The Central Baptist Church of Millville gathered this past Sunday for a time of worship and celebration.  It was a time to give thanks since the church had experienced some losses due to a robbery that had taken place during the week. This type of brokenness to a sacred place of ministry is most difficult to understand.  Yet during the worship service the praise band director challenged the congregations to be in prayer for the person or persons who had done this injustice. Pray that in someway their lives might be transformed by the love and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.  I later learned in a brief conversation this came from the heart of one who knew this forgiveness first hand and was concerned for the souls of individuals who have made the wrong choices in life. 

I was reminded of the time when our home was broken into in Kansas and a great many of my tools and equipment had been taken.  I also remembered back when my mothers family had lost all of their Christmas gifts on Christmas Eve while they attended services at church.  The family Bible had been taken and on the middle of the table the thief had torn out the family history of births and deaths from the inside pages of the Bible and left them.  He knew just how valuable that document would be to the family.  In hearing my grandfather tell the story there was always a desire on the families part that what was taken might have been read and thus change his life by the power of God's written words. 

Many have reminded me, just as the scripture does, that there were three crosses on the hill of Calvary when Christ was crucified, two were thieves, and even there our Lord granted his grace and love and a place in paradise to the man who recognized Jesus for his innocence.  We were called upon to do the same thing that Jesus did last Sunday morning for we too have received God's grace and forgiveness.  Pray with us, that the souls of those who have done injustice against us might discover the love of God through our response for them.

Recently I booked a flight to travel this summer to visit family and attend other events like a class reunion.  I purchased the tickets early to take advantage of early discounted fares.  All was set and then I received a call from the airline telling me I needed to change my flight.  So, I made the necessary arrangements and they sent me the changes I had agreed upon.  A day later, I got a second call from the airline and they informed me I needed to make another change in my flight.  Well, I reluctantly said, OK, but what I discovered then was they can't get me to my distination.  In fact, the airline I was to fly on has gone bankrupt due to high costs of jet fuel.  In checking further I learned that the next commercial airline to fly into their airport will not begin until a month after my scheduled visit and event.

In life, we experience such situations, we set a course, seek to arrive on time, make all the necessary plans to receive the best possible savings, only to discover along the way between now and then, we can't get there as planned.  Sometimes, as in the case above, we can't even get there.  Late arrival may be alright in some situations, but sometimes it means you will miss the fun all together.

When you are dealing with lifes issues, there are times you can just go with the flow, take the changes without any major difficulties.  When one is dealing with eternity, you can't afford to go with the flow, take the changes to arrive late, nor take your own course of action to arrive at the gates of eternity.  In fact, Christ has called us by his word alerting us of the course we must take.  He has made the changes necessary for us, paid the price, and made it possible for us to receive eternity.  Still, if one does not decide to answer His call and accept His course of action, or simply wait for the right moment to follow His invitation, one more than likely will be left without a destination for eternity.

In your earthly travels, make sure you respond to the change notices sent your way.  It is essential for your arrival in eternity with God.  If you are unsure about your eternal distination, feel free to stop by any one of our American Baptist Churches of New Jersey, the pastors and church members would be glad to assist you and answer your questions.

For the last four weeks I have been having problems due to a pinched nerve in my neck. It has caused some loss in the use of my right hand and arm with a great deal of pain the first two weeks.  In addition and some what related, I also smashed my right hand while shutting the car door, do in part to the affects of the nerve not send messages so my hand would move out of the way when I shut the car door. These all are still under treatment but improving.  My typing is getting better with my left hand and one finger on my right hand working properly.

In the mean time I'm seeking to keep up with appointments.  Thanks for all the prayers and support.

Across the state of New Jersey, new pastors will be coming to the ABCNJ offices this week for a gathering with Region staff on Thursday, January 24, 2008. Each year the New Pastors Orientation is held in January for all staff who are either new to the state or have received a new call to a congregation within ABCNJ.  We really look forward to our time with these new pastors and desire to extend to them the mission and ministry opportunities within our state and the denomination.  We love the fellowship that is continued at this meeting and are delighted to have them and the congregations they serve in partnership. 

The Associate Regional Pastors and staff have brought together a program which they feel will address the questions facing pastors in transition to New Jersey, provide information about the ABCNJ Vision and Mission that continues to grow, and to share our facilities and services to all of our pastors and congregations.  This mission opportunity is made possible through the gifts and contributions to ABCNJ.  We're glad to welcome these pastors and families to this mission team.

There are quite a few new pastors within the three associations I serve and thus I wanted to share this invitation to all of the new pastors to be sure they attend.  I'm sure this hold true for all of the ABCNJ staff.  Please let the office know you are planning to attend as a meal is being planned.  If you need directions to the offices, please feel free to use the Find A Church menu on the website or call the office.