Running Stream or Stagnant Pond?

Today marks the end of my first of 4 months on sabbatical.

It has been very refreshing to get away from the grind, to have time to think, write, reflect, and read. Here's the list of books I read this month:


Wild Goose Chase, Mark Batterson

To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee (re-read)

I Do Again, Cheryl & Jeff Scruggs

Axiom: Powerful Leadership Proverbs, Bill Hybels

What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception, Scott McClennan

The Measure of a Man, Gene Getz

Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling, Andy Crouch

Faith in the Halls of Power: How Evangelicals Joined the American Elite, D. Michael Lindsay

Life with God: Reading the Bible for Spiritual Transformation, Richard Foster


A pretty varied list: Novel, Politics, Biblical Spirituality, Sociology, Leadership, and Marriage. This is typical. I try to read a variety of genres. This helps me develop and maintaining what I call "critical multiplism." Critical multiplism is the idea of examining any topic from a variety of perspectives rather than through only one perspective.

I think reading comes with the calling of a teacher. In fact, I think those of us who teach have a moral obligation to be current. I agree with Howard Hendricks that I would rather my students drink from a running stream than a stagnant pond.