The Rev. Ron Christian, a former corrections officer who fell from grace then rose to beloved status as a Baptist minister in Irvington, is remembered fondly
NEWARK -- The Rev. Ronald B. Christian, a former corrections officer who fell from grace into drug addiction and prison then rose to beloved status as a compassionate and charismatic minister, was remembered lovingly this morning by 2,000 other mourners during a rousing memorial service in Newark.
"We're here for Ron, because he was there for us," the Rev. Al Sharpton told the large crowd. "No matter how bad we were ... we were good enough for Ron, and Ron made us good enough for God. "
Christian's body was found on the floor of in his Irvington church on Oct. 30. Chief Anthony Ambrose of the Essex County Prosecutor's office said then that there were no signs of foul play, and a spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office said Friday that investigators were awaiting the results of toxicology tests, which could take several months to complete
Love for the 51-year-old pastor was too big for a church sanctuary, even one as solid as the red brick Christian Love Baptist Church he led on Lyons Avenue in Irvington. So this morning's service was held in the gymnasium of the Essex County Newark Tech high school.
A thick line of mourners hoping to get into the service wound outside the entrance of the school onto West Market Street. Family, including Christian's widow, Tami Christian, filed somberly into the gym to the strains of bagpipes from the Newark Fire Department.
Mourners swayed to the rhythm of "Praise is What I Do" sung by Minister Steve Hill as others filed in to take their seats.
Large photographs of Christian, with thick-rimmed glasses and a shaved head, hung amid the high school's purple championship banners decorating the airy gymnasium.
Senior Pastor Tommy Miles of the Macedonia Baptist Church in Neptune set the down-to-earth tone for the three-hour service, reminding mourners that "Dr. Ronald B. Christian" was "affectionately known as Rev. Ron," befitting his humanistic, informal approach to ministry.
Senior Pastor Eric Beckham of the Clearview Baptist Church, where Christian had served as a pastor early in his life, told mourners, "the Lord gives and the Lord has taken away. But God, we still give you our praise, for the love of our brother."
"We pray," Beckham said, "that the lessons of the Pastor Ron Christian, and this event, will lead to the savior of many souls."
The eulogy was delivered by Pastor William D. Watley of the Saint Philip African Methodist Episcopal Church in Atlanta, GA.
"Ronald Christian, you have borne your name well," Watley said.
"We weren't there when the lord came for him, however he came for him," Watley said. "I don't kow what the lord said. But I would like tho think he said what all of us want to hear him say to us some day. 'Son, well done.'"
One thing Christian was known for doing was ministering to those truly in their darkest hours. He was sometimes contacted by criminal suspects seeking spiritual guidance in the face of legal woes.
In those cases, he would try to broker a peaceful surrender. A teenage girl accused of killing her boyfriend and a young man suspected in his father's murder were among those taken into custody without harm to themselves or police officers.
A Newark native who was standout in track at Weequahic High School, Christian's memberships included the Newark Board of Education School Management Team, the Center for Urban Education, the Irvington Chamber of Commerce, the Weed and Seed Program, Integrity House and others.
He served as chaplain to Beth Israel Hospital, the Essex County Youth Detention Center, the Irvington Police Department and the Essex County Prosecutor's Office. A photo collage in the program for the service included one of the pastor embracing Barack Obama during a service attended by the president early in his first term.
RELATED: Irvington church community mourns Rev. Ron Christian
Often dressed like an outlaw himself in his signature jeans and cowboy boots, Christian may have been trusted by those in trouble because he had been there himself.
In the 1990s, he started using heroin, and after more than a dozen failed attempts at rehab, he lost his job as a sergeant at Northern State Prison, his home in Newark, and many of this friends. Eventually, he found himself on the wrong side of prison bars, sentenced to prison in 1996 for stealing from the Department of Corrections.
But rather than hardening as a criminal, Christian turned to family and faith. Upon his release in late 1997, he joined the Clearview Baptist Church in Newark, where his father, a retired pastor, was doing work.
The younger man began helping out at rehab centers and homeless shelters, and on someone's suggestion that he follow in his father's footsteps, took courses and became a licensed minister. In 2000, he took over the run-down and financially strapped Christian Love Baptist Church, and eventually multiplied its membership from about a dozen to 6,000.
U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez was among several elected officials to speak. Menendez' voice broke, and he cried openly as he recalled receiving a text from Christian on Oct. 21, nine days before he died, telling the senator, who is now under indictment on federal corrruption charges he has vehemently denied, that he was in Christian's prayers.
Mendez brought the crowd to its feet when he said he had brought a flag for Christian from the U.S. Capitol.
Other mourners included former U.S. Sen. Robert Torricelli, Rep. Donald Payne Jr. and former Gov. Jim McGreevey and others, all who offered fond, funny and teary remembrances of the politically and socially active pastor.
"When I think about Rev. Ron, I have two distinct images," said McGreevey. "One, the Rev. Ron who would deal with presidents and governors and senators; and then the Rev. Ron who would deal with sinners, the broken and wounded."
Sharpton spoke for many of the mourners and summed up fellow clergy when he recalled Christian by quoting Christ.
"Jesus said 'The greatest among us is a sinner.' Not a saint, not a cardinal, not a bishop," Sharpton said. "He went from an addict to an apostle. He went from a criminal to a servant of God."
Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.