Pinnacle Forum Partner, Daniel Bernard has three full time jobs. He runs his own business; he’s the President and Founder of Somebody Cares Tampa Bay (www.sctb.org), and he’s a movie producer for The Favorite. Along the way, he has been married for 32 years, raised a family of six children, and written several books.
Daniel’s for-profit business pays the bills. Somebody Cares Tampa Bay is an outlet for his passion to “Unify and empower God’s people as a caring community to transform Tampa Bay.” Lastly, his movie, The Favorite (https://www.thefavoritemovie.com) is a powerful story based on the experience of his own son’s car accident.
This fruitful season in Daniel’s life is fed by a deep taproot of faith and service. He graduated from Kentucky Christian College, earned an MA from Liberty Theological Seminary and went on to Cincinnati Bible Seminary, where he fell in love with and married Kathy. They pastored churches in Kentucky and Texas before spending five years in Nigeria, planting churches and starting a discipleship school.
In 1996, the Bernards felt God leading them to Tampa Bay. They helped establish Somebody Cares Tampa Bay (SCTB) to work across denominational and racial lines and help churches impact their community for Christ. One of their events last year, CareFest® (https://www.carefestusa.com/upcoming-events/carefest/), brought together more than 4,000 volunteers to refurbish more than 300 homes in a single day. (Learn how to bring CareFest to your city at https://www.carefestusa.com/what-is-carefest/carefest-in-your-city/).
Focus and Calling
Several months ago, a friend invited Daniel to attend a Pinnacle Forum event in Tampa Bay, where he met Steve Fedyski. The two men shared a common desire for equipping believers to transform culture. “There are lots of other Christian groups meeting in the city,” Daniel recalls, “but I felt Pinnacle Forum could add something new. Forums are very intentional; they encourage you to find and focus on your particular passion.” Since that meeting, Daniel has helped lay the groundwork for one or two Forums to launch in Tampa Bay in February.
How can someone as busy as Daniel find time for another activity, much less one that involves the commitment of a Forum group? “It’s a matter of priorities,” Daniel says. “Pinnacle Forum is about personal transformation that leads to transforming others and, ultimately, changing the culture. If you skip the personal level, you lessen your impact.
“The real problem I see is believers not finding the place God wants them to be,” Daniel continues. “There’s more to Christianity than a general calling. God has a specific destiny for each of us and he wants to give us the grace and power to move into it. A Forum helps you find your focus and encourages you to keep going when things get tough.”
Daniel never thought his calling would include being a movie producer, or that the script would be so personal. “The Favorite is about two sons,” Daniel explains, “however, it’s inspired by events that happened to my son, Luke, who was in a near fatal accident in 2013. His physical and spiritual transformation is depicted by the two brothers in the film.”
The Favorite is a tale of one distant and agitated son, hurt by what he perceives as favoritism given to his younger brother, who then vents this anger through fighting. Will he injure the people he loves most? Or will he find healing before it’s too late?
“This is bigger than just another movie,” Daniel insists. “We have a strategic plan to reach the lost. We’re sharing our story as a way to share God’s story about His son.”
Daniel explains more about The Favorite: (https://www.facebook.com/TheFavoriteSocialMedia) and how your Forum can use it to reach your city in a video posted at: https://onedrive.live.com/?cid=eee4f5329f51a789&id=EEE4F5329F51A789%2110543&Bsrc=Share&Bpub=SDX.SkyDrive&authkey=%21AqYY7fvFllcfA7U&v=3
Pure Flix, producer of the films God’s Not Dead and Do You Believe has given Daniel a Letter of Intent regarding The Favorite. This is an encouragement and testament of what has been achieved through the making of this film – all to God’s Glory.
