Taking every thought captive for obedience to Christ (2 Corinthians 10.5)

Disciplines
Reading
Amy Hungerford explains the challenge teachers of literature face, feeling as though they have to read everything in their field (“On Not Reading,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, September 11, 2016). Those who teach literature are simply bombarded by too much to be able to read everything. Every year some 50,000 new novels roll off the presses, adding to the already crowded space of novels from previous centuries demanding not to be ignored.

But Amy Hungerford insists that readers shouldn’t try to keep up with everything, whether things old and venerated or things new and untested. This is difficult for those in her profession, because teachers of literature are expected to be current on all the best books. But this is simply not possible, and therefore shouldn’t be desirable.

At the same time, choosing not to read certain works of literature shouldn’t mean that we stop reading altogether. That may be obvious for teachers of literature. They have to do the best they can to decide what they should read in the time they have allotted for reading. So they peruse magazines, study book reviews, and talk to book retailers to get ideas. But this means that someone else is deciding for you which are the most important books.

Amy Hungerford argues that we should refuse to read certain books on principle. That is, “One must decide, without reading a work, whether it is worth the time to read it or not. And a decision not to read must be defended, and received.” She believes readers should make such decisions not on the basis of market demands, but according to the mission of the university and of scholarship in general. This is to “pursue knowledge under conditions not entirely driven by the market and their culture’s prevailing norms.”

In other words, Amy Hungerford calls on scholars to think for themselves, to understand their own callings, burdens, and preferences – in the light of the quest for knowledge – with such clarity and conviction, that they can explain their own reading preferences in a way that contributes to the progress of knowledge.

This is good advice, and it applies directly to our calling to the Kingdom and glory of God, and to the Personal Mission Field which has been assigned to each one of us.

None of us can read everything, especially not everything that comes at us from the Internet each day. But we can’t not read. Christians must be informed if we are to know how to serve the Lord faithfully (1 Chron. 12.32). We must make time for reading, and we must choose for our reading that which is most likely to fit us for the Lord’s work each day.

Allow me to offer some guidelines for your reading which should help you both to read widely and fruitfully, and to defend your choices of what to read against the pressures of peers and popularity, or diversions and distractions.

First, read your Bible every day. That seems obvious, I know. But if it’s so obvious, why doesn’t every Christian pursue this discipline? I’ve talked with pastors who don’t read their Bibles daily, and who only study God’s Word as part of their preparation for preaching and teaching. If pastors are not reading Scripture daily, it’s a pretty good bet the people they serve aren’t, either. We have the Word of God written in order to shape us into the image of Jesus Christ and equip us for every good work (2 Cor. 3.12-18; 2 Tim. 3.15-17). To neglect daily reading and meditation in God’s Word is to follow the path of the fool, not the wise person (Eph. 5.15-17).

Second, consider the demands of your Personal Mission Field. Everyone has a Personal Mission Field, and this consists of cultural arenas (home, work, church, community, etc.) and is populated with people. We have been sent like Jesus into our Personal Mission Fields to bring the Kingdom of God to light and to work for its advancement. We’ll be more effective at this if we can equip ourselves through reading (among other disciplines) to impact the social and cultural arenas we inhabit, and to serve the people we meet there with the kind of information that brings the goodness of the Lord to light in the land of the living.

Third, read from various sources. Read from the Internet, daily devotionals, news sources and opinion journals, as well as books from various genre and times. Look for things that help you, delight you, and enable you to think with the mind of Christ about how to live for Him each day. If all your reading is from the Internet, or books, or political journals, you’ll be missing some excellent sources to help outfit you for Kingdom living among the people and arenas to which the Lord sends you each day.

Finally, reflect on what you read. Take notes, talk with friends, keep a journal of your reading. Pray about what you’re reading, that you might discern the glory or will of God for some area of your life. The more thoughtful you can be about your reading, the more you’ll appreciate what you’ve read, and the better able you’ll be to derive something applicable for your walk with and work for the Lord.

Choose not to read things just because everyone else is, or some friend thinks it’s the best book ever, or it has a flashy cover or is by a well-known writer. Choose to read over many of the other diversions that will take up your time, but not necessarily fit you for working your Personal Mission Field. Read from within your calling from the Lord, and read to fulfill that calling as fully and fruitfully as you can.

But by all means – or rather, many – read.

For reflection
1. How much of your time each week is presently devoted to reading? Do you think you’re reading as much as you could? As much as your calling from the Lord deserves? Explain.

2. Can you think of an example of how something you’ve read gave you an opportunity to serve someone in your Personal Mission Field? How can you begin to read more like this?

3. How can Christians encourage one another to read more?

Next steps – Conversation: Talk with some Christian friends about reading. Do they read? What do they read? How does their reading help them? How might you encourage one another to read more?

T. M. Moore

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At The Fellowship
Have you identified your Personal Mission Field? Are you beginning to work it as a citizen and ambassador of the Kingdom of God? Watch the brief video at this link, then download the worksheet and get started working your Personal Mission Field today. Check out our new Mission Partners Outreach by watching this brief video.

This fall The Ailbe Seminary is pleased to offer three online courses for your spiritual enrichment. Check the course listings by clicking here. All courses are free and online.

ReVision: This week’s ReVision is part three of a five-part series on The Parameters of Prayer. Let’s face it: We don’t pray as much as we should, and we don’t seem too troubled by that fact. Download the free PDF of this week’s series, The Preconditions of Prayer, and begin making prayer a more vital part of your walk with and work for the Lord.

Crosfigell: Check out our Crosfigell columnand learn from Colum Cille how the rain can remind us of the sovereignty and faithfulness of God.

Scriptorium: Paul finally makes it to Rome, as the book of Acts concludes. It’s the end of the beginning for the ongoing work of Christ. Be sure to follow each day’s study in the book of Acts.

In the Gates: In our Saturday column we continue looking at what is involved in setting the Law of God firmly in our souls. We’re looking at the role of the conscience in that effort in this part of our series on “The Rule of Law.”

Voices Together: John Nunnikhoven’s daily meditations can help you in the practical work of prayer and obedience.

In the Bookstore: Order a copy of The Poetry of Prayer from our bookstoreto go along with our new ReVision series of studies on prayer.

Videos: Finally, check out the state of your Christian worldview by watching the video and downloading the Personal Discipleship Inventory, a tool for evaluating your worldview and growing in Kingdom vision, disciplines, and outcomes.

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