Covenant Ministries of America

05/12/2026

We can't really say we love ourself if we don't recognize that the image of God is within us and we are born with dignity. yes we're born as Sin and shaped by iniquity but we're also born with the image of God in us.

And especially as Christians, whose sins have been put on Christ at the cross, should we have value for ourselves. If God loves us and values us enough to die for us who are we to despise ourselves. We're not talking about self-hatred we're talking about a refusing to recognize the image of God in us. If Christ is in us the hope of glory then it behooves us to learn what that means because God is not going to despise Christ and if we despise ourselves are we despising Christ in us?

Don't get it mixed up I'm not saying we are Christ. I'm saying we are created in the image of God and if Jesus said we should not curse men who are created in the image of God why would we do that to ourselves?

05/05/2026

Designed for Redemptive Restoration

The transition from a "fallen" attachment (dysfunctional/abusive) to a "restored" attachment is viewed as a process of Redemptive Neuroplasticity. While the Fall introduces profound trauma and "attachment ruptures," both biblical scholarship and psychological research suggest that the human brain and soul are designed for repair or restoration

05/05/2026

Research is suggesting that younger Generations are using songs in church to replace biblical learning. It appears that the theological framework within churches is so weak that young Christians are turning to music to build their theological framework. This is good as long as there's some real solid Doctrine Within the lyrics. I suggest we use old him lyrics and update them with modern music.

05/05/2026

04/28/2026

For the second time in my life I visited a Catholic Church. First time was in person, this past Sunday was online. What did they have in common? I heard more about Jesus Christ in 30 minutes then I have the previous 10 years in Pentecostal/ Charismatic/ Protestant circles.
Actually the first time was was 10 years the second time was 20 years as far as when's the last time I heard him message about Jesus Christ.

Am I going to convert to Catholicism? No because the word Catholic means Universal so in essence we're all Catholic.
Now, there's some things I didn't like, and there are some real Biblical concerns . They bowed down to the Statue of Mary and all I could think about was the second commandment to not have any graven images. I also wondered why didn't they bow down to the statue of Jesus instead of Mary . Nevertheless they talked more about Jesus Christ than I've heard in years in a Protestant church. so before I will tolerate any more criticism toward Catholicism I'm going to ask; "When's the last time you heard about Jesus in your church. I mean about Jesus Christ Alone? Not about what you have to do for him, but what he's done. Because Jesus is what I've heard two times in a Catholic Church.

God is shaking the church I think he wants to take us back to the roots of our faith which is Christ. That is exactly what the scripture says; that the foundation is Jesus Christ. If we've gotten away from him we need to reevaluate what the heck we're doing. maybe because we've preaching Christ the world has gone to pot or the last 50 to 100 years especially here in America

Now Pentecostal charismatics complain about Catholics bowing down to an idol and yet we've exalted usually one man to the point of almost replacing God. Protestants complain about Catholics making the Pope the voice of God on Earth but yet we've done that with Apostles and Prophets to the point where we can't even question them at least the Catholic Church allows for debate and discussion.

04/15/2026

Some call this replacement theology; I call it remnant theology. Not all of Israel are the people of God or the chosen of God, but the remnant are the seed, and the remnant are those born of the Spirit not those born of the flesh. The same way to becoming the chosen people of God applies to both Jew and Gentile; Jesus Christ, the way the truth and the life.

Can we now get back to the business of preaching Christ and winning the lost world to Jesus?

Just going to let God's word speak for itself.

[Rom 9:6-8 KJV] 6 For they [are] not all Israel, which are of Israel: 7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, [are they] all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. 8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these [are] not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.
[Rom 9:6-8 ESV] 6 For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named." 8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.

The Pharisees and Sadducees were born of Abraham yet would we consider them as the chosen people of God? Would we consider them children of the covenant? Would we consider those who killed and imprisoned Christians as the chosen people of God?
Jesus said this of them;

[Rom 9:6-8 ESV] 6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named." 8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.

Hosea said:
[Hos 2:23 AMP] 23 " I will also have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; And I will say to those who were not My people, 'You are My people,' And they will say, 'You are my God!'"

To which the New Testament affirms:

[Rom 2:28-29 ESV] 28 For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 29 But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.

[Rom 9:24-27, 29-32 KJV] 24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? 25 As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. 26 And it shall come to pass, [that] in the place where it was said unto them, Ye [are] not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God. 27
Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: ... 29 And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha. 30 What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. 31 But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. 32 Wherefore? Because [they sought it] not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;

04/15/2026

Most people recognize the pattern once they see it clearly. An abusive church almost always runs on control, not care. The leadership is authoritarian, insulated, and unchallengeable. The pastor or leader becomes the center of gravity, not just organizationally, but psychologically. He is positioned as the one who hears God clearly, which means disagreement is quietly reframed as rebellion, and eventually as disobedience to God himself. You’re not encouraged to think. You’re trained to submit.

There is usually a layer of spiritual elitism that keeps the system sealed. The group believes it is chosen, set apart, uniquely right. Not just different, but superior. They don’t just have a perspective. They have the truth. And once that claim is in place, everything else follows. Questions become threats. Doubt becomes a character issue. Curiosity becomes something that needs correction. You don’t explore. You conform.

Control is maintained through emotional leverage. Guilt, fear, shame, intimidation. These aren’t side effects. They’re tools. You’ll hear a lot about submission, loyalty, and obedience, usually framed as spiritual maturity. “Accountability” becomes surveillance dressed up as care, where your life is opened up for inspection by people who have no business holding that kind of power. Over time, you stop trusting your own perception. That’s not an accident. That’s the system working.

And here’s the twist that keeps people stuck: these groups often cast themselves as victims. Criticism isn’t feedback. It’s persecution. Pushback becomes proof that they’re the “true church” under attack. The more resistance they get, the more validated they feel. It’s a closed loop. You can’t argue your way out of it because the argument itself becomes evidence against you.

Loyalty to the church gets reframed as loyalty to God, and from there, nothing is off limits. Your relationships, your money, your body, your time, your future. There are expectations about how you dress, who you date, how you spend, how you think. You start performing a version of yourself that fits the system while hiding anything that doesn’t.

Over time, people lose their sense of self. Some break under the pressure. Anxiety, depression, burnout. And then they’re told the problem is their faith, not the structure they’re living inside.

Dissent is not just discouraged. It’s managed and punished. Leadership is “anointed,” which is a convenient way of saying unaccountable. Discipline can be public, humiliating, and strategic. The goal is not restoration. It’s control through fear. And if you step too far outside the lines, you’re removed. Excommunication. Shunning. Social death, justified as spiritual necessity.

These environments also need an enemy to stay coherent. Other churches are dismissed, criticized, or outright condemned. There’s a quiet pride in being part of the group that “gets it” while everyone else is deceived. It feels meaningful. It feels special. That’s part of the hook.

And don’t assume this only applies to fringe cults. Some of the most damaging environments look healthy on the surface. They’re polished, welcoming, progressive, family-oriented. They know how to present. But presentation is not the same as integrity. You can have good branding and still be running a psychologically destructive system.

Here’s the line I use, and I mean it: spiritual abuse is any religious belief, practice, or relationship that produces fear, shame, guilt, or self-alienation, and then calls that transformation. If your spirituality cuts you off from your own mind, from other people, or from your ability to think and choose, it’s not truth. It’s control.

If religion had to meet basic truth-in-advertising standards, some churches would be legally required to post a sign at the door: Warning. This Church may be hazardous to your psychological and spiritual health.

Jim Palmer, Notes from (Over) the Edge
Read Notes -> https://tinyurl.com/yd8twuud

04/15/2026

You can't kill a Christian. You can only change their address.

04/14/2026

I spent years as a pastor in evangelical megachurchianity. I didn’t drift away casually. I walked out when I could no longer stand in front of people and pretend the system was doing what it claimed to do. It wasn’t changing lives. It was managing them.

I didn’t get into ministry to deceive people. I got into it because I wanted to help. But good intentions don’t redeem a broken framework. It took distance, and a lot of uncomfortable honesty, to see how much of what I taught was quietly doing damage.

Here are eighteen things the religious establishment would prefer you never look at too closely:

1. Toxic religion runs on fear. Hell is the marketing strategy. Divine disapproval is the leash. Fear keeps people compliant long after belief stops making sense.

2. Clergy don’t have special authority. Titles are theater. “Called,” “anointed,” “pastor” - none of it makes someone more in touch with anything real. Authority is performed, then reinforced by people who were trained not to question it.

3. What you call sacred is inherited, not discovered. Change the culture, and the sacred changes with it. Which means your deepest reverence may be nothing more than conditioning that went unexamined.

4. Sacred texts aren’t history. Treating them like it misses the point and distorts both history and the text. Literalism doesn’t protect truth, it flattens meaning into something easier to control

5. Prayer doesn’t control anything. You’re not negotiating with a cosmic authority. It’s often where action goes to die. It’s how avoidance learns to sound spiritual.

6. Your idea of God is a psychological mirror. It tells me about you, not about God. People rarely notice they are worshiping an amplified version of their own values.

7. No one is born religious. Religion is installed, layer by layer, until it feels like identity. By the time you question it, it no longer feels optional.

8. Theology isn’t an open search. It’s a defense brief. The conclusion is decided in advance. Doubt is only allowed if it leads back to the same answer.

9. More religion won’t save us. It just gives human impulses a divine justification. It doesn’t remove harm, it sanctifies it.

10. Most religious systems avoid the real work. They don’t integrate the human shadow. They manage appearances. What is denied internally gets projected outward as judgment and control.

11. Religious leaders don’t follow the Bible. They follow what they were taught the Bible means. Interpretation is inherited, then enforced as if it were revelation.

12. If your income depends on the institution, you will protect the institution. Don’t overthink it. Survival has a way of rewriting sincerity.

13. You don’t need permission to live a meaningful life. What you’ve been taught to distrust is exactly what you need. The system weakens your confidence in yourself, then sells you guidance.

14. Belonging is conditional. Agreement keeps you inside. Divergence shows you the exit. Most people don’t stay because they believe. They stay because they know the cost of leaving.

15. Doubt is a threat, not a tool. Real questioning gets redirected or shut down. Not because it’s wrong, but because it goes too far.

16. Transformation is often compliance. You’re not becoming more yourself, just more acceptable. The ideal self is pre-defined, and you’re measured against it.

17. Certainty is rewarded over honesty. Sounding sure matters more than seeing clearly. Confidence signals loyalty. Honesty introduces risk.

18. The system cannot question itself. It can rebrand, but it cannot self-interrogate without breaking. So it evolves just enough to survive, but never enough to change.

This isn’t an attack on belief. It’s an exposure of structure. The issue is not whether you believe, but what your belief requires of you. If it asks you to disconnect from your own perception, override your own judgment, or diminish your own capacity to see and choose, it is not forming you. It is constraining you.

A livable spirituality does not replace your agency. It refines it. It does not demand your surrender. It demands your participation.

You don’t need saving from yourself. You need to reclaim yourself.

Jim Palmer