Yesterday I had the privilege of participating in Woodside Bible Church’s (Troy, MI) “Committed to the Word” conference, and at lunch in their gazebo I met Rick and Lana Seidel, old friends from college who know Gary Meadors a little too well from their time together at Grace Seminary. We reminisced about our lovable friend and I asked if they had seen his new book, Hello Sixpack: It’s Me, Gary. For those of you who aren’t in on this running joke, I need to say clearly and unequivocally that there is absolutely no truth to the rumor, started by me, that Gary consumes alcohol, as far as I know.
It is true that Gary has edited a promising new book from Zondervan which will come out this fall. It is a four views book called Beyond the Bible, and it has chapters by Kevin Vanhoozer, Walt Kaiser, and William Webb (I don’t remember the other guy, sorry!) on how to apply the Bible in our contemporary world. At 350 pages, it’s 100 pages longer than Zondervan’s typical counterpoint books, or as I told Gary, right before he messed with the windshield wipers on my car (fortunately it was locked so he couldn’t get inside), this is one book that could have used an editor.
I also had lunch with Al Mohler, and was glad to find that, unlike some ministry leaders, he is a normal, down-to-earth guy who is really good at conversation. Our lunch had a few awkward moments, as when I asked “Did you just say that polar bears will eat us on resurrection day?” He assured me that was not what he meant, and I assure you that my question did make sense in context. I include it here as a service for any of you who have been haunted by such theological questions. Although I did not pursue a follow-up, I’m pretty sure that Al would extend his denial to other carnivorous animals. So rest in peace, my friend.
I changed the subject by asking Al how he managed to accomplish so much: he is president of Southern Baptist Seminary, writes several books at one time, has two radio shows, blogs, and even tweets. The answer, I discovered, is that he is freakishly smart, has interns, and only sleeps 5 hours a night. He said that is all his body needs, and that he could not sleep longer if he wanted.
It hit me that I will never be Al Mohler, because even though I am smart enough to ask the polar bear question, I do not have interns and I like my 7-8 hours of sleep a night. If I tried to get by on only 5 hours, I would die young and lose all the time I had saved.
How about you? Is there anyone out there who only sleeps 5 hours a night? Do you find that you are able to accomplish more than the rest of us sleepyheads, or do you fritter away your extra time reading blogs? If you’ve read this far, that is one charge you will find difficult to deny.
Mike Wittmer 
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