National Baptist Convention Pastoral Care/Chaplains Ministry

06/05/2026

"Lost Stone"

By Chaplain Latisa Steele

“Ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:13

As a vessel of God, we are often the ones helping others search for hope, meaning, and God's presence during life's most difficult moments. Yet there are seasons when we ourselves may feel that something is missing. The demands of ministry, the weight of caring for others, and the challenges of life can sometimes leave us feeling weary, discouraged, or spiritually depleted.

Recently, I experienced a simple but meaningful reminder of God's faithfulness. While praising the Lord during a church service, I unknowingly lost a stone from my wedding ring. I did not discover it until two days later. When I noticed that the ring was bent and the stone was missing, I assumed it was gone forever. The stone seemed too small to find, and the church was in the midst of being cleaned since the service.

My husband encouraged me to return to the church, just in case. Despite all the activity that had taken place, there in the middle of the choir stand aisle was the missing stone. What seemed lost had been preserved and waiting to be found.

That experience reminded me of God's promise through the prophet Jeremiah. Speaking to
people living in captivity, God assured them that His plans were still good, His presence was still near, and His purposes for their lives remained intact. He invited them to call upon Him, pray to Him, and seek Him with their whole hearts. His promise was simple: when they truly sought Him, they would find Him.

When ministry feels difficult, when your strength seems diminished, or when you sense that something is missing, remember where your help comes from. The God who preserves what seems lost is the same God who preserves His servants. He is still present in hospital rooms, military units, congregations, classrooms, counseling sessions, and quiet moments of prayer.

Our Lord is able to restore what has been lost, strengthen what has grown weak, and repair what has been broken. Most importantly, He continually invites us into a deeper relationship with Him. Nothing is more valuable or irreplaceable than our fellowship with Christ.

Today, be encouraged. You do not have to search far for God's presence. He has promised never to leave you nor forsake you. As you seek Him with your whole heart, you will find Him faithful, sufficient, and near.

Prayer: Lord, thank You for Your provision, Your protection, and Your peace. Thank You for sustaining those who serve others in Your name. Strengthen every messenger who may be weary, encourage those who are discouraged, and remind each of us that You are always near. Help us to seek You wholeheartedly and trust Your faithful promises. In Jesus' name, Amen.

06/05/2026

05/29/2026

"When Transformation and Salvation Take Place"

By Chaplain Tavious Mays

Our text today finds us on a desert road that heads south from Jerusalem toward Gaza. And on this road, in the desert on this day, there was a man traveling south back home to Ethiopia. This person was described by what he was and not who he was. He was an adjective and not a noun. His name is left anonymous, but his situation was presented without hesitation. We are told by the writer some five times that he is a eu**ch. Most likely, he had been castrated at some point, and his identity was shaped by this unfortunate circumstance.

However, this did not prevent him from becoming a productive citizen. How do we know this? The Record tells us that he was a court official for Candace, the Ethiopian Queen. He was the treasurer—the national accountant. Not only could he count, but this brother could also read. This vita further broadens our understanding of just who he was: he was educated, and he was also affluent.

The Bible tells us that he is riding in his chariot. He recently went to worship, and now he is headed back home and reading. Please do not overlook just what he was reading. He was reading his own personal copy of Isaiah. It was a rarity for a person to possess a personal copy of the Biblical scroll at that time. This further speaks to the affluence of the national treasurer.

Even with the prestige and power, there was still a problem that persisted and permeated at the nucleus of his life. You see, there was this separation, this division, and an exclusion involved with the title “eu**ch.” It did not matter who his employer was. It did not matter just how much he had learned, and it mattered not how much he had earned—there was a hole, a missing piece, at the core of his being.

He most likely could not enter the temple and had to worship from afar. He would be considered an “outsider,” regardless of his faith and his devotion to God. So, this man is reading a text that is about inclusion and hope, but he is struggling to understand the full measure of what the prophet was writing about. As he was reading aloud, unbeknownst to him, he would have a visitor.

Our sovereign Lord sent someone to him to help him iron out the issues that he was having in that chariot. This person appeared, took an assessment of the situation, and was then led by the Holy Spirit on what to do and what to say. Transformation and salvation took place on that day. It took place in the desert, on a desert road, and in desert water. Philip did his job, and then he was gone—nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.

May we take good notes from this deacon on how to offer pastoral care.

05/26/2026

Honoring the fallen at Lafayette Escadrille Cemetery - Chaplain Michelle Law-Gordon

U.S. Air Force Ch, Lt. Col. Michelle Law-Gordon, an individual mobilization augmentee to the U.S. Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa deputy command chaplain, swaps stories with a French Color Guard member during a Memorial Day ceremony held at the Lafayette Escadrille Memorial, Marnes-la-Coque...

05/23/2026

Congratulations to CAPTAIN Calvin Gardner!

A message from him:

Forty-one years ago, a 17-year-old left Detroit for MCRD San Diego with one certainty—there was no turning back.

Carried by his great-grandmother’s prayers and his mother’s work ethic, he pressed forward through life’s ups and downs: marriage, four children, failures, perseverance, loss, and a calling he once resisted but could never escape.

After 21 years in the Marine Corps and 20 years as a Navy Chaplain, yesterday brought humbling news:

Selected for CAPTAIN in the United States Navy Chaplain Corps.

This journey has been anything but easy—but it has been purposeful. Because….“When heaven is about to confer a great responsibility on any man, it will exercise his mind with suffering, subject his sinews and bones to hard work, expose his body to hunger, put him to poverty, place obstacles in the paths of his deeds, so as to stimulate his mind, harden his nature, and improve wherever he is incompetent.” — Meng Tzu

I am thankful for my bride of 39 years and our children who kept me moored to HOPE! And I am grateful for the host of spiritual and military peers, coaches, and mentors who God used to push me to this sacred moment in time.

One more thing—I learned how to be a good Marine and Chaplain from my first official job: a Detroit newspaper route – Burn the Ship; Dance with Rejection; Put Faith Before Feelings; Love Mercy; Act Justly; Walk Humbly before man and God.

Grateful. Humbled. Still moving forward in faith.

Soli Deo Gloria!