Walt Disney suggested, “There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.”  Making the journey through a good book is a soul-nurturing adventure.

My love for reading was slow to develop.  But when it emerged, it flourished. During my teenage years, I perceived reading to be a nuisance and somewhat of a necessary evil to get decent grades. At some point during my college years, however, I learned to appreciate the gift of reading, not just for assignments or entertainment, but for personal growth.

In my work as a pastor, I need to read widely to stay current and relevant. More importantly, I need books like I need food, to satisfy cognitive hunger and to probe intellectual curiosity. Books stimulate my thinking, exercise my memory muscles, and challenge my presuppositions.

These days I find reading to be relaxing, educational, and often inspirational.

Typically, I read a variety of genres including fiction, spirituality, theology, history, and biography. And I usually keep from three to five books going at the same time, a discipline that was recommended by Opal Lovett, one of the most influential faculty members from my college years. This practice invites a variety of authors to be conversation partners in my internal dialogue.

I also intentionally read books I disagree with. Rather than making me combative, the practice of reading opposing viewpoints challenges me to test my assumptions and it familiarizes me with a variety of perspectives.  This discipline equips me to dialogue and debate intelligibly, and not just emotively.

For the past several years, around the first of January, I make a list of books that I plan to read during the coming year. While I hope to read 40-50 books this year, I have already compiled a list of twenty-one books I want to be sure to read in 2021:

1. Tempered Resilience: How Leaders Are Formed in the Crucible of Change by Tod Bolsinger.
2. A Place to Belong: Learning to Love the Local Church by Megan Hill.
3. Where I Come From: Stories from the Deep South by Rick Bragg.
4. The Daughters of Kobani: A Story of Rebellion, Courage, and Justice by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon.
5. Truth-telling as Subversive Obedience by Walter Brueggemann.
6. Not Now Lord, I’m Eating Lunch by David Gilmore.
7. Dusk, Night, Dawn: On Revival and Courage by Anne Lamott
8. The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly.
9. Diary of a Pastor’s Soul: The Holy Moments in a Life of Ministry by M. Craig Barnes.  
10. Paul and the Language of Faith by Nijay Gupta.
11. Broken Signposts: How Christianity Makes Sense of the World by N.T. Wright.
12. The Church Recovery Guide: How Your Congregation Can Adapt and Thrive after a Crisis by Karl Vaters.
13. The Deeply Formed Life: Five Transformative Values to Root Us in the Way of Jesus by Rich Villodas.
14. Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership: Seeking God in the Crucible of Ministry by Ruth Haley Barton.
15. Sermon on the Mount: A Beginner’s Guide to the Kingdom of Heaven by Amy-Jill Levine.
16. Stories by Will Willimon.
17. Good Apple: Tales of a Southern Evangelical in New York by Elizabeth Passarella.
18. Southernmost: A Novel by Silas House.
19. Saving Freedom: Truman, the Cold War and the Fight for Western Civilization by Joe Scarborough.
20. His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope by Jon Meacham.
21. Do What You’re Best at When You’re at Your Best: How to Get Time, Energy, and Priorities Working in Your Favor by Carey Nieuwhof.

Whether you are a fast reader or a slow reader, a hard print reader or an e-book reader, read for quality, not quantity. This year I invite you to join me in adopting the philosophy of Fran Lebowitz: “Think before you speak. Read before you think.”

Enjoy a great year of reading in 2021!

(Barry Howard serves as the pastor of the Church at Wieuca in Atlanta. He also serves as a columnist and leadership coach with the Center for Healthy Churches.)