Every pastor and church leader can sympathize with the first line of a Queen song which says, “And bad mistakes, I’ve made a few.” The number and severity of those mistakes may be commensurate with the number of years one has spent in vocational ministry. Many of us tire of hearing the success stories ofContinue reading “Mistakes I have made”
Tag Archives: pastor
Pray for Christians in politics
Kentucky has many outstanding Christian legislators, both in the House and the Senate. Kentucky Baptists will be pleased to hear that several of them are active members of KBC churches. These legislators are involved in politics because they believe they can pass laws that honor God and are good for people. I applaud these menContinue reading “Pray for Christians in politics”
Preventing sexual abuse in the local church
It is hard for many Kentucky Baptists to imagine that sexual abuse could happen in their church. Churches are places where strong, healthy and trusting relationships are developed with other redeemed people and where we are taught to believe the best about one another. However, anyone who has watched the news or read aContinue reading “Preventing sexual abuse in the local church”
Under investigation
There are few earthly experiences more concerning than being told that you and the organization you are leading are under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. Even if you are not aware of any wrongdoing, it still must be an unsettling experience. The DOJ has an annual budget of more than $30 billion andContinue reading “Under investigation”
Flood discoveries
On Tuesday, Aug. 2, I toured as much of the southeastern Kentucky flood area as I could in one day — starting in Hazard and swinging through Hindman, Whitesburg, Neon, Martin, McDowell, Myra, Jenkins, Carrie and more. My sole purpose was to encourage pastors, leaders and Disaster Relief volunteers in the good work they areContinue reading “Flood discoveries”
The grass is always greener
Once during a particularly stressful time in my ministry, I found myself daydreaming about the situation of another pastor. I had taken a Sunday off and visited his church. As I was there, I found myself imagining what his weekly workload was like—his duties being far less taxing and his satisfaction level far higher thanContinue reading “The grass is always greener”
Time to think
I love solitude. I look forward to time alone with a cup of coffee and a comfortable chair — it is a life-giving and energy-restoring discipline for me. Ten to 20 minutes alone fuels me up for hours of productivity. But until recently, I did not know there was a term for what I wasContinue reading “Time to think”
Lessons from an LGBTQ+ celebration
On Saturday morning, I accidentally ended up in the middle of an LGBTQ+ pride celebration in Louisville. I had a friend visiting from out of town and was driving him to see various parts of the city when we found ourselves in heavy traffic with hundreds of participants celebrating their LGBTQ+ affinity. During our briefContinue reading “Lessons from an LGBTQ+ celebration”
Equipping the called
When only about 10% of the churches in your association are served by full-time pastors, you need a strong bench of biblically qualified men to fill the pulpits of the churches. That is the case with the Three Forks Baptist Association in eastern Kentucky, led by AMS Jamie Reynolds. In 2005, two local church pastorsContinue reading “Equipping the called”
A letter to Kentucky Baptists
Dear Kentucky Baptists, The Guidepost Solutions Sexual Abuse Task Force Report released Sunday afternoon was heartbreaking and shocking, to say the least. The abuse perpetrated against fellow image-bearers — the fact that those involved in abuse held positions of leadership in Christian ministry, and the fact that the abuse was covered up — speaks toContinue reading “A letter to Kentucky Baptists”
Dr. Todd Gray 