The autographed book

The book slipped off the counter in my office when I reached for something else. As I picked up the thick volume, I flipped it open to read again what the author had written when he autographed it for me several years ago. The inscription reads, “Scholarship is the power of the mind to dispel ignorance and fear.”

Those words were written by E. Michael White and the book is From Jesus to Christianity. Dr. White is a distinguished scholar, on faculty at the University of Texas here in Austin, and he has done several presentations for us here at First Church. Every event has been filled with new ideas and insights, a wealth of historical information, and perhaps most important, the witness of a scholar who is also a believer. And just in case someone asks for a quick review, I will confess right up front that I haven’t read the book, but I know it must be great. Until I do, I will simply treasure and meditate on that inscription.

I am no scholar—I know that when I listen to some of my colleagues and friends, read my daughter’s essays, and compare the amount of time I spend in study to the time I spend watching television and reading mysteries. But I am always a student, even when I’m not sitting in a class…and occasionally, I am a teacher.

I am so glad—even proud—to be part of a church that values learning, that honors scholarship. This church and others before this one, as well as our connectional church, have taught me so much about the world I live in, about the Scriptures I treasure and the faith I claim. And since this church and others have allowed me be a teacher, I have, from time to time, had a very small part in dispelling the ignorance and fear that have kept some hesitant or skeptical seekers from freely and fully exploring the possibilities that faith in God and Christ can bring. I know God wants to change our hearts, and I believe God also wants us to use and expand our minds.

Is this a commercial for one of our many classes? Perhaps, but I prefer to think of it as an invitation to begin or continue your exploration of who are you called to be and become, and what the Christian faith tells you about that. When mind and spirit work together in our lives, God can begin to dispel the clouds of ignorance and fear. When we are free from ignorance and fear, we can love God and neighbor with all our heart, soul, and strength…and, I am bold to add, with all our mind.

I am grateful to God for scholars who use their minds and spirits to the glory of God!