I think Professor Brandt’s warning that “They’re going to be reading, but they’re going to be reading to write, and not to be shaped by what they read.” is unnecessary. In my experience there are things that can prevent me from really taking to heart what I have read, but they have more to do with my biases and assumptions than anything else. In fact, reading with the intention of being able to effectively communicate what we have read is an essential skill for all good students and writers.

Where it comes to spiritual content, again, I think it is our biases and assumptions that we need to watch out for. If we are listening to a sermon with the intention to pass the ideas along and the ASSUMPTION that we’ve got this thing down pat, we are likely to miss something. But if we are listening, intending to share, and aware that we could quite possibly learn something new, I think we are where we need to be.