Ken Carter
Kenneth H. Carter, Jr.
Resident Bishop of the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church
On July 18-20, 2012, Ken Carter was elected to the episcopacy of the United Methodist Church, consecrated as a Bishop and assigned to the Florida Conference during the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference.
A native of Georgia, Bishop Carter is a graduate of Columbus College (B.S.), Duke University Divinity School (M.Div.), the University of Virginia (M.A.) and Princeton Theological Seminary (D.Min.). In addition, he was awarded an honorary D.D. from the United Methodist University of Liberia. He was ordained a deacon in the Western North Carolina Conference in 1983 and an elder in 1986. Subsequently he served a four-point charge, as an associate pastor of missions and evangelism, as a new church planter, and as senior pastor of two large regional churches; his ministry at Providence United Methodist Church in Charlotte was described by the historian Diana Butler Bass in her Christianity for the Rest of Us. Immediately prior to his election as a bishop he was the superintendent of the Smoky Mountain District of the Western North Carolina Conference, which included sixty-nine churches in the seven westernmost counties of the state, all within the region of Appalachia.
In the Western North Carolina Conference, the bishop chaired the Board of Ordained Ministry and the Committee on the Episcopacy. He was elected to five jurisdictional conferences and three general conferences, and he led the WNCC delegation in Tampa in 2012. In the denomination, he has served on the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, the Committee on Faith and Order, and the Ministry Study Commission. He is currently a member of the board of trustees of Bethune Cookman University and Florida Southern College and the board of visitors of Duke Divinity School.
Bishop Carter is the author of eight books, most recently Pray For Me: The Power in Praying For Others (Upper Room, 2012); among those endorsing his latest book was Leighton Ford, brother-in-law of Billy Graham. His books reflect on topics related to practical ministry: stewardship, spiritual gifts, baptism, the Wesleyan means of grace, and intercession. He was also a contributor to the Wesley Study Bible and the Feasting on the Word series.
The bishop is married to Pam Carter, formerly the Missions Specialist with the Western North Carolina Conference and currently the Mission Interpreter with Encounter with Christ in Latin America and the Caribbean. She has a deep involvement in God’s mission in Haiti, and speaks frequently to gatherings about her work there. They have been blessed with two daughters: Liz, a Chinese translator and research analyst at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and Abby, a recent graduate of Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama.
Posted by Bishop Ken Carter on May 16, 2013.
A reflection on the renewal of our lives as disciples of Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Posted by Bishop Ken Carter
A Baccalaureate Sermon given at Florida Southern College, Lakeland, Florida on April 26, 2013
Posted by Bishop Ken Carter on April 25, 2013.
A prayer offered by Bishop Ken Carter on the steps of the State Capitol on Tuesday, April 9, 2013 in Tallahassee, Florida.
Posted by Bishop Ken Carter on March 14, 2013.
A reflection on remaining on the spiritual path in difficult seasons of life.
Posted by Bishop Ken Carter on February 23, 2013
A statement of core values that reflects our desire to strengthen God's mission in Florida through appointments of elders, deacons and local pastors to ministries across our annual conference.
Posted by Bishop Ken Carter on February 13, 2013
Thoughts on the meaning of imposition of ashes in a culture of death, and why we need the gospel.
Posted by Bishop Ken Carter on January 4, 2013
A way to read scripture each day, with brief commentary, encouragement and guidance.
Posted on December 9, 2012.
Bishop Carter's response upon receiving the honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Bethune Cookman University.
Posted by Bishop Ken Carter on November 14, 2012.
A sermon taken from Ephesians 2. 1-16, and preached at the Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church on November 6, 2012.
Posted by Bishop Ken Carter on October 31, 2012.
On Reformation Day, we give thanks for the gift of the Holy Scriptures and our access to them.
Posted by Bishop Ken Carter on October 23, 2012.
As we anticipate the United States Presidential election, I invite you to use this prayer in your personal devotional life and in congregational worship, on either October 28 or November 4.
Posted on October 15, 2012 by Bishop Ken Carter
What does it mean to be spiritual or religious, and what does this have to do with how we encounter God in our daily lives?
Bishop Ken Carter
In the bishop's installation sermon, preached on September 15, 2012, we discover three core experiences at the heart of the Christian life, and found in John 15: a friendship with Jesus (connection); love for each other (communion) and bearing fruit in the world (calling).
Posted on September 5, 2012.
First thoughts as we begin life together as bishop and annual conference
