I had the opportunity to attend the “American Friends of Ariel” dinner in Aventura last night. My good friend Kelly was one of the honorees, so I planned on attending to support him. A couple of days before the event, I was asked to give an invocation and introduce Kelly as he received his award.

I don’t normally get nervous when I speak, but when I was standing next to the mayor of Ariel (in ancient Samaria in Israel), and the former Israeli ambassador to the United States, I was nervous. Plus, the rabbi that spoke before me was off the hook! I’ve never heard the story of Esther like that before! Totally amazing!

Anyway, it was an incredible evening as Christians and Jews celebrated what we have in common, not what divides us. The Jewish community in Israel loves the Evangelical community. I know the church has a bad reputation in many circles (and rightly so in many cases), but last night I got to see what it looks like when Christians set their hearts on doing good and being a blessing to others.