Eckert writes: Very early in my ministry I was told at a Mental Health Association Conference how important the church is in the prevention of mental illness. Over the years I saw how that was true not just for young people but for all ages... my sermons became not only more pastoral but brought in as much of the real lives of the Bible times as I could find.
Jerry Eckert is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin with a degree in anthropology. He earned the Bachelor of Divinity degree from Perkins School of Theology and later spent a year on Masland Fellowship at Union Theological Seminary. He has studied adult education and community planning at the University of Wisconsin, and creative writing in New Orleans and Dallas. For the past twenty years Eckert has written church law briefs and legislation for his denomination.