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The "Ministry" of Recommending Books

11/12/2015

1 Comment

 
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I see the "ministry" of pointing people towards good books as an important extension of my role as a Christian pastor and teacher.  (While I'm talking about the "ministry" of book recommendations in this post, there's lots of overlap here with any sort of learning - worthwhile podcasts and speakers, best blog sites, etc.)  One REALLY important thing to note in that first sentence is the word "extension."  Book recommendations can extend ministry, but they never REPLACE ministry or become the sum total of ministry.  So don't misunderstand me to mean that we can throw bibliographies at people and then back away.  That's note the case.

Nevertheless, I maintain that book recommendations can extend ministry in important ways.  In this post I'll talk about WHY book recommendations are important, and in a future post I'll get practical and talk about HOW I try and take steps in this direction.
Here are three reasons why recommending good books can be valuable:

Because Some People Really Like to Read

This idea of "recommending books as an extension of ministry" is important because some people are learners and they really like to read.  Even if you're NOT a huge reader and learn in other ways, there will be people in your congregation that learn well by learning and processing things that way.  One meaningful way to serve them can be to periodically point them towards good books.  Especially consider books that have helped resource your sermons and teaching, so they can dig more deeply into some the issues as well.  Or point them towards good books that you've recently read, or have been formative for you personally.

Because Google is a Big Place

Let's face it, if people have questions or want to learn more about something, they're going to find information SOMEWHERE about that question or issue.  And if we can't point them towards some worthwhile Christian thinking that helps them process their questions well (either by providing a framework for how to think about things, or suggesting biblical answers), they're going to get interpretive frameworks and answers from others places.  And these "other places" aren't always places I would point them.  Either proactively or reactively, we can help form educated Christian disciples who think discerningly about all sorts of issues by recommending books as an extension of our ministry.  

Just think about how graduating seniors might enter college differently if they've got some "go to" books by articulate and educated evangelical scholars who can help them process things they may hear and experience in different college classrooms.  Just think about how some "go to" books on the formation of the Bible and church history may help keep someone from believing religiously liberal scholars talk on the History Channel, without having first understood the best evangelical approaches to these same issues.

Because There's No Way One Person can Cover Everything in a Teaching Setting

I often have people approach me, suggesting ideas for class topics or sermon series.  And many of them are good!  The reality, though, is that many of these suggestions simply can't or won't find their way into an entire Brookside Institute class or a devoted sermon series.  While we do an Institute class on church history ("History Matters"), it's not in our plans right now to spend 10 weeks on the fundamentalist-modernist controversy of the early 20th century.  While we do an Institute class on Christian theology ("Fuel for Faith"), we don't have plans for a 10 week class devoted to the refinement of early trinitarian thought leading up to the Council of Constantinople.  As Institute classes or sermons introduce topics and cover key issues, book recommendations can be a sort of "release valve" for people who feel a strong desire to expand their learning in a sub-topic that simply couldn't be thoroughly unpacked in available teaching environments.

Why else is recommending books important?  Think of ways recommended books have influenced you personally, or benefits you've seen in teaching and ministry environments.
1 Comment
ROGER E DORIOT
9/15/2023 03:52:14 am

My wife and I have been missionaries with Crossworld in Irian Jaya/Papua, Indonesia, since 1975. I have always loved to read!!! (I did well in school, didn't have to spend much time on homework, so read library books instead!) :)

I am a graduate of Dallas Thelogical Seminary, so was introduced to a lot of good books there. We have five children and twelve grandchildren, so I have read, and read about, many children's books, to find out which ones were best for them

In recent years, I have been giving many books to pastors, supporters, friends, acquaintances, relatives, et al, buying them from thriftbooks.com . Amazing selection of used books! I buy hundreds and give them away. Or send them directly to people. MANY good used books can be bought for $4 or $5, and there is free shipping with a $15 order. (We do not have a lot of money, but we can afford to spend $15 and send several good books to a lot of people.

Another suggestion I have made to a lot of pastors. Assign good books to your church leaders, or others in your church. Tell them something like this: :"There are so many good books out there, old ones and new ones, that I can't read them all. Would you please read this book for me, and write a short book report, or just jot down some notes of some things you think are significant or helpful, and some notes on why someone else should read this - if indeed you find it valuable." ... You can give assignments like this for new books, but also some old classics, that will really be a help to some of your church people, and provide you material for recommending these good books to others. :)

OK, all for now! Appreciated what I've read on your blogs! :)

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    Tim Wiebe

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