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Phillip Short is a
third-generation United Methodist pastor. Born in Knoxville, TN,
he grew up in central-Florida. He attended elementary school in
St. Petersburg and junior high and high school in Leesburg. He
received his associate’s degree from Emory at Oxford. He
received his bachelor’s degree from Auburn University. He
received his master’s of divinity degree from The Chandler
School of Theology at Emory University.
Since his
ordination, Phillip has served churches in Tampa (Palma Ceia),
Seffner (First), Lake Wales (First), and presently at First
United Methodist Church of Stuart.
He has
been married for 21 years to Giova. They have a daughter,
Carmen, 17.
A Few Short Words...by Pastor Phillip
- February 2012
Archived newsletters from Pastor
Phillip are also available by clicking on the "Newsletter" link on
the left side of the menu:
Pastor Phillip's
Top 10 Favorite Bible Verses;
 1)
“Long ago the Lord said to Israel:“I have loved you, My people,
with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you
to Myself.”
Jeremiah 33:3 (New
Living Translation)
2) “The LORD your
God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great
delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice
over you with singing."
Zephaniah 3:17 (New
International Version)
3) But this is the
new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,”
says the Lord. “I will put My instructions deep within them, and
I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they
will be My people.
Jeremiah 31:33 (NIV)
4) And I will give
you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take
out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive
heart.
Ezekiel 36:26 (NIV)
5) “When you go
through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through
rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through
the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames
will not consume you.”
Isaiah 43:2
6) “For God so loved
the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever
believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16
7) And God will wipe
away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death,
nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the
former things have passed away.”
Revelation 21:4
8) Your attitude
should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be
grasped,
but made Himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
He humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place
and gave Him the Name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:5-11
9) “The thief comes
only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may
have life, and have it to the full.”
John 10:10
10) "His master
replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been
faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many
things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
Matthew 25:23
Pastor Phillip's Top 10 Favorite Quotes;
(from Christian thinkers,
theologians, sages and mentors as well as the Desert Fathers and
Mothers, etc.)
1) “As Christians,
we’re called to live within the tensions!” - Rev. Robin Hager
2) “The glory
of God is a Man fully alive.” - St. Irenaeus
3) “People are
sure to fall, but when we’re in Christ, we’re sure to fall
forward.” - Rev. Glen Hobgood
4) “Our hearts are
not at rest until they find their rest in You.” - St. Augustine
5) “The
unfathomable mystery of God is that God is a Lover who wants to
be loved. The One who created us is waiting for our response to
the love that gave us our being. God not only says, ‘You are My
beloved,’ God also asks, ‘Do you love Me?’ and offers countless
chances to say ‘yes.’” - Henri Nouwen
6) “’Tis a gift to
be simple, ‘tis a gift to be free …” - Shaker hymn
7) “If you should
ask me what are the ways of God, I would tell you that the first
is humility, the second is humility, and the third is still
humility. Not that there are no other precepts to give, but if
humility does not precede all that we do, our efforts are
fruitless.—St. Augustine.
8) I walked up to an
old, old monk and asked him, “What is the audacity of
humility?” This man had never met me before, but do you know
what his answer was? “To be the first to say ‘I love you.’” -
Theophane the Monk
9) “He’s dangerous,
but He’s good!” - C.S. Lewis
10) “Love the
people.” - Riley Short
(pictured above is Phillip's twin
brother Hunter and his Dad, Riley)
Top 10 "Phillip-isms":
(Things that Phillip says nearly all the time along with their
translations.)
  
1) “Say
more!” (What Phillip
says when you bring up a great idea in a Bible study or
discussion and he wants you to expand on it.)
2) “Extrapolate
on that!” (What Phillip
says when he gets tired of quote #1. He says he learned that
word from his professor of science fiction and fantasy back
during his Auburn University days.)
3) “There’s
a bad moon on the rise!”
(What Phillip says when sees life
taking difficult turns. He might be quoting Revelation 6, he
might be quoting Credence Clearwater Revivals Bad Moon Rising,
I don’t really know. All I do know is that he means it when he
says it, and it has a really great dramatic effect.)
4) “What’s
the matter? Are you scared?”
(What Phillip says when he sees
people getting afraid to take on the challenge of Christ. He
admits that it’s manipulative, and even remembers when his
nephew Walker used that line on him to get a fishhook out of the
mouth of a giant garfish down in the Everglades.)
5) “You’re
so random!” (What
Phillip says when he’s trying to annoy his daughter!”)
6) “The
Man comes around!”
(What Phillip says when he tells us that there will be a day of
reckoning.)
7) “Stop
on by and have a cup of coffee with me!”
(What Phillip says when he really wants to visit with you. He
really means it.)
8) “There’s
no sense in watering last year’s crops!”
(What Phillip says when people are
holding on to regrets, hurts, or conflicts that should have been
settled with time.)
9) “Turn
to Jesus and walk with Him!
This ties with “Get your lamp
lit!” (Both of these means pretty much the same thing.
Phillip says these things when he wants you to get to know Jesus
in a better way.)
10) “College
sure was fun, wasn’t it?”
(This is a new Phillip-ism, he’s
only been using it for a few months and we’re not sure what it
means.)
(What
are some other Phillip-isms? Send them in so we can post them
here.)
More Q & A about our beloved Pastor Phillip & his family:
 What
do you love about ministry?
Seeing
people get their hearts warmed, seeing them figure out that
Jesus is real, and that He loves them, and then watching Christ
make differences in their lives.
 What
do you like least about ministry?
People who complain
without offering solutions.
(this
photo was taken August 2008 during a mission trip to Costa Rica
in the town of Playa Garza...the group that traveled were part
of a construction team that dug out a foundation to expand the
existing church to have a meeting room...There were some
electrical problems and Pastor Phillip had to hold up a "live"
wire with a 2x4 in order to assist the town electrician -
Phillip was the lone brave volunteer to "offer a solution" and
hold up the 220 volt cable so we could continue working with
power!)
 Tell
Us About Your Wife: I
met Giova (pronounced “Jova”) when I was a seminary student in
Atlanta. She was working in the business office of the
Peachtree Road United Methodist Church. Giova grew up in
Diriamba, Nicaragua. She has thick black hair and dark shiny
eyes. We have been married for 19 years. We are great friends
in addition to being spouses. Giova loves to laugh and has a
great sense of humor. She is a great mother. She works as the
“English as a Second Language” (ESL) teacher and the translator
at the Hidden Oaks Middle School in Palm City. She’s popular
and well-loved and well liked by everyone she meets.
Giova’s
Top 10 Talents: Okay,
but these are in no particular order …
1) Laughing
2) Organizing
3) Working with
children
4) Standing up for
her rights
5) Cutting a great
deal of a bargain
6) Being a great
mother
7) Reading
8) Being pretty
9) Melting me (and
playing me like a deck of cards in the process)
10) Making life
interesting
Tell Us About Your Daughter:
Carmen is 15. She’s
really smart (straight A’s), she’s tall, and she’s really
beautiful (she gets 100% of this from her mother, I’m only good
for the long legs). And she’s beautiful on the inside and she’s
beautiful on the outside (and inside beauty is most important to
me, but especially most important to God).
Carmen’s Top 10 Talents:
Okay, but these are in random order …
1) Painting,
drawing, arts and crafts
 
2) Texting
3) Surfing
 
4) Doing really
complicated math problems and making them look easy.
5) Fishing (the fish
like her more than they like me)
6) Playing tennis
7) Singing
8) Getting
thoroughly embarrassed by anything her Dad says, does, wears,
etc. (And you know, it’s one of life’s great joys to embarrass
your daughter).
9) Shopping
10) Making life
interesting
What is your favorite movie:
“Forrest Gump”
What kind of car do you drive:
Honda CRV
What are your favorite holidays:
Thanksgiving, The Epiphany of the Lord, Pentecost
Where do you like to vacation:
We are fans of the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. We recommend
the town of Nosara. If you like either the mountains, the
rivers, the jungle and the sea, all four of these come together
at Nosara. The surfing is always great. So is the fishing.
Stay at the
Harmony
Hotel.
When we go to the
city, we love to go to Manhattan. Carmen’s a big fan of
Broadway musicals. Giova loves to shop. And Phillip is an art
and history museum nerd.
What are your
favorite hobbies?
I have been known to
take an occasional day off. Friday is usually the day that I
sleep in an extra half-hour, do what my wife tells me to do, run
errands, and then play. What are my hobbies? I love to …
1 - FISH—I love to
fish. I have a small boat with a 15 horsepower Johnson
outboard. While the boat is almost as long as I am tall, it is
perfect for getting me out to the grass flats near the power
plant at Ft. Pierce. I love to take Carmen. We have had some
great father/daughter time there. The time goes by slowly in
all of the right ways. A good day will see us catching some
trout. When the weather cools off I like to look for Pompano
down in the sun parlor. I have been known to accept invitations
to go off shore. I enjoy that best when the weatherman
forecasts calms seas, because my stomach doesn’t get along with
rough waves. And I need to give you fair warning. If I catch
more or bigger fish than you do, I will be talking
about it from the pulpit on Sunday morning. I love the rush of
a bending fishing rod, and even if the fish don’t bite, I love
being out on the water and I love relaxing.
(2) PLAY GUITAR—I
love to pick and strum. I am far from polished. I’m
self-taught and have been fortunate to pick up some free
pointers here and there from good guitar players. I love to
kick back on the back porch or even at a jam session and play
the songs that I grew up on. I have a collection of songs that
I have put together. It’s called “The Eclectic Psychedelic
Redneck Song Book of Dwelling Tunes.” In the not-too-distant
future you will be able to link to it. I want you to add your
favorites to it so we can sit down and strum out a few tunes and
do some dwelling and jammin’ together!
Tell Us About Your Dog:
We have a mutt named Chloe that we got as a rescue from the
Human Society in Winter Haven. Chloe is actually Carmen’s dog
and is a great match for our home. She is a watchdog for Giova,
she sleeps with Carmen, and she plays rough with me.
Chloe’s Top-10
Talents:
1) Catching the
Frisbee
2) Jumping over the
fence
3) Jumping over the
fences of the neighbors who also own dogs
4) Stealing the dog
toys of the aforementioned-neighbor’s dogs
5) Returning over
the aforementioned-neighbor’s fences and ours with the stolen
property.
6) Leaving me
thoroughly embarrassed while I try to explain why my backyard is
strewn with stolen property when the aforementioned-neighbors
come to visit. (I’m surprised that I haven’t been brought up on
charges before the bishop).
7) Attacking me for
taking grapefruit off of the tree in the backyard.
8) Taking naps
9) Digging a hole
and keeping everything that isn’t nailed down (including the
neighbor’s recyclables) in it.
10) Being such a
good dog that you can’t stay mad at her. |
