Roger

Why do I write a weekly blog?  What of significance do I have to say?  Believe me, I pondered these questions before I took pen in hand one year ago.  “Back in Jefferson” is one year old. One of my “loves” is writing.   My training drives me to use a journalistic style that couples fact with creative writing.   I hope you enjoy my weekly contributions. So, why do I write this blog?   At 62 years old, I find myself asking the hard questions.   Statistically, I’m at the two-thirds mile marker in my life.   I have crossed paths with realistically hundreds of people, who have touched my life in ways too numerous to recount.   I am who I am because of the Lord, my family and the lives I have encountered over six decades.   Many of them have finished their earthly sojourn and heaven waits to reunite us.   Highlights to date include: ·      My boyhood years in Jefferson (specifically Sheffield Township).   I g...

In Philippians 4:2-3 Paul very succinctly deals with an apparent squabble between two women in the church:  “I plead with Euodia and I plead with Synteche to be of the same mind in the Lord.   Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help those women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my coworkers, whose names are in this book of life.” Evidently, the fallout between these two women was serious enough for Paul to address in the manner he did.   The apostle knew that such dissension could bring church division.   Unfortunately, as sick as it may sound, some thrive on drama.   Their lives are drama-driven! Details are sketchy but we do know that both women were leaders in the church at Philippi.   He further recognized that both women needed a third party to help them move past their disagreement.   They needed an arbitrator.   Yes, saved people at times refuse to die to self when e...

Do you have a favorite hymn?  I grew up singing hymns in church.  Do you know what I remember about many of them?  They were set to music that was strangely timed and high on the scale.  We either sang from the rooftop or in the basement! In retrospect, many of the hymns were written from a second person point of view.   In short, lyrics often spoke of some attribute of the Lord’s character, His nature and His goodness.   Many of them were experiential in content, eliciting emotional responses.   We mostly sang   ABOUT the Lord.   In my opinion, the Southern Gospel genre of music closely follows the pattern and emotionally driven impact of the hymns. Such was and is the case of the famed hymn, “Pass Me Not” by Fanny J. Crosby.   When I came to Christ in 1970, this was the hymn of invitation that accompanied the altar call.   I cried and cried as the words of that song pierced my heart and readied me to accept the Lord: “...