What I’m reading this summer

FROM THE BISHOP
R. LAWSON BRYAN

For years I have looked forward to summer as a time to read some of the books that have caught my attention during the year. While I read books all year long, the opportunity to read uninterruptedly is one of the ways I find renewal for my mind and spirit. Listed below are eight books I have read, or am still reading, this summer. Interestingly, each of these books was recommended to me by colleagues, both clergy and laity. I share them with the South Georgia Conference as an act of accountability for my own continuing education and as an expression of gratitude to those who told me about them. 

Andersonville by Mackinlay Kantor (a Pulitzer Prize-winning Civil War novel)

Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone by Brené Brown

Building A StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller

Cool Tools for Hot Topics: Group Tools to Facilitate Meetings When Things Are Hot by Ron Kraybill and Evelyn Wright

Humble Leadership: Being Radically Open to God’s Guidance and Grace by N. Graham Standish

Partners In Ministry: Clergy and Laity by Roy W. Trueblood & Jackie B. Trueblood (Equipping clergy and laity to work effectively as teams to fulfill the mission of the church)

Taking Learning to Task: Creative Strategies for Teaching Adults by Jane Vella

The Sacred Slow: A Holy Departure From Fast Faith by Alicia Britt Chole

I hope that each of us will make a point of reading some good books this summer. And let us also be sure to share what we read in our cluster groups, Sunday school classes, Bible study groups, and other settings. The ability to read is a powerful expression of God’s gifts of curiosity and imagination. May we use it joyfully and intentionally.

Alive Together in the World,
Lawson Bryan