Merry Christmas!

  
Did you know that December 25th is not the actual birth date of Jesus Christ? Did you know that this was a date that was established by the Roman Catholic Church when they initiated a Mass during the same season that pagans were already engaged in various winter solstice celebrations? That's how the term Christ Mass was established. It was all part of an effort to covert people to Christianity. However they failed to steer the people away from the sun god rituals in spite of the new church-initiated Mass to celebrate the Son of God.

We share this with you because many skeptics use this well established historical fact to attack Christians who are ignorant of church history. They feel that this discrepancy, concerning the birth of Christ, gives them leverage to deny the Bible and the Son of God.  

We're just providing a little more understanding as to why there is so much confusion and controversy surrounding December 25th. 

Many Believers already know that the Bible never says that Christ was born in December. The point is that it doesn't matter that He wasn't born on December 25th. We believe this church-initiated celebration should no longer attempt to celebrate December 25th as Christ's date of birth. Now it should be used to celebrate the REALITY and PURPOSE for His birth.

Since millions of people have come into the Faith as Protestants, they have never been aware of the history behind December 25th. Most of that history is very negative and even involves an annual persecution of Jewish people on that day.

Over the years, the Christmas (Christ Mass) celebration has embraced many not-so Christian-like traditions and those traditions have become disconnected from historical facts and understanding. Of course the history is far more complicated than this, but we really don't have space to cover every detail in a simple newsletter. Hopefully, this will get you started in pursuing answers in your own personal study.

As a side note, many Biblical historians believe that Christ was actually born at a much more significant God-ordained time (perhaps in the Spring when sheep were giving birth). However, for most Jewish people, December 25th is directly connected with a negative history of persecution, and it is a 24-hour celebration declaring that there is another way to come to Jehovah God; so they want no part of it.

Over the past few weeks, we have been offering very important points for you to consider for making Godly responses to the pagan origins of December 25th. As Community and Spiritual life coaches, we have decided to provide practical answers and solutions for you and your family. 

Here are the four points we asked you to consider for responding to people who are caught in the midst of this controversy:

1.) Become all things to all men - 1 Corinthians 9:18-23 

2.) Don’t cause your brother to stumble - 1 Corinthians 8:4-13

3.) Use the opportunity (holiday) to bless your enemies - Matthew 5:43-45; and

4.) Continue in the early church lifestyle of giving to others/helping the poor 
- Acts 2: 40-47

This week we are offering the fifth response:

5.) Consider a foundational Christian celebration: Partaking of the Lord's Table in Remembrance of Christ (Luke 22:14-20).
  
Jesus instructed His followers to partake of the communion table in remembrance of Him. The holiday season is another perfect opportunity to place emphasis on Jesus Christ by gathering to do what HE instructed us to do. That's what we choose to do every year with our Fruitful Life Learning Community. 

Millions of Believers will gather in sanctuaries or in their homes to partake of Holy communion and truly reflect upon the reason Christ came into the world. 

These special gatherings remind us that the Son of God is not to be merely thought of as a baby lying in a manger, but as our Savior who was brutally beaten and nailed alive to a wooden cross. We should remember that He rose again from the dead to usher all of us into the Family and Kingdom of God.

As we stated last week, we are simply trying to communicate that in spite of the historical facts, controversies and conflicts surrounding December 25th, CHRIST must truly become YOUR reason for this season and all year round.  

The world will continue to celebrate the sun god (in all of its many names and forms) as part of their annual winter celebrations. WE must celebrate the Son of God and give a Godly RESPONSE to our non-believing family and friends, and to our Christian brothers and sisters who may not have this insight.

Enjoy the day and enjoy the season!



Chris and Carol Green have been called under-the-radar leaders in rebuilding, restoring and renewing hearts and homes. The Greens are certified professional life coaches who founded C and C Connections, LLC, a coaching and consulting business that specializes in equipping leaders in the principles of CARE (Compassionate Awareness with Respect and Empathy); and the Fruitful Life Learning Community, a unique merging of a life-development church with home groups, house churches, ministers and outreach ministries.

Community Life Coaches Launch Leadership Learning Community

Harrisburg, PA, USA - Community Life Coaches, Chris and Carol Green, hosted a leadership summit to officially launch Fruitful Life Learning Community as the educational, inspirational and spiritual hub of an alliance and network of home groups, outreach organizations, and community leaders.

In an evening highlighted by personal testimonials, professional endorsements and "flash-back" video clips that documented the special moments that led up to this historical opening, leaders from various sectors of the south central Pennsylvania region joined together to lend their support of the Green's vision of equipping leaders.

"We intentionally did not advertise this event," the Greens told their audience. "We're not trying to gather a big crowd. We don't need the unnecessary battles that come with notoriety, fame and curiosity seekers. We're trying to connect with like-minded people."

They likened their summits to the gathering of school district superintendents, stating how a meeting might consist of only a few individuals, but those individuals can represent hundreds and thousands of people including principals, teachers, students and parents.

"When we hold leadership summits and leadership training, a group of 25 or 30 leaders can easily represent hundreds and thousands of people that they will impact through the training that we are going to be providing for them."

Coach Carol Green reveals, "This unique Community will resource, equip and empower leaders and heads of households to facilitate healing within their own hearts and homes and then extend their extraordinary transformation to their neighborhood and community."

The Learning Community includes an innovative strategy of training and appointing Community Care, Ready-Responders and certifying Community Life Coaches, who are creative, compassionate, and capable of guiding hurting souls past their poverty and pain to their divine purpose.

"As a community-supporting faith family, Fruitful Life is patterned after the 1st-century Followers of Christ, who continued steadfast in the Apostle's teaching and fellowship, in Breaking of Bread, and in Prayers," explains Coach Chris Green; "They met in small groups within their homes and they also gathered as a community in a more sacred setting as well. They were especially known for taking care of the neighborhood's widows and orphans, while experiencing miracles, signs and wonders."
​
Before there was a religion called Christianity, there was a movement known as THE WAY.  Chris and Carol Green launched the Fruitful Life Learning Community to help people of faith and Christian leaders return to that simple mission and lifestyle that demonstrates God's love and healing to hearts and homes.

Learn more at http://www.fruitfullifelearning.org
​


Special Note - Additional Media

John and Kerry Shuey endorse the Fruitful Life Network with high recommendations for community leaders, organizations, churches and businesses to consider investing in their leaders and teams by utilizing the people-building training and certifications that are available through Chris and Carol Green.

Denise Britton endorses the Fruitful Life Network with high recommendations for community leaders, organizations, churches and businesses to consider investing in their leaders and teams by utilizing the people-building training and certifications that are available through Chris and Carol Green.

Fruitful Life board member, Traci Carter-Burker, endorses Chris and Carol Green with high recommendations for leaders, organizations, churches and businesses to consider the people-building training and certifications that are available through Fruitful Life Learning Community.

Dr. Joe Green endorses the Fruitful Life Network with high recommendations for community leaders, organizations, churches and businesses to consider family and spiritual life coaching that is available through Chris and Carol Green.

WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON? (Part 2)

When we arrived at the church this past Sunday morning, a dear brother in the Lord gave us a couple of articles to read. This was not unusual because he always gives us CDs with sermons to review or books to read to enhance our arsenal and yearning for learning more about the Lord. This offering was nothing unusual.

Later, on Sunday night, I finally picked up the article the brother had given us and was astounded at the accuracy in which God had directed the Sunday morning message.

The two articles were about the prophetic significance of the recent total eclipse that went across America.

It seems that throughout all of recorded human history, celestial phenomena like the total eclipse have always been viewed as signs from God. According to one very significant Bible scholar, “When there is a total solar eclipse, it is (viewed as) a warning or sign to a specific nation or nations, depending on the path of the eclipse.”

This scholar actually backed up his assertion with factual, scientific data, verified by NASA. In 763 B.C. there was a total eclipse known as the Bur-Sagle eclipse, in which the path of totality was right over Nineveh. YES, the same Nineveh that God commanded Jonah to go to and call the people to repentance. First, the eclipse took place and then Jonah arrived with the message of repentance, on the first day of the Hebrew calendar month of Elul (The month of Repentance).

Fast forward to another solar eclipse on August 21, 1914. Again it was the Hebrew month of Elul (The month of Repentance). The path of totality went right over Eastern Europe. This was just before the events that led to World War I. And we all know how Eastern Europe was devastated by two wars.

Fast forward to August 21, 2017, and we had a total solar eclipse with the path of totality crossing the United States. Again it happened during the month of Elul (The month of Repentance).

Carol and I had no idea that God had given us such a profoundly accurate message!

We would like to join in with others across the country and only rebuke the storms. We would love to join with others and only speak life and blessings. But God gave us a word that this is the time to call HIS people to repentance. He gave us a message of repentance in the final days of the month of Elul (The month of Repentance).

YES, we can rebuke the storms and decree life and blessings. But we must also release the obvious warning to those who have a price to pay for their injustice and sin against God and humanity. We must also call God’s people to repentance. We must do them all.

This past Sunday morning, we did not know that we were speaking forth from a historically-documented, scientifically-proven pattern of signs from God.

We don’t know what others will do with this information and message, but as the leaders of the Fruitful Life Network and the Fruitful Life Learning Community’s network and alliance of small groups and house churches, we are calling for personal repentance on our part and all our leaders and attendees.

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!

Christopher G. Green

WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON? (Part 1)

We’re battling through hurricanes, floods, raging fires, earthquakes, mudslides, droughts, and so on, and so on, and so on.

I’ve been watching Christians across the United States as they debate back on and forth about the reasons why all of this is happening, especially in America.

Everyone’s theological and end-times views are being spewed forth as the opinions range from “This is the end of the world” to “Jesus rebuked storms, so we need to stand up and speak life and not death in the same manner as Jesus.”

We do not seek to enter into the debate, but we will attempt to give you some perspective and a few things to consider in the midst of your own internal struggle to sort out the meaning of what’s happening to America and the world.

This past Sunday, 9/10/17, Carol and I were absolutely led by the Spirit of God to exhort a small rural congregation in south central Pennsylvania from 2 Chronicles 7. Many Christian Believers are familiar with this segment of the Bible especially because of verse 14.

“.....if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. “

All we knew was that we were instructed to declare that this is a time of repentance on the part of God’s people. We did not attempt to explain the three active hurricanes, the very recent earthquake in Mexico, or the raging fires in Oregon and California. We could not enter into the debate about God’s judgment and how it is carried out. All we knew was that God’s people are being called to repentance.

Carol and I delivered the message about Repentance; a message we later titled, IF MY PEOPLE. It was not a thought-out and pre-planned message. Lately the Lord has been leading us to read a passage of scripture and then allow Him to speak through us, spontaneously. I must admit that it’s very unsettling to go into a sermon without an outline and a plan.

The message went into things I would never say publicly. I don’t like being in the controversial side of the issues surrounding the debate on how Believers should respond to the outbreak of natural disasters. The debate is basically this: Should we be rebuking the storm and speaking life, or should we be preaching a message of judgment, or should we be preaching a message of repentance. The answer, during the unrehearsed message was YES!

In this season, it’s not about one message or the other. It’s about ALL of these messages converging on the United States, all at the same time. We need all three messages right now. However, we need to hear God’s voice and discern which message needs to be given, to whom it should be given, where it should be given, and when it should be given. We can give the wrong message, to the wrong person, at the wrong time. So what is the right message, to the right people, at the right time?

There are some people who need a message of life and blessing because of all they have gone through. There are others who need a message of judgment because the day has come for them to reap from the pain and trauma they have caused.  Still others, like the Church in America (Believers and Followers of Christ) who need the message of repentance for their indifference to social issues, the poor, the widows, the orphans and the disenfranchised.

After presenting this message of repentance on this past Sunday morning, God confirmed it with such a heavy anointing of His presence that no one could move at the end. The pastor got up and publicly repented for some unforgiveness that he had in his heart toward some people in the business community. God confirmed the word with signs and action.

Community Life Coaches Receive United Way 2017 Volunteer of the Year Nomination

Harrisburg, PA --- In an award ceremony held in Harrisburg and hosted by the Capital Region United Way on Thursday evening, April 20, 2017, Community Life Coaches, Chris and Carol Green, received one of United Way's 2017 Volunteer of the Year Nominations for their work and services in the Shalom House Women's Shelter.

“When I first met Chris and Carol and learned of the work that they do, I knew they could have a significant positive impact on the lives of the residents we serve at Shalom House, “says Executive Director of the shelter, Denise Britton.

“Without hesitation, they jumped in to begin engaging the residents and furthering the potential of turning an experience of homelessness and often hopelessness into hope and possibility. Further, they committed to helping us raise the bar of effectiveness for our staff, offering their coaching expertise (and encouragement) in regular staff training sessions. Our gratitude is unending.”

A little over one year ago, the Greens were merged into the Shelter's calendar to provide life coaching support for both the staff and residents of this special outreach situated in one of the City of Harrisburg’s high-crime neighborhoods.

"We're honored to be named among so many great people." said the nominees following the event. "We learned of many others who are donating hundreds of hours per year to worthy causes in the community. It's humbling to be mentioned among them."

Chris and Carol Green became part of the Shelter’s strategy to transition the residents out the shelter and back into everyday life. Their coaching tools proved to be vital in enhancing the resident’s life coping skills; enabling them to take confident steps toward rebuilding their families and recapturing their lives.

***

Chris and Carol Green are certified master life coaches, urban family advocates, marriage and family advisers, and community leadership consultants. This couple created and implemented a proven coaching model that empowers people to push past the temptations to give up, and instead, make intentional, thoughtful and positive responses in spite of the devastation and obstacles in life.

For their community service, they received a United Way 2017 Volunteer of the Year Nomination. They received Urban Leadership Awards (2016) and Community Ambassador Awards (2015) from iChange Nations™ and were appointed Goodwill Ambassadors of World Peace, as part of an interfaith peace-building initiative to the United Nations, by Golden Rule International.

World Peace Ambassador, Dr. Clyde Rivers, calls them leading skilled experts in rebuilding, restoring and renewing hearts and homes; and innovators and pioneers in the empowering and equipping of today's community care, ready responders.

Chris Green is a social media veteran and an award-winning  producer of a local cable TV broadcast (1999).  Together, they are international columnists/ writers with the Global Journalism Award-winning team of Dr. Clyde Rivers and iChange Nations Social Media News™.  They are the authors of 14 inspirational and life-building books, creators and principal writers of several blogs and eNewsletters.  They are also accomplished songwriters, having penned and produced over 150 songs since 1992.

They are both licensed and ordained ministers with honorary doctorate degrees in Christian Leadership (Chris) and in Humanities (Carol), conferred upon them in acknowledgment of 11+ years of building and implementing a new urban outreach model that combined Participatory Teaching methods with evidence-based principles of Life Coaching, to produce an effective, quantifiably successful, and family-impacting ministry in south central Pennsylvania.

They are currently based in south central Pennsylvania where they established a community outreach that focuses on hearts and households, along with several life coaching and community spiritual care initiatives through their non-profit organization, Fruitful Life Network, Inc.

COMMUNITY LIFE COACHES LAUNCH NEW HUMAN SERVICES/ COACHING MATRIX

Harrisburg, PA, USA - Today, Community Life Coaches, Chris and Carol Green, introduced their new Fruitful Life Coaching Matrix to human service providers, during a monthly staff training hosted by the Shalom House Women's Shelter in Harrisburg, PA. This new coaching matrix shows human service organizations how to adopt life coaching skill-sets within a case management paradigm.

The innovation came through a year-long series of monthly training sessions with the staff of a local women's shelter, and culminated in the presentation of a strategy the shelter could implement to ensure that every employee or volunteer is introduced to a Golden-Rule-based approach in their daily service to their clients and residents.

"We have been strategically introducing the staff to Golden Rule values and core beliefs," explains Coach Carol Green, "Then we took them through personality assessments and self-awareness exercises, which proved to be necessary to get the needed buy-in for changing the way one has been doing things.  It is a huge challenge to get people, who have been involved in human services for many years, to adopt a life coaching approach within a traditional case management system."

The Greens have learned that organizations and agencies across the United States are recognizing the need to change and improve their training in helping their workers make a better connection with their clients. However, many case workers are still struggling with their own personal demons and inner barriers, which come rushing to the surface when they reach moments of frustrations with difficult clients.

"The Fruitful Life Coaching Matrix provides a practical way for a human service organization to ensure that their staff is empowered and equipped beyond the regular job-skills matrix," adds Coach Chris Green. "The typical job-skill matrix is a checkbox that indicates how well the staffer can do her job. The Fruitful Life Coaching Matrix is all about ensuring that you have a healthy healer, who is more than just an employee who can handle her case management load."

The Greens are certified master life coaches, urban family advocates, marriage and family advisers, and community leadership consultants. In addition to the Life Coaching Matrix, this couple has created and implemented a proven coaching model that empowers people to push past the temptations to give up, and instead, make intentional, thoughtful and positive responses in spite of the devastation and obstacles in life.

For their community service, they received United Way's 2017 Volunteer of the Year Nominations. They also received Urban Leadership Awards (2016) and Community Ambassador Awards (2015) from iChange Nations™ and were appointed Goodwill Ambassadors of World Peace, as part of an interfaith peace-building initiative to the United Nations, by Golden Rule International.

Chris Green is a social media expert and an award-winning producer of a local cable TV broadcast (1999).  Together, they are international columnists/ writers with the Global Journalism Award-winning team of Dr. Clyde Rivers and iChange Nations Social Media News™.  They are the authors of 14 inspirational and life-building books, creators and principal writers of several blogs and eNewsletters.  They are also accomplished songwriters, having penned and produced over 150 songs since 1992.

They are both licensed and ordained ministers with honorary doctorate degrees in Christian Leadership (Chris) and in Humanities (Carol), conferred upon them in acknowledgment of 11+ years of building and implementing a new urban outreach model that combined Participatory Teaching methods with evidence-based principles of Life Coaching, to produce an effective, quantifiably successful, and family-impacting ministry in south central Pennsylvania. Additional certification, training and education has come from the American Association of Christian Counselors and the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

They are currently based in south central Pennsylvania where they established a community outreach that focuses on hearts and households, along with several life coaching and community spiritual care initiatives through their non-profit organization, Fruitful Life Network, Inc.

World Peace Ambassador, Dr. Clyde Rivers, calls them leading skilled experts in rebuilding, restoring and renewing hearts and homes; and innovators and pioneers in the empowering and equipping of today's community care, ready responders.

Urban Community Life Coach Responds to Smear Tactics, Warns Other Community Leaders

We Forgive You 

How does one respond to a year-long series of attacks and harassment that include having the tree in your front lawn poisoned and three of your automobile's tires punctured? Then how do you respond when you discover that someone has opened a subscription to Playboy Magazine in your name?

Community Life Coaches, Drs. Chris and Carol Green chose to go public on social media to say, "We forgive you."

For over 12 years, this couple has served in the Harrisburg community as local pastors for 10 years and community life coaches the past two years.

"The attacks were just an annoyance at first," explains Chris Green, "In fact we thought it was just pranks, but each time, things began to get worse and more personal."

The Greens are certified master life coaches, urban family advocates, marriage and family advisers, community leadership consultants, the principal instructors of the Recapture Your Life online courses, the principal instructors of the Urban Potential Innovative Life Coaching Certification program, the founders of the Fruitful Life Network, and the creators of the Urban Life Family Connections resource website.

"I was very surprised to receive something in the mail from Playboy Magazine," Green stated "I don't have and have never had a subscription to Playboy or any other magazine like it.  I almost threw the envelope away as simply being random marketing, but the mailing was addressed to my nickname and not my full name. You don't usually get marketing mail to your nickname. So I became very suspicious right away. Plus, it had a POSTAGE STAMP on it instead of the presorted bulk mail postage, like you see on mass mailings. So I knew that THIS WAS PERSONAL!"

Green disclosed how he discovered that the letter was written as a subscription renewal and even indicated that he had already been assigned an identification number with Playboy.

"So I knew that this was a set up to destroy our reputation in this community," he declared.

So their first step was to GO LIVE on social media before the perpetrator could "LEAK" the false subscription to local news media.

Green reveals, "I'm very much aware of this tactic of creating false narratives, using false documents, releasing it to the media, and leaving the victim in a position of defending themselves, and losing their message and mission in a sewer of scandal."

Their other concern was that the attackers might attempt to use this strategy against other community leaders and pastors. 

'They should watch their mail!" Green advises, "Watch for odd or strange mailings. They should also watch their email inbox and be aware that there is online malware and viruses that can download pornographic images onto one's hard drive, similar to what happened to a gentleman in the U.K. This poor guy lost everything when he was accused of possessing child pornography on his laptop. It took 8 years for him to prove that it was all due to a virus on his computer.

"Another cyber attack to be aware of is called Swatting. This is where a hacker picks out an address, and then tricks the police to send a S.W.A.T. team to that location. We just want our colleagues, families, friends, and supporters to be aware of what we're up against in the 21st century."

The Greens decided to utilize social media and address their families, friends and supporters BEFORE their attackers could unleash their smear campaign.

"And we chose to take the road less traveled in our social media release," said Chris Green. "We chose to forgive them. We pray that our attackers find healing for the injuries that were inflicted upon them; that would lead them to attack us in this way. We pray that they find peace."

The Greens have built a solid reputation over 27 years of community service. This couple created and implemented a proven coaching model that empowers people to push past the temptations to give up, and instead, make intentional, thoughtful and positive responses in spite of the devastation and obstacles in their lives. 

"We volunteered our services as local pastors," Chris Green explains, "We never took a salary and the only time we received any personal compensation was if we were speakers in an outside venue, or if someone gave us something personally as a gift. The past two years, we volunteered our Life Coaching services in the PA Career Link's Job Club, offering free monthly workshops to help the unemployed. Then we started volunteering our Life Coaching services to the residents and staff of a local women's shelter."

World Peace Ambassador, Dr. Clyde Rivers calls Chris and Carol Green leading skilled experts in rebuilding, restoring and renewing hearts and homes; as well as innovators and pioneers in the empowering and equipping of today's community care, ready responders.

Chris Green is a social media veteran and an award-winning  producer of a local cable TV broadcast (1999).  He is the producer/ technical director of 70 social media video channels (1100+ online videos) and three audio podcast channels; creator of 15 social media brands; and the designer and host of several business and organization websites.

He and his wife, Carol Green, are international columnists/ writers with the Global Journalism Award-winning team of Dr. Clyde Rivers and iChange Nations Social Media News™. They are the authors of 14 inspirational and life-building books, creators and principal writers of four blogs and numerous eNewsletters. They are also accomplished songwriters, having penned and produced over 150 songs since 1992.

They were commissioned as 'Community Ambassadors' and Urban Leadership Ambassadors by iChange Nations™ and appointed Goodwill Ambassadors of World Peace, as part of an interfaith peace-building initiative to the United Nations, by Golden Rule International.

They are both licensed and ordained ministers with conferred honorary doctorate degrees in Christian Leadership (Chris) and in Humanities (Carol) for nearly three decades of urban community service and innovations. Additional certification, training , education, connections, and endorsements have come from Metro Associates, Inc, the Urban Pastors & Leaders Alliance, American Association of Christian Counselors, and the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

They are currently based in south central Pennsylvania where they established a family-focused, small-groups outreach, along with several life coaching and community care initiatives through their Fruitful Life Network.

Please keep us in your prayers!

Watch the FULL Version of the Original Video Post on Facebook at

https://www.facebook.com/chrisandcarolgreen/videos/1922644171305363/?pnref=story