Why did God create Man? […] While worshipping and loving and having fellowship may be the result of His creating us, we might consider that God created human beings so that they would have freedom – the freedom to live; and in their living, the freedom to choose, the liberty to express themselves, and the liberty to act.
These words, said by Shawn McCraney in an essay available on The Great News Network (TGNN), illustrate a transgressive religious philosophy rooted in a personal connection to God, freedom, and love. At the helm of TGNN, Shawn, accompanied by his daughter Delaney McCraney and other forward-thinking individuals, promotes a mindset of openness, one that prioritizes faith in its purest form over institutional boxes. The organization harnesses technology to share research-backed, subjectively taught knowledge with the world, hoping to free others from the shackles of man-made restrictions and expectations.
For Shawn, this dedication is personal, stemming from an internal dichotomy he grappled with in his formative and young adult years. Born into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) community, God has always been central to his life. Complementing (and contradicting) this relationship is his Southern California punk scene background – a movement Shawn considers integral to his ethos of unbridled self-expression.
A member of a conservative organization with a strong affinity to the liberating spirit of punk, Shawn is familiar with existential questions and inner conflicts, now leveraging that experience to enrich the lives of TGNN’s listeners. The pivotal point that led Shawn to subjective biblical education was a crushing yet empowering feeling that he, unlike others, was not shown love. “I’ve always been a different human being, even as a kid. I remember hearing others claim love, but I never really experienced it unconditionally,” he shares. “That’s when I saw the disparity between people who knew and ‘loved God’ but struggled to give me even a part of that grace.”
Feeling like Shawn had to perform to be loved, the young man started searching for answers, realizing that the rules and requirements of institutions argued with his core beliefs. Opposed to conforming, he cemented his observations from the Scripture outside of a strictly religious context, quickly finding like-minded people who agreed with his individual-based approach. Witnessing Shawn transform the mindsets of people within the community, Delaney organized Shawn’s work into TGNN. Now, the organization offers educational podcasts, shows, and insightful articles spread across seven channels, all aimed at helping people become their truest selves.
Before founding TGNN, following a roadside experience, Shawn left Mormonism in 1997 to become an Evangelical Christian. During that time, supported by Cavalry Chapel founder Chuck Smith, Shawn dedicated years of his life to research, embarking on a mission to prove through reasonable, exegetical, and contextual analyses of Scripture that people’s connection to God isn’t defined by institutional regulations. From there, he was offered a live TV show about Mormons and Christians, where, for seven years every week, he would address audiences’ issues and questions.
This experience made him realize that many religious attitudes aren’t supported by a reasonable understanding of the Bible, and Shawn attributed these trends to the many inconsistencies present in the discourse. Though the reasons for inconsistencies vary, Shawn believes it is because the Bible is considered a ‘history of what happened.’ “It recounts events gathered by people who believed in what happened, written for people who believe,” he adds. “The issue is, most people don’t see it as history but as a book, and the overarching message is: destruction is coming. Once you get the eschatology right, you realize that we don’t have to fear the end of the world.”
With everything that Shawn and TGNN preach stemming from a biblical perspective, the mission is not to stray people away from religion but to disrupt the institutional status quo. For him, being and knowing yourself is essential to regaining spiritual freedom. “That ‘be you’ permission is very liberating, and I wish I had realized it sooner. Sometimes, it’s really difficult to know who we are; sometimes, it’s also scary,” he adds. “But not knowing increases the risk of being influenced by certain gurus and organizations – people and institutions who promise the sense of belonging we all long for but never deliver.”
Driven by love and empowerment, Shawn isn’t afraid to express his true beliefs to the world, hoping his uncensored, raw personality will help others encounter God. “I’m not formally educated and have cheated my way through every kind of institution. I have struggles, just like all of us do. But I found God and felt the power of pure faith,” Shawn reflects. “Our mission is all about liberating people, nothing less and nothing more.”
In a world where the search for a living god is hindered by institutional boundaries and an outflux of information, a philosophy of faith rooted in nothing but a personal connection to Him directly offers those opposed to organized groups a way to embrace divinity and find the missing piece of themselves.
“As cliché as it sounds, I believe that the solution to most human problems can be found in love; but not any kind of love,” he shares. “What we are all searching for is agape love – its most selfless, sacrificial, insufferable form. It’s the kind that says ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘I forgive you.’ It’s merciful and patient, embracing long suffering as a fruitful part of existence. When this love is an integral part of society, magical things happen. At the end of the day, we all are going to believe what we want to believe. At TGNN, we believe in love, and that it’s the most powerful tool to driving change in the world.”
