The Tension Where Truth Lives

The Weight Between Words With Pastor Charles Howse

LISTENING INSPIRES… READING FORMS


What Reading Has Taught Me About Growth

I want to be transparent for a moment… just talk for a second.

I’ve been preaching and teaching God’s Word for a long time. And over the years, my life has shifted—not because my calling changed, but because my understanding of the fullness of God’s call has deepened. Formation has a way of doing that. It doesn’t replace what God has given you… it clarifies it.

That deeper understanding required me to do something I honestly felt unable to do for a long time.

Write.

And just like many of the assignments God has given me in my ministry, this one wasn’t popular—not even with me at first. In my experience, a lot of people don’t enjoy reading. Some actively avoid it. And I understand why.

But here’s what I’ve discovered.

Having a love affair with reading is essential to personal development. Reading does something that simply listening does not do.

Listening is powerful.
It carries emotion, tone, and immediacy.

But reading slows you down.
It forces engagement.
It requires attention.

When you read, you don’t just receive information—you interact with it. You pause. You reread. You wrestle. You notice what stands out and what resists you. Reading reveals not just what the words are saying… but what’s happening inside of you while you encounter them.

That matters for faith.
That matters for wellness.
That matters for growth.

In health and fitness, we talk about listening to the body—learning its signals, understanding its needs, responding with intention. Reading works the same way for the mind and the spirit. It builds patience. It strengthens focus. It develops discernment.

Listening can inspire you.
Reading helps form you.

This isn’t about choosing one over the other. It’s about balance. It’s about recognizing that some growth requires us to slow down enough to stay with a thought until it shapes us.

So this is an invitation—not a demand.

An invitation to reconsider reading, not as an obligation, but as a companion.
Not as a task, but as a tool for wholeness.

Because just like the body needs more than quick fuel…
the soul often needs more than quick words.

And growth—real growth—rarely happens in a rush.
~Pastor Charles E. Howse Jr
Thetensionwheretruthlives.org
Beth-El Baptist Church
Loving The Unlovable:A Love Without Limits Charles Howse
Wholeness 4 LIFE

Published by

Pastor Charles Howse Jr
Pastor Charles E. Howse Jr. is a preacher, pastor, and author whose calling lives at the intersection of proclamation and reflection. With decades of ministry experience, he has spent his life speaking to the visible struggles of people while gently naming the quieter battles they carry within. His voice is shaped by Scripture, lived experience, and a deep pastoral concern for those navigating faith, failure, leadership, and the long work of healing. Whether from the pulpit or the page, his work consistently points readers and listeners back to the grace of God that meets us where we truly are. Through writing, Pastor Howse explores the tension where truth lives—the space between certainty and doubt, strength and vulnerability, public faith and private wrestlings. His reflections draw from biblical narratives, personal insight, and pastoral observation, inviting readers to slow down,and think deeply. He writes not to perform, but to bear witness—to grace that restores, love that endures, and a God who remains faithful even when we falter. This blog is an extension of that calling: honest, thoughtful, and rooted in the hope that truth still heals.

Leave a comment