God

Storms Inside Me

Isaiah Hazim
1 May 2018
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  This winter break, I, along with 450 other student ambassadors, embarked on a ten-day expedition to Israel. It was an experience I will never forget, and even more importantly, it taught me just how important Israel is to God. In total, eleven buses were filled with college students from all over the U.S., who had applied through their schools to become student ambassadors with a program called Passages to Israel. Along with thirty new friends, who quickly became family, I was on bus #9, one of eight students brought by faculty member Dr. Andrea Hazim, representing the Elev8Life educational […]

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In Plain Sight

Stephan Tchividjian
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Aging Sight I recently decided to explore having my aging eyes corrected so that I would no longer need to wear reading glasses.  I was not only inconvenienced by the readers but more importantly was getting some mild headaches and feeling tired from having to constantly adjust from readers to no readers etc.…my brain was overworking…. and who wants to overwork your brain? I will spare you the details, but the bottom line is that I was not a candidate for the common technique known as LASIK (laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis), where a laser reshapes the inner cornea of your […]

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sight

God Is Uniting The Church for The Sake of Mission

Edwin Copeland
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the church

    As a result of research, prayer and the movement of the Holy Spirit, we believe that we are at a pivotal moment in the life of the Church in South Florida. By all accounts, the next 30 years will represent the largest missions opportunity in the history of not only America, but also our very own South Florida. We are witnessing the largest and fastest numerical shift in religious affiliation in the history of our communities. Pew, Barna and independent research all agree that even in the most optimistic scenarios, Christian affiliation in the U.S. will shrink dramatically […]

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Soul Care for Pastors

Brian Brookins
18 Apr 2018
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Pastors need care.  It is a simple statement, but many pastors live in practical denial of this truth. Pastors spend their lives pouring out care to others in many forms, and if they are not careful, they will give out care until they themselves give out.  Burnout, according to one recent study, is happening at an unprecedented rate, estimating that some 1500 pastors are dropping out of ministry every month.   I’ve been a pastor in this community for 30 years, and I can tell you that I’ve seen the isolation and difficulties facing pastors first hand. However, never before […]

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Wycliffe – A Call to Community

Bob Woods
12 Apr 2018
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God has designed us to thrive and do life better when we live and relate with one another in community. This does not always mean that he wants us to sell all that we have and live in communes, as some did in the early days of the Jesus Movement in the 1960’s and early 1970’s. It does mean recognizing that he created us to function as members of one another, as stated many times in the letters of Paul the Apostle to the early Christians. A few of the 59 “one anothers” in the New Testament are “Encourage one […]

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The Paradox Of Aloneness

John Hawkins, Sr
10 Apr 2018
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God said after the creation of Adam, “It is not good for man to be alone.” By divine design, we are created for relationships, with God and with others. One reason God’s law, the ten commandments, was given to us was to show us how to build a healthy relationship with God and others.   A normal desire Being in relationships is a normal desire. However, relationships do include risk, the risk of rejection, unmet expectations or betrayal to name a few. Aloneness can be a defense mechanism to the hurts of relationship. Once people have been wounded in a […]

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Scotland and Marjory Stoneman Douglas

Dr. Gary Hewins
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I recently invested a morning with middle school students in Dundee, Scotland. Having been welcomed into their new school, we discussed life, aspiration and faith. I told them that they could ask me any question and I would tell them the absolute truth. They wanted to know why we, in America, have school shootings. They wanted a discussion concerning the recent tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. They wanted real answers as to why we have guns in America. This reality does not compute in Scotland.   Wanting to give them an explanation, I discussed the reason why we […]

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Nick Vujicic Brings Hope and Healing

Lydia Hicks
3 Apr 2018
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“As a kid, I never thought that anything good could ever come from my broken pieces….you know, I went to school and kids would look at me and be like ‘what happened,’ and I go ‘cigarettes’ (audience laughs),” Nick Vujicic, evangelist, author, speaker, and president of Life Without Limbs, said with comic relief. At the March 11 Church by the Glades “Hope & Healing” special event for the Parkland community of first responders, teachers and students, Vujicic used his life experience and humor to help heal the pain still felt in the aftermath of the Valentine’s Day shooting at Marjory Stoneman […]

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Allowing Lent to Capture You

Anitra Parmele
6 Mar 2018
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“The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” ― Frederick Buechner Even as our social media feeds fill with exclamations of wonder that it is already March, Lent reminds us of a slower cadence. As the cycle of holidays slaps us like waves pounding the shore, Lent extends the chance at preparation. When our spirits cry out for a deeper communion with God in the midst of a frantic schedule, Lent offers scattered prompts throughout our days to draw us near to God. Lent 101 Marked by Ash Wednesday […]

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Ginger Martin Encourages Others to Climb Higher at Lifework Leadership

Shelly Pond
2 Mar 2018
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 Ginger Martin, chief executive officer of American National Bank, has a smile that can warm a room, and the energy to climb mountains. In fact, she has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, completed climbs in the Grand Tetons and Rocky Mountain National Park, summited seven peaks higher than 14,000 feet in Colorado and hiked the Salcantee Trail to Matchu Picchu with Freedom Challenge, an organization that combats human trafficking worldwide. “Climb higher! That’s my motto. I want to climb higher and I want to take other people with me. That’s why I am involved in Lifework Leadership as an alum, as a […]

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ginger martin