After taking a look at Mark Dever’s reading plan I decided to attempt to develop my own. Before beginning my MDiv work at Westminster, PA I spent a few years reading through Westminster’s recommended reading list. It was extremely beneficial to have a list of excellent books laid out for me in order to direct my learning. I believe a methodical reading plan is something all types of people can benefit from.

As pastors and teachers, it is crucial to be well read. Oftentimes we end up haphazardly reading whatever catches our eye on the shelf or whatever we happen to be interested in at the moment. As I see it, we run the same type of risk that we run if we preach topically rather than expositionally through a book of the Bible. We end up sticking with our favorites rather than getting exposed to a wider base of material. Personally, I tend to read mostly theology without spending any time reading what the rest of the world is reading. I need to make sure I read classic literature or a New York Times bestseller every once-in-a-while.

As a first attempt to develop a system of reading, I put this spreadsheet together (what justice would I have done my MBA education if I didn’t make a spreadsheet?). Feel free to post comments to help make this better. I would like to make this “open source” in order to develop a robust system of reading for everyone’s benefit. I tried to build as much flexibility into the system as possible. Take a look at the spreadsheet and post your comments.

Reading List (version 1)

Instructions

The basic concept is that I need to read so many books from each category before I move on to the next “cycle.” Once I finish a cycle, I continue to the next until I have completed a “series.” After I complete a series, I’ll start over again. My reading list is divided into categories that I should be reading (theology, Christian living, biography, great theologians, philosophy, etc.) For each category, I may require myself to read a number of books per cycle before moving to the next cycle. For example, I could require myself to read a biography, three theology books, and a philosophy book before moving on to the next series. This keeps me from reading ten theology books before reading any biographies.