Pastors

(c) 1986 Christian Century Foundation, Reprinted by permission.

A summer reading group!-what a great idea! I thought as I took out a legal pad.

Reasons for introducing such a group fairly gushed from my ballpoint: parish-sponsored growth opportunities for adults had been scarce during the past year; some church school teachers might want to participate; I would enjoy the stimulation of give-and-take discussion without the burden of being leader; reading groups had worked well in other parishes; it would be a chance to do some church-sanctioned light reading without feeling guilty for avoiding theological tomes.

I recalled that John Stott had told a seminary community some years earlier how useful he'd found a reading group. He said he had made it a point to have several recent university graduates present. They kept him up to date on what was in vogue on campus-books, he said, he otherwise would not have known about, much less read.

Surely, I reasoned, the fact that I remember Stott's recommendation ...

You have reached the end of this Article Preview

To continue reading, subscribe to Christianity Today magazine. Subscribers have full digital access to CT Pastors articles.

Log InSubscribe

Already a CT subscriber? Log in for full digital access.