Pass the Pills, Please ...

The latest issue of the Christian Century includes an ad encouraging readers to make their Amazon purchases through the magazine's "Buy from Amazon" link. This isn't a novel approach to raising money; many organizations participate in the on-line retailer's referral program. So why comment? Well, the ad poses the following question: "What are CC readers buying?"

The answer: a particular book; tie-dyed slippers; turtle-shaped chocolate molds (I kid you not); and ... sleeping pills.

Sleeping pills. That got my attention. Now, I'm sure this item's inclusion was random. But maybe it wasn't, at least on some level. You see, the majority of the Century's readers are clergy. And the ministry can be a stressful line of work. So I found myself wondering: what's keeping my clerical colleagues awake at night? Sermon prep? Worship planning? Imbalanced budgets? One of any number of institutional crises in the wider church? Too much caffeine during the day? Something I haven't thought of?

All that said, I probably shouldn't spend too much time worrying about this issue. After all, there are far more pressing things demanding my attention. Like the interest of some ministers in tie-dyed slippers and turtle-shaped chocolate molds ...

Comments

  1. campyJanuary 6, 2011 at 2:23 PM

    The laity don't need the pills; sermons work even better. (Just kidding!)

    ReplyDelete

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