How to Read a Christian Book?

Leaders are readers. To lead you need to read to enrich and grow your mind. But how do we read a book to get the maximum out of it?

I once read a good book on this above title by David McKenna and summarised the main points below.

How to choose a book:

1. Be a listener - for other's recommendations, "What book are you reading now?" "What would you recommend?"
2. Be a looker - look around and see who has what books in the office and/or at home. 
3. Be a surfer - check it up on the Net, read the book reviews
4. Be a browser - browse them in the bookshops
5. Be a sampler - sample the information on the front, back, inside jackets, know who the author is, the aim of the book, etc. 
6. Be a prober - check out the contents, first lines, first para, last para - how did the author conclude? 
7. Be a buyer - (1) make the book your own - talk to the author, ask it questions, (2) to build your own library, (3) for your reference

Questions to ask of every Christian book: 

1. is this book true to the Bible (both in text and spirit)? 
2. is this book useful for Christian teaching? 
3. does this book contribute to Christian maturity? does it inspire us to be godly? 

Goals for Reading: 

1. Read for Information

2. Read for Inspiration

3. Read for Instruction

4. Read for Interrogation - i.e. critically examine it, e.g. for books on theology

5. Read for Integration - read several books on the same topic and integrate them

Note - there are some books that you read and re-read, they "grow" with you, one seating is never enough for these books, i.e. the Christian classics. 

Pyramid of Christian books (start from the basics) - for a well rounded library

• Bibles: literal, dynamic versions, and newer translations
• Biblical Reference: Bible Dictionary, handbook and commentaries
• Biblical Study: Books that help explain about the Bible
• Christian Devotion: devotion books, books on prayer, spiritual disciplines
• Christian Inspiration: biographies
• Christian Living: family
• Christian Understanding: theological books, church history, worship
• Christian Witness: evangelism, disciplemaking, missions
• Christian Action: social actions
• Christian Thought: apologetics, ethics
• Author of your choice - those books that you resonate with. 

It has been almost ten years since I last read and made this summary of what i gleaned from this book. I realized that for most parts of my life, I had been a lazy reader and wished that i had been more disciplined to read more. 

It's still not too late to start reading again. Today.