John Contini Podcast

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Interview with Richard Peritz

John Contini, in a televised interview with Richard Peritz, host of the TV show, "Shalom"

"Twists of Fate" movie premier

Rick Borgia and John Contini
Rick Borgia and John Contini

John and Rick signing books

Boys and Girls Clubs of Broward County

The 2008 Dr. Reitman Boys and Girls Clubs Scholastic Awards Ceremony was held on August 6, 2008.
John Contini signing books at the Boys and Girls club event, with renowned Producer/Director Bernard Salzman.

“Jerk chicken, forgotten disciples and phenomenal women”

“The forgotten disciple”

Andy Samuels. Talk about humble, he gets uncomfortable with titles like Reverend Samuels” or “Pastor Samuels” … but the truth is, I get uncomfortable not calling him Pastor, since he truly is a shepherd for his people and a selfless, humble man of God.

He was named after Andrew - the forgotten or overlooked disciple, and that’s just how Andy runs his own life and pulpit. Remember Andrew? He was the disciple who “believed” and then “went” and “told his brother Simon” (whose name Jesus changed to “Petra” meaning “rock”) … and together as brothers they then followed Jesus.

Why is any of this interesting about Andrew, the forgotten disciple? Andrew didn’t keep his belief about Jesus secret; he immediately went and got his brother Simon/Peter. If it hadn’t been for Andrew, we never would’ve had Peter! And it was “Petra,” the “rock” upon whom the Catholic Church was built, who was used mightily by Christ and by the Father throughout the Book of Acts, bringing thousands into the family of faith! By the way, it was the disciple Andrew again, who found the guy with the few loaves of bread and fish - the same few loaves and fish that Christ multiplied by thousands to feed all those people!

Pastor Andy - like Andrew, is much the same way. He prefers to take no credit for the love of his congregation or his leadership as a pastor, and yet I want to give it to him anyway! You’ll see him depicted just below, and then again with me and his lovely wife, in the photos taken at yesterday’s banquet celebration. (i.e., for those of you easily confused, I’m the white guy.)

The event was a banquet celebration of the gathering of the flock at Seventh Day Baptist. They congregate in both Miami and Fort Lauderdale, now that the faithful are spread over two counties and many cities throughout Dade and Broward. Pastor Andy is President of the Seventh Day Baptist General Conference of USA and Canada and must therefore travel throughout the United States and Canada and the Caribbean … until at least August of this year when his term expires; but he was thankfully in town and I did get to hear him share from his heart last night … and now I see why his people love him so.

He then blessed me (of all people!) with the privilege of standing in the pulpit and sharing the gospel message - as well as my testimony. It was especially encouraging for me to have my son Johnny in the audience, and that created an even sweeter memory. As Pastor Andy later said, it got very real:

“Jerk chicken”

First of all, I teased all of ‘em a bit, since nobody seemed to know why their favorite Jamaican dish is referred to as “jerk chicken.” The church is about 97% Jamaican, Andy confirmed, and yet we were only fed regular chicken and not the world-renowned “jerk chicken.” I asked all of ‘em,” What if the guy who invented this sauce or flavoring for the so-called “jerk chicken,” was really a “jerk” and that’s why the first folks called him and his food by that name … and just because nobody bothered to check into why the food is still called by this name, it keeps getting called “jerk chicken!” They were laughing pretty loud at this point, so I asked the younger generation in the audience to Google the name and then get back to the older folks with the answer … as it really could save ‘em from further embarrassment.

“Phenomenal woman”

One of the sweet ladies in the church had earlier shared a poem entitled “phenomenal woman”, authored by Maya Angelou. She ‘acted it out’ in quite an animated fashion, hyping all the countless virtues and features of the “phenomenal woman.” I then thought to somehow weave this particular truth into my own message of truth, and immediately thought of two women from the Bible who looked at Jesus from completely different vantage points: Pontius Pilate’s wife, and Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. What, pray tell, did these two “phenomenal women” have in common? Very, very, very little, except what matters most:

Pilate’s wife

Pilate’s wife knew that Jesus was the real deal , just like mother Mary. She went before her husband Pilate when he was on his own judgment seat doing his political, tribunal thing, and while folks were clamoring for Pilate to crucify Christ and release Barabbas, the notorious criminal, she interceded for Christ! She implored her husband to do the right thing by Jesus and let Him go, sending the message to her husband that Christ was “just” and “innocent” and that she had “suffered a great deal” over the revelation of this truth in “dreams” that day (Matt. 27:19) … but like too many of us husbands today, he didn’t listen to his wife. (Guys, don’t get mad at me for saying this … you and I both know we ought to listen more, and if we did, we’d get in less trouble!)

Pilate actually wanted to listen to his wife (doing better than most of us here!) … and he actually wanted to follow her sage advice, telling the crowd three (3 x’s!) times that Christ was “just,” saying “I find no fault with this man. I will therefore chastise him and let him go.” (Luke: 23:4; 23:14-16; 23:20-22) How many of us would repeatedly stand up for Christ before an angry mob like Pilate? (Sometimes he gets a bad rap, demonized by Hollywood, when he stood up publicly for Christ more than most of us)

Unfortunately, however, Pilate eventually capitulated and released Barabbas instead of Jesus, allowing for Christ’s crucifixion. But here’s the bottom line point: She, like Christ’s own mother, knew that Jesus was the real deal; and she even risked trouble for herself by interrupting Pilate’s tribunal work on the “judgment seat” (as it was called then) or his judicial bench of sorts, in order to plead for the release of Jesus. She is therefore a “phenomenal woman.”

Mother Mary

And talk about a “phenomenal woman” … look at Mother Mary, and at what she did: She willingly, and with the right spirit, sacrificed her own body and reputation (while on earth) to conceive, carry and deliver the Christ child , even while accused of conceiving the baby out of wedlock, with all the scorn and disrepute that went along with that perception back then. She had only been “betrothed” to Joseph (what we’d call “engaged” today), when she was pregnant with the Christ child; and this fact alone in those days was enough to allow for her “stoning,” or to be “put out” by Joseph. (You see, ladies, how much better you have it today! Seriously, it’s now only fair that I upset you, since I upset the men earlier, when trumpeting the fact that we ought to listen to you more!)

Mother Mary was also a “phenomenal woman” inasmuch as she did many, many more things of God in raising up the boy Jesus - and then being there for him at the cross when all the other disciples but John had run away; and she was even there for Him during His earthly ministry too. Recall, she played a principal role in His very first recorded miracle (as told in John 2:5), when He turned the water into wine. I’ll always believe that Nike got their slogan “Just do it,” from Mother Mary!

“Just do it!”

Remember, His disciples were grumbling over why Jesus would tell them to fill those barrels with water when it was “wine” that they needed at that wedding feast in Canaan. Mary interrupted their griping by her admonishment, “Whatever Jesus tells you to do … just do it!” Her advice makes her a “phenomenal woman.”

“Whatever Jesus tells you to do … just do it!”

Wow, is that good advice for all of us, or what?

Pastor Andy's remarks, followed up by the rest of the message:

“John,
Words cannot begin to express our appreciation to you for the way you gave of yourself to us tonight. You ministered in a very transparent, real and powerful way, and you interacted with us as if you've known us for a long time. You allowed the Holy Spirit to use you mightily. Your message was timely, relevant, effective, and Biblically sound. Thank you, my brother! I am attaching some info on myself. The two Churches I serve are:

Miami Seventh Day Baptist Church
10185 NW 7th. Avenue
Miami, FL 33150
(305)751-8594
www.ourchurch.com/member/m/miamisdb

Seventh Day Baptist Church of Fort Lauderdale
3500 W. Oakland Park Blvd
Lauderdale Lakes, FL 33311
(754)244-5638

Let's stay in touch!” - Andy

No more pig slop and pond scum"

“Draw nearer to God..."

The theme that I was given (in my spirit, I believe) for this banquet message was, "Draw nearer to God." (Just as we're encouraged to do in James 4:7 and 8!) If you actually do "draw nearer to God, He says that "God will draw nearer to you." That's pretty cool.

I talked about the prodigal son and the fact that this is exactly what happened with him! He "came to his senses" (Luke 15:17) and quit eating pig slop with that other farmer's pigs, deciding to return to his father. He drew nearer his father, and the Father drew nearer to him! That pivotal verse of Luke 15:17, is a word picture of James 4:7 and 8.
"Draw nearer to God and He will draw nearer to you" is the positive message, and yet there's the flip side to that message. We talked about how we need to change from the way we typically follow Christ, "at a distance."

I mentioned this not as a way of beating myself up or judging the folks in the audience, as we all tend to follow Him too often "at a distance." It even happened to Peter.

"Petra" wasn't always a "rock," we're told, as he fearfully followed the arrested Jesus "at a distance." He then denied Christ three times as they led Jesus away (just as Christ told him he would do), and yet we're shown in the scriptures that Jesus forgave him, thank God.

Christ told Mary Magdalene (i.e., upon His resurrection, she was the first to see Him outside the empty tomb) to "go and tell the disciples and Peter." He singled Peter out by name, knowing that Peter would feel like pond scum and absolutely need that encouragement! He forgave Peter, just as He forgives us, thank God!

Mystery Mingle in Sarasota

"Poor Michael Connelly, the big time famous author. I get to tell people, "I'm one of the invited authors along with Michael Connely at the 'Mystery Mingle' writers conference @ Lido Beach Resort tonight," whereas he's forced to say, "I'm one of the authors at the conference with this guy Contini and a bunch of other no names." 

www.mysteryflorida.com

 

 

 

2008 Conference

June 6-7, 2008

Lido Beach Resort

Sarasota, Florida

Mystery Mingle

Friday, June 6

5:00 - 7:00 p.m.

Meet Florida's masters of mystery, mayhem, suspense and murder in an idyllic beach location where paradise meets imagination.  

The following authors will be participating in the largest book signing in Florida.  (The list of authors is continually being updated, keep checking back).       

The authors books will be available for purchase at the door. This event is open to the public free of charge.

NORM APPLEGATE

JIM ARLANDSON

WAYNE BARCOMB

BILL BONNER

JAMES O. BORN

DON BRUNS

BLAIZE CLEMENT

MICHAEL CONNELLY

JOHN CONTINI

KIM COOL

TOM CORCORAN

TIM DORSEY

TERRI DULONG

JAMES FORREST

H. TERRELL GRIFFIN

ROBERT GUSSIN

PATRICIA GUSSIN

DAVID HAGBERG

KATE HOLMES

N.M. KELBY

JONATHAN KING

SUSAN KLAUS

P.D. LAFLEUR

WARD LARSEN

DONNA FOLEY MABRY

JAMES MACOMBER

JOHN MANRIQUE

KRISTY MONTEE (P.J. PARRISH)

BOB MORRIS

BARBARA PARKER

RICK STIENS

JAMES SHEEHAN

JAMES SWAIN

ROBERT TACOMA

J.M. TAYLOR

CLARISSA THOMASSON

NOREEN WALD (NORA CHARLES)

www.mysteryflorida.com

 

 

 

John Contini with Bill Lewis on WWNN radio!

"John Contini, trial lawyer and author,” will be the guest of Bill Lewis on the Credit Restoration Consultants Hour live this Friday, April 4 at 9:00 AM on WWNN located at 1470 on your AM dial. Talking about provocative real life happenings all around us, our economy, what's going on with the candidates for Presidency - whatever is going on in the news - or better yet, the world, worth talking about.

Callers may call in to WWNN, (888) 565-1470 immediately after the show starts Friday at 9:00 AM with their views and questions. The show will replay again Friday at 9:00 PM and Saturday at 7:00 PM.

Listeners can listen live at 9:00 AM to John with Bill Lewis, the provocative, 'take no prisoners' talk show host, on their computers by going to www.WWNNRADIO.com and clicking the listen live link.

…later you can rate the show by going to www.talkaboutcredit.com and click the link “rate the show” giving it 1-5 stars.

Thanks for listening!


Check out John's Myspace site @ www.myspace.com/jpcontinibooks *already 8200 (!) "Views," with over 3900 folks already signed up!"

              
ISBN-13: 9780977317400 / ISBN-13: 9780977317424
IBSN-10: 0977317404 / ISBN-10: 0977317420
$14.95 / $14.95

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john@jpcontini.com
954.766.8810
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www.FeelingTheHeat.net 800.957.6476
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