I love this man. Honest, raw, and truthful. People struggle with the muck of life. The under side of the rock. They want to pretend it doesn't exist, but that's not how we move through suffering.
The only way is head on and with Christ at the helm.
I've been feeling a similar shift. Let it rip. Let the Spirit of the Lord pour through you. People will always be upset by this.
Honor Scripture and test your teaching against that. Its the way we stay on the narrow.
Real fellowship and discipleship is made in wrestling through the hard things together, not running from them.
I absolutely love this comment. Beautiful!!! Thank you for engaging and commenting!
Yes. I think we ALL feel it. Times are tough and people are losing jobs so I completely understand needing money. However; I think we often need to step back and examine ourselves.
You’re touching on a growing frustration, Thomas. And good for you for not pulling punches.
The problem is the McLuhan maxim: “The medium is the message.”
Substack, being a form of social media, is inherently self-promoting, and its very structure poses a challenge for Christians who are both self-aware and committed to the Kenotic ethic.
I’ve been sitting with this tension for a while, and I’m glad to see you are too.
Substack is great for writing and sharing God's word especially in a noisy world with other toxic platforms like FB or X. But, at the end of the day it's still social media and we can lose sight of what really matters.
Lastly, Substack sort of makes you treat your platform like a small business and quite honestly I dont like it. Makes me feel like I'm peddling God's word.
Form is what poses the theological problem. If by God’s Word you mean Scripture, then quoting Bible verses in a forum of likes, shares, and subscribers risks reducing Scripture to its utility as a means of effect.
I’ve been thinking about how to subvert this while still participating, but so far it seems nearly impossible. I'm open to ideas.
I’m right there with you, brother. Too many have mistaken clout with progress in ministry, placed the cross on the sideline. People are hungry for honesty. For conviction.
I see this barrage of “how to grow substack” posts. I just shrug and am happy for whatever others feel is fulfilling. I just write for me. Substack just makes it convenient. Wherever it’s fiction, faith or commentary, if someone else enjoys it, super. Who doesn’t want a few dollars if they can make them? But at the end of the day, after 50+ years I have discovered that peace and fulfillment are worth more than any treasure you can accumulate.
Don’t worry, Brother. God is on the other side of your realization with brothers and sisters who will support you one way or another. Lean into it and keep the faith!
Second comment. Being "nice" is nothing but impotent when coming up against Islamist ideologies, gender - bending doctrines of demons, and others such nonsense.
The kingdom of God has never and will never advance through "niceness." Kindness, yes, and goodness, but never will "being nice" serve the purposes of the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven allows for aggression and the aggressive ones take it by force. I don't remember which translation this is ( maybe the passion translation) but it's Matthew 11 think
I don’t care about my subscribers numbers I don’t even always check them out before I follow them back. I don’t ask anyone for a dime. I’m not here for the money and with my numbers I’d be living on cat food or not living at all! Two sardines a day on rye bread. Ketchup pack tomato soup on the side? I admit all my restocks are not always aligned with my beliefs. Perhaps I’ve lost some followers for that reason? But I like to be truthful to myself and support ideals and moralities that are aligned with my beliefs. I’ve lost around 14000 followers from a couple of different platforms. Always for speaking the truth. As Shakespeare wrote..To your own self be true my friend!
I love this man. Honest, raw, and truthful. People struggle with the muck of life. The under side of the rock. They want to pretend it doesn't exist, but that's not how we move through suffering.
The only way is head on and with Christ at the helm.
I've been feeling a similar shift. Let it rip. Let the Spirit of the Lord pour through you. People will always be upset by this.
Honor Scripture and test your teaching against that. Its the way we stay on the narrow.
Real fellowship and discipleship is made in wrestling through the hard things together, not running from them.
I commend you. 🙏💪
I absolutely love this comment. Beautiful!!! Thank you for engaging and commenting!
Yes. I think we ALL feel it. Times are tough and people are losing jobs so I completely understand needing money. However; I think we often need to step back and examine ourselves.
You’re touching on a growing frustration, Thomas. And good for you for not pulling punches.
The problem is the McLuhan maxim: “The medium is the message.”
Substack, being a form of social media, is inherently self-promoting, and its very structure poses a challenge for Christians who are both self-aware and committed to the Kenotic ethic.
I’ve been sitting with this tension for a while, and I’m glad to see you are too.
Substack is great for writing and sharing God's word especially in a noisy world with other toxic platforms like FB or X. But, at the end of the day it's still social media and we can lose sight of what really matters.
Lastly, Substack sort of makes you treat your platform like a small business and quite honestly I dont like it. Makes me feel like I'm peddling God's word.
Form is what poses the theological problem. If by God’s Word you mean Scripture, then quoting Bible verses in a forum of likes, shares, and subscribers risks reducing Scripture to its utility as a means of effect.
I’ve been thinking about how to subvert this while still participating, but so far it seems nearly impossible. I'm open to ideas.
This piece made me sit back in my chair. Real, raw and relevant.
Glad I gave you something worth reading!
I love this, it should never be about subscribers, it should always be about spreading The Gospel and bringing lost souls to Christ!
I’m proud of you, Brother Mark 🙏🏽
Thanks Stephen!! You’re the real MVP!
I’m right there with you, brother. Too many have mistaken clout with progress in ministry, placed the cross on the sideline. People are hungry for honesty. For conviction.
I see this barrage of “how to grow substack” posts. I just shrug and am happy for whatever others feel is fulfilling. I just write for me. Substack just makes it convenient. Wherever it’s fiction, faith or commentary, if someone else enjoys it, super. Who doesn’t want a few dollars if they can make them? But at the end of the day, after 50+ years I have discovered that peace and fulfillment are worth more than any treasure you can accumulate.
Well said my friend!
Yes! I know the extra money helps people....especially in today's economy.
You're absolutely right regarding peace and fullfillment. I had to learn it the hard way.
Love this and fully agree. Many are Judas pushing a ministry instead of following Christ who it’s about.
Reminds me of the verse about building your ministry on solid foundation (Christ) or wood, hay, and stubble.
“Let’s Collaborate”… Until You’re Smaller Than Me”. - I’ve experienced this.
Here’s another one: “You’re platform isn’t big enough to be associated with me.”
Thanks for being authentic. You hit the nail on the head!
Yes! I literally had someone message me about "collaborating," and once they started getting the same subscriber growth as me......crickets.....
Hard hitting, raw and real! Thank you for this honest assessment
Most welcome! Glad it resonates with people!
Don’t worry, Brother. God is on the other side of your realization with brothers and sisters who will support you one way or another. Lean into it and keep the faith!
Amen brother! Thank you for the comment! Appreciate the love.
Thank you for this . Thank you for being raw and real .
You’re welcome!
Some very convicting stuff-- I'm actually thinking of writing something similar soon.
Second comment. Being "nice" is nothing but impotent when coming up against Islamist ideologies, gender - bending doctrines of demons, and others such nonsense.
The kingdom of God has never and will never advance through "niceness." Kindness, yes, and goodness, but never will "being nice" serve the purposes of the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven allows for aggression and the aggressive ones take it by force. I don't remember which translation this is ( maybe the passion translation) but it's Matthew 11 think
Exactly. People are quick to weaponize Jesus' love when not being treated right but nobody is ever okay with his warrior side 🙄
He is the LION and the lamb.
I don’t care about my subscribers numbers I don’t even always check them out before I follow them back. I don’t ask anyone for a dime. I’m not here for the money and with my numbers I’d be living on cat food or not living at all! Two sardines a day on rye bread. Ketchup pack tomato soup on the side? I admit all my restocks are not always aligned with my beliefs. Perhaps I’ve lost some followers for that reason? But I like to be truthful to myself and support ideals and moralities that are aligned with my beliefs. I’ve lost around 14000 followers from a couple of different platforms. Always for speaking the truth. As Shakespeare wrote..To your own self be true my friend!
👏👏👏 Truth ✨🙏💕