Well, you can see what I’m currently reading on the left sidebar and what I’ve read on the right sidebar. But, I guess I don’t really qualify for “clergy” – although a good friend of mine who sings Baritone with me in our local community choir promised to refrain from making sexual jokes around “a man of the cloth” [he was referring to me…I love it!].
Duke Divinity School’s Pulpit & Pew project conducted a survey of clergy from eight denominations. They wanted to know who was actually reading, and what were they reading. The average time for clergy to spend reading (reading material that is not for their sermons) is 4 hours a week. Episcopal clergy were highest at five hours per week; Nazarenes were lowest at two hours.
To check out their full report, go here: Pulpit and Pew. I think that people in ministry definitely need to be reading much more than they/we do. I know many pastors who don’t read anything at all. This is not good. It’s not good for the souls of the pastors, or the souls of people in their congregations. Interesting note on women authors in the 3 traditions: Women authors do not fare well on the lists. The lone woman author among the top 12 is Barbara Brown Taylor, and she appears only on the mainline Protestant list. Other women authors appear further down that list: Kathleen Norris, Marva Dawn, Elizabeth Achtemeier, Roberta Bondi, Sue Bender, and Annie Dillard. Below the top dozen on the Catholic list one finds Dianne Bergant, Joan Chittister, Joyce Rupp and Rosemary Radford Ruether. Not a single woman made the author list of conservative Protestant clergy.
Below is a brief summary of who is reading what. All I have to say is GO CATHOLICS AND MAINLINERS!
Catholics
1. Henri J. M. Nouwen
2. John Paul II
3. Raymond Brown
4. William J. Bausch
5. Walter J. Burghardt
6. Scott Hahn
7. Anthony de Mello
8. William Barclay
9. Richard P. McBrien
10. Karl Rahner
11. C. S. Lewis
12. Mark Link
Mainline Protestants
1. Henri J. M. Nouwen
2. William Willimon
3. Frederick Buechner
4. Max Lucado
5. Eugene Peterson
6. C. S. Lewis
7. Marcus Borg
8. John C. Maxwell
9. Lyle E. Schaller
10. Philip Yancey
11. Walter Brueggemann
12. Barbara Brown Taylor
Conservative Protestants
1. Max Lucado
2. John C. Maxwell
3. Charles Swindoll
4. John MacArthur
5. Warren Wiersbe
6. Philip Yancey
7. Rick Warren
8. C. S. Lewis
9. Matthew Henry
10. Charles Spurgeon
11. T. D. Jakes
12. Eugene Peterson
