Reading With God in Mind

by J.K. Jones

"My dear friend, J.K. Jones, does everything with God in mind - preaching, teaching, grading papers, playing ball, watching TV, waxing his car, riding his motorcycle, and polishing his shoes. One of his favorite things to do though is reading. But the difference between the reading of most people and the reading of J.K. is that everything he reads he takes captive to Christ. His all-consuming questions is, 'How is God speaking to me and shaping me through this work?' This motivational/devotional book is a marvelous 7-step recovery program for addicted readaholics and is a great invitation to reading wannabes. Perfect as a supplemental text for a basic class on the Christian Life." - Mark Scott

Genres: Nonfiction

Paperback

Published August 8, 2003

About the author

Dr. J.K. Jones serves as Pastor of Spiritual Formation at Eastview Christian Church in Bloomington/Normal, IL. He began preaching in 1976, teaching in 1982, and since then, has kept one foot in the church and one foot in the classroom.

Reviews

[Andy Nichols]

Very friendly and open short read. Basically focuses on the benefits of a good reading life.

[Steve]

An excellent book from J.K. Jones - a pastor at my former church. He is a thinker and a reader and shares some of his journey with us in this book. While slanted toward reading of Biblical/ spiritual books, his approach works for any books.

The short exercise - questions really - at the end of each chapter are well worth the time to ponder on. In fact I would say they are as important as the book itself. They cause you to look inward and determine what you read and why you read. It prompted me to examine my "reading motives".

The bibliography at the end of the book is outstanding. It gives you the opportunity to scope out some devotional classics - the kind of books that will cause you to pause. To think about yourself and your place in the world, but more importantly, to think about God and how you relate to Him.

A quote from J.K. about the kind of reading he is suggesting here - " (reading of the sort) that nourishes the soul, inspires the mind, and moves the body to Christian service." When a book does all that, it really is a 'great book'.

Thank you, J.K. for a great book!

[Blake Chenoweth]

This is a book for those of us who love to read, and those who want to read more. It challenges us to read on a deeper level and also to be passionate about books and contemplating the things we read. I am truly thankful for several people for fanning the flame of reading in my life. JK is one of those people as my preaching professor and small group leader in college he shared with me a passion for reading the greats like Tozer, Lewis, Bonhoeffer, and Nouwen. I am thankful to Mrs. Mansir who gave me my first copy of The Chronicles of Narnia as a kid, and my mom who would just take me to a bookstore for my birthday and get me books.

If you are passionate about reading, and reading with God in mind, you will be blessed by this book.

[Jt]

good resource for some christian classics