In Pompano Beach, a rare look at Kurt Cobain and Nirvana

In the fall of 1989, future grunge gods Nirvana embarked on a string of 37 European concerts that would make them or break them — or both. The unknown Seattle band, having released their debut studio album, “Bleach,” on Sub Pop Records earlier that year, were led by an emotionally precarious singer-guitarist, Kurt Cobain, on a tour that would culminate at London’s LameFest UK, where the influential British music press lay in wait. ... Read More

In age of mass incarceration, criminalizing abortion is big step backwards | Opinion

“Legal precedent,” the prosecutors wrote, “as established by the highest court in the land, has held for nearly 50 years that women have a right to make decisions about their own medical care, including, but not limited to, seeking an abortion. Enforcement of laws that criminalize healthcare decisions would shatter that precedent, impose untenable choices on victims and healthcare providers, and erode the trust in the integrity of our justice system.” ... Read More

Fleeing North in the Full Armor of God

When our church offered therapy to traumatized migrants, we witnessed the healing power of Scripture. Traffickers had trapped Mayra, a Honduran woman, and her three children in a southern Mexican house alongside a crowd of other migrants. The traffickers had stolen her money and her phone. Her wide-eyed six-year old son was slurring his speech. Her two-year-old daughter was throwing tantrums and retreating into a shell. Her slender preteen daughter was being groomed for sex, and... Read More

The Bonhoeffer That History Overlooked

In 1946, a man named Ernst Lohmeyer disappeared from East Germany. It took me three decades to piece together his story. I had never heard of Ernst Lohmeyer until I was in my late 20s. I came across his name in the same way I came across many names at the time—as another scholar whom I needed to consult in doctoral research. In the mid-1970s, I was writing my dissertation on the Gospel of Mark in the McAlister Library at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. A premier... Read More

How Should We Think About Declining Denominational Numbers?

There’s more that matters than just the numbers. Are denominations dying? Are local churches increasingly ineffective? Is the church losing? Recently, the Southern Baptist Convention released their Annual Church Profile (APC), reporting on key metrics for the SBC, including church attendance, number of baptisms, number of churches, and giving. Overall, the numbers weren’t good. Membership is down to its lowest point since 1987, baptisms are down to 1940s levels, attendance dipped by... Read More

Bravo Ristorante near Port Everglades closes after 28 years

Two restaurants have opened next to Bravo in the last year, a sushi-Thai restaurant and a new vegan fast-casual restaurant. Dickson rattled off all the options in the strip malls along the causeway: BurgerFi, Five Guys, Duffy’s Sports Bar. “People say, ‘Those aren’t Italian restaurants — they’re a different style,’ ” Dickson says. “Let me tell you, anybody that opens their door and serves food is a competitor.” ... Read More

8 Simple (but not easy) Rules for Movement: Part 6 – Send Co-Vocational Teams

When so-called “secular” work is seen as part of the mission, it can aid the church reproducing the process. Now that we have a leader in place and a team of complementary gifts established, we are now ready to institute a process for sending them into the harvest. I propose that the sixth step required to establish a culture of multiplication in the local church is to prepare and send co-vocational teams. What is Co-Vocationalism? A few years ago, I was trying to create a new,... Read More