3/12/2013 Rev. Dr. DeForest "Buster" Soaries, Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens: "Breaking Free From Financial Slavery: Doll Lecture on Religion and Money." Dr. Soaries is the author of dfree Breaking Free from Financial Slavery," a book based on his four-prong approach to teach people how to be debt free. It is his goal for his 7,000-member congregation to be debt free. Dr. Soaries has been a leader in community development and social change movements since his early adulthood. He served as New Jersey's Secretary of State between 1999 and 2002, the first African-American man to do so. He is the former chairman of the United States Election Assistance Commission and has been honored with numerous awards for his public service and church leadership.