That barren pic above is my classroom, after the final group of students has gone, with most of the decorations removed. My room for six years; my school for eight. Just last week while writing an in class essay, one student saw me taking out the guts of the notebooks for the classes I’ve taught and said, “Mr. Riter, that’s so sad. Your life’s work going in the trash.”
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Counter Cultural--At Last
The role of faith in American culture is changing. Swiftly and strongly. A recent Pew poll revealed that in 2007, 78.4% of Americans identified themselves as Christian. For 2015, that number dropped to 70.6%, or about 1% each year. Court rulings have powered gay marriage being viewed positively by a majority of Americans, mostly in just the last five years. In a Facebook discussion, a friend from high school days stated that I, a minister who provides Christian weddings, should be required to marry gay couples who ask for my services.
Where are we heading?
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Praise--A Path to Closeness
That knife above isn’t much to look at. A bone handle yellowed from age and contact with a fisherman’s hand. A small blade, with much of its essence sacrificed from sharpening. But each time I open the tackle box and see dad’s old knife, I think of him. How he transmitted a love of stream fishing. How he showed me the courage a man should have. How he demonstrated sacrificing for others. How he gave me that knife when emphysema robbed him of the ability to journey to his beloved Sierra Nevada Mountains. Each look keeps those memories fresh, makes me appreciate him more, and restores...
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Whispers Lost
This semester will wrap up my teaching career, and it’s time. Just one of many reasons—in our discussion-based English classes, I frequently have to ask students to repeat their comments, but louder. When the old guy receives a questioning look, I merely respond, “Listened to way too much loud rock and roll at your age. Just wait…”
That listening loss bothers me. Sometimes I smile and miss parts of the conversation rather than asking for a rerun. It’s not bad enough for a hearing aid, vanity says. But perhaps all of this yields a metaphor...
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When God Pushes
Disciples make disciples. Seems pretty obvious, doesn’t it? Yes, we’re disciples; yes, our goal is to make disciples. But let’s reverse engineer that process by examining how Jesus describes a disciple. Full disclosure warning—this concept first touches current followers. Future followers are, well, future followers. Let’s first deal with our present.I explored some absolutes from Jesus that express the essence of following. Requirements. If we reject these, we reject ...
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image by haruth.com
Passionately Pursuing Worship
Forget Judge Judy—even though reports claim she’s the highest paid woman on television. Forget Judge Wapner—even though he was the first TV judge on the old “People’s Court.” Why? Put me in a worship service, and my church seat miraculously transforms itself into a judge’s bench. Just replace Judge Judy’s pic above with mine, and you get the idea. Well, skip the best paid and the gender, but you get the picture.
I judge the music—is it loud and strong enough, too loud, or too hymn-like?
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image by risqfountation.com
Total
Our pastor has embarked on preaching through the entire book of Matthew. Usually, he handles a chapter at a time, hinting at over half a year just on this one admittedly fine book. But today he examined only six verses of chapter six, covering just one topic in the Sermon on the Mount. At that rate, the century may end before we complete Matthew! But that’s OK, it’s God’s word.That projection intrigued me, so while he preached...
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Caught
A common fallacy is bifurcation, also known as false dichotomy or being caught on the horns of a dilemma. Basically, this gives only two options, forcing the reader to choose one. Obviously, a fallacy when more than two alternatives exist. But this can also be a good argument—some issues yield only two choices. I’ve found this concept abounds in growing closer to Jesus. How do we start our day with God? We have an abundance of options; let’s just find what works best for us. We explored this in a recent post. But some other options are limited.
Only with pain did I learn that.
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