Sean Dietrich
Columnist
Sean is a writer for The Observer
Sean Dietrich's Latest
BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION — You might not know this, but a few days ago was a national holiday. A day when our nation traditionally puts aside our differences, stands together in solidarity and brotherhood, from sea to oil-slicked sea, and we...
BY WALT ALBRITTON OPINION — In the early days of Jesus’ ministry, John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Years later, after the resurrection of Jesus, the beloved...
OPINION — BY SEAN DIETRICH My interview was scheduled for noon. It’s not every day you are a keynote speaker for Miss Bernice’s fourth-grade class career day, via video call. I wore a necktie.Miss Bernice’s class has been interviewing a lot of...
OPINION — Friends make an awesome difference in our lives. Two special friends – Greg Lotz in Cincinnati and Bonny Johns in Pensacola – shared with me a new song that stirs my soul. The song reminds me that the living Jesus wants to display His...
BY WALT ALBRITTON OPINION — The Church teaches that God provides for our spiritual nourishment and growth in grace what are called the “ordinary means of grace” — the Word, prayer, the sacraments, the church’s discipline and care of souls. These...
OPINION — Marie was a Waffle-House waitress with two kids. She smoked like a fish, worked like a trail horse, and was self-conscious about her teeth.Several of us fellas used to visit her every weekday morning for breakfast.Once she showed me a...
BY WALT ALBRITTON OPINION — The songs we sing teach us where to find the strength we need in life’s trials. Pick up a hymnal and turn to “Soldiers of Christ, Arise,” written by Charles Wesley 275 years ago. Inspired by words in Paul’s letter to the...
BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION —It’s Girl Scout-cookie season again, which traditionally begins right after deer season, and is followed by Lent.This is the time of year when words like “Samoas,” “Shortbread Trefoils,” “Do-si-dos,” and “Tagalongs” become...
BY WALT ALBRITTON OPINION — In his book, “My Utmost for His Highest”, Oswald Chambers declares that the supreme goal of his life was to be absolutely abandoned to Jesus. He writes, “I am determined to be absolutely and entirely for Him and Him...
OPINION — In the days of my youth, I was frail and weak. My dad was a strong man. I admired his strength. In the picture book of Bible stories my mother read to me, I learned about a man named Samson whose story is in the book of Judges. I was...
BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION — Pineview Street. A nondescript house. Off-white. One story. Nothing fancy. Nice neighborhood. Manicured lawns.On the back of the house is a newly built wheelchair ramp. I knocked on the door. The caregiver...
BY WALT ALBRITTON OPINION — “The Imitation of Christ” by Thomas A. Kempis, written in the 15th Century, has been translated into more than fifty languages. It is considered, next to the Bible, the most influential book of Christendom. It’s a book I...
BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION — Nobody knows when it started. But it did. The first jar of pickles to appear on Aunt Bee’s grave in Siler City, North Carolina, showed up in in 1989, the year she died. Legend states that the pickles were probably...
BY WALT ALBRITTON OPINION — He was already 77 years old when I met E. Stanley Jones, but God used that encounter with Brother Stanley to change my life. He was the evangelist at an Ashram, a spiritual life retreat that my wife and I attended at...
BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION — 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...
BY WALT ALBRITTON OPINION — I grew up in the church. I don’t remember being in the nursery, but Mama told me that’s where I was, when I was a baby, while she and Daddy participated in worship. When I was 10, I made the decision to be baptized and...
OPINION —John was dying. The end was near. He had suffered for months with terminal cancer. His doctor had said, “There is nothing more we can do. You can take him home and call Hospice.”I was visiting John in his home. It was Tuesday of Holy Week....