Practical Application

Youth and Next Generation Leaders Take Center Stage at Church United

Edwin Copeland
1 Jun 2018
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youth

As Church United, we believe a mission to own the lostness, pain and brokenness of our community must include a mission for youth. Without a strong focus on reaching the next generation, we will miss perhaps what could be the greatest domestic missions opportunity in our nation’s history. Research points to the reality that over one million youth at least nominally in the church today will choose to leave each year for the next three decades. Thirty-five million youth raised in families that call themselves Christians will say they are not by 2050. However, we believe the story is far […]

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Step Ahead

Elizabeth Mitchell
1 May 2018
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“You shall walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you…” (Deuteronomy 5:33). Babies do a lot of sleeping (When we desperately need some, they usually quit!). In the first few months of life, babies could almost be called couch potatoes, swaddled tight as a burrito, eating, sleeping and then sleeping some more. Children are altogether different, and their chubby legs are constantly on the move. Toddlers fall, get back up and fall again. They simply don’t mind. Children realize that in order to […]

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Storms Inside Me

Isaiah Hazim
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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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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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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

 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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Jesus: The Lamb of God Connects at Passover

Rich Freeman
1 Mar 2018
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The phrase, “Lamb of God,” has become a part of our Christian lingo. John the Baptist, as he sees Jesus walking toward him says, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). In the 53rd chapter of Isaiah, a passage sometimes called the Gospel in the Old Testament, describing the Messiah, the prophet writes, “Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so he did not open his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7). This was the passage that the Ethiopian eunuch was reading when Philip […]

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