Stephen C. Rice travel, Uncategorized

Footsteps of the Apostle Paul

I’m really excited about our upcoming 2023 trip to Greece as we travel in the FOOTSTEPS of the APOSTLE PAUL. I have led several groups to Israel, but have always wanted to take a group to Greece to walk in the footsteps of the great Apostle Paul. We will finally get to do just that on September 11-22, 2023.

“I always wanted to walk in the footsteps of the great Apostle Paul.”

I hope you can join us for this trip as we partner with our good friend, Alan Dodson at EDI Travel. We’ve created a special webpage for this trip that provides information and registration details.

The cost of the trip is $5,300 all-inclusive from a major International Airport which includes a 3-day cruise on the Mediterranean. Please let me know if you have any questions. You can contact me at steve.rice@kybaptist.org.

Stephen C. Rice Church Consulting, Deacon, Leadership, Security, Uncategorized

Is Your Church Safe & Secure?

Every church MUST think about church security in today’s world! Every church should have a comprehensive Church Security Plan and a Church Security Team in place! BUT, where do you begin and who can help?

We have six Kentucky Baptist Convention Regional Consultants prepared to make a presentation to your church or a group of leaders that will raise awareness for the need of a good security plan as well as cover some of the basics. They can provide first steps and help a church take next steps.

We created a Church Security page on our website with resources available for churches as well as links to several Church Security training videos filmed at one of our KBC Church Security Conferences:

For additional assistance please contact a KBC Regional Consultant directly or contact me at the Kentucky Baptist Convention.

Stephen C. Rice Uncategorized

Be Prepared

We are taking the lead at the Kentucky Baptist Convention in addressing the issue of church sexual abuse. The KBC has partnered with an organization called MinistrySafe to provide training sessions we are calling “Church Prepared: Sexual Abuse Prevention, Response, and Care.”

I encourage every pastor and church to be involved. The training will especially benefit the following:

  • Pastors
  • Other Church staff
  • Security Team members
  • Deacons
  • Elders
  • Children’s Workers
  • Student Workers
  • Sunday School Workers
  • Women’s Ministry
  • Men’s Ministry

The training sessions will be held at four locations across the state October 3-6, 2022. The schedule is as follows:

October 3 – Lone Oak First Baptist Church, Paducah

October 4 – Living Hope BC, Bowling Green

October 5 – Buck Run BC, Frankfort

October 6 – Fairview BC, Ashland

Registration
Here is the link to the registration page: https://www.kybaptist.org/churchprepared/. Please let me know if you have any questions or need more information.

Stephen C. Rice Discipleship, Life Happens

The Practice of “Slowing”

One of the great books on spiritual disciplines is John Ortberg’s book, The Life You’ve Always Wanted:  Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People.  You can read my review of the book by clicking here.

One of the spiritual disciplines he talks about in the book is the practice of “slowing.”  Have you ever thought about “slowing” as a spiritual practice?  One of his mentors told him that if he wanted to grow spiritually that he must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from his life.  Listen to a great quote from his book:

Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day.  Hurry can destroy our souls.  Hurry can keep us from living well….Again and again, as we pursue spiritual life, we must do battle with hurry.  For many of us the great danger is not that we renounce our faith.  It is that we will become so distracted and rushed and preoccupied that we will settle for a mediocre version of it.  We will just skim our lives instead of actually living them.

Most of us battle the hurry sickness, but how can we treat it–how can we cure it?  There are two main practices that can help us swim against our culture’s current of hurry.

1.  Slowing.  Slowing involves cultivating patience by deliberately choosing to place ourselves in positions where we simply have to wait.  Slowing will seem like such a “waste of time,” but it is invaluable.  Here are some examples.  Deliberately drive in the slow lane.  Chew your food slowly.  Get in the longest check-out line at the grocery store.  Go through an entire week without wearing a watch.  Read each sentence slowly–then read it again even more slowly.

2.  Solitude.  Solitude is a more traditional spiritual practice.  I’m not saying that we should take it to the extreme and join a monastery.  I’m just saying that solitude is the one place where we can gain freedom from the forces of society that will otherwise relentlessly mold us.  When we’re “alone” with God–He molds us!

We need some small measures of solitude every day.  A walk, a short drive, working in the yard, sitting in the car before going into the office, a quiet time–all these serve as moments of solitude.  On occasion, we need longer periods of solitude.  Take an afternoon to yourself or even an entire day.  Go to a place where you will be uninterrupted and alone.  Spend the day relaxing, reading, walking, napping, etc.

Both of these practices have been vital to my spiritual growth and to my ability to hear from God.  By the way, if you haven’t read John Ortberg’s book on spiritual disciplines, you must do so.  Here’s a link to Amazon where you can purchase the book and get started.  I wish I had read this book as a new Christian and learned about the practice of “slowing” and many of the other spiritual disciplines that have helped me to grow in recent years.

Stephen C. Rice Discipleship, Funny, Life Happens

3 Keys to Following God

One of my favorite books of the Bible is the Gospel of Mark. I like his “just the facts” approach to the Gospel story. I had a little laugh recently while reading the following passage:

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!” Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else–to the nearby villages–so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”  Mark 1:35-38 (NIV)

Doesn’t it seem odd to you that Jesus left as soon as the crowds began to gather? Typically, most leaders are hoping to draw a big crowd, but Jesus did something quite unusual at that point. When His ratings spiked–He took a hike! When the numbers were high–he said goodbye. When the crowds grew–he bid them adieu.

Doesn’t that strike you as being unusual? Why did Jesus do that? What can we learn from this story? Here are three keys to following God as a true believer.

3 Keys to Following God

1. God’s plan is rarely like our plan. He knows best, so we should trust Him and follow Him. He often leads us to do the unexpected…..the unpredictable…..the unthinkable!

2. We should never allow others to shape us by their expectations. I am a people-pleaser and the opinions of others matter greatly to me. But, I know that I should seek to live for an audience of one. Although we want to be good examples to those around us, ultimately, we should simply try to please God.

3. We should never exchange good for God. Some things are good to do, but they are not the things God has led us to do–they are good, but they are not God. The challenge is to live in such a way that we can discern the difference.

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