CoffeeBreak With The Word

Someone remarked to me recently, “Jerry, I thought you were retired but you are still doing ministry.”  That person did not understand that ‘ministry’ is not the same as a profession. It is the purpose of every Christian. Yes, I have retired from the daily administration of a local church, from preparing weekly messages, planning […]

The pastor took his text from the Gospels, those well-known words of Jesus about the faith of a child, “anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” (Mark 10:15, NIV)  That idea has occupied my mind since then. What does it mean to be a child […]

A couple of days ago I flopped on my sofa at the end of a day of ministry (yes, I’m retired but I still care for others with joy).  The needs of others pressed hard on me – my mother-in-law hospitalized with terrible pain, a friend told that hospice was his next step, another trying […]

Sadness filled the person, the question a heart-felt one – “Did I offend God?”  This person is a life-long Believer and yet a moment came when the temptation to turn the focus from Jesus overwhelmed her during a time of suffering.  Christians nod in agreement with teaching about the grace of Jesus Christ. Few are […]

I drifted off to sleep last night with a song from my Sunday School days echoing in my memory – “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine…”  When I was 5 years of age, I was not really sure what it meant to ‘let it shine’  but Mrs. Hoferman was enthusiastically leading […]

Who hasn’t been disappointed by another person’s choices?  I was talking about the state of American politics with a friend yesterday who cynically (and honestly) said, “I don’t think there is a single politician who isn’t corrupt!”  Yes, that’s an overstatement, but it reveals a common thread of disappointment in our ‘leaders’ who seem too […]

Friend – the word has been defined in the last decade by the explosion of social media.  My Facebook™ account says that I have about 1800 ‘friends.’  Many of those are just acquaintances, people whose names I know. Are they really ‘friends’ however?  Only a few dozen are people that I could call in a […]

The dictionary defines the word ‘adventure’ this way: “an undertaking involving unknown risks, an exciting or remarkable experience.”  On this Monday morning a new week of adventure begins. Despite our best plans, we do not know what Friday will bring us, whether we will look back over the days with pleasure or sorrow, do we?  […]

Can you tell me the name of someone you consider a ‘good’ person? I imagine you could name several and for different reasons. Good people are other-centered, committed to living well, with high principles.  They leave their world refreshed as they pass through it. Somehow ‘goodness’ has become suspect, tainted with self-righteousness, or a surface […]

About 75% of Americans now respond to the question, “Is America moving in the right or wrong direction?” with the answer, “Wrong!”  It’s not just ‘the news’ that is troubling us. We are all dealing with some level of personal uncertainty. The last decade brought us change at a pace unmatched in the last 50 […]