We get Good News letters and we are grateful for that. Feedback means people care; readers could be angry and admonish or enlighten, but re- sponse is good because the alter- native is to be ignored in silence and that’s not so good, not when you publish a publication. We as a society are in per- ilous times as we are rapidly find- ing threats against our lifestyle of democracy – our inalienable rights afforded by the United States Constitution, including the “FreedomOf Speech” that our heroes who serve in the military have given their blood and life to defend. We are experiencing a cancel culture that stifles and sup- presses. Freedom toworship our God is ground zero of that sup- pression. It’s political andwe are not political, but we do recognize what is happening and we have to have courage to resist. Last month we featured Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on the cover. That was not a political decision; it was a decision to recognize a Governor who “Fought to Open Florida Churches & SynagoguesAndWon.” Florida was but one of only a few states that had houses of worship open during the prolonged pandemic. That’s it, pure and simple. That feature article was balanced in quoting area pastors and how they felt about that and a couple in fact worked with the Governor’s of- fice to make their churches vaccination centers to better reach their congregations and public with conveniently located, easy access sites. Monthly, our distribution now includes an aggressive at- tempt on Facebook to boost our readership with our online digital edition. We initiated this at the beginning of the Pandemic over a year ago, and for the first time Facebook REJECTED our paid “boost” because we captioned *(1) “ Governor Ron DeSantis declared churches essential entities...” We appealed and requested the allowed review option, but we quickly were noticed “Final rejection.” We submitted an- other post and removed the “Ron DeSantis...” *(2) but left the same cover image. We were immediately REJECTED again. Finally, wewere forced to remove “DeSantis and the church” reference all together and place our paid boost with a generic image *(3) that was immediately accepted and run on Facebook. Here are a few of the letters we received. “It was so sad to see you place a political candidate on the cover of your newspaper. You are a Christian pub- lication and by doing this you have alienated half of the body of Christ. More discernment is need by your edito- rial staff. I pray that you put out an apology to your read- ers for this error in judgement. Pastor Will Torres. Thanks Pastor Torres: We hear you and thank you for your comment. I tend to disagree and take issue; indeed Governor Ron DeSantis is political; however, the article was not political and fea- tured local pastors throughout South Florida and their thoughts and opinions about the Governor’s efforts to open churches and synagogues, and that was the thrust of the article. But as I said, we hear you and see how you may think that before reading the article. I’m very disappointed by the political stance of a Christian newspaper. As Christians we are called to platform Jesus, not political power players. In Christ, Pastor Danny Slavich, PhD Thanks Pastor Slavich: My acknowledged pedestrian approach calls me to fea- ture us all for what we do best to grow the kingdom. I honor your commitment and in turn step alongside others that have platform to fight for our shared values. I hope you would reconsider... We work better together when we agree on the end game although on occasion take divergent paths. In any event He knows where our heart is. Thanks again, Les. Les, I just want to congratulate you on The Good News. I enjoy and am blessed by every article. I know most of the contribu- tors and was glad to "meet" Omar Aleman and Dr. Warren Gage in the March issue. The article by Dr. Gage touched my heart. Thank you! Blessings to you! Joan Lafferty PUBLISHER 4 MAY 2021 www.goodnewsfl.org Good News • South Florida Edition South Florida Edition • Good News • May 2021 • Volume 23, Issue 2 - Leslie J. Feldman - Advertising: We reach over 110,000 readers each month. 80,000 in print and 30,000 via our online digital edition. Placing an ad in our publication is affordable and effective to help grow your business. Call us today! Distribution: Available inmore than 800 locations throughout South Florida. To become a free distribution point for the newspaper, please contact Shelly. The Good News is published by Good News Media Group, LLC, Reproduction in whole or part strictly forbidden without the consent of the publisher. Copyright 2021. All rights reserved. Good News Media Group, LLC. PO Box 670368, Coral Springs, FL 33067 954-564-5378 • www.goodnewsfl.org Publisher: Leslie J. Feldman
[email protected] Editor: Shelly Pond
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[email protected] On The Cover In honor of Mother’s Day, we wanted to shed some light on a few outstanding women who are making a difference as leaders and mentors in the Christian community. Standing from left to right: Jennifer Forman, Jennifer Pacienza, Beth Brookins, Lisa Tchividjian; Seated from left to right: Suzanne Sauder and Rosemary Barnes. Read the article on pages 32-34. A special thanks to Sheridan House Family Ministries for hosting our May Cover Photo Shoot at Sheridan House for Boys, a residential home for middle and high school aged boys struggling with problematic adolescent behavior. Photo Credit: Justus Martin www.justusmartinphoto.com PERSPECTIVE . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 It’s Hard to Listen While You Preach – by Stephan N. Tchividjian IN THEWORD . . . . . . . . . . . 8 We Stand on the Gospel – by Franklin Graham INSIGHT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Education Is Mission – by Rob Hoskins CHURCHUNITED . . . . . . 12 Pastoring Our City – by Edwin Copeland VILLAGE HYMNS . . . . . . . 14 God's Presence Quantized – by Josh Bramos PARENTING . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Can You Pick Your Child’s Friends? – by Dr. Bob Barnes & Torrey Roberts YOU ASKWHY? . . . . . . . . 18 Living Letters – by Tommy Boland THEREANDBACKAGAIN. .20 Seek the Welfare of the City – by Dr. Gene L. Green ENCOURAGEMENT . . . . . 22 The Notebook – by Omar Aleman GOOD NEWSWANTS TO KNOW . . . . . . . . . .24 - 26 What is something your mother did or said that had a lasting impact on you? HEART AND SOUL . . . . . . 28 Cancer Survivor Shares Message of Hope and Service – by Dr. Debra A. Schwinn LEGAL Q&A . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 ASK BILL How Do We Avoid Surprise Partners in Our Family Business? COVER STORY . . . . . . 32 – 34 Mother’s Day HERoes – by Shelly Pond LIVE THE LIFE . . . . . . . . . . 35 What Are Your Afraid Of? – by Lisa May CALENDAR . . . . . . . . 42 – 43 CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . . 44 – 47 We get letters... We hear you * ¨ * ≠ * ¬ C O N T E N T S Good News • May 2021 • Volume 23 Issue 2