Sean Dietrich
Columnist
Sean is a writer for The Observer
Sean Dietrich's Latest
OPINION — The question was simple. “Who is God?” CHRIS (5): He’s a big, big thing, but you can’t see him. He has big hands and he can pick you up and carry you around. And he won’t drop you, not even if you try to jump. He can fly. ANDREA (5):...
BY WALT ALBRITTON OPINION — To live wisely and well, one must come to grips with the reality that life is a mixture of opposites. There is sunshine and there are dark clouds. Good times and bad times. Pain and pleasure. Life and death. Joy and...
BY MATT ALBRITTON OPINION — How many times have you joined others in singing the great hymn, “Standing on the Promises?” How many times have you been comforted by its words? My favorite verse is verse two. Standing on the promises that cannot...
OPINION — “Otis!” says the girl working the fast-food drive-thru window. “Gimme a kiss!” I am in my truck, buying hamburgers. The drive-up cashier’s name is Shawnda. She is a notorious Otis lover. Otis (alleged Labrador) crawls over the...
BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION — Wake up. Start coffeemaker. Turn on TV. A panicky news journalist is saying America is doomed and only minutes away from exploding. And if not America, at least my house.Turn off TV.Coffee is ready. Pour said coffee....
BY STEVE ALBRITTON BY STEVE ALBRITTONOPINION — Thirty years ago this week, I had my good friend and two-time BASSMASTER Classic champion Hank Parker speak at Trinity Methodist Church in Opelika. My father, Walter M. Albritton Jr. had been the...
OPINION — A few years ago I attended my first Catholic mass in a busy church outside Birmingham. It was Easter Sunday. I sat in the nosebleed section.People greeted me with the words, “He’s risen.”And because I was not raised under a rock, I...
OPINION — BY TIM ALBRITTON Allow me to give you, the readers, a brief introduction. I’m Tim Albritton, Walter Albritton’s son. Mom and Dad had five sons; I was number four. Dad has experienced some health issues over the past month or so, which has...
OPINION — I have here a letter from a young woman who will remain anonymous. “Sean, I’m in a very rough place — the man I love and was supposed to marry ended our engagement and kicked me out of our shared house unceremoniously. A lot of days, it’s...
OPINION — The world in which we live is broken because of conflict and disagreement. It was no different in the first century when Jesus walked the Earth and encouraged his disciples to be peacemakers. Surely the living Christ wants his people to...
OPINION —Our shower drain kept getting clogged. It was a big problem. We had to hire a plumber. He came out twice.God love him, the plumber did not look happy the second time. Namely, because our house is 100 years old. Meaning, five generations of...
OPINION — The Apostle Paul was wise. In his first letter to his friends in Thessalonica, he praises them for having followed his advice. In an earlier visit he had instructed them about how to live to please God. Having heard they were doing that,...
Here is the news that didn’t make the front page this week, but should have: — Researchers have grown tiny organs from stem cells, then used these cells to test a new form of therapy for regenerating injured spinal cords. The cells were...
OPINION — Don’t shoot the messenger. But in America, one third of children have never handwritten a letter. And it’s not just kids. Nearly 40% of adult Americans haven’t written a letter in the last five years, while 43% of Millennials have...
OPINION — Older music lovers will remember when the songs of Peter, Paul and Mary were popular. Three of my New Testament heroes are Peter, Paul and Lydia. Men like Peter and Paul were major players in church history but women, like Lydia, have...
OPINION —My seminary training for ministry was equally divided between Vanderbilt University and Emory University. When the Methodist General Conference in 1972 terminated the work I was doing for the Methodist Publishing House, I was offered a...
OPINION —I’d say the biggest problem facing this country is typos. Typos are cropping up everywhere. In advertisements, in emails, and even within the very words your reading now.The main reason for this is your phone, which thinks it’s smarter...
OPINION — I grew up realizing that we all live in a world of tribulation. My pastors reminded me that Jesus had assured us life would not be easy when he said, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world...
OPINION —I used to volunteer at an animal shelter. I loved it.My favorite place in the shelter was called the “Introduction Room.” This was the room where people went to meet the dogs that were up for adoption.The room was supposed to be inviting,...
I am writing this on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. This day is the first anniversary of the death of my son, John Mark Albritton. He was 65. Since last words are important, I wish I could remember Mark’s last words to me. I cannot because on the day he...