Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Reading Out Of The Rut

Recently I heard a mentor say that he has read his way out of every rut in ministry. For close to thirty years he has depended on reading as a discipline for growth. In fact when he started his church, he told the budget committee that he didn't care what they paid him, but he needed an unlimited book budget. That has remained constant for thirty years. (Nice!)

I enjoy reading, but I've recently decided to take stronger stands in my disciplines. A friend of mine was recently lamenting to his board that he wished he could take two days a week just to study and pray. The board responded, "Who told you you couldn't?"

As a pastor I don't have people standing over me checking time sheets (which I keep) or giving performance reviews. I'm left on my own to discipline my work-life. I have a very public role on Sundays, but that is all a product of how I've managed the rest of my time during the week. I set my own start and finish lines. I'm responsible for that. So I'm working in time at my desk for just reading.

What do I read? Well I just got a box of goodies...
  1. Building Leaders by Aubrey Malphurs
  2. The Complete Book of Discipleship by Bill Hull
  3. Good To Great by Jim Collins
  4. Who Stole My Church by Gordon MacDonald
  5. Christian Theology by Millard Erickson
  6. God Is The Issue by Brad Bright
In addition to books I read a number of periodicals including...
  1. Leadership Journal
  2. Enrichment Journal
  3. Fortune Magazine
  4. This Old House
  5. Fine Homebuilding
--Ben

1 comment:

Jilliefl1 said...

Along the lines of the book "Who Stole My Church", “Reimagining Church”, by Frank Viola, is a book that approaches this topic from a different angle. It goes deeper to the root of the problems and addresses them with practical alternatives. “Reimagining Church” is the sequel to “Pagan Christianity?”, by George Barna and Frank Viola. It’s endorsed by Leonard Sweet, Shane Claiborne, Alan Hirsch, and many others. You can read a sample chapter at http://www.ReimaginingChurch.org. It’s also available on Amazon.com.