What I Have Discovered
Dixie Cups of Living Water -- Rev. Jeff Sajdak, Pastor, First Christian Reformed Church, Pella, Iowa
I keep a Dixie cup on my desk where I write my sermons as a reminder of what a sermon is meant to be. Sometimes I get caught up in trying to write a masterpiece that will be treasured centuries from now, and I forget the wisdom of Karl Beck in Pastor Karl's Rookie Year, as he explained that "preaching is bringing Dixie cups of living water to parched souls."
I have discovered that reading is not so much about finding illustrations, although we preachers are always on the lookout for them, but is mostly about that quest for the living water. Reading is about discovering the dusty trails that make our fellow pilgrims thirst for a cool drink. Reading is about discovering the paths that lead to the wells, about sinking our wells deeper to find the crystal-clear springs. Reading is about discovering what is true, fresh, clear, and about recognizing what is false, stagnant, murky.
I am not a fast reader, and I used to feel guilty about spending time reading outside of theological, pastoral, or biblical works. I felt that since I couldn't read a lot, I needed to make sure what I read was theological, directly applicable to my trade. But I have learned that reading widely, wisely, and well deepens me, making me a richer person, not just a richer preacher. I have learned that reading poetry, novels, biographies, histories, and children's literature (to name only a few genres) sharpens my perception in reading Scripture and in reading the world and the lives around me.
Reading widely, wisely, and well helps me to recognize what is honorable, what is just, what is pure, what is pleasing, what is commendable, what is excellent, what is praiseworthy . . . and to think about such things. But it also helps me to recognize what is false, what is dishonorable, what is unjust, what is polluted, what is repulsive, what is condemnable, what is crass, what is ugly . . . and to recoil from it. It helps me to realize that in most moments those two categories really aren't very far apart.
Since I read slowly, I need to make sure that I read wisely and well. I don't have time to waste on poor literature, so I'm constantly seeking good reading. I often ask others whom I know to be good readers, "What are you reading?" I pay attention to book reviews and the titles being read by book clubs. I peruse the Arts & Letters Daily website (aldaily.com). When all else fails, I simply pick up one of the classics that I've never read before.
I no longer feel guilty when the book in my hand isn't a pastoral theology text. I know that if I am reading widely, wisely, and well, I discover more living water, I learn to recognize the dusty trails, and I find fresh ways to bring Dixie cups of living water to parched pilgrim souls each week.