In a recent Breakpoint commentary, John Stonestreet pointed out that “According to the Pew Research Center, only three in four American adults ages 18 and older claim to have read at least one book in the past year, which means 25 percent haven’t; 28 percent say they read an ebook, while half listened to an audio book.
“You add it all up and the fact is, we’re losing the habit of reading. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that Americans aged 20 to 54 spend only 11 minutes a day reading for leisure, not including computer use.”
As an avowed book guy, that distresses me greatly. Reading opens us to new places and new insights that we might otherwise never see. For the Christian, books allow us to travel with classic writers—from Augustine to C.S. Lewis—as well as our contemporaries in ministry.
Good books can be an extension of your preaching and teaching ministry, pointing people to the mines where they will dig out additional gems of truth. Why not encourage our church families to dig into worthwhile books by offering regular suggestions about titles that will be worth their time and effort?
Blessings!
Michael Duduit
MDuduit@SalemPublishing.com
MichaelDuduit.com
Follow me on Twitter @MichaelDuduit