05/19/2026
This Sunday at 8AM, I will preach my final sermon as Senior Pastor of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Morristown after 15 years of ministry together.
My sermon title is:
“From Deliverance to Destiny”
Joshua 3:1–17
Joshua 3 reminds us that there is a difference between passing through and crossing over.
The Red Sea represented deliverance.
The Jordan represented destiny.
At the Red Sea, God brought Israel out.
At the Jordan, God prepared them to go in.
As I reflected on this text, I realized how deeply it mirrors our own journey.
When my family first arrived here in Morristown from South Africa to begin ministry at Bethel, we literally stepped into water waist deep. The devastating flooding caused by Hurricane Irene would forever shape our ministry and our understanding of community.
Out of those flood waters, Table of Hope emerged.
What began as crisis response became community transformation. There are so many untold stories of volunteers, families, partners, neighbors, students, seniors, immigrants, pastors, and ordinary people who chose compassion over comfort and service over silence.
God birthed something new in the middle of the flood.
The truth is, my family had hoped to return to Maryland after living in South Africa, but there were no doors open for us at that time. Bishop Richard Franklin Norris welcomed us to the First Episcopal District with open arms. I still remember him sending us to Morristown so that our children could flourish — and that is exactly what happened.
What we once viewed as an unexpected detour became part of God’s destiny for our lives and ministry.
But long before Hurricane Irene, long before Table of Hope, and long before many of us arrived, there were other rivers crossed by those who came before us.
I think about Mother Frances Freeman Ray and the proverbial rivers she had to cross to help establish Bethel in a time when Black faith, Black dignity, and Black freedom were constantly under assault. She crossed rivers of racism, exclusion, sexism, economic hardship, and uncertainty so future generations would have a spiritual home and a sacred foundation to stand on.
Every generation has its Jordan.
Every generation must decide whether it will remain on familiar shores or trust God enough to cross into something greater.
And now Bethel stands at another river crossing.
Bethel can choose to build on what has already been achieved, or chart a new course toward an even deeper vision of community, justice, generosity, and hope.
That is the tension of Joshua 3.
Some seasons require survival strength.
Other seasons require stewardship strength.
And perhaps one of the greatest challenges of faith is trusting God enough to step into the water before it parts.
As I prepare to preach this final sermon at Bethel Morristown, I do so with gratitude, reflection, and hope for what God will continue to do through this historic congregation founded in 1843.
We have crossed many rivers together:
through grief and growth,
through uncertainty and transformation,
through challenge and possibility.
And through it all, God has remained faithful.
I invite you to join us Sunday at 8AM as we reflect on what it means to move from deliverance to destiny.
Bethel AME Church Morristown
59 Spring Street
Morristown, NJ 07960
