GC Treasurer Elder Paul Douglas, Encourages Church to 'Acknowledge God and He Will Direct Your Path'

They came from the east and west, they came from the north and south and  congregated at the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Rollington Town for a special Prayer and Praise Service with Elder Paul Douglas, Treasurer of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and a “son of the soil” of  that congregation. For those who remembered the young Paul Douglas, sweet memories came flooding back. Pride and joy flooded their hearts for the man he has become and the way that he has allowed God  to lead him.

 

At 7pm sharp the Praise Team led the congregation in a rousing Praise and Worship session followed by a warm welcome by host Pastor Sadekie Beckford who acknowledged distinguished guests, members and visitors in the congregation and online. 

President of the East Jamaica Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Pastor Meric Walker brought greetings on behalf of the Jamaica Union Conference and the East the East Jamaica Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. He acknowledged the presence of our special guest Elder Paul Douglas and also the presence of members of the EJC Administration,  Zone One Leader Pastor Howard Smith,  a cadre of directors, members of the Rollington Town Group of Churches and members from other zones.

 

The congregation sang lustily the opening hymn What a Wonderful Saviour is Jesus My Lord, followed by the Scripture reading from Proverbs 3:6 ably read by Akil Whyte. “In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” Pastor Howard Smith, Pastoral Leader of Zone 1 offered the opening prayer.

 

Following a  musical item by the singing group ASSURE, Elder Garth Wright  invited the congregation to participate in a Season of Testimony. Persons were given the opportunity to share experiences of God’s answer to prayer and  His providential care, concern and leading. We were truly blessed by the testimonies given of God’s goodness and answered prayers.

 

Sis. Ruth Russell Hutton invited the congregation to participate tangibly in the programme as each member was asked to give a generous offering towards the continued renovation of the church building. The church was then led in a season of prayer by  Pastor Melvin Francis,  Executive Secretary, East Jamaica Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

 

In introducing the Guest Speaker for the evening’s programme, Pastor Meric Walker spoke warmly of his friendship with and admiration for Elder Paul Douglas. Pastor Walker also spoke of Elder Douglas’ love and passion for the church and his deep rooted connection to the Rollington Town Seventh-day Adventist Church. He invited the congregation to give its undivided attention to the message that the Lord placed on the heart of Elder Douglas.

Before the sermon, however, Sis. Deonne Anderson hosted a Youth Forum/ getting to know you  session with Elder Douglas whom she affectionately called Uncle Paul. In answering her question about his journey to the General Conference and how he got into accounting, Elder Douglas explained that as a student at Kingsway High School his ambition was to be a medical doctor but on entering West Indies College all that changed as he was introduced to Book Keeping and so graduated with a degree in Business Administration.  His education took him further afield to Loma Linda University in California where he completed a degree in Accounting. In 1986 at the age of 20, he was offered a job by the General Conference to work in it’s Auditing Department and in 2007 he became director of that department.  In 2021 he was asked to be the Treasurer of the General Conference.

 

When asked what led him to accept the position of Treasurer for the world wide church, Elder Douglas said simply that he “wanted to do God’s work and God took care of the journey”.  His advice  to the youth, who are choosing their career path and trying to balance it with their faith, is to find something they’re passionate about that would not keep them away from God.  In referring to the Scripture Reading, Proverbs 3:6, Elder Douglas emphasized the importance of  their work being directed by God.

The song of meditation just before the sermon was done by One Accord and Elder Douglas thanked them for singing his song,

 

In getting setting the tone for his discourse, Elder Douglas, after seeking God’s guidance and inviting the Holy Spirit in our midst, expressed his gratitude for God’s grace and mercy and acknowledged that  God is worthy to be praised. He admitted humorously that his presence at Rollington, was in fulfillment of a promise he made  to Sis. Hutton, to worship  at this, his home church on his next visit to Jamaica, and he has kept that promise.  He noted that it has been close to 50 years since the last time he was at this church.

 

Pride oozed from the voice of Elder Douglas as he made known to those in the hearing of his voice, that on June 30, 1974 he was baptised in this church by his own father Pastor Reuben Douglas, the pastor at that time. Even greater pride could be heard as he told the congregation that in 1945, his father, Pastor Douglas, was converted to Adventism while standing outside the gates of this church and listening to the message of salvation being proclaimed from the pulpit.  As God would have had it, 22 years later he returned to pastor this very church. The affection in his voice could not missed as Elder  Douglas spoke fondly of the rich history that exists between his family and the Rollington Town Seventh-day Adventist Church.  

 

The momentum was not to end  as Elder Douglas recalled that there was a time when the youth of this congregation  were not allowed to stand on the same platform on which he was standing  and was definitely not allowed to stand on the higher platform he called “the holy of holies”. But that was to change under his father who insisted that the young people should have a voice and be a part of the worship services of the church.  For those who didn’t know, Elder Douglas proudly informed the congregation that it was at Rollington Town SDA Church that Youth Day and Children’s Day had their beginnings before being adopted by other churches and that Pastors like Devon Osbourne and Matthias Patrick were products of our Youth Day Programme.

 

In recapping his journey from Kingsway High School to graduation from Loma Linda university,  Elder Douglas admitted that he applied to four organizations for jobs before being called by the General Conference where he worked his way up through the ranks.  The Lord told him “Those rejections are my directions as to what I would have you be”.  Elder Douglas said “I’m thankful for what the Lord has done as He is the One who has directed my path”.  He realized that, had he gone into pastoral ministry, he would not have had the preparation for the role God had for him.

 

 Elder Douglas assured each listener that:

• When someone talks to someone for you, that’s God doing His good work for you
• When the doors open for you, it’s God who opened those doors
• When you see the path laid down before you, that is God who made that path plain

“In all thy ways acknowledge  Him and He shall direct thy path.”

• There is no path that you have that God is not interested in.  He wants to direct that path and ultimately He wants to direct your path to heaven.
• You should be grateful for where God has brought you.  Be grateful for what  God has taught you.  Be grateful for where God is taking you.  Be grateful  for His grace and mercy towards you.

 

Following a musical item by Humble, a presentation of  Jamaican  ‘Nicities’ were made to Elder Douglas by Sis. Erma Hutton.  After the closing hymn  Trust And Obey, the closing prayer was done by Pastor Sadekie Beckford and the vote of thanks by Pastor Meric Walker, President of the EJC.

 

As a photograph was taken with Elder Paul Douglas and the entire congregation, old memories were cemented and new memories created. 

 

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