I have a growing concern about the decline of reading. Some studies have suggested that the vast majority of Americans will not read another serious book after completing their formal education (and no, The Twilight Series and The Hunger Games do not count as serious reading).
The studies are clear that we are becoming increasingly illiterate as a culture. People have grown accustomed to thousands of media images moving across a screen. And books do not command one’s attention in the same way. But we must work at the skills of critical thinking. Some struggle to read because of dyslexia or other learning disabilities. Others are slow readers. Not everyone is academically oriented. However, there are a wide range of audio books available in our day.
It is a challenge in our own family as well. Several of our kids participated in the reading club at the local library. And we also implemented targeted reading assignments for each of our kids this summer. They are reading what they want to read. But they are also reading what we want them to read. It has not been easy but it is a worthy investment.
Dawn Hoiem, one of our FHBC members, recently surveyed a number of pastors and asked them to recommend what books they would want their congregations to read. Here are the ten titles that appeared most often in the survey:
- Knowing God (Packer)
- Mere Christianity (Lewis)
- Desiring God (Piper)
- Confessions (Augustine)
- Pilgrim’s Progress (Bunyan)
- Life Together (Bonhoeffer)
- Knowledge of the Holy (Tozer)
- Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (Whitney)
- Respectable Sins (Bridges)
- The Reason for God (Keller)
There are still a few weeks left in the summer. Why not pick up one of these classics and get started?
Pastor Jeff
Photo credit: https://www.pexels.com/photo/light-hands-woman-books-34084/
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