text:
First, listen to this 11-minute clip:
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Here's the topic for today's discussion:
At the heart of our hermeneutics is this basic assumption—when God revealed truth, He intended to communicate to us. He used the normal conventions of human language common to the people and time when His revelation came.
That's why we employ the grammatical-historical method of interpretation (the rules of grammar and the facts of history) to discern the meaning of Scripture. As John has often said, "The meaning of the Scripture is the Scripture." That's what we're after because we know the God who has spoken.
So, here's the question:Why do so few evangelicals today practice good hermeneutics?How do we get ourselves and our fellow evangelicals back on track?
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Why do so few evangelicals today practice good hermeneutics? Perhaps they are not diligent in their studies, and are "busy" doing things that are not necessarily advancing the kingdom, but advancing and managing their ministry.
How do we get ourselves and our fellow evangelicals back on track? For me, I have made a commitment to study more diligently. I have prayed and continue to pray the Lord continue to give me the burning desire for His word, and the strength in His love to live it each day; to be a light in the darkness, and that I may be sensitive to those He brings in my path to tell boldly the Gospel message.
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Excellent teaching from pastor John.
The reason is laziness I would think. Rick Warren said we had the time of creeds, now is a time for deeds. I don't think most church people care about the truth of how to study the Word, because they don't think they have to, but simply need to go and love God, and love their neighbor, and so "hermeneutics smermenneutics" lets get on with it.
And the reason the church is this way, is because they have been dumbed down. As John MacArthur said, "Only 1 out of 4 students understands grammer structure."
We need to repent of our laziness, and ask God to fill us with a hunger for His Word. And we need strong pastors in the pulpits first and foremost. We also need to ask those in the pulpits who dont know how to preach to step down. It's sort of a rotating cycle deal I guess.
"Your words were found, and I ate them,and your words became to me a joyand the delight of my heart,for I am called by your name,O Lord, God of hosts."
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I think they practice bad hermeneutics for several reasons. Perhaps they were never taught how to study the Scripture. Perhaps because of pre-conceived ideas of what they want to find. Or maybe because of plain laziness. How do we get back on track? Blgos like this is a start. Other blogs taking up the "mantle" of biblical study. Doing it ourselves and mentoring others younger than us. Just a few thoughts.
Convenience, laziness, lack of preparation, not ecucation, etc. Also, bad Hermeneutics among most of today preachers is just the easy way for them. When it comes to manipulation (special from tele-evangelist) is much easier to not check on hermeneutics because what they really want is to say whatever they want their audience to listen to. For example, when it comes to the bible being their on interpreter, they don't want to pay really attention to that because it will make them look contradictory; specially in subject about money they just pick & choose verses.....So What should we do? i think: 1) We that stick to the truth must be louder & proclaim it. 2) Bring to light the lies from false teachers just as Pastor Macacthur does; we can't be afraid anymore of critics. 3) Teach our young leaders (preachers leaders of next generation) to be biblically 100% including methods of sermon preparation/delivery.
Perhaps, if more voices from the pews held our teachers and preachers accountable for what/how they taught us, more leaders would find the importance of solid hermeneutics. So many pastors have thanked me for voicing and sharing the desperate need today for us -- the congregation -- to know good interpretation and the tools that equip us to achieve that end. When they hear we WANT good hermeneutics, they tend to be more inclined to use the principles to shape their messages. I think WE have taught them that WE don't want all that "seminary" stuff -- just give us how the bible makes life better for us.
The other aspect is that of secular teaching -- poor English feeds bad hermeneutics. I think this is another proof of the effects of taking God and the Bible out of our schools. My great grandparents used to tell us how they learned English -- by candlelight and God's Word. That was their textbook and evening entertainment. The various sciences grew out of the belief that God is the Creator of all things and intelligently ordered everything to His design -- therefore, studies of that creation must demonstrate observable order and intelligence. Without God, the governing standard of the types and quality of our education has been dismantled by humanism, secularism and plain ol' apathy.
I believe that the reason is laziness too. I think there are a few reasons for this. The first being that some pastors are lazy and do not want to spend the time needed to do thorough study of the Word. As John MacArthur has advocated throughout his ministry, hermaneutics is to be gramatical-historical. I have read where John MacArthur, in the earlier years of his ministry, would devote roughly 30 hours a week to a sermon. How many pastors do you know who devote that much time to a sermon? The ones I know are generally devoting one day to a sermon and that is it.
Some pastors tend to get bogged down trying to be socially popular. They are willing to itch the ear that feeds them, because they do not desire to grow spiritually themselves; it is just another paycheck to them. Maybe they fear men rather than God? Some pastors wish to have a high paid preaching position and give the food that is desired by the deacons or the other elders instead of what God wants the people to know and learn about Him. In doing that, they sacrifice true biblcal exposition for the desires of their peers. How sad.
The second part would be that the congregants are lazy and undesiring to learn about God and His gospel. Some do not desire to live the godly life and grow spiritually in Christ. To these peopl. church is just a social gathering to them. As soon as they walk out the door, the words of the pastor are forgotten. They go to see thier friends and strike up relationships. Knowing God is the faterest thing from their minds.
When I was a teenager, I went o see the girls and because my mother threatened to end my life if I did not go. But then again, she only went a fraction of the time herself. I had no desire for God. When I went to prison, I met God on His terms and I desire to hear and learn His Word, not some man's opion. This is why I listen to John MacArthur and John Piper. These men and others like them are devoted to Scripture as being the Word from God to a fallen humanity. These word are for living the way intended us to live, by faith, love, and hope. Without this preaching and hermaneutic, then there is no faith, or love, or hope.
I have listened to this portion on Pastor John's sermon a few times and find it refreshing and convicting. I also find within it something unstated. How committed those behind Pastor John need to be in order that he has the freedom to excise this gift that he has. I'm not sure of the habits of Pastor John but my assumption would be that he is not solely responsible for hospital and newcomer visitation, doing follow up with the various ministry heads within the church and the endless tasks of the church.
No excuse is acceptable for poor hermeneutics but I think we should all be aware of the time that is necessary for the kind of study that he is speaking of and in order for that study to take place the kind commitment of the fellow leaders in the church. Many shepherds are not blest with leaders within the walls of their church who are willing to allow their pastor to be this in-depth. I am not saying it is a right reality but a reality none the less.
So, I believe many times pastors are pressured to be all things to all people, especially in smaller congregations. The ministry to people in very practical ways hinders deeper preparation time for teaching. Add to that add the real need of being the high priest of his own family, the pastor can find himself between a rock and a hard place.
If what we desire is the kind of hermeneutics that are God honoring, both the pastor and the leadership of the church has to be committed. Pastors committed to delegate within leadership and for fellow leaders to do whatever it takes to free the pastor so he may prepare thoroughly and for members who respect the pastors need for study time.
Sadly, I believe most church members want a thoroughly prepared pastor who is totally engaged in every other aspect of ministry as well, including a visit from him in the hospital when they break their toe. Meanwhile his wife expects him to be the husband the Bible describes and his children want a daddy that is there as they throw a ball or shot a puck.
Help these men of God for the sake of good hermeneutics!
I believe the biggest reason some have abandoned good hereneutics is because they have become friends with the world.They now let society or the culture dictate the meaning of the bible.So many of the seminaries today have adopted a relativistic approach to teaching the bible.That's why it is so crucial today that we have institutions like The Masters Seminary that teaches proper hermeneutics.I believe if we are to turn things around we must stop supporting these seminaries with a relativistic approach and start supporting the ones that teach properly.
I like a grammar and historical approach to Bible study. We need to be a bit broader than this, though. Matthew's use of the Old Testament went beyond grammar and history, using scripture in a way that is uncomfortable for a lot of evangelicals. Hebrews explores types and shadows.
We also have to be careful with a grammatical approach. I am on the mailing list of a retired classics professor (as in Greek and Hebrew) and chair at a state university. His concern is that in his opinion, the typical seminary graduate does not know Greek well enough to make the claims about Greek that many seminary graduates make. He did know of a few exceptions he had met. I have read his expositions where he debunks preacher's claims about Greek by citing actual quotes showing the actual usage in the Greek language does not support the claims. He had a paper from the Southern Baptists he was dealing with recently. Nevertheless, one can get some real insights from someone who knows Greek well and is familiar with the Septuigint and can pick up on references to it that are not obvious from translation in the NT.
The sad fact is, men like their ears tickled, and preachers not truly versed by diligent Bible study and true dedication to expounding God's Word tempered by understanding the genuine weight of the task; will do nothing more than tickle people's ears. But, let's face it, the congregation in many churches runs the church. And the pastors they employ are just that- employees performing the tasks the congregation demands. The end result is blind following blind.
I have said that churches would probably be better served with this approach. When a church interviews a perspective pastor they should ask his ankle size. Then show him the concrete block he'll be chained too as a reminder of the great weight of the job he is being asked to do. Then set the chain and block right beside of the pulpit. The chain will then serve two purposes. Remind him of his responsibility and also keep him from wandering too far from the pulpit where his Bible is. If he is not willing to give you his ankle size then he can't have the job.
I'll take it one more step. Before someone proclaims they are called to preach they should first fashion their own block and chain and have no problem carrying it everwhere they go.
Silly? I know, but, teachers should really consider the gravity of their calling.
Pretty sound consensus...the broader causes for both the lack of good hermeneutics and the abundance of bad hermeneutics are blatant ignorance and laziness. I think the only logical solutions possible are: 1. Pastors and teachers MUST regard the right division of the word as being more important than anything else in the church, as the word is the very foundation upon which all else is built; and 2. The people MUST purpose within their own hearts to seek after the word of God and make it a high priority, as much as physical food is for the physical body. Until they do, ignorance and laziness will remain prevalent. In short, we like it easy and cheap as free.
I think we need to be careful not to try to interpret scripture in the same way Matthew did.He was "moved by the Holy Spirit" (1 Peter 1:21) in ways that we aren't.So,yes I would not be comfortable at all attempting to interpret scripture like he did.Also, the grammatical/historical approach does not exclude types and shadows.We just must be sure we're not inserting our own private interpretation into the verse.
John MacArthur has set a very high standard in the preaching and articulation of the word, and of course his life is in conformity to what he preaches. But very few will measure up to or even come anywhere close to his preaching standard. The fact is everyone have their own strength and weaknesses and John M's strength is in expounding the word.
Jesus' command to pastors to feed His sheep entails not just in the area of expounding the word but in caring and ministering to hurts, emotional and physical hardship, and various needs of members. Unless he has good support team, the pastor will find less time and energy to research and excel in the exposition of the word or even spend time with his own family. Still regardless of the time they spend, not everyone is born to be top class bible scholar/teacher. John M has found his strength and allow God to use him for His service the world over through GTY website.
While I believe pastors must make some deligent effort to preach and expound the word correctly, I will be forgiving if he is not so sharp as to be able to expound every verse or word to a very high standard. The pertinent thing is that he preaches the same gospel the apostles preached, and uphold sound teachings and doctrines. Of course there are pastors that are more concerned about achieving their own dream of church growth and empire building than the word. Managers and CEOs will be a more appropriate name for such.
I second what Rick White said in post #12, but I'll take it a step further. We not only need to be careful not to take the liberties with Old Testament passages like some of the writers of the New Testament did, we simply don't have the authority to do so. It is presumptuous as best to think otherwise.
They were a special "breed," if you will, with all the authority of the living God behind them. What they wrote was God breathed and absolutely authoritative. This is not the case with us, nor with anyone who has lived since the close of the canon of scripture.
Sorry, I wish this blog had an "edit" feature. I meant to say, "presumptuous at best," rather than "as best."
Rick and Erik, I couldn't agree more. We cannot overemphasize the importance of our not viewing the Scripture in a subjective manner. This subjective approach -no doubt- is behind most of the abuses seen in the superficial, materialistic, or emotional driven churches we see today. A subjective interpretive approach to scripture is deadly!
When God had my heart prepared to grasp this truth; I heard a sermon John preached on Romans 5:1. Seeing this verse from the two interpretive approaches- subjective vs. objective- makes all the difference in properly understanding what God was saying through Paul in this passage. Once grasping this truth, I took it to all those other verses I had used to construct my spiritual foundation and found I didn't have a foundation at all.
The objective truths found in scripture must be seen first, before we can experience any real subjective change through our Bible study. But, I'll also have to say this, that God placing within us a teachable heart, makes all the difference in our seeing and being able understanding these truths in the first place. He also places within us a willingness to comply, or obey the truths we see. God has to place within us a new mind- so to speak- one in tune with the Spirit of God. I ,therefore, can take no credit for even my understanding- making me solely a workmanship of God through His Spirit. Thank you God. For Your grace upon grace upon grace.
Good word. Thank you for stating this truth in many fewer words than I did.
The word lazy keeps coming up in posts and certainly laziness is an issue in some cases but I think this issue goes far deeper than laziness or grammar or syntax et all. The demands that are placed on pastors are many times impossible to meet.
Here is the job description. Mind you this is not on paper but the composite of the hearts within the pews.
Expound the scripture like the guys on the radio.
Visit everyone who is sick.
Visit all who visit the church.
Lead evangelistic outreaches.
Control the vagaries of worship music.
Lead in the financial matters of the church.
Shovel snow off the side walk. "Your there already, so you can do it."
Proof read the newsletter and bulletin.
Pray for every member of the church regularly.
Be a godly example of family life.
Attend the local events to be a face in the community, especially the sports of the teens within the church. "They need to know you care."
If possible be involved in some sort of community organization for the same reason.
Be a physical model for the men of the church.
This list goes on and on and on. Like the energizer bunny. All good things and in some respect all necessary things. But come on, now to hear lazy because the sermon is "shallow"?
Now to be clear: the church today does have ill prepared men in pulpits, every Sunday for that matter, however before we pick that stone we best ask ourselves if on the simplest point that was made from the pulpit; have I completely applied it? Furthermore have I offered myself sacrificially to the work of God so that preparations for the pulpit has not been hindered by my laziness, yes the guy in the pew?
Too long a response, sorry. God bless and keep these men who serve us week upon week.
I agree that the congregation, and even the elders sometimes, don't understand the Scriptures concerning the role of the pastor. Good point.
That can lead to bad hermeneutics for sure.
The answer is for the teachers in the church to teach the role of pastors, who are gifts to the church (Eph. 4), and the roles of elders as well.
I like to say that the Lord has given the Body of Christ wonderfuls gifts in His pastors. And we need to receive them as a precious gift from our Lord, and encourage them to minister in the Word and prayer.
Surely they will have a full life within the Body of the Lord's people as well, but they will built up by the people to feed the people.
Jesus said to Peter, "Do you love Me, or do you love these?"
Peter said, "I love You Lord, You know I do!"
Jesus said, "Then feed and tend My sheep." And that's what Peter, an elder, pastor, Apostle, fisherman, fisher of men, sinner, and saint did.
He loved Christ first and foremost, and so then He loved the Savior's loved ones.
Chuck post #18,
What you are describing is not an assembly of believers, but rather, an assembly of unregenerate religious people. Christ gave pastor-teachers for the equipping of the saints that the saints might do the work of ministry. At the judgment of the nations where we see the separating of the sheep from the goats, notice that the sheep were doing the work of ministry. They were not even aware that what they were doing was anything that was noteworthy. It came from their heart, their very (new) nature if you will. Evangelism is not the "duty" of the pastor; it is the very nature of the saints (including the pastor). Christ warned the multitudes who were following Him of the cost of discipleship, "If anyone does not…he cannot be my disciple."(Luke 14:25-27) Being a disciple is synonymous with being a Christian, see Acts 11:26.
If there are any regenerate believers within an assembly which you describe their only hope of maturing in the faith is for someone to boldly, accurately and faithfully feed them from the word of truth in answer to the prayer of our Master to our Father, "Sanctify them in the truth: Thy word is truth".
The unregenerate people whom you describe will never become born again unless that imperishable seed of the living and abiding Word of God is preached to them and the Holy Spirit causes that very seed to "germinate". You must be born again!
I would love for John to give his thoughts and comments on the fast-growing "Christo-centric" hermeneutic that so many reformed evangelicals are adopting. Finding Jesus in every verse - taking Luke 24 (road to Emmaus) discussion way overboard such that every old testament character/story is ultimately about Christ.
This is essentially what Beale is doing as well as nearly all New Covenant theologians. It is worth addressing.
I have said it before, and I'll say it again. Authorial intent is what we are looking for. Good hermeneutics is driven by a desire to discover the intent the author had for the text. That's why the grammatical/historical approach is the only correct way to interpret Scripture. The meaning of the Scripture does not change from generation to generation, only the application. Therefore, the meaning the author intended for the first readers is the same meaning for today. That's why we must carefully study the words of the text, because the author's meaning is wrapped up in the words he used and the way he used them.
Regarding #22
Amen! Bizarre teachings can always be traced back to this.
The importance of authorial intent escapes the attention of even fair-minded Charismatics. I know this firsthand and intimately. I have friends who are steeped in Charisma, and no matter what plain, obvious truth I present to them, they continue to plug their ears and parrot the same out of context scriptures over and over, ad nauseum. It goes in one ear and out the other without taking root.
Jesus said, "Let these words sink into your ears." Unfortunately, with many Charismatics, it blows right through.
I've come near to the conclusion that it is a futile effort, yet I continue to reason the truth with them. I love them so dearly, but they simply refuse to see the importance of proper hermeneutics.
For example, when I asked them what their biblical basis is for thinking that they are able to walk in the miraculous, (which they don't, by the way. They'll preach it vociferously, but the never actually perform any miraculous acts), they say "The same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in me, bless God! Whatever Jesus did, I can do!" Then I take them to the scripture, Romans 8:11, and show them that it really says, "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you." I explain that a simple, plain reading of the text says that since the same Holy Spirit lives in us that raised Jesus from the dead, that we, also, can expect that we will be raised from the dead and have eternal life. They then argue that I am being far too picky with the text, suggesting that I may have some religious strongholds that need to be broken, and around and around it goes.
It is frustrating, to say the least.
Douglas #20,
Well, now we have that cleared up. "What you are describing is not an assembly of believers, but rather, an assembly of unregenerate religious people."
Is the 70 year old couple concerned about the worship songs "unregenerate"?
Is the 35 year old couple that asks the pastor to go to their kid's game "unregenerate"?
Is the 50 year old man in the hospital desiring the pastor to visit an "unregenerate"?
Is the 50 year old man listening to Pastor John on the radio wanting his pastor to preach like that "unregenerate"?
Is the church secretary asking the pastor to proofread the bulletin "unregenerate"?
I beg to differ. Even to the point of saying be careful who you assume are unregenerate. The issues that confront pastors come from so many different angles and yes some do come from "unregenerate" souls within the walls of the church. If only we could just blame it all on the "unregenerate". Paul never did this in 1 Corinthians as he dealt with much greater malfunctions than the ones I listed. Most times however the pastor is feeling the pull from well meaning believers but believers who do not understand the pressures they are exerting. My purpose for this post was to perhaps cause some of those well meaning souls to pause and reflect on what the purpose of their pastor is.
If I were a member at Grace Church I would love to have Pastor John visit me when I am sick, be at one of my son's games and any number of other items but I would know his role within the church body. He is to preach the word. Something tells me that even in Grace Church from time to time there is a rub or two concerning this matter. Maybe not.
My point remains a simple one: jump in people and help and you will find, most times, that the pastor's hermeneutical skills will improve greatly.
Great Comments everyone! I think it would be helpful to think about what Chuck Tuthill has been trying to get across to all of us. I had the unique opportunity in my 20s to travel with a music group and visit churches every Sunday, for 4 years. We selected the church based solely on the name of the church in the yellow pages, and we did it on purpose - to learn what's going on out there in the real world. Many congregations have great, even awesome people, but their theology is so messed up because the leadership doesn't pursue proper studies. Sure, congregations might want to try and change things, and that's another issue, but by and large the preacher didn't make proper study his highest goal. Who knows why. Some preachers only work 10 hours a week at church, and the rest of the time sell shoes. Some churches are so small, while others, even though big, are caught up in the influences of surrounding ideas. One guy I'm thinking of is a 2009 Oral Roberts grad, who thinks MacArthur takes things way too out of context. Now, where did he learn that? My guess is it was his professors. And this guy is not in an environment to know what the counter-arguments are, so its not laziness in this case, its part of our fallen world. Solution? I sure hope Master's Seminary always makes it their highest priority to send out men to other states, other countries, and yes - other denominations, if possible. I fully realize my church (Grace Church, Sun Valley) is incredibly unique. I'm desperate for the day when that's not the case. I'd love to see Grace Churches all over. By the way, we're not "MacArthurites," as JP Moreland would have us think. There are just a lot of people who want the Bible taught supremely. That's just not the case in most, and I mean most, other places. We're all sinners. Most of us don't get it. A wise philosopher once said, "We're all bozos on this bus!"
Great comment as well.
As you wrote from your experience, so do I and I am speaking of doctrinally sound pastors. I have watched and participated in ministry with pastors who are bombarded by believers with all their expectations. So many of those expectations on the surface sound so good and elder boards meet and discuss these new and great ideas. Unfortunately a few months down the road the pastor is doing the majority of this new work. Is the pastor to blame? Of course but the pressure is immense to fill the void they didn't ask for. Yes they should stand up and resist the temptation to study less or jump into a canned sermon series for the sake of time but some do not for this reason and their hermeneutics suffers. The sin of people pleasing? Yes.
The pastors that I know personally are all sound and very much committed to proper exposition of the scriptures and they are pressed on every side. Ministry is hard work that is not for the faint of heart.
Douglas ( #20 ), it is a good to be reminded that not many churches or congregation are of the elite kind with the best of leaders, teachers and other talents and blessings. It is true some pastors are really not called to the ministry and should think of doing something else but it is also a reality that there are many who gave their lives to God and made many personal sacrifices but are hard pressed on all sides in doing the work of the ministry. Would it not be an objective of the ministry of GTY to help out and alleviate the shortcomings in the body of Christ ie in the area of teachings. I feel that is the role of GTY.
Praise God for John M and GTY but don't be hasty to use their high standard to measure or judge a not so elite, not so 'regenerated' congregation or their pastors. Carelessly declaring one sheep and the other goats, is spiritual elitism. Jesus is the good shepherd and his activities and ministry would be good for all pastors (or his team ) to emulate. He spent time preaching as well as ministering to needs. He will even leave the 99 sheep and go search for just one lost one. Some pastors strength is teaching and preaching, some in compassion and other qualities. But ALL should be directed to the furtherance of the gospel and to the glory of God.
Barry (#27), I think you missed my point. I am not at all suggesting that all pastors should be expected to attain to the level of accuracy or proficiency as John MacArthur, though we all should hold one another to the same level of faithfulness. There is a difference.
My comments are in regards to those who profess themselves to be Christians. If they are in fact regenerate but not attaining to a level of sanctification that they should, then the answer is the same. Boldly, accurately, and faithfully feed them from the word of truth in answer to the prayer of our Master to our Father, "Sanctify them in the truth: Thy word is truth." Without holiness (sanctification) no one will see God. Sanctification in the life of a Christian is not optional!
I am not "using their high standard to measure or judge a not so elite, not so 'regenerated' congregation". Christ sets that standard. Christ warned the multitudes who were following Him of the cost of discipleship, "If anyone does not… he cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:25-27) Being a disciple is synonymous with being a Christian, see Acts 11:26. "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it." "For what will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"(Matt 16:24-26)
Hi Douglas,
I don't think I miss the point. Your statement about the unregenerated church was in reply to Chuck's comment in # 18. You fail to appreciate some real problems pastors face particularly in smaller churches, which Chuck described. Every church has a different background and has a different set of problems. Therefore, it's presumptious to just hastily paint them as unregenerated lot or not attaining a "level' of santification. Yes, it's Jesus who sets the standard of discipleship, and its Him who will understand what's going on, and its Him who will be the best judge. For us, we need to understand those who desires the pastors time, visit and attention. And that time spent can't be inferior to time spent in research and preparing a high standard sermon and certainly not an indication of laziness. In that context I wrote that we should not be expecting every pastor to excel in exposition and articulation of the word, and blame as laziness if he can't measure up to the high standards ( of GC) we might have been used to, or hastily and presumptiously call the people unregenerated.
I am the pastor of one of those smaller churches some have been speaking of. No one knows better than me the reality of being pulled in all directions and having to do many things that aren't technically your job. As the only full-time staff that is just the way it is. However, that is absolutely NOT an excuse for poor preaching. If we as preachers fail to do our job in the pulpit, it makes no difference what else we did well, we have failed in our primary responsibility. Pressures of the job are never an excuse for poor hermeneutics. Sometimes you have to let the good thing go so you can devote yourself to the best thing. But I can tell you from experience, when you deliever the Word of God with depth and accuracy and passion, week in and week out, the people will learn to accept that it takes much time and effort. Listen, I live every day in this world you have been theorizing about. You can devote the time and energy necessary to use good hermeneutics. But you have to make it a priority. I know an awful lot of small church pastors. And the two biggest problems I see that contribute to poor preaching are, 1. A faulty theology of preaching, or a failure to understand what preaching is really supposed to be; 2. An unwillingness to do the hard work necessary to produce in depth expositions. And a close third would probably be that many simply do not know the principles of good hermeneutics, in other words they don't really know how to study as they should.
Paul #30,
Praise God for your testimony.
It is for men like you I have a burden. I have several pastor friends who are in the same fight you are in and their responses I believe would all be very similar to yours. Devoted to His word and to its proclamation and disciplined in the work of the body.
I will pray for you as my experience with my brothers is that they are often overworked, underappreciated, tired, sometimes feeling all alone like Ezekiel, desiring more time with family and so on.
"You, however, must continue in the things you have learned and are confident about. You know who taught you and how from infancy you have known the holy writings, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:14-17
Thanks for the encouragement. I assure you at times I feel all of those things. I need to say, however, that I have friends who pastor larger churches. They are just as busy. The tasks pulling at them are just of a different sort. Good hermeneutics takes a commitment for any pastor. I thank God for men with a heart like yours.
Question? What's the purpose of an apple tree?
I appreciate what you are saying Paul. Unfortunately, the mindset of many parishioners is for a pastor to fill a perceived void in the church of waiting tables, so to speak. I'm not trivializing visiting the sick, or counseling people. But, many people simply see the pastor as an employee who gets paid to marry 'em, to bury 'em and to carry 'em. Hermeneutics - even proper hermeneutics mean little to these kind of people.
Even though the main responsibility of the pastor is the spiritual welfare of the flock, there are some sheep who don't see themselves as in need spiritually. This goes back to your second point. A lazy approach is rooted sometimes in a "what's the use" attitude that comes with having to deal with clicks and non spiritually minded people who have a voice in many churches. Pastors can't have an unrealistic view of their flock as only being wheat with no tares. Pastors will encounter opposition to the truth.
Faulty theology goes without saying as the root of poor hermeneutics. Having an improper view of God, or Christ, or sin will automatically skew ones view of grace, and love, and everything else spiritually discerned. Ultimately, the most important place faulty theology effects is in the area of what it really means to be a Christian. Addressing this issue and Biblically defining what it means to be a Christian is one thing Grace To You Ministries really focuses on, and I thank God for that.
Now , back to my question- what's the purpose of an apple tree? If your answer is to produce apples you are partially right. Ultimately, the purpose of an apple tree is to produce more apple trees. I know, to get the new apple tree you have to first make apples, but, the end goal must be more apple trees. Many pastors get so involved in the present and the varied pull of the "apples" they loose sight of what the real goal is. Building up the kingdom of God. Even while showing compassion to hurting people we can't forget the ultimate goal.
I like a teaching by Ray Comfort where a Doctor tells his young patent ,"I know that splinter you have hurts, son, but, you can see it. What you can't see is a hole you have in your neck that will kill you- I have to first work on the hole before I look at the splinter." Many in churches I've attended focus on their splinters and can't see the hole in their neck. They spend a lot of time trying to get the pastor to pull their splinter out. And unfortunately, many pastors think that's really what they were hired to do.
Ed (comment #33),
You fail to see my point. No pastor can blame his poor hermeneutics on his congregation, whether they be regenerate or not. Do you interpret the Bible differently based on the listeners? Absolutely not! I know without any real doubt that there are many unregenerate in my congregation. But, I do not let their expectations of me or what I should be doing influence my hermeneutics or commitment to a proper study of Scripture. The congregation's theology has absolutely nothing to do with the hermeneutics of the pastor, unless he allows it to influence him. I know all about opposition to the truth. I have much first hand experience. What proper hermeneutics means to ME is the primary issue, not what it means to the congregation. Any pastor who lets his congregation determine his hermeneutics needs to get out of the ministry. By the way, an apple tree has absolutely no conscious desire whatsoever to produce more apple trees. Producing more apple trees is the natural byproduct of a healthy apple tree doing what it is supposed to do, make alot of apples. I understand what you are saying about the mindset of many parishoners. I would agree that many are probably unregenerate. But my hermeneutics is a seperate issue. My hermeneutics are based on my convictions about the Bible, not my convictions about my listeners.
What's the purpose of an apple tree? So i can eat apples.
"Out of the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food" Genesis 2:9
Sorry Ed, that's what came to my mind. I love apples.
Well said Paul, but I was - in my own feeble way- agreeing with your post. I was simply making an observation not picking your post apart. I apologize if my poor communication skills have once again reared their ugly head. My post wasn't aimed at you, just to you.
The Bible speaks for itself when interpreted properly. And I agree, there is no excuse for poor hermeneutics whether it be verses taken out of context, or spiritualizing scripture, Christocentric interpretation or just plain lazy study habits. It's not that I missed the point, I was just pointing out that there are churches out there that won't stand for the truth. I have - and maybe you have too- seen preachers ran off because they wouldn't conform to the dictates of the congregation; that's unbelievably sad!! I would rather be ran off than stay and compromise the truth- and by your post, I believe you would too. The best some pastors can hope for is a Berean church, I was just pointing out that Thessalonican churches are still out there that simply won't stand for the truth. And my little apple tree analogy was just pointing out preachers and churches- not necessarily you or yours - who lose sight of the bigger picture and focus on the splinters instead of the real problems stunting their churches growth. No matter if they lose it by ignorance- their fault- or compromise - still their fault.
The apple analogy is intriguing in many ways. If God's infinite purpose is to have that seed get into the ground and produce another fruit producing tree. What means does He use? He makes the apple attractive and delicious to the animals that consume it. Then when consumed, well you get the rest.
Perhaps this is silly way to understand a little why some (I include myself, for I have erred also), jump in and display our fallen nature. The fruit of hermeneutics, in this case, just isn't sweet enough, thus candy apples. Put a sweet worldly coat around it and then people will really want those apples. Our foolish sinful minds think we can improve on what the Eternal King has said. It causes us to think that somehow we have made those sweet apples of hermeneutics, somehow now more than they were before we got involved.
Oh' the regret at the Bema seat for all that think somehow God needed a hand or didn't care about the apples at all.
To those that are without; the truth is a worm they find in their golden delicious. But, those that are within; the apple tastes like a granny smith in the mouth but goes down like apple pie.
Chuck, After my last post I thought about what you were saying and decided we are saying the same thing!
Q: Why do so few evangelicals today practice good hermeneutics?
A: Good hermeneutics shows that was most evangelicals are doing and teaching is not what Jesus taught.
Q: How do we get ourselves and our fellow evangelicals back on track?
A: Pray. 2 Timothy 2:7 says "Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.". Stop trying to understand the Bible withouth the Holy Spirit.
Praying for you this morning. Stay pure and hold the banner of the gospel high.
Why do so few evangelicals today practice good hermeneutics because sound biblical preaching will not make you popular. I am a young minister in the African American church tradition where they have bought into entertainment instead of edification. We no longer want "what's good" but rather "what sounds good". The fastest way to popularity in preaching circles among African Americans is how you say what you say regardless of its TRUTH! In this same circle there is a bad hermeneutic being used. It approaches the scripture with a mystical or less than literal view of the text never keeping in step with the surrounding verses or the book that it is contained in. I am often saddened at what I hear and see. I pray that God sends a modern day Great Awakening to force us to see that God is not some cosmic sugar daddy but rather The One and Only True God whom we should respect and worship through SOUND DOCTRINE. Please pray for me!
You are not alone, what you are witnessing is occurring in every culture all around the globe. In the Great Awakening George Whitefield warned his listeners "You must be born again". Charles Finney denied the necessity of the new birth. The Biblical teachings regarding the true marks of regeneration must be loudly proclaimed. MacArthur's series on the Beatitudes would be quite helpful. In appendix 3 of "Ashamed of the Gospel" we see a good example of what it is to not be ashamed of the gospel. Study to know and understand the doctrines of grace. For your own edification saturate your mind with the writings of the puritans and join in their pursuit of holiness. You can read or download some of their writings free of charge on the internet. I shall endeavor to keep your name before the Throne of Grace. Faithful and true is the One who has called us. "Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord." I Corinthians 15:58
Curious as to perspectives here as yesterday in Sunday School class the teacher did what he called, "Open Topic Sunday" which in the handout was what I'd call some pretty bad hermeneutics. This led others in the classroom to go off on tangents into more "out there biblical interpretations" one even denied grace in the old testament. At that point I objected somewhat but was slightly rebuffed back by the class leader and another classmate who had helped the class leader in preparing the handout. As I had recently studied this same passage in scripture I open my spiral notebook to my notes from six weeks ago (I use a 5 subject spiral for journaling my scripture study). My study method is read the passage in a couple versions a couple times, focus on key word usage using Strong's, research historical aspects, see what Dr. Mac has on the passage, look at Spurgeon, Campbell and Wiersbe's sermon series for commentary. Anyway the other classmate who basically put the handout together for the teacher now asked me to just read my word study and historical perspective notes which pretty much refuted the bad hermeneutics on the handout.
I live in the shadow of one of the largest seminaries in the SBC. The class has a rather large contingent from the seminary (students and staff); the handout was prepared by one. They live for "Open Topic" stuff. Twenty years ago when I first transferred here for my job with IBM and went to a local church I was asked by the current Youth Minister to take over as he had just graduated and was going home to another state back to his home church as an Associate Minister. While still being employed at IBM three years later the local folks (there is a line of separation between locals and the seminary whether anyone wants to admit it or not) in the church would come up to me and ask, "Bill, when are you graduating; i.e. moving on?" I'd usually just smile and say, "I'm actually a working stiff like you and have a job and don't go to the seminary." The availability of so many new students annually leaves the local churches a ready supply of folks to fill pulpits, associates and youth leaders position that the turnover in some of the smaller churches approachs what I'd call turnover in retail trade. It's almost like a sublime pyshco game is going on where the new students think God's going to use them to change this local small church and the old line church members know they can turn them out and call for a replacement as easy as just dialing a number.
One of my things is to ask newer students lately are these simple questions when first meeting them. "So you got the call?" 100% will respond with Yes. Then I ask, "since you've gotten here have you notice anyone else who got the call but it might be a wrong number and they just didn't know it?" 100% all respond, Yes!
What's the test for seminary students as to whether they belong there in the first place? The check clears in admission? Is bad hermeneutics a result of no accountability whether in leadership or laity?
This is true even here in my country. I heard many preachers preaching with bad hermeneutics. I don't really know what's the main reason. Maybe some due to laziness or maybe some of them graduated in Bible Colleges which lacks materials to prepare them properly for the vocation but all these resulted to shallow Bible interpretation and led to shallow Christianity due to the fact that even the gospel was not properly and clearly preached. Easy-believism and decisionism is rampant due to bad hermeneutics.
Many pastors are too busy leading their churches in the latest fad and in doing good deeds that in depth bible study is a very low priority. Rather they resort to quoting authors of books who promote the fads rather than teach from the Word. We have a person in our home bible study group who joined because his church (of 800)did not have a study he could go to. It's pretty sad.
or browse by Topic or


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Has anyone heard of or tried this American Oolong from washington?
NPE wrote:I have not had the chance to try out any American oolong but recently I have tried a sample of oolong from New Zealand - it turned out to be surprisingly refined in taste and very similar to a high mountain oolong from Taiwan. So I guess the chances for the American oolong can't be too bad... providing the people who grew and processed it knew what they were doing
bagua7 wrote:...kiwi oolong...
bagua7 wrote:Care to share here the kiwi oolong source? I live close so it looks appealing. Thanks.

subset: commoncrawl


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These Young Adult Novels Come With Back Stories: The Authors' Own
January 21, 2017
The visual field refers to the total area in which objects can be seen in the side (peripheral) vision while you focus your eyes on a central point.
Perimetry; Tangent screen exam; Automated perimetry exam; Goldmann visual field exam; Humphrey visual field exam
Confrontation visual field exam: This is a quick and basic check of the visual field. The health care provider sits directly in front of you. You will cover one eye, and stare straight ahead with the other. You will be asked to tell when you can see the examiner's hand.
Tangent screen or Goldmann field exam: You will sit about 3 feet from a screen with a target in the center. You will be asked to stare at the center object and let the examiner know when you can see an object that moves into your side vision. This exam creates a map of your entire peripheral vision.
Automated perimetry: You sit in front of a concave dome and stare at an object in the middle. You press a button when you see small flashes of light in your peripheral vision. Your responses help determine if you have a defect in your visual field.
No special preparation is necessary.
There is no discomfort with this test.
This eye exam will show whether you have a loss of vision anywhere in your visual field. The pattern of vision loss will help your doctor diagnose the cause.
The peripheral vision is normal.
Abnormal results may be due to diseases or central nervous system disorders, such as tumors that damage or press on (compress) the parts of the brain that deal with vision.
Other diseases that may affect the visual field of the eye include:
The test has no risks.
Your health care provider will discuss with you the type of visual field testing to be done.
American Academy of Ophthalmology Preferred Practice Patterns Committee. Preferred Practice Pattern Guidelines. Comprehensive Adult Medical Eye Evaluation. Available at http://one.aao.org/CE/PracticeGuidelines/PPP_Content.aspx?cid=64e9df91-dd10-4317-8142-6a87eee7f517. Accessed February 26, 2013.
Budenz DL. Visual field testing in glaucoma. In: Yanoff M, Duker JS, eds. Ophthalmology . 3rd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Mosby; 2008:chap 10.5.
Piltz-Seymour JR, Heath-Phillip O, Drance SM. Visual fields in glaucoma. In: Tasman W, Jaeger EA, eds. Duane's Ophthalmology . 2013 ed. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2012:vol 3, chap 49.
Skarf B, Glaser JS, Trick GL. Neuro-ophthalmologic examination: the visual sensory system. In: Tasman W, Jaeger EA, eds. Duane's Ophthalmology . 2013 ed. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2012:vol 2, chap 2.


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By JAMES PETTICAN
Published February 26, 2007
Restaurateurs should learn to think outside the box. The box I'm referring to is the one that too many of us carry home after dining out because portion size is out of control. One nearby Italian cuisine establishment has more people leaving with boxes than without them.
I always try to look for positives, of course, and must admit that there is one here: When leftovers are sufficiently ample, you do not have to cook the next day.
However, this situation puts our eateries at odds with Uncle Sam, who is doing his best to fight the war against obesity and, at this stage, apparently losing.
A solution comes to mind that is probably much too simple for our complex, multi-tasking world: Cut the portions in half and just maybe, prices could be adjusted in parallel.
When you "take home a memory," it really shouldn't be a calorie-laden candidate for tomorrow's microwaving.
Instead, let it be a gadget, an artwork or a travel souvenir.
Fast-food joints, ever mindful of customer relations, have made some moves in the war against obesity by putting salads on their menus and diet sodas in their drink dispensers. Some of their salads are fairly tasty and stand out among the clustered cholesterol found elsewhere on their menus. Take it easy on the salad dressing though.
I don't expect an epic shift in policies to come from my suggestion, but someone has to take the first step or raise the first fork.
Take-out now and then is a way to keep your wife or yourself out of the kitchen, but let's hope some daring entrepreneur will attempt to free us from boxes and high prices.
Retired journalist James Pettican lives in Palm Harbor.
[Last modified February 25, 2007, 21:49:30]
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iHerb Отзывы Покупателей
Экономия: ₽49.73 (скидка 7%)
a sweet solution for avoiding sugar
Отзыв оставлен Reviewer2772584 Jul 15, 2010
When I read that agave nectar is just as bad for you as high fructose corn syrup, I was delighted to find this alternative to use in place of honey, syrup or sugar. If only the price were not so high, I would use a lot more.
Nice taste for a good price
Отзыв оставлен kjernesunn-nordkvinne Apr 05, 2011
I like it, but will also try other brands.
Liked it, but...
Отзыв оставлен Reviewer3229124 Jun 10, 2011
...it doesn't get top score. I reacted especially to that the serving size was not measured in grams. This is unpractical as there are different sized tablespoons to be bought. I quite enjoyed the caramell-ish taste to it, though:)
A bit thin
Отзыв оставлен Reviewer1154704 Jun 10, 2011
This syrup is fine for baking and I like the molasses taste, but I won't buy it again because it takes more yacon syrup than honey in my power bars or granola to hold the ingredients together. Honey is much cheaper and I use so little of it that I really don't notice an effect on my blood sugar anyways.
Very nice!
Отзыв оставлен Reviewer1011896 Jul 14, 2011
I recommend this, it´s a good product.
Отзыв оставлен Reviewer2728813 Jul 25, 2011
Good product, ok taste. Not as yummi as agave,but much healthier.
Good taste
Отзыв оставлен Reviewer1146209 Sep 06, 2011
Haven't used this yet, just tasted it, but the taste is good! Not as thick as regular syrup, but tastier.
Karamell, mm..
Отзыв оставлен Reviewer2900408 Nov 23, 2011
Endelig en syrup jeg kan spise, som i tillegg smaker himmelsk!
Good sugar substitute with an unusual, pleasant flavor
Отзыв оставлен Reviewer1289814 Nov 25, 2007
I recently used this to replace the sugar in a muffin recipe. The result was a less sweet, slightly complex flavor. I find the flavor of this to be something of a cross between apples and molasses. I was a bit stingy with it in my first experiment, perhaps due to the price and inexperience! I will use it again, as I like the result, and appreciate the nutritional values this offers.
Great Product!
Отзыв оставлен Reviewer3021531 Jan 06, 2008
This is a interesting tasting sweetener which as the jar suggests is very similar to molasses. However trying to open the bloody thing proved to be a little difficult. Great product if you can not hurt your hands opening it!
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Continuing my coverage of the [IBM Storage Innovation Executive Summit], that occurred May 9 in New York City, this is my third in a series of blog posts on this event.
During lunch, people were able to take a look at our solutions. Here are Dan Thompson and Brett Cooper striking a pose.
- Hyper-Efficient Backup and Recovery
The afternoon was kicked off by Dr. Daniel Sabbah, IBM General Manager of Tivoli software. He started with some shocking statistics: 42 percent of small companies have experienced data loss, 32 percent have lost data forever. IBM has a solution that offers "Unified Recovery Management". This involves a combination of periodic backups, frequent snapshots, and remote mirroring.
IBM Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM) was introduced in 1993, and was the first backup software solution to support backup to disk storage pools. Today, TSM is now also part of Cloud Computing services, including IBM Information Protection Services. IBM announced today a new bundle called IBM Storwize Rapid Application Backup, which combines IBM Storwize V7000 midrange disk system, Tivoli FlashCopy Manager, implementation services, with a full three-year hardware and software warranty. This could be used, for example, to protect a Microsoft Exchange email system with 9000 mailboxes.
IBM also announced that its TS7600 ProtecTIER data deduplication solutions have been enhanced to support many-to-many bi-direction remote mirroring. Last year, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) reported that they were average 24x data deduplication factor in their environment using IBM ProtecTIER.
"You are out of your mind if you think you can live without tape!"
-- Dick Crosby, Director of System Administration, Estes
The new IBM TS1140 enterprise class tape drive process 2.3 TB per hour, and provides a density of 1.2 PB per square foot. The new 3599 tape media can hold 4TB of data uncompressed, which could hold up to 10TB at a 2.5x compression ratio.
The United States Golfers Association [USGA] uses IBM's backup cloud, which manages over 100PB of data from 750 locations across five continents.
- Customer Testimonial - Graybar
Randy Miller, Manager of Technical System Administration at Graybar, provided the next client testimonial. Graybar is an employee-owned company focused on supply-chain management, serving as a distributor for electical, lighting, security, power and cooling equipment.
Their problem was that they had 240 different locations, and expecting local staff to handle tape backups was not working out well. They centralized their backups to their main data center. In the event that a system fails in one of their many remote locations, they can rebuild a new machine at their main data center across high-speed LAN, and then ship overnight to the remote location. The result, the remote location has a system up and running by 10:30am, faster than they would have had from local staff trying to figure out how to recover from tape. In effect, Graybar had implemented a "private cloud" for backup in the 1990s, long before the concept was "cool" or "popular".
In 2001, they had an 18TB SAP ERP application data repository. To back this up, they took it down for 1 minute per day, six days a week, and 15 minutes down on Sundays. The result was less than 99.8 percent availability. To fix this, they switched to XIV, and use Snapshots that are non-disruptive and do not impact application performance.
Over 85 percent of the servers at Graybar are virtualized.
Their next challenge is Disaster Recovery. Currently, they have two datacenters, one in St. Louis and the other in Kansas City. However, in the aftermath of Japan's earthquakes, they realize there is a nuclear power plan between their two locations, so a single incident could impact both data centers. They are working with IBM, their trusted advisors, to investigate a three-site solution.
This week, May 15-22, I am in Auckland, New Zealand teaching IBM Storage Top Gun sales class. Next week, I will be in Sydney, Australia.
technorati tags: IBM, summit, NYC, Daniel Sabbah, TSM, Storwize, , TS7600, ProtecTIER, TS1140, tape, USGA, Graybar, Randy Miller, SAP, ERP, Disaster Recovery, New Zealand, Australia, Top Gun


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THE BEATLES made me buy a record player in the sixties, and my first CD's were Beatles CDs in the 80's....In 2003 The Beatles made me get a DVD player. While I'm waiting for ANTHOLOGY, I can enjoy the Ed Sullivan Shows. THEY'VE ARRIVED!!!!!!!
I strongly recommend this DVD set. I'm about halfway through the Beatles portions. Great stuff!


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Video from TotallyRobsten1
No One
Video from kathk9p
'Now That I've Found You'
Video from lizardliz100
Gaaah this dry spell's driving me nuts.....when can i see them both together again? I miss Rob and Kristen is that a sin?
Thank you guys at least this videos will do.....great one's too. Yuk now I really sounded like a moron.
Thanks for all the great videos you guys:)ReplyDelete
All those vidéos are amazing, I love them together.ReplyDelete
All those vidéos are amazing, I love them together.ReplyDelete
Promote what you love instead of bashing what you hate <3
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Pedestrian friendly in Gowanda
By MITCHELL G. CUMMINGS
Congratulations, not criticism, are in order for the village of Gowanda, Gowanda Central Schools and all other partners and participants of Gowanda's Healthy Community Alliance in the award of their grant of $650,00 in federal monies passed through the state Department of Transportation's Safe Routes to School Program.
Their combined efforts will result in village infrastructure improvements for pedestrians and bicyclists and the education of elementary students on how to safely navigate their village streets while walking or biking.
Here in Fredonia where I live, pedestrians and bicyclists seem not to warrant even a second thought – but are given virtually no thought whatsoever. Vehicles are allowed to park next to crosswalks, often hiding pedestrians from the view of oncoming drivers.
Tree branches and foliage are allowed to grow to the point where they obscure motorists' views of pedestrian crosswalk warning signs. In winter, curb-cuts at intersections and crosswalks go unshoveled, some piled high with snow for weeks at a time.
This is a problem for walkers, and devastating for those who use wheelchairs and scooters.
Paint lines designating bike lanes on Fredonia or Dunkirk city streets? You must be out of your mind – forget it. Install bike racks strategically throughout both their business districts? Why? There are plenty of trees and parking meters for locking up a bike.
As a pedestrian, bicyclist and motorist using the sidewalks and streets of Dunkirk and Fredonia, I am amazed at how little attention is given the needs and safety of pedestrians and bicyclists, especially when we are the home to thousands of college students for over three-quarters of the year.
As a professional driver of large commercial vehicles, I cannot tell you what a pleasure it is and how much safer for all concerned to drive on local roads that have been designed and are well marked for use by everyone, including pedestrians and bicyclists.
In my travels around our country I've noticed that municipalities that develop a "Complete Streets" approach also exhibit a greater vitality than those towns and cities that are negligent of the needs of all users of their transportation infrastructure.
Perhaps our citizens and political and civic leaders, including those at SUNY Fredonia and the OBSERVER should turn their eyes to our rural neighbors to the east to observe how progressive thinking and collaborative action combine to improve the quality of life in a community.
Bravo Gowanda!
Mitchell G. Cummings is a Fredonia resident.


text: Chicago Bulls forward Taj Gibson, left, reacts after he was ejected during the second half of Game 2 of their NBA basketball playoff series in the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Miami Heat, Wednesday, May 8, 2013, in Miami. Chicago's Marco Belinelli and Miami's Norris Cole (30) stand by. The Heat won 115-78.


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The English Lab is a quiet computer lab where all students, not only those enrolled in English classes, can do research and complete assignments. We are here to help you, so If you are unfamiliar with computers or feel uncomfortable using them, please come by; our friendly and patient staff will be more than happy to be of assistance.
When you arrive at the door, you will be asked to show your Glendale College ID or other picture ID so that we may check you in at the front desk. Only students currently enrolled at GCC may use the English Lab.
The Lab is equipped with PCs that have a standard installation of the following software:
The English lab located on the second floor in the Administration building in room AD 238. please click on the Hours and Location tab for hours.
We hope to see you soon.
Glendale Community College
is not responsible for the content of external sites. Thank you for visiting the
Glendale Community College


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Post-Marketing Surveillance of Prazaxa® on the Long-term Use in Patients With Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation
This study is ongoing, but not recruiting participants.
Boehringer Ingelheim
Information provided by (Responsible Party):
Boehringer Ingelheim
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
First received: December 12, 2011
Last updated: October 18, 2016
Last verified: October 2016
- Full Text View
- Tabular View
- No Study Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
No Study Results Posted on ClinicalTrials.gov for this Study
|Study Status:
|This study is ongoing, but not recruiting participants.
|Estimated Study Completion Date:
|November 2016
|Estimated Primary Completion Date:
|November 2016 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)


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Scottish Government Adopts the Ecological Footprint as a Performance Measure
The Scottish Government announced this November that it will use the Ecological Footprint as one of its performance measures as part of its innovative National Performance Framework. The Framework provides a unified vision and quantifiable benchmarks against which the government's priorities are measured.
One of Scottland's goals is to "... reduce the local and global environmental impact of our consumption and production "and to 'reduce carbon emissions by 80% by 2050'. The Local Footprints Project, a Global Footprint Network partner, has just issued a consumption based analysis of Scotland's Carbon Footprint, based on its 32 local authorities.
Scotland's Economic Strategy, also released in November, included similar messages: despite declining rates of growth, Scotland's greenhouse gas emissions remain above the EU15 average, and its Footprint at 5.4 global hectares per person is well above the global average of 1.8 gha. It also highlights the value of Ecological Footprint accounting to indicate the country's impact on the planet beyond just its carbon dioxide emissions.
These two documents represent a significant commitment by the Scottish Government to moving Scotland towards one planet lifestyles and reducing its environmental impact on the rest of the world.
Carbon Footprint, Footprint for Government, Our Partners' Work


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Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1
Calories 276
Total Fat 15 g
Saturated Fat 5 g
Sodium 423 mg
Total Carbohydrate 6 g
Dietary Fiber 2 g
Protein 30 g
Ingredients and Preparation
Ingredients Measures
Boneless pork loin chops (about 1 large chop) ½ pound
Salt ¼ teaspoon
Freshly ground pepper 1/8 teaspoon
Herbs de provence ½ teaspoon
Olive oil 2 teaspoons
Summer squash, sliced ½ medium
Zucchini, sliced ½ medium
Tomato, sliced 1 medium
Shredded part-skim mozzarella ¼ cup
- Preheat oven to 425˚F.
- Slice pork in half lengthwise and crosswise, so that you end up with 4 pieces from 1 chop. Season with the salt and pepper and then sprinkle with herbs de provence.
- Coat a baking dish with olive oil and then add the squash and zucchini. Turn to coat in the olive oil and then arrange into 4 single-layer groups at the bottom of the baking dish.
- Top each squash and zucchini group with a tomato and then pork. Sprinkle with mozzarella and then bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until pork is cooked through.


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Check out our hand picked perfectly paired matching items.
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This pants are so soft, and fit true to size! I wear a Women's dress size 8/10 (and am 5'7") and bought a Medium Regular Length in this pant. I plan to buy the Tall length in the future, so they'll look and feel better with my shoes of that have higher heels. These pants are mid-rise and are good for those of us who want to be modest in that area of the body. My only complain is that they attract dust, lint, hair, etc. like crazy. They do fine in my washer and dryer, but if I sit down on a fabric covered seat -they bceome covered in little fuzzies! Not pants I'll wear every day, for that reason, but otherwise, they're soft, and flattering.
i recently purchased a pair of healing hands purple lable taylor scrub pants and i must say i fell in love with the way it fits on my body...it sculpts to my shape and never wrincked even after washing. I'm hooked and will be buying more in all colors and tops in near future.


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Watch news on ED attaches Rs 51 Crore properties of Y.S. Jagan
Home » special » ED attaches Rs 51 crore properties of Y.S. Jagan
Special Posts
- RBI rules turn User-Unfriendly !
- Weekend Comment By RK on Current Politics – 21st Jan
- Ram Gopal Varma Sensational Comments on Jallikattu Approval
- Will AP politicians wake up with Jallikattu movement?
- Techie murdered wife for Posting personal issues on Social Networking sites | Red Alert


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RealPlayer International Web Sites
International Video Players
Love RealPlayer, but want to use it in a different language? No problem. RealPlayer is available around the world in a variety of languages. Each International site listed below is catered to that location. Visit any of the sites to download RealPlayer free, purchase RealPlayer Plus, or find out more information about other Real.com products. Just click on a site below to be taken to that country's RealPlayer website to learn more about RealPlayer products or to download the RealPlayer video player.
RealPlayer – English – US
RealPlayer – English – UK
RealPlayer – English – EU
RealPlayer – English – APAC
RealPlayer – Deutsch
RealPlayer – Español – Spain
RealPlayer – Español – Mexico
RealPlayer – Français
RealPlayer – Italiano
RealPlayer – Português Brasileiro
RealPlayer – 日本語
RealPlayer – 한국어
RealPlayer – 简体中文
RealPlayer – 繁体中文
Have friends in other countries that would like RealPlayer? Point them here so they can download a free version of a RealPlayer International video player in their preferred language. Regardless of the country, the RealPlayer features are the same including the ability to download videos from the web with just one click and share favorite videos with friends through social media sites.


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Community Notebook
Dunkirk High Pool announces new class: Deep Water Aquasize
The Dunkirk High School Pool will be offering a new class called Deep Water Aquasize. The class will be offered on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, running through June 18, from 7 to 8 p.m.
The class will be taught by Julie Sek and take place in the diving area of the pool with lap swimmers using the main pool area.
The cost for this program will be $4 per class or $50 for the entire session.
This is a low- to no-impact workout to strengthen and tone participants to their cores. It uses the resistance and buoyancy of the water to allow people to experience exercise without the impact of the ground.
For further information, contact Clinton Lewis at 366-9300 ext. 1003 and leave a message, or go to firstname.lastname@example.com.
Chicken and biscuit dinner fundraiser Wednesday
The Forestville Food Pan-try will host a chicken and biscuit dinner fundraiser Wednesday from 4 to 7 p.m. at the St. Rose of Lima Hall, 11 Center St., Forestville.
The menu will include chicken over biscuits, salad, vegetable, apple/cranberry sauce and dessert. Tickets are $8 for adults and $4 for children.
For more information or to reserve tickets call Pat Johnson at 934-2961, Ralph Silleman at 965-4228 or Pat Morelle at 965-2738.
Pet Adoption Day/Open House
The Lakeshore Humane Society will hold a Pet Adoption Day/Open House at its Adoption Center at 431 E. Chestnut St., Dunkirk on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.
Potential adopters are invited to come and meet some of the dogs and cats who need caring homes. Call 672-1991 or see www.lakeshorehumanesociety.org for more information.


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5 Escape Plans for When Your Frequent-Flier Miles Are Going Down
NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- What do you do if your frequent-flier miles are grounded when an airline has to cancel flights and curb employee rolls just to stay airborne?
American Airlines customers may be soon on the receiving end of such a lesson, and their experience will be a good case study on what all frequent-flier consumers should expect if it happens to them.
American announced this month that it is laying off up to 4,400 employees and cutting back on flights heading into the busy holiday season. The airline had already filed for bankruptcy protection late last year and followed that up with plans to cut back on employee rolls to save money on high labor costs. This could be a nightmare for those who like to collect and redeem AAdvantage miles.
Already, American flight cancellations are well above industry averages, with about 2.1% of all global flights grounded, compared with 0.4% for the rest of the industry, according to the website FlightAware.com.
That has American Airlines frequent-flier customers -- all 66 million of them -- wondering if the company will go under and asking what would happen if it does. It's a fair question, and one any frequent flier should get answers to if they find themselves in the same situation.
Here are five measures to take if your flier miles are in similar jeopardy:
Know the difference between Chapter 11 and Chapter 7: American is under Chapter 11 protection, meaning it is allowed to continue operating, and AAdvantage customers won't see any change in service or rewards from their frequent-flier miles. But if an airliner falls from Chapter 11 to actual liquidation under Chapter 7, expect big changes. In that scenario, frequent-flier customers would likely see their programs sold off to another big airline company to be rolled into the new airline's frequent-flier program with little change in service and their miles intact.
Go "all in": If you're still feeling antsy about your accumulated miles in the face of a liquidation, go ahead and use them up. By redeeming your fight miles you're guaranteed to gain the maximum amount of benefits of your program, and can start from scratch with another airline -- presumably one with a more solid financial foundation.
Opt for the "honor role": If you're in a "move on" mood over your miles, there are rare but sure ways to go ahead and transfer them to a more secure program. For example, there is a Hilton HHonors "points" program in which you can easily trade miles from selected partner airlines for points toward hotel stays as well as airline travel. The downside is that just few airlines participate in Hilton Honors. (American and many other airlines have a strict policy that you cannot transfer earned points balance elsewhere.) You can use your earned points to book travel with any airline that is a member of an alliance, though, so if you were planning to book an award ticket with American but fear flight delays or cancellations you can use AAdvantage miles to book with any of Americans' "oneworld" alliance partners. (You likely won't get a decent mile-to-mile exchange, though, losing some value in the points-based "exchange rate.")


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Fourth of July weekend will be an especially memorable one for Jimmy Kimmel.
Kimmel is set to marry his fiancée, Molly McNearny, the weekend immediately following the holiday, the New York Post's Page Six reports.
See more celebrity wedding news
Kimmel proposed to McNearny, who is a writer for Jimmy Kimmel Live, last August and the couple recently sent out their save-the-date cards, according to the Post. A rep for Kimmel would not comment on the report.
This will be the second trip down the aisle for Kimmel, who was married to Gina Kimmel from 1988 to 2002.
View original Report: Jimmy Kimmel Getting Married This July at TVGuide.com
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Jim Cramer: Revisiting the Clinton-Era Bull Market
First, that did happen. I don't want any Dow deniers out there, although there seem to be plenty of Clinton haters who would like to say that the rally didn't even occur.
Occur it did.
The discussion right now, though, of course, centers on what will happen to the stock market if you put through Clinton-era tax rates. Most Democrats say that not only did the rate increases not hurt the stock market but because the deficit went down and Treasury interest rates went down along with the deficit, the rate increases actually helped the stock market.
Most Republicans either want to ignore than analysis or say that the rally occurred because of the Internet explosion, and that that's what drove prices, not the Clinton-era tax increases. Others say that the rally occurred only because we had gridlock after a series of crucial victories in the House and Senate during the so-called Republican Revolution.
First, let me say, I lived through that era. It was when my hedge fund was ascendant, and I studied the bull endlessly. So I consider myself an astute examiner of the period. Second, I want to put things into context. Notice I didn't talk about the bull market in the Nasdaq. The Internet played a major role in that overheated index. You can easily put an asterisk on that performance. But you can't asterisk the industrials. Third, I know this is real heresy, but other than the bull market in bonds that ended up lowering both interest rates and the supply of bonds that sloshed around every day, I think Washington mattered much less than people in this politically charged era understand.
Back then, you didn't sit there every minute and obsess about Washington as we do now. Sure, you had a moment where Clinton bashed the drug companies. They got hammered, but they snapped back after some huge merger activity. You did get the peace dividend, but, again, that was minor when compared with the overall surge in earnings that came from globalization and the expansion of our companies overseas.
In fact, to me, the greatest thing about the bull market of the 1990s was how little Washington mattered at all. For all of the griping about the havoc that Democrats wreak on business, it was simply a benign time with a White House that was deeply wired to creating jobs and allowing the private sector to blossom.


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Course: Main Course, Sandwiches
Products: Slow Cookers
Recommended Hamilton Beach® Product: 5 quart Slow Cooker, 6 quart Slow Cooker
1. Place pork in crock. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over pork.
2. Cover. Cook on LOW 10 hours or HIGH 6 hours. Remove pork from crock and shred meat. Discard fat but do not discard the liquid/sauce.
3. Serve pork on sandwich buns, and spoon additional liquid/sauce on top as desired.
Serves: 18
TEST KITCHEN TIP: Dried (ground) ginger may be used in place of the fresh ginger. 1/8 teaspoon of ground ginger = about 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger.
This recipe developed by Hamilton Beach Brands, Inc.
Visit www.foodsafety.gov for more information on safe internal cooking temperatures.


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Stitt Family Scholarship to benefit JCC to SBU transfer students
ST. BONAVENTURE – Hoping to create incentive for talented students to remain in the region and pursue a four-year degree, Olean philanthropists Jim and Carol Stitt have committed $100,000 to create a new scholarship program for transfer students.
The scholarship money will be provided through the Stitts' family fund at the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation.
Through a unique partnership with the CRCF, Jamestown Community College and St. Bonaventure University, the Stitt family intends to recommend grants of up to $10,000 per year for the next 10 years from their foundation fund to St. Bonaventure for the university to award to promising students who hold an associate degree from the Olean campus of JCC and are continuing for a four-year degree at St. Bonaventure.
"Carol and I are proud of the educational opportunities available right here in Olean," said Jim Stitt, chairman and CEO of CUTCO Corp, and a trustee at St. Bonaventure. "JCC and St. Bonaventure are vital to our region and serve as springboards to thousands of rewarding careers. Our family wanted to help make it more affordable for students interested in building on the foundation of an associate degree and pursuing a four-year degree, all while staying close to home."
The Stitts have a long history of giving back to the community. They actively support various charities in the area through the Stitt Family Fund at CRCF, where Carol Stitt serves as president of the board and was executive director for nearly a decade.
John Sayegh, vice president and dean of JCC's Cattaraugus County campus, said the Stitt Family Fund's gift is "a great educational opportunity for our students. More importantly, this program will strengthen the cooperation and collaboration that exist between our institutions and the Community Foundation."
The inaugural scholarship – which St. Bonaventure has named the Stitt Family Scholarship in honor of the Stitt family's generosity – will be awarded this fall. Candidates must be first-time students at St. Bonaventure and have completed an associate degree at Olean's JCC campus. Awards will be made on academic merit and financial need.
"This is the first scholarship of its kind at St. Bonaventure," said Sr. Margaret Carney, O.S.F., S.T.D., president of St. Bonaventure. "We are thrilled by the Stitts' extraordinary generosity. This scholarship will provide support for students who follow one of the many articulation agreements St. Bonaventure University has with Jamestown Community College. Transferring from JCC to SBU has been improved by these agreements and now is even more attractive for students who require financial aid, a critical component of the transfer process."
Stitt is an active member of the Olean community including past board of trustee member at Jamestown Community College, past director at the Cattaraugus County IDA and First Tier Bank & Trust and past board member at Olean General Hospital. He is a board member of the Challenger Learning Center in Olean. Nationally, he is past chairman of the Direct Selling Education Foundation and past director of the Direct Selling Association
In addition to her service at CRCF, Carol Stitt is a trustee for St. John's Church. In the past, she was a trustee for the Olean YMCA, and a board of directors member of the Olean YMCA, the Rehabilitation Center Foundation, Olean Area Camp Fire Girls and Boys, the Randolph Children's Home and the Community Schools.
The Stitt's sons, James M. Stitt, president of CUTCO Cutlery Corp., and John F. Stitt, president and chief marketing officer of KA-BAR Knives, Inc., are both graduates of St. Bonaventure and remain engaged in university enrichment. John serves as a lecturer for marketing classes at St. Bonaventure. James is a former CRCF board member and a current member of the Foundation's board development committee.
For more information about the transfer scholarship at St. Bonaventure, interested persons can contact Kate Dillon Hogan, associate vice president for Enrollment, at 375-2128 or via e-mail at email@example.com.


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Storage Networking is part of the IBM System Storage team. There were several break-out sessions on the third day at the [IBM System Storage Technical University 2011] related to storage networking.
- SAN Best Practices
I always try to catch a session from Jim Blue, who works in our "SAN Central" center of competency team. This session was a long list of useful hints and tips, based on his many years of experience helping clients.
- SAN Zoning works by inclusion, limiting the impact of failing devices. The best approach is to zone by individual initiator port. The default policy for your SAN zoning should be "deny".
- Ports should be named to identify who, what, where and how.
- While many people know not to mix both disk and tape devices on the same HBA, Jim also recommends not mixing dissimilar disks, test and production, FCP and FICON.
- The sweet spot is FOUR paths. Too many paths can impact performance.
- When making changes to redundant fabrics, make changes to the first fabric, then allow sufficient time before making the same changes to the other fabric.
- Use software tools like Tivoli Storage Productivity Center (Standard Edition) to validate all changes to your SAN fabric.
- Do not mix 62.5 and 50.0 micron technology.
- Use port caps to disable inactive ports. In one amusing anecdote, he mention that an uncovered port was hit by sunlight every day, sending error messages that took a while to figure out.
- Save your SAN configuration to non-SAN storage for backup
- Consider firmware about two months old to be stable
- Rule of thumb for estimating IOPS: 75-100 IOPS per 7200 RPM drive, 120-150 IOPS per 10K RPM drive, and 150-200 IOPS per 15K RPM drive.
- Decide whether your shop is just-in-time or just-in-case provisioning. Just-in-time gets additional capacity on demand as needed, and just-in-case over-provisions to avoid scrambling last minute.
- Avoid oversubscribing your inter-switch links (ISL). Aim for around 7:1 to 10:1 ratio.
- Don't go cheap on bandwidth between sites for long-distance replication
- Next Generation Network Fabrics - Strategy and Innovations
Mike Easterly, IBM Director of Global Field Marketing, presented IBM System Networking strategy, in light of IBM's recent acquisition of Blade Network Technologies (BNT). BNT is used in 350 of the Fortune 500 companies, and is ranked #2 behind Cisco in sales of non-core Ethernet switches (based on number of units sold).
Based on a recent survey, companies are upgrading their Ethernet networks for a variety of reasons:
- 56 percent for Live Partition Mobility and VMware Vmotion
- 45 percent for integrated compute stacks, like IBM CloudBurst
- 43 percent for private, public and hybrid cloud computing deployments
- 40 percent for network convergences
Many companies adopt a three-level approach, with core directors, distribution switches, and then access switches at the edge that connect servers and storage devices. IBM's BNT allows you to flatten the network to lower latency by collapsing the access and distribution levels into one.
IBM's strategy is to focus on BNT for the access/distribution level, and to continue its strategic partnerships for the core level.
IBM BNT provides better price/performance and lower energy consumption. To help with hot-aisle/cold-aisle rack deployments, IBM BNT provides both F and R models. F models have ports on the front, and R models have ports in the rear.
IBM BNT supports virtual fabric and HW-offload iSCSI traffic, and future-enabled for FCoE. Support for TRILL (transparent interconnect of lots of links) and OpenFlow will be implemented through software updates to the switches.
While Cisco Nexus 1000v is focused on VMware Enterprise Plus, IBM BNT's VMready works with VMware, Hyper-V, Linux KVM, XEN, OracleVM, and PowerVM. This allows single pane of management of VMready and ESX vSwitches.
In preparation for Converged Enhanced Ethernet (CEE), IBM BNT will provide full 40GbE support sometime next year, and offer switches that support 100GbE uplinks. IBM offers extended length cables, including passive SFP+ DAC at 8.5 meters, and 10Gbase-T Cat7 cables up to 100 meters.
- Inter-datacenter Workload Mobility with VMware vSphere and SAN Volume Controller (SVC)
This session was co-presented between Bill Wiegand, IBM Advanced Technical Services, and Rawley Burbridge, IBM VMware and midrange storage consultant. IBM is the leader in storage virtualization product (SVC), and is the leading reseller of VMware.
Like MetroCluster on IBM N series, or EMC's VPLEX Metro, the IBM SAN Volume Controller can support a stretched cluster across distance that allows virtual machines to move seamlessly from one datacenter to another. This is a feature IBM introduced with SVC 5.1 back in 2009. This can be used for PowerVM Live Partition Mobility, VMware vMotion, and Hyper-V Quick Migration.
SVC stretched cluster can help with both Disaster Avoidance and Disaster Recovery. For Disaster Avoidance, in anticipation of an outage, VMs can be moved to the secondary datacenter. For Disaster Recover, additional automation, such as VMware High Availability (HA) is needed to restart the VMs at the secondary datacenter.
IBM stretched cluster is further improved with a feature called Volume Mirroring (formerly vDisk Mirroring) which creates two physical copies of one logical volume. To the VMware ESX hosts, there is only one volume, regardless of which datacenter it is in. The two physical copies can be on any kind of managed disk, as there is no requirement or dependency of copy services on the back-end storage arrays.
Another recent improvement is the idea of spreading the three quorum disks to three different locations or "failure domains". One in each data center, and a third one in a separate building, somewhere in between the other two, perhaps.
Of course, there are regional disasters that could affect both datacenters. For this reason, SVC stretched cluster volumes can be replicated to a third location up to 8000 km away. This can be done with any back-end disk arrays, as again there is not requirement for copy services from the managed devices. SVC takes care of it all.
Networking is going to be very important for a variety of transformational projects going forward in the next five years.
technorati tags: IBM, SAN, FCP, FICON, BNT, VMready, TRILL, OpenFlow, SVC, iSCSI, FCoE, CEE, VMware, ESX, vMotion, VPLEX, MetroCluster, PowerVM,


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""Flying is like good music. It elevates the spirit and it's an exhilarating freedom. I love the machines, I love the aviation community. I used to own airplanes and have pilots flying them for me, but I finally realized they were having more fun than I was." —actor and pilot Harrison Ford, in the Daily Mail (UK) "
One Honkin' Big Brown
A little after 10 p.m. one night last March, I was hosing down my waders outside the drying room at Terra del Fuego's elegant Maria Behety Lodge when Brian Yamamoto came rolling in. Yamamoto, a dentist from Fairbanks, carried his 15-foot Snowbee spey rod and sported a smile as wide as the Argentine pampas.
Our little fishing party had just reeled in for the last time during our week on the Rio Grande-a medium-sized, shallow, gravelly river flowing off the Chilean Andes and snaking across the two-million-acre, century-old Menendez family sheep ranch. We were about as far south as you can get before greeting blue ice and penguins.
"There's a new king!" announced Michael Kendrick, a retired neurosurgeon from Bend, Ore., and the dentist's fishing partner. "Nobody tops this."
We gathered around Brian's digital camera as he scrolled through pictures of what looked like a chinook salmon. Only it wasn't-it was a brown trout.
"What did it weigh?" we blurted out in unison.
"We're not sure," said the Alaskan, who has caught more than 400 king salmon and knows big fish. "Jorge said 28. But it bottomed out the Boga-Grip [scale]. I think it was over 30."
"Hell, yeah," Michael added. "Way over."
All week the wind had howled. When we set out to our respective beats this afternoon, conditions were startlingly calm. It seemed like a different river. Gone were the whitecaps. Yamamoto and Kendrick had drawn Maxi's Pool. Brian began working his way downstream with a Woolly Bugger fished on a 15-foot type-3 sink-tip on his 750 Rio Skagit line. Right away, he hooked and released an eight-pounder. But his fly kept picking up weeds and hanging on the bottom, so he clipped the Woolly Bugger and tied a size 4 Muddler Minnow to his 16-pound fluorocarbon tippet. That did the trick-it floated up from the bottom just enough to keep most of the swings clean.
About 7 p.m., Brian cast across the pool to the opposite bank. He gave his line a good mend upstream, jiggling the Muddler as it moved off the shallow shelf and into the seam. The fly stopped. He felt five or six jolting head shakes. The thick sea trout streaked away and came crashing out of the water four times, its tail alone dipped in the water.
Brian kept steady side pressure on the monster. The fish moved up the pool about 15 yards and paused there before taking off downstream to the bottom third of the run. Brian and his net-toting guide, Jorge Castro, ran down the bank to catch up with the fish and get perpendicular to it, all the while spouting instructions and exclamations. As the backing was on the reel and Yamamoto started gaining fly line, Castro yelled, "Don't let him get to the next pool or we'll never get him in!" Constant pressure forced the trout to move upstream. It jumped three more times on a short run, and then Brian worked it close in and moved it into some frog water at the bottom of the pool. Twenty minutes after the fight began, it was over. The spotted bronze fish lay thrashing in the net.
The guide kneeled beside the huge trout, pulled out his vinyl tape and stretched it from snout to caudal. "Forty-six inches," he proclaimed. Then he stretched it around the fish's belly: "25."
So what did it weigh? Since it was too heavy for the scale, Brian got an answer a week later from Sarah O'Neal, a fishery biologist at the University of Montana's Flathead Lake Biological Station. Applying a formula that calculates weight with 95 percent accuracy based on length and girth, she determined that the fish weighed between 38.5 and 44.5 pounds.
Whatever the exact figure, it was clearly the largest sea-run brown caught in the splendid Rio Grande since an English meat-packing refrigeration engineer planted the first bucket of fry in the river during the 1930s. It bests a fish weighing 35 pounds two ounces that was beached almost exactly a decade earlier, in March 1998. It's also likely the largest brown trout ever caught on a fly, anywhere.
Rio Grande, Argentina, which has a 6,561-foot paved runway
December through March
The Fly Shop, www.theflyshop.com, (800) 669-3474
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