Reading in 2008.

What will you read in 2008?

You’ll read some blogs. Maybe some newspapers. You’ll start a few books - but will you finish them? Maybe you suffer from “reading A.D.D.”. What about the quality, the importance of what you will read? Blogs are great pulse checks on what’s happening currently in culture, sort of a stream of consciousness from your favorite thinkers, writers, or leaders. But they aren’t consistent, and they don’t usually offer fully developed thinking on any subject. And what about your trips to Barnes & Noble, Borders, and other bookstores? Do you buy the book with the shiniest cover? The hot new book everyone is reading - and no one will finish?

I suffer from some of these reading disabilities. I, too, have a stack of partially read books on the nightstand. The discipline of reading often alludes me.

So, a book that has helped me is “How To Read A Christian Book” by David McKenna [former president of Asbury College]. He talks about the fact that Christians must be readers, and how to tackle that discipline. Much of it has to do with the selecting process. Just don’t buy books out of guilt, or out of addiction when you’re attending a conference. He includes a three year reading plan of how you can read important books that will actually shape you. His simple advice…

1. Balance the growth areas - We tend to eat the same foods and also read the same type of books. We need to “graze” the book buffet, read something from a variety of catagories, such as Bible study, devotional discipleship, family, ministry, etc.

2. Balance contemporary and classic books - He reminds us that popular books today may not end up being the important books of tomorrow. Which books on today’s top 10 list will actually still be shaping Christians 100 years from now? C.S.Lewis talked about drinking from old wells, not just new wells. He would balance his reading of old books and new ones. Finished Erwin or Rob’s new book? Read something from Augustine or Tozer next.

3. Develop a challenging yet realistic schedule

4. Pray about the book selection - an interesting thought, actually ask the Holy Spirit, who is our Teacher, to assign the books you read. Standing in the LifeWay bookstore, ask Him, “What do YOU want me to buy and read?”

5. Internalize each book - Read and highlight, make notes or summarize points at the end of each chapter, share insights with a friend, maybe blog your thoughts on the book, and then re-read the book as needed.

To help with your selection process, here are a couple of lists put together by the editors of Christianity Today:

TOP 10 BOOKS OF THE 20th CENTURY

1. Mere Christianity - Lewis, C.S.
2. The Cost Of Discipleship - Bonhoeffer, Dietrich
3. Church Dogmatics - Barth, Karl
4. The Lord Of The Rings (Trilogy) - Tolkien, J.R.R.
5. The Politics Of Jesus - Yoder, John Howard
6. Orthodoxy - Chesterton, G.K.
7. The Seven Storey Mountain - Merton, Thomas
8. Celebration Of Discipline - Foster, Richard
9. My Utmost For His Highest - Chambers, Oswald
10. Moral Man And Immoral Society - Niebuhr, Reinhold

The Top 50 Books That Have Shaped Evangelicals [since WWII]

50. Revivalism and Social Reform - Timothy L. Smith
49. Knowledge of the Holy - A. W. Tozer
48. The Hiding Place - Corrie ten Boom with John and Elizabeth Sherrill
47. The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? - F. F. Bruce
46. Out of the Saltshaker and into the World - Rebecca Manley Pippert
45. The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind - Mark A. Noll
44. The Gospel of the Kingdom - George Eldon Ladd
43. Operation World - Patrick Johnstone
42. The Purpose-Driven Life - Rick Warren
41. Born Again - Charles W. Colson
40. Darwin on Trial - Phillip E. Johnson
39. Desiring God - John Piper
38. The Gospel in a Pluralist Society - Lesslie Newbigin
37. God’s Smuggler - Brother Andrew with John and Elizabeth Sherrill
36. Left Behind - Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
35. The Stork Is Dead - Charlie W. Shedd
34. This Present Darkness - Frank E. Peretti
33. The Late Great Planet Earth - Hal Lindsey with C. C. Carlson
32. The Cross and the Switchblade - David Wilkerson with John and Elizabeth Sherrill
31. The Next Christendom - Philip Jenkins
30. Roaring Lambs - Robert Briner
29. Dare to Discipline - James Dobson
28. The Act of Marriage - Tim and Beverly LaHaye
27. Christy - Catherine Marshall
26. Know Why You Believe - Paul E. Little
25. Boundaries - Henry Cloud and John Townsend
24. The Meaning of Persons - Paul Tournier
23. All We’re Meant to Be - Letha Dawson Scanzoni and Nancy A. Hardesty
22. The Genesis Flood - Henry M. Morris and John C. Whitcomb
21. The Master Plan of Evangelism - Robert Emerson Coleman
20. A Wrinkle In Time - Madeleine L’Engle
19. The Cost of Discipleship - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
18. The Divine Conspiracy - Dallas Willard
17. What’s So Amazing About Grace? - Philip Yancey
16. Basic Christianity - John Stott
15. The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism - F. H. Henry
14. Let Justice Roll Down - John M. Perkins
13. Evidence That Demands a Verdict - Josh McDowell
12. Power Evangelism - John Wimber with Kevin Springer
11. Celebration of Discipline - Richard J. Foster
10. Evangelism Explosion - D. James Kennedy
9. Through Gates of Splendor - Elisabeth Elliot
8. Managing Your Time - Ted W. Engstrom
7. Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger - Ronald J. Sider
6. The Living Bible - Kenneth N. Taylor
5. Knowing God - J. I. Packer
4. The God Who Is There - Francis A. Schaeffer
3. Mere Christianity - C. S. Lewis
2. Understanding Church Growth - Donald Anderson McGavran
1. Prayer: Conversing With God - Rosalind Rinker

What books are on your reading “hit list” for 2008?