Usually the question, “What happened here?” comes on the heels of a crisis — a natural disaster, an automobile accident or a puppy left alone for too long in its owner’s kitchen. In this case, it has to do with a Kentucky Baptist church. Viney Fork Baptist Church of Tates Creek Association, in the SpeedwellContinue reading “What Happened Here?”
Tag Archives: pastor
Put Someone in the Game
In a recent interview with national pro-life apologist Scott Klusendorf, I asked what experience framed his view and practice of leadership. He referenced an early Christian leader who “put him in the game” before he was ready. Scott made mistakes — as all of us do — but he had the character and capacity toContinue reading “Put Someone in the Game”
5 Benefits of Church Prepared Training
Everyone is busy. Adding a half day of training, especially training that addresses challenging content such as sexual abuse, could feel a little daunting. However, this training is needed by Kentucky Baptists churches and their leaders. I recently heard a man share about his daughter being sexually abused as a little girl, and another personContinue reading “5 Benefits of Church Prepared Training”
Do not believe everything you read
We may never know who first said, “Do not believe everything you read,” but we can be reasonably sure the person was trying to correct some erroneous print piece about something important. Just recently, I reached out to a national leader after seeing a blog post accusing him of heretical beliefs. I shared the articleContinue reading “Do not believe everything you read”
Mistakes I have made
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”
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”
Dr. Todd Gray 