Tag: KBC

7 Things I Loved Hearing as a Pastor

Posted in Church Consulting, Church Revitalization, Discipleship, Leadership, Ministry, Preaching, Uncategorized, WorshipLeave a comment

In my last post, I talked about 6 Things I Hated Hearing As a Pastor. Fortunately in the churches I served as Senior Pastor, I heard far more words of encouragement than words of discouragement. Here are a few of the things I LOVED hearing most as a pastor.

7 Things I Loved Hearing as a Pastor

1. Pastor. I loved being called “pastor.” I’ve had no higher calling or greater privilege in my career than serving as a pastor of a local church. When someone said “Pastor Steve” or “Pastor Rice,” it always warmed my heart and made me grateful to God.

I loved being called “pastor.”

2. Pastor, I’m praying for you. You’ve heard the saying “I need the prayers and you need the practice.” I don’t know if the person who offered to pray for me needed to practice, but I knew that I needed their prayers. What a privilege that they would take time to pray for me!

3. Pastor, pray for me. It was humbling when members of the church or community asked me to pray for them. They trusted that my prayers would make a difference in their lives–what a blessing this was!

4. Thank you pastor. Words of gratitude were always welcome. I did not serve as a pastor in order to receive the praises of men and women, but since I’m human, it felt great to be appreciated.

…since I’m human, it felt great to be appreciated.

5. Pastor, I’ll be glad to help. Some individuals were always ready to jump in and help–always ready to say yes. They were always willing to give their time, finances, talents, and gifts.

6. Pastor, tell me how to become a Christian. The “Good News” never got old. Possibly the highest privilege of a pastor was being present when a person placed their faith in Jesus Christ. Heaven was present and eternity was changed!

7. Pastor, help me know how to read the Bible. The Bible is the most important key to spiritual growth. Through our reading and study of the Bible, we hear the Word of the Lord. I always found great joy in helping church members know more about God’s Word.

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6 Things I Hated Hearing as a Pastor

Posted in Church Chat, Church Revitalization, Leadership, Ministry, Preaching, Uncategorized1 Comment

I just completed an interim pastor assignment at one of our fine Kentucky Baptist Convention Churches. On my final Sunday, folks were very gracious with words of appreciation and encouragement. Although that has been typical when I have served as an interim pastor, that was not always the case when I served as a regular pastor. Thankfully, I was blessed to hear great encouragement and much-needed, Godly advice through the years, but there were things that I always hated to hear as a pastor.

6 Things I Hated Hearing as a Pastor

1. People are saying. This usually mean’t that the person talking to me had a personal concern about something. As I matured as a pastor I began to ask “what people?” “Who exactly?” “Please ask them to come and talk with me because I would be happy to talk to them in person about his matter.”

“…what people? Who exactly?”

2. You should have told me about this. It’s true that communication is extremely important and there were times that I didn’t communicate well, but usually this phrase came from someone who simply wanted to control decisions. Although we went through all the proper church channels in making the decision, they were upset that their opinion was not sought.

3. You should preach on ___________. Church members should feel the freedom to offer sermon topics to their pastor. Personally, I’ve been overly defensive at times in this area. It wasn’t the suggestion itself, but the motive and spirit behind the suggestion that really got under my skin.

“…really got under my skin.”

4. If you’re in the area. “If you’re in the area, drop by and see my uncle that I haven’t spoken to in 25 years.” This type of request always made me feel guilty. Usually they were referring to someone who lived hours away. I made a few of these visits through the years, but they often felt very awkward. The person making the “suggestion” was actually the one who needed to go see their uncle instead of asking me to do so.

5. No one came and saw me in the hospital. I know that I failed to make some hospital visits through the years, but this statement usually came from someone who never let the church know that they were in the hospital. With the new privacy laws surrounding one’s medical records and COVID restrictions, a church has NO WAY of knowing unless someone tells them.

6. That will never work. Sometimes this phrase is accompanied with “our last pastor tried that and it didn’t work.” The fact that the last pastor also felt led to try the same thing is evidence that God is leading in that direction. Very likely the timing just wasn’t right when the last pastor tried it. This phrase usually comes from individuals who do not like change.

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3 Reasons to Smile More

Posted in Church Chat, Funny, Life Happens, MinistryLeave a comment

My wife works for two of the finest dentists in Kentucky, so we often talk about teeth at our house. Lots of customers come to their office wanting to improve their smile. I think that they’re wise in doing so, because there are good reasons to improve your smile and even more good reasons to smile more often.

3 Reasons to Smile More

1. We will make more money. According to a recent study, the way we look has a direct bearing on our paycheck. According to the study, those who rated lower in appearance earned less than those who rated average or above.

…the biggest factor is the smile on our face.”

Appearance includes the style and neatness of our clothing, the shine on our shoes, the crease in our shirt, our choice of colors, the way we fix our hair, our makeup, and all the elements of our personal grooming. However, the biggest factor is the smile on our face, followed closely by our attitude and sense of humor. A good sense of humor and a positive attitude are particularly important as we move into the upper echelons of business.

2. We will make more friends. People do not want to be around an ol’ stiff, stick-in-the-mud! They are attracted to a person who is positive and friendly. A genuine smile is a good indicator of the type of person we are which causes others to want to get to know us.

…we can draw people to us in order to point them to to Christ!

3. We will make more converts.  In case all of this talk sounds less than spiritual, remember that we are ambassadors for Christ. As wise, conscientious ambassadors we want to improve our “abilities.” Let’s improve our respectability, approachability, and like-ability. In this way we can draw people to us in order to point them to Christ!

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Calling Out the Called

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Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” Luke 10:2 (NKJV)

Early in his tenure as Executive Director-Treasurer of the Kentucky Baptist Convention, Dr. Todd Gray called 120 KBC churches who were searching for a senior pastor at the time. He was reminded that mid-size and large churches usually have no problem finding qualified candidates, but smaller churches often face great difficulty. He heard that some churches were so desperate that they were considering non-Southern Baptist candidates.

Dr. Gray decided to call for a statewide initiative to address the need. He asked me to lead the initiative along with selected members of the CCR Team. We gladly accepted the assignment because of the potential benefits to KBC churches. At this point, I am traveling around the state talking and listening to leaders about this challenge. It will take all of us working together to see positive movement in this area.

I am traveling around the state talking and listening to leaders about this challenge. It will take all of us working together to see positive movement in this area.

As a part of the assignment, Dr. Gray shared four main convictions about the need.

Dr. Gray’s 4 “Calling Out the Called” Convictions

  1. Men sitting in the pews of nearby area churches can best meet these needs.
  2. Many of these men are professionals and deeply committed Christians who have abilities to teach, preach, and lead.
  3. These men need to hear the call of God, answer the call of God, and receive basic skills training them how to begin their ministry.
  4. The KBC needs to lead out in this area to help churches meet the need.

This initiative will be a multi-year project, but we believe there is urgency. As a result, we hope to make immediate strides with a goal of announcing key initiative elements at the 2021 KBC Annual Meeting in Elizabethtown on November 9, 2021.

Please join us in praying for God’s blessing and wisdom. The harvest is indeed great, but more laborers are needed. PRAY that God will send laborers for His work and for His glory!

PRAYER: Dear Father, please send laborers into your churches in Kentucky to reap a harvest that will fulfill your purpose for those churches and bring you glory! And please give us wisdom to know what our part should be in this glorious work. Amen!

New KBC Ministry Job Board

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I’m really excited to announce that we have developed a brand new Kentucky Baptist Convention Ministry Job Board. The site has a fresh new look, but more importantly, it will serve churches and ministers more effectively. Here are a few of the features of the new site:

  • Churches can post positions directly on the site. A church can personalize their listing by adding a video, logo, website, and personal information of various kinds.
  • Ministers can post a resume directly on the site. Along with their resume, they can include a sermon video, social media accounts, along with other personal information.
  • Ministers can search for positions through a variety of filters including location, position, size, and salary.
  • Churches can search for resumes posted on the site and include them in their ministry search.
  • The new site will provide faster service and more precise search results.

Since the Ministry Job Board is brand new, it will take a while to populate the site with ministry positions and resumes. In a sense, the new site cuts out the middle person for faster, more accurate results. Of course, we’re still here to assist with any aspect of the process.

If you have questions or need assistance, please contact Peggy Berry at peggy.berry@kybaptist.org or at 502-432-6944.