Eixt 148 GSP Bloomfield Jesus

The residents of Bloomfield give Staten Island a run for their money having the most Guidos per square mile. But alias, the town’s not all gold chains and wife-beater Tees.

After all, William Batchelder Bradbury is buried here. Who you ask? Well, every Sunday School student knows his biggest hit, Jesus Loves Me and folks still walk down the isle over at Brookdale Baptist Church to his other song, Just as I Am.

I wonder what William would think of the state of home Christmas decorations in town nowadays. On the positive side, just driving one mile in town I counted 15 front lawn Nativity scenes. But gone are the plastic-GE-lit manger scenes, replaced by inflatable, blow-up types. At first, I thought I spotted a wayward Macy’s Thanksgiving Day balloon that crash-landed at East Passaic Ave. But the more I drove, the more I spotted.

While I’m not into inflatable Wisemen, Mary or Joseph, at least thieves can’t just pick up baby Jesus and run. It’s all or nothing, and it’s pretty hard to go unnoticed stealing a 15 ft. blow-up manger.

But the inflatables do have one major flaw. They deflate with major temperature changes and strong gusts of wind and just wither away; not very sustaining.

Luke 8:6 Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture.

Exit 114 GSP Middletown Jesus

The Green Lady is New Jersey’s most recognizable statue.
The rest of the world knows her as, "The Statue of Liberty," but to the locals, she is The Green Lady. She may stand in New York harbor but those feet are firmly planted in New Jersey. Though NYC loves to take credit for her, truth be told, her mailing address is literally:

The Statue of Liberty
2 Communipaw Way
Jersey City NJ, yes that’s New Jersey in that address.

And whenever NYC has a blackout, the lady’s torch still shines, lit by NJPSE&G.

But there’s another famous statue here in the Garden State: The Dancing Jesus of Middletown. Now the Dancing Jesus may seem silly, but with the history of Whippowill Road leading to the cemetery housing the statue, a dancing Jesus is a friendly sight indeed. In the 1800’s 15 women were burned at the stake for being witches and buried just outside the cemetery. The locals still claim the road to be haunted with trees that appear to have human forms trying to escape from them.

The deal with the Dancing Jesus is this - if you stare at the Jesus in the daylight, the arms appear to undulate. At night, if flash your high beams on and off and the statue also appears to do a little dance for you. The guys at Weird NJ tagged it with the best line ever: "Savior Last Dance for Me."

Jeremiah 31:13Then maidens will dance and be glad, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.

Exit 100 GSP Ocean Grove Jesus

Ocean Grove, once nicknamed, Ocean Grave for the strict adherence to NJ’s longest running blue laws (no driving, no retail, no beach on Sunday), is now known more for the one who indeed rose from the grave.

This place is as close to the Bible Belt as you can get above the Mason-Dixon line. Founded in 1869 as a Methodist Camp Meeting, in 2008 it is still owned and operated as a Methodist Camp Meeting. For the record, there are 114 tents still standing.

The founding fathers gathered here on a simple premise: to build a tabernacle and fresh water well on the Jersey Shore. Bersheeba’s well still stands to this day and the tabernacle is still used to worship Jesus as the entire town is registered as a historic landmark. And those 114 tents – well, there’s a 10-year rental waiting list. Who knew worshiping Jesus at the Jersey Shore would be such a big draw?

In sharp contrast to neighboring Asbury Park, what washes up most on this piece of shoreline most often is the Cross.

Matthew 16: If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.