Reading as a Spiritual Discipline

And my favorite book recommendations for spiritual growth

“To read is to receive a message that is not our own and to allow it to work in us in such a way that it transforms our being.” – Henri Nouwen

“Spiritual reading is food for the soul; it draws the mind upwards and sets the heart aflame.” – St. Augustine

It is little secret that we are becoming more illiterate as a society. According to Book Riot, half of American adults read fewer than four book per year. Meanwhile the publishing industry puts out millions of new books each year. So, the problem is not lack of books but of lack of readers. We consume information at alarming rates through social media, google searches, etc. The internet is filled with the answers to just about any question you can imagine. We are inundated with facts, statistics, information but what is lacking is literacy skills.

Few adults read for spiritual growth. This is not for lack of great books and teachers to learn from in our day. We have access to the greatest thinkers from all of Christian history at the small price of a book. The problem with many of these books and ideas is that they take time to wrestle with and spiritual learning is a slow process. Most Christians are simply too busy or lack the skills needed to encounter new ideas.

Starting early in my twenties, when I was newly married and a new father trying to find his way in the world, God started guiding me toward books that offered advice, wisdom, and deeper truths. God began to use books in order to correct much of my false thinking about who He is and how I viewed the Christian life. Now, after two decades of reading as a spiritual discipline, I can look back at the amount of counsel and truth I have gained through reading. I spent much of my 20s and 30s reading great works by great Christian thinkers and I have noticed that God was laying the groundwork for a life with Him.

Perhaps no other discipline has helped me to grow my faith as reading. Reading the writings and thoughts on the Christian life and walk from those who have lived and gone before us, offer us guideposts along our own journeys. As we read the works of those great thinkers and writers in the Christian world, we are exposed to ideas and ways of seeing the world, the Bible, and God himself in ways different from our own lived experience. Reading and studying under great Christians who have gone before us provides us with discipleship for our minds. Training us to expose us to faulty ways of thinking and habits and provide us with a pathway into truth.

As Christians, we of course read the Bible as our first and sacred text. For most churches, reading the Bible is one of the standard pieces of advice to Christians old and new. We are encouraged to spend time studying and reading God’s Word daily. Make it a habit. But, let’s be honest, the Bible is not an easy book to just pick up and understand. The time periods in which it was written are foreign to our modern ears and we come to the Bible with many preconceived ideas about what it says and who God is.

This post in not necessarily about how to read the Bible. That would be an entirely different newsletter and perhaps I will write at a future date. I am making the case for reading as a way to encounter spiritual fathers and mothers who help us to understand God and break down the Christian life into more tangible ideas. In today’s newsletter I want to make the case for reading as a spiritual discipline and a way to grow in our faith. This discipline of reading and study include many great books across a span of genres.

Reading helps to open our minds to new ideas than what we encounter in our own thought lives. As we read, we come across new concepts that expand our minds. Just as our muscles must be broken down through strength training in order to grow. As Paul teaches in Romans 12:2, “Do not conform to the pattern of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Study of books includes more than just reading a number of books. Study includes utilizing our minds to absorb, understand, and analyze ideas as we come across them in books. It is not a quick read and check the book off a checklist of “books every Christian should read.” Study involves struggle, patience, and attention to details.

Study has been an integral part of the Christian life since the foundation of Christianity. Just as training the body was an integral part of the culture in the Greek or Roman kingdoms. Early Christians spent time learning the early scriptures and allowing the words and ideas to shape their view on God and to help them be remade into God’s image. St Augustine said that “all truth is God’s truth.” Many of the church fathers and mothers saw education as a gift from God and as a gateway to spiritual maturity.

As Paul teaches in Romans, we must have a renewal of our minds for transformation to occur. I would argue that one of the best ways to encounter renewal of the mind is through reading books about God and the Christian life. In order to understand the truths in the Christian life, we must be able to encounter the truth and let it begin the process of formation away from poor thinking about God or ourselves and into the truth. This process involves struggle against our old ways of thinking and poorly held beliefs that are so prevalent in our world today. None of us are immune to false information and truths.

In his masterful book, Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster breaks down study into four steps:

1. Repetition – “Channeling the mind in a specific direction.”

2. Concentration – “Centers the mind on what is being learned.”

3. Comprehension – “Leads to insight and discernment.”

4. Reflection – “Brings us to see things from God’s perspective.”

One of the important aspects of reading and study is to approach a text, not as a critic, but with humility as a disciple. As Foster states, “We must come as student, not teacher.” We often make the mistake of thinking that because we can read the words on the page that we know how to read a book. But studying books demands more than just reading words on pages. Mortimer Adler, in his book, How to Read a Book, teaches us the process for study and reading deeply:

The stages of reading:

1. First read involves understanding the book. What is the author trying to communicate. This involves seeking to understand the author and what message or truth they are attempting to communicate. This can be difficult because we are quick to judge a work by factors such as our own expectations, reviews we may have read about a book, the writing, etc. We must first understand what the author is trying to say.

2. The second step involves interpreting the book. What does the author mean in their argument or writing? We must seek to further understand the author’s intent.

3. Evaluating the book is the last step. Many times, we can be tempted to jump to this step first and sometimes literally judge a book by its cover. Evaluation involves careful examination and self-analysis.

Another golden nugget offered by Richard Foster is, “the key to the discipline of study is not reading many books but experiencing what we do read.” One of the ways God has been able to speak to me and teach me about the Christian life, is through reading books about the Christian life by trusted authors and teachers. Most great works of fantasy include a hero on a journey who is helped along by the wise sage, who offers guidance, counsel, teaching, and wisdom for the journey. Frodo has Gandalf, Harry Potter is helped by Albus Dumbledore, Luke Skywalker has Yoda. God has provided me with many sages by way of books.

We must encounter new ideas (to us) through reading and we focus on what the author is trying to teach us. After feeling like you fully grasp what an author is communicating, we should compare what you are reading to what the Bible communicates about God and His character. We must also examine our own beliefs about the topic in which we just read. As we compare ideas, we should attempt to be slow to judgement. Next, I have found it helpful to spend some time thinking, praying, and meditating about new ideas. If an idea is actionable, we should put it to the test for a time. For example, when learning about a certain type of prayer that is foreign to me, we should try out that form of prayer in my day-to-day life.

If we go about life without experiencing new ideas and concepts, how can we expect to grow. As Christians, the Bible makes it clear that God is growing us up. We are going through the process of sanctification in which we are being transformed. In order to be transformed, we must encounter new ideas, put them to the test, try them out, and see what fruit comes from the process. This is a slow process. In a social media society, we like things to be fast. We are used to finding answers in 0.00045 seconds and we are not accustomed to slow processes. We must train ourselves to read well and embrace the slowness of the process of sanctification.

I wanted to include some of the books that have impacted my journey and have meant much to me in my seeking for truth and for God:

· Wild At Heart – John Eldredge

Perhaps no other author has impacted my life more than John Eldredge. This book came to me when I was a young father and husband and felt in over my head with life. Wild at Heart is written for men and teaches men who we are in God’s image. Must read for any men or young men in your life. John also have multiple other books and all are masterful.

· The Divine Conspiracy – Dallas Willard

This is like a textbook for the Christian life in a good way. Dallas is a sage and teaches us about how to live in God’s Kingdom here and now. His writing is filled with wisdom and depth of understanding but is written in a way that is accessible to everyone.

· Abba’s Child – Brennan Manning

In Wild at Heart, Eldredge teaches that we are God’s children. Manning takes that to a deeper level in this beautiful book about God as our father. My heart was healed as I read this book and my view of God molded by Manning’s sage advice and heart for God.

· The Pursuit of God – A.W. Tozer

Tozer is another great writer and pastor who has had a profound influence on my walk with God. This is his best book and teaches us what it is like to walk with God in the daily.

· Hearing God – Dallas Willard

This book is about having a conversational intimacy with God. This book is a master class to those who want to learn to pray and actually listen for God’s love and guidance. Willard even uses examples from scripture as he walks the reader through the practice of listening prayer.

· Celebration of Discipline – Richard Foster

With the popularity of John Mark Comer, the spiritual disciplines have made a comeback. Foster breaks down the spiritual disciplines and provides practical tips on how to dive into practicing the spiritual life.

· Soul Keeping – John Ortberg

Ortberg was a disciple of Dallas Willard and this masterful book is filled with the importance of caring for our souls and providing the right atmosphere in our lives in order for our souls to be used and shaped by God.

· Mere Christianity – C.S. Lewis

Lewis is a master teacher. This book lays the foundational beliefs that all Christians believe, regardless of denomination. This book is vital for building a foundation for our faith and Lewis uses logic and reasoning to guide us through the Christian life.

· Chronicles of Narnia – C.S. Lewis

Lewis writes a lot about the Christian life throughout his non fiction and Narnia is his attempt to teach these truths through fiction. He is a master at writing and portraying deep truths through the series written for children (but must read by adults).

· The Lord of the Rings – J.R.R. Tolkien

This book, while not overtly written from a Christian perspective, provides us with one of the most epic examples of the Christian life on the journey toward God. The series is filled with so much depth of the Christian life, it could be read over a lifetime and continuing to gleam truths from the story.

What are your favorite books about living the Christian life?