Worthy Things Said in Passing.
OBTR takes its name from the legal phrase obiter dictum, meaning “something said in passing.”
In a court case, an obiter dictum is a statement or observation made by a judge that is not necessary to decide the case. It may not be the main point of the decision, but it can still be worth considering.
That idea sits at the heart of OBTR.
Not everything worth saying is the main point. Some of the things that stay with us come in the middle of an ordinary conversation, a book we are reading, a case we are studying, a sermon we hear, a problem we encounter, or a lesson we never expected to learn.
OBTR is a place for those things.
A personal journal of things worth considering
OBTR is written by a follower of Christ and a law student who is still learning, asking questions, and trying to make sense of the things encountered along the way.
The subjects are varied because life is varied. Faith, law, work, family, leadership, and ordinary experiences often intersect in ways we don’t expect.
Faith provides the foundation. The study of law provides another lens through which questions of justice, authority, responsibility, and human nature can be examined. Life provides the experiences. Writing provides an opportunity to slow down, think carefully, and put some of those thoughts into words.
This is not a place where the author claims to have figured everything out.
It is an invitation to think.
What you’ll find here
OBTR is a personal journal of thoughts, observations, questions, and lessons about faith, law, life, and leadership.
Some pieces begin with Scripture. Others begin with a Supreme Court decision, something that happened at work, a conversation with family, a leadership experience, or simply something encountered along the way.
The subjects may change, but the purpose remains the same: to stop, think, and consider what might be worth carrying forward.
Faith
Faith is not simply one subject among many. As a follower of Christ, it is part of the foundation from which the world is understood.
Here you’ll find reflections on God, Scripture, theology, discipleship, the church, the Christian life, and the Gospel. Some will explore questions of doctrine and others the ordinary ways faith shapes how we live.
The hope is not simply to learn more about Christianity, but to see more clearly who God is, what He has done in Christ, and how that truth should shape our lives.
Law
The study of law raises questions that reach far beyond statutes and cases.
Law makes us think about justice, authority, responsibility, human nature, rights, order, and what makes a society good. OBTR will explore legal concepts, jurisprudence, legal philosophy, Supreme Court decisions, and lessons from the study of law.
The goal is to make these ideas understandable without making them shallow.
Life
Some of the best lessons come from ordinary life.
Growing older. Making mistakes. Working hard. Waiting. Losing. Winning. Raising a family. Changing direction. Learning to be content.
Life rarely gives us lessons in neat chapters. Sometimes we only understand what something meant after we have lived through it.
OBTR makes room for those reflections too.
Leadership
Leadership is often reduced to position, influence, or achievement. But leadership is also about responsibility, character, service, decision-making, and the kind of person we become while leading others.
OBTR explores leadership in the workplace, the church, organizations, teams, family, and even the difficult work of leading ourselves.
Not the final word
You will find essays, reflections, explanations, observations, and sometimes questions that do not have easy answers.
Some pieces may explain a legal principle. Others may explore a theological idea, reflect on leadership, or simply tell a story and ask what it might teach us.
The writing will not always have the same subject, but it will try to have the same character:
Thoughtful. Honest. Useful. Grounded.
OBTR is not intended to be a place where every question receives a definitive answer. It is a place to think carefully, distinguish what we know from what we assume, ask better questions, and learn from Scripture, law, experience, history, and one another.
And sometimes, it is simply a place to pause long enough to notice something we might otherwise have missed.
Something worth taking with you
I hope OBTR gives you something worth carrying with you.
Perhaps a better understanding of a legal principle. Perhaps a fresh way of looking at a familiar passage of Scripture. Perhaps a leadership lesson that changes how you approach your work. Perhaps a reminder about something important that ordinary life had caused you to overlook.
Or perhaps just a thought that stays with you for the rest of the day.
You don’t have to agree with everything written here. Thoughtful disagreement can be useful. The goal is not to have the last word.
The goal is to say something worth considering.
Worthy things said in passing
There is already a lot being said in the world.
OBTR isn’t trying to add more noise.
It is simply an attempt to notice a few things worth saying, examine them carefully, and put them into words.
Some may be important. Some may be ordinary. Some may be things the author is still trying to understand.
But if something said in passing makes us stop, think, learn, or see something differently, perhaps it was worth saying after all.
Welcome to OBTR.
Faith · Law · Life · Leadership
Worthy Things Said in Passing.
Photo by Dmitriy Khanzhin on Unsplash.
