The Sword That Saves

Mark 3:17 (ESV)

“James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder).”

Rumor has it my father was named after his father’s role model, Charles Finney. Yet growing up in a public spiritual environment led my father to reject his calling. Christianity was not allowed in our home. Bitterness and fear ruled our household.

My childhood was marked by illness. Severe allergies affected nearly every area of my life, and I didn’t attend school regularly until high school.

I couldn’t read or write until after I married my wife, which fueled deep rejection tied to education. But once I learned to read and write, a new world opened.

At age 16, I received Yeshua into my life—a radical conversion. Yet while I believed He died for me, I wasn’t told I died with Him. That omission led to a performance-based Christian life.

By the mid-1970s, I was restless. I knew I was born again and served the Lord as best I could—sharing the Word, leading others to Christ, active in outreach. But I longed for more. I thirsted for a deeper walk, a life of victory rather than fear and striving. The classic message of the Church felt dry as bones. I knew there had to be more.

While working in residential care center in Iowa, a coworker placed a book on my desk—The Handbook to Happiness by Dr. Charles Solomon. The cover stirred something in me, but I was functionally illiterate at age 21, faking my way through life. After confessing this to my wife, she began teaching me to read using God’s Word. That book became the first I read cover to cover. It changed my life. I embraced the truths of the Exchanged Life. In 1981, I moved my family to Denver and became an intern in Dr. Solomon’s training program. That began a father-son relationship that lasted until his passing.

With Dr. Solomon’s encouragement, I launched a nonprofit in Colorado Springs focused on the Exchanged Life.

In 1986, we founded Release Ministries—now IOM America. We established a training and counseling center that served the community, including staff from the Navigators and Compassion International. During this time, I met my second mentor, Lorne Sanny, former President of the Navigators. Through Lorne, I refined my leadership and visionary skills.

Those skills were soon tested. In the late ’90s, after relocating to Arizona, I served as an advisor to multiple politicians. During that time, God gave me a plan to establish a new branch of government: The Faith-Based Initiative. This became the foundation of my doctoral dissertation at Phoenix University of Theology. To my surprise, the plan was embraced nationally and modestly in Uganda, leading to a five-year collaboration with the White House. But the dysfunction of American politics called me back to my roots. I resigned and re-established IOM America.

Returning to my calling—uniting Exchanged Life workers—IOM America became dedicated to Christ-as-Life discipleship, conferences, and worldview development. We help believers experience, mature in, and communicate their identification with Christ in His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension.

God reminded me that the plan He gave me wasn’t for government—it was for His Church. In June 2010, with permission from the White House to repurpose the Faith-Based Initiative, we launched the Christ as Life Global Commission, originally the Exchanged Life Global Initiative. Our mission: unite prophets, teachers, and preachers to proclaim, “Christ in you.” We developed a website to host books, articles, videos, and media that advance the doctrine of Christ working through the authentic believer. HERE

Son of Thunder, Step Forward!

Later in life, the Lord emphasized eschatology and the indwelling Life of Christ. I spent years studying cultural movements that infiltrated the Church. My focus shifted to Christ, Culture, and Creator—blending prophetic end-times doctrine with modern trends. This vision continues today. But with it came intensified persecution. I discovered that many Christians resist end-times teaching. The “Grace Movement” had softened the Church to the point where judgment, condemnation, and counterfeit Christianity became the most resisted theology of our time. That’s when I understood why the Lord is calling sons of thunder to rise in these last days.

I’ve come to embrace that the full Gospel includes both the grace of God and His judgments. While I’ve accepted who I am in Christ, accepting my calling has been far more difficult. I still wrestle with resistance, but I know this: functioning in the center of my calling cements who I am in Him.

Consider reading the book that grew out of my years of research on Christ, Culture, and Creator. You can find it HERE.

Thank you for reading this extended version of my personal and professional timeline. I believe it is vital—if not critical—to understand the pathway of the Cross for those you choose to serve or assist. Bless you.

So now, let’s get busy advancing the Life of Christ in our Lord’s eschatological prophecies and warnings. Time is running out. The Rapture is approaching, and our time is precious in proclaiming the Day of our Lord.

Read Jane and Stephen’s Love Story HERE.

A special thanks to Mark Osborne for his time & excellence in conducting the interview. Please get to know his ministry.

Eschatological Studies | The End Times Chronicles is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drstephenphinney.substack.com/subscribe