In preparation for this month, I endeavor to take a break from the depressing world news. It will still be there while I take a breather and look to the lighter and brighter side of things. I like to watch and listen to classic videos of the late Reverend Billy Graham; that voice, his echo chamber delivery, the tall handsome silhouette behind the microphone and the welldelivered word and wit so distinctly Billy Graham. From time to time, I share the videos with friends. Unfortunately, most are in black and white, and they are a bit spotty due to 1950-70’s technology, but the message and BG delivery more than compensate to be treasured and shared. Funny things were bound to happen over six-plus decades of worldwide ministry. Here are a few humorous accounts from the life of Billy Graham, as retold by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association at BGEA.org Directionally Challenged? Billy Graham once told about the time in a small town when he asked a boy how to get to the post office. After getting directions, Mr. Graham invited him to come to his Crusade that evening. “You can hear me telling everyone how to get to heaven,” he told the boy. The boy’s response: “I don’t think I’ll be there. You don’t even know your way to the post office.” Riding the Elevator “I was coming down on an elevator with some friends of mine and a man got on about the fifth floor and said, ‘I hear Billy Graham is on this elevator,’ and one of my friends pointed in my direction and said, ‘Yes, there he is.’ “The man looked me up and down for about 30 seconds and he said, ‘My, what an anticlimax.’” A Comment from the Crowd Billy liked to tell the story of a pastor who said in a sermon, “Apart from Christ, there was never a perfect man.” Someone in the congregation interrupted him, saying, “Oh yes, there was. My wife’s first husband!” Watermelons “I heard about a man some time ago who had a watermelon patch, and some young rascals in the community were stealing him blind. “So he said, ‘All right, I’ll get ’em.’ So he put up a sign in his watermelon patch that said, ‘One of these melons is poison.’ He went to bed and got up the next morning, and sure enough they hadn’t stolen a watermelon. Everything was the same, except the sign had been changed. It now read, ‘Two of these watermelons is poison.'” A Great Impact Some years ago I was on a plane, and sitting across from me was the mayor of Charlotte, John Belk. There was a man sitting near us who was obviously intoxicated. He was acting boisterous and rude, bothering people around him, harassing the flight attendants and even trying to pinch women who made their way down the aisle. Trying to distract him and perhaps calm him down, John Belk tapped him on the shoulder, pointed in my direction, and said, “Do you know who’s sitting right there?” “Who?” the man answered. “That’s Billy Graham.” The man jumped from his seat, came over to me with his hand extended, and said enthusiastically, “Put ‘er there, Reverend. Your preaching has done me so much good!” Hit Me Again “I heard about a man who was supposed to preach for 20 minutes, and he spoke for 30 and 40 and 50. An hour and 20 minutes later he was still speaking. The man who introduced him couldn’t stand it any longer and he picked up a gavel and threw it at the speaker. It missed the speaker and hit a man in the front row, and as the man in the front row was going into subconsciousness, he said, ‘Hit me again, I can still hear him.’” This month we cover feature a serious subject: Kids that age out of Foster care. We as a society scantly provide some basic care for effected children who enter the portal of foster care mostly through the court system from abuse, neglect or abandonment, and when they turn 18, they are cut loose into society on their own, with little to no money, no safe place to live and ill prepared with no visible safety net. Please read this month’s feature about Big Children’s Foundation and the incredibly impactful work they are doing. The story starts on page 28. - Les PUBLISHER 6 FEBRUARY 2024 www.goodnewsfl.org Good News • South Florida Edition South Florida Edition • Good News • February 2024 • Volume 25, Issue 11 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 in more 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 2024. 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 [email protected] Advertising & Marketing: Robert “Buddy” Helland Jr. V.P. Sr. Marketing Manager [email protected] Art Director: Milton McPherson [email protected] Associate Art Director: Joseph Sammaritano [email protected] Social Media Manager: Ariel Feldman [email protected] Editorial Assistant: Eric Solomon [email protected] Cover Photography: Justus Martin [email protected] Leslie J. Feldman PERSPECTIVE . . . . . . . . . . .8 Dirty Truth – by Stephan N. Tchividjian IN THE WORD . . . . . . . . .10 Chaos, Conflict and the Hope of the Gospel – by Franklin Graham CHURCH UNITED . . . . . .12 Healthy Leaders, Thriving Churches, Flourishing Cities – by Edwin Copeland PARENTING . . . . . . . . . . .14 Keeping Your Parenting Balance by – Dr. Bob Barnes and Torrey Roberts MARRIAGE . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Rings Are Significant – by Lisa May FOSTER CARE . . . . . . . . . .18 Ignite Hope in the Lives of Others – by Kevin Enders HEART AND SOUL . . . . .20 Building Dreams: PBA's Transformative Journey into the Future – by Dr. Debra Schwinn THE CODE . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 The Pattern of Prayers – by Dr. O.S. Hawkins GOOD NEWS WANTS TO KNOW . . . . . . . . .24 - 26 If you won a trip to Washington, D.C. to visit the Museum of the Bible, who would you take and why? COVER STORY . . . . .28 – 29 BiG Children’s Foundation to Open Education Center for Teens in Foster Care – by Shelly Pond YOU ASK WHY? . . . . . . . 30 Insights from Forrest Gump – by Dr. Tommy Boland FAITH AND VOCATION 32 The Lord’s Providential Care for Us – by Dr. Gary Cohen LEGAL Q&A . . . . . . . . . . . .34 Yes, Copyright Laws Do Apply to Churches (and Other Non-Profits) – by William “Bill” C. Davell and Stephanie Mazzola INSIGHT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 How to Spot Potential – by Rob Hoskins ENCOURAGEMENT . . . .38 Are You Carrying a Concealed Weapon? – by Omar Aleman YOU ASK WHY? . . . . . . . 40 Insights from Forrest Gump – by Dr. Tommy Boland WE GET LETTERS . . . . . . 42 NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 CALENDAR . . . . . . . .50 - 51 CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . .52 - 55 Take It Easy On The Cover BiG Childrens Foundation Board Members stand before the artist’s rendering of their Education Center for At-Risk Youth Opening in the fall 2024. Pictured from left to right: Carolina Wiebe, Owner/Architect, Create-Dwell Architecture LLC; David P. Lhota, Intellectual Property Attorney, Lhota & Associates, P.A.; Laetitia Marro, Owner/Project Manager, Marro’s Roofing; Jackie Maestri, VP, Global Services and Enterprise Transformations, Johnson and Johnson; Joyce Lello Feldman, President/CEO, BiG Children’s Foundation; Odalys Ismail, Senior Director Compensation, Ryder System, Inc.; Janice Haywood, Assistant Chief Counsel, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Pamela J. Rossi, Owner/CEO, PJ Rossi Jewelers; and Danny Perez, Owner, ArtCraft Cabinet & Design Corp; Not pictured: John Marley, Owner/President, A1 Pavers and Concrete USA; Gordon Thompson, Director of Development, Iron Bodyfit. The photo was shot at BrandStar Studio’s start-of-the-art facility in Pompano Beach. Special thanks to Co-Founders Doug Campbell and Mark Alfieri, and especially to Debora Diaz, Studio Director of Operations, for her expert assistance, as well as their talented team. Photo Credit: Justus Martin www.justusmartinphoto.com The Rev. Billy Graham CONTENTS Good News • February • Volume 25 Issue 11
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