Leaders Are Readers

 

from www.reftoons.com

2026 CMC Workshop by Jim Jeffery, from Chapel Pointe

2 Timothy 4:13

"Bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas when you come - and the books, especially the parchments."

Reading is a conversation with the author.

Leroy Eims, in his excellent book entitled Keeping off the Casualty List, wrote, "Shortly after I became a Christian, I got the idea that it was wrong to read anything but the Bible. Waldron Scott sat down and straightened me out. "Would you spend an hour with men like Andrew Murray, George Muller, and Charles Spurgeon?" He asked? "Of Course," I replied. "Well, that's what their books enable you to do," he explained. "You can learn from their experiences and in their books, they can share with you what God has taught them." (Eims, Leroy; Keeping off the Casualty List; Victor; pg 65)

Why Read

Warren Wiersbe said, "Never underestimate the power of a book."

According to one authority, for every word in Hitler's Mein Kampf, 125 lives were lost in WWII. (2 Wiersbe, Warren; Victorious Christians You Should Know; Victor; pg. 10)

The man who doesn't read books has no advantage over the man who can't read them. Mark Twain

Read for comprehension- understand what you read - read for ideas not words (3 DePorter, Bobbi; Quantum Learning: Dell Trade Paperback; pe. 264)

Read for speed - increase your intake.

"When you read one word at a time, your brain has to work much harder to make sense of it. Reading one word at a time is like trying to discover what a boomerang looks like by examining its individual molecules. Instead of reading each word, get the big picture by looking at entire phrases, sentences, and paragraphs." (3 DePorter, Bobbi; Quantum Learing: Dell Trade Paperback; pe. 264)

Read for retention - remember what you read.

Read for transformation - change in your life.

Read for teaching - share it with others.

Read for enjoyment

A book is like a garden carried in your pocket. Chinese Proverb

How To Read

Don't highlight or underline - use lines, brackets, dots

Don't regress

Pace your reading - based on material, interest, and value

• Skim.
• Scan
• Speed reading
• Slow reading

Francis Bacon "Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to chewed and digested; that is some are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously; and some few to be read wholly; and with diligence and attention." (5 Bacon, Francis; "Of Studies" Essays or Counsels Civil and Moral in Selected Writings of Francis Bacon, ed. Hugh G. Dick (New York: Modern Library) 1955 pg. 129)

Preview a book

• Title
• Author - background, qualifications
• Publication Date
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Author's Topic, Point of View, Purpose 
• Conclusion
• Bibliography
• End Notes
• Index

Scan the Book - Chapter headings, subheadings, key words, bold print,

Pre-read a chapter (6 Power Reading; Phyllis Mindell; Ed.D; Simon& Schuster; 1993)

• Scan
• Structure
• Titles and Subtitles
• Headings and subheadings
• Abstracts, summaries, and conclusions
• Key Ideas

Read

Read critically

• Thesis - What is being said? (idea),
• Argument - How is it being said? (understanding).
• Evaluation - Is it true? (criticism)
• Significance - What of it? (personal growth) (Adler, Mortimer; Van Doren, Charles; How to Read a Book; MJF Books; pg. 46-47)

Review

• Synthesize

Reflection

• "To read without reflection is like eating without digestion." Edmund Burke

Notes or Charts

Margin Notes

Data Base

When to Read

Plan times to read Read in Snatches

Keep book in various locations

Keep a book with you

Make reading a priority and a pleasure

Reading on wise and virtuous subjects is, next to prayer, the best improvement of our hearts. It enlightens us, calms us, collects our thoughts, and prompts us to better efforts. We say that a man is known by the friends he keeps, but a man is known even better by his books.

William Law, Christian Perfection

Other suggestions

• Frequent Libraries & Book Stores
• Take a Speed Reading Course 
• Make friends of other Readers
• Keep a list of books you want to read

Two books that have helped me the most on reading:

• How to Read a Book: Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren, MIF
• The Evely Wood Seven-Day Speed Reading and Learning Program; Stanley D. Frank ED.; Barnes & Noble Press

Additional resources about reading: recommendations

• Lit!  A Christian Guide to Reading Books by Tony Reinke.  Here is a sample of some of the chapters 
• Too Busy to Read - Six Ways to Find (and Protect) the Time You Need to Read Books
• Marginalia - The Fine Art of Defacing Books with Pencils, Pens, and Highlighters
• Reading Together - Building Community One Book at a Time
• Raising Readers - How Parents and Pastors Can Ignite In Others a Love for Book Reading

• Read One Page Per Day - http://biblicalspirituality.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Read-One-Page-Per-Day.pdf

Don Whitney writes, “By reading one page per day, you can read 365 pages in a year, or the equivalent of two full-length books. That may not sound like much, but it’s far better than not reading at all. Moreover, by some accounts, this would place you above half the U.S. population in the number of books read each year.”

• http://www.challies.com/articles/read-more-read-better
  Here is an article by Tim Challies on how to read more.
• Tips for Pastors about Books - https://drodgersjr.blogspot.com/2025/09/tips-for-pastor-about-books.html