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John Kie-Vining
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Oct 2, 2025
About
John Kie Vining’s ministerial experience includes serving as an evangelist, pastor, college instructor, and professional pastoral counselor. He graduated from Lee College earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Biblical-Historical Studies. He received his Master of Arts degree in Biblical Literature from the Assemblies of God Graduate School. His Doctor of Ministry degree is from Columbia Theological Seminary. The major area of Dr. Vining’s graduate training is pastoral care/counseling. He is an Ordained Bishop in the Church of God (Cleveland). He is a licensed professional counselor in Tennessee. He has served as the Director of Counseling and Testing, Lee College, and Director of Counseling at the Church of God Center for Ministerial Care.
Presently, he serves as the Director of Family Ministries for the Church of God. He is the author, editor, or contributor to more than a dozen books including: SPIRIT-CENTERED COUNSELING; WHEN HOME IS WHERE THE HURT IS, COVENANT MARRIAGE, FAMILY MINISTRY FOUNDATIONS , FIRE, FAITH, AND FAMILY: A PORTAIT OF SPIRIT-FILLED FAMILIES. He is married to Dr. Su Ann Vining: they are the parents of three daughters.
Posts (9)
Feb 9, 2019 ∙ 3 min
Why Men Hit Their Wives
Men who abuse their wives are usually passive and dependent individuals. They find it difficult to express emotions and to deal with anger in nonviolent ways. Often, they did not have a close relationship with their mother. They may never have formed a close, warm, intimate relationship with a woman at all. Men who abuse their spouses often have low self-esteem and their wives do as well. Power and control are also essential features in the dynamics of spouse abuse. A wife abuser tends to be...
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May 14, 2018 ∙ 3 min
Elder Abuse: How to Protect the Ones You Love
While abused children and victims of spousal battering have been the topics of widespread study, elder abuse has been relatively hidden until recently. The typical victim of elder abuse is women over the age of 75 who are physically and perhaps mentally dependent. Typically the abuser is a relative, and frequently the adult child of the victim. The abuse is ongoing and may take several forms such as financial, physical, or psychological. The abuse may include violation of basic rights such...
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Oct 3, 2017 ∙ 4 min
Ministering to Victims of Violent Crime
The world looks on in shock at the shooting sprees and murders that occur in suburban neighborhoods. Surely violence could not happen in your neighborhood! How do you help when tragedy hits? Christians have a unique opportunity in times of tragedy to reflect the love and compassion of Jesus. What are the stressors for homicide survivors? The notification process causes a lot of stress. Sometimes the families receive fragmented information lacking detail. Initial details are often disclosed by...
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Aug 29, 2017 ∙ 3 min
Protect Your Church from Spiritual Abuse!
Abuse can occur in one-on-one relationships, in families, in institutions, and in society at large. Wherever abuse is found, it should be uncovered, repented of and rejected. It is not in keeping with scriptural relationship principles. ( Ephesians 5 and 6 ). Family, society or church systems abuse by demeaning and degrading acts of control, threat, violence and/or power, including abuse by clergy. How do you know if you are a part of an abusive church system? Power-posturing. This occurs...
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Feb 9, 2014 ∙ 2 min
Healing for Rape Victims
Rape is one of the most traumatic experiences a person can endure. Rape and violent death are among the experiences many women fear most. Sexual assault is a very complex type of violence. It leaves the victim with more dilemmas than just the physical and emotional aspects. It also produces a crisis of faith that must be addressed if the survivor is to continue to work through the recovery process. Carol Adams, in her book, “I Just Raped My Wife,” suggests three qualities of the pastoral...
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Jul 25, 2011 ∙ 3 min
Identifying Spiritual Abuse
A pastor admits to requesting sex from some of his female staff members. A woman commits suicide after being told she was demon-possessed. A four-year-old boy dies for lack of a saving medical procedure because they were instructed by their pastor not to call a doctor, but to rely on prayer alone. Several couples in a rural community divorce because the pastor told them they were outside God’s perfect will. There is a danger of any spiritual leader, whether it be a pastor, counselor,...
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Aug 19, 2010 ∙ 4 min
The Aftermath: How To Comfort a Woman Who Has Had an Abortion
A woman, in order to abort her unborn child, must overcome her instinctual impulse to attend to the baby’s helplessness. Even a woman who has undergone several abortions, upon seeing her limp fetus, experiences a profound psychological shock that can produce emotional trauma or illness. Our society has multitudes of would-be mothers who are suffering the grief and emotional ordeal of having an abortion. The abortion industry makes $500 million a year in the United States, and an estimated...
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May 27, 2010 ∙ 3 min
Shock and Awe: Post-Traumatic Stress and How to Help
Rape, robbery, suicide, and the ravages of combat are just a few of the circumstances that can cause post-traumatic stress disorder. As pastors and concerned friends and family members, it is important to realize the stages these victims will experience and assist them on the road to healing. Obviously, PTSD victims need professional help to heal, if at all possible. But here are a few insights into what a person who has been “violated” might face. The Impact Stage This period occurs...
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Feb 6, 2010 ∙ 2 min
How a Christian Can Help Someone with Terminal Illness
“Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you. So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.'” Hebrews 13:4 NIV Caring for the terminally ill is not an easy task. The caregiver must come to terms with his or her mortality in order to ministery to the dying. This is easier said than done. But having a spiritually mature person to talk with will enable the caregiver to process his or her own feelings of fear and helplessness in ministering to someone who is facing...
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