THE MIND ALIVE
Reading can stimulate growth, but only if we find the time, the right material, and a way to remember it.
Earl Palmer
October 1, 1988
Adapted by permission of InterVarsity Press from The 24-Hour Christian, c 1987 by Earl Palmer
I remember my senior-class dinner at Princeton Seminary. The speaker was George Buttrick, pastor of Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City. He challenged our class of future pastors in two directions.
First, he urged us to be with the people, to be listeners in the marketplace in order to understand what people are thinking and feeling. His second counsel seemed to contradict the first: "When you are at Coney Island, don't tell the people of the concessions on the boardwalk, about which they know; tell them of the mystery of the sea, about which they do not know."
He went on: "Don't read only what your people are reading. Read what your people are not reading."
Buttrick was impressing upon us the importance of having a mind that is alive. As well as: being physically well and spiritually committed, we need to be intellectually growing if we're to be effective Christians in the world. We need to learn the mystery of the sea if we're to explain that mystery to others or understand it ourselves.
There are various ways to keep our minds alive, but I think Buttrick was right to emphasize reading. The desire to read raises three questions, however. First, how can I find time to read about the mystery of the sea when I have so many important responsibilities among the concessions? Second, when I've found the time, what should I read? Third, if I do read, how do I remember what I read? Let me reflect on my experiences with these three problems.
The Gift of Time
Each of us has been given the gift of time and the privilege of organizing it. None of us has more time than any other.
This gift has its snares, of course, especially to ...
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