Retired Southwest Texas pastor
releases 4th book during August

A retired Southwest Texas Conference clergy member had his
fourth book published this month.
Something to Think About is by the Rev. George Ricker,
pastor emeritus of University UMC, Austin.
The book, designed for personal reflection or class discussion, includes 25 chapters on various topics. Each chapter has discussion questions at the end to stimulate thought.
“Ricker’s treatment of each topic in this volume is a refreshing harmony of pastoral care, serious intellectual wrestling, respectful acknowledgment of differing perspectives and a gentle encouragement to embrace new understandings,” said retired Bishop Dan Solomon, bishop in residence at UM-related McMurry University, Abilene.
“The reader will not always agree with Ricker. That is not the point. However, the reader will be pressed and stressed in ‘thinking.’ That is the point.”
Bishop Joe Wilson, bishop in residence at UM-related Southwestern University, Georgetown, said, “George Ricker has found a way to examine life with penetrating insights.
“This splendid book offers the reader an alternative to the life definitions that flood the marketplace with biblical fundamentalism. His penetrating and probing examinations give the reader hope, as old explanations are replaced with new inspiring insights and discoveries about a loving and grace-filled God.”
Betty Sue Flowers, director of Lyndon B. Johnson Library and Museum at the University of Texas, Austin, said, “One of the charms of this book is that it presents ideas in short segments, ‘as things
to think about,’ rather than tortured theological arguments. ...
“(He) combines a humility of presentation with the authority of a seasoned traveler who offers us not hypothetical answers but the fruits of his own experience.”
Priced at $22.95, the 300-page volume is available on amazon.com, some local bookstores and from Ricker (gmricker@yahoo.com). He said he would give clergy members a 20 percent discount.
Previous books by Ricker are The Faith Once Given, What You Don’t Have to Believe to be a Christian and A New Look at the Old Commandments.
Ricker, 84, began his ministry in the Southwest Texas Conference in 1949. He served congregations in Austin, Bertram, Columbus, Corpus Christi, Edinburg, Fredericksburg and San Angelo. He was superintendent of the San Angelo District for one year and a campus minister in San Marcos for five years. He retired from active ministry in 1991.