Musings

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 Easter Sunday. An Episcopal church in Birmingham. Vaulted ceilings. Ornate masonry. A pipe organ. A choir dressed in lacework cottas. Individual stained-glass windows that cost more than tactical government helicopters. The whole works. My wife and I arrived late. The place was loaded with parishioners in pastel colors....

By Pastor Doug Stauffer Life’s journey is guided by the decisions we make, shaping our path and defining our future. The Bible offers invaluable advice on making wise choices. James 1:5-8 stresses the importance of seeking God’s wisdom before making a decision. The book of James also says that God...

By Guery Clendening It is Spring! The flowers are blooming! I love this season. To me Spring speaks of new beginnings. When I lived in Illinois, the winters could be harsh at times. I remember during one winter, looking out my office window at a very large tree. With snow...

By Pastor Doug Stauffer Like so many other churches, we establish a new theme every year. Interestingly, our theme for 2020 was pretty predictable—“20/20 vision” (ugh, right before COVID-19 reared its ugly head). The vision that year seemed blurry at best. Last year, it was from James 4:8: “Draw nigh...

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 Pastor David Holland The world broils with conflict. Can you imagine living in Israel with rockets lobbed into your neighborhood at random times? Or, in Gaza, where the country is being reduced to rock and rubble? Or in Ukraine, where soldiers rot entrenched in freezing foxholes. They fight a...

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...

By Pastor David Holland “On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before I had conceived him.” –Luke 2:21 John Lennon mistakenly believed the Beatles were more famous than Christ. While the dead Beatle lies in the...

By Sean Dietrich Birmingham, Alabama—the 1970’s. The hairstyles are ridiculous. Fashions are even worse. It’s Christmastime in the Magic City. Early evening. A young couple arrives in town to visit family. They are working-class poor. He is overworked and underpaid. She is too. Still, things are looking up. Even though it’s hard...