From The Pastor's Pen (Letters on Living Christ and Being Christ's Body)

Book excerpt: How do you get new Christians who do not know one another to work at building and growing relationships in a new Church? This is essential in a new Church because the teaching and training of the core group of believers becomes the nucleus of the Body of Christ. This is the obstacle Pastor Baker faced in planting a church in Newark, NJ. Although the people came from the same urban neighborhood, it did not appear these new believers had much in common. So Pastor Baker decided to write a monthly Bible-based letter on living for Christ and how to be the Church and do its work. He planned to write From the Pastor's Pen for a year or so to teach biblical truth and to develop bridges to build lasting Christian relationships. But this short-term project grew as new believers added addresses to the mailing list. Soon twenty families were fifty and then over one hundred. Believers made copies and passed them out at work. These monthly letters became the teaching materials for small-group Bible studies, and were used by missionaries in the Dutch West Indies. So from November of 1984 until June of 2014, a monthly letter was written. Pastor Baker's short-term project became a long-term ministry. With the help of brothers and sisters in the Newark Church, the letters in this book were selected so you can live Christ and be Christ's Body. May you grow in Christ and effectively be and do the work of the Church.