Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Welcome

Since November of 1979, I have served as the pastor of Eminence Baptist Church, located in Eminence, Kentucky.  While I had served several part-time churches prior to 1979, this was my second full-time position.  Immediately prior to coming here, I had served as the pastor of Mt. Moriah Baptist Church in Mt. Eden, Kentucky, located just a county away from Eminence.

When I came here, I had no idea that almost 32 years later I would still be pastoring this congregation.  Quite frankly, I saw this church as a good steppingstone to something larger and more important.  It took about 15 years to discover that I had arrived at the most important place any pastor could ever be.  It was where I was.  To know where one is and to know that he fits the place and the place fits him is the best for which any pastor, or any other person, can hope.

Eminence Baptist Church is a congregation that welcomes diversity, which is one of the reasons I fit so well in this place.  Our membership comes from all walks of life.  Theologically, we are indeed diverse.  If one must use terms like "conservative" and "liberal," we are both and everything in between.  The thing that holds us together is our commitment to Jesus Christ as our Lord, an attempt to be faithful to the Biblical witness, faithfulness in caring for each other, and a desire to be of service to our community--locally and beyond.

I hold degrees from Union University, located in Jackson, Tennessee, and the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, located in Louisville, Kentucky.  Since graduating from Southern, I did additional study at the Lexington Theological Seminary, located in Lexington, Kentucky.  While I will be forever grateful for the education I received from these institutions, my real education has come in the trenches where I have lived out my faith with the people of this congregation.  They've made me a better pastor and preacher than I would ever had been had God not brought us together.  I give thanks to God for the people who are Eminence Baptist Church.

My posts will be occasional, written when I feel I have something worthy to share.  Whether what I post is worthy will be for you, my faithful reader, to determine.  Who knows but what your comments may serve as yet another tool that enables me to continue to grow as a believer and as a pastor.

Michael Duncan
Pastor
Eminence Baptist Church
www.eminencebaptist.org