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Relaxed beach resort off Khao Lak's main road
Dedicated areas for couples and families
Beachside massage pavilion
Facilities The Sands Khao Lak By Kata Thani Resorts
Khao Lak holidays
The Sands Khao Lak by Kata Thani Resorts
All hotels in Khao Lak
Bangsak Village
Devasom Khao Lak Beach Resort & Villas
Kalima Resort & Spa Khao Lak
Khao Lak Paradise Resort
The Sarojin
9 pools (6 with private access from rooms), children's pool, Jacuzzi, fitness suite, tennis courts, games room, playground, spa*, Wi-Fi, lazy river, water slides, water play zone
The Floating Market overlooks a natural lagoon and is inspired by the iconic floating markets. As the hotel's main restaurant, you can find a huge range of international cuisine here. Set on the beach, Talay Restaurant serving delicious fresh fish every day. In the Aqua Wing, the Manta Ray Bistro is great for all-day casual dining close to the pool featuring kids' favourites. If you're looking for a more intimate experience, a romantic dinner on the beach is easily arranged. There are four bars – Coconut, Mango, Pineapple and Jellyfish – dotted around the grounds, so you're never far from a refreshing drink or two.
The Spa's five private treatment rooms are set in the natural stone and wooden surroundings with serene views of the adjacent lagoon for a relaxing and rejuvenating holistic experience.
What's nearby? You can walk to Khao Lak in about 10 minutes, and shop for everything from sarongs to street food at close-by Bang Niang Market. From Khao Lak you can also book lots of familyfriendly excursions, either heading out on the water – like sailing and snorkelling – or further inland, into the wildlife-filled Khao Lak-Lam Ru National Park.
Tried and tested The kids' club here is brilliant, and it's free. There's a ball pit and trampoline, a cozy book corner, arts and crafts stations and a big outdoor playground. The list of activities is really varied, too – we love the Thai dancing and basic Thai language sessions. Look out for the movie nights on Thursdays and Saturdays.
The sleeping arrangements Depending on which area of the resort you want to stay in, there are a variety of room options. Sands Rooms are a good option for families as they're available as interconnecting rooms to create more space. They overlook the lagoon or gardens. If you want to be in the heart of the Aqua Wing, on the other hand, we recommend the Family Rooms. These sleep four and have a living room that becomes a children's sleeping area thanks to pull-out beds and a partition. You've also got the option of booking a Family Room with direct pool access. For older children, we love the Two Bedroom Teen Suites. They have two separate bedrooms, two bathrooms and sleep up to two adults plus three children in bunks and a sofa bed.
Khao Lak Paradise Resort 4
This tranquil resort sits at the edge of Khao Lak-Lam Ru National Park, hemmed by the warm sands of Khao Lak and the Andaman Sea. Named for its two peaks, the expansive park includes several marine national park areas and is filled with outstanding natural beauty that's just waiting to be explored. This intimate laid-back resort has an expansive beachfront and plenty of space to unwind. After exploring the depths of the jungle, cool off in the big pool. Lazy days can be spent sipping cocktails here or out on the warm white sand, dipping in and out of the sea. Head to The Paradise Spa and choose from a range of treatments that include full body massages, aromatherapy and plenty of beauty packages. Bury your feet in the sand as you pull up a chair at the Leelavadee restaurant and indulge in Thai and international cuisine. The boutique nature of this resort means there's an intimate sense of seclusion. Whether you choose a quaint Deluxe Room or upgrade to a more spacious Villa, you'll feel at peace among beautiful traditional Thai décor and palm grass roofs that blend in with the natural environment.
The Sarojin 5
The attention to detail is evident from the moment you're welcomed in the tranquil lobby at The Sarojin. Set amid a lily pond and immaculate gardens, serenity is exuded throughout this retreat. It's particularly beautiful at night when hundreds of lights twinkle the way to your room. Dining here is an unforgettable experience. Ingredients are fresh, chefs are passionate and tables are set in extraordinary locations. Breakfast is à la carte, served until 6pm with sparkling wine at the Ficus Restaurant beneath the canopy of an ancient ficus tree. Breezy and chic, The Edge restaurant borders the beach. It has stunning sea views and an organic menu featuring signature Thai delicacies from the Andaman Sea, local markets and the hotel garden. For a more intimate experience, private dining options include secluded spots on the beach, shipwrecked-style on your own private sand isle and, spectacularly, beside a nearby waterfall. There's also a striking infinity pool, an award-winning spa and lush tropical gardens that open out to a seven-mile-long sandy beach. Each room is named after a long-standing staff member. Set in the lush gardens, they are peaceful and contemporary, with beautiful bathrooms that have a clever indoor/outdoor feel without actually exposing you to the outside. Ground-floor Garden Residences have a terrace and outdoor Thai sala, while Pool Residences have a private pool. The new Jacuzzi Pool Suites are equally spacious and come with luxurious additions like a four-poster king-size bed and a terrace complete with Jacuzzi big enough for four.
Bangsak Village 4
Simple yet beautiful, a stay in Bangsak Village is all about unadulterated tranquillity. It's on the edge of a long white sand beach that's so quiet it may as well be private. Although not classed as adults only, the resort only welcomes guests over 12 years old, making it the ideal spot for a relaxing holiday for couples and older families. Stretching towards the soft sands of the beach, the pool is the perfect place to soak up the sun. If you're keen to explore, head out on a hike and discover a pristine landscape of fragrant palms and lush green vegetation. On your return, head to The Kala Spa for a restorative massage outdoors as you bask in the pretty sea views. Diverse and rustic-chic in style, the Rim Lae Bangsak Restaurant serves up a variety of traditional southern Thai cuisine, fresh seafood and a range of international dishes. The wooden terrace leads right up to the beach to make the most of your beautiful surroundings. You'll also find a coffee shop here for those in need of a caffeine fix throughout the day. Embodying the relaxed feel of the rest of the resort, the rooms here are filled with natural light. Coco Chalets sit beneath a canopy of coconut trees, while the Casuarina Deluxe Cottages are among rich tropical groves. Spacious and luxurious, the two-storey Alocasia Superior Rooms nestle you among the scenic views of the surrounding hills. The newer Ravenala Rooms are set around their own pool, with modern interiors and direct pool access from the lower rooms.
Devasom Khao Lak Beach Resort & Villas 5
This beachfront resort is about pure escapism. It's sister to the award-winning boutique hotel, Devasom Hua Hin, and is influenced by the same nostalgic themes but with a difference. This hotel takes inspiration from the unsung opulence of 6th- and 7th-Century South-East Asia and the resort's location nestled between a near-empty beach and a natural lagoon adds plenty of exclusivity. On Khuk Khak Beach, the longest stretch of sand in Khao Lak and with the fewest hotels, this resort is a promising hideaway. Local restaurants and markets are a 10-minute drive down the main road which connects Khao Lak's small centres, although it'll be hard to tear yourself away from the sumptuous surroundings of this hotel. There are unending sea views – the main infinity pool looks out over the beach and each room is partially or fully sea-facing. Dining will feel like an extravagant affair with high vaulted ceilings, there's also a wine cellar to complement the Thai and western menus, and outdoor seating to embrace the glorious beachfront location. As well as grilled seafood and wood-fired pizzas, the Devasom Beach Grill and Bar plays host sunset cocktail parties. Sunlight bathes the shades of camel and gold in each room and there's an impressive seven-foot bed fit for royalty in every room. Amenities are luxurious – a Bose sound system, quality Devasom toiletries and a minibar replenished daily with soft drinks and snacks (and selected alcoholic beverages for Villa guests). Seaside Grand Deluxe rooms are calming and elegant with ancient prints. Upgrade to a Seaside Junior Suite with Jacuzzi for views of the lagoon and sea and a private Jacuzzi, or to a Seaside Pool Paradise Suite for a plunge pool and a separate living room. Beach Pool Villas are super luxurious with selected premium alcoholic beverages included in your minibar and direct access to the beach.
Kalima Resort & Spa Khao Lak 5
This edgy resort breaks away from the typical hotel blueprint with cool, geometric shapes and textures. It has an instantly recognisable design that stands out against any other hotel you might find in the area – like an ultra-modern twist on rustic forest cabins. The town centres and their night markets might be a short drive away, but the hotel itself is a refreshing sanctuary of comfort. It's a quick amble for desert island-style relaxation on one of the two untouched, quiet beaches close by. The hotel is set to be popular with snorkellers and divers thanks to the speedy transfer time to Tap Lamu Pier for the Similan Islands and their amazing underwater sites (open November to May). The Beach Bar & Restaurant, while not strictly on a beach, is a great vantage spot for views of the surrounding trees from its accompanying hilltop infinity pool. The two restaurants, Maluka - International and Maluka - Thai, are both open-sided for al fresco meals whether you're going for western pizzas or testing your tastebuds on a Thai curry. The rooms and villas have wood grain interiors and unexpected angles that tie modern and rustic design together. Grand Deluxe Pool/Lake View rooms are one of our favourite picks for the spa tub on your balcony, or for direct pool access instead of a spa tub, go for a ground-floor Deluxe Pool/Access Garden View room. Private Pool Villas are the best choice for extra privacy – they come with one, two or three bedrooms and have their own garden setting.


Cavalli was the son of Andrea Cavalli, born in Viadana in Mantuan territory sometime before 1454, as he was elevated to a governing body, the consiglio degli ottanta, in 1479. He worked as a goldsmith, sculptor, medal maker, and die cutter and was employed by the Gonzaga between 1481 and 1505, especially in 1497, in the mint of Mantua making patterns for testoons. In 1498 he was in the employ of Bishop Lodovico Gonzaga at Gazzuolo, and in 1501 he moved to Mantua for employment at the mint. Cavalli was summoned to Hall in the Tyrol, arriving in March 1506, where he made the dies for a testoon with the heads of the Emperor Maximilian and his consort, Bianca Maria Sforza; the reverse of the coin was the Virgin Mary. The drawing in pen and watercolor exists for a coin ascribed to Cavalli whose obverse type is the Christ Child blessing, but is more likely a design by Giovanni Ambrogio Preda (c. 1455-after 1508). The last records that we have of Cavalli are his being paid off by the emperor in 1506 and sent to Mantua, and a passing reference to him in Viadana in 1508.
Cavalli is documented as a sculptor by commissions from Bishop Lodovico Gonzaga in 1499 for a bronze statue of the Spinario and for silver roundels of the signs of the zodiac, but these works have not survived. Battista Spagnoli, a celebrated Carmelite poet who is commemorated in a medal by Mea (NGA 1957.14.680.a,b), wrote an epigram on Cavalli which refers to a gold portrait of Francesco Gonzaga, probably a medal. Cavalli was a witness for Mantegna's will of March 1, 1504. However, the bronze portrait bust of Mantegna on his tomb in Mantua, formerly regarded as a work by Cavalli, is now accepted as a self-portrait bust.
 Roberto von Schneider, "Di un medaglista Anonimo mantovano dell'anno 1506," Rivista Italiana di Numismatica 3 (1890): 101-118, 101 (text figure), pl. 2, no. 1.
 Luke Syson, "The circulation of drawings for medals in fifteenth century Italy," Mark Jones, ed., Designs on Posterity: Drawings for Medals, London, 1994: 13, fig. 5, 25 n. 26.
 George Francis Hill, A Corpus of the Italian Medals of the Renaissance before Cellini, London, 1930: 61.
 Anthony Radcliffe in Medaglisti nell'età di Mantegna e il Trionfo di Cesare, Exh. cat. Casa del Mantegna, Mantua, 1992: 90, no. 1.


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The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center
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The women's high jump at the 2012 European Athletics Championships was held at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium on 27 and 28 June.

Medalists

Records

Schedule

Results

Qualification
Qualification: Qualification Performance 1.92 (Q) or at least 12 best performers advance to the final

Final

References

Qualification Results
Final Results

High jump
High jump at the European Athletics Championships
2012 in women's athletics

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A new innovative study shows that cats really aren't really very good predators of rats, and employing this strategy often backfires.
While adorable, these small felines aren't really good at controlling rat populations — and they might end up killing other animals instead.
While cats may be the undisputed kings and queens of the internet, they weren't always this popular — and in many parts of the world, they still aren't. Historically, the reason why cats and humans go so well together was a very practical one: cats keep mice (and other related species away). But in the case of rats, things might not be as clear.
Despite what you may read in some media, it's not because the rats can fight the cats off — as anyone who's witnessed a meeting between a cat and a rat can attest, rats are woefully unprepared for the fight, while cats are supreme killing machines. They say that a desperate rat is capable of anything, and that may be true — but even when the two are comparable in size, if the cat wants to kill the rat, it can almost always do so.
The reason doesn't have anything to do with fighting at all — but rather, with avoidance.
He and his colleagues took advantage of a favorable situation — when feral cats invaded a New York City waste recycling center, which also hosted a hefty population of rats. They monitored the behavior and movement of microchipped rats in the presence of cats, and they also set up motion-capture video cameras to quantify the effect of the cats on the rats.
It's the first time this has been studied in such a natural setting.
Overall, researchers analyzed 306 videos taken over 79 days, and results were quite surprising: although a few cats were always active around the rat colony, just 20 stalking events, three kill attempts and two successful kills were recorded in this time. The two kills were when cats found rats in hiding and took them by surprise. The unsuccessful attempt was when during a chase, a cat lost interest in the rat.
Even more interesting was that the mere presence of the cats dramatically shifted the behavior of the rats. Rats spent much less time in the open, and much more time hiding.
Ultimately, researchers say, it's not that cats can't kill rats, and even that they won't — they absolutely can, and sometimes, will — but the conditions need to be right, and the right conditions don't seem to happen that often. Furthermore, as Parsons underlined, using cats to keep rat populations under control seems like a flawed strategy which can easily backfire.
The reason is that while cats may not enjoy killing rats that much, they sure do enjoy killing all sorts of other wildlife, and the risks severely outweigh the advantages.


It's already been a super busy year for us, which means we've not been able to blog as many sessions as we'd like. So whilst I have a spare 5 minutes this evening, I can't resist sharing this teaser from Gemma and James Engagement shoot in Chelmsford with you all.
Things got off to a slightly bumpy start however when we found ourselves sat in stand still traffic on the A127 following an accident. At one point I was genuinely worried about whether we'd even make it to the shoot as the road seemed to be being closed off, with us about to be stuck on it!! Thankfully, the extra travel time we had allowed for the journey gave us the wiggle room we needed to find an alternative route (thanks google!) and soon we were moving again. We arrive with time to spare, crisis averted. Phew!
We met G&J at one of our favourite spots for an engagement shoot. It's such a popular location with our couples and every time we go back we remember why. It's colourful and quirky and generally just a really lovely place to shoot. You can wander to your hearts content and never see another soul sometimes.
Together and alongside their gorgeous boy, we explored. Luck was definitely on our side tonight as in addition to dodging the traffic, we also managed to catch the last of the late afternoon sun before a blanket of cloud swallowed it up. Sadly, no pretty sunset tonight but that didn't matter at all in the end. Working with these two was a dream. So chilled out, so up for anything and so much fun. We really cannot wait for their wedding in a few weeks time, which we will be shooting alongside Steve Hood Films.
A shout out also goes to Gemma's sister who was on hand throughout to assist with doggie duties. This meant that we were able to capture shots like these! Thanks Gina!
If you'd like, you can also keep up with us and our work over on social media.


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07 Sep Where Next on UK-China Relations?
Posted at 10:33h in Events, Past Event, Upcoming Event	by	BFPG Admin
The UK's Evolving Priorities, Geopolitical Developments, and China's New Strategic Framework
Much has changed since the BFPG published 'After the Golden Age', our 2020 report on resetting UK-China relations – in Britain's domestic landscape, in geopolitical terms, and in China itself.
Taking stock of these developments and what they reveal about the future in their substantial forthcoming report, authors Sophia Gaston and Rana Mitter cut through the noise and shine light on the most pressing areas demanding our attention. They argue that China's strategic framework is evolving in real time, and it is imperative that Britain understands how and where best to advance our interests and values.
The report authors hosted a special in-person briefing session timed with the publication of the new report, which set out the key findings and recommendations of the report, and their predictions for the next phase of UK-China relations.
Rana Mitter is Professor of the History and Politics of Modern China, and a Fellow of St Cross College at the University of Oxford. He is the author of several books, including China's War with Japan: The Struggle for Survival, 1937-1945 (Penguin, 2013). His latest book is China's Good War: How World War II is Shaping a New Nationalism (Harvard, 2020). Rana won the 2020 Medlicott Medal for Service to History, awarded by the Historical Association. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.
Sophia Gaston is the Director of the British Foreign Policy Group. She is a social and political researcher specialising in public opinion, whose research particularly explores threats to governance in advanced liberal democracies. Sophia has previously worked in a number of roles with touch-points with China, including in government in Australia on economic, international and diaspora engagement. Sophia is a Research Fellow in the Institute for Global Affairs at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and an Academic Fellow at the European Policy Centre in Brussels.


The Choose to Be Blessed Journal is 100 pages of blank paper. This 5.5 x 8.5 paperback journal notebook is the perfect daily journal to write your memories and ideas down. The blank notebook can be used to jot down daily notes. This Journal & Notebook is excellent to write in for your memories or notes.


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Ecclesiology 020
Matthew 28:18-20 • Dr. Andy Woods • April 15, 2018 • Ecclesiology
Ecclesiology 20
4-15-18 Lesson 20
Father, we are grateful for another opportunity to worship You, learn of You, fellowship with Your people. We, Father, are very privileged that you give us an opportunity in this life to make eternal investments and one of those investments we can make is investing in Your Word and we recognize that all the energy we pour into it doesn't dissipate because "the grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our Lord abides forever." So we thank You for that and I just pray, Father, that the Holy Spirit would be with us, illuminating Your truth today to Your people as we look into Your Word. I pray people would come today and they would be blessed, edified, challenged, changed and Father, if it's Your will maybe today is the day of salvation for people, some people. And I pray that not only for this immediate local church but for people that might be listening or viewing online. So I pray that You'll use our time together to strengthen them because we know that "man does not live by bready alone but by "every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." And we'll be careful to give you all the praise and the glory. We ask these things in Jesus' name, and God's people said… Amen.
Good morning everybody; if we could take our Bibles and open them to Matthew 28:18-20. If you need a handout just put your hand up and Ron will help you with that. We're continuing on studying the doctrine of ecclesiology which is the doctrine of the church and we've covered a lot of different subjects… Amen! But we're at a part of it, Roman numeral VII which I think is one of the most important to understand, which is the purposes of the church, not so much what man thinks a church ought to be but what does God say about the church? What is God's design for the church.
We've studied here that the church basically has three functions; the first two we've covered and we're going to look at the third one today. The first is to glorify God and I've showed you basically that that's God's purpose in history, to glorify Himself. Everything God does in creation or redemption revolves around His glory and this is why the Apostle Paul says, "To Him be the glory in the church." [Ephesians 3:21, "to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen."]
And the second great purpose of the church is to edify its members or to edify the saints and the last couple of Sundays we've spent a lot of time going through a very important paragraph, Ephesians 4:11-16, which describes the fact that God has given certain spiritual gifts to the church, one of which is the office of pastor-teacher or the gift of pastor-teacher to equip the saints. And you have a great description of that equipping process in that paragraph. Of course the tool that the pastor-teacher uses to equip the saints is the Word of God, the consistent preaching and teaching and application of God's Word in its entirety, not a piece here or a piece there, as we've talked about. And that paragraph goes on and it tells us what the consistent teaching and application of God's Word does in the life of God's people—it brings them to maturity out of spiritual infancy. That becomes one of the dominant purposes of the church.
So we're moving on here to Roman numeral III, what is the third purpose of the church and I want to explain it briefly and then I want to show you how these concepts that we're coming up with here, purposes of the local church, are being almost jettisoned by people, willy-nilly.
But before we get to that, the third purpose of the church is to fulfill the great commission. A lot of people listen to teaching like this, about the equipping of the saints and they say well, what about missions, what about evangelism, what about the unbelievers, and what we discover about the local church is God has not designed the local church to be what I would call a "holy huddle," where people sit, soak and sour and just let the unsaved world go into hell. I mean, that's a misunderstanding completely.
By the way, if you want an example of somebody in the Bible that lost their missionary focus and became very internally focused— I'm thinking of a particular prophet in the Bible, anyone know which one I'm thinking of? Jonah. The word "Jonah" actually means silly, and the whole Book of Jonah is really designed to be coming relief of how ridiculous we look when we just focus on ourselves and forget the purpose of why we're in the world.
So the tragedy is a church, even like ours that's very focused on Bible teaching, can lose sight of the unsaved world all around us. The purpose of the church is to equip the saints in such a way that they become effective within the four walls of the church but also outside the four walls of the church. And one of the things that I believe very strongly in is healthy sheep, when they're nourished properly in their local church have a tendency to reproduce. So when you're consistently fed God's Word you'll discover that you have the fortification to contribute to ministries, conversations in the work place, conversations in your family, you have the ability to speak the truth in love and you have the ability to reach and touch people that leadership in a church doesn't even know and doesn't have access to.
So Jesus, in Matthew 28:18-20 as the kingdom was offered to first century Israel and was postponed because it was rejected, Jesus starts to begin to describe a coming church. [Matthew 28:18-20, "And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. [19] Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." He says "I will build My church, the gates of Hades will not prevail against it,"]
He says [Matthew 16:18] "I will build My church, the gates of Hades will not prevail against it," And He begins to say something very different than what He said in Matthew 10:5-7 and other passages like Matthew 15:24 where the offer of the kingdom was only to Israel. [Matthew 10:5-7, "These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them: "Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans; [6] but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. [7] And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.']
He begins to describe a new man that would come into existence in Acts 2 and He starts to give hints of what coming new man, including the missionary focus of the church. So one of the things He said at the very end of Matthew's Gospel is this: "And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. [19] Go therefore and make disciples of" the nation of Israel… it doesn't say that does it? "Go therefore and make disciples of" who? "all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." [Matthew 28:18-20]
Now that's a command that completely contradicts (at first glance) what He said in Matthew 10:5-7 where He sent out the twelve to offer the kingdom to Israel and he said do not go the way of the Samaritans, do not go the way of the Gentiles, go only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. [Matthew 10:5-7, "These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them: "Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans; [6] but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. [7] And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'"
And now at the end of Matthew's Gospel He's giving something completely different; He's talking about going into "all the nations." And you say well how do you reconcile the contradiction? It's easy if you understand the offer of the kingdom framework; the kingdom was offered to Israel and rejected thus God raised up a new man called the church and He began to give the church a missional or missionary calling. And in fact, when you go through all the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, what you'll find there are different versions of this universal command to go into all the nations. Sometimes we call these commands the great commission. So Mark's Gospel puts it this way, Mark 16:15, he said, "Go into" where? "all the world and preach the gospel to all creation." So obviously there's a missional evangelistic calling for the church.
Over in Luke's Gospel, Luke 24:46-48 it says, "and He said to them, 'Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, [47] and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to" who? "to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. [48] You are witnesses of these things." And these are very important words, Luke and the sequel Acts; does anybody know who Luke and Acts were written to? What specific man? A man named Theophilus, and everything we know about Theophilus indicated that he was not Jewish, he was Gentile.
You can sort of peace that together from how early Luke, particularly Luke 1:1-4 describes Theophilus. Luke calls Theophilus "most excellent Theophilus" which most believe is a title of authority amongst the Gentiles. [Luke 1:1-4, "Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, [2] just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, [3] it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus; [4] so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught."]
And so Theophilus is reading Luke, the prequel, in Acts the sequel and he's understanding that the gospel is not just Jewish, it's not just for the Jews, it's not even for people like himself. And so you can see how Theophilus reading a command like this in the original letter or gospel, written by Luke to Theophilus recording the life of Christ would be very meaningful to him and very significant.
And then Luke is the prequel, Acts is the sequel, and so you find early Acts continuing on with this command to the new church. Acts 1:8 Jesus says, "but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses" it doesn't just say in Jerusalem, it says "both in Jerusalem," so you start with Jerusalem, that's the immediate neighborhood, and then you move into "all Judea and Samaria, [and even to the remotest part of the earth.]" Jerusalem would be like a city, Judea and Samaria would be the outside neighboring counties to put it into modern day vernacular. And by the way, when he says "Samaria" that no doubt blew their minds for the simple reason that for 700 years the Jews hated the Samaritans and the Samaritans hated the Jews, that's why in Luke's Gospel the shock of the whole story is the story of the Good Samaritan; the Good Samaritan is the guy that comes out smelling like a rose in that whole story. And that's intentionally inserted, I believe, to reveal to Theophilus, a Gentile, that the gospel is for him as well.
We could go on and on about this Jewish/Samaritan conflict. I mean, Jesus ministered to the woman at the well in Samaria, John 4, and the disciples are saying what are You talking to her for? Number 1, she's a woman, and this culture didn't treat women very well, and number 2, she's the wrong race, she's a Samaritan. And in fact, there's one scene in Luke's Gospel where Jesus goes into a Samaritan village and James and John, the sons of thunder say… they didn't like the response and they said Lord, shall we call down fire from heaven and nuke these people? It doesn't say "nuke," that's my own translation of it. But you have to understand that the Jews hated the Samaritans and the Samaritans hated the Jews and Jesus says you start in Jerusalem but you go into Judea and even Samaria.
Samaria, as you know, is within the land of Israel but then he goes on and he says you go out of even the land of Israel to where? The "remotest part of the earth." And so the Book of Acts records how the gospel finally made its way all the way to Rome, Acts 28 records Paul in house arrest evangelizing, taking the gospel all the way to Rome. And that's where the Book of Acts stops and I think it stops there because there's an understanding that once it goes into Rome it's going to go everywhere because in the ancient world all roads lead to Rome. So Theophilus would read this and say wow, I've been contemplated in the plan and program of God from the very beginning.
So you can see in all of these passages that the church has a missional emphasis and a missional calling. You even find sort of a version of the great commission in John's Gospel at the very end of the book, in chapter 20, it says this. "So Jesus said to them again, 'Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.'" [John 20:21] So just as Jesus was sent in the world the disciples were being sent out into the world. And who was Jesus ultimately sent to? For God so loved Israel that He gave His only begotten Son. It doesn't say that! "For God so loved" who? "the world" which would include Theophilus, it would include the Samaritans, it would include Rome, and it's supposed to go even into the ends of the earth. And so just as Jesus had a worldwide calling He gave that same worldwide calling to the disciples also, in John 20:20-21.
So when you put all of these Scriptures together you start to see coming into focus the three great purposes of the church. Number 1, the church exists to glorify God. Number 2, the church exists to edify the saints through spiritual gifts. And number 3, the church exists, not to just sit soak and sour, but to fulfill the great commission."
And what you discover as you travel around and go to most churches is most churches will do one of the three or usually at best the two of the three. It's sort of difficult to find a church that's doing all three. I think in the prior generation what was happening is the church was glorifying God and edifying the saints but there are some Bible churches I've been to where it's almost like to understand what's going on you have to learn some kind of secret code that the pastor expresses himself in. He's got his own sort of verbiage and he uses a bunch of words that are over people's heads.
And what happens in those kind of environments, and I'm not against big words as long as they're explained properly, but what happens in a lot of those environments is unbelievers are basically given a signal, you know you're not welcome here. The church is for the believers but here, for example at Sugar Land Bible Church we recognize that unbelievers come all the time; some people come to church just because it's cultural. And so we don't want to talk in such a way that the unbeliever is excluded; we want them to understand what is being said and we want to include the gospel. But you run into a lot of places where that is sort of clipped off and the whole focus is ourselves. And you start to lose sight of the fact that God has given us all of these wonderful things, the riches of His Word, spiritual gifts, ultimately to be built up to be a blessing to the world.
So I think sometimes in the prior generation, in my humble opinion, what they were doing is they were glorifying God and edifying the saints and the great commission was kind of clipped in their thinking.
Now today in our generation what I think is happening is if churches are doing number three and perhaps number one what is getting left in the dust is edification of the saints because you have what is called the advent of the speaker friendly movement where the whole name of the game is to make unbelievers feel as comfortable as they can possibly feel in church. And you've got to get all these unbelievers in and that becomes the focus and the fact of the matter is if that's your focus that really isn't church, that's an evangelistic rally; that's an evangelistic meeting but it isn't church because you have to neglect certain subjects to make unbelievers feel comfortable. And the more you neglect certain subjects who is not being edified in the process. Who is not being given their full food groups? The saints. You see?
So I've been in churches where their marquee is our church is a soul-winning station. That's almost a direct quote, we are a soul-winning station. And I appreciate what they're trying to say but that isn't the church either. The church is not a soul-winning station; the church exists to equip God's people so they can win souls outside the four walls of the church. Now am I against evangelistic rallies? NO! Just don't call it church. I would call it an evangelistic outreach but that isn't church.
So the great struggle in the life of the church is to try to do, not just one of these, not just two of these, but all three. And what I've discovered is it's difficult to find places that are aware of all three and are interested in doing all three. So it's always a tough balance. And the devil… I think it was C. S. Lewis who said this, is always pushing us to one extreme or the other. The devil loves it when we go off into extremes. So you get so focused on edification that you forget the great commission or you get so focused on the great commission that you forget edification, and we have to be all three. This is what God has called the church to do.
So having laid out, from my professor, Robert Lightner, who got these from God's Word, the three basic purposes of the church, I want to shift slightly here, do a slight pivot, and I want to talk briefly about how these things are being challenged today because what a lot of people are talking about is the church exists to bring social justice to the earth. So there are a lot of buzzwords today about social justice and these kinds of things and what is happening, in my humble opinion, and I'll show you the quotes that demonstrate this from different writers, but what is happening is the pastor's role is being subtlety changed. The pastors, in a lot of places are just really no longer seen as an equipper of God's people through the Word of God but he is seen more as a community organizer or something to that extent. I've seen this language: someone that's re-weaving the community. So when you don't tightly define why a church exists you get sucked into what I would call three misdirected church purposes. And so I'd like to share those with you briefly.
You have all of the quotes, you may not have this little outline; I developed that last night about 11:00 so it might not show up on your sheet but you're going to have all of these quotes. But the three misdirected purposes are, and these are the big buzzwords: number one, holistic redemption. There's a lot of talk today about holistic redemption. The second thing you get sucked into is something called social gospel which really isn't new, it's just kind of given a new package for the current generation. And then the third misdirected purpose you get into very quick if you don't tightly define why the church exists is you get directed into an idea that the church is somehow bringing in the kingdom. Churches call themselves kingdom builders and that sort of thing.
So let me walk through each of these three words so you understand what they mean because almost everybody is using this language today and I believe it's a manifestation of not first sitting down and thinking about why does the local church exist. So what is met here by "holistic redemption." What does that even mean? What that means is the name of the game is no longer so much on individual salvation but collective salvation. So instead of individual salvation, the saving of souls and building them up in Christ so they can be effective witnesses, now the whole point is collective salvation of nations, and ultimately collective salvation of the entire world.
So in this type or rubric the great commission is substituted for a lot of talk about changing these structures of society. And you'll hear a lot of talk in these circles about structural bias, structural racism. And what are they talking about? They're talking about the institutions, for example, let's say the United States of America, you know, I love being an American; we all acknowledge though that we live in a fallen world, America is not a perfect country and so the name of the game is sort of to fix America. Now how do you fix America? It depends on your own politics. If you're coming from the right and try to fix America or are you coming from the left and try to fix America and holistic redemption becomes sort of this ambiguous buzzword that people use to dump their own philosophies into it, trying to change pastors into what I would call community organizers.
Probably one of the first guys that I can think of that began promoting holistic redemption was Robert Schuller. Robert Schuller, he's passed on now but he was a very popular speaker in what's called The Hour of Power. And he wrote a lot of books about self-esteem and this kind of thing, and his church was probably about 15-20 minutes from where I grew up, you couldn't miss it driving on the freeway, a giant church made of glass called The Crystal Cathedral. And here is quote Robert Schuller makes in one of his books. And there's so many things to react to in this that are just outrageous in my opinion but I won't do that, I'll just focus on one sentence.
He says, "Negative-thinking theologians looked at the doctrine of sin, salvation and repentance… through distorted glasses tinted with mortification mentality." I have to laugh because I think sin and salvation and repentance is not like the heart of the whole Bible. "Too many prayers of confession of sin and repentance have been destructive to the emotional health of Christians…I am not fully forgiven until I allow God to write his new dream for my life on the blackboard of my mind, and I dare to believe 'I am; therefore, I can. I am a child of God…" Now look at this, "God has a great plan to redeem society… The emerging church, reformed according to the needs of self-esteem-starved-souls under the Lordship of Christ…." by the way, if you look at surveys do you know where they have the highest self-esteem amongst the population? Prison inmates! Prison inmates have a very high self-esteem so I'm not sure self-esteem the way he's defining it is really the way to go. "… under the lordship of Christ will help us to affirm the concept that 'While God's ideas may seem humanly impossible, he will give us these ideas which will lead to glorious, self-esteem-generating success.'" [Robert H. Schuller, Self-Esteem: The New Reformation (Waco, TX: Word Books, 1982), 104-05]
But the part of the quote, there I have it underlined, is the goal of the church is to "redeem society." I mean, you don't hear anything about the passages we just went through, Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, Acts 1, there's nothing about the great commission, suddenly it's all about redeeming society. It's just about collectively changing nations and changing their social structures.
Now, as you know, my alma mater is Dallas Seminary and I received a lot of good teaching there, but there was, when I was there and it continues to progress, a movement that developed called progressive dispensationalism, which to me is neither progressive nor dispensationalism, other than that little problem I began noticing in the writings of progressive dispensationalists and listening to their lectures that they started to talk this way—it's all about the community. So Craig Blaising, one of the progenitors of progressive dispensationalism writes this: ""Unfortunately, present-day dispensationalists have written very little in proposing a theology of social ministry.' He continues, "if we as a community of Christ worked on creating our community as a model of social justice" those are key words today, social justice, "and peace," I mean, I don't even know what social justice and peace is, it depends on who you're talking to, if I'm talking to a libertarian they're going to define it one way; if I'm talking to a Marxist they're going to define it a different way, it's just this fluffy term that people throw out and they kind of dump in their own personal philosophy as to what it means. He says, " then we really would have some suggestions to make for social reform in our cities and nations."' if we as a community of Christ worked on creating our community as a model of social justice and peace, then we really would have some suggestions to make for social reform in our cities and nations." He says, "if we as a community of Christ worked on creating our community as a model of social justice and peace, then we really would have some suggestions to make for social reform in our cities and nations." [Craig Blaising, "Dispensationalism: The Search for Definition," in Dispensationalism, Israel and the Church, ed. Craig Blaising and Darrell Bock (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992), 14, n. 3; idem, "Theological and Ministerial Issues in Progressive Dispensationalism," in Progressive Dispensationalism, ed. Darrell Bock and Craig Blaising (Wheaton, IL: Victor, 1993), 288–89.]
So what he's saying is let's bring social justice and peace, whatever that is, to the church and then we can tell the unsaved world how they can have social justice and peace too. What did Jesus say to the disciples? "I will make you" what? "fishers of men." [Matthew 14:19, "And He said to them, 'Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."'] Now we're not fishers of men, we're cleaning up the fish bowl that we caught the fish out of. See that?
You may say well, you're just nitpicking but this is a profound change in how the life of the church is understood. And Charles Ryrie, someone that I agree with on probably most things, properly comments on this. And he says, ""Holistic redemption can easily lead to placing unbalanced, if not wrong, priorities on political action, social agendas, and improving the structures of society." [Charles C. Ryrie, Dispensationalism (Chicago: Moody, 1995), 176.]
So this is what is meant by holistic redemption. And a related concept is called social gospel. You guys have heard of social gospel, right? Has anybody heart the expression social gospel? Social gospel is the idea that the purpose of a church is to bring social justice to the earth. So there's a lot of talk in social justice circles about the environment, the greenhouse effect, alleged global warming, and these kind of issues. They talk a lot about redistribution of the wealth. They talk a lot about universal health care. And one of the big buzzwords is racial reconciliation, when I think God has given us the best book you can ever read on racial reconciliation because according to Galatians 3:28 there's neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female; for we are all" what? "one in Christ Jesus."
You get two people of a different skin color that are both in the body of Christ and you honor them as fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, you know what disappears really quick? This silly concept of racism. So if you want to get rid of racism, I would say preach the gospel because racism emanates from depravity in the human heart and the gospel changes that, doesn't it! But that's not what they mean, we've got to get out there and change the structures of society. They talk a lot about structural bias, institutional racism, and we've got to change all that. And there's a lot of talk about how the United States was founded (they think, I don't necessarily agree with them) founded as a racist country. And we all acknowledge that there's things in our past as Americans that we wish weren't there but the reality of the situation is there isn't a country anywhere in the world that's done more to make up for its past than the United States. Amen! Things like the Civil War, where a lot of white people died. Right? Things like the thirteenth, and fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments to The United States Constitution passed in 1866 where our constitution was changed three times to eliminate the vestiges of slavery. Things like The Civil Rights Act of 1964 which was designed to remedy the problems of the Jim Crow South.
But when you bring these things up people say well that sentiment of racism is still there and no matter what America has done in the past she still thinks like a racist country because that was her origin and so the purpose of the church is to fix that, to fix structural bias and institutional racism and things like that. So my point is not to get into a big talk about America and racism; it's to show you how the focus of the church is changing in these other subjects related to social causes. So let me give you some quotes to demonstrate this.
This is Brian McLaren who is one of the, if not THE thought leader of the emerging church. And Brian McLaren says this, it was stunning when I read this, I couldn't believe this was actually said. But he writes: "The church has been preoccupied with the question, 'What happens to your soul after you die?'" Now given the fact that the soul is eternal and hell is forever, I mean shouldn't that be a concern of ours, where people are going to spend eternity? And he writes, '"What happens to your soul after you die? As if the reason for Jesus coming can be summed up in, 'Jesus is trying to get more souls into heaven as opposed to hell, after they die.'" I thought that's why Jesus did come. And then he goes on and he says, "I just think a fair reading of the Gospels blows that out of the water. " [Brian McLaren; cited in Roger Oakland, Faith Undone, 203]
And I think what he's talking about is miracles that Jesus did to feed the masses and Jesus did do humanitarian things but you'll notice that when they stop believing in Him for salvation the miracles stopped as well. And He said in John 6 the only reason you all are following me, John 6:15, is because I fill your stomachs with food and he stopped the miracles at that point. [John 6:15 So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone." ] John 6:26 says, "Jesus answered them and said, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled." I mean, what good does it do to fill someone's stomach with food for 24 hours if their soul goes into an eternal hell.
So I think Brian McLaren is sort of piecemealing the life of Christ; but this is basically classic social gospel. To my mind one of the biggest proponents of social gospel in our lifetime is Rick Warren. I understand, people say well Rick Warren has done this good thing and that good thing and I acknowledge that. But the reality is when you listen to some of the things that Rick Warren talks about what he's doing is he's recycling social gospel. One writer puts it this way: "P.E.A.C.E." now P.E.A.C.E. is Warren's vision for the church. P.E.A.C.E., there're different vocabulary words or concepts for where he thinks the church ought to be headed.
""P.E.A.C.E. is an acronym for" P stands for "Promote reconciliation; E" stands for Equip servant leaders;" A stands for Asist the poor; C stands for "Care for the sick; and E stands for Educate the next generation. Coalition members see these actions as Jesus' antidote to five "global giants,"— Now where is he coming up with five "global giants"? He gets that because David, when to slay Goliath, had how many stones in his backpack? Five stones. So they take these five stones and they turn each stone into a global giant that the church has to topple. So what are those five global giants? "…problems that affect billions of people worldwide: spiritual emptiness, self-centered leadership, poverty, pandemic disease, and illiteracy." [Rick Warren and 1,700 Leaders Launch the Peace Coalition at Purpose Driven Summit," accessed November 15, 2014, [http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/2495867]"
And I keep reading this saying when is he going to say the great commission? I mean, when is he going to quote Matthew 28? When is he going to quote Mark 16. I think the greatest problem facing people is their hurling towards the Judgment Seat of God and they need to hear the gospel and be saved from that. And as flowery as this language sounds, that is the major component to my mind, that just got omitted from Rick Warren's peace plan because the focus is changing the structures of society. You see that?
And as you move into that emphasis what get eclipsed is the great commission, the great commission becomes the great omission. Now am I against helping the poor? Not at all. But here's what you discover is sometimes you have poor people because of capitalism and they're being treated unfairly, but when you actually get into the Book of Proverbs what you start to see in that Solomonic wisdom is a lot of people are poor because they made themselves poor by dumb sinful decisions.
So what the social justice warriors want you to believe is all poverty is caused by capitalism, which is basically a Marxist paradigm, I'm not denying that people sometimes are treated unfairly in the work place, I'm not denying that at all, but biblically speaking that's not the only cause of poverty. I think the Puritans were pretty good at distinguishing between the legitimate poor and the illegitimate poor; they drew that distinction in Puritan writings. They helped people, like the Book of Job, where Job had all of these calamities that came upon him outside of his control, but the Puritans also recognized that there's another form of poverty that's self-inflicted. And if you just read through the Book of Proverbs you'll see this constantly. Speculation makes people poor, not working diligently makes people poor. Signing a what's called a suretyship where you make yourself responsible for someone else's debts, you know, a lot of parents do that for their teenagers thinking that's loving. The Book of Proverbs tells you not to do that.
And you can go right on through the Book of Proverbs and you can see self-inflicted poverty. And see, that gets omitted; the gospel gets omitted, the clear purpose of the church gets omitted, and I believe this, that yeah, I think we ought to be concerned about literacy, poverty, these kinds of things but as a church you use those issues as a basis for preaching the gospel. You use those issues as a platform for preaching the gospel. You don't just go into humanitarian work just for the sake of humanitarian work because that is not a purpose that God gave to the church.
So social gospel is trapdoor two, and then lastly, trapdoor three is bringing in the kingdom. And this is why I wrote this 400 page book called The Coming Kingdom, because I saw millennials all around me being pulled into Kingdom Now thoughts, Kingdom Now thinking. And I noticed that most of the scholars that had defended a future kingdom are very old now or have passed on so I tried to take their mantle and push forward the conversation a millimeter by contemporizing their arguments. So when a millennial is drifting into Kingdom Now theology there's now a book available that I think is at a certain scholarly level, that they will appreciate and give them the other side of the story. But there are countless churches that are drifting into Kingdom Now theology.
So back to Brian McLaren, look at what Brian McLaren says. "He" that's Jesus, "selected 12 and trained them in a new way of life. He sent them to teach everyone this new way of life…Even if only a few would practice this new way, many would benefit." So what are the benefits as the message of Jesus goes out? "Oppressed people would be free. Poor people would be liberated from poverty. Minorities would be treated with respect. Sinners would be loved, not resented." Here comes the politics, "Industrialists" that's capitalists, right? That's all these people that provide goods and services that the rest of us need and provide a tax base to fund the United States government, which is supposed to be doing these things. See, industrialists are always demonized, this is a Marxist, basically this is a Marxist paradigm. The people that took the risk to start a company to create a product and service that the rest of the human race needs, those people are demonized. And I think it was Atlas Shrug, isn't it, where it's basically a book and it became a movie about this idea that eventually these people are going to be so demonized that they're just going to close up and leave. And what's going to disappear is your jobs and a tax base, not to mention the product or service that they've created. And that's the problem, in my humble opinion, with demonizing industrialists all of the time is you're killing the goose that laid the golden egg. But anyway, I won't go there… well, I just went there. I'll stop.
""Industrialists would realize that God cares for sparrows and wildflowers-so their industries should respect, not rape, the environment." So if you're an industrialist you're described with the harshest vocabulary that can be imagined, an analogous to rape. It's amazing. "The homeless would be invited in for a hot meal." And then what does he say here? "The kingdom of God would come" see that, "not everywhere at once, not suddenly, but gradually like a seed growing in a field," and then he says, oh no, "like yeast spreading in a lump of bread dough," now I have a problem with that because when you look at yeast in the Bible it's not something good, it's something what? Bad! Jesus, in Matthew 16 says, "Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees." "… like light spreading across the sky at dawn." [Brian McLaren, A Generous Orthodoxy, 111.]
So what he's saying is Christianity is about getting the message of Jesus and as we do that all of these structures of society that we don't like will start to get changed. And that becomes the focus of the church.
Rick Warren is a very big believer in bringing in the kingdom. He says this at a coliseum, a public address, he says: "I stand before you confidently right now and say to you that God is going to use you to change the world…I'm looking at a stadium full of people right now who are telling God they will do whatever it takes to establish God's Kingdom "on earth as it is in heaven." What will happen if the followers of Jesus say to Him, "We are yours?" What kind of spiritual awakening will occur?" [Rick Warren, cited in Oakland, Faith Undone, Kindle edition.]
So we, as the church, are supposed to be doing everything within our human power to (he says) establish God's kingdom on the earth. Now sorry, in the Lord's Prayer what are we to pray? "Thy kingdom come," we're to pray for its arrival. So if I'm in the kingdom already and bringing it in why would I pray for it to come, I'm supposed to bring it in myself. I mean, when Jesus said "Go into all the world and preach the gospel" He never said go into all the world and bring in the kingdom. Go into all the world and change the structures of society. In fact, if I'm understanding my Bible correctly Jesus, two times, it's recorded twice, once in Matthew 26:11 and once in John 12:8, He says, "the poor you will have with you" what? "always." There's not going to be a great fix in poverty. You can make certain dents in it I guess, but that issue, just like racism is not leaving this earth until Jesus comes back and sets up His kingdom. Then poverty disappears permanently from society, as does structural racism or institutional racism.
There's a book by Stearns called Hole in the Gospel. Did you know the gospel has a hole in it? I didn't realize that until I read his book. I thought the gospel was "the power of God unto salvation," Romans 1:16-17. [Romans 1:16, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. [17] For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.'"] Stearns says no, there's a hole in the gospel. What's the hole? The hole is until the church assumes its kingdom role and gets involved in all of these social causes and changing the social structures of society the gospel is not really being preached, is basically what he's saying in the book.
So Stearns writes, "If we are to be a part of this coming kingdom, God expects our lives – our churches and faith communities too – to be characterized by these authentic signs of our own transformation: compassion, mercy, justice, and love – demonstrated tangibly. Only then will our light break forth like the dawn, our healing quickly appear, and our cries for help be answered with a divine Here am I." [Stearns, Hole in the Gospel, 57.]
"The gospel that we have been given – the whole gospel – is God's vision for a new way of living…Christ's vision was of a redeemed" what? world, doesn't that sound like Schuller, Holistic Redemption, the redemption of the world, the redemption of society. "Christ's vision was of a redeemed world order populated by redeemed people – now." Look at that language, "world order," gosh, I've heard that before. Let me tell you something folks, I don't want to be in any new world order. The only new world order I'm comfortable in is the one that Jesus is administering from Jerusalem in the millennial kingdom. "To accomplish this, we are to be salt and light in a dark and fallen world," oh here we go again, "the "yeast" that leavens the whole loaf of bread (the whole of" what? "society). We are the ones God has called to be His Church. It's up to us. We are to be the change. But a changed world requires" oh my goodness, look at this, "change agents, and change agents are people who have first been changed themselves." [Stearns, Hole in the Gospel, 276, 243-44.]
So what's a pastor supposed to do? He's supposed to be the change agent, he's supposed to get into the pulpit and misdirect these poor misguided fundamentalists away from what Christ says about fulfilling the great commission and the purpose of the church and let's get into the social causes of the day. We're bringing in the kingdom—this is essentially what he's saying.
Now am I against Christians voting? Am I against Christians being involved in political causes? Am I against Christians showing up at City Council meetings and voicing their concerns? NO, I appreciate that, I support it, I try to do a little bit of that myself, but here's the reality of the situation. That type of activity plays a role in slowing down the progress of evil; that's what it does. It puts maybe another hindrance on Satan's next move. But it does not and it cannot bring in the kingdom of God, which can only be brought in through a converted Israel at the second advent of Christ, and it cannot and should not become the primary purpose of the church because those things, as important as they may be, are not our primary purpose. The primary purpose is fulfillment of the great commission.
So if we're not going to bring in the kingdom who's going to bring it in? Any guesses? The stone cut without human hands which will appear suddenly at the end of the tribulation period which will shatter the antichrist's ten nation or ten kingdom confederacy cataclysmically, and that stone will grow and grow and grow until it fills the whole earth. That's when the kingdom comes. And until that time in history arises, which is yet future, any language that we're bringing into the kingdom now is completely misguided.
People say well Andy, why do you emphasize eschatology so much? Because your eschatology, understanding it correctly, determines your what? What's the name of our study here? Ecclesiology! Because you eschatology is wrong and you think we're bringing in the kingdom it changes the whole focus of the church. The church becomes a colony of the kingdom bringing in the kingdom. And that's outside of our instruction manual.
I like Daniel 2:44, "In the days of those kings" Rick Warren will set up a kingdom… Robert Schuller will set up a kingdom, Brian McLaren will set up a kingdom. It doesn't say that at all, does it? "In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom" in the days of what kings? The ten nation confederacy of the antichrist which will exist in the tribulation period. The world is in change right now. Romans 8, it's groaning. [Romans 8:22, "For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now."]
And yet the day is going to come when God is going to liberate this world from its chains. That's why so much language in the Book of Revelation sounds an awful lot like the Book of Exodus. Have you noticed that? Sores, plagues in the Book of Exodus—1st bowl judgment, Revelation. Rivers to blood, 1st plague, Exodus, 3rd bowl judgment, book of Revelation. Darkness, 9th plague, the Book of Exodus, 5th bowl judgment, Book of Revelation. Hail, 7th plague Exodus, 7th bowl judgment, Book of Revelation.
Why the parallels? Because in the Book of Exodus God is taking His people out of 400 years of Egyptian bondage. In the Book of Revelation God is taking the whole world out of the bondage that it's in. We are in bondage just as literally right now as was Israel in Egypt. And so God did a work to liberate from bondage and God has to do a second work to liberate the earth from the bondage that it's been in, not under Pharaoh but under the devil. The church can't do this. The church is not given the task to do this. The church isn't given the power to do this. This doesn't happen until the events of the Book of Revelation begin to unfold. THEN the kingdom of this world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. [Revelation 11:15, "will become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ."]
The church can't bring this in, only the eschatological end time events of Revelation can bring this in. And this is why I so appreciate this quote by Hal Lindsay in one of his lesser known books, called The Road to Holocaust. "Bestselling author Hal Lindsey warned what could happen to the church in the last days if she began to see herself as the establisher of God's kingdom:" he says, quote, "The last days of the church on the earth may be largely wasted seeking to accomplish a task that only the LORD Himself can and will do directly." [The Road to Holocaust, 269]
The devil is a pretty sneaky guy, would you agree with me on that? And wouldn't it be very sneaky of him in our waning hours on the earth to get us involved in some task that we don't have the power to pull off, nor the instructions to do it and we omitted what we're supposed to be doing. You see, this is why defining what the purpose of the church is becomes so significant. What is God doing today in the age of the church? He's not bringing social justice to the earth. What He's doing, Acts 15:14 is He is taking out from among the Gentiles a people for His name. [Acts 15:14, ""Simeon has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name."]
He's not redeeming all the Gentiles; what He's doing is He's taking out a select group from amongst the Gentiles, which is much smaller, isn't it, of a task than bringing social justice to the earth.
So I hope you enjoyed that, Roman numeral VI, the purposes of the church. Next time we're together we'll do Roman numeral VII, the activities of the church. Anybody have a quick comment or question?
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Catholic Charities Prenatal Care Services works collaboratively to provide access to early prenatal care for low income, underserved pregnant women. The program promotes the importance of prenatal care in the first trimester through outreach and educational opportunities and assists women to access other services through community based organizations as needed.
The Prenatal Care Program provides outreach, educational opportunities and support services to mother's to be. These services are funded by First 5 of San Joaquin and Dignity Health.
The goal of the Go Before You Show program is to improve first trimester entry into prenatal care in order to improve birth outcomes. In other words, help pregnant women get prenatal care within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy so they can have healthy babies.
San Joaquin County ranks near the bottom in infant mortality, low birth weights and prenatal care. Of California's 58 counties, San Joaquin County ranks 52nd in infant mortality for all race and ethnic groups. SJC is 46th in low birth weights, 52nd in no prenatal care within first trimester, and 55th in "adequate" prenatal care.
The Go Before You Show program will help pregnant women and teenagers apply for no-cost or low-cost health insurance, apply for WIC (Women, Infants & Children) benefits, and help arrange for transportation to doctor's appointments.
This program is offered in San Joaquin County. For more information, please call (209) 444-5934.


Following the launch of full operations at the new YANMAR France SAS office in La Roche-sur-Yon, the leading supplier of innovative engines and technology-driven marine propulsion systems has confirmed there are now 13 master dealers across the country, with 73 sub-dealers in place and further additions imminent.
Back row, left to right: Pierre-Jean Sendra, Thierry Berest & Julio Arribas.
Front row, left to right: Philippe Craipeau, Philippe Cabot & Maël Lansonneur.
YMI has also announced the full team of engineers now providing dedicated local support, as the company targets further positive expansion and activity in France during 2019. Led by General Manager and YMI South West European Regional Manager Julio Arribas, the personnel include: Sales Engineers Philippe Cabot and Thierry Berest; Senior Product Engineer Pierre-Jean Sendra; Application Engineer Philippe Craipeau and Customer Service Engineer Maël Lansonneur.
Guaranteeing supply stability and a professional support network in this key region, YMI opened the new sales and customer representative office in September last year to distribute all the company's products and services and support the re-established dealer network in coordination with YMI in the Netherlands. The business set-up allows orders to be placed directly, for shorter lead times, quicker responses to evolving local requirements and greater levels of customer satisfaction.
The strengthened distribution will be backed up with attendance at key shows in France this year where YANMAR will be launching new products and accessories to add to its complete line-up of efficient, quiet sailboat and powerboat engines, including its new 4LV series, the popular YANMAR 6LY and 8LV series and the proven JH common rail (CR) series of sailboat engines.
Visit YANMAR at Les Nauticales Boat Show in Marseille, from 23rd to 31st March; International Multihull Boat Show in La Grande-Motte, from 24th to 28th April; Cannes Yachting Festival, from 10th to 15th September, and Grand Pavois La Rochelle, from 18th to 23rd September.


As a business owner or a manager, you are probably facing the challenge to retain and motivate your employees. Surveys say that millennials tend to change their job every 2-3 years. Due to the talent shortage in many countries and thanks to social medias like Linkedin, skilled professionals receive tons of tempting job offers. However, the motivated and satisfied employees are less likely to consider changing their job even if they are offered better conditions.
Two of the struggles that a lot of the companies face are getting the new employees up to speed and sharing knowledge within the company. The most common excuse is that usually the experienced employees are too busy and don't have the time to train the new hires. While the task can seem overwhelming, if performed right, everyone benefits from the results.
The job market has changed over the past decades. The competition for qualified specialists has never been stronger. Employers are having a tough time filling open positions and even if they do hire people, the employees can accept a tempting job offer by a competitor any time. Managers need to find the answers to two questions: how to attract talent and how to retain it.


text:
If You Can't Take the Heat…
July 26, 2012 April 6, 2021 by US National Archives, posted in Motion Pictures
This week's guest post is from Richard Green, an archives technician in NARA'S motion picture department in College Park, MD. He is currently studying history and psychology at the University of Maryland and is looking forward to attending graduate school in the fall of 2013.
On July 24, 1959, Vice President Richard Nixon traveled to Moscow to attend the American National Exhibition. The exhibition was intended to promote a cultural exchange and friendly competition between the United States and Soviet Union.
In the midst of the exhibition was an American kitchen full of all the latest appliances. As the vice president guided Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev through the American kitchen, one of the fiercest debates of the Cold War erupted.
Caption: Moscow, Russia: Vice President of the United States, Richard M. Nixon (center), cuts the tape officially opening the United States National Exhibition in Moscow's Sokolninki Park. At left front, are Soviet First Deputy Premier Frol R. Koslov, and Premier Nikita Krushchev. Right front is the U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union, Llewellyn Thompson. In the background is the Geodesic dome of the exhibit. Source: USIS/Bumgardner.
A portion of the "Kitchen Debate," as it came to be called, was filmed by the media and quickly broadcast across the world. Yet the political leaders were not arguing over burgers or borsch. Possibly fueled by the recent passage of the Captive Nations Resolution, the argument escalated from washing machines to nuclear warfare.
This clip comes from Universal Newsreel Volume 32 Release 60, dated July 27, 1959 (200-UN-32-60/ ARC ID 2050163).
Universal News issued two releases a week from 1929 to 1967, and were shown in movie theaters prior to the feature film. Before the era of nightly news, the brief clips represented the only way for most people to observe what was happening in the world around them. A typical release was about ten minutes in length and generally contained between seven and ten stories (not all have survived). In addition to the Kitchen Debate, this release featured stories about a beauty pageant, a ski jumping competition without snow, and Fidel Castro playing baseball! More to come about Universal Newsreel later.
Though the participants were unaware at the time, the debate had implications far beyond the Cold War. Most notably, the Kitchen Debate emphasized the use of television as a practical means of communication. In addition to the confrontation in the kitchen, the Nixon-Khrushchev debate continued onto the set of the Ampex exhibit. The exhibit featured the VR1000 two-inch quadruplex videotape recorder, a pioneer in color videotape, which captured the two leaders during their heated exchange.
The videotape recorder was one of the first to allow a live program to be easily recorded and quickly broadcasted on television. This technology forever changed the way that people viewed the world. Ironically, it also led to the demise of newsreels being shown before movies. The Ampex Collection can be found at the Department of Special Collections, Green Library, Stanford University.
When Nixon explained the implications of the color videotape to Khrushchev, the Soviet Premier seemed hesitant to believe that his words could be recorded and translated to the American people so quickly. Nixon says, "Never make a statement here [in the USSR] that you don't think we'll read in the United States." Khrushchev responds, "I doubt it."
Nixon continues, "This increase in communication will teach us some things and teach you some things too, because after all, you don't know everything." Khrushchev feverishly responds, "If I don't know everything, I would say that you know absolutely nothing about communism! Nothing except fear of it."
The confrontation further enhanced America's perception of Khrushchev as an enemy of the United States. Conversely, the debate marked one of the highest points in Richard Nixon's career. Nixon's enthusiasm and courage, coupled with his effective use of television, won the hearts of a united American people.
In the upcoming presidential election, Nixon would cite the Kitchen Debate as an example of his fierce diplomacy. Ironically, the Kitchen Debate likely gave Nixon overconfidence in his televised debating skill. Just over a year later, Nixon agreed to debate a young John F. Kennedy and was humiliated in the first televised presidential debate.
The Universal Newsreel Collection was donated to NARA in 1974 and has since become one of the Motion Picture Division's most popular collections. The Universal collection encompasses an enormous amount of material ranging from national and international events and politics to sports, fashion, and everything in between.
Less utilized, however, are the production files or "Dope Sheets" that accompany each release. These production files are tucked away in the stacks and only used by the most experienced researchers. Yet these sheets can be extremely valuable. Most files also reveal where the footage was originally shot. By tracing its origins, a researcher can gain greater insight into the film itself and possibly resolve copyright issues that may arise.
Some files contain a script for an otherwise silent film. Others include primary documents that accompany the film (I recently stumbled upon a program from the 1949 Indianapolis 500). For example, here is the narration script for the Kitchen Debate story:
We will be talking more about the Universal Newsreel Collection in future blog posts-so stay tuned!
Additional primary sources (both audiovisual and textual) about the "Kitchen Debate" and the American National Exhibition in Moscow can be found at the Nixon Library and the Eisenhower Library including oral histories that feature first hand recollections. In College Park, researchers might be interested in the "Records Relating to the American National Exhibition in Moscow, compiled 1958 – 1959, documenting the period 1940 – 1959" (ARC Identifier 5634735 / MLR Number P 128).
Tagged American National Exhibition, Kitchen Debate, Moscow, Nikita Khrushchev, Richard Nixon, Universal Newsreel
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One thought on "If You Can't Take the Heat…"
shari kovens says:
I love this blog! I was not aware of the Kitchen debate.I never knew Nixon's influence on the video camera. I love learning something new everyday.Great Blog~Very interesting.


text:
Sudeep Sen's prize-winning books include Postmarked India: New & Selected Poems (HarperCollins), Rain, Aria (A. K. Ramanujan Translation Award), The HarperCollins Book of English Poetry (editor), Fractals: New & Selected Poems | Translations 1980-2015 (London Magazine Editions) and EroText (Vintage: Penguin Random House). Blue Nude: New Poems & Ekphrasis (Jorge Zalamea International Poetry Prize) is forthcoming. Sen's works have been translated into over 25 languages. His words have appeared in the Times Literary Supplement, Newsweek, Guardian, Observer, Independent, Telegraph, Financial Times, Herald, Poetry Review, Literary Review, Harvard Review, Hindu, Hindustan Times, Times of India, Indian Express, Outlook, India Today, and broadcast on BBC, PBS, CNN IBN, NDTV, AIR & Doordarshan. Sen's newer work appears in New Writing 15 (Granta), Language for a New Century (Norton), Leela: An Erotic Play of Verse and Art (Collins), Indian Love Poems (Knopf/Random House/Everyman), Out of Bounds (Bloodaxe), and Initiate: Oxford New Writing (Blackwell). He is the editorial director of AARK ARTS and the editor of Atlas. Sen is the first Asian honoured to speak and read at the Nobel Laureate Week. The Government of India awarded him the senior fellowship for "outstanding persons in the field of culture/literature."
Manu Joseph is an Indian journalist and writer. He is the former editor of Open magazine, and a columnist for The International New York Timesand The Hindustan Times. In 2007, he was a Chevening Scholar. He currently lives in Delhi. His debut novel Serious Men (2010) won The Hindu Literary Prize and the PEN/Open Book Award. The PEN jury described him as "that rare bird who can wildly entertain the reader as forcefully as he moves them."
His second novel, The Illicit Happiness of Other People, was published in September 2012. The semi-autobiographical novel was described by The Wall Street Journal as a work that "injects dark, rueful laughter into an immensely touching story of loss"
Akhil Sharma is an assistant professor in the creative writing MFA program at Rutgers University-Newark. Sharma has published stories in The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, The Quarterly, Fiction, the Best American Short Stories anthology, and the O. Henry Award Winners anthology. His short story "Cosmopolitan" was anthologized in The Best American Short Stories 1998, and was also made into an acclaimed 2003 film of the same name, which has appeared on the PBS series Independent Lens. Sharma's first novel is An Obedient Father, which won the PEN/Hemingway award in 2001. Family Life, his second, was published by W. W. Norton & Company in the U.S. and Faber and Faber in the U.K. in April 2014. The New York Times described the mostly autobiographical novel as "deeply unnerving and gorgeously tender at its core." David Sedaris noted that "[e]very page is alive and surprising, proof of [Sharma's] huge, unique talent." Sharma wrote about the 13 years it took to write Family Life in an essay on The New Yorker's website. Family Life won the 2015 Folio Prize for fiction.
Altaf Tyrewala is an Indian, English-language author. Altaf studied advertising and marketing in New York, he earned a BBA from Baruch College in 1995, before returning to Mumbai in 1999 to work on his critically acclaimed debut novel "No God in Sight". The novel, published by Penguin India in 2005, has been translated into Marathi, German, French, Spanish, Italian and Dutch, and published in the US and Canada. Tyrewala's short stories have been included in several Indian and international anthologies. Altaf's work has been hailed as "more sophisticated and universal than Adiga's" by some critics.
Arunava Sinha translates classic, modern and contemporary Bengali fiction and nonfiction into English. Thirty-one of his translations have been published so far. Twice the winner of the Crossword translation award, for Sankar's Chowringhee (2007) and Anita Agnihotri's Seventeen (2011), respectively, and the winner of the Muse India translation award (2013) for Buddhadeva Bose's When The Time Is Right, he has also been shortlisted for The Independent Foreign Fiction prize (2009) for his translation of Chowringhee. Besides India, his translations have been published in the UK and the US in English, and in several European and Asian countries through further translation. He was born and grew up in Kolkata, and lives and writes in New Delhi.
Anjali Joseph is a British-Indian author, journalist, and teacher. Her first novel, Saraswati Park (2010), was a critical success and earned her several awards, including the Betty Trask Prize and the Desmond Elliott Prize.
Her second novel, Another Country, was released in 2012 and was longlisted for the 2012 Man Asian Literary Prize.. In 2010, she was listed by the The Telegraph as one of the 20 best writers under the age of 40.
Annie Zaidi is a writer from India. Her collection of essays, Known Turf: Bantering with Bandits and Other True Tales, was short-listed for the Vodafone Crossword Book Award in 2010. In addition to essays, she also writes poetry (Crush, 2007), short-stories (The Good Indian Girl, 2011), plays and has published a novella. Her essays, poems and short stories have appeared in several anthologies, including Dharavi: The City Within (Harper Collins India) Mumbai Noir (Akshic/Harper Collins India), Women Changing India (Zubaan); Journeys Through Rajasthan (Rupa) First Proof: 2 (Penguin India), 21 Under 40 (Zubaan), India Shining, India Changing (Tranquebar). More of her work has appeared in literary journals like The Little Magazine, Desilit, Pratilipi, The Raleigh Review, Mint Lounge, Indian Literature (Sahitya Akademi) and Asian Cha. In June 2012, Elle (India) magazine named Annie as one of the emerging South Asian writers "whose writing we believe will enrich South Asian literature". The list also called 20 under 40 was inspired by Granta's 20 under 40 list.
Chandrahas Choudhury grew up in Bombay and his native Odisha, was educated at the Universities of Delhi and Cambridge, and now lives in Delhi. He writes a weekly column on Indian politics, society and literature for Bloomberg View.
Choudhury's essays and book reviews have appeared in The National, The Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy, and The New York Times, and he is the editor of the anthology of Indian fiction India: A Traveller's Literary Companion, published by Whereabouts Press and with a foreword by Anita Desai.
Anita Nair's first book is a collection of short stories called Satyr of the Subway, which she sold to Har-Anand Press. The book won her a fellowship from the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Nair's second book was published by Penguin India, and was the first book by an Indian author to be published by Picador USA. A bestselling author of fiction and poetry, Nair's novels The Better Man and Ladies Coupe have been translated into 21 languages. Nair has also written The Puffin Book of Myths and Legends (2004), and edited Where the Rain is Born (2003). Her other books include Mistress (2003), Adventures of Nonu, the Skating Squirrel (2006), Living Next Door to Alise (2007) and Magical Indian Myths(2008). Her sixth novel Idris: Keeper of The Light (2014) is a historical and geographical novel about a Somalian trader who visited Malabar in 1659 AD.
Arvind Krishna Mehrotra is a noted Indian poet, anthologist, literary critic and translator. Mehrotra is widely recognized for extending the Indian English language poetry tradition, established by figures such as A.K. Ramanujan, Nissim Ezekiel, Dom Moraes and Arun Kolatkar. Mehrotra's poetry contained in collections such as "Middle Earth", "Nine enclosures" and "The transfiguring places" are considered significant contributions to Indian English poetry, and are noted for their innovative exploration of modern concerns and ways of representation. Mehrotra's work has been wide ranging, including both traditional forms and unconventional techniques and his occasional literary experimentation, emphasizing a variety of perspectives, has made his work a part of modern Indian English poetry. He was nominated for the chair of Professor of Poetry at the University of Oxford in 2009.


She was created by William Moulton Marston, a psychologist and inventor of the lie detector testwho believed that society itself would be better off in the hands of women rather than men. There were rules against showing public authority figures in a bad light such as police officers and judges. Recommended For Your Pleasure. There was an unrequited crush in which Northstar wanted some of this guy To celebrate, we're looking at the long history of queer characters in comic books.
The are the most public ones to express ire over this subject.
A Brief History of Time The discussion of homosexuality in comic books is almost as old as comic books themselves. Hugh Dawkins is metahuman with the ability to turn into a werewolf-like entity — the Tasmanian Devil — with enhanced strength, claws, and fangs. His romance with teammate Hulkling is one of the few ongoing gay teen relationships depicted in mainstream comics. A former Female Fury from Apokolips and later a member of both the Suicide Squad and Secret Six, Knockout possess superhuman strength and durability as well as the ability to regenerate. Statistically, that is a better average than the United States Marine Corps. There might a reaction to that.
As a member of the alien race known as the Skrull, Xavin has both male and female forms. Over the years, the subversive nature of Wonder Woman had been lost as more writers took her on adventures more fitting a superhero than a feminist icon and her sexuality was defined in more binary terms due to relationships with Steve Trevor, Batman, and Superman. Just The Facts Comic books, perhaps due to those who create them, have a history of being socially progressive. There were rules against showing vampires, werewolves, and zombies. Still, Iceman's declaration breaks fresh ground in that the character was one of the original "X-Men" created by Stan Lee. Congress was ready to take action. She's a mutant with the ability to look like anyone she could possibly imagine, and yet she chooses to identify as a biological female who is attracted to both men and women.


text:
Five make airport manager short list
By Michael D. Bates
Hernando Today
BROOKSVILLE - And then there were five.
The county's human resources team has whittled down 33 applications for the soon-to-be-vacant airport manager position and phone interviews with the final five will begin Friday, said Director of Administrative Services Cheryl Marsden.
The ultimate decision will be up to Business Development Manager Mike McHugh, who plans to consult with County Administrator Len Sossamon during the hiring process.
All five candidates stressed in their resumes they are huge supporters of working together with economic development officials to bring in jobs and expand the local tax base.
Given the Brooksville-Tampa Bay Regional Airport's position as an economic engine, a background in economic development is key in the hiring process, McHugh said.
"The airport is an enterprise, it's got some entrepreneurial facets and (the candidate) must be able to look at its strengths and apply them to the market to unlock its potential," said McHugh, who hopes to schedule in-person interviews in about a week.
McHugh said the airport derives about 70 percent of its revenue from industrial activities.
Don Silvernell announced in April he will retire as manager and move to Boise, Idaho, to be closer to his 7-month-old granddaughter.
Silvernell, whose last day is July 1, said he hopes to work with his successor before departing.
He said he is leaving at a time when the airport and its various activities are in a strong financial position.
"The airport's got a good reputation," Silvernell said.
The airport is located on 2,400 acres and includes the RailPark, Corporate Airpark, AirPark Northeast and the Industrial Park proper.
There are about 150 airport tenants who employ some 3,000 people, McHugh said.
The airport manager position was advertised with a pay range of $65,748 to $105,995.
Silvernell makes $78,624 annually.
Here is a look at the five finalists for the position of airport manager:
Kevin Daugherty: Currently the manager of Frederick Municipal Airport in Maryland - a post he's held since 2007 - Daugherty said in his application packet he will work closely with the city of Brooksville and Hernando County's Economic Development team to bring businesses to the airport.
"This generates revenue opportunities and strengthens the airport as a self-sustaining entity, as well as supporting the local tax base," Daugherty wrote.
Thomas Frungillo: The executive director of the Bradford Regional Airport Authority in Pennsylvania since 1998, Frungillo says he is a "highly organized, innovative and motivated professional" who has a proven ability to "engage and develop strong relationships with key airport contacts, governmental officials and community members."
Frungillo included a newspaper article showing how he was involved in helping drive economic development at his airport.
Gary Hudson: The airport manager of Chester County-G.O Carlson Airport in Pennsylvania since 2004, Hudson said he handles all daily operations, safety, security and administration duties. He is liaison between airport administration, local airline personnel, airport tenants, the public and federal, state and local agencies.
He also developed and implemented his airport's first-ever policy-and-procedures manual.
Nickolis Landgraff: During his eight years as airport manager for the DeLand Municipal Airport & Business Park in Florida, Landgraff said he has helped grow revenue from $800,000 to $1.4 million.
His airport has a business park with 2,500- plus employees on 1,600 acres.
"We had a total economic activity of $271 million during our last Florida Department of Transportation assessment and are continuing to grow," Landgraff wrote.
Paul Phillips: Currently an adjunct professor at Saint Leo University, Phillips had been director of general aviation for the Tampa International Airport from 2005 to 2012.
He left TIA and managed the Tampa Executive, Peter O. Knight and Plant City airports.
Phillips said his strong communication and management skills will benefit Hernando County because it has given him a "tremendous amount of experience dealing with elected and appointed boards, lease negotiations, tenant relations, economic development and job creation and community interaction.
Source: http://hernandotoday.com
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