It is almost a cliché at Saddleback that growing churches require growing leaders. If you don’t take in truth, you can’t give it out. As ministry leaders we use a lot of different methods to keep growing. We attend conferences. We find mentors. We listen to podcasts. But one of my favorite ways to grow as a leader is to read.
We’ve got a saying at Saddleback that I frequently tell our staff – every leader is a reader. Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers. If you’re going to lead, you’ve got to be thinking further in advance than the people that you’re leading. That means you have to be reading.
Paul understood this. In 2 Timothy, Paul writes to Timothy from prison: “When I was in Troas, I left my coat there with Carpus. So when you come, bring it to me, along with my books, particularly the ones written on parchment.” (NCV)
Paul is at the end of his life. He’s in prison. He says he wants two things – his coat and his books. C. H. Spurgeon, commenting on this passage, says, “He is inspired, yet he wants books. He has been preaching at least 30 years, yet he wants books. He’s seen the Lord, yet he wants books. He’s had a wider experience than most men, yet he wants books. He’s been caught up to heaven and has heard things that are unlawful to utter, yet he wants books. He’s written a major part of the New Testament, yet he wants books.”
We should all want to grow like Paul did. And we should value reading like he did. But as ministry leaders, our time is precious. So how do we get the most out of our limited time to read?
Here are seven tips:
1. Analyze your reading habits.
Ask yourself important questions about your reading habits, such as:
Is your reading planned or spasmodic? If you don’t plan your reading, you’ll end up wasting a lot of time on books that will have limited impact on your ministry. Reading takes time, so choose the books you read carefully. Be intentional.
How many books have I read per year since graduating seminary? I remember reading a book that claimed the average Presbyterian pastor reads only five books a year, and the average Baptist pastor reads only three books a year. It’s no wonder our churches aren’t growing in the United States.
2. Schedule time for reading.
The schedule is going to vary with each person. You have to decide the time that’s best for you – probably when you’re uninterrupted. I read primarily at night. There’s very little on the television that’s worthwhile. If you just set aside 15 minutes a day, you’ll read up to two dozen books a year. That means in a normal lifetime, you would read more than 1,000 books. That’s equivalent to going through college five times.
3. Balance your reading.
The biggest mistake we make is to concentrate our reading on our own favorite field. You like a certain area, so you tend to read over and over in that area. In a sense that’s OK. If you don’t read often, that’s a good place to get started. But you need to get occasionally outside of your pet subjects. I’ve read books on birds, astronomy, the heart (where I got all sorts of preaching illustrations), and a medical book on the brain. Read widely so that it makes you a broader person. I want to know just a little bit about every subject, so that I can talk to any person I meet about a subject of interest to him or her. I may not know a lot, but I know just enough to ask the first question – that will get them going in the conversation. Continue >>
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