To the Beloved Saints at Ogletown Baptist Church:
I’m thankful to God that He has opened up this opportunity to come to Delaware. Sarah and I have talked through this decision, we’ve prayed and searched the Scriptures, we’ve opened ourselves to the counsel and exhortations of other believers. Knowing that God can do much more than we might ever ask or imagine (Luke 1:39), I accept the call to come to Ogletown to be your next senior pastor.
Thank you for your patience as we let our kids finish out the school year before we come. Please do pray for our family through the transition. We look forward to joining you in thesummer.
Grateful,
Deepak Reju
updated 11/10/23
DEEPAK REJU
Deepak (53) and his wife, Sarah (47), live in downtown Washington, DC. For the past sixteen years, Deepak has been serving as Pastor of Biblical Counseling and Family Ministry at Capitol Hill Baptist Church (CHBC), just five blocks west of the U.S. Capitol building. Deepak and Sarah have five children.
Sarah’s undergrad is from Princeton University (Ecology & Evolutionary Biology) and she has her Master of Divinity degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (KY). Sarah is the author of several children’s books (God is Better Than Trucks, God is Better Than Princesses, and Jesus Saves). Her fourth book, Coop Messes Up, is a gospel-story about a family of cars called the “Wheelies” and the mishap and adventures of their youngest son “Coop”. Sarah homeschools two days a week then spends the rest of the week shuttling kids back-and-forth to school and managing their home. She loves to take walks, be out in nature, spend time with their kids and she also enjoys reading.
With an undergrad from George Washington University (Biology & Psychology), Deepak attended medical school until the Lord redirected his path into ministry. Deepak holds both a Master of Divinity and Ph.D. degrees from the Southern Seminary (KY). He spends many of his days coming alongside church members and helping them sort through their messy problems. Deepak has written numerous books. Deepak’s most recent, Build on Jesus, is an overview of gospel-centered children’s ministry. Deepak likes to coach soccer, play board games (and lose!) to his children, bike all over DC, watch NFL football, and read in the rare quiet moment.
Sarah’s Testimony
Sarah grew up on Long Island, NY, in a nominally Christian family who occasionally attended mostly non gospel-preaching churches. Sarah tried to find purpose in life through hard work and worldly success. Inwardly, however, she was empty. Upon her arrival at Princeton her freshman year, Sarah began to search for God more earnestly, but gave up when her efforts at reaching Him failed. She claimed that God didn’t exist as the reason she couldn’t reach Him. Her major, Evolutionary Biology, seemed
to provide scientific justification for these views, but inwardly she continued to face the same deep emptiness.
Mercifully, she was invited to Campus Crusade meetings and Bible study. She heard the gospel for the first time, and finally understood that nothing she could do could earn God’s favor; rather, God needed to do it all through the Savior he provided, Jesus Christ. Her senior year, Sarah trusted in Christ for salvation.
Deepak’s Testimony & Call to Ministry
Deepak was raised by nominal Christian parents who rarely attended church. Mercifully, in high school through the witness of a youth leader, Gary Metzger, God converted him. Deepak’s relationship with Gary came at a crucial time–as Deepak didn’t have much of a relationship with his workaholic father. Deepak remains forever grateful for how Gary faithfully lived out the gospel in patience and love. In college, Deepak grew tremendously through the influence of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. Through the encouragement of several mentors, Deepak began wrestling with the possibility of serving in full-time ministry. He resisted, and continued to follow his own plans in pursuit of a medical career until the Lord radically rearranged his steps through a year of burnout and depression in medical school. Ultimately, the Lord led him to seminary, then pastoral ministry.
Deepak and Sarah met at Capitol Hill Baptist Church when Deepak was working on staff and Sarah was serving as a paralegal in the Justice Department. It was through the encouragement of a mutual friend that Deepak asked Sarah out. Much later on, watching Deepak’s care for his family after his father’s sudden heart attack, Sarah grew convinced that she should consider
marrying him.
Sarah’s discipline to be in God’s Word daily early on in their marriage greatly influenced Deepak’s walk with the Lord. As a new husband, Deepak valued being in the Word as crucial for their spiritual vitality as a couple. Prior to marriage, he had not been consistent in reading the Bible but he quickly grew in his discipline to be consistent in the Word and pray every morning.
Deepak also recognizes growth from being in rich teaching environments–nine years in seminary, as well as decades in churches committed to expositional preaching. In addition, he values close personal influences, starting with his high school mentor, Gary Metzger, and more recently, Mark Dever, who has been Deepak’s pastor, boss, and close friend for thirty years.
TEACHING/PREACHING GOD’S WORD
The center of every church ministry (men, women, children, youth, Sunday gatherings,etc.) should be the teaching and preaching of God’s Word (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 4:2-5). The Bible is God’s Word, and God saw fit to give it to us, so that we can come to know him. Not surprisingly, I’m committed to a full and hearty exposition of God’s Word, offering it every Sunday as the lifeblood of the church. I’d like us to be a people of the Word.
KEY INFLUENCE: Thirty years under Mark Dever’s preaching at CHBC and Expositional Preaching by David Helm.
Congregational Singing
One of the things I look forward to in heaven is the saints singing together. Picture it: saints from every era of history, gathered around the throne for all of eternity, crying out: “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God Almighty Reigns!” (Rev. 19:6; cf. 19:1-6). While I welcome instruments, a worship team, theologically rich contemporary music, and traditional hymns, I’d want the centerpiece of our worship to be the congregation’s voices, singing to God, and encouraging one another.
KEY INFLUENCE: The robust congregational singing at CHBC.
Prayer
How will anything change unless we pray? We should all pray, both individually, and whenever we get together with other believers. Take every opportunity to pray (Luke 5:15-16). Pray about everything (Phil. 4:6-7). Be constant in prayer (Rom. 12:12). But I’d like prayer to not be the work of just a few. I’d like us to be a praying church. For any ministry, prayer is the gas that makes the engine run. I’d like prayer to be typical of individuals and common in our smaller gatherings. But I’d love it also to be a significant part of what we do when we gather as a corporate body. When people visit our church services, I want them to walk away saying: “Ogletown Baptist Church is committed to praying, faithfully preaching the Word and singing together as a church.”
KEY INFLUENCE: The Praying Church by Paul Miller.
Humility
Christ came down to earth, took on human flesh, and “He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:8). Christ’s humility should create a mindset in us (Phil. 2:5)—we should put the interests of others ahead of ourselves (Phil. 2:3-4). As we grow in faith in Christ and greater maturity, we’ll also grow in humility.
KEY INFLUENCE: Thirty years of watching up close the humility of the servant-hearted leaders at CHBC.
Gospel
The death and resurrection of Jesus is the center of all of history and the seed bed from which all of Christianity springs forth (Mark 10:43-45). Christ is the beginning, middle, and end of everything we do as believers! I’m committed to making the gospel the center of my ministry.
KEY INFLUENCE: Mark Dever’s last thirty years of sermons that always (every single sermon!) explain the gospel; and What is the Gospel? by Greg Gilbert.
Evangelism and Missions
How will others know about Christ unless we speak up? I’d like our church to be committed to bringing to the gospel all over the world (Rom. 10:14-15). We want a church where we’re regularly provoked on Sundays to speak up for our faith Mondays through Saturdays. I’d also love to see our church take really good care of our missionaries. We’re not just committed financially to their work, but if we get behind a missionary, we’ll do everything we can (prayer, visits, constant encouragement, pastoral care) to help their work be fruitful and faithful.
KEY INFLUENCE: Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God by J.I. Packer.
Redemptive Relationships
We change and grow most in the context of loving, grace-oriented, redemptive relationships (Eph. 4:16). Our trellis work (programs and church ministries) should support the vine work (relationships and discipling). We always want to avoid our trellis and structures becoming the purpose itself. People are what matter most to God. An important part of how we do relationships is one-on-one discipling. Every Christian should disciple and be discipled, just like Jesus poured into the Twelve. Imagine an entire congregation, deliberately initiating with each other, not because of a program, but because we know that’s how Christians show love.
KEY INFLUENCE: The Trellis and the Vine by Tony Payne and Colin Marshall, and Discipling by Mark Dever.
Commitment and Longevity
With the exception of my years at seminary, I’ve been at CHBC since 1991. That’s thirty-two years. As you can tell, I think it’s important to stay and build deeply into the life of a church. There are things you can only do if you’re committed to staying over the long-haul. If the Lord calls us to Ogletown Baptist Church, our plan is to plant our lives there for the rest of our ministry. If the Lord grants me health, that’s probably 18 to 20 more years. My hope is that we’d fight for faith together for many years to come. We’ll buy our grave plots there, and plan to be buried right alongside you.
Key influence: Watching the longevity of Mark Dever’s ministry at CHBC. He’s been faithfully serving in DC for 29 years.
Theological and Doctrinal Framework
I whole heartedly affirm Ogletown’s statement of faith – the BF&M 2000. Throughout my life, I’ve been heavily influenced by teachers who are committed to a clear exposition of the Scriptures, starting with my pastor in high school (Stan Sutton), my pastor in seminary (Tom Schreiner), and my pastor for the last sixteen years (Mark Dever). Thus, my theological framework is a biblical theology – it’s structured around what I see in the Scriptures. If you pick a doctrinal or theological fight with me, my response will always be Berean-like: “Show it to me in the Bible!” My doctrine flows from a reformed theological disposition.
Pastoral Leadership and Leadership Integrity
I think the Scriptures teach that leaders should exemplify a humble orthodoxy. We must have clear convictions rooted in God’s Word, but we also need to be humble and teachable. After all, pastors are sinners who are in desperate need of God’s grace, just like every church member! The pastor must be prepared to be held to a stricter judgment for his teaching (James 3:1) and for his life to be an example to others (1 Pet. 5:3). So personal holiness matters. As your pastor, I’ve got to live a life of integrity, honesty, love, and humility, knowing that I’m one day going to give an account before God for how I love, live, and lead (Ezek. 34:1-16). But every pastor can’t just be a teacher. He’s also got to be a shepherd at heart (1 Pet. 5:2). (That’s why I love the title of the leadership team at Ogletown–the Shepherding Team!) For the last 20 years, most of my ministry has been dedicated to caring for suffering Christians. I desire to care for and counsel our church members, walking alongside them through the difficulties of life.
Preaching Influences and Style
I’m committed to expositional preaching—making the main point of the text the main point of my sermon. I want rich theological truth, mixed in with thoughtful illustrations and heart-searching application for the believer. The best way to learn how to preach is to listen to good preachers, so Mark Dever, Greg Gilbert, Zach Schlegel, and Bobby Jamieson are just a few of my favorite preachers. Their godly influence on my life has shaped what I think and what I do when I stand in the pulpit. A little about my process of writing a sermon: My first step is to study the text, and squeeze everything I can out of it. I like to slowly meditate and pray, and see what percolates in my heart and mind, as the Spirit guides me. I write out a thesis statement about the text and a potential exegetical outline for the sermon. (For the rare few who care: I like phrasing, bracketing and arcing the text through
biblearc.com.) After I’ve done personal study of the text, I’ll crack open a few commentaries as a check on my work. Finally, I’ll write a draft of the sermon, and after I’ve got a decent first draft, I will try to read it to a few church members and staff members to get feedback before I preach it on Sunday.
Mark Dever’s chapter on expositional preaching (in 9 Marks of a Healthy Church) and David Helm’s excellent little volume called Expositional Preaching will capture many of my thoughts on preaching in more detail.
Church Membership
In our current age, where anti-authority and anti-commitment sentiments rule the day, membership in a local church will be mocked. What is church membership? It’s a self-conscious commitment to a local body of believers. Let’s say your daughter told you, “My boyfriend says he’s committed, but he’s not ever going to get married!” What would you think? You’d probably tell her: “He can’t say he loves you, and he’s committed to you, and yet not be willing to formalize the commitment.” In the same way, we can’t let people “date” the church. Joining a gospel-centered local church may be one of the most important things you’ll ever do. So, we encourage people to formalize their commitment by joining a church and letting other believers hold them accountable to walk with Jesus and each other. Jonathan Leeman’s little volume on Membership has been a big help on this topic!
Specific Cultural Challenges
In our current age, there is a lot of confusion over marriage, gender, and identity. But the Scriptures are clear (and also our statement of faith, the BF&M 2000): God created us male and female and this is a fixed reality. Marriage is a gift of God and it’s only to be between one man and one woman. Leadership in the church is through men as elders. And life is to be protected in the womb.
It’s vital for us to not be afraid to speak to these cultural issues. The Bible speaks clearly to these things. We want to head off the confusion that is overrunning the younger generation. We also want to live lives that testify to the goodness and beauty of God’s plan for life. For example, a beautiful Christian marriage between a Christian husband and wife is a testimony to many others of God’s good gift of marriage. A key influence in my thinking has been John Stonestreet, and his articulation of these issues every Friday on the podcast The World and Everything In It. His book A Practical Guide to Culture captures many of my thoughts on these topics!