SBC Life Articles by Shari Schubert

FORT PIERCE, Fla. (BP)–Tommy Neiman was once told by colleagues he should share some of his fire and rescue calls with the TV show, “Rescue 911.” It was not just an idle suggestion — the Fort Pierce/Saint Lucie County Fire District, where Neiman works as a firefighter and paramedic, has been featured on the popular […]

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. (BP)–As a director of missions, interim pastor, practicing attorney and avid fisherman, Rafael de Armas wears many hats — and a Texas Rangers jacket. De Armas, director of missions for Florida’s Peace River Baptist Association, began serving as a chaplain to the baseball team’s Spanish-speaking rookie players in 1996. The rookies, who […]

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (BP)–The carpet in the sanctuary didn’t just look worn out — it smelled worn out. One section of the church building, formerly used for education, had been closed off. Only 11 active members remained in the congregation of Lake Forest Baptist Church, and they were at the point of voting to close […]

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. (BP)–Hot tea and hot dogs, a Baptist pastor and a Jewish rabbi — though seemingly different, all have had a part in opening doors to homes in Florida’s Palm Beach County’s multihousing communities. An estimated 80 percent of the county’s 1.2 million people, all ages and all income brackets, live in some […]

CLERMONT, Fla. (BP)–Of the 1,100 athletes who competed in the Oct. 24 Great Floridian Triathlon in Clermont, one clearly stands out, though he finished only the 2.4-mile swim and 93 miles of the 112-mile bike ride, not attempting the third event, a 26-mile marathon. The competitor, Bob Wieland, lost both his legs in Vietnam in […]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (BP)–Hurricane victims in the Florida Keys will get a Christmas gift this year that says, “We care” and “We understand,” thanks to author Dena Cobb and members of Gold Coast Baptist Church, West Palm Beach, Fla., who are about halfway toward their goal of raising the money to send 500 copies […]

PALATKA, Fla. (BP)–Walk in the back door of College Park Baptist Church and the first thing you see is a framed, counted cross-stitch wall hanging. It says, “Love is spoken here.” Members of the Palatka, Fla., congregation demonstrated the truth of that statement the weekend of July 4 as they opened their doors and their […]

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (BP)–Maintaining law and order is seldom easy — and for police officers in Zone 1, Jacksonville, Fla., it’s one of the toughest jobs in town. Zone 1, based in the city’s historic but declining Springfield district, is an area notorious for crime and dysfunctional lifestyles: drug and alcohol abuse, prostitution, domestic violence, undisciplined […]

DELTONA, Fla. (BP)–On Paul and Ava James’ last Sunday night at Baptist Tabernacle in Atlanta, 1,400 people showed up to tell the pastor and his wife goodbye. The next Sunday morning, they found themselves cleaning up the gymnasium of a YMCA in the heart of New York City in preparation to lead services for a […]

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (BP)–The last thing James Mobleywanted to do before he left for West Virginia with his mom,dad, sister and grandfather, was to teach his grandmotherhow to play his Nintendo games. Nine-year-old James thoughthis grandmother, who was staying at his house while theothers went skiing, might want to play some of the gameswhile he was […]