Not long ago a Christian Scientist overheard a lively fellow church worker reading a familiar children's story to a preschooler. But what he heard wasn't the animated, joyful approach he expected. It was as if his friend were somebody else entirely. While the intentions were good, the reading was self-conscious, overly deliberate, awkwardly and automatically paced—droning on with little variation.
Why did this reading lack the joyful and loving animus both the reader and the child innately had? Why did it lack the joy and vitality of that delightful book itself and of the wonderful event of reading it to a small child?
The Christian Scientist realized at once that this was a habit of oral reading his friend might have heard in some of our church meetings—even at services. He wondered how visitors to our churches—who might be seeking life, love, and joy—would be struck if they ran across this style of reading. What would it say about our way of thinking?
