Ashamed?

“We need to ashamed at the bare suspicion of unconcern!”

Charles Spurgeon 1834-1892

This short quote caused awe as to how so much power could be packed into ten simple words. How many times have they been heard or spoken individually before? By themselves they have meaning, but brought together in this order these words make a soul shaking statement.

If we apply this quote to any aspect of our personal life, see if our stomachs don’t knot-up a bit. When we think of it in context of our family, circle of friends, church, vocation, nation……our world. Are you ashamed? I was and still am! But when I applied to my God and my commission I was horrified. My complete brokenness and failure came to light.

The particular arrangement of and grouping of these words is what gave them their strength and effectiveness. It reminded me of our design for and need of community. Together, through Christ we can effect our families, church, vocation, nation, world….as well as our own eternity.

My prayer is that we never find ourselves with the “bare suspicion of unconcern.”

As always, thanks for hearing me out, R.T.

The Burden of Negotiations

Can you believe it, here we are over half way through January without a teaching contract for those underrated unequalled Union teachers. Anyone who has ever been involved with negotiations knows that the process of sorting through all of the fertile ideas and fertilizer can become tedious, if not down right burdensome. However, six months without a contract seems a little extreme. So, what is at the root of this stand-off? Who is being unreasonable? Is there an unbiased opinion on the matter?Those who know me, know that I am not a quitter, my Cherokee name is “Beater of Dead Horses”. With that being said, maybe, just maybe it is time for the teachers to throw in the proverbial towel on this one and settle for no more, but no less than their own leader, the Superintendent, did. Let’s do a little number crunching shall we, say on a teacher’s base pay of $32,850 and see what would happen if teachers settled for their Superintendent’s onerous contractual provisions:

Base Salary: $32,850
5% guaranteed stipend Nov. 1: 1,700
14.5% Annual Annuity: 4,800
Annual Car Allowance: 4,000
Family Medical, Dental, Vision LTD:9,600 est.
7% Annual Merit Pay: 2,300
Professional Dues: 500
Paid Physical: 400
Total Compensation: $56,150 – plus a fully funded retirement.

Maybe teachers need to concede to this one, admit that the burden of negotiations has become too great and settle for what their leader did. What do you think?

As always, thanks for hearing me out,
R T