Dear Ledgewood Family,
It feels so wonderful to finally be able to say/type those words as a resident of New Jersey and a member of this body. I have yearned for this time that has finally arrived.
I have so many thoughts and emotions as I begin this season of life with you all. The one thing that all of this has made extremely clear is that I am in way over my head. While this may seem like a negative view or may even cause you some concern the truth is that it should give all of us great hope. I know that the best I can do for myself, my family, and for each of you is to remember that I have been called to a task that far outweighs me. Knowing that will require much prayer, a deep and growing dependence on The Lord, and much teamwork and partnership. I am grateful that we have a great King that will provide all that is needed to me and all of us as we seek Him in humility, truth, and joy.
There are so many things that I want to say to you in this first newsletter, but I know the title of this is, “A message from the Pastor” and not, “A novel from the Pastor.” Let me do my best to summarize in these next few lines.
- God has given me such a great love for you as a body and as individuals. I am grateful for this and look forward to having that love grow as we worship, celebrate, grow, mourn, and seek Him together.
- We have a great need for The Lord. This seems like such an obvious thing to say but if you’re anything like me, my actions often say much different. Let us spur one another on as we pursue Christ in a daily reading of His word, pray for self and each other, and true fellowship of the believers which is only done as we gather for the purpose of worshipping The Lord.
- The world is hungry for truth. It takes no time at all to see that every person on the planet is looking for good news and peace. Praise God that He has blessed us with the only peace that is available through salvation in His son, Jesus. As those who are walking in peace let us also be advocates for others to know. In seminary we sang a song daily with these lines,
“To all the world for Jesus’ sake
Where bodies hurt and sad hearts ache
Lift high the cross, His love proclaim
_____________ bear His Name!!”
Let us fill that blank in with Ledgewood Baptist as we go out for His glory!
- Let us not get bogged down. There is not one of us reading this (or writing it) that doesn’t struggle with past failures, dwell in past successes, dream of future days, or drift off into daydreams. Ledgewood has seen wonderful days and God has blessed her greatly. It is truly humbling to walk in the shadows of those that have come before me. However let us not live in the land of what used to be, but instead “let us leave what is behind and press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14)
- For years I have been challenged by the words of Christ to His church in Revelation 3. “I wish that you were either hot or cold, but because you are lukewarm, I will spit you out of my mouth.” This letter to Christians is frightening stuff. This means that each of us has the potential to straddle the fence or just play the game. Let it not be so!! Let each of us fully commit to The Lord Jesus and His church for His glory. This will require much of each of us, but Jesus is so very worth it.
My prayer is that you read this as I wrote it and as I take it myself. This newsletter is a challenge to all of us. I look forward to embarking on the adventure arm in arm as we praise “Him who is able to keep us from stumbling and to present us before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy.” (Jude 24)
For His Name’s sake,
Pastor Brock
“We talk and talk of the Second Coming of Christ, when half of the world has never heard