At a recent interfaith prayer breakfast in Jacksonville, Fla., Bishop T.D. Jakes, lead pastor of The Potter's House in Dallas, Texas, encouraged religious and city leaders to acknowledge their "daunting job" of helping at-risk youth by uniting on a private, public, and spiritual front to improve graduation rates and decrease crime and unemployment rates in the city.

Jakes served as the keynote speaker at Mayor Alvin Brown's annual Interfaith Breakfast on Monday. along with speakers from Faith Temple Assembly of God, Evangel Temple, Alachua-Central African Methodist Episcopal Church, Celebration Church, and Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church.

"We need to fight the good fight of faith," Jakes told those in attendance, as reported by The Florida-Times Union. more >>

Dwyane Wade showed up at a prom Friday night and surprised one lucky – and persistent – fan who has asked him multiple times to be her date since last Fall.

The Miami Heat superstar pulled up to the Archbishop Coleman Carroll High School senior prom at the LaJolla Ballroom in Coral Gables, Fla., decked out in a sleek black suit, white shirt, no tie, and striking red loafers ensemble. Wade had not responded to 17-year-old Nicole Muxo's Twitter invite to be her date at the prom, so she was not expecting him to show up, especially since he was busy with the NBA playoff season. But just before he entered the ballroom, Wade gave her a call and wished her a good night, The Miami Herald reported.

And then he made his grand entrance and surprised Muxo and all her classmates. more >>

A registered nurse claiming she was endorsed by Jesus lost the bid for mayor of North Miami, Fla., in Tuesday's election, reportedly finishing last in a line of six other candidates.

Anna Pierre, a Haitian native who reportedly moved to America after recording a hit pop song in the Caribbean country, made headlines last week when she announced on her Facebook group and on campaign stops that her official endorsement for her mayoral candidacy was Jesus Christ.

"Yes, Jesus endorsed me!" Pierre reportedly told the local news station NBC 6 South Florida during a campaign stop at the Gwen Margolis Community Center on Tuesday. more >>

Anna L. Pierre, a mayoral candidate for the city of North Miami, has claimed that she has received the endorsement of Jesus Christ on her official campaign poster.

"Yes, he did endorse me," Pierre told Local 10.com on Monday.

The election for the North Miami mayoral seat takes place on Tueday. Pierre is running against Gwendolyn V. Boyd, Kevin Burns, Modira Escarment, Dr. Smith Joseph, Jean Rodrigue Marcellus, Lucie Tondreau, and Mayor Andre Pierre. more >>

David Loveless has resigned as the lead pastor of Discovery Church in Orlando, Fla., after admitting that he had an extramarital affair.

"It is with great sadness that we announce the immediate resignation of our lead pastor, David Loveless, following his acknowledgement of his participation in a wrongful relationship over multiple years with a woman not his wife," a statement from the church's elder board reads. "While David indicates that the relationship was ended approximately three years ago, we were only made aware of it when he informed us in recent days. David offered his resignation and the elders prayerfully and unanimously accepted it."

The Church Wounds co-author and his wife, Caron, have been married for more than 37 years, and they have three married sons and seven grandchildren, according to his blog. The church he is leaving has been recognized as "one of the 10 healthiest churches in America," his blog formerly stated, and he was recognized as "one of the top 20 Christian leaders in the U.S. to watch." more >>

The church is coming, says Bishop Harry Jackson, leader of a new community of faith being developed in Central Florida that will launch next year. The plant, Hope Connexion Orlando, will serve as a clarion call for the Christian Church to confront its prejudices and take on its prophetic role of speaking truth to power in its own communities and abroad. Or at least, that's the vision.

Despite the growing presence of diverse congregations across the U.S. that mirror the biblical image of Jesus Christ's followers being of every nation, tribe and language, there are still cases in which some churches and Christians seem to stumble over the explicit command for diversity Christ makes in the Great Commission and that the first century church modeled.

Last year, a Mississippi Baptist church made headlines because its predominantly white congregation denied a black couple's wish to be married at the church by their pastor allegedly due to their race. The year before, a Kentucky pastor reversed his congregation's vote to bar interracial couples from becoming members. There have also been questions about white churches having black leaders, predominantly black churches embracing white leaders and the apparent oddity of a Korean-American pastor leading a "predominantly African-American" congregation." more >>