The Polk County School Board discussed an interesting topic on Wednesday during a special work session.
Board members and district officials spent some time talking about comments by students on Facebook, specifically derogatory comments about teachers and administrators. At issue was whether the district can punish students for those kinds of comments. Continue reading
The recent Anthony Weiner scandal is just the latest example of poor morals and values found in our culture.
From Weiner's Congressional website.
Some people might feel that because he’s an adult, he should be able to act how he wants and it’s not a big deal that he was developing emotional and erotic relationships electronically with other women while being married. I happen to think that there are still some lines that you don’t cross, and Weiner went too far, lost his credibility and was right to resign.
But an interesting poll highlighted by Christianity Today shows that Americans’ feelings are changing when it comes to the role government should play in promoting values or morals. Here’s an excerpt from the site’s overview of the poll:
Since leaving The Ledger in December, I have tried very hard to avoid criticizing my former employer. I have a lot of good friends still at the paper, and I don’t really see my place right now as a crusader against the hometown paper’s management or news judgment.
Citrus Connection bus (By Andy Callahan - from Lakeland Local website)
Everyone in the newsroom is working hard, and the last thing they need is Monday Morning Quarterbacks on every decision or article.
But when it comes to The Ledger’s editorial page, I think that’s fair game. Papers stick their necks out and become subjective on their editorial pages, so they open themselves up to debate and criticism with their editorial views.
So with that out of the way, I had a major issue with one of the Gigs in this Sunday’s editorial in The Ledger. Here’s the part of the Gig that got me fired up: Continue reading
My excuse for being late this week: Long, tiring weekend trip to Missouri that didn’t give me any time to work on this over the weekend.
Tim Tebow
With that out of the way, here’s some things that will hopefully pique your interest.
Christianity Today had a Q&A that I’m sure Christians will enjoy and hopefully Gators fans, as well. The magazine sat down with Tim Tebow, the former Heisman Trophy winner at UF and now a quarterback with the Denver Broncos.
The questions primarily have to do with his faith and how he tries to express it without going overboard. His answer to one question in particular impressed me. When he was asked about giving God credit for a victory as some athletes do after a game, Tebow basically said he doesn’t believe anything is out of God’s will, including who wins or loses a game. Here’s his complete answer: Continue reading
It’s Polk County’s time to shine.
The June issue of Florida Trend magazine has pointed its spotlight on Lakeland and Polk County as part of its continuing Community Portraits series. Within this month’s magazine is a 29-page section devoted entirely to to Polk County.
Obviously, the point of these portraits is to paint a positive picture of the subject area, particularly its business leaders and economy. The writers and editors didn’t disappoint in our profile, opening up by mentioning our commuter residents who work in Tampa or Orlando before quickly pointing out that we are not primarily a commuter county.
Here’s part of the magazine’s intro to our area:
“Polk has its own economic backbone and a well-established business community committed to the county’s civic well-being that has provided a continuity of vision and leadership.”
The feature goes on to highlight successful companies in the county, break down our demographics, and mention some of the power players in the area.
But there were a few things I noticed that could have been improved. Continue reading
So this isn’t really a continuation of my end times thoughts that I shared recently on LakelandLocal.com. If you haven’t read them by the way, you can do so by clicking here.
Basically, I tried to defend and explain the evangelical view that there will be a second coming of Jesus Christ and a final judgment soon thereafter.
One of the site’s other contributors, Billy Townsend, had some very valid questions and challenges to the idea of God’s judgment and of the rapture in particular. I did my best to engage his questions and respond in a humble manner, while still holding true to my beliefs.
I think I succeeded, and thanks to those who either expressed their support in the comments section on the site, in emails, or in conversations. Continue reading
I hate it when I miss a consistent deadline that I have set for posting these links, especially when I miss it by a couple of days. So apologies again, but here’s some interesting information from around the Web.
Wikimedia Commons
This first story I stumbled upon after seeing a Christianity Today post on Twitter. The article, which is pretty long, is titled The Search for the Historical Adam. It’s basically a look at the tension between science/archaeology and the Biblical account of Adam and Eve.
The most impressive thing about the article is that it really doesn’t take sides. It lays out the arguments from traditional evangelicals as well as from Christian intellectuals who balance evolution and the Bible. Continue reading
If you haven’t already seen the link from my Facebook page, I wrote a response to Billy Townsend’s criticism of evangelicals following the Harold Camping rapture controversy. The response is posted on Lakeland Local, which you can read here.
I’m curious for your feedback and/or criticism. I’m a believer in healthy debate and discussion, so don’t be afraid to let me know your thoughts. This story took quite a bit of time and reflection, and I feel pretty solid about how I was able to respond to Billy’s points. I appreciate his honesty and willingness to engage in conversation, and I hope him and others who share his viewpoints can appreciate the same from me.
On Memorial Day it seemed fitting to find something relevant to honoring our country while still keeping our ultimate allegiance with Jesus Christ.
I found the perfect article on the Gospel Coalition website, where author Kevin Deyoung lists five points to consider when it comes to patriotism and the church.
He makes good arguments under all the points, and his final point is especially thought-provoking: While patriotism can be good, the church is not a good place for patriotism. Not the typical statement you’ll hear from evangelical Christianity in the United States, but it’s important to consider. Continue reading
Not sure how smart this is for me to try to do this, but after I put together my top 10 football coaches list a few weeks ago, I started thinking of other lists I could do.
For some reason, I have decided to try a top 10 list of coaches in the county across all sports. So I’m trying to compare softball coaches to football coaches, swimming coaches to tennis coaches, etc., to try to find the top 10 high school coaches PERIOD in Polk County.
Needless to say, this wasn’t easy.
But after some thought and some research, here is my top 10 list of (active) head coaches in Polk County.
Continue reading
Polk Perspectives 