Practical Helps
One of the best hands-on ways pastors can encourage men to read is by organizing a reading group. But not a typical reading group.
The typical reading group, at least the ones that come to my mind most immediately, are relatively subjective. These are groups that ask questions like: Did you like the book? Was it meaningful to you? What part of the book was most profound for you?
Subjective reading groups like this are rarely effective at encouraging men to initially take up and read great books.
Why’s that? Well, quite simply, it’s a guy thing. Effective reading groups for men need at the center of their gathering a purpose for reading. There needs to be a problem to solve.
Any wise pastor will already be aware of theological weaknesses in himself, in his preaching or in his church. He is also aware of pressing practical problems that need to be considered.
A pastor can go and find a book that addresses these needs in his church, and then gather and meet and talk with men in the church about possible solutions. It’s a creative way to get men reading, and it was an idea suggested by Dr. Mohler in my recent interview with him.
“Men first read books seriously to solve a problem, to find the answer to a need,” he said. “Something has to be a catalyst. What I seek to do is take young guys and say, ‘Read this because we are going to talk about it.’ Saying, ‘Read this book and see if you like it’ is not enough.”
Then he offered an example. In one church, a pastor picked 12 guys (who did not typically read books) to read through Wayne Grudem’s systematic theology (one chapter per week). It’s a long book, but it was doable because he suggested concrete areas in the church that needed clarity on a variety of topics.
And it worked. Not only did it work, the influence of the reading group cascaded. The next year those 12 guys started their own reading groups, and tackled new problems and questions. The same happened the next year.
Now after three years, 600 men have read through Grudem’s large theology work because one wise pastor invested in 12 men for a year.
That is the powerful influence pastors have in the lives of men.
Conclusion
There are several other ways a pastor can encourage men to read books. If you are a pastor, I would love to hear examples of how you’ve done this (email me at blog AT desiringgod DOT org). Together we will consider several other practical suggestions for encouraging literacy in the local church in my seminar at the 2013 conference for pastors in Minneapolis—“The Pastor and His Reading: Why You Are the Key to Building a Church That Loves Books.”
See you there.
