Event #2 - Learning to Love Words and The Word
So there I am, sitting in the hallway, posted up at locker 743. If you missed that, click here.
Now, you might not believe this, but a high school hallway is not exactly the peak of action and excitement.
Do not get me wrong. It had its moments. But for the most part, I spent each class period just sitting in that rolly chair. After about a week, I knew I needed to come up with something to do.
Lucky for me, locker 743 was just around the corner from Mrs. MacGee’s classroom. Mrs. MacGee was my high school English teacher my sophomore year. She is also just wonderful in general. One day I wandered into her room, made some small talk, and then asked her if she knew of a book I could read.
She told me about The Hunger Games.
I read it in a day and a half.
That was it. Life changed.
Honesty time: I was never a student that loved to read. I did not hate it. I was willing to read what I was assigned (Animal Farm, anyone? The Outsiders? Shakespeare?). Outside of that, you never would have found me with a book. That all changed in Liberty High School’s hallway in the fall of 2011. I feel like I have been making up for lost time ever since. I would venture to say that few things have impacted the daily routine of my life and overall health of my soul more than learning to love to read.
Weird how something as innocuous as a book recommendation from a former teacher can alter the trajectory of your life.
I find that is typically how God works.
Powerfully in the ordinary.
Our problem is that we want something that feels more miraculous. Something that seems, I don’t know, more God-y?
You see, learning to love to read in general helped me learn to love to read the Bible. I have read the Bible as a discipline since I became a Christian in high school. But when I learned to love the written word that fall, I absolutely fell in love with The Word of God.
The impact of learning to love to read on my daily life has been significant, but the impact of learning to love the Bible has been soul-shaping. It has provided a life change that I pray has ripple effects into the lives of those I lead at Liberty Christian Fellowship. Why? Because I believe firmly that our love for Jesus rests on our knowledge of Jesus. After all, you cannot love what you do not know. And our knowledge of Jesus hinges on our interaction with the book that was written in order to tell us about Him. Want to love Jesus more deeply? Step one is easy. Read.
“The easiest thing you can do to learn more about Jesus and to fan into flame your adoration of Jesus? Read the Bible. ”
I want to share the 10 most influential books in my life over the last decade. Please note, these are not my 10 favorite books, necessarily. This also not my list of the 10 best books. These are the 10 books from the last decade that have had the greatest impact on my life. Maybe one of them will pique your interest.
The Bible
I know. I am a pastor. I have to put this first, right? But seriously, there is a reason this was first off the press in Gutenberg in 1455 and is the best-selling book of all time. I frequently get asked, “Do you have a good book recommendation?” Recently, my answer is the same: “Are you regularly and intentionally reading the Bible? If not, none of my other recommendations are all that important.” I mean that. Every page of the Bible screams of the beauty, majesty, grace, and love of Jesus. There are lots of wonderful books. None of them are in the same league as the Bible.
Holiness, JC Ryle
JC Ryle was a pastor in the late 1800s. Without question, he is my favorite “old dead guy.” Holiness is his most popular work. The topic? Holy living in the life of a follower of Jesus. I have read it three times now and I am convicted each time. No other book outside of the Bible has challenged me to live a life that genuinely reflects the life of Jesus like this book has.
Quiet, Susan Cain
I am an introvert. In high school and college, I would have told you that I thought I was an extrovert. Turns out I did not know what introversion or extroversion were. I am outgoing, but I am an introvert. That means I am not shy. But I need alone time in order to recharge. I feel like I am slowly suffocating without it. As a pastor, I love you people. As an introvert, you make me tired. Quiet helped me not only understand what it means to be introverted, but also how to not be ashamed of it.
Team of Rivals, Doris Kearns
Team of Rivals is about Abraham Lincoln’s cabinet while serving as POTUS. Before you fall asleep on me, the book was influential for two reasons: A) Abraham Lincoln is one of America’s greatest leaders. Getting an inside look at how he intentionally put together a cabinet of different, often opposing views, and then leveraged the conflicting input in order to make wise decisions continues to pay huge dividends in my own leadership. B) I rediscovered a love for history. Shout-out to my mom for instilling that in me to begin with.
What’s Best Next, Matt Perman
This is all about time management and productivity. There probably isn’t anything in here that you couldn’t find from other time-management gurus — only check email at certain times, work your inbox to zero, create a flexible but predictable weekly framework, build routines that initiate and conclude your workday, etc. Those tips have been incredibly helpful for me. What’s been even more influential in my life is that Perman walks you through developing one big life goal, a life mission statement, and a set of guiding life principles. The process was life-changing for me. I review it every Monday morning before I start my work week.
Preaching and Preachers, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Niche audience on this one, I know. I spend the bulk of my week preparing to preach to my congregation. This book has been central to helping form a view of why that task is so important and why I should give so much time to it.
Counterfeit Gods, Timothy Keller
Tim Keller is my favorite author. If he has written it, I have read it. Counterfeit Gods was where I started. For that reason alone, it goes down as one of the most influential books I have read in the last decade. Beyond that, the book is wonderful, and has helped me understand the ways I am tempted to worship things that are lesser than God and thus not able to bear the weight of my heart’s deepest desires.
Leading Change, John P. Kotter
There are a host of fantastic leadership books out there. Again, I am not saying this is the best one on the market, simply that it has been hugely influential for me. When I found out that I was moving into the Lead Pastor role at LCF in the shadow of the man who had planted the church and led it for 30yrs, I knew the staff I lead and I needed to think carefully about the pace and implementation of potential change. We have not been perfect over four years, but many of the principles in this book saved us from possible disaster.
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, John Mark Comer
Confession: I just finished this last week. I struggled with whether or not this was making the list because of recency bias. The timing was providential, though. My wife and I have been on a year-long process of retraining ourselves how to slow down and disengage from the frenetic pace of 21st century, suburban America. She’e better at it than me, but I am growing. Odds are the pace of your life is far too fast, as well. If you are reading this post and you live in 21st century America, then you need to read this book. You need off the crazy train. Here is an introduction to what a different pace of life can look like. Read it. It may change your life.
All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
I know. You have a novel you like more. That is fine. I do, too. But this one really helped turn me back toward an appreciation for fiction. For that reason, it makes the most influential list.
I have read a host of other wonderful books. I am consistent and I plug along, reading somewhere around 50 books a year (not much TV watching at the Fritson home). I’d be happy to give you a recommendation or two. But know that I am going to ask you the same question I have recently been asking everyone: Are you regularly and intentionally reading the Bible? If not, then none of my other recommendations are all that important. I mean that.
