Remembering Jerry

Tuesday evening was a sad night for me and many others. Jerry Chambers, who was one of the original members of The Water’s Edge Leadership Team, passed away after battling illness for the last fifteen months.

I remember when I asked Jerry to be on the team, he looked at me and asked me if I thought he was too old. I said I wouldn’t be asking him if I thought he was too old. He smiled and agreed to help.

And help he did. Jerry was an outstanding leader. He never said a lot at our meetings, but when he said something, everybody listened. He brought a rare blend of human wisdom, compassion for people, and passion for God.

Jerry served wherever he was needed. He did so with joy and kindness. Until we had a large crew of men now known as our set-up and tear-down team, Jerry could be found setting up chairs before the worship service and putting away tables after most of the people left.

The food ministry team that exists today literally gathers tons of food each year to feed thousands of hungry people right here in Omaha. This team would not exist today without Jerry’s vision and leadership.

Jerry was an encourager. As people we can speak harsh words that discourage or gentle words that encourage. Jerry always chose the latter. I was a little discouraged after our second worship service almost four years ago at Russell Middle School. We didn’t have many people show up. I was doubting if The Water’s Edge would be sustainable. Jerry came up to me afterward, shook my hand, and told me to never give up. He continued to tell me God was going to do something great. Kind thoughts expressed vocally from a credible person are words of life.

His love for the church continued. I visited him in his room just last week. The first thing he asked was how many people were in church on Sunday. I didn’t know the number, but I told him we ran out of chairs and had to set some up in the back. He smiled and reminded me that God is going to do something even greater.

I know that Jerry loved his kids and his grandkids. He never missed their games. He played with them. He loved them.

A few months ago, Jerry wanted to have a meeting with Larry Brown and me. Larry picked me up and we took Jerry lunch. We sat at the table together at the nursing home and met. To this day I still have no idea what we met about, but when friends meet the content of the meeting isn’t important. The people meeting are what matter. And it was a good meeting with good friends.

Jesus was our friend who died for us (John 15:13-15) so that we may live forever. Jerry leaves a rich legacy of Christian discipleship and friendship that we get to build on.

The best is yet to come…

Craig