The axiom goes: Leaders are readers.

This is true.

Pastors are readers too. I don’t know a single pastor who doesn’t want to read more books on a variety of subjects.

But many pastors fail to read as consistently and broadly as they desire because they don’t read with intentionality and discipline.

Today’s newsletter gives you a path for how to read more books (in addition to your Scripture reading) in 2023.

20 Mile March

Jim Collins told the story in Great By Choice of two teams of explorers racing to the South Pole in 1911. The two teams had different strategies.

One team marched long distances on days when they felt good and the weather cooperated. They also rested on days they were tired or the weather was bad.

The second team’s plan was to march 20 miles every day. It didn’t matter how they felt. They stopped after 20 miles. On days the weather was awful and their bodies were tired, they marched 20 miles.

One team’s plan was tied to conditions of weather and how they felt. The other team’s plan was to march 20 miles every day regardless of everything.

Which team got there first?

The team that marched 20 miles every day. In fact, the other team didn’t make it at all.

A Daily 15 Minute "March"

The moral of the “20 Mile March” story is that consistency and discipline are the keys to achieving greater results.

How does this apply to a reading strategy?

The average reader can read 300 words per minute.

If you read for 15 minutes per day, that equals 4,500 words. That is the length of a typical book chapter.

If you did that each day of the year (365 days), that is 1,642,500 words read.

If the average book is between 45,000 to 90,000 words, then you could read between 18-36 books per year.

That’s an incredible number of books to read in a year, yet only a short amount of time each day.

An Example Plan

• Monday and Wednesday subjects: Theology
• Tuesday and Thursday subjects: Leadership
• Friday subjects: Apologetics
• Saturday and Sunday subjects: History/Leisure

Again, this is an example. You can add any subjects and plans that you are interested in.

I have several books on different subjects that are a part of my stack. I just plod. It doesn’t require an hour of reading per sitting to consume a lot of books. Just stick to the 15 minute march.

Bottom Line

Determine a set amount of reading time you’re going to dedicate each day & read multiple books at the same time on a broad variety of subjects.

Commit to your “20 Mile March” and you will read more books on a greater variety of subjects in 2023!

Thanks for Reading!

I hope you enjoy reading the newsletters. My desire is help pastors to feed and lead the sheep.

Whenever you’re ready to go further, there are multiple ways you could work with me to grow in your pastoral leadership.

1. Pastor Cohorts. New cohort beginning in February of 2023. We cap the size of the group. Get signed up here ASAP. 

2. 1-on-1 Coaching. If you desire a more personal option, this approach is tailored to your church context and areas of growth. Starts in February. I’m only taking 5 in 2023.

3. Church Consulting. Those looking for help with a revitalization effort, setting new vision for the church, and developing systems, this option can be something to explore.

If you’re interested in any of these, please let me at erik@tjclive.com and we can talk further.