The Lord has truly blessed me in many wonderful ways - most especially through my two wonderful children. My parents divorced when I was six and I grew up in poverty without a father. And it took me more than 40 years to figure out that I was also born with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). No one knew about ADHD when I was in school, so I was only criticized and belittled. But even without any parental support God enabled me to attain an Associate in Applied Science degree in Business Management (Reading Area Community College), a Bachelor or Science degree in Business Administration (Kutztown University), a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology degree (Kutztown University), Master of Divinity and Master of Sacred Theology degrees (the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia) and a Doctor of Ministry in Marriage and Family (Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary - now known as Palmer Theological Seminary of Eastern University), attained Pennsylvania licensure as a Psychologist, Marriage and Family Therapist and Professional Counselor. I also received certification as an Addictions Specialist, Group Psychotherapist and Family Life Educator, attaining Clinical Membership in the American Association fro Marriage and Family Therapy and Fellow status with the American Association of Pastoral Counselors. Since I worked in a children's institution and then as an addictions counselor before going to seminary, I have been involved in clinical work with individuals, couples, families and groups since 1976, and parish ministry since 1984.
Life is not without struggle, Due to some personnel problems and resultant staff terminations, Covenant Counseling Services entered into a period of fiscal crisis in 2005. Since then I have worked hard to reorganize and rebuild Covenant Counseling Services, and by God's grace alone we are now emerging from this difficult time. We recently secured several large managed care contracts and added new counselors and psychiatrists to our staff. Covenant Counseling Services specializes in Christian counseling, marriage and family therapy and addictions counseling. We work with individuals, couples and families of all ages. Many Christians, in particular, seek out our services because we are one of the very few Christian counseling practices in our area who accept payments from almost all insurance plans. Consequently, we serve many people who cannot find Christian counseling or marriage and family therapy anywhere else. God is certainly blessing this ministry is many marvelous ways.
Being a Christian means living a life which reflects the love of God in Jesus Christ. My faith in Jesus Christ is the center of my life. I believe in God as Father and Creator, God the Son and Redeemer, and God the Holy Spirit as Sanctifier. I accept the Holy Scriptures as the true Word of God, both law and gospel. Without God, life is meaningless. Without the redemptive death and resurrection of Jesus Christ my sins would not be forgiven. Without the presence of God I would never have gotten through or survived to this point in my life. As a forgiven sinner I pray that God will keep me steadfast in His Word, faithful and obedient to His will, and serving Him with my time, talents and resources.
Most recently I have found Romans 5:1-10 to be quite helpful:
"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation."
Christian psychiatrist, Scott Peck once said that life is difficult and that the assumption that life would not be difficult is the root of all insanity. The notion that we should actually REJOICE in our sufferings because to do so produces endurance, which produces character, which produces hope, and that God fulfills our hopes is completely counter cultural in a society that seems to be based upon selfishness, greed, convenience and self-gratification.
However, Jesus told us that if we are to follow him we must take up our cross and walk the walk of faith. Neither faith nor life is easy. However, the yoke of our Lord is easy and his burden is light. Life is so much better when we know in our hearts and have complete trust in the reality that Jesus is with us now and until the end of the age. What is the next mission God will call me to pursue? I don?t know. All I can do is be open to His call.
The Rev. Dr. Christopher Hershman
October 21, 2007
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