If ever a time required ministers who were alert, keen to discern the "signs of the times," and able "to know what Israel ought to do," that time is now. Dealing with all classes of people, the minister's interests must of course be varied; like Paul, he must be "all things to all men." This very fact places upon the man of God the solemn responsibility of careful study to enable him ever to lead his flock in such spiritual thought as will edify them and bring them closer to God. The successful minister must keep ahead of his people, and this among other important things means continuous mental application, so that his mind is kept fresh and alive.
With the great variety of books, magazines, and papers to be had at the present time, with reading as one might say "at the peak," the minister who would be a real stimulus to his people must be a diligent reader. Nor do I mean by this the ordinary newspaper reading of the day. If the minister contents himself with that, he has no deeper mental culture than his hearers, and therefore cannot be expected to stimulate the lofty soul thoughts which he ought certainly to bring to them. Neither am I including Bible study in this reading; for that, of course, is assumed. The reading I speak of, is that extra-Biblical reading iyhich every up-to-the-minute preacher ought to engage in. Those of my pulpit brethren who have studied the lives of such preachers as Wesley, Spurgeon, Beecher, and many others who might be named, have certainly been impressed by the constant reading which these men did. And how often have our poor brains, which have become as the Sahara for aridity, been joyfully moistened and fertilized by a stimulating book!
It is not too much to say that a preacher ought to read, on an average, a book a week, assuming that his books are of the proper kind. This can be done if the minister trains himself to read properly. There are good books and mediocre books; and from some it takes more time to extract the meat than from others. It is the preacher's art to extract it economically and withal expeditiously, and sense the kind of book he is reading, so he can follow the time-honored aphorism of Francis Bacon: "Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested." Some books, in other words, are so meaty they have to be read by sentences; others, not so nutritious, are to be read by paragraphs; others, only slightly nourishing, are to be grasped by pages. The preacher should be able to focus his mind so sharply that he can determine how to read as well as what to read.
But reading is not enough. The wide-awake reading minister needs cards or slips of paper or some other device which he finds suited to his own use, to be used as chains to put into "captivity" the good thoughts that he finds in his reading. This is especially so if, like myself, the preacher uses library books largely, instead of buying books for himself. (Our city libraries, by the way, are good fields of pasture, and every preacher who has access to them ought to make the most of the privileges they afford. Often the library officials will purchase books for the library at his suggestion.)
But no matter how carefully he reads, no minister can remember it all. Therefore he must make notes, or what he has read will vanish elusively when he sorely needs it. These gems of thought may be put on cards or slips to file in a card index or be preserved in any other way the preacher determines to follow. Blank slips or cards should be always at hand, so that one may "cage" any good thought he hears or reads at any place or at any time. Let nothing escape. If this is done, it is amazing what a treasury of worthwhile material one can have on call when it is needed.
