This week the blog is sponsored by AccelerateBooks. Used by 5000+ leaders, AccelerateBooks keeps you sharp for ministry and life by giving you access to an arsenal of soul-shaping insights from the most important books. Get 33% off forever on all membership at https://partner.acceleratebooks.com/challies. 

You’re probably too busy to read this.
You probably have 5 other browser tabs currently open, a lineup of articles bookmarked for later, and a growing stack of books you’ll read “one day”.
And you probably have a to-do list of all the other tasks you should be doing right now.
And that’s precisely why you should read this article.
How Many Books Should Leaders Read?
You’ve likely opened this article because, as a leader, you already know how important reading is; you already know how essential continued learning is for staying sharp and effective.
As Albert Mohler, president of SBTS, says:
There is no substitute for effective learning when it comes to developing and maintaining the intelligence necessary to lead.
Your brain is a powerful tool that must be sharpened and stewarded, otherwise, it will waste away.
And while you’re well aware of this, too often the urgent demands of life and ministry keep your hands tied and your books untouched. But your inner critic reprimands you: wake up earlier, skip breakfast, drink more caffeine, read faster!
You feel guilty when others seem to read more than you; you’re both inspired and devastated when you consider that:

Timothy Keller reads 3 books a week
Charles Spurgeon read 6 books a week
D. A. Carson reads 9 books a week
Albert Mohler reads 7-10 books a week (sources below)

At this point, you’re likely either inspired to try harder, set more ambitious goals, and eventually succumb to burnout. Or you’re left to wonder if it’s even possible to develop a sustainable habit of learning.
It is possible.
What if effective learning is not measured by how many books you read, but by how effectively you read?
In fact, with the right mindset and the right tools, it’s possible to learn more effectively in a single-year than most do in a lifetime.
In this article, you’ll discover the two principles needed to cultivate the right mindset and you’ll discover a tool that can change your life and ministry forever. (And there’s a free gift at the end you don’t want to miss!)
The Insight Principle
The Insight Principle states that the goal for reading is not reading for its own sake, but acquiring insight.
When you fall into the trap of equating reading with learning, you hinder your growth; when you prize ingesting information more than internalizing insight, you do yourself a disservice.
It is possible to read many books, but learn very little.
In fact, the truth is that “books don’t change people”, says John Piper. “Paragraphs change people and sometimes sentences. They may lodge themselves so powerfully in our mind that its effect is enormous when all else is forgotten.”
In other words, books don’t change people. Insights do.
Therefore, the goal of reading a book is never merely to finish it, but to identify, chew on, and absorb its life-shaping insights. If a book is not providing any insights that are helpful or stirring, it’s better to put it aside and invest your time elsewhere.
The 20% Principle
The second principle effective leaders must grasp is the 20% principle, also known as the Pareto principle or 80/20 rule.
Effective leaders recognize that not all books are created equal. With thousands of Christian books being published each year, you must exercise discernment and guard your time. Not only must you be wise in deciding which books you will read, but you also which books you won’t — this will mean deliberately avoiding good books, in order to make time for great books.
According to the 20% Principle, only 20% of the good books you come across will be worth your time given your particular calling and season in life.
Furthermore, the 20% Principle suggests that even within an individual book, only 20% of its pages hold the key insights, while the remaining 80% of the pages serve to illustrate and strengthen the author’s arguments.
As David Mathis states: “80% of a book’s main insights are found in 20% of the pages. So without apology, I ransack books for what I can get in the little time I have in this season of life.”
The Solution? The Book Brief Method
In light of these two principles, many leaders have discovered the advantage and effectiveness of using the Book Brief method for grasping, retaining, and implementing insights.
Book Briefs are strategic summaries designed to identify the key insights of a book, supported by key quotes and crystallized by reflection questions.

As illustrated above, the Book Brief method requires you to be incredibly intentional with your reading, keeping you focused on both identifying and applying the insights.
While you can absolutely use this method and create Book Briefs on your own, more than 5000 leaders currently use AccelerateBooks to access an entire library of existing Book Briefs, with 8 new Book Briefs added each month. Essentially, AccelerateBooks is an arsenal of Book Briefs, giving busy leaders (like you) access to important insights so you can stay sharp and effective in 2020. (You can download a free Book Brief at the end of this article!)
AccelerateBooks enables you to:

Save Money by stewarding your finances more wisely with informed book-buying choices
Stay Informed and dialed-in to ideas that are shaping the Church and culture
Read Widely through weekly exposure to different perspectives
Retain Insights with an accessible library of Book Briefs to reference
… and much more!

Here’s what some Accelerate members have to say:

33% Off Forever on All Memberships
For readers of Challies.com, AccelerateBooks is happy to offer readers a 33% off discount on all membership plans (individual and group memberships).
To snag this deal, visit partner.acceleratebooks.com/challies. 
P.S. – If you’re not quite convinced about the Book Brief method, feel free to check it out yourself with a Free Book Brief Download of Transforming Grace by Jerry Bridges.
P.P.S. – Check out this video to see how AccelerateBooks works!
Sources:
Timothy Keller reads 3 books a week
Charles Spurgeon read 6 books a week
D.A. Carson reads 9 books a week
Albert Mohler reads 7-10 books a week

He told me of a day he had awoken sick in his heart, sick in his soul. He didn’t know what to think, he didn’t know what to do, he didn’t know what to believe. After all those years of marriage, all those years of joy, all those years of living life together, his wife had gone to heaven and he had been left on earth. Though days and weeks had passed, still he was in the depths of despair.

He told how he had laid in bed for longer than usual that morning, remembering the years of her decline, the years in which illness had been an unwelcome but constant presence in their home. He thought of how weak she had become and how tired she had been—tired in body, tired in mind, tired in spirit. He thought of how, as she had approached heaven, she had gained an even deeper assessment of her own sinfulness, and an even deeper sorrow for it. The light of heaven, drawing closer in her mind, had given her such clarity. He thought of how often they had wept together—wept for what had been and for what would never be. He thought of her final day, her final words, her final breath.
Desperate to escape the turmoil of his thoughts, he got up, got dressed, and drove to a nearby park where he began to hike a familiar trail. He needed to be alone, but not alone—to be in nature where the heavens declare the glory of God and the mountains proclaim divine majesty. That trail led through deep woods and then up a long, slow incline. Little rocks skittered beneath his feet and great slabs of stone loomed to either side. Then, just before the trail began to loop back and return the way it came, it led to the cusp of a canyon cut like a deep gash across the landscape.
He told how for a time—it could have been moments and it could have been hours—he stood at the edge of the canyon, gazing into its depths, his mind still disquieted, his heart still downcast. And then, almost at a whim, he lifted his voice and shouted into the void, “Will you never be sick again?” And a moment later, first far in the distance and then closer and closer, the echo returned, resounding from rock to rock and crag to crag: “Never—sick—again!”
He shouted again, this time his voice just a little louder, “Will you never be tired again?” “Never—tired—again!” came the reply.
“Will you never weep again?” “Never—weep—again!”
“Will you never sin again?” “Never—sin—again!”
Mustering all the strength that remained, he shouted one more time, “Will you never die again?” And once more the echo returned from the canyon below: “Never—die—again.”
And as the echo faded for the final time, he was aware that the voice that had reached his ear was his own. But he was aware as well that the voice had spoken truth, that the voice had preached to his heart. For he knew that the echo of the canyon was the echo of heaven.

Inspired by the sermons of De Witt Talmage.

Yesterday was my first day at my desk in a while and it felt so good to be back! I’m so grateful that a pretty significant infection can be defeated by $20 worth of prescriptions. What a world we live in! I’m looking forward to sharing some new articles beginning on Monday.

Logos has launched a new sale so you can save money on all things sermons. Remember they’ve also got a Pastor Appreciation Sale going on.
When Being Affirming Isn’t Loving
Not surprisingly, Carl Trueman has something to say about Andy Stanley’s (and Pope Francis’) recent attempts to be affirming. “Prophets warn the church when she is too close to the world. They do not go to the world to tell the pundits that the church is not worldly enough.” (On the same topic, see Sam Allberry’s article at CT: Andy Stanley’s ‘Unconditional’ Contradiction.”)
My God, My God, Why Have You NOT Forsaken Me?
“I was a rebel and a deceiver. I loved my sin. Why not forsake me? Why would He accept me?”
Dagon’s Head and Goliath’s Head
Mitch draws a comparison between two stories that may not, at face value, seem to have much in common.
What Old Testament Promises Are for Me?
Christians often struggle to discern how Old Testament promises apply to us today. John Piper offers some useful guidance here.
Already Unique
“I saw an article recently that focused on how three different men had each created their own unique fashion styles. All of them looked quite different from each other, and all of them had managed to combine their clothes in ways that really did stand out from most of the styles on the street. The point of the article was to explore how these men had been able to craft styles that were actually unique, and how you and I could do the same.”
Learning Dependence on the Lord
Barbaranne Kelly writes about learning her limitations. “I consider myself to be a relatively capable person. I know that I have limits, but I thought my capabilities outweighed them. I used to believe that God wouldn’t give me more than I could handle, until he started giving me more than I could handle. I’m now decades into learning how very weak and dependent—how incapable—I am, and how very strong, faithful, and capable my Lord is.”
Flashback: 6 Great Reasons To Study Doctrine
Your love for God is limited by your knowledge of him, so that you can really only love him as far as you know him. As the depth of your knowledge grows, so too does the depth of your love.

Inside and outside the church, the way you live should commend the gospel just as much as the words you say. —Alistair Begg