Do You Have the "Look"?

Logos, brands, images, marketing. A "look" is a very valuable asset for a successful business. Christians have a certain look, too. Or, at least, they should.

He was known as the "Tootsie Roll minister."

The Rev. Dr. Paul R. Coleman was the founding pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Youngstown, Ohio. Except for one early appointment as an associate pastor in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, he spent nearly his entire career guiding the Youngstown congregation, and, when he retired in 1986, he was named "Pastor Emeritus."

He preferred, however, to be known as the Tootsie Roll minister. In fact, when he died at age 92 in 2014, his obituary mentioned that title.

He earned this moniker because he seemed to have a never-ending supply of tiny Tootsie Rolls that he handed out to nearly everyone he met. Stan Purdum, a regular contributor to Homiletics, met Coleman once at a community ministerial, and received two of the little candies from him. Plopped them right in his hand.

Noticing the bemused expression on Purdum's face, Coleman explained that he had given them out for so long that they now functioned as a calling card. He said that when making...