I’ve been writing for various audiences since at least high school. The writing voice I most cherish is one of teaching and instruction. Parker Palmer’s book “Let Your Life Speak” let me solidify my writing voice as one of a teacher whether I’m in a classroom, community or courtroom. What you are about to read is a series of essays that I started to write and collect about 1990 while I lived in Jackson, Mississippi. I had a day job as a clinical psychologist/ teacher/researcher in a hospital setting but Keith Tonkel of Wells United Methodist invited me to speak and write. He helped me find what I wanted to say to that dear, inner-city church.
Along the way I raised a family, made many good friends, became a college professor and ultimately moved back to Minnesota. Through all the transitions I kept on writing. What follows is not a chronology of my life but a series of lessons about God’s love that I’ve learned by watching and listening to the world around me. These short stories and essays often end with a question designed for a moment of reflection because it is that pause in a busy life that leads to insight and change.
And that name: Coffeepot Counselor? Well, Keith gave me that title and it sort of stuck. I’d get to church and sometimes find the coffee unmade, or the Bunn carafe empty. So, I’d put on another pot and while waiting for the brew the conversations around me would start. “Hey, what do you think about…” or “Let me ask your opinion…” or “What do you think I should do about…” I would often spend an hour brewing coffee and answering questions, hence the name that stuck. So, if it helps you, read these essays standing by the coffeepot on a weekend morning, hopefully with a mind ready for some time in reflection.
In Christ,
Phil
