The High Places of the Republic: A Forensic Audit of Modern Idolatry
The “Noise” of modern academia and secular history insists that the towering monuments of our cities are merely civic art, industrial tributes, or classical motifs. But when we apply a forensic audit to the landscape, a different “Signal” emerges. Beneath the veneer of patriotism and heritage lies the physical evidence of a spiritual shift—the re-establishment of the High Places in open defiance of the First Commandment.

While the modern church is lulled to sleep by the traditions of men, the very deities of the ancient world have been cast in bronze and iron to watch over our populace. These are not historical footnotes; they are the physical receipts of a nation that has traded the “Ancient Paths” for the pantheons of old.

The Iron Master of Red Mountain
In Birmingham, Alabama, the Vulcan statue stands as a 56-foot-tall sentinel. While the “Modern Idolatry” narrative claims this is a tribute to the iron industry, the forensic reality is that it is a literal representation of the Roman god of the fire and the forge. By standing on the highest ground in the city, it mirrors the ancient pagan practice of placing tutelary deities on hills to “protect” or “oversee” the populace. The Word of God remains the definitive audit for such works:

“Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made:” (Isaiah 2:8).


The Egyptian Queen in the Heartland
Perhaps most jarring to the Forensic Faith is the presence of Isis in West Branch, Iowa. Standing at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library-Museum, this bronze statue of the Egyptian “Queen of Heaven” was placed in the heart of the American Midwest as a gift from Belgium. In forensic terms, this is a “Signal” that the mystery religions of the Nile have not vanished; they have simply been rebranded for a willingly ignorant modern audience. This placement stands in direct opposition to the foundational command:

“I am the LORD thy God… Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:2-3).



The Pantheon of the Potomac and the Library of Minerva
The most concentrated evidence of this “Great Falling Away” is found in the heart of the republic, Washington, D.C.. Our field audits have documented that the capital is not a city defined by the Cross, but by the obelisk and the goddess.

The Apotheosis of Washington: Inside the Capitol Dome, the first president is depicted ascending to godhood, surrounded by thirteen pagan deities including Minerva and Libertas.
The Library of Congress: Here, Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom and war, is given a place of central prominence. Her image serves as a “Signal” that the nation’s knowledge and law are being dedicated to the “traditions of men” and ancient philosophies rather than the fear of the Lord.
The Statue of Freedom: Perched atop the Capitol, this figure is a synthesis of ancient goddesses.
The Sun-Pillar: The Washington Monument itself is an ancient Egyptian sun-pillar or obelisk, a form specifically highlighted in the forensic files of scripture: “He shall break also the images of Beth-shemesh, that is in the land of Egypt…” (Jeremiah 43:13).



The physical receipts of our field audits do not lie. These statues are not “art”; they are the “Modern High Places” designed to habituate the public to the presence of false gods while the world awaits the true King. As the “Noise” of cultural Christianity grows louder, the “Signal” of the Bible remains clear:

“Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.” (1 John 5:21).
https://thelordsreturn.com/the-high-places-of-the-republic-a-forensic-audit-of-modern-idolatry/

THE STORY OF Charles M. Kinney
THE STORY OF CHARLES M. KINNEY

The First Black Ordained Minister (Post-1863 Structure)
From The Shadow Of Slavery To Builder Of A Movement

In the year 1855, in the city of Richmond, Virginia, a place heavy with the weight of slavery, a child was born. His name was Charles Marshall Kinney. No one looking at that moment could have imagined what his life would become.

He was born into a world divided, where opportunity was scarce, and dignity was often denied. Whether he was born enslaved or free is uncertain, but one thing is clear: he grew up under the long shadow of oppression. Yet, even in that darkness, God was preparing a light.

As the Civil War ended and the nation struggled through Reconstruction, young Charles found himself living in a world that had changed in law, but not yet in spirit. Opportunity was still limited, and prejudice remained deeply rooted. Sometime around 1870, he made a life-altering move westward with his family to Reno, Nevada. It was a journey not just across land, but toward possibility. In Reno, he settled into the trade of barbering, a skill passed down from his father. The work was steady, honest, and respectable, but deep within him there was a sense that his life was meant for something more than routine survival.

That moment of purpose came in the summer of 1878. A tent meeting was being held in Reno, drawing crowds curious about the message being preached. Charles attended, perhaps at first with simple curiosity, but what he encountered there would reshape his entire life. The meetings were led by the Adventist evangelist J. N. Loughborough, and among the speakers was Ellen G. White. On one particular evening, she spoke on the subject of the love of God. It was not merely a sermon to Charles; it was a revelation. The message pierced through his heart with clarity and power. In that moment, truth became personal.

He responded with conviction. At twenty-three years old, he chose to follow God’s call. He accepted the teachings he had heard, began observing the Sabbath, and was baptized on the final Sabbath of September 1878. With that decision, he became one of the seven founding members of the Reno Seventh-day Adventist Church, and notably, the only Black member among them. In a time when racial barriers were strong and social divisions rigid, this placed him in a position of quiet isolation. Yet he did not withdraw. Instead, he leaned into service.

Charles quickly became active in the life of the church. His dedication and discipline led to his appointment as secretary of the local tract and missionary society, and not long after, he was serving at the state level in a similar role. He distributed religious literature tirelessly, sending printed truth across towns and even back east to places like Virginia. Through written reports to the church’s leading publication, Review and Herald, he communicated the progress of the work, showing early signs of the leadership and vision that would later define his life.

Recognizing his commitment and potential, church leaders arranged for him to receive formal training. He was sent to Healdsburg College in California, where he studied from 1883 to 1885. There, he developed intellectually and spiritually, preparing for a life of ministry that would demand both strength and endurance.

When he completed his education, Charles did not step into comfort. Instead, he entered one of the most challenging mission fields of his time. He began working among Black communities in the Midwest, particularly in Kansas, where many formerly enslaved people had migrated seeking freedom and opportunity. In cities like Topeka, he labored with relentless energy. He went from house to house, sharing Scripture, giving Bible studies, and placing literature into the hands of anyone willing to read. Within a short time, he had reached a significant portion of the city.

His approach was deeply personal. Rather than relying solely on large public meetings, he invested in individual lives. He listened, taught, and reasoned with people patiently. On occasion, he stood in public debates, defending his beliefs before large audiences. One such encounter involved a Black Baptist minister and drew a crowd of hundreds. These moments required courage, especially as he often faced opposition not only from outside but from within communities wary of new teachings.

As his work expanded into places like Missouri and Kentucky, the challenges intensified. Racial prejudice was not limited to society at large; it sometimes appeared within church settings as well. In cities like St. Louis, tensions arose when Black believers began to respond to the message. Integrated worship created discomfort among some white members, revealing the painful reality that the church, though grounded in truth, was still grappling with human weakness.

In 1889, Charles was assigned to Louisville, Kentucky, to care for a small group of Black believers. That same year, during a gathering connected with a camp meeting in Tennessee, a historic moment took place. In early October, he was ordained to the gospel ministry. With this act, Charles M. Kinney became the first African American to be ordained in the organized Seventh-day Adventist Church after its establishment in 1863. It was a milestone not just for him, but for the future of the church.

Yet even in that moment of recognition, the tensions of the time were present. Segregation and social discomfort made the work difficult. Charles did not ignore these realities. He spoke plainly about them, describing how discrimination embarrassed and discouraged Black believers and hindered the spread of the gospel. But he did more than identify the problem, he offered a solution.

He proposed a strategy that was both bold and practical. He suggested that, in certain contexts, separate congregations and structures for Black believers might allow the work to move forward more effectively. This was not an endorsement of division as an ideal, but a response to the barriers of the time. He believed that Black leaders could better reach Black communities and that administrative autonomy would strengthen the mission. Though controversial, this idea would later influence the development of Regional Conferences, which were eventually established in the 1940s, something he lived long enough to witness.

Throughout the 1890s, Charles continued planting churches across the South. In Louisville, he helped organize a congregation that would become one of the earliest Black Adventist churches. He extended his work to places like Edgefield Junction, Bowling Green, New Orleans, Nashville, and Birmingham. These churches often began with small numbers, sometimes fewer than a dozen members, but they represented something far greater than statistics. They were the beginnings of a movement.

His reports in the Review and Herald became a vital source of information for the wider church, documenting both progress and struggle. He described the realities on the ground with honesty, giving a voice to a work that might otherwise have been overlooked.

Life was not without personal trials. In 1902, he married Viola, a woman who shared his faith and commitment. She worked as a teacher, contributing to the mission in her own way. Their life together was one of service, though it was marked by difficulty when her health began to fail. Charles gradually reduced his workload to care for her, demonstrating that his faithfulness extended beyond the pulpit into the quiet responsibilities of home.

For many years, he labored with little recognition and often in isolation. He was, at times, the only Black ordained minister in the denomination. He faced financial hardship, opposition from other clergy, and the slow pace of institutional support. Yet he did not abandon his calling. He continued, steady and determined, driven not by recognition but by conviction.

As the decades passed, the seeds he planted began to grow. The small congregations multiplied. The message spread. By the 1940s, the church officially organized Regional Conferences, creating structures that reflected the very vision Charles had proposed decades earlier. By the time of his death, Black membership in the church had grown into the tens of thousands, a testament to the foundation he had laid.

Charles M. Kinney passed away in August 1951 at the age of ninety-six, in Nashville, Tennessee. He had lived long enough to see the early fruits of his labor, though the full impact of his life would continue to unfold long after his passing.

Today, he is remembered as the “Father of Black Adventism,” a title that reflects not just what he did, but what he endured. His story is one of quiet strength, persistent faith, and unwavering commitment. He did not lead large crowds or build vast institutions in his lifetime, but he built something far more enduring, a foundation.

His life reminds us that true greatness is not always loud or widely recognized. Sometimes, it is found in the steady work of a single individual who refuses to give up, even when the path is lonely and the obstacles are great. Charles M. Kinney was such a man.

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Aubrey L. White ( facebook post )
"I stopped being shocked by fallen Christian leaders when I was 17 years old.
Let me tell you why.
I went to a gospel quartet concert here in Birmingham, AL. It was phenomenal. They sang. They danced. They shouted. They cried. One of the singers got so “full of the Holy Ghost” they had to carry him out.
For me, it was a powerful spiritual moment.
After the concert, I stopped to get gas. While I’m standing at the pump, a car pulls up. Music blasting so loud you could hear it down the street.
It wasn’t gospel.
It was secular blues. The kind of music we were taught you don’t listen to—and you definitely don’t blast it for the whole block to hear.
The man jumped out of the car.
It was him. The same singer they just carried out of the building 30 minutes earlier.
He marched into the gas station and came out with a beer in his hand and another one in a paper bag.
This man just finished singing about Jesus. Just finished performing like heaven had touched him. They just finished carrying him off the stage.
And now he’s standing at a gas pump with a beer, blasting blues music like none of it ever happened.
I was 17.
And that was the day I learned : the stage is not the soul.
I’m telling you this because another Christian artist just fell.
Michael Tait—the voice of DC Talk, the lead singer of Newsboys, the man behind “Jesus Freak” and “God’s Not Dead”—confessed to 20 years of cocaine abuse, alcoholism, and sexually assaulting men.
Twenty years.
While he was on stage singing about the power of God, he was living in destruction behind the scenes.
His own words: “I was not the same person on stage Sunday night that I was at home on Monday.”
And everyone is shocked. Devastated. Questioning their faith.
But I’m not shocked.
Not because I don’t care—I do.
Not because it doesn’t bother me—it does.
But because I stopped putting people on pedestals a long time ago.
Here’s what I’ve learned:
1. Gifting is not godliness.
Someone can be anointed to sing and broken in their soul at the same time.
Talent will take you places that character can’t keep you.
The gift will function even when the person is falling apart. That’s why it’s called a GIFT—it’s not something they earned. It’s something God gave.
But the gift operating doesn’t mean the life is in order.
“Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name… and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you.’” — Matthew 7:22-23
You can minister to thousands and be a stranger to God.
2. Nobody starts off planning to fall.
I don’t believe Michael Tait woke up one day and said, “I’m going to be a Christian who does cocaine. I’m going to be a worship leader who assaults people.”
It doesn’t start like that.
It starts with depression and no one to talk to.
It starts with peer pressure and wanting to fit in.
It starts with one compromise that leads to another.
It starts with success that outpaces accountability.
And before you know it, you’re living two lives—and you don’t know how to stop.
“Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.”
— 1 Corinthians 10:12
The fall doesn’t happen all at once. It happens one hidden decision at a time.
3. People go back to what’s familiar.
When someone gets delivered but never gets discipled, they’re one bad season away from returning to what they know.
Deliverance without discipline doesn’t last.
Freedom without structure doesn’t hold.
You can have a genuine encounter with God and still end up back in bondage if nobody teaches you how to walk it out.
“When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.” — Matthew 12:43-45
An empty house is a vulnerable house.
4. The industry protects the profitable.
They called Michael Tait’s behavior “Nashville’s worst-kept secret.”
Fifty people knew. The investigation took two and a half years. This wasn’t hidden—it was ignored.
Because he was too big. Too connected. Too profitable.
And the people who could have held him accountable chose to look the other way.
That’s not just a Michael Tait problem. That’s an industry problem. That’s a church problem.
We protect platforms and neglect people.
We celebrate the gift and ignore the cracks.
And then we act shocked when it all falls apart.
5. Your faith was never supposed to be built on a person.
If Michael Tait’s fall shakes your faith, your faith was built on the wrong foundation.
He didn’t die for you. Jesus did.
He didn’t save you. Jesus did.
He was just a man with a microphone and a gift.
The song “God’s Not Dead” is still true—even if the man who sang it was spiritually dying while he performed it.
The message outlives the messenger.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
— Hebrews 13:8
Men will fail you. God won’t.
So what do we do now?
We stop being shocked.
Not because we stop caring—but because we stop being naive.
We hold leaders accountable BEFORE they fall, not just after.
We build systems of accountability instead of pedestals of celebrity.
We remember that everyone on a stage is still human—still fighting battles, still capable of falling, still in need of grace AND truth.
We protect our own hearts by keeping our faith anchored in Christ and not in personalities.
And when someone does fall, we grieve—but we don’t lose our footing.
Because our footing was never supposed to be on them in the first place.
I learned that at a gas station in Birmingham, AL when I was 17.
The man who carried on like heaven had touched him was buying beer 30 minutes later.
And my faith didn’t shake.
Because my faith wasn’t in him.
It was in the God he was singing about.
And that God is still on the throne—no matter who falls off the stage."

Guidelines for living
October 09, 2025
​

True Happiness is Found in Jesus Christ.

I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:10, KJV

​Have you ever noticed how many times it is the little things in life that really get to you? You can drive your car off a cliff, someone kidnaps your mother-in-law, or your mortgage is foreclosed on, and that doesn’t bother you quite as much as the little things such as running out of razor blades, your phone battery is dying, or not being able to get your computer to work right. I think we would all agree it’s the little things in life that are often more irritating than the major disasters. Solomon revealed a great truth when he said it is the little foxes that spoil the vines.

Years ago, I was traveling through an industrial area of central England. In this area, coal was the sole means to heat the massive furnaces of industry. As a result, the smoke over a period of years darkened buildings to dismal shades of gray.

It was on a very gray, cloudy morning that I passed through an industrial town outside of Birmingham, in England. I couldn’t help but notice the gray laundry hanging outside on clotheslines, the once-white buildings with their facades blackened by soot and coal smoke. I turned to the friend who was my host and asked, “Isn’t this atmosphere depressing to the people who live here? It would drive me crazy!” With a knowing smile he replied, “No, the people who live here are some of the happiest people in all England because they have learned to live above the circumstances.”

Happiness in life is not dependent upon beautiful surroundings, but upon your ability to cope with the circumstances you face in life, and for this you need help—God’s help. He is the one who can give you the lift, and lift you above the circumstances. The Apostle Paul said, “In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).

Now what things was Paul writing about? He was referring to the circumstances of his life, and in his case, they were not very positive. In the same chapter of the Bible where Paul says we can be more than conquerors, he lists some of the circumstances he faced: tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril and the sword—not the sort of things that are associated with happiness. Then how could Paul say, “In all these things we are more than conquerors”?

A conqueror is one who knows what it is to go through the heat of the battle—to suffer and to do without, so that he can win in the end.

Jesus Christ can be the resource you need for life’s most trying circumstances. The big hurdle is that we don’t like to admit that we can’t always cope well with circumstances that confront us—simply put, we need God’s help. The human heart is stubborn and always wants to go it alone. So, we try to work on our own problems with no outside help.

If you’ve been trying to find happiness through your efforts alone, may I recommend the peace that Jesus Christ gives—peace that passes understanding? He said also, “I have come that they might have life and … have it more abundantly” (John 10:10, KJV). He also said, “I am the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6). Friend, begin getting acquainted with Him by reading the New Testament in your Bible. Bow your head and heart in His presence, and ask Him to take control of your life, to guide you, to be your friend, and Savior. I can guarantee you will never, ever regret it. Life in its fullest will then begin for you.

​Resource reading: John 10:1-10

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV): “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.”

#newlifechurch #birmingham

George Jeffreys 1889-1962
It is no wonder that George Jeffreys became the founder and leader of the Britain’s Elim Pentecostal Alliance. He was arguably the most influential and gifted preacher that the British Pentecostal Movement has ever produced. Donald Gee’s record of him is revealing: ‘He had a voice like music, with sufficient Welsh intonation to add an inimitable charm.
His platform personality at times was magnetic. His face was appealing. Although lacking academic training he possessed a natural refinement that made him acceptable in all circles. He presented his message with a logical appeal and a note of authority that was compelling. With all that he was baptized in the Holy Spirit.’
George Jeffreys Converted in the Welsh revival
He was converted in the Welsh Revival on Nov. 20th 1904, with his brother Stephen, under the evangelistic ministry of Glassnant Jones. It was the provocation of Stephen’s son, Edward, who first received the Spirit and spoke in tongues that caused him to seek God for a deeper experience. Soon afterwards he received a personal healing from extreme physical frailty, a speech impediment and a developing facial paralysis. He was also baptised in the Holy Spirit and was soon preaching the Gospel publicly.
Training in Preston under Thomas Myerscough
At Cecil Polhill’s instigation he resigned from his job at the Co-operative Stores in Maesteg, and began a period of training at the Pentecostal missionary college in Preston under Thomas Myerscough’s leadership and was set apart for the ministry by the Independent Apostolic Church known as Emmanuel Christ Church, Maesteg, on the 13th Nov. 1912.
Early ministry
He helped his brother in a mission in Jan. 1913 and began to conduct small campaigns in Wales with increasing success. Attending the Sunderland convention in 1913 he was given opportunity to preach for Alexander Boddy and an Irish visitor immediately invited him to Ireland, offering to pay the fare.
Unfortunately, when the owners of the hall in Monaghan that was secured for the series of meetings, learned that he was a Pentecostal, they cancelled the booking! During a further invitation in 1915 to minister in Monaghan, Northern Ireland, George met a group of zealous young men and they joined together forming the Elim Evangelistic Band, registering it as the Elim Pentecostal Alliance. The members were Margaret Streight, R. E. (Ernest ) Darragh, William Henderson, and Frederick Farlow.
Initially they worked exclusively in Ireland, establishing his first church in Belfast in 1916. After this he founded the Elim Pentecostal Church and accepted many invitations in England, planting churches there from 1921.
With Stephen he conducted highly successful crusades in London and Hull before entering London in 1922. In this year the headquarters of Elim were moved to Clapham in S.W. London. “Elim Woodlands” was purchased and it also housed the Elim Bible College, with other local properties added for administration of the growing movement.
George spent the next ten years in sustained evangelistic activity with remarkable success. During this time his ministry enjoyed a fresh anointing causing a meteoric rise to fame across the land. His evangelistic and divine healing campaigns soon filled the largest public halls in the country. There were thousands of converts, scores of healings and dozens of churches planted. In Birmingham 10,000 converts were recorded. British Pentecostalism enjoyed a quantum leap forwards during this time.
In mainland Europe he was also a great success, seeing an astonishing 14,000 converts in Switzerland in the years 1934-36. He visited Sweden several times and was the main preacher at the European Pentecostal Conference in Stockholm in June 1939.
Growing concerns with Elim’s church government
He set up an Elim ministerial conference in 1933 but throughout the late 1930’s George was struggling with various methods of church government, making one change after another, until he found himself at variance with the governing conference in 1939. He finally resigned and left the Elim movement he founded in Nov. 1940 and began the Bible-Pattern Church Fellowship based in Nottingham.
His funeral drew a large congregation to the Kensington Temple, and it was a disappointment to his many friends in all sections of the Movement that the ceremony was kept exclusively within his own circle. In spite of the clouds that dimmed the evening glory of his years, George Jeffreys remains a stirring memory as the greatest British evangelist since George Whitefield and John Wesley.
For a time his brilliant gifts helped the whole Pentecostal testimony in the British Isles, and we salute him as one of our great pioneers and a notable gift of Christ to His Church.
Credit: Tony Cauchi
#holyspirittv

This was one of the most amazing nights of my life. My pastor, Pastor Mike Jr., from my church, Rock City In Birmingham, AL, praying over me at one of his concerts. Since then so much has changed in my life

Can we not change our location information? I no longer live in Poplar Bluff. I am in Birmingham, AL.