Gallup says regular church attendance has cratered from 42% in 2000 to barely 30% today. The ARDA reports thousands of Protestant congregations closing their doors every single year—far more than are being planted. We’re hemorrhaging members faster than we can count them. Entire denominations are graying out before our eyes.

But here’s the question that gets me contemplative: What if this isn’t just decline? What if it’s migration?

With Thanksgiving and Christmas upon us, many of us who are committed to carrying daily face an important question:

“Where can I legally carry when I travel—and how do I do it safely, responsibly, and lawfully?”

That question matters not only for legal reasons, but for stewardship, leadership, and preparedness. And just like everything in the preparedness world, it’s not one-size-fits-all.

A stance is a platform — the foundation you build your shooting from. It won’t win a fight by itself, but a stable platform makes everything above it work better: grip, sight alignment, recoil control, and movement. IN this post we’ll look at the three popular stances and their pros and cons, along with my recommendation.

Micro-compacts are everywhere right now. They sell like wildfire. Small footprint, large capacity (thanks to clever mag design). They hide easily. They’re comfortable. They check a lot of boxes on paper.

Which is exactly why you’ll see a ton of them in holsters at the grocery store, in cars at the gas pump, and on casual carry days.

But here’s my two cents: I don’t think they should be your primary carry gun.

Let me explain why — honestly, practically, and from the range.

What Is the H.E.A.R. Method?

The H.E.A.R. method is an acronym that stands for:

H — Highlight

E — Explain

A — Apply

R — Respond

It’s simple. Intentional. And it works.

Let’s break it down:

So, whether you’re a young man just starting out, a father trying to lead your family, or a seasoned believer striving to stay sharp—read.

Start somewhere. Start anywhere.

Pick a book. Read a page. Then another.

3 o’clock? 4 o’clock? Small of the back? Appendix? IWB? OWB?

How should you carry — concealed, partially concealed, or open? Leather or Kydex? Snap retention or passive retention? Belly band or something that actually holds the gun where you want it?

Great questions. If you’re anything like me, you’ve got a holster graveyard in a drawer somewhere labeled “Oooo, that looks comfortable” and “I mean, it makes sense…” Then there’s the holster you actually grab every time you head out the door. But is it the right one?

Let’s talk straight.

It’s a Saturday night. The TV is on. Sports fill the screen, the living room hums with noise, and somewhere in the next room your kids are glued to their own screens. Hours pass. The game ends. Everyone goes to bed. What was built? What was gained?

What you need is driven by two things—your actual, practical needs, and your budget. Start with one reliable handgun, train with it, carry it, and know it well. From there, build a purpose-driven toolkit: a shotgun for home defense, a .22 for training, a bolt-action rifle for hunting, and an AR-15 for versatility. Don’t chase fantasies. Start with what matters. Start now.

For decades, pistols came one way: with iron sights. If you bought a Glock, Smith & Wesson, Sig, or anything else, you learned on irons. But in the past 10–15 years, the industry has shifted hard. Today, most pistols come optics-ready right from the factory, and more and more shooters are hopping on the carry optics train.

So the question remains: are irons still relevant?

Dry fire builds the habits. Live fire tests them. Both are essential, but live fire is where you find out if your training stands.

Don’t waste range time throwing rounds. Go with purpose. Verify your work. Build consistency until your mechanics become second nature.

The XR920 is Shadow Systems’ take on a Glock 45-style gun—a crossover between a full-size grip and a compact-length slide. It’s optics-ready, comes with a match-grade fluted barrel, aggressive slide serrations, an enhanced magwell, and their proprietary optics mounting system.

Think Glock 17 grip length with a Glock 19 slide profile, but refined everywhere Glock left “good enough.”

Train your spirit. Train your hands.

Before we even talk stance, before we talk sight picture, before we talk about the draw—let’s get one thing nailed down: how you hold the thing. Grip is the handshake you give your handgun. And like any good handshake, it should be confident, controlled, and say “I know what I’m doing” without you having to say a word.

If we’re going to talk about what it means to be kings in Christ—leaders in the fight—then we must also talk about what it means to be priests.

Because the truth is: you cannot rightly lead as a king if you do not bow as a priest.

Revelation 1:6 says:

“And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”

—Revelation 1:6

Not just kings. Priests.

Not just leaders in battle. Intercessors at the altar.

And this—this forgotten identity of priesthood—is a burning need in today’s church, in today’s homes, and in the hearts of Christian men.

We are good at charging forward. We’re good at acting. But have we remembered that the first and most sacred role of the priest was not to fight, but to stand between God and the people in intercession and sacrifice?

Christ isn’t just calling us to be equipped. He’s calling us to lead.

To step forward in the war against our own flesh. To take initiative in the battle for our homes. To rise with courage against evil in high places. To war in prayer and lead in purity. To shepherd those around us—not from behind—but from ahead.

Too many Christian men today live like castled kings—protected, passive, peering out at the chaos from safety.

But Scripture doesn’t picture us as stationary monarchs sipping wine in golden halls. It pictures us as battle-scarred sons of the Most High, riding under the banner of the Lion of Judah, conquering not with steel but with truth, not with pride but with power from on high.