Ach Gott!

The English politician, philosopher and writer Thomas Carlyle and his wife received an unexpected visitor – an American, Ralph Waldo Emerson. The much younger Emerson arrived at the Carlyle’s doorstep unannounced and that encounter led to a lifelong friendship. Thomas Carlyle later wrote to a friend, "I love Emerson’s book, not for its detached opinions, not even for the scheme of the general world he has framed for himself, or any eminence of talent he has expressed . . . but simply because it is his own book."¹ I relate! We suffer from a spate of "copycats," writing without creativity or originality. Literature that reflects deep thought and emits the pure aroma of originality is in short supply. Does anyone dare to communicate lifting thought above function, or the "what" above the "how," and idealism above utility? In my opinion, the "How to . . . " book sections in my favorite stores represent a literary ghetto.

To illustrate my agreement with Thomas Carlyle I offer the following anecdote. I enrolled in a seminary class a couple of decades ago and in the first session was stunned by one of the professor’s opening statements. It was an intellectual sucker punch! I haven’t fully recovered. The professor announced, "I will be sharing with this class the best current ideas and practices of church growth specialists in America." He went on to add, "Contemporary church growth practitioners uniformly embrace pragmatism, commonly stated as, ‘If the ends do not justify the means, what does justify the means?’ In other words, "Do this! It works!"

I believe numerical measurement is shallow, ill-conceived, and unworthy of serious consideration as assessment of one’s life work. Celebrating numerical growth is not difficult, pursuing, developing and affirming faithfulness, integrity, truthfulness, and other expressions of the fruit of the Spirit are exponentially more difficult and time consuming. These are far more worthy measurements of one’s life and vocation.

Fresh, insightful authors occasionally arrive in the literary cosmos. We read, we learn, we share our appreciation and recommendations and the work rises to the thin air of "best sellerism." The book finds wide acceptance because the author’s work is needed and the appetite of the reading public recognizes quality. And then, the cacophony of noisy echoes hits the booksellers’ shelves. Copy cats steal the premise and echo the original material. A few personal anecdotes are added, and we have another "must read!" The second and third generation works come close to plagiarism, outright theft. In Christian publications original writers often share a truth or an account of a God-man encounter that is intimately personal. Alas, copy cats seem to say, "Hey, that’s really good!" and proceed to write as if they received the same truth or enjoyed the same encounter.

Sequels, author’s second, third or fourth works are too often stale restatements of superlative originals. At least it seems that way to me! An author’s second, third, or fourth books too often are akin to watching Mickey Mantle play a game on his last road trip to Detroit’s Tiger Stadium. I was there and watched a most gifted athlete limp around the bases after hitting a towering home run. "The Mick" hit another ball that could have easily been a triple or an inside-the-park home run in his youth. But the legs were gone. He was lifted for a pinch runner. A Baseball Hall of Fame athlete played one too many games for this fan. I loved the original, but . . .

In his letter to a friend, Thomas Carlyle contrasted the ordinariness of English literature with the fresh and thoughtful writing of Emerson, "Ach Gott!² It is frightful to live among echoes." I know a young minister who is less than half my age in Philadelphia’s Port Richmond neighborhood. He is carving out a chain of churches which meet in homes. He is multiplying the number of preachers who share life and Word with groups of 20 or less. No one is paid a salary. My young friend works in a hospital to support his family and models dedication to his team of emerging pastors. Another pastor I know lives above a thrift shop operated by his church and encounters and shares the Good News with the most needy and disenfranchised people of his community. The work of these creative young pastors is slow and often tedious. But, Ach Gott! I am spared the fright of living among echoes. These young men are creative, full of fresh ideas, daring and courageous!