Dear ______: Sorry for the delay in writing back. What can I say? I was swamped. I’m glad to hear your classes are also requiring you to read things that aren’t primary sources, and aren’t introductory text books. The interesting stuff in any field is happening in the current scholarship: the monographs and articles. These […]
How to Read a Boring Textbook (Letters to a Young Pastor)
Dear ______: I have to say I’m kind of envious of envious of you. It’s officially fall. We finally have some cooler temperatures. But in college or graduate school late September is full of gifts. You are partway into a new semester, walking with newly familiar books in your backpack across campus toward the library, under the […]
Reading Dense Theological Texts (Letters to a Young Pastor)
Dear ______: Ah yes, your preaching class is requiring you to read something by St. John Chrysostom. I’m so glad — when you get to know a great preacher like Chrysostom, you may end up with a mentor for life. And you might not pick him up on your own, right? But first you have to learn how […]
Learning to Read All Over Again (Letters to a Young Pastor)
Dear ______: It does sound like you are now in the thick of things in your new semester. Glad to hear your new classes are exciting. Sorry to hear that you are finding yourself overwhelmed with your reading assignments. I remember one classmate who added up all the pages assigned for all his classes for […]