Not satisfied with conscionable serving successful the Seventh-day Adventist Church done preaching, teaching, and counseling successful his location state of Jamaica, Pastor Kemar Douglas completed a aesculapian degree.
After 4 years of study, Douglas is simply a aesculapian intern astatine the May Pen Hospital aft graduating from the Caribbean School of Medical Sciences successful Kingston, Jamaica, connected October 30, 2022, with honors and arsenic a recipient of the Chancellor’s Award for Academics and Leadership.
Douglas, 43, completed his aesculapian grade portion pastoring a territory of 5 churches with 2,100 members.
“The balancing wasn’t easy,” said Douglas. “I had pledged my beingness to God and the gospel ministry and to instrumentality attraction of my family, and I had to marque definite nary suffered, adjacent if I couldn’t bash everything.” It was each astir relying connected God, his wife, and religion elders to assistance retired the ministry, helium added.
Respected and Loved
Joyce Tennant Stewart, caput elder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church successful Linstead, has precocious praises for the enactment of Pastor Douglas.
“He is simply a hardworking and ngo driven pastor and highly dedicated to equipping members and others to rightly disagreement the Word of God,” said Stewart. “He is highly respected, loved, humble, kind, and appreciated and ne'er hesitates to supply work to religion and community.”
After graduating from the Calabar High School successful Kingston, Douglas pursued a grade astatine Northern Caribbean University (NCU) successful Mandeville, wherever helium obtained a Bachelor of Arts successful Religion and Theology successful 2001, and past a Master of Arts grade (MA) successful Religion successful 2011. In addition, helium obtained a Doctor of Ministry (DMin) successful Leadership from the Inter-American Adventist Theological Seminary successful 2017.
Desire to Become a Medical Doctor
The tendency to beryllium a aesculapian doc has ever been successful the backmost of his mind, but helium has ever felt a telephone to the ministry, said Douglas. However, what yet led him to prosecute medicine was a heavy condemnation from the Lord that it was time.
“At my graduation from the Doctor of Ministry degree, I felt that I had done each that the Lord had required of maine academically to service successful His origin and church, but successful greeting persons aft the ceremony, 1 of my chap ministerial graduates who knew my passionateness for wellness and wellness said it was present clip to prosecute medicine.” Others encouraged him to prosecute a aesculapian degree.
Douglas describes his travel arsenic 1 of God opening doors and making a mode erstwhile determination seemed to beryllium nary way.
Arriving astatine this constituent has not been casual for Douglas. It was a stressful journey, helium admitted, surviving and working, with a household of 3 boys, ages 10, 11, and 15, and having to woody with schoolhouse matters. He besides emphasized the galore times helium stood up for his religion during the pursuit of this career. “Often, due to the fact that of my biblical convictions, issues of Sabbath, creationism, and wellness reform, led to tense moments arsenic I would ne'er compromise connected my religion for school-related activities.”
No Regrets
Studying has caused Douglas to afloat admit the wellness connection presented by Ellen G. White, a co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. “Studying has besides helped maine to consciousness self-actualized and has deepened my reliance connected God,” added Douglas. “This play saw God moving occurrence aft occurrence for maine and opening doors I ne'er thought existed.”
Health and wellness is simply a felt request for everyone, said Douglas. “God has prepared maine to service His religion and the assemblage successful a mode that blends the mind, body, and tone successful a holistic mode that brings glory to Him.”
Being capable to conscionable the needs of people, connection an knowing of what their carnal ailments are, past supply spiritual guidance arsenic good arsenic wellness betterment instructions is an immense blessing and joyousness for him, helium explained.
Douglas has pledged his beingness to the gospel ministry but volition besides utilize his grooming to payment the religion and community.
“I person nary volition to halt pastoring,” helium said. “I emotion teaching and starring God’s people. However, I americium present successful my archetypal twelvemonth of grooming aft aesculapian schoolhouse arsenic an intern astatine the May Pen Hospital successful Clarendon, and I americium looking guardant to getting my licence truthful that I tin spot patients and beryllium capable to assistance them successful achieving and maintaining optimal health.”
An Adventist Prodigy
The interest astir managing family, pastoral work, and survey was pressing connected the minds of religion leaders astatine the Central Jamaica Conference, wherever Douglas besides serves arsenic Health Ministries director. “He is present an Adventist prodigy, and helium proved it to america by doing exceptionally good with each the challenges of religion enactment portion maintaining his GPA and graduating with honors,” said Pastor Nevail Barrett, president of the Central Jamaica Conference. “We applaud and commend him and are highly arrogant of him and his achievements.”
Dr. Douglas is the elder pastor of the Portmore Seventh-day Adventist Church, successful St. Catherine, the largest Seventh-day Adventist successful Jamaica. He antecedently served arsenic manager successful the departments of Communication, Public Affairs, and Religious Liberty. He has been serving successful the Seventh-day Adventist Church for implicit 21 years.
Douglas besides finds clip to connection work to the assemblage arsenic a Justice of the Peace for the parish of St. Catherine and a unpaid chaplain for its Jamaica Constabulary Force.
“If you consciousness the telephone of God connected you to prosecute a peculiar course, and it is successful keeping with the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy, spell for it by God’s grace,” Douglas said. “Trust successful God and His timing. I convey God for his blessing successful my life. I beryllium each to Him.”
The original nonfiction was published connected the Inter-American Division website.
English (US)