Ex Libris: Reflections and Confessions of a Compulsive Reader (Part II)
Photo by Heather
Continued from Part I
I read to become an expert in an area that is not focused on my teaching ministry. I doubt if there is another New Testament professor who has read all of the lyrics penned by Bob Dylan or the biographies and critical analyses of his poetry. (Check out Stephen H. Webb’s excellent study, Dylan Redeemed: From Highway 61 to Saved
I read big and small . . . I do not know how many times I have read Parker Palmer’s small jewel, Let Your Life Speak
I read personally and professionally. Years ago when I became a professor, I made a commitment that I would never, ever, God-willing and health-permitting, allow myself to become stale, to stop reading. I have seen that happen to many professors and preachers and others. Even when I read in an area where I have read tens of thousands of pages, and even when perhaps 80% of it I already know, there is still that 20% and there are still new ways that I can learn how to present the material that I have taught countless times.
Yet I must not neglect this truth: I read for fun, for the sheer pleasure of escaping into another era, another place, another world (sometimes not of this world). I read not for seminary lecture or for sermon preparation but to be moved, to cry, to cheer, to learn an area, to giggle. . .
I read deeply and lightly. I have learned to read at least one to two incredibly difficult books a year. But I also read Garrison Keillor
I read locally and globally. I read books (including commentaries and other theological writings) by people not from my heritage or country. I read novels by Eastern Europeans. I read books recommended in top ten lists.
I do not do speed reading. I usually read slowly. But the more I have read, the faster I have been able to read. Contradictory, you say? It isn’t to me.
I love the thrill of reading . . . of buying a new book, going to used bookstores and bookstores selling new books. . . . It is like the first day of grade school–the new pencils, the pad of paper, a ruler, a compass (What is that you ask? Watch the History Channel sometime!), erasers . . . To crack open a box of crayons and then pour them out and marvel at all of the colors. . . . I love the adventure of entering a bookstore to visit my favorite sections–biography, new novels, music, poetry, westerns, short stories, photography . . . I love to ask people "What have you been reading lately?" and jot down their responses on a napkin or a slip of paper or on my Pocket PC. . . . I love the chase . . . the escape . . .
Some final thoughts . . . I read because the Truth and truths set me free. . . . I read because I cannot do anything less. . . . I cannot not read. I read because then I live and preach and teach and equip others out of the overflow. I cannot begin to recount the times when preaching or teaching or in a conversation or in writing a chapter or an article, something I have read pops into my mind and I make use of it.
I read because we must be a people of books, especially of The Book. My mother wrote in my first preaching Bible the following words:
My Dear Son, It is my prayer that you will always follow the teachings of this book. May it always remind you that through the years he is the greatest and the most educated person who ever lived, and yet his teachings were simple enough that everyone could understand them. My son, use your wisdom to win others to him. May God grant you the power to continue to serve him all your life. An education is very important but most important is the education of others for Christ. Let your education be a tool for Christ and not a tool for man. December 26, 1969
In the midst of reading millions of words and pages, I must remember this:
Woe am I if I know the words without knowing the Word.
For more on Dr. Lowery’s reading habits, see the previously-posted Reflections on My Bible Reading Habits.
Tags: books, reading, recommendations