The Rev. Dr. Charles Qualls
Denomination: Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF)
Organization: Franklin Baptist Church, Franklin, VA
The Rev. Dr. Charles Qualls is senior pastor of Franklin Baptist Church in Franklin, VA.
A native of the Atlanta area, Charles was born in 1964. The small rural town he was raised in had roughly 2,400 residents when he was born. Today, there are about 100,000 there. It was on this rare seam, where country meets burgeoning city, that he formed his views on life, church and Spirit. His undergraduate degree in sociology and management came from the University of West Georgia. Along with an MDiv., he holds an earned doctorate from Mercer University's McAfee School of Theology.
He and Elizabeth met at seminary, where both of them obtained master's degrees. They have been married since 1991. She is the Collection Development Manager for the Blackwater Regional Library System in eastern Virginia.
In addition to weekly preaching and teaching responsibilities, the bulk of his ministry is spent with individuals and families walking through the main passages of life. Marriage-enrichment, pre-marriage work, hospitalization, death, hospice care and grief--these are many of the moments that matter! Previously, he served churches in North Carolina and Georgia in the areas of pastoral care and adult Christian education. Interestingly, he has had well over 1,600 divorcees come through his support programs in over 50 groups. He estimates that he has worked privately with more than 300 couples in multi-week pre-marital counseling or enrichment.
He loves to say that he is married to the world's least likely librarian. Among his hobbies are travel (especially cruising), culinary adventuring and baseball history. He reads for curiosity and information more than for enjoyment. Charles is the author or co-author of ten books, all printed by the Baptist literature provider Smyth and Helwys Publishing, Inc. He writes in what he would describe as a Christian utilitarian niche. Among his titles are A Hungry Soul (a collection of 40 prayers), Divorce Recovery Ministry: A Guidebook, Marriage Ministry: A Guidebook and Lessons from the Cloth (volumes 1 and 2). The latter three books were co-authored with dear friend and mentor, Dr. Bo Prosser.
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Day1 Weekly Programs by The Rev. Dr. Charles Qualls
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Appreciated But Not Always Wanted - Episode #4137
Tuesday July 02, 2024
“Appreciated But Not Always Wanted,” Qualls’ sermon for July 7, is based on Mark 6:1-13, the account of Jesus’s teaching in the synagogue in his hometown. “I wonder how we wrestle with disbelief in our faith?” he says. “When a truth comes bursting into our lives whose timing is so bad, so inconvenient that we just don’t want it to be so . . . then we wrestle with our own disbelief.”
Charles Qualls: Two Powerful Stories and a Distraction
Tuesday January 10, 2023
Two of John's disciples asked Jesus where he was staying, which was tantamount to saying, "We want to sit at your feel and be under your formation," Charles Qualls says. Only then did Jesus extend the invitation: "Come and see."
Charles Qualls: Water That Renews Us
Tuesday January 03, 2023
When we are baptized, Charles Qualls says, we aren't just cleansed in some symbolic way. If we are faithful and willing, then we're also anointed into a lifetime alongside Jesus to bring about justice and righteousness here and now.
Charles Qualls: Redeemed, Forgiven, and Adopted
Tuesday July 06, 2021
Charles Qualls says Paul’s good news is that we belong to God as adopted and provided-for children in Christ. The good news doesn’t end there, though - we also can belong to each other.
Charles Qualls: Let Us Go Up to the Mountain of the Lord!
Tuesday November 26, 2019
Dr. Charles Qualls says the vision Isaiah paints in chapter 2 is one of peace—a world we would surely like to live in. But in this era of mass shootings and the threat of war, these words don’t match our reality, and so we yearn to know: when will the Christ child hurry up and usher in such a peaceful time? And we wait...
Charles Qualls: What Is This?
Tuesday January 23, 2018
Dr. Charles Qualls says that the scribes and Pharisees heard Jesus' bold teaching and decided he had to be stopped. But others heard Jesus and opened their hearts and minds, their souls and spirits to the hope they heard in Jesus. “What is this?” they asked.
Charles Qualls: Promise or Warning?
Tuesday January 16, 2018
Mark 1:14-20 contains both a promise and a warning, says Dr. Charles Qualls: A promise that God does not extend to us a calling to participate, as this kingdom is ushered in, without also giving us what we’ll need. But Jesus warns that following him would not always be without its difficulties and its costs.