We're currently putting the finishing touches on a resource called Surviving Information Overload. It includes an original article from Angie Ward, a blog post from Tim Challies, a Books & Culture piece by Alan Jacobs, and a couple of very practical excerpts from Kevin Miller's book of the same title. Great content, and on an issue that affects everyone—I'm excited about it.
We also included a lengthy Leadership journal piece that you should look forward to reading. It's essentially six articles in one, with six different pastors and leaders responding to the question, "How do you select the information that's important and valuable in ministry?"
As I looked this article over, a number of quotes jumped out at me from its 3,000 words. Here are a few:
"The Enlightenment suggested that if we could just get more information, we'd be better people. I don't believe that anymore, which has helped me be less compulsive about my reading… I would rather know a few things well than a lot of things pretty well."
-Ben Patterson
"I'm not reading for information as much as for perspective."
-Ben Patterson
"I mostly read dead people. Reading things that are old delivers me from the feeling of information overload."
-David Hansen
"My favorite source of information…is not reading. I love talking to people, especially about themselves."
-Leith Anderson
"I don't gather information and stories merely for the next sermon. I gather with the anticipation that someday that piece of information will be useful."
-Gordon MacDonald
Do any of these thoughts resonate with you? How would you describe your own relationship with information?
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Comments
I'm a voracious reader and need guidance on how to pick the most urgent. I read in Spanish and english, ran bookstores overseas for 43 years, and just reseigned from 10 years as church librarian. I"m selling many books on the web these days trying to downsize to move into a care residence along with my wife of 61 years!!. I've been a subscriber to CT since it began nd now an avid reader of WORLD.
Posted by: Robert Newman | January 21, 2010 3:49 PM
A lot of church/Christian life-related content is numbingly repetitious. Not only do we say the same things, we say them the same way. I find it's really important to gather information outside our field and outside our subculture. So for example, I read the Atlantic and the NY Times. The writing is at a uniformly high level, and there's a sort of delight in learning "just because." (And studies are showing that this sort of venturing-out learning is really good for the aging brain...)
Posted by: Betsey | February 4, 2010 10:25 AM