Jeremy R. Geerdes Posts

Last night, I learned that Bob Scott passed away. In the history of the world, there have no doubt been countless men named Bob Scott, but there has only ever been one Bob Scott. As a husband and father, he was surely among the best. For those who wanted to learn, he was a superb […]

In my previous post, I explained how easy – and dangerous – it is for pastors to slide into cynicism. In that post, I observed that cynicism is the antithesis of hope, an extreme form of worry. In fact, I wrote, “Whereas doubt suggests that a thing might not happen, cynicism assumes that the thing […]

Last week was rather eventful. As many may know, I serve as president of the Lower Beaver Neighborhood Association. On Monday, the association held its October general meeting, during which our city councilman announced his intention to revisit the proposal to extend an area thoroughfare to the interstate north of us, cutting through the eastern […]

Well, I missed the morning by a few hours this week. It’s been one of those days where I haven’t had a lot of time to sit at my desk. And there is still much to do, so I will keep this brief. Last week, I had my first taste of a week without seminary […]

If cynicism does not paralyze us, it leaves us marching grimly toward certain death for a dubious cause. At least, if the cause was worthy, we would be martyrs.

The past week was interesting. For starters, the congregation surprised us with Pastor Appreciation Sunday. My family and I are grateful for both the card and the monetary gift. Although I am not yet certain how the money will be used, I can tell you that the kind and encouraging words written in the card […]

About two hours ago, I finished seminary. Well, the studying part of it anyway. With the click of a mouse, a season of three years, two months, and ten days came to an end. In the near future, I will sit down and reflect upon this great accomplishment. But for now, I’m going to watch […]

These three situations intersected in apparent failure. Nevertheless, they were fundamentally different: different causes, different solutions. We must, therefore, be able to discern which type of failure we are dealing with so that we can implement the proper solution, but how can we do that?

So let me say it again: Jesus knows our commitment, and as long as we remain uncommitted, halfway between hot and cold, lukewarm, we are absolutely useless to him.

The truth is God knows full well that I am inadequate, but that is not a problem in his eyes. It only becomes a problem when I use that inadequacy as an excuse to hunker down and miss the ministry opportunity which he has placed right in front of my face.