Musings

By Sean Dietrich Sunrise on Lake Martin. I’m usually the first one awake. I rarely have any company in the mornings. I wake up with the chickens. Most mornings, I sit on my porch alone. Just me and the feral cats. This morning, however, I had company. I heard small feet walking...

By Pastor Dave Holland As a 16-year-old new Christian in 1970, I was expected to go to the new youth group Bible study on Friday night. Our church leadership was oblivious to the real world and didn’t realize that anybody who mattered went to high school football games every Friday...

By Pastor Doug Stauffer Did you know that the Bible says that God intended elected representatives to be “God’s ministers” (Romans 13:6)? It even explicitly states HOW they are to provide for the welfare of others: Each politician is to be “a minister of God to thee for good” (Romans...

By Sean Dietrich Kansas City International Airport. I was standing in a long, LONG line, waiting to board my plane. We were like cattle, clogging up the chute. Nobody was happy. Namely, because yesterday the whole world underwent a historic global internet outage, which delayed and canceled nearly 3,000 American flights....

By Sean Dietrich A television is playing in a Birmingham bar. The talking head is shouting politics. Most folks in this joint are below thirty, and aren’t even watching TV. They’re transfixed with the opiate glows of their smartphones. The bartender looks thirteen. He stares at the television screen and says...

By Pastor Dave Holland If you are wondering where God is and if He cares about you, I challenge you to do this. When you go to bed tonight, turn out the lights, climb into bed and whisper this prayer: God. If you’re there, please show Yourself to me in a...

By Sean Dietrich The boy holds his fish as high as he can. His father hugs him and kisses his hair. They make a fine picture together. I’m watching a father and son fish in a state park. They stand shoulder-to-shoulder. After a few minutes, the boy’s rod starts to bend. He screams,...

By Sean Dietrich A small town. The kind of American hamlet that causes you to start looking around for the Norman Rockwell signature. Hanging begonias. Storefronts with colorful awnings. A cute downtown. There was a loud party happening on Main Street. I followed the sound of distant music and many voices. I...

By Sean Dietrich The plane landed in Tuscaloosa at 8:37 p.m. Central Time. Coach Kalen DeBoer deboarded. He was met with an entourage of photographers and reporters with iPhones. DeBoer’s press conference was scheduled for 1 p.m. It was a blustery, rainy day in the Yellowhammer State. Nick Saban retired on Wednesday. DeBoer...

By Sean Dietrich Long ago, my college professor told us to choose a poem to recite in class. Students chose lofty selections from the greats. Whitman, Dickinson, Frost. I consulted Daddy’s Hank Williams songbook. 10:40 P.M.—New Year’s Eve. Hank Williams is on my radio. My wife is sleeping in the passenger...