An Elder MUST Teach by Mike Ramey

 

THE RETURN OF THE GREY HEADS
The glory of young men is their strength: and the beauty of old men is the grey head.

Crises rise and fall, coming into range fast--and disappearing just as fast. Music may change. Fashions may change. Waistlines and hair colors will change. But, the truth…that will never change. One other thing that will never change…a young person without guidance from an older person won’t make it very far in ANY society.

It has been quite interesting to have such a blessed career as a syndicated columnist. As a columnist, you get the opportunity to regularly survey the landscape and watch the seasons change. You observe the social strata and the people that make up society in the present. And, just when your readership thinks that there you have no new frontiers to write columns about, another ‘jack’ jumps out of the box.

A recent article declared that Millennials had ‘discovered’ that the music of the past--meaning back from the seventies, eighties and nineties--had more meaning than the current music of our tech-dominated age. That got an eye blink from me. It got me to remember when I was a school teacher and several of my students who were in the school jazz band ‘discovered’ old artists like Herbie Hancock. It only cost me a few jazz CDS to pass on a different kind of education--love of music from one generation to the next. My students were appreciative (and I know that their music teacher was glad that they could hear what REAL music sounded like).

IF I may get biblical for a moment, the older members of a society can NOT spend their time running away from the youth of their day. In the days when Jesus Christ walked the earth in the flesh, the hallmark of Hebrew society was that older members of society TAUGHT until they died. The same is true in Oriental society, African society, and Middle Eastern society. Elders MUST not sleep, but MUST teach! THIS is why--in those cultures, among others--old folks are held in such high regard. The wisdom that comes with a grey head is not to be laughed at, but to be sought out.

Elders must TEACH the generation to come; what IS going to come their way. From ‘good religion’ to facing difficulties in life. Someone took the time to teach us! We have a duty to pass it on. If you don’t have kids, or have lost your kids through death, suicide, divorce, an unforgiving spat, or distance, there are other young people at the end of your block from another family who need what you have.

This series of columns is dedicated to get some of us grey heads ready to TEACH by helping us to remember what we have learned by the grace of God, and the passage of time. An old lion can still find his way to the watering hole…or a front porch.

Ramey, a Minister, syndicated columnist and book reviewer is the author of “An Elder Must Teach” and lives in Indianapolis, Indiana. To correspond, drop him an email at manhoodline@yahoo.com. © 2019, 2020 Barnstorm Communications.

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Rev. M. G. “Mike” Ramey (Retired) served as the Certified Modern Street Gangs Specialist & Media Consultant of “The Gang Line”. He had been interviewed in the U. S. and abroad on radio, television, and Internet about the dangers of Modern Street Gangs since 2007. His writings on Modern Street Gangs abound in print and online. Previously, he served as an award-winning broadcast journalist, producer, and TV/Radio talk show host. He has also served as a staff writer, section editor, and syndicated columnist. Ramey has won—or helped to win—some two dozen journalism awards and citations. He also holds a Police Citation for Citizen Bravery from the Indianapolis Police Department (1986). Ramey is also married, an Ordained Minister (Retired) and a KJV Bible Teacher.

Ramey is a Certified Modern Street Gangs Specialist with Certifications in Law Enforcement (2006), Non-Law Enforcement (2010), and Gangs & Cults Ministry (2017). He also has endorsements in K-12 Gang Issues and Transnational Gangs. He also carries Specialist Ratings in Cult/Occult Crime, and Transnational Human Trafficking. Ramey has also served with several International anti-gang ministries, including Gangstyle.com of Washington state (2004-2009), Thug Exposed Ministries of California (2010 to 2015) and Bishop Outreach Ministries of Florida (2010 to 2015).

In 2011 “The Gang Line” offered training and certification coursework for those interested in becoming certified Modern Street Gang Specialists: Training approaches the anti-gang ministry field through the combined use of spiritual (biblical principles/discipleship) and criminal (gang members and gang crime). From 2015-2017, Ramey served as an Advisory Board Member for the School of Criminal Justice at Harrison College, Indianapolis, Indiana, with a specialty of Organized Crime & Gangs. From 2017-2019, Ramey served as a Bible Teacher to at-risk detained juvenile offenders at the Marion County Juvenile Detention Center with his own Bible-based Curriculum centering upon Biblical Life Skills taught from the Book of Proverbs.

Rev. Ramey’s skill set includes having been a veteran substitute teacher (Secondary Education), a college instructor for two Bible colleges in the Indianapolis, Indiana area, a Probation Officer (Intensive/High Risk & School-Based) with the Marion County Juvenile Court, and a peer grant reviewer of anti-gang grant programs with the U.S. Department of Justice (2010). He also created, designed, and taught the course “Modern Street Gangs: Developing Urban Ministry Strategies—UM-190” at Crossroads Bible College, Indianapolis, Indiana (2009 & 2010). In 2013, Ramey served as a post-production Consultant for Chick Publications’ national anti-gang comic: “Black Angel”. It was translated into Spanish in 2014.

Ramey has written extensively on the topic of Modern Street Gangs with two Internet columns: “The Gang Line” and “The Gang Line Blogger” which abound in cyberspace. In a post-pandemic society, the motto of The Gang Line still rings true: “Spiritual Solutions for Spiritual Problems!”

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