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.
Blog Posts
Bishop Ken Carter’s Easter Message - published on 4/13/2022
A Conversation with Kate Bowler - published on 4/7/2022
The War in Ukraine - published on 3/16/2022
Clergy Leadership Webinar with Author Tod Bolsinger - published on 3/15/2022
The Gospel of the Burnt Ends webinar - published on 7/16/2021
Hybrid Church Webinar Video - published on 6/22/2021
The Fruit of the Spirit is Love - published on 6/12/2021
Public Statements by Bishop Ken Carter - published on 5/29/2020
Must Jesus Bear The Cross Alone? - published on 1/19/2020
They Will Know We are Christians by Our Love: A Post-General Conference Report from Bishop Ken Carter to the People of the Florida Conference - published on 3/8/2019
Bishop Carter comments on the Special Session - published on 2/26/2019
A Report from St. Louis: Monday - published on 2/25/2019
A Report from St. Louis: Sunday - published on 2/25/2019
Bishop Carter’s General Conference opening sermon - published on 2/24/2019
A Report from St. Louis: Friday - published on 2/22/2019
A Way Forward: A Report from St. Louis on Thursday - published on 2/21/2019
Bishop Ken Carter shares resources, reflections on Called General Conference - published on 2/4/2019
Holiness (All Saints Day, 2018) - published on 11/1/2018
An Integrity of Faith and a Clarity of Witness: Can the U.S. Church Rediscover its Voice and Honor its Lord?* - published on 8/20/2018
Bishop Carter: Take a deep breath - published on 7/19/2018
The Gospel, a stranger and the burnt ends of the brisket (Luke 24. 13–35) - published on 6/26/2018
What is Wrong With the Church? (Psalm 51) - published on 4/30/2018
“As Much Unity as Possible”: Reflections on 1 Corinthians 12 - published on 1/19/2018
Luther's Reformation and ours - published on 10/25/2017
Remembering Who We Are: Where covenant, justice and unity meet - published on 10/18/2017
Remembering Who We Are: Finding our core - published on 10/10/2017
Letter from Bishop Carter post-Irma – with invites to Fall Gatherings - published on 9/18/2017
Anticipating Hurricane Irma, let our churches be present and in mission - published on 9/6/2017
Charlottesville and the call to be the Church of Jesus Christ - published on 8/18/2017
When a new pastor arrives: Five essential keys to beginning a relationship - published on 6/29/2017
Bishop Carter’s reflections on AC 2017 - published on 6/23/2017
Bishop Carter's 2017 Ordination Sermon: Bridges - published on 6/20/2017
How We Got To Where We Are: A Brief Overview of United Methodism in 2017 - published on 4/27/2017
Continuity and Change: Florida Conference approaches 2025 - published on 3/23/2017
Subtraction: Lent and the art of learning to say no - published on 3/8/2017
A Brief Report to the people of the Florida Conference on the Work of the Commission on a Way Forward - published on 3/3/2017
Faithful discipleship in a time of turbulence - published on 1/30/2017
A Fractured Denomination - published on 1/19/2017
Just Resolution as an Expression of Restorative Justice - published on 10/18/2016
Bishop Carter's 2016 Ordination Sermon: The Odor of the Sheep - published on 6/28/2016
Thoughts about the 2016 General Conference - published on 5/5/2016
Unless you become like children: Preparing for General Conference - published on 4/27/2016
Appointment-Making in a Time of Mission: 2016 - published on 2/11/2016
Fresh Expressions of Church: The Missionary Holy Spirit Goes Ahead of Us - published on 11/20/2015
Fresh Expressions, United Methodism and "Saving the Institution" - published on 11/2/2015
Discipleship as Spiritual Formation and Mentoring: The Heart of Fresh Expressions of Church - published on 10/26/2015
A Deeper Dive into Making Disciples: Sustaining Fresh Expressions of Church - published on 10/20/2015
The Mission Field that Surrounds Us: Digging into the Data - published on 10/14/2015
Where We Actually Live and Gather: Networks and “Third Places” - published on 10/6/2015
Where We Actually Live and Gather: An Ordinary Sunday Morning - published on 9/29/2015