KARIA BUNTING is an expository Bible teacher whose mission is to communicate the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ so that people are saved, and disciples are developed. She is the founder of Focused Forward Ministries, a communication and media ministry, and a member of several community and ministry organizations. She also partners with her husband, George, in his management & financial consulting company.

Karia received her master’s degree from Dallas Theological Seminary and a doctorate from Louisiana Baptist Theological Seminary. She’s currently receiving a second doctorate from the University of Texas. She serves as an adjunct professor at Dallas Baptist University and enjoys ministering the Word and its’ principles through her lecture series and power lunches held throughout the year.

Karia and George, her husband of 26 years, live in Dallas, Texas where she teaches the Word weekly in the women’s Bible study at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship. Mother of three children, Karia is also a mentor to many young women. She enjoys reading, writing, and spending time with family and friends.

Dr. Karia, would you say you are an extrovert or introvert? 

Definitely an introvert.  But a trained extrovert.  

 I understand the difference is whether you feel more energized when you are alone or with people.  I receive  more energy when I am alone.  That has helped me, because I have been in school studying theology and humanities for 18 years, and gotten two degrees – a Doctorate in Theology and a Doctorate in Humanities, for my effort!   I don’t think I could have done that if I didn’t enjoy being alone (with my books, of course). 

But most people don’t know that I am an introvert.   I attribute that to my mom.  My father was a Baptist pastor, and when we were little she insisted that we socialize with everyone.  We would be in Dollar General, and she would say, “Go over there and talk to her…”   And we would have to go over and start a conversation.  She thought introverted preacher’s kids would appear to be stuck up, and she wasn’t having it. 

 So she taught my brother and I to be extroverts.  Now, I love being around people and having a ball with them.  I will strike up a conversation with anybody, anywhere.  But if you were to look deep inside of me, there is still that shy little girl. 

 Do you like to cook?  If so, what are your favorite dishes to cook?

Hmm…  Well, yes, I like to cook – on holidays!  I’ll tell you, when my little ones were growing up, a significant part of the time I was a stay-at-home mom.  So we could not afford to eat out every meal!  I mean, we did the Wendy’s dollar meal and all that as a snack on the way home from school, but mama cooked!  I started cooking meals for my family of origin in Arkansas when I was 15, and didn’t stop until my kids were grown and gone.  Now they are grown, and I’m thinking,  “’Why am I in this kitchen?”  Popeye’s has some great buy-one-get-one free coupons!  And when I buy some of those discount books, we can do just fine at a number of really nice restaurants.  

But this I do like – our “crack and suck Sundays”.  My husband coined that term at one of our huge  Thanksgiving dinners (for thanksgiving and other holidays, I buy ingredients for everything I could possibly want to cook – from traditional food to that great recipe I discovered in Southern Living, and invite absolutely everyone I know and some people I don’t know!)  Well, we had brisket and turkey, fried chicken, and…crab legs!  

My husband was telling a story about his childhood, and said they used to have “crack and suck Sundays”, where they laid newspaper out and everyone got in the backyard and ate all the crab legs they could hold!  Everybody at the table (and there were about 25 people at the table), cracked up (no pun intended).  And then they started asking me “Mom (everybody under 30 calls me “mom”), can we come  over to your house for a crack-and-suck Sunday!  So we have a huge crab leg dinner about once a month.      

 Are you a sports fan?  If so, tell us about your favorite sports and/or sports team.

I can’t say that I am a fan, because I think fans know all the stats for the teams and all that.  My oldest daughter, Tristin, is what I call a sports fan.  She can cite football statistics and basketball statistics all day long.  Not her mom. 

But I do love football, and I do love the Cowboys.  I just like to grill steaks, sit in my living room and yell!  So much fun!  And eat popcorn and watermelon and tell the quarterback what to do.  And watch them throw long passes and knock each other down.  Yes, that I like. 

 Are there any hobbies you wish to share?

Well, I can’t say that I have a lot of hobbies anymore.  I used to like needlepoint and crafting before I started working on these degrees!  But now, I think I just enjoy reading.  I am getting into reading testimonial literature right now – slave narratives, autobiographies of great African-American thinkers like, of course, Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. Dubois, those kind of thinkers, some native American narratives.  I am also spending a lot of time reading literature about pragmatism, because  I am interested in thinking about something I would like to call “epistemological pragmatism”, or a system of making the world better based on the Word of God .  I am now drawn to the struggle Middle Eastern women have – they can be killed for just disagreeing with their husband.   My goal is to bring all 17 years of education to bear on the issues faced by today’s women, and bring hope and instruction from the Word of God that will set women free.

 What movie(s) have you watched recently that you would recommend?

Well, who hasn’t watched Avatar?  That was a good movie, and well done.  And absolutely anything Tyler Perry does, I love.  But recently?  Maybe the Book of Eli – I thought it strategic, was well done and told a good story.   Again, Denzel Washington was in it, and the man can act! 

My favorite movie of all time, though is The Preacher’s Wife – you know the one with Whitney Houston and Denzel?  My husband laughs at how many times I can watch that movie.   

Which social networks do you enjoy the most?

I almost became a facebook addict, but I am recovering.  I found myself spending hours on facebook, and checking it during the day!  Then I said to myself, “Karia, you have got to get something else done”, so I slowed down.  But I still check my facebook every morning right after e-mail, and every night before I go to bed.  On my fan page, I usually post twice a day.  I like feeling like I am a part of a community. 

Also, check out my facebook page at this link: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Focused-Forward-Ministries-with-Dr-Karia-Bunting/124665357565978?ref=ts .  I just started that page, but I love facebook!          

What’s next for you?

Friend, I’ll tell you, I don’t know why in the world people say they want to get in front of the Lord, because I have a hard enough time keeping up with Him!  But I love Him, and I am so thankful, unbelievably thankful, for what He (and He alone) is choosing to do in my life.

We are working on a study guide to go along with Daddy’s Delight, so readers can integrate the principles into their life.   In September, I will start teaching the Word again at Life on Life again, a Bible study of about 150 women that meet at my home church, Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, TX.   We do not gather in the summer, so I am looking forward to seeing them in September.  

The Lord has given our ministry a television broadcast – we are on Direct TV channel 378, Sky Angel 126, and we broadcast weekly at 10:30 Central Standard Time, 11:30 Eastern Standard Time.  Through Direct TV we go into over 11 million homes.  The ministry the Lord has given me also hosts a power lunch every 2^nd and 4^th Saturday in Plano, TX, and a monthly taping on the 2^nd Saturday.  And I do conference speaking, workshops, pastor’s conferences, and workshops in the United States and in places like Nigeria, Hati, and Papua New Guniea.   We believe the Lord is moving us into radio, so your readers can listen in soon, if they are not able to TiVo or record the Thursday morning broadcasts. 

Your readers can check out our website at www.focusedforwardministries.org to see what God is doing through His servant down in Dallas, TX.   

About the Book

In Daddy’s Delight, Dr. Karia Bunting reminds women that they are God’s workmanship, His masterpiece, His “poema”. That God has intricately woven together every fiber of their being and created each one special and unique. That God, having completed His work of art, gave her to mankind as a gift.

Evident in this great care God took in fashioning woman is the importance and value of each one. So why do so many women struggle with God’s design, wishing they could change just this or that one thing about themselves?

Dr. Bunting challenges each reader to accept and embrace the truth that, regardless of what season of life she’s in, she is God’s masterpiece-not her own work of art. When God sees her, He sees His beautiful creation. A creation that yes, has some wrinkles needing to be smoothed out and yet, is one in whom is His delight to love to perfection.

View the blog tour schedule and read an excerpt at http://bit.ly/DaddysDelight.

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