Smiling Icon Ministries

Bringing images of God into focus in Christ one person, one church, one business at a time

Welcome to the Smiling Icon, a digital platform used to spread what I’ve called the “ConneXion” life of God—the interconnected life of God that is everyone’s in Jesus Christ. 

You see, we’re all icons (Greek, “eikon,” images) of God. Icons of God who live in the ultimate image of God, Jesus Christ. Living, sometimes even smiling icons uncovering where God is already making “Connexions” happen---and helping make new, life-improving Connexions wherever they go.

As more of us come into focus, we can make more of those “ConneXions” happen. The books, art, blogs, articles, people, ministries, and church movements showcased here can help us learn how.

We can make this world better, one person, church, and business at a time. Let’s make the world we live in today a place of healing “ConneXion” fueled by the ever-connecting love and Spirit of God available to all.

Featured Book

Featured Book

Jim’s fascinating journey through an Early Church Fathers expression of the faith, a modern American "cult," and back into (and out of) the world of culturally conditioned mainstream Christianity may be more than just a fascinating memoir of a very unique spiritual journey. He was a Christian in a cult. And without realizing it, you may be too…

Read about this provocative message in "The Christian in the Cult: And How I Discovered Humanity in Christ."

Blogs

  • Do You Know What Christ Said the Gospel Is?

    A breakthrough in understanding how Jesus preached the Gospel changed not only my preaching but also my approach to sharing the good news God wanted to share with the world.

  • The Hope of Jesus: Part 1

    14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

  • The Hope of Jesus: Part 2

    The Death of Jesus — and How All Were Included “In” Him. In Christ “we live and move and have our being,” the Apostle Paul told the ancient Athenians (Acts 17:28). And in Him “all things consist” (Colossians 1:17).

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ConneXion Spotlight

Smiling Icon “ConneXions Spotlight” is dedicated to giving special recognition to individuals, ministries, entrepreneurs, and corporations that actively identify and connect real needs, good deeds, and people from all walks of life in local communities and geographic regions.

It seeks to recognize and spiritually support corporations who create “ConneXions” within a community—who seek to identify the current or new needs the community has, connect resources that fill those needs, or create new community teams of individuals and willing organizations to meet those needs.

The first of these corporations is “The Tipp Center” in Tipp City, Ohio, whose origin came about as depicted in the story summarized from my book “The Christian in the Cult: And How I Discovered Humanity in Christ.” It’s the first of what we hope to be many Smiling Icon-style “ConneXion” centers that grace the national and international corporate world.

Invite Jim Valekis to Speak

Author, artist, pastor, and corporate chaplain has a broad range of lifelong speaking and teaching experiences in church and corporate settings.

He is passionate about helping churches transform from being barely surviving Christian “culture” centers to becoming thriving Kingdom expansion centers that live out of the reality of who they--- and all humanity---really are in Christ.

He also has a passion for helping Christians in the Marketplace to be “At Work on Purpose” as Chuck Proudfit would say (At Work on Purpose | Mobilizing the work world for Christ)---to help them become such “hot spots” of the Holy Spirit that their mere presence in the Marketplace have kingdom-expanding and community benefiting potential---both as individuals and companies.

His book “The Christian in the Cult---and How I Discovered Humanity in Christ” catalogs his lifelong spiritual journey from the “culture” of the Greek Orthodox Church to an American “cult” and back into the too culturally imprisoned lens of mainstream American “cultural” Christianity.

This journey has uniquely positioned him to awaken churches to challenge their current limitations and help them become what they were meant to be---culture-changing outposts of the kingdom that are not just Christian-flavored Christian “cost-centers” offering Christian-themed Sunday morning entertainment events to keep a crowd and generate always-flagging church income, but true Kingdom-expanding worship events because they’ve rediscovered from the pages of the

Scriptures what it means to be a Christian “in” Christ. 

To book Jim for an event, please fill out the contact form below.