Transcript

Introduction and Background of Bishop Courtney McBath

[0:00] Hello, friends. Welcome to another episode of Tell Us a Good Story.
Today, I am so honored that Steph and I get to record a conversation with Bishop Courtney McBath.
He is the senior pastor of a very large church in Norfolk, Virginia, who became a mentor to me when I was a teenager.
This man helped me when I went off to college and then when I graduated and started my career in public accounting.
But most importantly, this man gave me lots of advice when I met Steph.
And he actually has a very funny story that he shares with about the time when I was 25 years old and asked him if he thought I should marry Steph.
I mean, that sounds so stupid when I think about it today.
I should have proposed to that girl the first time I met her instead of taking two years like I did to figure it out.
However, after we got married, life got really busy and we lost touch with each other.
Well, a few weeks ago, I reached out to his executive assistant at the church and scheduled a time for us to talk and reconnect.
It was the first time I had talked to him in over 15 years.
And I invited him to be a guest here and tell us a good story.
So what you’re about to hear today is the second time I’ve spoken to him and the first time he has seen us on Zoom.
Folks, can’t wait for you to hear this conversation with our dear friend, Bishop Courtney McBath.

Overcoming Life’s Challenges: Our Journey to Healing and Restoration

[1:18] I’m Kevin. And I’m Stephanie. And during our marriage, we have dealt with an electrocution, a brain tumor, brain surgery. Then doctors telling us that children were not in our future, followed by miscarriage, and then Kevin’s cancer diagnosis.
However, today we live a life completely healed and restored with three healthy children who doctors said were not possible.
And we’re here to tell stories that inspire, give hope, and brighten your day.
Welcome to Tell Us a Good Story.

Importance of Reviews and Engagement

[1:47] Okay friends, before we get to this episode, just a friendly reminder to please hit the button on YouTube and Apple podcast or give us a review five stars, please in our world This is super super important because it will help with the algorithm to make it easier for people to find us Thank you for sharing our posts across your social media that really helps with engagement and with us getting guests Yes, so hey if you want us to keep working our way up to talking to Chip and Joanna, Please share us with your friends.
But regardless, thank you for listening to tell us a good story, All right, Steph. This is such an honor.
You are like a little boy on Christmas morning right now. This is such a big deal for me.
I know it is. This is such a big deal. I even told our guest, he needs to just talk to you in the morning so you’re always this happy when you wake up because it’s been very pleasant for me. Well, that’s good.
Well, friends, our next guest is the Senior Pastor of Calvary Revival Church in Norfolk, Virginia.
He’s also a husband, father, grandfather, executive leadership coach, and a dear, dear friend of mine.
Of ours. Yes, a friend of ours and a mentor of mine.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to tell us a good story, Bishop Courtney McBath. Oh, Bishop, welcome, welcome.
Thanks guys. I’m happy to be here. Man, you guys look amazing.
Do you guys have an age much?
Bishop, it’s all the Botox in my face. That’s probably what it is.

[3:10] You have to let me borrow some of that, but you guys look great.
Don’t tell anybody, you look great.
Thanks, Bishop. Well, Bishop, thank you for saying yes to us.
And unfortunately, I have not talked to you in about 15 years, until what, two weeks ago, three weeks ago? Sure.
And so, first off, I’m so sorry about that. But what were your initial thoughts, Bishop, when I reached out to your executive assistant and said, hey, I’d like to place an interview request with Bishop McBath?
I was completely blown away. It was like Christmas.

The Joyful Reunion and Apology

[3:40] I know my assistant was like, who the heck is Kevin Mason? I was like, call him back, email him back, give him my number, make sure he gets me today.
And I was so excited because I love you guys so much. And I felt horrible and I thought, oh my God, it’s been this long.
And then it got worse when you called me because your name comes up in my phone.
So your number has been right there.
But honest to goodness, we have always been so close that I never put your last name. It just said Kevin.
So when I would sit I had no idea who it was because I didn’t have a last name because you were the only Kevin that really mattered so.

Surprised by Kevin and Stephanie’s Success

[4:26] So how surprised re Bishop when I texted you and I sent you a picture of our family and I sent you a link to Our website how surprised Rio when you’re like, oh my gosh, they have a podcast.
They have a national radio show like Completely different than probably what you expected Well, because of some things we’ll talk about later, I was not the least surprised. Really?
Not at all. I was thrilled, but not surprised at all.
Because this, since you were a teenager, is what I always expected.
And there’s a reason why. But, not with a little surprise that Steph kept you around all these years. But, you know.
Me too. As gorgeous as she is, I thought, wow, she’s, you still flummin’ with that guy. She’s still in there.
So, I had that part. But, other than that, Nick, you all had become exactly what I had anticipated.
The podcast was a nice touch.
But I knew it would be something amazing. Whether it was a Fortune 100 company or some great consulting agency or something in media, but I was just thrilled.

[5:35] Let’s go back when you talked about me slumming it with Kevin, because when we were first married, we came down to visit you in Virginia Beach.
And besides our honeymoon, it was the first trip we had taken.
Yeah, I think we’d been married maybe a year.
Maybe a year. And Kevin was so excited, he booked this hotel for us.
He was super excited to get down to you.
And we pulled up to this hotel, Bishop. Do you remember this hotel?
I will never forget it. Oh, you guys, this hotel, we walked in, the smell would hit you in the face.
As we’re going down, like to get into our room, the carpet had stains everywhere.
You hear people in the room. I’m just gonna let y’all know, The walls were very, very thin and I didn’t even wheel my luggage down the hallway.
I just kind of wanted to hold everything and just stand.

The Mishap of Booking a Four-Star Hotel Deal

[6:32] Kevin’s like, are you going to get comfortable? I’m like, I’m fine standing here. This is one of those hotels where there’s, I’m sure there’s crimes being committed in the room.
100% In this hotel. But Bishop, I made the mistake. Of course, I was very frugal. I went to hotwire.com and it was one of those like surprise deals.
Like, hey, this is going to be a four-star hotel for like $59.

[6:53] And I’m like, oh, that’s amazing. Yes, click.
And then it gets, it gets this hotel. I’m like, okay. The pictures were much better than the actual reality.
Yeah. Do you got, do you remember what I looked like when you told me where you were staying?
Yes. And I remember what you said to me. You picked us up Bishop at the hotel, and you looked at me like, Kev, did you just lose your job or something? What are you doing son?
Like you have a classy wife? You told me like privately you have a classy wife you need to stay in classier hotels than this you’ve got to take care of your wife.
Well you know of course I’m talking to a guy who’d never been on a plane until I had him come for a job interview so you know so I was like but you know Virginia Beach this is the capital of nice hotels come on get right but You did get a good deal. I mean… I did. I saved a lot of money.
But here we are, 18 years later, and that still gets brought up.
Oh, every time we go to a hotel, I’m like, do I need to check this place out? Are you sure?

[7:58] But he’s been so much better, Bishop. Yes. That’s good. I did ask too, Steph. He told me he had improved greatly.

Kevin and Bishop’s Relationship and Mentorship

[8:05] So much better. Okay. So Bishop, for listeners, I feel like I need to give context about our relationship here. Okay. And you can kind of fill in the gaps.
So listeners, for a lot of you, you know that I grew up a pastor’s kid.
I grew up just outside of Columbus, Ohio, probably 45 minutes away.
And when I was a kid, we knew Bishop as an assistant pastor for a church in Johnson City, Tennessee, Pastor Richard Hilton.
And I knew Bishop when I was in sixth grade, so from the age of 12.
And for some reason, this man connected with me as a sixth grader, right?
Like he saw me, I’m out in the country, middle of Ohio, this very naive white kid, and for some reason, you connect with me and you made it like a mission to stay in touch with me through high school and really through college, which was a huge, huge blessing to me.
So that’s really how we met. And you became a mentor to me at a very young age. Yeah.
And I still remember that. I remember going to your football games.
It was just crazy.
And, you know, back then every pastor, you kind of wanted his son to be a pastor, you know, to kind of follow in his footsteps.
And, you know, especially if you had a son, not so much if you have a daughter, you know, it’s a little sexist, but we’ve changed.
My daughter and son-in-law are becoming our pastors after I’m done.

[9:22] So, but I remember it was almost like I said a dirty word or something, because I told Kevin’s parents, I said, Pastor, is that’s not going to be his primary goal.
I said, money is going to be his primary goal.
Should I say he was 13 when I told them, I said, there’s going to be so much influence and so much business is going to go through his hands.
And that’s kind of why I stuck with it, because I knew he had this unique call and I knew the people in his sphere.
Weren’t necessarily going to be able to coach him through that.
And so I stuck with him because of that.

Bishop’s Support Through College and Divorce

[10:00] Such a blessing because you were there when I went to college.
You were there when my parents divorced.
That was a huge deal.
One of the most difficult things I’ve ever gone through was my parents divorce and you were critical helping me through that Bishop.
And then, you mentioned this earlier, I’d never been on a plane before and you had told me when I was going through college And I was getting my accounting degree that you wanted me to come work for your church And you actually had your staff interview me you flew me out to Norfolk, Virginia Virginia Beach and had your staff interview me that was the first time I had ever been on an airplane at age 22 I didn’t know what I was doing and I remember you saying hey, do you even have luggage?
I didn’t even have any luggage. So you sent me luggage Bishop. Are you serious?

[10:47] Yes I still have that today. I still use that luggage. It’s like the perfect size for the overhead compartment and stuff.
You made sure even that detail that I was taking care of.

[10:56] And I can’t thank you enough. So that was how you looked after me.
And I mean, again, looking back, I was so naive.
I was so incredibly naive about life, about everything. And you really helped me through that.
How long did it take you to tell Stiff about the email conversation that we had about he asked he her Mary I don’t know when that came up but why don’t you share stuff the story of meeting Bishop the first time and I’ll finish it with that story meeting Bishop for the first time in Cincinnati oh so oh yeah Kevin’s like babe you gotta me are he defining call me baby he’s like Steph you need to meet a dear friend of mine his name’s Bishop come back and he’s speaking down in Cincinnati and we had been dating for almost two years yes so he’s like he means so much to me would you come?” Well, any time that you wanted to spend quality time with me, I was like all about it.

Stephanie’s First Meeting with Bishop in Cincinnati

[11:47] And I’d heard so many wonderful things about you, Bishop. So I was like, absolutely, I would love to meet him.
So we went down and it was a… I think he had a convention.
He was speaking at a conference. A convention.
Yeah. And it was just so amazing just to meet you, to squeeze you, to hug you, and just to see the man that really made an impact on Kevin’s life.
So, we went to the conference that you were speaking at.
You let me stay with you in your hotel room.
So you had a suite and I stayed in your suite with you. And then Steph, I think, stayed with a friend down in Cincinnati.

[12:22] So again, very, very kind. And then we had breakfast.
So at that point, Bishop, I was struggling on whether or not I even wanted to get married, because I had just gone through this incredibly hurtful experience with my parents and divorce.
And so I remember I was praying one time driving to Steph’s apartment and I was like, okay, God, I need a sign.
I need a sign that if I’m supposed to marry Steph, Make it so real because I do not want to make this decision on my own, right?
Because it is not worth it to me to go through another painful situation that I just went through.
So I remember like, okay God, how about have an elephant run across the road right now as I’m driving?
And then nothing. I’m like, okay, how about now?
Nothing. Okay, let’s do a giraffe. How about let’s have a giraffe run across… nothing.
It’s so like, all right, it’s quiet. Was it that difficult for you to have an idea to marry me? Listen, I need a sign. Lord have mercy!
Directly from God, whether or not I was supposed to get married.
You are so lucky you’re just now telling the story in this great of detail.

Seeking Advice on Marriage Decision

[13:22] Who knows if I would have said yes to you on that day. So right, that’s a good point.
So that evening I emailed Bishop and I said, listen, out of everybody I know that I could ask, you’ve actually written a book on marriage.
I need help. I’m struggling with making this decision. You’ve met Steph.
I don’t know whether or not I’m supposed to get married. And you responded back with one sentence, and it was, Kev, if you don’t marry that girl, you’re an idiot.
And I read that, Bishop, and it was like, here’s your sign.
It was a relief to me, like, okay, I’m all in. Thank you, God, for that sign. It’s gonna be okay.
This is the girl that you’ve put in my life, and it took you helping me in a very direct way.
Hey, don’t be stupid.
Marry that girl. Thank you. And that was the muted version of my response.

[14:13] That was a just, that was like, this boy has lost his mind.
What is wrong with him? And I remember to this day telling you, Kev, if you don’t do this, you’re a complete idiot.
Marry the girl before she figures it out.

Favorite Book: The Bible and “You Met Her Where”

[14:34] All right, Steph, I’m going to test you again here. What is your favorite book of all time? Obviously, it’s the Bible, Kevin.
Yes. Nailed it. Very good. This time you didn’t say the book we wrote called You Met Her Where. But it’s still a really good book. That is true.
And it would make a great gift for friends or relatives on their birthday or for Christmas.
Friends, you can order your copy of our book titled You Met Her Where at KevinAndSteph.com.
And we will make sure to personally sign a copy for you or whoever you want.
And as always, thank you for listening to Tell Us a Good Story.
So being a pastor, I have a couple of questions. Yes.
When people don’t really know you’re a pastor and they’re hanging out with you, they’re talking.
Golfing, anything, yes, airplane. But then they find out you’re a pastor, does the conversation switch or do they treat you differently?
Does their language change? Does their tone change?
Well, if it’s a golf course, they keep cussing. They just apologize every time.
Which that drives me bananas, I’m like, guys, really? Can we not do that?
And for me, my problem is because of media and the size of our ministry, everybody usually already knows.

[15:43] Except sometimes like on international flights and other things.
So I’ll just say I’m an executive leadership coach or I’m an author or something, because I’m so afraid that if I say I’m a pastor, then I’m going to get a superficial conversation There’ll be things that they’re not going to share with me that they probably would.
But the other time, it’s the opposite. Then sometimes once people find out I’m a pastor, then they feel like this is my free counseling session.
Oh, yeah. So you kind of get, you can kind of get both responses and I just have to kind of feel it out when I’m in the setting.

Different responses to being a pastor, frustration and adjusting behavior

[16:17] You know, I always introduce myself as Courtney McBath.
Introduced for the titles. So you’re not going to know unless they ask or unless they already knew, but it’s always a lot of fun, especially on the golf course with guys because they’re all trying to adjust their behavior.
So sometimes what I’ll say is I’ll say, guys, don’t worry about it because you’re just saying what I really want to say.

[16:41] That calms them down a little bit. Does it frustrate you or not frustrate you?
But when people think it’s like a free counseling session, are you like, oh my gosh, God, can I just have like, I got to turn it on here?
Yes. Can I just have one day that I can just be myself and not have to be in like pastoral care? Yes.
No, it usually doesn’t. Really? Most of the time. I wake up in the morning and say, Lord, who is it that I’m supposed to help today?
You know, who’s, who’s like, can I touch, you know, who can I somehow add value to, or, you know, improve the quality of their life somehow just show me the person and make sure I’m ready when I meet them.
So even when I get on the plane, I won’t immediately put headphones on.
Normally, I’ll wait a minute just to kind of see if maybe this is somebody that Delora has me sitting by for a reason.
And then once they put their headphones in, I put mine on. Wow.

[17:34] Bishop, that’s the exact opposite of what I do. Oh, Kevin’s earphones are going off before he walks on the plane.
Before I had these earbuds, I would be on the plane in my earphones.
They wouldn’t be plugged at my phone, right? But I would just have in my ears like, I don’t want to talk to anybody. I don’t want to hear your life story today.
I’m so bad about that. He’ll do it to me. He’s like, I’m sorry.
I’m like, I know you can hear me.
I know you can hear me. Not plugged in. No, no, I know him way too well.
Like take him out. I got you.
You’re going to need to text me in the future when that happens. Oh, don’t you worry.
I’m going to get your phone number as soon as this is over. Oh my gosh, you need to address that.

Crazy Wedding Mishap: Groom Faints Mid-Ceremony

[18:15] Okay, so…
Any funny stories from being a pastor for all these years?
Funerals, weddings, something gone wrong in a church service.
Well, I’ve probably done a bunch of those, but I think the craziest one happened, and I wasn’t even a senior pastor, yet I was an associate pastor, and I was assisting my pastor in a wedding, and the groom passed out. Oh, no. In the middle of the ceremony.
Oh, no. I mean, with him on the floor. And I was like, okay, what do we do to him?
What’s our next move here? And we just waited till he came back, propped him back up and made him go through with the valves anyways.
Oh my God. If you think passing out is going to get you out of this, it ain’t working.

[19:02] Well, that’s my thing. I would be like, okay, is he freaking out because he’s very like, this is a woman, yes.

[19:10] Or is he freaking out because he’s so excited and the anticipation has built up so much and then he passes out.
Oh my gosh. He went to the floor and we didn’t have time to catch him.
You know, it was like, before we knew, bam. So literally just hit.
Yeah, straight to the floor.
Oh, poor guy. That’s what I’m going about. I’ll never ever forget that.
So over the years, the hilarious stories that happen in church kind of keep it from being so monotonous, you know, because there’s something about Laster, that really changes the atmosphere.
So try to inject a lot of that even into moments that might be difficult when it’s appropriate, just so that people can just kind of relax a little bit.
Like sometimes when someone passes away at our church and at the beginning of the homegoing celebration, I’ll say, you know, I know a lot of you are thinking, he was such a great person.
He’s such a, she’s such a good person. I said, I just want to let you guys know that the Lord doesn’t come by and ask me if it’s okay for this person to go.
I said, because if he asked me, there’s a lot of you guys out there right now.
You’d be gone right now. And you wouldn’t be here. And Sister So-and-so would be right here with me.
You’d be gone if I was the guy making that call. And so everybody kind of cracks up and it changes the atmosphere a little bit.

From 21 People to 7,000: Bishop’s Church Growth Journey

[20:36] All right. So let’s pivot to fun facts about Bishop. And you’re not aware of these.
So Bishop, you are going to see Steph’s genuine reaction here to these fun facts about you. And this will spur some conversation.
But I like to give a list of fun facts for all of our guests so listeners know what you’ve done, what you’ve accomplished. All right, Steph, you ready for this? Let’s do it.
In 1990, Bishop McBath moved his family to Norfolk, Virginia to start a church, which grew from 21 people to a membership of over 7,000 today.

[21:06] So where did you start the church? Is it at a house?
And then also, are you concerned with the number 21?
Because of that 21, seven is your own family, right? So are you concerned about the small beginnings?
Well, we started in a hotel, a conference room. The Clarendon Room in the Sheraton Hotel is where we started 34 years ago.
And yeah, a third of those people were my family members.
And of course, you know, we love the unborn. So if you were carrying a baby, we counted that too.

[21:42] You’re already a human, so that counts. So we, 21 might’ve been someone who’s not even born yet.
But we had 21 folks, but I wasn’t really concerned. I was pleasantly surprised that that many people showed up.
Because you moved from Johnson City, Tennessee to a completely different city, completely different state, no connections.
So how does that work when you’re starting a church from the ground up?
Well, not only that, when you’re getting 21 people, are you like, God, was this where you told me to go? And I hope there’s a millionaire within this 21 people. I’m hoping that this is exactly where God wanted me to go. So how does that work?
Well, the crazy thing is I freaked out because when I got to the hotel, I realized that people would have to actually pay to park.

[22:26] Oh, to get there. Oh, no. I’m like, nobody’s coming.
When 21 people showed up, including my family, I was actually pretty thrilled with that.
Now, with marketing and promotion, I think I became the poster child for word of mouth marketing.
I mean, it was the right time to get there.
People started talking, family started coming, And I was probably more shocked than anybody that within about two months, we were at a hundred people.
And within nine months, we’re at 300 people.
Within 24 months, we were bumping up at 1,500 people. Oh my gosh.
Yeah, I was, I mean, I’m a kid from Tennessee. I’m like, what the heck is going on?
You know? And people were like, how do you even lead this? I said, I’m kind of like the little boy with the really big dog. And the guy says, how do you get the dog to go where you want it to go?
He says, I just find out where he wants to go and follow it.
And that’s kind of what I was doing, but it was bigger than anything that I’d ever been a part of.

The most asked question about Tell Us a Good Story

[23:28] Steph, what is one of the most asked questions we get about Tell Us a Good Story?
Do I really get that excited?
Besides that one. Oh, how do we get all these incredible guests?
Correct, and some of our best conversations have been with guests who are listeners, have reached out to us and said, that you should talk to this person.
To name just a few, Nick Vujicic, Coach Tom Ryan, Carol Motyka were all recommendations from our listeners.
So if there’s someone you would like us to interview and think they might be a great fit for Tell Us a Good Story, please let us know at kevinandsteph.com.
You don’t even have to personally know them. True, but do me a favor, before you submit their names, please make sure they are still alive.
That has actually happened and it is super hard for me to find their contact information. But regardless, thank you for listening to Tell Us A Good Story.

Impressive Test Scores Lead to National Merit Scholarship

[24:35] Like, was your ACT, SAT scores just off the charts? I mean, that is elite, Bishop.
I did okay. That’s crazy. It got me a National Merit Scholarship.
So… Really? Yes. Bishop, that’s amazing. Did you always want to go to MIT?
I didn’t even know what it was. What?
I was in the same country, coming to church like your husband was.
I was going to Bible college, that’s what I was going to do.
I was going to go to Bible college and I started getting letters from Harvard, Princeton, Brown, Cornell, MIT, offered me money after I did my PSAT scores and got the National Merit Scholarship. I just started getting all these letters.
So my guidance counselor said, hey, I know you feel called to ministry and you’re going to Bible college and all. She said, ”But you think the Lord might be talking to you at this point?”.

MIT’s Financial Aid Offer

[25:34] So I get a letter from MIT. It says, ”We will bridge the gap between what it costs to go to school here and what your parents can pay.”, I thought, ”You guys obviously don’t know what my parents can pay.” Yeah, because even back then it was $40,000-$50,000 a, year.

[25:56] 40 years ago. Oh my gosh. Yeah, this is 1977.
So you could imagine that was an exorbitant amount of money, but I felt like I was supposed to go.
Uh-huh. I went out for a spring visit.
Got to share my faith with some folks. Felt like this is where I think I’m supposed to be.
So get this, guys. This is the height of naivety and presumption.
I only applied to one college. That’s it, MIT? Yes, I know. You can smack me when you see me.
But that’s, I did. I applied to one school, because I felt like, God, see, this is where it should go.
Okay. Okay, so it is September.
You walk onto campus. You’re a little country boy, like Kevin was.
What was that experience like for you? Overwhelming?
Completely blown away. Really? Is it a different world?
Yeah, it’s a different world. I mean, it’s a city, which I’d never lived in a city before.
So I’m in a city now, surrounded by these intellectuals, and it’s like a totally different world.
People are jumping out of windows, committing suicide because of their grades.

[27:10] I’m 17. I’m not even 18 yet. I’m like, what in the world have I walked into? This is crazy.
But I realized then that I was there for a purpose. There was a reason beyond me getting a degree from MIT.

Purpose Beyond Getting a Degree from MIT

[27:25] Yes, sure. I think it’s cool that Iron Man went to MIT, and you think about all these people who they mentioned in movies and stuff.
It seems like now they say it a lot. But I knew all along that I was only going to be in this field for a few years.
I made it till I was 30 and then after 30, that was it.
Wow. Did that background help you build your church at all? The organization, the structure?
Good question, Steph. Absolutely. It did me more. I later would go back to seminary and do master’s, doctoral, postdoctoral work, but the best thing that ever happened to me was going to MIT and learning process, Understanding how to help people go through the process from A to B to C and doing that in a pragmatic kind of way.
So yeah, it was the, I always tell people that it was the most important part of my education process.
See? God knows what he’s doing all the time.

[28:21] God has a way of equipping people for whatever their purpose is.
And I think one of the things that I saw in my relationship with you, Kev, as a kid, is that purpose is something that’s instilled in us very young.
It kind of gets worked out over time, but it starts at the very beginning, not later in life.
And oftentimes when I coach people, I’ll tell them that if you talk to me about what you’re passionate about, But I can trace that back to when you were a kid.
There was some of that in you, even then, if we talk room and up about your childhood.
When I was eight years old, I told my third grade teacher that I didn’t want to be president because I had a higher call.
Wow. Oh, I just got goosebumps. That’s good.

Celebrating 42 Years of Marriage and New Granddaughter

[29:08] All right, Steph, next fun fact. This year, Bishop celebrated 42 years of marriage to his wife, Janine. They have five children, four boys, one girl, five grandchildren.
Six now. All grandsons. Six!
We just had our granddaughter. You did! Aw, yay!

[29:25] Fun fact for you. Yes. Fun fact? That’s fantastic. That’s what I was gonna say.
Are you- That’s another granddaughter?
Their first. Just had our first granddaughter, so now that she makes, now, cause we had five grandsons, and now we have a granddaughter.
So, she’s you. That’s fantastic. Congratulations. And she’s not going to be spoiled. Oh my gosh. I can imagine.
I’ve just been on the Louis. I’ve just been on the Louis Vuitton website For Christmas I.

Small Gestures that Impact Marriage

[29:55] Love how you honor your wife on stage on social media when I’ve seen you in person, you know 15 years ago But is there one habit you have is there one thing you do in your marriage that?
Has had such an impact on your marriage with Pastor Janine, You sure you want me to tell you? Please. Wait, is it booking crummy hotels or anything like that?
No, no, no, no. But it is going to impact your wife a little bit.
So it’s my disclaimer. I warned you. Okay.
I always open the door for her in the car. I never let her open her own door. He does that. Oh, good.

[30:33] Okay, I feel better now. So I open the door and I get out and come and open it when she gets out.
And that’s my norm. And, and people always look at me like, why is he walking around the car?
So that’s one of those little things that I think goes a long way.
I think if people do that kind of small stuff, we’re off. It changed the world.
Okay. Real talk. You and Pastor Janine, when you had five children running around, you’re pastoring a huge church.
How did you two make time for one another?
Scheduled it. Just like everything else, it goes in the schedule.
We block it and nothing gets in there. Just like you guys couldn’t have done this recording on a Monday because I don’t do any kind of ministry, kind of outreach or anything on Mondays.
And it’s been that way for 30 years.
I’ve preached on a Monday twice in the last 34 years. Non-negotiable. Non-negotiable.

[31:32] And the two times I did, I did it with her permission.
Oh, that’s good. Because the whole issue really comes down to sketching.
You enslave time, you don’t let time enslave you.
And you make time work for you. And I tell people, stop complaining about there’s not enough hours in the day.
If God put more hours in the day, we just waste more time.
There’s plenty of hours in the day.
God created a day, said it’s good. So stop cursing what God made and use it properly.
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[32:31] Thank you for listening to Tell Us a Good Story. All right, Steph, final fun fact.
Bishop McBath recently started a leadership coaching service where he provides one-on-one leadership coaching and bi-weekly Zoom sessions with small groups as well.
So Bishop, tell us about your coaching leadership service that you started.

[32:51] Well, Kim, it’s kind of a natural progression for me.
And it’s funny how, when I think about our relationship, I now can see that I was called to do this long time ago, because I was excited about talking to you one-on-one as I was preaching to your dad’s old church.
I mean, I looked forward to coming to Ohio because I got to see you.
So that was always kind of a thing in my heart.
So now what’s happened is after now 40 years of leadership, I’m able now to take folks and talk to them about what it takes to get unstuck as a leader, what it takes to understand your real purpose and go forward, what it takes to properly define success, and then figure out a strategic plan to get you there.
And yeah I’ve got some stuff I’ve learned from books and in school and I’m getting ready to get hopefully the last degree I’ll ever get I’m getting ready to get in July I’m getting to graduate again in next July but most of what I tell people really comes from what I’ve watched and seen I tell people that I can teach a lot more from my failures than I can my successes. What not to do.
Yeah most leaders don’t need more information they need encouragement and accountability.

[34:06] And so as a coach, I provide for them what they can’t get from the internet.
They can get accountability and encouragement.
And it’s my new job. So I’m finished as pastor next July.
And my new job, well, one of them, you know, I’m a baby boomer.
So we retire from one job we take four.
So one of my jobs will be leading this company.
And I’m super excited about there. So come July, you’re going to preach your last service.

Bishop McBath’s Transition and Leadership Coaching

[34:37] How is that going to be? Emotional? Exciting? Setting off fireworks in the parking lot? What’s happening?

[34:44] Well, of course, it’ll be my last as the senior pastor.
I’m supposed to be there every six to eight weeks. I’m still kind of in an oversight role, but it’ll be different.
You know, my friends ask me, they say, how do you feel? And I say, I have mixed emotions. So I said, sometimes I’m happy and then other times I’m totally thrilled because I’m really ready to be done.
Wow. So I’m really excited about this next step in life. And I’ve got my leaders network, which I hope you guys will join my leaders network.
Leaders around the globe from five continents and they’re pretty cool doing all kinds of neat stuff.
And I just spend some time with them every month, just kind of encouraging them in their leadership process.
I figure I got 20 more years to like go hard, you know, then I’ll hit 85 and I’ll have to slow down a little bit and maybe actually really retire.

[35:37] We’ll see what happens. Well, friends, for more information about Bishop McBath, you can go to his social media pages.
Instagram, it’s at CourtneyMcBath underscore. Facebook, it’s at BeCourtneyMcBathMinistries.
Also his website is CourtneyMcBath.com.

[35:53] And we will put links for these in our show notes, so you can click and go right to it.
Well, Bishop, thank you so much, sir. It’s such an honor to talk to you again.
I will be keeping in touch.
But as I was thinking about this conversation, Bishop, seriously.
What a profound impact you had on my life when I was younger and I cannot thank you enough I mean, I’d be married to this woman right now if it hadn’t been for you, Thank you for taking the time I mean you were growing a church you had your own kids to deal with and yet you’re taking my phone calls Sending me luggage and just amazing the mentor you were to me.
So thank you so much for the impact you had Let us I want to brag about Bishop our wedding present us was a bed.
You gave us money and said go get a bed. Yes.
You said you need to get a king bed. We’re like, no, no, no.
No, we want to cuddle. We want to cuddle. We want a queen bed.
He’s like, y’all, it would be best if you got a king bed.
You’re like, go as big as you can in your room. No, we want a queen.
We’ve never been together. Let’s do a twin. Yeah.

[36:59] So after a year, we looked at each other. We’re like, we so should have listened to Bishop and got a king-sized bed.
Especially when the kids came. It’s like, oh my gosh. Yeah, we need a bigger bed.
That is hilarious, guys. I completely forgot about that. Of course, you know, I’m thinking I’ve got to pick for Kevin because I don’t know what he’ll do if I just leave it to him to get a bed. You guys will have a bunk bed or something.

[37:24] But thank you so much, Bishop. Thanks, Bishop. We love you. You’re welcome, guys. Congratulations to you guys on this. It’s amazing.
And I’m really looking forward to all the great things that are going to happen through you. You’re adding so much to so many people, and people need this.
These stories are absolutely amazing, and they’re life-changing.
They touch the heart. I just want to say thank you for what you do.
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