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Misconceptions about the Protestant Reformation

Bob Woods
8 Oct 2016
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When we think of the Protestant Reformation, we normally think about Martin Luther, a German monk, and his act of nailing his Ninety-five Theses to the Wittenberg Door on October 31, 1517, as the catalyst that sparked the movement that eventually resulted in the Protestants breaking away from the established Roman Catholic Church and its doctrines and practices. But there are two misconceptions that many have about the historical Reformation, which is commemorated on Reformation Day on the last Sunday in October.   Martin Luther One misconception is that Martin Luther was the only or the primary reformer of that […]

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Burnout: Recognize the Signs Before the Flame is Gone

John Hawkins, Sr
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Recently I read an article about a senior pastor, Pete Wilson, of Cross Point Church, who resigned from the multi­site mega church he founded 14 years ago in Nashville, Tennessee. The reason he gave was that he was, “tired, broken and had been leading on empty.” What he was describing was what we refer to as burnout. Now you may be wondering how can a pastor be burned out? All he has to do is preach a sermon on Sunday morning. The reality is there are a lot of stressful jobs and pastoring is right at the top. Depression and […]

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Study Finds Strong Families Contribute to High School Graduation Rates

Shelly Pond
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“The number of families headed by married couples is a more powerful predictor of high school graduation and school suspension rates in Florida than are factors such as income, race and ethnicity,” according to “Strong Families, Successful Schools,” a new study released in September by the Institute for Family Studies. “Accordingly, policymakers, educators and civic leaders should work to strengthen families as well as schools,” concluded W. Bradford Wilcox, Ph.D., a senior fellow at the Institute for Family Studies who shared his findings at an event hosted by Live the Life last month. An organization dedicated to strengthening marriages and […]

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When Jesus Attended the Feast

Dr. Susan Michael
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For centuries Christian churches had little appreciation for the biblical Feast of Tabernacles. They understood Passover was the foundation for Jesus’ atoning death on the cross, and they understood Pentecost, or the Feast of Weeks, was a Jewish feast on which the Holy Spirit was poured out on the early church. But, there was no Christian fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles for them to celebrate. This is because the Feast of Tabernacles is a forward looking Feast with a yet future fulfillment. The founders of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) understood this and that the prophet Zechariah had […]

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“Priceless” is Worth the Cost!

Finley Walker
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The movie “Priceless,” presented by Roadside Attractions in association with the band for King & Country, stars band member Joel Smallbone (who actually gives a convincing American accent) and is directed by brother Ben Smallbone. “Priceless” is both the name and the theme of the movie… and I’m saying that it is worth the price — mostly referring to the cost of a movie ticket, but also I guess in regards to the time and resources that went into the production. From what I can tell, there are two main purposes of this film: to help raise awareness of the […]

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Q Commons to Discuss Ways to Engage a Divided Nation

Edwin Copeland
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We live in a nation that’s divided. We live in a region that’s divided. Our cities, our workplaces, even some of our own families are divided. In this moment, we are divided by culture, race, politics and just about every other difference you can image – or so it seems. We see protests and riots, hashtags and video clips, pundits and debates on television. We scroll through our newsfeed and become overwhelmed with dissenting opinions. In those moments it’s easy to get a sense that nothing could ever change for the better. The toxic combination of declining virtue alongside unfiltered […]

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Cosmic Carpe Diem

Dr. Tommy Boland
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carpe diem

Carpe diem is a Latin aphorism taken from the Roman poet Horace’s work Odes (23 BC), Book 1. It is usually translated as “Seize the day!” In other words, the past is irretrievably gone, the future is promised to no one, so all we have is the gift of today — of right now — which is why it is called “the present.” What is carpe diem? You may recall that the phrase carpe diem was popularized by a character portrayed by the late Robin Williams in the 1989 movie “Dead Poets Society.” The film was espousing an utterly humanistic worldview, […]

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Live a Steering Wheel Life Forever

Steve Davis
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Driving down the road never happens in a straight line; it requires using the steering wheel. It’s amazing how many hundreds and thousands of times we adjust the steering wheel to continue in the direction we want to go. A small adjustment is needed almost every second. That’s very much like living our daily life. So, count how many seconds there are in a 20-minute drive to work. Wow! That’s a lot of adjustments. Why is this like living our daily life? Well, there’s no such thing as a mistake-less, adjustment-free life. Think about it. Our to-do list is really […]

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God’s Wisdom in Christ: The Way of the Cross

Daniel Ebert
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Without wisdom human flourishing is impossible. Today culture is bewitched by scientific knowledge and technical skill. This is seen, for example, in education’s emphasis on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). While these are amazingly productive disciplines, our world is left hungry for wisdom. There are problems that the hard sciences cannot solve. We have ATM cards and online banking, but our society struggles with an unprecedented debt problem. Quantum leaps forward in our knowledge of disease and new medical technologies have increased life expectancy, but where is the wisdom for heart-rending end of life decisions? The Internet and globalization […]

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On the Edge of a Revolution

Anitra Parmele
22 Sep 2016
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  Peek into a classroom and you may see students learning their letters while in the next room they’re learning how to multiply. Welcome to Pompano Beach Elementary (PBE) where, whether they know it or not, these students are on the front lines of a revolution and the battlefield is their future. And they’ve got lots of support. Much of what you see on your tour can be traced back to the first meeting of what became the Neighborhood United Project where community leaders were challenged to become levers for student achievement. It was in the conference room at PBE […]

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