Reading is an essential task to develop as a leader. I choose to regularly expose myself to a wide range of reading (mostly theological) to sharpen my skills as I seek to follow closely to Jesus. Many works “on my shelf” represent a wide range of viewpoints. As I have learned (and am learning), there is benefit from “chewing the meat and spitting out the bones,” or, as we learned in seminary, “plundering the Egyptians,” that is, take what conforms to Christian teaching and dispense with what does not.
As I read, I read from the foundation that the Bible is inspired, inerrant, totally true, and trustworthy Word of God. While the books I read play a role in my development, they are no substitute for Scripture. I read from the confessional framework of the Baptist Faith and Message (2000).