Read for the Kingdom! Reading Widely as Practice for Deepening Discipleship | Byron Borger
What does it look like to learn for the glory of God?
To serve God well in a specific place, we have to learn how to think critically about that area.
And we have to be discerning about them. This means putting in the work to come to our own conclusions instead of just taking someone else’s word for it. (And this includes professors, too!)
And this is where the act of reading books enters the chat.
And who better to learn from about what it looks like to read books than an actual bookseller?
Byron and Beth Borger, owners of Hearts & Minds Bookstore in Dallastown, PA, have been attending Jubilee since its beginning. And when they started bringing basically an entire bookstore TO Jubilee, we started seeing something really special: hundreds of college students leaving Jubilee with a new TBR (to be read) pile.
At Jubilee this year, Byron Borger himself hosted a workshop on reading for the Kingdom. He encouraged us in four areas of what books can do:
Reading books is an act of worship
Reading books is an act of discipleship
Reading books is an act of mission
Reading books is an act of building community
We get to turn to books to learn more about our majors, interests, passions, and questions about life. We get to read books that help us form spiritual habits, grow in our relationships, and spark change.
Listen below to the first episode of Living Jubilee season five: select workshops recorded at Jubilee 2024!
everything matters. reading does too!
RECOMMENDED READING FROM BYRON
Here's a list of all of the books Byron recommended in his workshop at Jubilee. Want a copy? Order from Hearts & Minds! Looking for something else? Send them an email to get a personal recommendation.
Sho Baraka | He Saw That It Was Good: How Your Creative Life Can Change a Broken World
Marilyn McEntyre | When Poets Pray
David Dockery | What Does It Mean to Be a Thoughtful Christian?
Austin Carty | The Pastor's Bookshelf: Why Reading Matters for Ministry
Jessica Hooten Wilson | The Scandal of Holiness: Renewing Your Imagination in the Company of Literary Saints
Claude Atcho | Reading Black Books
Marilyn McEntyre | Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies
Chaim Potok | The Chosen
(yes, he will answer you!)
Try reading in community! Start a book club or text a friend and invite them to read a book with you. Like we say, faithfulness is pursued together.
Happy reading!
— The Jubilee Team