Utumishi Blog

It’s often said that we’re not in a reading culture. The burning of books on graduation day is often cited (though perhaps less often witnessed). And certainly an academic culture that has little if no place for reading for pleasure may be much to blame. But the common early morning sight of a group of men huddled around a copy of the Nation or seeing the time of night at which people are responding to Facebook posts would suggest plenty of reading is happening. And Biko Zulu seemed to speak for many Kenyans (by the look of the comment thread) when he shared his experience last year of book hangover.

The experience of Mez McConnell and Duncan Forbes church planting in estates in the UK with a perceived anti-reading culture has been that once people become Christians and once they start enjoying eating up the Bible their reading culture changes too and they start to find a new taste for reading, even really hardcore theology [testimony from a former drug dealer].

Daniel Odhiambo gave a great testimony to the transforming power of reading at the ministry training last week. Here were some of the top books he recommended:

1. J. I. Packer, Knowing God
2. John Piper, The Pleasures of God
3. J. C. Ryle, Holiness
4. J. C. Ryle, Christian Leaders of the 18th Century

Let’s get reading…

Resources:

• iServe Africa Apprenticeship Reading List
• In praise of paper books
• Ben Okri on what and how to read

7 motivations and pointers to reading:

1. Switching off
2. A great cloud of witnesses
3. Expressing, feeding, shaping, protecting
4. Wesley: Do not starve yourself any longer
5. Spurgeon: You need to read
6. Watson: Warm your heart
7. Chill out