannon: His wallet was lost. Y'all but now it's fine.Now it's Elijah: found [00:54:00] hallelujah. De'Vannon: Hallelujah. So you mentioned your sexuality. How do you identify? Elijah: No, I hadn't really gone into it on my podcast and it wasn't because I was embarrassed or anything like that is because I didn't want people to. You know, if you, if they're coming to Zephyr, I don't want them to think that that is what the podcast is about.This is really not about me. It's about metaphysics, but in De'Vannon: actuality, sorry to cut you off. Have you talked about your sexuality pause after no. On a public broadcast anywhere? Is this your first time publicly talking about Elijah: it? This would be the first time. But that doesn't bother me at all. De'Vannon: We'll come on with the exclusive then come on.Elijah: And if it did, I would have asked you when you, when we did the pre-interview, when you were kind enough to ask me, is there anything that you would rather, I didn't talk about? You were nice enough to ask me [00:55:00] that and you know, as I told you, it's not a problem. I just didn't want people. If they're coming to Zephyr, I want to stay on, I want them to understand what Zephyr is about and it's about all of us.It's not me. I hate to be vague and say, oh, I don't identify as this. Or don't identify as that because I realize we're living in a world where carnal minded creatures have to term label you as something. It just, it just gives them acid indigestion. If they cannot label you as black male, straight gay or bisexual or anything like that.I have been attracted to women and I have been attracted to men. And personally I don't label myself. Any kind of way. But I recognize being a minister that that's going to be problematic for a lot of people, because there's going to be some people that said, dang, I was really enjoying you until, you know, and I already know that.And being that metaphysics is a part of religion and in the religious world, [00:56:00] unless you are heterosexual then no heaven for you then that's where, where I feel like it's important that I speak up and say something because I would be a hypocrite, knowing that I've been free from thinking you see that there are angels in heaven who identify as heterosexual.And if I don't identify that way, then I'm going to be in big trouble. It goes right back to our conversation about maleness and femaleness. You see, first of all, We have to stop thinking that God is a big man in the sky or a big male in the sky, excuse me. And of course he's white because anything good and righteous is white.And we have a very cartoonish idea about what the creator is. We think he dwells on the, of most rounds of the universe or at some other multi-verse and he sits up high and looks down low. And he's judging me based upon what I am physically speaking. But if [00:57:00] angels are neither male nor female.Then, and this goes all the way back to us having to recognize that these roles that we are playing now you're not going to be in heaven talking about, you know, yeah. I was married for 40 years and we have four kids, two boys, two girls, and I had six grandchildren. And all of that it says that the former shall not be remembered and neither should have come to mind.And this part of salvation somebody was asking me about it yesterday about the Buddhist religion. Cause I was talking about in Buddhism, they have Nirvana and really what Nirvana is all about is letting go of the self. And they say, when you let go of the self that's when you attain under heaven, because hell is really the self and heaven would be the letting go of the self and the Buddhist religion you see.And what, the reason why so many people, especially young black men. And I think it's problematic because what, what these male men do is they hide their sexuality. [00:58:00] And then they go and get into these marriages and the women can't figure out why, why can't I reach him? What's his problem? Why, why, why, why is it that no matter what we do, you know, it just because we have such a toxic definition of masculinity, especially for young black men in society, as general in general, but especially for young black men, because we have mistaken.How many women you screw how many children do you produce, whether your fathers do them or not? We think that that is being a man. Now that may be being a male, but that's not being a man. We don't identify being a man is in. Russ self-respect dignity. Are you a person of your word? Can I rely on you?You see are you a gentlemen? You see are you respectful? You see, are you on time? You see, or every time I go somewhere with you, you always stop my child. I'm running like that's not being a man or a woman. You see that's being a male or female. And again, I think [00:59:00] so much of, but just like we have gotten so caught up and been baptized and white, white supremacy.We have been falsely baptized in maleness. You see? And again, these, I know many men right now, you see that think they're, they're deceiving people, but they're not deceiving themselves. But I always go back to that thing. My mentor said, if you know, then you ought to know that the creator now you see, but they get in these and it makes it worse because that's why the marriage marriages don't want.Because you have created, you see what you think. And it always amazes me when I hear people say, well, I believe what the Bible says about homosexuality. You see what the Bible also speaks against miscegenation race mix, but you do that. Like it's going out of style with no problem. So if you going to hold to what the, and the, and it has scriptures in it, they say I've never been to their website, but they say that the Klu Klux Klan got about nine scriptures on their website, [01:00:00] speaking against Miscegenation you see?And in the Catholic church, there used to be a doctrine of miscegenation you see, but how many of, of, of, of, of these young black ones? I mean, it amazes me. They'll they'll they'll welcome, brother. Calvin, you see in his Latina, a new wife back home from the military and little Calvin Jr. With no problem.You see, and that very Bible that they got sitting on, their lot lap speaks against that. Just like it speaks against homosexuality. But yeah, they don't view that in the same light you see? And that goes back to, if you're going to keep the law, keep the whole law, don't just keep parts of the law. That's convenient for you.I remember one time I shared this with you and then I'll be quiet. My mother had asked me to ride to her doctor's appointment with her. Do you want me to go with him? No reason. I just want you to go. So we get there and they, they, what they call tree , you know, take her temperature and all that good stuff.And it's this Caucasian or young white [01:01:00] male. I'm saying young in his early forties, little skinny guy. You can tell you ran. It looked like he ran to work. He was so skinny. He said he loved to run and we got to talking and we're laughing and talking to me and my mom are kind of talkative people and would go to the grocery store, things like that.And I don't know how we got on this, but he said to my mother and I, and he said, you know what, my brother always. And we're like, we barely know you. So of course we don't know what your brother always says. He said, my brother always says, don't judge me because I don't see him the same way you do. And I said, I said, you know what?That's, that's, that's, that's quite accurate of your brother to say that because there are so many things in this Bible that are spoken against. If you interpret them, physically women being preachers and teachers, but don't get up and can't sleep at two 30 or three in the morning. You'll see Joyce Meyers and so many other women talking about the Bible and up minister.And before that congregation, but [01:02:00] again, you believe what the Bible says about everything you see, except for that. But when it comes to this whole business of homosexuality and see, first of all, you have to understand that Paul was speaking spiritually. You see, he was not speaking. Just like when he said, let the woman be quiet in the church, you see our solid, he was not speaking about somebody with an X, X chromosome.You see, he was speaking about the creator being the husband, man or the El Shaddai, the almighty provider you see of all that there is. And you and I, being a woman, we should be looking on to our husband for all our daily needs. Not a Pope, not a minister, not a preacher, not, not your physical spouse or your physical parents or anything like that.You must look to your husband for all things you've seen. Sorry. Am I talking going on too long? De'Vannon: There ain't nothing wrong with letting the Lord use you because, because of what you're doing is offering different [01:03:00] perspectives. And one main goal of my podcasts of anything, anything that I do is to encourage people, to look at things.Differently to be willing to take a second look at things to not be conceited, like people you know, who. Who thinks that whatever it is that they think they know is the only way that it should be looked at. And like, if they were to reconsider it, then maybe they have compromised their belief. You know, the thing is you're realizing that you're a human and that you don't know everything.And so you take people like Joyce Meyer, Joel Olsteen TD Jakes, whoever it is that goes on TV and condemns on the sexuality and yeah. Right. You know, it's all good when people get divorced. You know, for reasons other than infidelity, you know, there's all kinds of stuff that, you know, it's like the whole straight people in the church got together and said, all right, we're going to be okay with this, this, this, and this.Even though the Bible says we shouldn't, but it's cool that we're going to make a really big fucking deal out of the gay people. [01:04:00] And and that's fine. I can't fix stupid. You know, I can't, I can't change them motherfuckers, but I can help people who were being influenced by them, you know? And if you're going to be a hateful hole and ride out with what they're saying and you know, and hate on people within, fuck you.But there's people out there who are miserable, killing themselves, hurting themselves over what televangelists are saying are over what. Preachers are saying. And then sometimes preachers they'll say some bullshit. Like they don't preach a certain scripture, a certain topic. The way they used to, what they're saying is they were wrong in their interpretation of it the first day.But what you're not gonna hear them do is apologize for any damage that they may have caused because preachers don't say, they're sorry, you know, try to get one to apologize. They don't have the humility. And and so Elijah: I encourage so many things, the value. I mean, I was sharing with the person the other day.I said, you know the Bible fertility is a [01:05:00] big theme in the Bible. You see? But if a woman who is married now, marriage is all about procreation. If there's a woman in the congregation who can not physically bring forth children, now there are some congregations. But the average every day, congregation, those are more what people would look at as cult physically speaking.But the average one in the male church would say, all sister, you Johnson, our sister Smith. We're gonna pray that the Lord provides you with those blessed is your womb. And we're gonna pray that the seed of, for, to a patient just arises in you and you will be the next Optima you see? And, and, and, and, and we just want to pray a little bit.I, that never happened. Do you go to her husband, Keith and say this half, and she ain't going to do it. You looking for key feeling, is she just, ain't going to be the one, but fertility is a big theme in the Bible. That's what the, that's what this whole [01:06:00] thing is all about. Spiritual children. You only got physical children because the creator is witnessing to the fact that he ran it for a whole dynasty up in this unit.You see, but you don't tell a woman who's infertile, you know? Well, you know you're playing a very negative role and you're going to have to get.De'Vannon: Well, well, the Lord has created the wicked for the day of destruction and the hypocrites are in that same category. So there's going to be through silliness like that in the world. And like Jesus said, at some point in the Bible, but it's left them alone. And so, and so my encouragement to people is to get out from under the influence, you know, of places like that.If you're LGBTQ or you have any sort of alternative lifestyle, don't go a

2:06  What is Isaiah saying in verse 26:20? 5:46  What is your insight on Joyce Meyers ministry? 10:12  Divorce and living with someone as a Christian. 13:16  Hope and our broken world 18:38  Evidence of truth of Jesus Christ 21:38  Christians believing in evolution   26:06  Abusing Tongues 31:38  Will all people but Jew be damned with the great delusion? 35:25  What happens to those that have never heard of Jesus? 38:00  Can I be predestined to hell? 43:02  Why share the Gospel? 45:33  Was Eve lying about touching the tree? 49:00  Is belief and trust the same? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

God wants you to love yourself through Him. In today's episode, learn how to move away from fear, grudges, and insecurity by seeking God in your life. We use Joyce Meyers' Do it Afraid book to guide our discuss today through loving ourselves vs pride, God's conditional love vs Fear, and how God can remove the insecurity or victimization that we experience.   Book:  Do It Afraid by Joyce Meyers  https://amzn.to/2ZaHVYf   Start Messy Action Item: Ask God to walk you through the process of loving yourself through His love. Website: www.christinapoolesmith.com/podcast Connect: https://www.instagram.com/christinapoolesmith/ or https://www.facebook.com/mrschristinapoolesmith        

Devannon Hubert is the host of Sex, Drugs, and Jesus, a podcast that highlights taboo concepts and the people that enjoy them. He joined me on Ramble by the River to discuss his life as a gay man, his experience of being excommunicated from his church, his time in the military, his rise to prominence in the black-market drug trade; his HIV diagnosis; and his eventual arrest by SWAT team. We covered a lot of ground over two hours and kept coming back to ideas about how to practice acceptance and tolerance in a world that sometimes feels so hostile and unforgiving that selfless love feels impossible. We covered hypnosis, drug abuse, religion, romance, social manipulation, oppression, hate, love, and podcasting. Devannon brings his irreverent and hilarious sense of humor to these heavy topics and the result is something magical. I really like this episode. I think it shows how two people can appear to be quite different on the surface, but deep down we all share so much in common. I had a great time making this thing and I hope you enjoy listening to it. If you want to support the show... Go to the all new Ramble by the River Patreon. Thank you so much for being part of the Ram-fam, Jeff Topics/Keywords: podcasting; starting a podcast; Podmatch.com; Alex Sanfilipo; matchmaker.fm; Descript.com; audio editing, audio production; podcast community building; church; LBGTQ; children's church; community service; volunteering to serve; gay-affirming church; The Golden Compass; Nicole Kidman; The Matrix; mass-deception; hypnotherapy; stage hypnosis; highly-suggest-able state; critical thought; executive control; willful suspension of disbelief; personality types; LSD-assisted hypnotherapy; psilocybin; Triumph of the Will; Adolf Hitler; Hitler Youth; propaganda; evangelical church; evangelists; Don't Ask Don't Tell; gay in the military; The Village People; homosexuality conversion; conversion therapy; gold-star gay; dreams; dreaming; dream-interpretation; Sigmund Freud; dream symbols; prophetic dreams; supernatural abilities; premonitions, deja vu; collective unconscious; Carl G. Jung; Buddhists; religious diversity; philosophical autonomy; drunkenness; sobriety; abstinence; wine; alcohol; addiction; Alcoholics Anonymous, 12-step programs; environmental correlates of addiction; Dr. Carl Hart; Columbia University; Drug Use For Grown-ups; relapse; harm-reduction strategy; Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous; heroin injection sites; needle exchange; morality; psychoactive substances; methamphetamine; cocaine; sugar; Christianity; Jesus Christ; free will; women's right to choose; abortion; The Bible; Love; apostle Paul; House of Cards; Book of Acts; Joel Olstein, Joyce Meyers; John the Baptist, social isolation; idolatry; wealth; Sex, Drugs, and Jesus: A memoir of Self-destruction and Resurrection; HIV; AIDS; Hepatitis B; drug dealers; selling meth; trauma; PTSD; SWAT; Houston, TX; trap house; bug chasers; HIV treatments; Truvada; Magic Johnson; Mary J. Blige; Chik-fil-A; Donald J. Trump. Guest Links: Devannon Hubert -Podcast: Sex, Drugs, and Jesus -Book (Coming soon): Sex, Drugs, and Jesus: A Memoir of Self-Destruction and Resuection Connect: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SexDrugsAndJesus/ (https://www.facebook.com/SexDrugsAndJesus/) Twitter: https://twitter.com/TabooTopix (https://twitter.com/TabooTopix) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devannon (https://www.linkedin.com/in/devannon) Websites: www.sexdrugsandjesus.com Ramble by the River Links: Business inquiries/guest booking: Ramblebytheriver@gmail.com Website: (For episode catalogue): https://my.captivate.fm/Ramblebytheriver.captivate.fm (Ramblebytheriver.captivate.fm) (Podcast main page): RamblebytheRiver.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeff.nesbitt.9619 (https://www.facebook.com/jeff.nesbitt.9619) Instagram: https://instagram.com/ramblebytheriver?r=nametag (@ramblebytheriver) Twitter: @RambleRiverPod Youtube:...

On Episode 39, Dr. Stephanie talks to Monica Wisdom about how she embraces the "woo woo" as a professed Christian. As we highlight the importance of mental health, we are reminded that faith and spirituality are key when it comes to supporting our mental health. But, sometimes Christians are hesitant to embrace things that seem too spiritual. Let's talk about that. Let's talk about how we can be open to all things that support our well being and expansion without guilt. We will even get into a discussion of the divine feminine. So, on this episode are talking all about how "Christians Can Embrace the Woo Woo too! - Thoughts on Spirituality.”   Monica's adventurous spirit has taken her in many directions, including cosmetology, writing, and the music industry. After graduating cosmetology school with honors, she ascended to and studied with innovators such as Vivienne Mackinder, Geri Cosenza, Irvine Rusk, and many more! Monica has worked with celebrities and companies including The Isley Brothers, Loretta Divine, Atlantic Records, DreamWorks Records, and the list goes on. She's also been featured on ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX networks. In the midst of it all, Monica was called to go on a spiritual sojourn and she knew it was time to excavate and heal her traumatic childhood and generational wounds. You will learn SO much from her and we will dig deep into the conversation on spirituality. Other highlights of Monica's transcendent career, includes her time as Director of Operations for ‘In Magazine' and ‘Today in Church Magazine'. She and magazine publisher David Holmon worked to create the monthly publications that inspired its readers and reached critical acclaim. In that role, Monica interviewed celebrities about their spiritual life and personal journeys. She interviewed such notables as Kirk Whalum, Princess Zulu, Eric Roberson, Vonnetta Flowers, Evander Holyfield and Isaac Bruce to name a few. Her features stood strong next to other contributors that included Joyce Meyers, TD Jakes, and Joel Olsten. Monica's most rewarding work was with the global music label Yoruba Records, working alongside Osunlade building a global brand and movement. In the midst of it all, Monica was called to go on a spiritual sojourn and she knew it was time to excavate and heal her traumatic childhood and generational wounds. Sharing her shadows was the next step to enable her to be all that she was born to be. Through the coaching program of Phoenix 2000, Monica learned that her pain could be used to heal others which led her into a deep spiritual examination and study of the Divine Feminine with her teachers Dr. Caroline ‘Isis' Fuqua and Bettie Spruill. She is also a student of Transcendental Meditation and is a student of Yogini Nithyananda. Monica's footprint now includes, the Black Women Amplified - the podcast and the forth coming Black Women Amplified Planner/Workbook. Monica continues to create and curate a destination designed to amplify, elevate and empower women around the globe. ----more---- https://blackwomenamplified.com ----more---- www.stephaniebrowncoaching.com  

Wie muss sich das anfühlen, die geliebtesten Menschen im Leben zu verlieren? Wie ist es möglich in solch einer Situation aufrecht zu stehen und Gott nicht abzusagen? Wie kann ich mit Trauer richtig göttlich umgehen? Fragen über Fragen Hear the complete story! – Mit Annika von @himmlischetoechter

PURCHASE THE GO CREATOR GO BOOK & JOURNAL:www.antoinebeane.comhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GV2DK1Vhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GVJ6MP5FOLLOW GO CREATOR GO & TRIUMPH MEDIAWORKS:Facebook & IG: @gogreatorgo & @triumphmediaworkswww.triumphmediaworks.com____________________________*SCRIPTURES CONCERNING CRITICISM:PROVERBS 27:17 - As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.PROVERBS 1:5 NIV - A wise man will hear and increase in learning, And a man of understanding will acquire wise counselPROVERBS 10:17 - He is on the path of life who heeds instruction, But he who ignores reproof goes astray.PROVERBS 12:1 - Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, But he who hates reproof is stupid.__________________________________WARNINGS TO A CRITICAL PERSON:JAMES 4:11-12 - Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?MATTHEW 7:1-5 - “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye."JAMES 5:9 - Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door._______________________SOME CRITICISM IS NECESSARY: PROVERBS 4:13 - Whoever disregards discipline comes to poverty and shame, but whoever heeds correction is honored.GAIN UNDERSTANDING: PROVERBS 15:31-32 - Whoever heeds life-giving correction will be home among the wise. Those who disregard discipline themselves, but the one who heeds correction gains understanding.IT’S UNWISE TO TURN DOWN ALL CRITICS: PROVERBS 29:1 - Whoever remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed-without remedy.STAY POSITIVE IN THE CRITICAL PROCESS: PHILIPPIANS 2:14-16 - Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.STAY FOCUSED ON GOD NOT PEOPLE: 1 TIMOTHY 2:20 - O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge”—________________________________WAYS TO DEAL WITH CRITICISM:Criticism is not only a part of leadership, it's the price of leadership. ...Admit when you've been wrong. ...Make constructive criticism part of the culture. ...Assume criticism is logical. ...Anticipate specific criticism. ...Limit the criticism you'll accept. ...Don't turn criticism into a personal contest. ...Don't take revenge.

On today's episode, I have a very special guest who educates us on different types of natural wellness and natural health. Talea Colquitt, owner of Garden of Healing LLC, is a mother of 3 beautiful children, has been in North Carolina for 25 years by way of New Jersey, will be 30 years old in May of 2021 and she successfully operates a business that offers products for total wellness of the body. Talea discussed a few helpful topics, such as: 1. How having a meatless diet can help manage a lot of illnesses that we experience, simply by allowing the body to expel toxins. Even if you do not choose to go meatless long term, the effects are still beneficial. 2. You do not have to buy expensive waters that are labeled as alkaline. Spring water is already alkaline and contains many of the minerals that our bodies need. 3. Having faith in God will allow you to maintain your peace and get out of situations that you need to be delivered from. Talea suggests that we read, “Battlefield of the Mind” by Joyce Meyers. This is how you can get in contact with Talea Colquitt to purchase her natural products and ask any questions that you may have. Business phone: 910-986-2151 text or call Facebook Page - Lovely Lea Business Facebook Page - Garden of Eden We Heal Here Business Email- Colquitttalea@gmail.com Thank you so very much for listening to my podcast. I hope that you enjoyed the message today. Please visit my website Coachedbytasha.com and grab your free download of 16 ways to self care. A guide with ideas for making sure that you put yourself first. If you would like to be a guest on "Girlfriend, let me tell you" visit Coachedbytasha.com/podcast and submit a form with details about your request to be on an episode. I personally read each entry. Thanks again. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/latasha-ingram/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/latasha-ingram/support

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: Welcome back to the continuation of the Freedom Series. This series is all about my six steps called the THRIVE Method that I have personally used to find freedom to thrive, or prosper and flourish, through everything in my life, through forgiveness, through health to faith. Today let's dive into step three of the THRIVE Method, the R in THRIVE. The R stands for renewing your mind. Romans 12 and 2 in the new King James Version, it says, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." So let's talk about this for a little bit. The R stands for renewing. The Bible says, be ye transformed by the renew-ing. And renewing means to make new like new to restore, to freshness, to make a new spiritually, we generate to reveal, to do again and again and again to repeat, renewing it. So how do we renew our minds daily?  Join me and let's find out. Listen in…   SHOWNOTES: •  I love how Joyce Meyers, she's the world's leading practical Bible teacher. She says, start reading a chapter in the book of Proverbs that coincide with the day of the month, for example, if today is the 24th, read Proverbs Chapter 24, there's a chapter for every day of the month to read in proverbs. And she says to get the word inside of you. (5:35) •  Guess what? We gotta stop talking, we have to quiet the noise in our heads. We need to hear from God. Therefore, we must listen for His voice, sometimes it's a still small voice, sometimes it could come through in our dreams, it could come through reading His word. Just listen and be on the lookout because one word from God, one word can change everything, so be sure to listen when we pray. (6:31) •   Think on the things that are true, those things that are noble, just. Those things that are pure and lovely, of good report. Anything that's praiseworthy, meditate on these things. This is how you combat those negative thoughts. These are just some of the practical examples of how to renew our minds daily, that we can start to do right now. There's also a second part to this step that has to do with self-development strategies that I have found to be imperative to renewing my mind on a daily basis, things like journaling, things like gratitude, affirmations morning routines. (7:18) •  Putting some actions, putting some works behind the faith that we have as we are finding freedom to thrive in our lives, in every area of our lives. I don't care if it's physically, mentally, financially, and of course, spiritually. So this was step three, What's renewing your mind by transforming, being transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that we can do that good and perfect will that God has for our lives. (9:30)   WAYS TO CONNECT WITH ME… • Website: https://raisethepraisepodcast.com • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jbell2007 • Facebook Group: https://www.choose2praise.com • Courage2Heal Conference: Secure Your Ticket Here.   EPISODE AIRED ON: FEBRUARY 24, 2021

In this episode of Ask Muse, you're going to hear Nola and Lori talk to entrepreneur and business coach, Carol, from carolboston.com. Until recently, Carol had been meeting clients and prospective clients face-to-face. Now she's shifted her business and networking to virtual and needs help coming up with messaging that resonates with online audiences as well as help choosing virtual events where her ideal clients might be.Thanks for Listening!You can subscribe to Lori and Nola's show, (we love you and want to make it easy) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.We love hearing from you! Leave or speak your message hereIf you haven't already, please connect with us on Facebook! Would you like to be a featured guest or have your question, comment or review mentioned? Ask Muse!Sticky Brand LabExciting possibilities are in the works. Come have a listen!In This Episode You'll LearnThe right time or occasion to ‘rebrand'The ways listeners behave differently in online groups than in-person groupsWhy brand messaging on your website and when face-to-face doesn't work the same in live virtual events How to choose the right virtual event or podcast for your business and branding effortsLori and Nola talk to Carol about why it's important to know who your ideal audience is before coming up with brand messaging. Having the right message will resonate and draw in rather than repel a virtual attendee. More importantly, it's much easier for your ideal client to say, “yes, I want to work with her!” than it is to convince the wrong prospective client that you're the right person to help them achieve their goals. (6:16.58) When it comes to getting new clients, what does the term ‘lowest hanging fruit' mean?(8:11.43) Correct this one simple thing, and more prospective clients will find it easier to buy from you.(14:06.70) When it comes to a business coach, you are more likely to choose a Joyce Meyers than a Joel Osteen type if you want to work with this type of person.(11:01.64) When it comes to differentiating your business from your competition, make this mistake on your website and you'll actually lose prospective customers.(25:29.80) The level of ‘awareness' when people are most likely to buy.ResourcesThis episode was supported by: Middle Kid MediaLogo Lite and Social Packages for $475 see our offers page for detailsAdditional Savings for Other Branding Services Coupon code SBL20 (Excludes Logo Lite & Social Packages) Podcast Transcript – https://www.stickybrandlab.com/podcast

This episode is all about TV preachers or Televangelists as they are affectionately called. We talk about the early days of radio, and the evolution from just filming a church service to creating television empires with mansions and private jets. We discuss Billy Graham, Jerry Falwell, Oral Roberts, Kenneth Copeland, Joyce Meyers, Jimmy Swaggart, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, and so many more. As always we are not experts, we just google this stuff. Hosted by Trevor Poelman and Damien Doepping For more info and our references check out https://beliefitornot.wordpress.com/ Also follow us on twitter @beliefitornot, instagram @beliefitornotpodcast, or facebook https://www.facebook.com/beliefitornot/ Or email beliefitornotpodcast@gmail.com Support Belief It Or Not Brought to you By: The Sonar Network

Pastor Chad continues his sermon series "Marks of a Healthy Church" a walk through Titus. This week Pastor Chad addresses the need for a church to have Elders who rebuke false teachers. This is message is part of the teaching ministry of Faith in Christ Fellowship in Chadwicks, NY. For more information about our church please visit our website at www.ficfellowship.com 

Have you ever wondered how your week would turn out to be like of you went an entire week without complaining? In this episode, my girls and I discuss how setting a foundation for a "complaint-free" week would involve three basic lifestyle changes. Inspired by Joyce Meyers' book; The Power of Being Thankful, this episode challenges you to go an entire week without complaining using the tools we provide in this episode. Up for the challenge? From our hearts to you and yours; love, peace and blessings ❤✌

Tune in to this the most recent episode of our Future.Bible Podcast with our special guest, Rob Walch. Rob is the Vice President of Podcaster Relations for Libsyn (LSYN), having joined Libsyn in 2007. In 2016, he was inducted into the Podcasting Hall of Fame. Prior to joining Libsyn, he founded podCast411, Inc in 2004. Rob is Co-Author of the book “Tricks of the Podcasting Masters.” He has consulted on Podcasting for Joyce Meyers, Dave Ramsey, Jack Welch, eBay, and many others.The NRB International Christian Media Convention is a jam-packed, four-day event that connects, equips, and edifies thousands of Christian communicators. And the NRB Digital Media Summit is a one-day summit where you will get to hear from experts presenting on the latest trends and strategies in digital media and ministry, as well as have the opportunity to interact and connect with other digital ministry leaders.Rob will be speaking at NRB's PROCLAIM 2019 Digital Media Summit this year on Friday, March 29, 2019. Get more details and register online at http://nrbconvention.org/digital-media-summit/Organization name: LibsynProOrganization website: https://www.libsynpro.comContact details:Rob@libsyn.comhttps://www.facebook.com/podcast411https://twitter.com/podcast411https://www.linkedin.com/in/podcast411/Website: Podcast411.com

On today's edition of the Bible Answer Man broadcast, Hank announces the upcoming episode of Hank Unplugged in which he spoke with Vocab Malone about the Black Hebrew Israelite movement. Hank also mentioned this month's resources at CRI: Union with God by Rankin Wilbourne, and The Spirit of the Disciplines by Dallas Willard. Hank also talked at length about the article "Abortion and the Moral Law" by Steven Braatz in the current edition of the CHRISTIAN RESEARCH JOURNAL. Hank also answers the following questions: Did I hear Hank say we are gods? I remember hearing Joyce Meyers saying that we are little gods and being blown away!What can I say to people who do not believe that Jesus is not God and that the Holy Spirit is not God as well?Do you agree that Christians are too individualistic and independent, and often reject good instruction because it doesn't suit them?