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Author, Boycott, Christian

The Point of It All: Why A Boycott Must Start With One Small Step

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On February 28, 2025, there will be a national economic blackout taking place. In this climate of upheaval in the country at the hands of an extremely corrupt administration, along with corporate greed and rebellion against diversity, equity, and inclusion, many are calling for us to close our wallets for one single day of solidarity in order to send a message that the so-called powers that be will feel. The idea is that while our voices do matter, nothing makes these people respond like a loss of revenue.

While this all seems noble, the challenge for most boycotts doesn’t start on the outside. It starts on the inside. It starts with people that would actually benefit from what the boycott is looking to accomplish being the first to respond negatively to a call for simple action. It’s usually the same question: What difference will any of this make? Then, there’s the follow up question: Why is it only one day?

I’m also seeing a lot of people wondering what the point of this is if we spend money the day before or the day after. I’ve come to these conclusions in the midst of these questions. First, it seems as we don’t want to go a single day without spending money. That’s problematic. Second, I see why it’s so hard for us to break habits because we don’t see a value in taking the first step because we want the entire staircase all at once.

Many are missing the totality of what the boycott is calling for. It’s not a total boycott on spending. If there is an absolute need, the idea is that you will do what you have to do. However, the point that people are glossing over is the point of the boycott where we’re encouraged to shop small businesses and to shop locally. It’s not a boycott against our basic needs. It’s a boycott against large corporations.

The spirit of the boycott is for us to get back to supporting each other on a smaller scale rather than feeling the need to line the pockets of people that don’t operate in the best interests of society as a whole. The spirit of the boycott is to lift up the “little man” as opposed to propping up a system that’s designed to crush the little man.

Many of those that question the point of a one day boycott don’t understand how significant a single step is to changing a habit. It’s ironic that people that will bristle at a one day protest will claim that the protest should be longer. But if one day is an inconvenience, a week without Amazon would send them over edge.

From my perspective, the idea of this is to change our habits. Where the boycott calls for shopping locally and at small businesses, the hope would be that we would continue to shop at those places going forward. The hope is that we come to realize that much of what we’ve been made to believe that we need in two days has never been that urgent. Much of what we’re ordering from the Amazon behemoth could be purchased by just making a quick stop on the way home from work or while we’re out running errands. You know, like we used to do before we were convinced that we couldn’t be bothered.

As a small business owner, I’ve always been sensitive to this. People can buy my books anywhere, but I’ve always tried to guide them to my website so that I didn’t have to share my profits with big corporations. Some people have obliged me, while others did what was most convenient for them. Either way, I’m blessed, but because I understand what it’s like to have my profit split with some company that never spent a moment working on my projects, I do my best to buy directly from people that are in business independently.

This call for going smaller and local has been something I’ve been trying to do since December of last year. Particularly, over the last month, I’ve made it a mission to avoid certain corporations and I’ve done my best to encourage my wife to do the same. It’s all about breaking habits, but most importantly, it’s about principles. Most large corporations only have corporate interests and they have no concern about social responsibility, equity, or public wellbeing. That is, until it affects their bottom line.

We don’t need to sit still or be overly critical of a one day effort to send a message simply because these systems won’t fall in one day. In this current climate, we must build a habit of resistance. Habits aren’t formed in one day. They’re formed over time. Step by step, and inch by inch. Make no mistake about it, after the Montgomery bus boycott, some people never rode the bus again. I know, that boycott lasted a long time. But it all started with a step. And in the event that this first step isn’t enough for some, my hope is that they will step aside and let those of us that believe it matters do what we do. February 28th isn’t about winning the war in one day. The point of it all is to send a message.

Author, Christian, Church, Kelly R. Jackson Publishing, Ministry, Religion, Uncategorized

Read An Excerpt from “Follow Me: Bringing the Person and Teachings of Jesus Back to the Forefront of Christianity”

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Check out this excerpt from Pastor Kelly R. Jackson’s upcoming book. Official release date is Friday January 24, 2025. To preorder a copy, visit http://www.krjpublishing.com/follow

Keep Building On Christ

One of the things that I’ll often hear from the church is our lamenting about how strong the church used to be and how people aren’t as committed as they used to be anymore. However, when I hear people say those things, I always hear them talking about how we can move forward by making even more changes, but I rarely hear people talking about studying our past successes.

Something that I think that our young people struggle with most these days, especially in the Black community, is knowledge of history and historical figures. We’ve convinced them that nothing can be gained from the past because we now have all of these new tools and gadgets, and we have access to much more information than those before us.

We’ve failed to help them to understand that because they have these tools to access information, they can actually access more information about what happened before them and learn from the past. They can learn what worked and what didn’t work. But most importantly, they can learn to tweak as opposed to seeking to destroy everything that they deem outdated. Some things you need to make wholesale changes to, but some things just need an upgrade.

If we go back into the history of our churches and see them full, vibrant, and strong, why wouldn’t we study why that was? We’ve implemented so many new things, and yet, there still seems to be a great falling away, as the Bible said there would be. If we’re so much better than our predecessors, why were they so much more committed than we appear to be? If our ideas are so much better now, why are we struggling to stay connected to the truth of what Christ called for? If we’re so much more educated about Scripture now, why are we failing to stay connected to Scripture in our approaches in the church?

I’m just convinced that God didn’t make better ways for us to be educated in the church just so that we could flex our muscles every week by showing how smart we are. I’m of the belief that God gave us new avenues for learning of Him so that we can make the church stronger, not rip out its foundations. One of the struggles between Peter and Paul in Scripture was in their coming to the understanding that God was using both of them in different ways to speak to different groups of people, but all for one common purpose.

I feel as though at times, some have decided that all that we’ve introduce in the church that’s new in the ways of preaching and teaching must be used to eliminate what’s already there, but I don’t believe that’s what God intended. It’s my belief that God may have called for a new delivery, a new way of educating, a new way implementing, and even new voices, but I don’t believe He ever wanted us to abandon the basics. No matter how we may evolve or grow, there are some things that we can never go away from if we intend for our churches to stay strong.

Consider the narrative of Paul and Apollos. We see Apollos in Acts 18:24-28 and the Bible says that he was eloquent in his speaking, and he knew the Scriptures well. He preached with enthusiasm, spirit, and accuracy, but his accuracy was based only on what he knew to that point. He still didn’t have the full picture concerning Jesus. The Bible says he only knew of the “baptism of John” which spoke of the coming Messiah, and while Apollos believed that Jesus was the Messiah, his preaching hadn’t fully changed to reflect the fullness of what that meant until Paul’s co-laborers, Aquila and Priscilla, explained the way of God to him more accurately.

By the time we get to 1 Corinthians Chapters 3 and 4, Paul has to address Apollos’ rising popularity in the church because the people had begun to “choose” Apollos over Paul, or Paul over Apollos. Paul doesn’t have to address Apollos because this appears to be the nature of the people, not the nature of the preacher. According to Scripture, Apollos is just preaching the Gospel, but as it is in human nature, people have their preferences and will often choose presentation over principles.

In this discourse, Paul makes two points that should stay with the church until the Lord returns. The first being that the ONLY foundation that matters is Christ, and building on anything else won’t last. The second being that the builder doesn’t matter because ONLY God will give the increase. No matter what our hands do, no matter how eloquent of speech we are, and even if we are the “expert builder” that God allowed to participate in the laying of the foundation, our intellect is no match or substitute for God’s involvement.

The point that Paul, and thus, Scripture makes is that the foundation has been laid by God through Christ. We can’t lay another foundation over the one that is Jesus Christ. The builders will be judged by how they added to what was laid, not by what they built themselves. The builders will be judged by their work because they were never responsible for laying the foundation. God took care of that. As builders, we’re responsible for furthering the Gospel. We’re simply workers. I know we don’t like to hear this, especially as pastors and preachers, but we don’t matter nearly as much as we think we do. If the people grow, it will be because of what God does. It doesn’t matter who planted and it doesn’t matter who watered.

As we’ve grown and gained more knowledge, we have become too dependent on ourselves. We have great ideas, but those great ideas need more than just our intellect. We’re trying to major in the spectacular while minoring in the organic. Every strong relationship got that way over time and with natural growth. The spectacular bang has never been sustainable. True sustainable church growth and the true making of disciples takes time, and I fear that we’ve started to see our great ideas as shortcuts to growth. The spectacular may get them to the building, but will it get them discipled?

It seems that we’re in constant search of the membership explosion that we saw in Acts 2:41 where 3000 were baptized, and we have no desire for the type of one-on-one encounter that Phillip had with the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:26-40 where the Gospel reached just one person in a moment in time, but he was saved and that encounter impacted a nation. It seems these days that we’d rather have a conference, convention, or workshop, as opposed to just having regular and consistent Bible class so that the people can grow organically.

Author, Christian, Church, Ministry

When It Comes To Dementia, We’re Often The Ones In An Alternate Reality

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People will often have opinions of us based on their understanding, and not necessarily their experiences with us. They watch from a distance and they see this action or that one and they assume that they can put the pieces together based on what they saw. Through our natural skepticism and our often high opinion of our own ability to always be right, we never even consider the idea that a little more investigation and a few more facts might paint the full picture and change our view.

We’re so convinced of our own intellect, that if we find something that contradicts us, we assume right away that the fix is in and a conspiracy is at hand. This is where we find ourselves in this nation today. Many of us offer commentary based on misinformation, the opinions of others, optics, or simply from a place of ignorance.

Over the last week or so, we’ve seen people make a lot of statements and assumptions about cognitive decline and dementia. What I’ve noticed is that many people literally have no idea what they’re talking about or even the difference between the two. While cognitive decline can be a sign of coming dementia, it doesn’t always mean that dementia is coming. Sometimes, people are just getting older.

If you’ve ever cared for someone one on one as I have that had dementia, you would be offended by people that referred to someone that wasn’t always as sharp as they once were as having dementia. And when I speak of caring for a dementia patient, I mean really caring for them. Not knowing their condition, and not knowing someone that you suspect is suffering from such an insufferable condition. I mean really cared for them, 24/7. If you’ve been on the front line, you know what dementia really looks like.

The ignorance going forward these days is staggering and unfortunate. Based on the opinions out there, I’m not surprised that we put (throw) family members away at the first inkling of decline. Many don’t have patience for the elderly. All of this uninformed commentary is shameful in this country, but not surprising. It’s where the former administration dragged us to, and we’re now wallowing in misinformation and insults.

The reality is if you’re of a certain age, you are already experiencing some sort of cognitive decline. If the Lord lets me live, I’ll be proudly 55 years old at the end of this month. My mind is sharp, but I’d be lying if I said I never lose my train of thought at times. I’d be lying if I said I never forget things and don’t need to keep notes to remind me. I’d be lying if I said that on occasion, I run into people and remember the face, but not the name. Does that mean that I will suffer one day from dementia? No. That means I’m getting older.

At the same time, given some time, my train of thought comes back. If someone reminds me of the name associated with the face, I remember immediately. Given a moment, things clear up. While I may not be as sharp as I once was, I’m still very much here.

Conversely, those with dementia are in an alternate reality. Try as you might, you can’t just drop a name or a fact on them and they automatically reset. Sometimes, it takes hours. Sometimes it takes days. Sometimes they turn a corner, never to return to our reality. They just settle into their own world and we are the ones that have to adjust. And we don’t even have time to get into “sundowning”.

Sometimes they forget your name and give you a new one altogether. One that suits their reality, not yours. One that makes them comfortable, no matter how uncomfortable it makes you. For this reason, we should be careful of how we use cognitive decline and dementia as though they are interchangeable or the same thing. It’s irresponsible and disrespectful to those we’re speaking of, and to those that may hear our often ill informed opinions.

In John 7:24 (NLT), Jesus warns us: “Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly”. What Jesus is stressing here is fact gathering. He’s stressing investigation. He stressing that we don’t lean to our understanding without understanding what we’re judging. He’s stressing that we don’t draw conclusions based on what we saw, as opposed to what we’ve learned through experience or investigation.

My first hand, front line experience with dementia has forever shaped how I view elder care. Even though I had witnessed it up close before with my grandmother and my aunt and the care my mother gave them, it was an entirely different experience having to be my mother’s primary caregiver when it attacked her. I knew a lot from watching my mom be a caregiver, but what I gained through experience was much greater than what I thought I knew. I wish all my mother had was cognitive decline and bouts of forgetfulness.

While we have a high opinion of our opinions, we need to remember that they are in fact opinions and not facts. How we feel can govern our individual selves, but society as a whole should function on facts.

I would also caution us on how we devalue people that aren’t as sharp as they once were, as though they have nothing else to offer. We must remember that past their prime doesn’t mean past their usefulness. We can’t be so quick to abandon those with history and wisdom.

I know many a seasoned preacher, many of whom speak slower than they used to and take longer to form their thoughts, but they’re still a well of knowledge. Many churches are struggling because some younger preachers and pastors haven’t drawn from those wells. Even in the midst of dementia, my mother would still speak words of wisdom. I know because I didn’t abandon her when she wasn’t what she once was. I was sitting right next to her.

Author, Christian, Church, Ministry, Religion

The Forest For The Trees: Moving Beyond The Optics

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I once preached a sermon during a Good Friday service called “The Optics of Grace”. In that sermon, I pointed out how optics can fool us and cause us to miss what’s actually happening. Jesus is on the cross, bloodied and bruised, and hanging between two thieves. As the Scriptures say in Isaiah 53:5 (NLT):

“But He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.”

Jesus hanging on the cross looked like anything but grace. The optics of the moment suggests that the man on the cross is guilty. Not only are the optics wrong, but this moment of supposed terror is saving our very souls. It doesn’t look like it in the moment. The truth wouldn’t be fully realized until 3 days later.

In our current form as humans, we have fallen in love with the optics of things. When we love or hate what things look like on the surface, we lose our ability to investigate. We lose our abilities to look beneath the surface.

Many preachers have shouted the church on optics alone, without any substance. Catchphrases, Scriptures, and even illustrations and props cause a lot of emotions, and while there are certainly some exceptions, there are times when the presentations of some fail to give the people anything substantive on the chosen text to apply to their lives. They’re emotionally charged, but spiritually malnourished in the moment.

Many a marriage has been deemed successful because of the optics of the wedding or social media posts, and not the substance of lived experiences. We’ve fallen in love with the optics of celebrity marriages – marriages that are often put together to advance careers or that rarely last – instead of looking at people that we come into contact with on a regular basis, people that have been married for decades, that can give us some sound and practical insight on how to make a marriage work.

It’s true in sports and in politics where we love performative acts over actual action and results. We assume energy to be accurate, and we assume slow and deliberate to be ineffective. We assume that championships can be won in one summer of manipulation and piecing together teams, as opposed to assembling talent, allowing it to gel, and in time, you will get the prize through hard work and perseverance. We want to see a good show, even if it’s failing behind the scenes. We want what it looks like, not what it’s actually supposed to be. We no longer love success like we used to. We love the optics.

It’s been both said and shown that the wealthiest people in this country walk around anonymously. Not because they don’t know what to do, but in fact, because they do. They understand that they’re not wealthy because they know how to “flex”. They’re wealthy because they know what to DO. They don’t need to prove their worth to people that don’t know how to look beneath the surface. If we can’t see beyond optics, it’s our problem, not theirs.

Some of the most biblically astute people that you will ever meet have never set foot inside of a seminary. They’re well read, well versed, and anointed. But without the optics of paperwork, they are often overlooked and undervalued by the community around them because their actual knowledge wasn’t proven in a classroom in front of instructors and peers.

The statement “can’t see the forest for the trees” suggests that we miss the beauty or the fullness of the forest because we’re focused too much on the trees we see. It suggests that when we focus only on what our eyes tells us is there, we miss everything else that the forest is offering us. I would caution us today to stop falling for optics. We claim to be so well versed these days, and all it takes is for something to be packaged properly (or improperly), and we’re thrown into chaos.

As someone that has worked in television in the past, I can assure you that facts never determined how a story was presented to the audience. While we may have had the facts on hand, we presented things from angles so that the viewer saw what we wanted them to see. If they stumbled upon the truth, so be it, but the point was to draw people in and allow them to see the facts, but on our terms. In that way, the truth may or may not be lost, but that wasn’t our cause or our care. Our cause and care was optics.

Sometimes we’re our own worst enemies. Not because someone changed the optics. But because we refused to dig. Because we failed to understand that most of what we see is never what it looks like. It looked pretty bad on Good Friday. But Resurrection Sunday still came. Now we tell the story, not based on what it looked like in the moment, but based on what happened in the end.

Author, Christian, Church, Kelly R. Jackson Publishing, Ministry, Religion

Dealing With “Spiritual Anxiety”

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In my 2017 book “Overcoming Your Pharaoh”, I dealt with something that I called spiritual anxiety, which is essentially worry. In the times that we’re living in with the spread of the COVID-19 virus, many are struggling with worrying and faith. I’ve decided to share a section of this last chapter of the book to encourage God’s people. I pray that you are blessed by it.

How far has worrying gotten you?


In Matthew 6:27 (NLT), Jesus asks us a pertinent question: “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” This has been a critical teaching point for me, not just when I’m teaching others, but for my own edification as well. When I sit back and think about it, worrying has never solved a problem, has never made a situation better, has never put money in my bank account, and has never improved a relationship in my life.

Literally, worrying has never done anything for me, but it has taken my peace away. Even for those that have worried and stressed over things to the point of actually getting up and doing something, you must understand that your action brought you something that worrying never did. And if God didn’t move in your actions, your problem would remain. But worry has never done anything for us.

The stress that it adds to every situation is a distraction, a hindrance, and is bad for both our physical and our mental health. I understand thinking on some things, but there is a difference between thinking on some things and worrying about things. You’re not getting bad news and not thinking about it. An overdue bill when you don’t know where the money will come from, finding out that you or a relative is not in the best of health, learning that your kids have some issues that are out of your depth, or maybe finding out that your marriage is in trouble. You’re not getting any of this news, or news like it, without giving it some thought.

You’re fine just thinking. You’re human just thinking. However, it’s the dwelling on these things that will cause you to lose faith. It’s the pondering instead of praying that will cause you to lose hope. It’s trying to control some things that you couldn’t even prevent from happening in the first place that will threaten your sanity. It’s staying up all night when you claim to have faith in a God that never sleeps nor slumbers that’s troublesome.

The answer to the question we asked at the beginning of this section is a simple one. How far has worrying gotten you? Not far at all. In fact, you’ve gotten nowhere. It may not have caused you to sink deeper into your problems and your issues, but it certainly made you feel as if you had. It takes an inconvenience and makes it feel like an impossibility. It turns a dilemma into desperation. As Jesus said, it doesn’t add anything to your life. It comes just as another bill that’s due, and you pay with your peace of mind.

I speak to you as someone that has some experience in worry. I’ve had those times where I didn’t know which way was up. I had to learn that worry was never in any equation that led to a solution. I had to come to a place where I realized that worry will paralyze you. Worry will confuse you. It will cause you to stand still when action is required. It will cause you to act unnecessarily and irrationally, when all you had to do was stand still because your deliverance was on the way.

It’s still true that God won’t solve a problem that we haven’t fully released to Him. This is the trick the enemy plays on us. He keeps us worrying because worry will cause us to pray without really believing that God will hear and answer. Worry won’t do anything for us, but God can and will. When we succumb to our problems, we lose sight of the problem solving nature of God. Worry will throw you into a sea of “what if it doesn’t work out” before you ever even realize that you were always standing on the shores of “God says it’s gonna work out”.

To purchase a copy of “Overcoming Your Pharaoh: Battling our issues, our instances, and our insecurities”, visit www.krjpublishing.com

Author, Christian, Church, Ministry, Religion

A Word of Caution: The Charges Were Never Dropped Against Us

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If you know me or you’ve followed this blog, you know how I am about catchphrases in church. I do my best to combat them. I know that people wanna be clever and say cute things or things that will get them likes and shares on social media, but I always remind people that when it comes to the Word of God, clever, but out of context is still wrong. God’s Word deserve more respect than that. It should never be watered down or manipulated until it’s on par with a catchphrase.

One of the catchphrases getting traction these days in Christian circles is the statement “Jesus dropped the charges”. The first time I heard the phrase, it was in a viral video where a woman was giving her testimony. In short, she said she went to court one day, believing she had a warrant, but to her surprise, the warrant was nowhere to be found. From there, she exclaimed “Jesus dropped the charges!”, and the church went up.

I found it hilarious. I probably even shared it on my Facebook page, because contrary to what people may think when I tear down a Christian catchphrase, I love a good laugh. However, it’s all fun and games until people start taking that joke as Bible.

And here is my issue with things like “When praises go up, blessings come down”, or “Too blessed to be stressed”, things that aren’t supported by Scripture. People begin quoting them so often that they become the fabric of our churches. Combine that with people that won’t come to Bible class to see that some of these things aren’t anywhere to be found in the Bible, and you have people that will quote catchphrases as if they actually are Bible Verses. This seems like a small thing, but it can be quite problematic to the faith.

When we start leaning on things like “Jesus dropped the charges”, we fail to examine what that statement is saying. Again, don’t get me wrong. I love a good joke. As long as it stays that way when it comes to what we believe in our Christian faith. When we examine that statement of charges dropped, we must realize what that means. When charges are dropped, people go free and nobody pays a penalty. Nobody, that is, but the victim of the crime.

When charges are dropped, it’s sometimes due to a lack of evidence, and other times, people being falsely accused. In the case of the young woman in the viral video, she could’ve fallen into either of these categories and thus, the charges were dropped. However, in the case of sin, even though grace and mercy was given to us, there is no lack of evidence and we are by no means innocent or falsely accused.

A quick trip to the book of Romans helps us to understand all of this. In Romans 3:23 we find that we all have sinned and fallen short of His glory (charges filed). In Romans 6:23 we find that the wages of sin is death (punishment established). However, in Romans 5:8-11 we find that while we were sinners (guilty) Christ died for us, and through His blood, we escaped condemnation (freed, but not innocent). Yes, we got off, but not because God backed off. We got off because Jesus stepped up.

The crime of sin that you and I commit on a regular basis is a crime against God, and therefore, God is the first victim of our crimes. David says to God famously in Psalms 51:4 (NLT):

“Against You, and You alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgement against me is just.”

David understands his guilt and he understands who he’s harmed. He also understands that whatever punishment he receives is just. And if you know the story of David and Bathsheba, you know that even though God didn’t take his life, there was still a price to pay (2 Samuel 12:13-24). When you and I sin, we can throw ourselves on the mercy of God’s court and sometimes we won’t pay as harshly as we should for what we’ve done, but that will never, ever be because God dropped any charges against us.

As David said, the evidence is against us. We have fallen short of His glory, just as the Bible says we will (Romans 3:23). Hebrews 9:22 (NLT) tells us that “without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness”. This means that charges are never dropped as it relates to our wrongdoing. Somebody had to pay.

When we reduce grace, mercy, redemption, and forgiveness to mere catchphrases, we minimize the work of the cross. We minimize the sacrifice that Jesus made for us by taking our place on the cross. He who knew no sin became sin (2 Corinthians 5:21) can be translated, He who did nothing wrong paid for the wrong that was done. No, Jesus didn’t drop the charges, Jesus took the charges.

Again, I’m not trying to ruin anybody’s fun, but the church must always remember what’s true. Isaiah 53:5-6 (NLT) says:

“But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on Him the sins of us all.”

We must remember that if everybody gets away with it, then grace is rendered unnecessary. The moment that we forget the fact that someone else paid for what we did, that’s the moment we begin to live recklessly, and that’s the moment that we become ungrateful. I hate to be a wet blanket, but in the midst of our having fun, let us never forget what was done for us on Calvary just to get a few likes, laughs, shares, and amens. Be creative, but be sound. Have a laugh, but have respect for the truth of The Word.

Hebrews 12:2 reminds us that He “endured the cross, disregarding its shame”. My brothers and sisters, there are no dropped charges for the Christian. If I can borrow another catchphrase, “Jesus paid it all”. That one fits because He really and truly did pay for our sins. The nail prints in His hands and feet tells us that someone faced punishment for what we did. Embrace your freedom and celebrate your escape. But in the midst of your celebration, never forget how you got free in the first place.

Author, Christian, Church, Ministry, Religion

Yes, Jesus loves me. It really is that simple!

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Every now and then, we misapply the phrase “It don’t take all of that”. Many times, we’ll say it without understanding what it really does take. For example, my praise may seem a bit much to a person that has no idea what I’ve been through. However, there are times when the statement is apt. There are times when we make something complicated, when a straightforward explanation is all that’s needed.

When I was young, a staple song at Vacation Bible School every summer and even in Sunday School was “Yes, Jesus Loves Me”. This simple song was reassurance to young Christians, as well as old, that Jesus loved them. As we got to the end of the chorus, we sang “for the Bible tells me so”. In the most simple and direct terms, we saw that God’s love was evident through His Son, and the verification of that fact is found in His Word.

If God’s love can be outlined in such a simplistic way, why have we begun to make the work of evangelism and disciple making so complicated? I don’t know about you, but I’m still blown away when I read two particular passages in the Bible: John 3:16-17 and Romans 5:6-8. It’s in John 3:16-17 that I see just how much God loves me. So much so, that He gave His Son to save my soul, rather than sending His Son to condemn me.

However, it’s in Romans 5:6-8 that I see just what type of person God is in love with. It’s in those verses that I see that He loved me while I was rejecting Him. It’s in those verses in Romans 5:6-8 that I see that God doesn’t love me because of me, He loves me in spite of me. It’s a love that’s difficult to comprehend, but somehow, simple to explain.

As the church looks to carry out the Great Commission, we must be careful not to complicate why people need to come to Jesus and what it means to be saved. We must be mindful not to over market and over strategize what God has made simple in His Word. I know we desire to remain relevant in an ever changing world, but we must do so without sending out the wrong message.

We can’t cloud God’s love with a whole lot of minutia. After all, whatever we have to say about the Word of God is small time if Jesus never comes into the picture. As we often say in Baptist circles, if you haven’t mentioned the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, no matter what you have said, you haven’t preached the Gospel.

The message of salvation is centered around the fact that yes, Jesus loves us. Our Bible tells us just how He demonstrated that love. However, we have perverted the Gospel with prosperity preaching and our own theological aspirations. In an effort to show people how financial benevolent our God is or in our quest to get an education just so that we can appear to be the smartest and most spiritual people in the room, we walked away from the simplicity of the Gospel. We’ve taken an incredibly complicated love story, one that was made simple with just a few Bible verses, and made it hard to access for some people.

We have become as Pharisees, who harped on the law so much that the coming Messiah was no longer in their view. To those that were seeking salvation, it no doubt seemed impossible to be saved, because disobeying the law came with a curse. The Pharisees had the challenge of being face to face with Jesus, and therefore, they needed to be convinced of who He was. We, however, have the whole story. We know the outcome.

In our quest to be clever, we’ve complicated Christ. In our reach to be relevant, we’ve reduced being redeemed. If we’re not careful, we’ll weigh people down with rules, regulations, and religious activities, while causing them to miss the simple fact that we are saved by grace, and that grace comes from the fact that yes, Jesus does love us. If we’re not careful, we’ll attempt to exclude people from the Kingdom because they don’t dress like we do, worship like we do, sing like we do, minister like we do, or serve like we do. If we’re not careful, we’ll do our best to cause people to try and get saved according to our mandates, and not by simply believing that Jesus saves.

Again, in its simplest terms, God loved us so much that He sacrificed His Son. His Son then died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins, rose on the third day, ascended to The Father, and He’s coming back again. He’s not coming back just for the rich. He’s not coming back just for those that have been to seminary. He’s not coming back just for pastors with large churches or ministries, authors with radio broadcasts, or even those that are uniquely anointed to do Kingdom work. He’s coming back for a church of believers. He’s coming back to get a people that He loves and that love Him in return. How do I know? Because the Bible tells me so. It really is just that simple.

Author, Christian, Kelly R. Jackson Publishing, Ministry

You’re right, they don’t support you. But there’s more to the story.

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You’re not crazy. Don’t let people make you think that you are. The very people that should support you in some way, form or fashion, the people that you call bro, sis, bother, sister, cousin, mother, father, friend, and even sometimes BFF, etc, are ignoring your efforts to live your dreams and create a better life. You see it because they do it in the open. The neglect is real. No, you’re not crazy. But you’re not defeated either.

If there’s anything that I’ve learned on this journey of entrepreneurship and individual ministry, it’s that God is The One that makes a way, and therefore, God is The One to be counted on. Many of us have simply misidentified our target (I’m guilty of that). We’ve missed who God has sent us to impact because we’re trying to reach for what’s right in front of us. However, the truth is who we’re near and who we’re meant to reach can often be two different things.

The fact remains that Jesus Himself had to leave His kindred and do the works that God sent Him to do (Mark 6:1-6). It was for them, but someone else had to receive it before they could appreciate it, and they still never fully did that. If Jesus faced rejection and neglect in light of His tremendous purpose, it’s going to be the same for you and I. But there is more to the story. God will still make a path for you.

Sure, many of us will claim to have haters that we don’t have, but that’s because we often fail to see that people don’t have to be haters in order to not support you. It’s true, some are haters, but some are also indifferent, and some quite honestly see you as competition or a threat. But if your eyes are on your God and on your mission, even though you see what you see and feel what you feel, you won’t be terminally affected, and most importantly, you won’t quit.

I’ve survived a lack of support by people that embraced me regularly and told me they loved me, just so that they can turn around and talk openly or post online about people that did the same thing that I do, while never saying a word about their “bro” or sending any love my way. I’ve survived my own mismanagement of my ministry, missing both financial support and other opportunities, because I was more focused on getting support from who I thought should have been supporting instead of going where God told me to go for support. You could almost say that I was constantly missing the bus because I was consistently standing at the wrong bus stops.

I’ve survived days when I looked up and the ministry was a one man show from beginning to end because my passion and perspective superseded those that pledged to help, but they didn’t know what help really entailed, and they bailed on me when they found out. But in the midst of it all, God was in the midst of it all. I’m still going. Not because of me, but because it’s greater than me. I’m still going because God has purposed this work, not because man supported this work.

I just want to encourage somebody today and tell you not to give up and not to give in. Remember why you started, and if the only goal was to be loved and accepted by all, you may need to adjust your goals because that one is unattainable. Remember, Jesus Himself was rejected by family, friends, neighbors and such. He was sent away by people who actually needed what He had. Work your plan according to The Master’s Plan (Matthew 6:33). That’s the true definition of success. Be encouraged on today. God has a victory waiting for you that no amount of earthly support could ever match.

Author, Christian, Ministry, Religion

Read an excerpt from “An Act of Grace”

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img_0164Read an excerpt from Rev. Kelly R. Jackson’s upcoming book “An Act of Grace: Forgiveness and Reconciliation God’s Way. Release date for this work is January 25, 2019, but you can place your order now! Click HERE to visit the publishing website and place your order!

It’s about reconciliation. It’s about the relationship.

Forgiveness was never introduced as a mechanism for us to gain control or an upper hand over our fellow man. Instead, it was introduced so that we can have control over our feelings of anger, hostility, and our desire to hold on to grudges tighter than we hold on to relationships. Forgiveness was introduced to us so that we can move on together instead of moving apart from one another. And even in the event that some relationships are altered forever, forgiveness is supposed to be the way in which we depart in peace, with no hard feelings.

One of the things that get us caught up in the misapplication of forgiveness is the fact that we’ve twisted God’s design. If you’re reading these pages, chances are high that you’ve been advised by someone in your life to forgive someone so that you can be done with them, as opposed to moving on from the situation. Not only have I received that advice in my life before, but I’ve actually given it in error. However, if we’re really going to look at this from a Christian perspective and a God perspective, grace, mercy, and forgiveness was never given to us by The Almighty so that He could be done with us.

If you’ve read your Bible as I have, you’ll see that God has always desired a relationship with us, and thus, He keeps forgiveness on the table. He’s not trying to let it go so that He can “get some sleep” or “find some peace”. While those things are important to us as humans, it’s not the basis of forgiveness as God designed it. Forgiveness is what God wants us to do so that we can come together. It’s about reconciliation. It’s about the relationship. I would say that anyone that “forgives” with the mindset of being done with someone hasn’t really forgiven at all, or at the very least, they haven’t forgiven God’s way.

Understand that some relationships will go through several changes in a lifetime before it settles in to what it’s going to be. There will be ups and downs, highs and lows, and good days mixed with not so good days. However, reconciliation must be the goal. Having relationships reconciled doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re the same as they were before, but it does mean that they can function. Again, some relationships may not be the same anymore, but that doesn’t mean that there has to be any hard feelings or hostility when we come into contact with one another.

Even if you never speak to a person again, sometimes that’s just how that relationship goes, but the reason for never speaking again shouldn’t be because we’ve hardened our hearts and we’re too prideful to reconcile things. As I’ve often stated, some relationships aren’t broken, they’re just settled. That means you’re not mad at them and they’re not mad at you, but the relationship has run its course and that’s that. God understands that and is even accepting of it. However, what God doesn’t accept is our unwillingness to put things to rest.

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Man must release his desire to be forever offended. There’s been a shift in our thinking that has caused us to desire the grudge, as opposed to getting rid of it. Many of us have fooled ourselves into believing that moving on with a hidden attitude is somehow Christ-like. On the surface, we appear to be taking the high road, but underneath, we’re still bitter and angry on some level. On the surface, we pretend to be cordial, but underneath, our hearts are hardened. We say we’re over it, but if the test of Romans 12:19-20 came along, we’d probably fail it.

What grace does is put the offense in perspective. What Jesus teaches us is relationships are valuable. He teaches us that hidden animosity is still animosity in the eyes of God, and He will not openly release forgiveness while we silently hold things against one another. Consider where you and I would be if we believed that our eternity was secure in Jesus, only to die and find out that God had secretly harbored a grudge against us all of these years and heaven had been taken off the table.

This leads us to the understanding that grace is the antithesis of offense. We can either hold on to offense or we can administer grace. One corrupts the soul, while the other cleanses it. We should never desire to be offended more than we desire to be reconciled. Offense is a burden that even God wants to release. Why would we desire to carry that which God wants to put away?

Copyright 2018 Kelly R. Jackson

Author, Christian

Alone in a crowded room: In ministry, some are around you, but not necessarily with you

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Photo Apr 13, 6 23 36 PMListen, let me start by saying, you won’t have it all. You won’t always have the support you need. You won’t always have people that see the vision as you do. That may not be your desire, but that is the divine plan, because nothing happens outside of God. However, if you remember who you’re working for, you’ll have a better chance at maintaining your focus, especially when it’s just you and God.

There’s a statement that I posted on social media last week and it was reiterated on my weekly radio broadcast. I said: “Sometimes God will get you alone just so that you can see that you were getting lost in the crowd”. The point I was trying to make was there are times when we feel as if we need to be around everybody in order to be somebody. We get so caught up in being positioned that we fail to be in position, and being in position is being where God placed us, not necessarily where we think we can generate the most buzz or get the most exposure. The deeper I go into ministry, the clearer this message gets for me.

Such is the case with ministry at times. Sometimes we’re more concerned with being on the scene, creating a scene, or just being seen, than we are with the actual call to ministry. Something else I stated on that broadcast is this: “The call has always been greater than the called”. That means that what I’m called by God to do will always be more important than I am, more essential than what I have to offer, and bigger than I am.

However, even as God has called many of us to something bigger and something greater, the actual work we’re called to do may be more focused and concentrated. We may not be called to minister to the masses, but we may be called to pour into one mind that will minister to the masses. We may not be called to be on the grand stage, but we may be called to set the stage for what’s to come. Jesus Himself said that we would do greater works than He did (John 14:12). That doesn’t make us greater than Christ, but Christ set the stage that we could and should perform on.

Where this gets difficult is when we inject our own ambitions into the equation. Where we lose focus is when we decide what our ministry should look like, instead of following the directives of God. Where we wind up wasting energy is when we decide where we want to have the most impact, as opposed to allowing God to build the audience for our gift.

When this happens, we can find ourselves around people that care little to nothing about what we have to offer. We can end up trying to position ourselves so that our gifts can be noticed and utilized, but to the purposes we have in our own heads. We try to make ourselves available to people that, quite honestly, see us as a threat to what they’re doing (even though we’re all supposedly on the same team). We believe that we’ve come to a place of sharing, encouragement, and brainstorming, when in fact, we can find ourselves in places of resentment because we’re viewed as peculiar (even though that’s what God called us to be).

Where we can find ourselves alone in our ministry is when we’re really and truly about The Kingdom, but we’re mixing with people that are about the opportunity. It’s easy to go to a place with “What can we do for them” on your heart, but the agenda of the room is “What can you do for me”. At some point, you look up and realize that you’re in a crowded room, but you’re all by yourself.

You may find it difficult to find support in rooms like this because often times, true ministry is not at the heart of the room. However, what you can’t do is fall into a state of discouragement or start having a pity party for yourself. Don’t confuse people not actively supporting you with their not wanting or appreciating your gifts. Some people aren’t supportive because they’re trying to figure out from a distance how you do what you do, and how to incorporate it into what they do.

The reality is some people are just like the people in the lottery line. They wanna sow as little as possible, but get the windfall of your talent. I know it’s tough to swallow because of the path that you’ve been chosen to walk. I know it’s hard to understand how we can be so anointed, and yet, so opportunistic, but this isn’t the time to lose faith or hope. This is the time to remember your role model. This is the time to remember Jesus!

Jesus did not have a quid pro quo ministry. It wasn’t do for me and I’ll do for you. We are saved by grace. It’s free. Sure, we ought to run for Jesus because of what He did for us, but faith is all that’s required. And yet, there are some rooms you can’t be in if you don’t have anything to offer but you. There are some circles you’re not allowed in without a title or status. There are some places where you can buy your way in, but can never serve your way in. Some rooms are just more monetary than missionary. And yet, you must go forward in your call anyway. You must persist for The Kingdom.

So, how do we carry on when it seems as if we have to carry the load alone? Understand that we can never claim to truly know the hearts of men, but discernment is still available to us. We may not know their hearts, but we should know our own. We should know what it is that God has placed deep inside of us. Rest assured, the easiest way to lose your faith is to lose sight of your who and your why.

The most important thing for us to remember about our gifts and our talents is they were never just for us. God equipped us to serve others. When we remember what we’re called to be, the rooms we desire to be in will change significantly. We’ll find ourselves in places where there’s no fanfare, no pretense, and no ego or arrogance. We’ll find ourselves in places where there’s a need. That’s why we can’t give up. Because someone is counting on us to follow through!

Galatians 6:9 (NKJV) tells us: “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart”.

There’s a space between sowing season and due season that can test even the most faithful of God’s servants. I have to believe that those words in that text were written by the Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, because God knew we would get tired. He knew that the road would be rough at some times, and lonely at others. Yes, it is a word of encouragement, but it’s also a word of warning: There will be times when you want to quit!

But I want to encourage someone that’s on the verge of quitting to stop that line of thinking. Trust me, your work is not in vain. What you’re doing isn’t for nothing. God has never made an empty promise to His servants or anyone else for that matter. The harvest is coming. You can still do ministry exactly as God planned it, even if you have to do it alone. I’m a witness that God will bring you back into focus after you’ve exhausted all of your efforts (be sure to examine that last sentence). I’m a witness that God has a special and unique ministry for all of us. Some involve crowds, and some involve a lot of small efforts that yield major results.

I’m a firm believer that God is still moving in the remnant and small groups. What that means is you don’t need everybody to be somebody. Your voice doesn’t have to be in everybody’s ears, just the ears of your God-intended audience. Your gift doesn’t have to be appreciated by everyone, it just needs to help the person or people that it was designed to help. You can walk in your assigned ministry, in a crowded room, or in a room by yourself. You are peculiar for a reason. You were never meant to be like everyone else. Be what you’re called to be. Even if it’s just you and God working. He’s more than a crowded room against you.