800 Narratives Later Look What God Has Done!
What Began as a Personal Study Tool in March 2023 Has Become Dominion Renaissance Ministries, Inc.
In March 2023, I began writing these narratives for a very simple reason, I wanted to understand the Word of God better for myself.
There was no ministry organization.
There was no audience of thousands.
There was no international reach.
There were no healthcare initiatives, blood-drive plans, food pantries, or nonprofit applications.
There was simply a man, a Bible, a desire to understand God’s Word more deeply, and a willingness to write down what God was teaching me.
And looking back, Zechariah 4:10 (AMPC) carries even greater meaning, “Who [with reason] despises the day of small things?”
Never despise what God begins small. You have no idea what God may already see inside the seed He placed in your hand.
Now, as we celebrate 800 published narratives, I find myself looking back and saying only one thing: ONLY GOD COULD HAVE DONE THIS!
Ephesians 3:20 (AMPC) declares, “Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]—”
I did not envision all of this in March 2023.
However, God did.
What began as a personal Bible study tool has grown into Dominion Renaissance Ministries, Inc., an incorporated Christian ministry now awaiting its 501(c)(3) determination. And the narratives that started it all? They never stopped.
Today, our teachings are translated into Urdu and used for sermons and handouts in Pakistan, helping carry biblical teaching farther than I ever imagined when I wrote those first narratives. They have been used in Africa as well, and other places worldwide.
That brings new meaning to the command of Mark 16:15 (AMPC) “And He said to them, Go into all the world and preach and publish openly the good news (the Gospel) to every creature [of the whole human race].”
What started at my desk in my small home office is now being used to teach believers thousands of miles away.
That is Only Something God Can Do!
Our social media community has grown to approximately 7,000 followers.
Through our arrangement with NetWell, we help connect believers with assistance concerning healthcare costs.
We are gathering interest for Dominion Renaissance Ministries-sponsored blood drives, beginning with Buffalo, New York, with a vision that reaches across the United States.
We are also projecting the launch of our first of several food pantry efforts in Buffalo during the first quarter of 2027, taking ministry beyond what we say and placing it into what we actually do. A wise man once told me, “a ministry that doesn't do any outreach is just a social club.”.
Because ministry cannot only preach compassion. Ministry must be willing to demonstrate compassion.
James 2:15-17 (AMPC) confronts us, “If a brother or sister is poorly clad and lacks food for each day, And one of you says to him, Goodbye! Keep [yourself] warm and well fed, without giving him the necessities for the body, what good does that do? So also faith, if it does not have works (deeds and actions of obedience to back it up), by itself is destitute of power (inoperative, dead).”
We cannot tell people that God loves them while refusing to care that they are hurting.
The Gospel must be preached, and the love of Christ must be demonstrated.
Yet through every stage of growth, our mission has not changed.
Our Statement of Faith has not changed.
Our commitment to the authority of Scripture has not changed.
And the mandate behind those first narratives has not changed:
Teach the Word of God - Explain the Word of God -Apply the Word of God to real life.
2 Timothy 2:15 (AMPC) says, “Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth.”
That is still the assignment.
I still sit down and write.
I still study.
I still wrestle with the scripture.
I still ask, “Lord, what does this mean for the believer trying to live this out Monday morning?” And they are still personal study tools, I also ask, “what am I to learn from this Lord?
Because I do not want people merely emotionally stirred for five or ten minutes. I WANT BELIEVERS EQUIPPED!
Ephesians 4:11-12 (AMPC) explains why, “And His gifts were [varied; He Himself appointed and gave men to us] some to be apostles (special messengers), some prophets (inspired preachers and expounders), some evangelists (preachers of the Gospel, traveling missionaries), some pastors (shepherds of His flock) and teachers. His intention was the perfecting and the full equipping of the saints (His consecrated people), [that they should do] the work of ministering toward building up Christ’s body (the church).”
Equipping believers is not a slogan, it is biblical ministry.
Equipped to recognize truth.
Equipped to confront sin.
Equipped to endure trials.
Equipped to strengthen their marriages and families.
Equipped to steward their bodies.
Equipped to serve others.
Equipped to resist the enemy.
Equipped to walk in obedience.
Equipped to take what Scripture says and LIVE IT when real life gets hard.
That was the mandate when there was one reader - ME.
And it remains the mandate as we reach 800 published narratives and thousands of people reached.
Yet There Is Another Part of This Testimony.
If I stopped here, I would only tell you what God has done through Dominion Renaissance Ministries.
I would not have told you one of the greatest things He has done, WHAT GOD HAS DONE IN ME.
This is not a testimony of what God allowed me to build.
This Is My Testimony of What GOD Can Do With a Life Surrendered to Him.
Because behind many of these narratives were battles that people reading them never saw.
There were seasons when I struggled with drinking and attempting to self-medicate what was hurting inside me.
There were days when depression was so heavy that getting out of bed felt like a battle.
There was even a period when I experienced actual blindness, when the world I had always been able to see suddenly went dark. Yet even in the darkness, God was still God. He sustained me, carried me, and brought me through. Today, when I open my eyes and see, I have another reason to give Him glory that I will never take for granted.
I know first hand, Psalm 146:8 (AMPC) “The Lord sets free the prisoners, the Lord opens the eyes of the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous [the upright in heart].”
I know what it is to talk about darkness spiritually., and I also know what it is to experience darkness physically. And I know Who carried me through both. There was anger God had to confront.
There was unforgiveness I had to surrender.
There were wounds.
There were wrong attitudes.
There were wrong thoughts.
There were habits.
There were areas of my life that simply could not remain where they were if I was truly going to follow Jesus Christ.
And I am not sharing any of this to glorify what I came through. I AM SHARING IT TO GLORIFY WHO BROUGHT ME THROUGH!
2 Corinthians 5:17 (AMPC) declares, “Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!”
That scripture is no longer something I simply teach. I HAVE LIVED IT!
I am not claiming perfection.
I am saying something entirely different, I AM NOT THE MAN I WAS.
Christ has changed me.
Christ is still changing me.
He has confronted me.
Corrected me.
Convicted me.
Strengthened me.
Forgiven me.
Restored me.
And taught me that surrender cannot merely appear in what I preach. SURRENDER MUST BECOME VISIBLE IN HOW I LIVE.
There are things that once controlled me that do not control me anymore.
There are wounds that once dictated my responses that do not have the final word anymore.
There are places where anger once ruled that Christ has taught me to surrender.
There are people and situations I had to forgive, not because what happened was acceptable, rather because I could not keep asking Christ to set me free while choosing to remain chained to unforgiveness.
There were times when I attempted to numb pain rather than surrender it to God.
Today, I know where my help comes from.
Psalm 121:1–2 (AMPC) plainly states, “I will lift up my eyes to the hills [around Jerusalem, to sacred Mount Zion and Mount Moriah]—From whence shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.”
So when I say, “LOOK WHAT GOD HAS DONE!”
I am not merely talking about a ministry.
I am not merely talking about 800 narratives.
I am not merely talking about 7,000 followers.
I am not merely talking about Pakistan, Africa, healthcare assistance, blood drives, or food pantries. I am screaming, LOOK WHAT GOD HAS DONE WITH A MAN!
A man who still has growing to do.
A man who still needs grace.
A man who still has to crucify his flesh.
A man who still has to repent when he is wrong.
A man who still has to bring thoughts into obedience to Christ.
A man who still wakes up every day completely dependent upon the Holy Spirit. YET I AM NOT WHO I WAS!
Today, because of Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ alone, I am a new creation.
Born anew.
Not because I became stronger.
Not because I developed greater willpower.
Not because becoming a pastor somehow made me holy.
Not because publishing 800 narratives transformed me.
Solely because, CHRIST CHANGED ME!
And perhaps this is one of the reasons God has allowed these narratives to become what they have become.
I do not teach Scripture from some imaginary mountaintop where I have never struggled.
Beloved - I TEACH IT FROM REAL LIFE.
I know what it means to need the Word I am teaching.
I know what it means to write something that first has to convict ME.
I know what it means for God to make the teacher eat the meal before serving it to somebody else.
That is why our mandate remains;
Teach the Word of God - Explain the Word of God - Apply the Word of God to REAL LIFE.
Because believers do not need another message that merely makes them emotional. WE NEED THE WORD OF GOD THAT TRANSFORMS US!
Romans 12:2 (AMPC) leaves no room for compromise when it says, “Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].”
And this is why, of everything I could say about reaching this milestone, perhaps the testimony I treasure most is this: THE MAN WHO WROTE NARRATIVE #800 IS NOT THE SAME MAN WHO SAT DOWN TO BEGIN WRITING IN MARCH 2023.
God has been writing another narrative all along - ME.
And He is not finished yet. I must state again so it's clearly understood that this Is Not A Testimony of What I Built, the Glory is God’s and God’s Alone This Is My Testimony of What GOD Can Do With Something Surrendered to Him.
Paul makes this unmistakably clear in 1 Corinthians 3:6-7 (AMPC), “I planted, Apollos watered, but God [all the while] was making it grow and [He] gave the increase. So neither he who plants is anything nor he who waters, but [only] God Who makes it grow and become greater.”
There it is, for all to see, do you see it?
“God gave the increase.”
I could not have mapped this out in March 2023.
I could not have manufactured it.
I could not have forced it.
And I refuse to take God's glory for it. ALL GLORY BELONGS TO GOD!
Every narrative.
Every reader.
Every follower.
Every person reached in America, Pakistan, Africa, and worldwide.
Every believer helped.
Every future pint of blood donated.
Every family we hope to feed.
Every door opened.
Every person who has prayed for us, encouraged us, shared a narrative, commented, challenged me, supported the ministry, or simply stopped long enough to read what God placed on my heart; THANK YOU!
You have been part of this journey. A journey that yet continues!
And above everyone else, I thank Almighty God for His direction, His correction, His provision, His strength, and His empowerment.
Psalm 115:1 (AMPC) says it perfectly, “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory, for Your mercy and loving-kindness and for the sake of Your truth and faithfulness!”
Will You Partner With Us?
As we recognize 800 narratives, the mission is growing, and so are the opportunities to serve.
If Dominion Renaissance Ministries has taught you, challenged you, encouraged you, equipped you, or helped you grow in your walk with Christ, I ask you to prayerfully consider partnering with us.
2 Corinthians 9:7 (AMPC) reminds us, “Let each one [give] as he has made up his own mind and purposed in his heart, not reluctantly or sorrowfully or under compulsion, for God loves (that is, He takes pleasure in, prizes above other things, and is unwilling to abandon or to do without) a cheerful (joyous, ‘prompt to do it’) giver [whose heart is in his giving].”
There is no pressure and no compulsion.
If God places it upon your heart, you can help us continue this work by simply:
☕ “Buying Us a Cup of Coffee.”
https://buymeacoffee.com/drministries
Your support helps us continue doing what God has called Dominion Renaissance Ministries to do;
Teach believers - Equip believers - Serve people - Meet practical needs - Carry the Gospel farther - And never compromise the Word of God in the process.
800 narratives ago, this was simply my personal study tool.
Today, it is Dominion Renaissance Ministries, Inc.
And if God could do this with one surrendered beginning, I cannot wait to see what He intends to do next. ONLY GOD! To Him belongs ALL the glory.
“Be Fruitful…And Have Dominion” - Genesis 1:28
Dominion Renaissance Ministries, Inc. www.dominionrenaissanceministries.church