Sean Dietrich
Columnist
Sean is a writer for The Observer
Sean Dietrich's Latest
BY WALT ALBRITTON OPINION — As Peter walked on the seashore toward Jesus, the smell of burning charcoal reminded him of another charcoal fire. He was warming himself at that fire when a girl asked if he was not a follower of Jesus. Oh, no, Peter...
BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION — How I ended up walking into a sliding glass door in a supermarket is pretty simple. I got a text from my wife. I looked at my phone to read the message and, WHAM! Goodbye nasal cartilage.I’m not surprised this happened,...
BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION — It was the dogs. The dogs are what got me. A few years ago, we visited the 9/11 Memorial Museum, and we saw a lot. Twisted steel girders. Baby-faced portraits of the deceased. Mutilated emergency vehicles.But it was the...
OPINION — Goals change with age. At six my goal was to have a bicycle. At eight it was to own a Daisy Red Ryder BB Gun. At 10, I wanted to be a member of the Lone Ranger’s Safety Club. A year later, I wanted a 20 gauge shotgun. At 12, I wanted a...
OPINION — Some years ago, a friend suggested that I invite Ralph Freeman to sing in my church. I did so, and soon Ralph was more than a gifted singer, he was my dear brother in Christ.From the moment I first heard Ralph Freeman sing about Jesus, I...
Have mercy. Have mercy on the children, God.Ordinary American school kids. Good kids. Kids who were at a church worship service in Minnesota when a gunman broke in. Kids hit the floor as soon as the gunman started shooting through the windows.It...
OPINION — Long ago the Prophet Isaiah spoke of the beauty of the feet: “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news” (Isaiah 52:7). Years later the Apostle Paul reminds his friends in Rome of the beauty of feet when he...
BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION — We were sitting on a plane. Awaiting takeoff. I am convinced that if you live wrongly, if you treat your fellow man poorly, if you are selfish, if you are not a good person, you will die and wake up in Hartsfield-Jackson...
BY WALT ALBRITTON OPINION — Ninety-three and counting — enough time to amass a long list of regrets. But my list is short, because the Lord has shown me how to handle my shame and regrets. To regret something that happened, or didn’t happen, is a...
OPINION — Interstate 59 shot past our windows like a streak of pigeon excrement on a commercial airline windshield. We crossed into Tennessee, heading northward to New Jersey. The radio played Jerry Reed. And I was busy counting barns.A barn in the...
BY WALT ALBRITTON OPINION — In my devotional reading, I was stunned by the testimony of Kyoko Minekawa, a Japanese Christian woman. The child of an evangelist, she attended several schools growing up. Because she was a Christian, she endured the...
OPINION — I don’t know what to do about AI.Humanoid robots. Automated cars. Augmented reality smart-glasses. Smart dishwashers. Robotic surgeons. And what about the weird AI images all over my newsfeed? Where are these freaky AI pictures coming...
OPINION — I miss the newspaper. Before the internet. I’m talking physical newspapers. The kind you unfold.I miss the morning routine of it all. Walk to the end of the driveway, barefoot, pre-sunrise. Messy hair. Morning breath. Unsheath the...
BY WALT ALBRITTON OPINION — A friend shared his concern about his dad’s attitude. After being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, his dad has given up. He refuses to go for treatment and to the dismay of his family, he does nothing but sit around...
BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION — It was a big park. A big city. The man was sitting on the sidewalk. Directly on the ground. And he was barefoot.His feet were scraped and bloody. He was picking at the sole of his foot. Maybe he was trying to remove a...
OPINION — Long ago on a dark Thursday night, Jesus walked with his disciples to the garden in the Mount of Olives where he often prayed. Then he went nearby and fell on his knees, praying, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not...
BY WALT ALBRITTON OPINION — In one of the antique stores my wife loved to visit, Dean found a plaque with these words on it: “If you love somebody enough, you can still hear the laughter after they’re gone.” She paid $3 for it, brought it home and...
BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION — I arrive at the Opry House a few minutes before rehearsal. My guitar and fiddle cases trip the metal detector, so the security guard makes me open them.“You ain’t smuggling moonshine, are you?” says the guard with a...
BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION — The boy didn’t have a lot going for him. At least, that’s what his parents first thought.His parents were concerned. The other children would not stop laughing at their son. The other kids had turned him into a joke.His...
BY WALT ALBRITTON OPINION — Fellowship is one of our greatest needs. Homes, cars, jewelry, money are things we want but none of those things can satisfy our need of fellowship with other people.We are not made to live alone. Human beings are...