Two Year Update

An assortment of topics to update Y'all on.

Two-Year Update

Well, a lot has happened in a year since I did the one-year update. The world has changed, we have a new president, MANY pretenders in the pulpits have been exposed. There are Christians waking up, some falling back to sleep, and Substack has gained a LOT of Christian readers and authors.

So I will break this post down into sections.

Prophetic Insight into this Moment.

In a recent phone call with a prophetic friend, he shared part of a dream that we spent some time on. There were a few elements to this that we felt spoke to this moment.

In this dream, with the exception of a couple of ministries. All the major ministries (represented as skyscrapers in the dream) are getting destroyed; they were twisted and ugly. It was an intense storm, and the Lord had gathered many people and placed us under a carport for protection. Like most carports, this one only had a roof, no sides.

What we learned is that this was for our own protection and education. We, however, were not immune to feeling the effects of the storm and like the Hebrews of old. We were now going to be forced to watch the destruction of the rebellious from the shores of the “Red Sea.”

The impression I get from this is that the Lord is doing this so that his future leaders will be without excuse. We will all carry the scars and memories of this moment forward in time to serve as an example to others of “what not to do.”

I will probably tackle this subject in a little greater depth in a future post called “The Three Churches.” This is also an older prophetic word from a long-time friend that also speaks to this moment in time, as well as the subject of the storm itself.

This Substack -

I have had mostly good interactions with subscribers. Only a very small number have been removed for attitude issues. Including one that was banned for hate mail. Others were removed mostly because of inactivity on their part.

I know some Christian writers are looking at the subscriber numbers and want to gather as much as they can, regardless of the situation. But I am a bit more community-minded. So when people subscribe, I am looking for engagement. There have been people who have subscribed and never looked at anything. When you look at their profiles, they are subscribing to hundreds and hundreds of Substacks, so you know they are not reading anything.

Still, I do not kick them out for a while. Everyone gets a couple of months, and during that time, some people take themselves out. I suspect part of that is because of things I have written about concerning my former employer. I say this because some of these are people I have met back east while working at Morningstar. So I know the person.

Because of talking about unpopular topics, this stack has grown slowly. I do not regret this; in fact, I would do it again. This is because I've seen the fruit of what happens when you take a stand. God opens crazy doors, and suddenly you find yourself on long-distance phone calls with leaders in other parts of the US. I have also seen the Lord covering some bills that needed to be paid with sudden, crazy money flows.

Basically, the Lord sent enough to cover the moment, and I know it’s part of his favor. He has also imparted wisdom in the middle of Spiritual attacks on myself and others I am connected to.

Still, writing for this stack has at times been challenging. Posts that I spent serious time on have produced little, while some that I tossed together exploded.

Current Top Ten Posts

1. Welcome to the Shunem Foundation

2. The Good, The Bad, and the Unqualified.

3. Icabod

4. How much Mud is too much mud?

5. Checkmate

6. News: The Current State of Things

7. Icabod 5

8. The Prophetic Ministry

9. 10 Things (old version)

10. Welcome to the Christian Circus

Subscribership has definitely grown. In the first year, the majority of subscribership was back east in the Carolinas. Although the Carolinas remain very strong, it has now spread out to all of the South and the Northwest. Still, at this point, the south remains strong; somewhere around 50% of my subscribers are currently in the south.

Internationally, I would say it has been fickle. Subscribers come and go like the wind, with only a small number of the original regions remaining. Of those original countries remaining, the British Islands, Australia, and Canada have seen some steady growth. Originally, most of the subscribers seemed to be missionaries connected to one person I know who shared my Substack. But that has now become very fluid. So we will see how that changes in the next 12 months.

Substack is kind of “funky” in how it does things. On one hand, they are excellent as a free speech platform for bloggers and such. They are also slowly expanding into other technologies. But they are currently suffering, very badly, in customer service and reporting data. They have probably one of the dumbest and worst customer service AI systems I have found.

Now I am not the only person who thinks this. Do an internet search, and it will not take long to discover Reddit boards where people are complaining about the same thing. This is an issue that Hamish McKenzie will need to address, or someday someone will offer the people a platform that is better, and Substack will shrink. The other issue is reporting vital data back to the authors. Various parts of the Substack reporting system can be deemed unreliable, case in point. I live in Idaho, and I know of a handful of subscribers who also live in Idaho. Yet, Substack reports I have none. And the same is true for a couple of other states. So, on the map, I have altered the map to represent more of the truth.

New Project.

For a long time, I have been working towards bringing you a family-friendly Christian Science fiction podcast called “The Legacy Continuum.” It’s been crazy, and numerous roadblocks have gotten in the way. I won’t waste time telling you all of them, as this soap opera has stretched on for a long time.

When Substack came around, I realized it now offered me a new playing field. As a result, I started working to put together a fun radio program that had echoes of the old-time radio shows we older people knew.

This is why, not long ago, I sent out a podcast post for people to listen to and give feedback. On that note, I will say this: thank God people like to communicate in other ways. Some people tried to use Substack’s survey system, but they could not get it to work. So I heard from some people in other ways, like email and telegram. Thank you.

The narrator's voice has been chosen, and it totally surprised me that the voice will be female. Two people communicated to me the logic of why I needed to go with “Linda” as she sounded the most like what they thought my character, Megan Becker, would sound like.

I have also struggled to find music for the intro and possibly other parts of the show. Most Christian artists do not respond. I did find a little-known modern-sounding worship band, only to discover they do not own their own music. But I would like to report that I found a Christian singer from the hills of Appalachia who is willing. I am going to withhold her name for now because I want the finished package to be a surprise.

Because of the way Substack works, they will distribute the Podcast to many different platforms. If I understand this correctly, the places you can find it will be… YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts, and Overcast.

Building this requires serious TIME, and yet I debate charging for this. What are your thoughts? Would you listen? Would you recommend it if I still charged?

To clarify, charging would be a paid membership here on Substack. Currently, there is a small handful of Subscribers who have upgraded to paid. These people are “good to go” and would need nothing else if I make the Legacy Continuum paid. But what are your thoughts?

Concerning the other platforms Substack distributes to ( YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts, and Overcast ). I have not explored them yet, so I have no Idea what “charging” would mean on these platforms.

Currently, Episodes 1 and 2 are done, and I am working on 3 and 4. Number One is 29 minutes, and 2 is 32 minutes. Fading Starlight will have around 22-24 episodes total. Depending on how this project is received, I may stop or continue to the next book, The Eugenic War, which has never been published.

The reality is between finished rough drafts and partial projects. This radio show could last years, and I would like to see it pay for itself because this is a LOT of work.

By getting four episodes done, I am giving myself a “buffer” so that I do not fall behind when I start up. When I do, I will most likely take one of my regular posting days and replace it with the Legacy Continuum. Sorry, but I only have so much time, and this seems to be the best way to manage it.

Hopefully, sometime in the next couple of weeks, I will send out a quick note to let everyone know about the first episode.

Morningstar

Well, as most people know about my former employer… It’s a hot mess bubbling under the surface. The time clock is ticking against Rick, and at some point ( as one person I know by the name of Jason puts it ), he is going to get called into the principal's office, and everything will come to an end.

The conferences for the last few years have been a shadow of what they once were. I remember just before I moved to the south, reports of large gatherings in the thousands were often taking place. But, decline has set in. As an example of this decline, I remember in 2018, the MFM, Powers of the Age to Come conference had serious problems. One of the key speakers that Tom Hardiman invited was so bad that they went back and erased Justin Abraham from the CDs, as well as any connection to Morningstar.

Rick has people at every level who support him to his face, but not behind his back. Many of these are simply waiting for Humpty Dumpty to fall so that they can take advantage of what’s left. In this, the eagles got wise and left, and vultures now parade around in the eagle's wings around him. I have heard that one of them has already made a proposal to the board that he replace Rick.

Personally, I feel this is a very bad move for him, as well as what little will be left of Morningstar when this is over. This ministry needs to transition from a singular, personality-led ministry to a biblical elder-led ministry of diverse gifting. They will most likely lose the building. This comment I give is based on several reports given to me of the less-than-honorable way Rick may have acquired the money to buy the building in the first place. As a result, justice must be served. This comment is also based on obvious as well as prophetic insight. Because of this, I feel it’s best to walk away. Someday, the hidden records will be found of how Rick got the money, but not today.

There are a few good souls inside, trying to keep out of the line of fire. These are the financial slaves of Morningstar, who see no other way to go or how to get out. It burdens their soul to work for “The Pope.” ( 1 ), ( 2 ) But these people have Hope, so hold on tight. The Lord will break the spirit of Pharaoh; you will cross the Red Sea, and then the real journey starts. I will speak a little more on this, hopefully in an upcoming Substack post.

All in all, because all this is in the hands of the lawyers, and everybody who needs to be convinced most likely already has been by me or one of the many other voices. I am spending very little time on this subject unless something new happens. Those who are twisted in the soul and mind will not wake up and will continue to remain so.

“What is crooked cannot be straightened;
what is lacking cannot be counted.” Ecclesiastes 1:15

New Writing, New Wind

It’s funny how the Lord uses all things. I look back at the road traveled and see changes I did not understand at that time that now make sense. So many of the events, since leaving Morningstar, have worked to make me better at writing. If you could see the things I wrote twenty-plus years ago, you would roll your eyes at the mess.

Having said this, I want to draw your attention back to an older Substack post.

The Ancient Path

In this post, I brought forth a prophetic word that Pam Clark posted concerning the Ancient Path. When I read it, it hit me hard because I realized that so much of what I have been writing for years has been dancing around this subject, and I did not know it.

That was part of the reason I took a month off from Substack writing. I needed to deeply ponder this issue. I needed to lift the lid and look deeply into the spiritual well of Christianity and think about it for a while.

So I have been pulling everything together, reading, researching more, and as I point out in the very beginning of the book I am now writing, I am… “Searching the ashes of time to change my world.” This is, of course, is a quote from a Celtic singer in Ireland by the name of Moya Brennan.

Some of that thinking is now reflecting in my Substack writing over the last several months. If you have noticed a “shift” in my writing, this is why. The book, I fear, will not be done quickly. I am quite a ways into it, only to discover as I reach certain points that the Lord sometimes redirects my attention to various resources to read or ponder. So I am learning as I write, and in some cases rewriting as I find some things need to be clarified, or just said better.

I have spoken very little on the subject, but I feel that the Charismatic movement has been on a 40-year detour. But as I become more certain, those insights concerning the Ancient Path and our 40-year detour will start popping up more and more on Substack.

I am not the only one who is currently reevaluating our past. I know Wanda Alger is doing it, and possibly Ron Cantor as well. And now it looks like Justin Perry is starting to dip his toes into this as well. Each will be coming from a different perspective, so keep listening. In the end, it will take many leaders waking up, putting the puzzle pieces together. Not one of us will have a complete picture, and I suspect not all the players are in place yet.

However, the Father is faithful to complete what he starts.