Serving Bread

I love browsing books at bookstores and I enjoy the process of building a library. Unfortunately, I’m not that great of a reader, especially when it comes to fiction. I have tried to make more room in my life for books, but those things tend to be pushed to the side, when life feels busy.

What I have discovered is that when I brush reading aside, I rob myself of learning from great and diverse people. Books have a way to teach us things to which we may not have access in our lives. (I recognize that I don’t need to provide an apology for reading) Last semester, I learned (or rather re-learned) an important insight to leadership: reading.

There are some fantastic books that provide insights in leading and influencing people toward transformation and toward God. Some of these books are overtly about leadership and others require the reader to search for the important nuggets of truth. If I want to grow as a leader, I need to incorporate a plan to read and to reflect on what I’m reading.

Having said that, I recognize that not every book I read is actually  a great book. One of the things I wish I had been taught in High School was to learn how to read better. I have this notion that I have to read every word of a book so that I am satisfied that I had actually read the book. What I learned in a seminary course a few years back, that there are different ways to read a book to glean it for its wisdom. There are a few books out there that teach principles of reading. One I read and recommend is Bobby Clinton’s Reading on the Run.  It’s a short and worthwhile read.

To learn by reading, there are several things that I have incorporated into my life:

• Schedule in reading time. Reading can often times feel like a thing that we do on the side. We read it before we go to bed or when we have a break. What I have decided to do this academic year is to incorporate reading into my schedule. I schedule reading times like I schedule appointments. They are an important part of my development and my leadership.
• Stop reading. I am at peace to put a book down if I don’t feel like it’s not that great of a read.
• Learning reflections and book reviews. I keep a log of books and do book reviews for every book I read for ministry and leadership insights. I have a folder on my computer just for book reviews. I write what I liked about the book, what I learned and some quotes that I thought were interesting. Check out my library for some examples of my book reviews.
• Read the new stuff and the classics. I was browsing a local bookstore’s business management section recently (where most books on leadership are found) and it can be overwhelming to note the number of books on leadership. And these days, it seems like everyone wants to put out a book on leadership. There are a lot of resources on leadership and a lot of these resources are great books written years ago.
• Read biographies. Biographies are some of the greatest ways to learn about how people handled leadership. For example, last year I was struck by the ministry, faith and leadership of John Wesley.

Last spring, I read Go, Put your Strengths to the Test. I learned some great insights from that book, but I have to admit that it was one of those books that I decided I did not need to read it in its entirety to glean lessons of leadership. During the summer, our divisional staff team read Transforming Leadership. This fall, I read different sections of The Fifth Discipline. It’s not a book you are supposed to read cover to cover, but a great book to learn about learning.

This winter, I’m reading C. Stacey Woods and the Evangelical Rediscovery of the University by A. Donald MacLeod. It’s a biography on InterVarsity/USA’s founder and first president. I read parts of it for a paper I wrote last month, but I’d like to read it through to learn about the history of my organization and the guiding convictions of Woods. If you are interested in learning together, feel free to drop me an email and I’d be glad to learn with others.

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