RealtyCaffeine

Why “RealtyCaffeine”?

By Jerry Robertson December 8, 2022 Culture, FAQ, History Lessons, jwr, RealtyCaffeine

I love coffee. Ever since my first cup at a football game in high school, I have been fascinated with it. That was over 50 years ago. “Coffee is to the body what the Word of God is to the soul” is a quote I often repeat and while it may be giving the coffee a bit too much credit, I think it captures my idea of it.

One of my first volunteer jobs was serving coffee at church. It was 1981 and the church was in Fullerton, CA. Most days were sunny and mild in Southern California and we had a chance to gather outside, before and after church. There I began to notice the effect it had beyond the obvious. Yes, it helped wake you up and made it more difficult to sleep during the sermon (sorry, Ben!) but it was more than that.

It was a vehicle for relationships.

I’ve traveled a lot and I’ve noticed outside the United States coffee is different. It tends to be smaller, cooler, and consumed faster. There is less time for conversation and that means less time for relationships to form and relationships are everything. The rest is just details.

I’ve seen a 300 lb man ‘hide’ behind a cup of coffee and have a conversation. I don’t think it would have happened if that cup was not there. It builds from there. One-to-one, one-to-many, and after a bit, you’re looking at a small group and that is the goal.

When our church built a new building with 2650 seats, one of the pastors asked me to lead the coffee team. This was about 2007 and I had moved to Georgia. The goal was to make people feel welcome, give them a cup of coffee and not have to wait in a long line to get it. To make a long story shorter, it involved multiple coffee makers, and 80 volunteers to brew and serve, and on the coldest mornings, we could make 200 gallons of freshly brewed coffee.

On the first day of church in the new building, the executive pastor came to me with a name tag that said “Jerry Robertson, Chaplain of Caffeine” and asked me if I would wear it. Of course, I said yes and I have been known as the Chaplain of Caffeine since.

At about that time I was getting my broker’s license and coming up with names for my company. The name “Realty Caffeine” came up and it just stuck. There is more to the story but that’s for a different day and maybe a cup of coffee if you’re interested.

Thanks for listening.

Jerry