To be an effective preacher, it is necessary to be a reader.  We need to read in order to prepare messages.  Obviously there are biblical reference works, commentaries and so on.  We should also be reading in order to keep our finger on the pulse of our culture and local context.  Then there are other areas of reading related to our role – theology, apologetics, etc.  Once in a while we may also take the opportunity to read for pleasure – perhaps fiction, biography, or hobby related.  All of this is good.  But let’s not forget another broad category.

It is healthy to read works that we find uncomfortable too.  We would not read them for pleasure.  Nor would we automatically read them for sermon preparation since they are not from our preferred group of scholars.  This is a broad category since it could be theological or cultural or both.  Right now I am reading a book that I find quite uncomfortable on the whole.  Written from a perspective I would lean away from politically and spiritually, and attacking some perspectives that are close to my own, this is not a comfortable read.  Yet I feel it is right to read it.

When there is a sense of discomfort in our reading, there tends to be a couple of side-benefits.  Our thinking is challenged and stretched.  Our prayer lives are prompted as we process it before the Lord.  We become more rounded preachers.  Make sure some of your reading is quite uncomfortable.  It’s well worth it.