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rich_tbone
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Name: Richard
Country: United States
State: North Carolina
Metro: Goldsboro
Birthday: 4/27/1984
Gender: Male
Interests: God, the Bible, theology, church, friends, serious conversations, learning, reading, education, enjoying the simple things in life, currently trying to teach myself Greek.
Expertise: music (both performing and teaching), knowing a little about a lot
Occupation: Teacher (Band Director)
Industry: Education
Message: message meEmail: email me
Website: visit my website
AIM:  richardtyndall@mac.com
Member Since:
2/9/2004
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| I remember hearing several people saying when I was younger that time is man's greatest teacher. Though I have thought about it several times, I really cannot say it has been a statement I have really understood. Even now, I am not entirely sure if I understand it, however the combination of time, age, maturity, and level of responsibility has had its effect on me. Perhaps some would call what I have been going through over the past three to four months a quarter-life crisis, while others would say they are a common part of becoming an adult. Personally I feel it is a time when one finally comfortable with their own skin but does not want to wear it. Regardless, there is about the change-something that is never easy, however one does get better about reacting to it.
From a professional standpoint things have been going amazingly well for me. A program that was stagnant is now beginning to gain attention around the county, they were the only middle school band to participate in the Lumberton Christmas Parade, parents and faculty have both agreed the Winter Concert it was the most prepared and organized it has been in years, and the level of student performance is increasing exponentially. The parents have been been fantastic as well through the work they do through the band booster organization. In addition this will be the school's first year participating on concert contest as well as having a record number of people participate in district band auditions in two weeks. As odd as it may sound, I cannot help but feel like a 'proud papa'.
While enjoying success in one are of my life has been great, there are other areas of my life that need to be brought into balance. The kicker is I cannot do it by myself. Two weeks ago in a sermon my pastor said the following: it is easy to love people from a distance, however it is much more difficult to love them when they are right next to you. When I heard this devastating reality my heart sank first to pity, then to forgiveness. With the exception of a couple, I have to face the reality I have been terrible with most of the relationships in my life. It is hard to having a meaningful relationships with your ego standing in the way. Something else I have found it that it is difficult to have true joy when you see this in yourself, more importantly it has spiritual ramifications as it places a higher priority on self than God. When creature is given higher priority than creator failure is inevitable.
So whats next? The answer is I really don't know. There is no plan, in fact I believe it is to be avoided. You do not live your are dying by planning your own funeral, instead one has to embrace every opportunity that has been afforded to them with open arms. Building relationships is about the process. Savor each moment for its worth; taste its bitterness or sweetness. Just like a healthy diet is not always the one that taste the best, it is the most rewarding. May these rewards only be secondary to the treasures found in God, especially through what He has spoken through His Word.
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| Well, it has been almost 4 months since my last post, so I figure an update is in order. Since my last post on here I have moved and started a new job. I am now living in Lumberton teaching at Littlefield Middle School. I current teach general music to grades 4 & 5 and band to grades 6-8. It makes for a busy day, but I am loving it! I have not regretted my decision to leave the school I was teaching at in Goldsboro since the day I turned in my letter of resignation in March. It feels so good to be somewhere where I am able to make a positive influence on the students each and everyday. Certainly teaching has its challenges, but I am now in a position where the pros more that outweigh the cons.
Otherwise I have started attending a church in Lumberton. It is called Hyde Park Baptist Church. You can check out their website at http://www.lovinglumberton.com. I am really excited to be there and thank God that He has seen fit for me to once again join into regular fellowship with believers. I am already playing weekly with the worship team and go to a bible study each Sunday. The current sermon series is called "Secrets." Basically it is dealing with those areas of our life we like to hide from others. I know it has been a very convicting sermon series for me as it has others. The church has established a website where people can anonymously share their secrets at http://www.lumbertonsecrets.com.
I really cannot begin to tell you how good it seems to be back in regular fellowship with believers again. I must honestly say this is probably one of the biggest things I miss about no longer being at DayStar. I never really connected or even really established roots where I was last year. Being away from regular fellowship with believers caused me to become kind of slack, especially with spiritual disciplines. To be even more specific, I really haven't been spending the time in bible study and in quiet time I know that I need. I am slowly learning to get these all important things back into my life again. I feel thirsty and find myself in a state of constant transition it seems. I am thankful I can stand firm on God. He is the Solid Rock that never fails. It is in Him I place my trust.
I pray that each of you are doing well and hope our paths cross at some point in the near future. I apologize for not doing a better job of staying in touch than I do. I will try to improve. Anyways, time to relax at the end of this long week.
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| Today is Memorial Day which provided a nice little break before the much longer break we get at the end of the school year. As such, I did what do on most days I have off from work ... as little as possible. That said, I did manage to find myself wondering into Books a Million (there is not a Barnes & Noble in Goldsboro) to look around for a bit where I found a copy of Rob Bell's newest book Sex God. Having read his first book, Velvet Elvis, a few months ago and really enjoying and could hardly wait to see what his new book with the provocative title was all about. Admittedly, I still have more left to read in the book that what I have had time to read thus far, but judging from what I have read thus far I will not be disappointed. Contrary to what one might be led to believe, I do try to read a pretty wide variety of books, some with opposing viewpoints to my own. I believe this is a good practice as it helps stretch one's prospective and forces a person to think about his/her viewpoints. Okay, I guess that is enough initially rambling for now, so now to pickup where I left off the other day.
What I tried to illumine in the previous entry is the absence of absolute truths in the post-modern system. People who are familiar with post-modernity know that the rejection of absolute truths and standards is one of the hallmarks of the way of thinking. Rather than there being standards, each person is allowed to (and encouraged) to form their own opinions and sit there own standards from their own view point. For one to realize the danger in this it would be viewed by carrying it to its fullest extent, so I believe an illustration is in order. It is like going from the modern English alphabet which has a set order (a,b,c,d ...) to allowing each individual person to rearrange to arrange the alphabet in an order to suite their fancy then expecting others to recognize it as orthodox. Perhaps orthodox is not such a good word to use in a discussion on post-modernity, but it will suffice for now.
There is no right and wrong. No written codes. No moral standards. No one really cares or judges others, except for one time. This time is the fatal end to which all of post-modernity ends and thus one of reason why many predict that history will repeat itself and we will move beyond the post-modern/post-propositional age in which we now live. Post-moderns expect to be treated by others in a manner which a moral standard is understood lest they fall victim to their own system. The idea that parents and teachers should be treated respectfully as authorities is their lives is something foreign to the young post-modern mind. Instead they view the world such that they treat others in whatever way feels good and seems right to them. There is no standard of respect in place for them. In fact, I would venture to say that any type of authority for all is something beyond the post-modern prospective.
While one could write volumes on the topic of post-modernity, I will end by pointing out a few good things I do like about the system of thought. I do like the emphasis on relationships, though I believe relativism and relativity should be kept separate and not lumped into one large category. I do believe those of us who reject post-modernity can do a bitter job of living relationally, as our post-modern friends do, while holding onto our standards. Speaking to those who claim to be Christians here: in the end we should be marked for our love for one another. Our unity should be found in Christ alone and his glory will not be shared with another. We should lift one another up and encourage one another so that we can learn to do life better. That is not living for yourself, but for God foremost and then for others.
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| It has been a while since I have posted an update on here so I figured it is about time. In fact, I believe this 2.5 month long stint away from posting an update sets a new record for me. Recently there seems to be these little things called a job and being an adult that keeps me away from the computer. That said, I see these as only good things and whole-heartedly embrace them.
Those of you who know me well know that I spend a lot of time thinking thinking about theological and philosophical issues. More recently I have spent an increased amount of time thinking about the effects of relativism on our society, namely the absence of absolutes. Please note the differences between relativism and relativity. Relativity is stating a fact or opinion against an accepted standard and is readily accepted by all as it allows for understanding and communication between people if the logic is carried to its full effect. This is contrast with relativism in that it sees truth from one's own prospective rather an accepted standard.
A relativist who was has been pulled over for speeding, thus breaking the law, would the question "what is law?" which in some ways hints towards denying the very existence of a law. They don't accept the standards of society, this is until their objective is to gain themselves favor. For example a relativist who happens to be a parent would quickly grow angry if when they told their child to clean up the junk in their room if they responded by asking "what is junk?" Yet, this is what relativist do time and time again because it is system designed by humans to glorify-self and to seek one's own objectives rather than God's.
If an entire society were to openly accept relativism it would quickly descend to anarchy. Anarchy meaning that there is no ruler, no laws, no standards, and each one sets out to accomplish only their own objectives or objectives that help to glorify themselves. Outside of a revival and complete change of philosophies the only response to relativism is totalitarianism.
To be continued ....
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| In a few minutes I am going to be getting ready to go to a funeral of a man who was stabbed and killed at 43 years old. He was the father of one of my students. It is at times such as these that I am once again reminded of how fragile life can be. James tells us that "life is as a vapor." It is true. I often wonder how different people would live their lives if they started viewing it from the prospective of eternity, both past and future. I pray that we can be a people who savors the moment yet lives our lives with purpose. I still have quite a bit of growing to do in this area myself. Think Kingdom work!
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