Here is part 2 of an interview I recently had with a student from Cal Baptist University on my reading habits…

2. How much writing do you do? What kind? Do you ever publish? What is the primary purpose of your professional writing?

I have not done any formal publishing. I blog regularly as a way to think through issues, disciple pastor friends, and educate the general public. I would be interested in doing more publishing someday, whether for a curriculum or a book, but I don’t have any projects in the foreseeable future.

As a pastor, I’m writing constantly – everything from interviews like this, to emails, to bulletin announcements, to biblical counseling advice, to prayer lists, to monthly church newsletters, to sermon notes. I also submit a Minister’s Message for publication to our local newspaper once a quarter.

It’s very important for pastors to be clear communicators not only in speech but in writing. In fact, it’s probably true that the better you can write, the better you will be able to speak.

3. How much education do you need? What kinds of certification or licensing are required? Do you need to update this? How often?

In California, it’s required to have a minister’s license to perform weddings and to be eligible for tax benefits like the Housing Allowance. Many churches also expect you to have this license in order to preach, perform funerals, and administer the Lord’s Supper. The process in churches will vary, but it’s usually just a matter of having your church vote to license you at your next business meeting.

Ordination is a more in-depth process where you study, exercise your gifts, and then sit before a council of pastors and leaders for formal questioning. I did this a year after becoming pastor at First Southern, and do not regret waiting a little while. By then, we had been “tested” for a while, and our flock and denominational leaders knew us better. It made the event much more special and did not occur until after the Lord had truly confirmed He had called us to serve Him full-time in ministry.

As far as education, I highly recommend at least an MDiv for those pursuing full-time ministry. Undergrad is great, but you simply cannot delve into the complexity of issues, original languages, Bible survey, preaching skills, theology, and pastoral training necessary with a BA.

I think it’s OK to begin pastoring while still getting your education (particularly if you are associate). But long-term, I think it’s best to have at least an MDiv. I wouldn’t want to go to a doctor who had merely a bachelor’s degree in biology. Why would we settle for anything less from preachers of the Word of God?

Pastors must be life-long learners. As Howard Hendricks says, the day we stop learning, we stop being effective teachers. Whether this education is formal or informal, we need to be men of the book and men who understand the hearts of our people and the spirit of the times. If we are to ‘guard what has been entrusted to us” (1 Tim. 6:20), we need to be thoughtful, perceptive, discerning, and articulate. It is no wonder that Paul, just months before his death, asked Timothy to “bring the cloak…and the books, especially the parchments” (2 Tim. 4:13). As long as he was on the earth, Paul never stopped learning! We should expect the same.

(to be concluded tomorrow)

My dad used to say, “Leaders are readers,” and I’ve found that to be very true. The most influential people in my life are people who read continuously. In my own ministry, I know it’s critical to keep growing in knowledge, reading comprehension, and effectiveness with words – three things that will never occur if I don’t read.

In November, I was interviewed by a student at Cal Baptist University about my reading habits. It was part of an English project he had to complete, interviewing someone in the field he wants to go into (pastoral ministry). It was good for me to think through these questions and even caused me to adjust some of my reading habits. Today through Wednesday, I’ll post his questions and my answers…

1. What kinds of professional materials do you read?

There are three kinds of materials I normally read. We might call them (1) instant content like blogs, websites, the local newspaper, magazines, denominational newsletters (2) contemporary research and analysis like what is found on some websites and in journals (3) and in-depth content found in books either in print or on my computer.

I follow many blogs and read through every issue of The Family Handyman, World Magazine, and our local newspaper, The Hi Desert Star. I also look through SBC Life, On Mission, and The Master’s Seminary Journal when it arrives, though I don’t read these cover to cover. Last year, I subscribed to The Briefing and The Founders Journal also but discontinued because I found I just couldn’t keep up on them all.

I read and consult many other books, journals, magazines, etc. on an “as needed” basis. Some journals and reference works are available online, while others I own on computer. For example, I own the Journal of Biblical Counseling CD-Rom (.pdf format) and have volumes 1-10 of The Theological Journal Library (Libronix) and use these when I’m researching a particular topic or Scripture passage.

Apart from The Family Handyman magazine, nearly all of my reading relates in some way to ministry, whether in refining my theology, studying for sermons, staying aware of current issues and events, sharpening my preaching, addressing pastoral issues, looking for illustration material, etc. I can only think of one book I’ve read in the past year strictly for pleasure – The Unforgiving Minute, by Craig Mullaney. It was a memoir about an Army Ranger in Afghanistan. And even that had some uncanny parallels to ministry!

A. Who publishes/sponsors it?

There are many different publishers, including book and magazine publishers, theological schools, the SBC, and many other Christian and secular businesses. The list of publishers is quite diverse. Most of my Christian reading is very theologically conservative. Some of my favorite book publishers are Crossway, P&R, Holman, Baker, and Moody.

B. How often does it come out?

Multiple times a week – blogs, local newspaper
Twice a month – World Magazine
Monthly – Family Handyman, the Clarion Inland Empire Association newsletter, California Southern Baptist newspaper
Semi-annual – The Master’s Seminary Journal

C. How does one find it (via subscription, online, etc.)?

It takes a long time to learn which authors, resources, websites, schools, publishers, etc. are reliable and which ones are not. I’m still learning, but I’ve found a lot of good material through my pastoral mentors, college and seminary teachers, and just good old-fashioned word of mouth.

Blogs – RSS feed
National news and current events – Foxnews.com and ESPN.com
Newspapers and some magazines – subscription and delivery to my home
Encyclopedia Britannica – available online
Websites – monergism.com is one of the best
Magazines and Journals – some of these I own on CD-ROM; others I access through a local library database called EBSCOHost.
Books – I buy most of my books through either Amazon or Christianbook.com. To know which books are best I would recommend starting out with these websites:
ttp://bestcommentaries.com/
http://www.9marks.org/CC_Content_Page/0,,PTID314526_CHID598032_CIID,00.html
http://www.tms.edu/pdf/850Books.pdf

Try to get familiar now with resources in your local library, personal library, digital library, and online. As I’m sure you’ve figured out by now, respectable scholarship cannot be done simply through Google. Learning how to research now will become invaluable later. A great book on this is The Survivor’s Guide to Library Research by William B. Badke.

It’s also important to start developing a good filing system now. I use a combination of a filing cabinet, folders in Microsoft Windows, and a Microsoft Access database to file quotes, stories, articles, etc.

D. Who is the primary targeted audience?

It varies, but a lot of my reading is geared toward those who are pastors or at least somewhat theologically educated.

(To be continued tomorrow)