SUSSEX COUNTY’S DAILY NEWSPAPER

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NEW JERSEY SUNDAY HERALD

Friday, September 16, 2005

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NEWTON — The First Baptist

Church of Newton will host an

installation service on Sept. 25 at

6 p.m. to formally welcome its

new senior pastor, Rev. R. Scott

Boger. Boger and his family

recently returned to the United

States after years of ministry in

Nova Scotia.

Boger moved to Nova Scotia as

the child of missionary parents in

1975. He said that he found it

deeply disturbing as an Ameri-

can living away from his home

country during the September 11

attacks. “It was frustrating to be

so distant from such tragedy. A

longing to be able to comfort and

support the land and people I

have always loved had taken hold

in our hearts,” he said.

“After 16 years of pastoral min-

istry in Canada we began explor-

ing ministry opportunities in the

United States. We believe that

God worked behind the scenes to

bring us to a place that we never

heard of before last fall.”

Among the biggest challenges

Boger sees in his ministry in

Newton is “getting busy people to

slow down and be still enough to

hear God. One wit described our

culture saying ‘ we are spending

money we don’t have, to buy

things we don’t need, to impress

people we don’t like.’ I challenge

people to start looking for life’s

answers apart from the stuff and

things of this world that have

never satisfied the deepest long-

ing of human hearts.”

He said his family has had to

adjust to a “culture gap.”

“There is no doubt that the

pace and dialects are different

from Nova Scotia but people are

still people,” Boger said. “When

you are genuinely interested in

people they respond to that care.

Pastoral ministry has convinced

me that people don’t care what

you know until they know that you

care.”

He said he sees role here in

Sussex County as that of a shep-

herd.

“I feel like families are unravel-

ing under the strain of financial,

social and spiritual upheaval.

Churches have to offer families

strength and truth to sustain

them in the storms raging in our

culture. People increasingly won-

der if absolute truth exists and if

it matters,” Boger said. “I see my

role as a pastor to shepherd the

hearts and minds of an increas-

ingly skeptical society with an

authentic, biblical Christianity.

The watching world has every

right to expect Christians to live

out the truth that they say they

hold so dear. I never cease to be

amazed at the change that a

redemptive relationship with

Christ can bring. I am delightfully

optimistic that eternal answers

exist to counter every one of our

culture’s critical questions.”

Boger said he has a “ three-fold

philosophy of ministry: first, to

call believers to exalt Jesus

Christ; secondly, to edify and edu-

cate them so that they grow in

their faith, and finally, to reach

our community with the Good

News. First Baptist Church is a

very caring place where truth is

spoken in love. During the candi-

date process my family was

immediately impressed with the

genuine thoughtfulness of this

church.”

Boger and his wife of 16 years,

Susie, who met in Bible College in

Maryland, have four children:

Katie, 15; Bobby, 13; Courtney, 11,

and Melissa, 10.

The pastor sees a need for the

Christian community, as a whole,

to be more cohesive and dynam-

ic, as a larger body, saying that

denominational labels can create

confusion among the un-

churched.

“I agree with the writer of

Psalms who said, ‘I am compan-

ion to all those fear God and keep

His precepts.’ I have met some

wonderful pastors who have the

same passion as I do and I look

forward to a partnership with

them. My mandate is not to com-

pete with other churches but to

complement those doing the

work God has called us to in the

great commission.”

Boger holds a Bachelor of Arts

degree from Washington Bible

College, where he majored in

Biblical Studies and a minor in

Pastoral Studies.

Several years ago he began

working on his Masters degree

from Briercrest Biblical

Seminary, “not just for stuff to

hang on my wall; I think it is crit-

ical to be a lifelong learner, I

always want those who sit under

my preaching ministry to be

drinking from a running brook,

not stagnant pond.”

New pastor at Newton Baptist comes from missionary family

Rev. R. Scott Bolger to be installed Sunday

Rev. R. Scott Boger, the new pastor at the First Baptist Church of Newton, poses with his wife, Susie,

and their children. He will be officially installed on Sunday.