{"id":14192,"date":"2017-10-05T14:02:59","date_gmt":"2017-10-05T21:02:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=14192"},"modified":"2017-10-06T07:40:13","modified_gmt":"2017-10-06T14:40:13","slug":"strategic-reading-strategic-giving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/strategic-reading-strategic-giving\/","title":{"rendered":"Strategic reading, strategic giving"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Mortimer Adler\u2019s classic How to Read a Book<\/em> arrived on my doorstep, and as it emerged from the bubble-wrapped envelope, I chuckled.\u00a0 This used edition had the look of a 1970s era hardback with the traditional font selection, oversized white space, and garish coloured dust jacket.\u00a0 Likewise, the stilted language of another generation transported me back in time to when I was first learning to read.<\/p>\n

Despite my initial impression, and with patient reading over the summer, the book began to offer glimmers of meaning and applicability to our doctoral course of study.<\/p>\n

Practical reading skills need to be acquired and utilized to best distill the message of the book and to discern its potential utility to our doctoral study.\u00a0 Adler discusses how to be a demanding reader.\u00a0 He urges readers to make the book their own by marking it up: \u201cMarking a book is literally an expression of your differences or your agreements with the author.\u00a0 It is the highest respect you can give him.\u201d[1]<\/a> I don\u2019t have a problem with this: my books generally contain marginalia with my reactions and attitudes, stars, numbers, and exclamation points.<\/p>\n

Adler slides from marking up a book to note making \u2013 briefly framing the book\u2019s structure and conceptual layout through written notes.\u00a0 Notes about the \u201cshape of the discussion \u2013 the discussion that is engaged in by all of the authors\u201d[2]<\/a> are referred to as dialectical.\u00a0 There is an animated conversation by diverse authors speaking out on similar topics that one must capture, compare, and contrast.\u00a0 It is at this point he alludes to his main purpose in writing.\u00a0 Books read for educational purposes need to be digested syntopically \u2013 within the context of other works commenting on similar themes.\u00a0 Reading with this greater effort and heightened perspective is the goal.\u00a0 One can synthesize the work being read and integrate it into one\u2019s library of resources.<\/p>\n

In our roles as leaders, we must gain breadth of experience and a 30,000 foot perspective.\u00a0 Reading syntopically assists us in this endeavour.\u00a0 This discipline, to think outside the confines of the moment and to synthesize it with all other data, is fuel for wise leadership development.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t as strange as it sounds.\u00a0 It\u2019s how we\u2019ve often been taught to read the Bible.\u00a0 We learn not to proof-text individual fragments and construct theologies based on one verse removed from its context, but rather step back to ascertain the overarching message and thrust of the Story. It\u2019s all part of the greater whole.<\/p>\n

The same principles Adler teaches in reading also apply to large-scale philanthropy, the area of my doctoral focus. To do good philanthropy, one must avoid getting stuck in the charity swamp, applying band-aids to societal problems but never addressing root causes.\u00a0 We are compelled to take a step back, survey the field, and move upstream with our dollars and our capacity building.\u00a0 We assess the entire field of reference to make positive, constructive change. The funds that are invested then multiply their potential as greater impact results.<\/p>\n

This approach to a shrewd and strategic philanthropy urges discipline on the giver.\u00a0 Giving is no longer a reactive, emotional, ad hoc decision but instead is purposefully planned for.\u00a0 It calls for embracing a strategic plan that clearly defines the area of interest.\u00a0 It is wise stewardship.<\/p>\n

Readers, as well, need to push forward with similar discipline and purpose.\u00a0 It assumes we will say no to extraneous but tempting research that leads us down rabbit trails, and keep bringing our attention back to the topic and problem at hand.<\/p>\n

Adler articulates the main problem many readers will encounter: \u201cUnless you know what books to read, you cannot read syntopically, but unless you can read syntopically, you do not know what to read.\u201d[3]<\/a>\u00a0 This paralysis in reading, going around and around in circles, is common also in philanthropy \u2013 many givers feel overwhelmed by the immensity of the task at hand.\u00a0 How can I decide on a philanthropic strategy when there are so many needs in our world today?\u00a0 How do I prioritize and eliminate those needs that do not align to my strategic vision?\u00a0 It\u2019s a tough challenge, but like reading strategically, we must pare down the vision and refine our focus to handle what is manageable.<\/p>\n

Adler\u2019s book introduces an outline to assist readers in approaching their reading syntopically.\u00a0 In his overview, I discerned a similar pattern on which the DMin course is developed as we conduct research for our dissertations.<\/p>\n

Stage I<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Create a tentative bibliography;<\/li>\n
  2. Inspect all the books of the bibliography to determine which are germane to the subject and to gain a clearer idea of the subject;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Stage II<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Inspect all the books to select relevant passages;<\/li>\n
    2. Bring the authors to terms that you create;<\/li>\n
    3. Frame a set of questions your list will respond to;<\/li>\n
    4. Define the issues both for and against;<\/li>\n
    5. Analyze the discussion.[4]<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      There it is, in a nutshell, the approach we will use to develop our dissertations.\u00a0 Our reading need not be laborious or burdensome, rather, it should lead us to better articulate our problem and highlight the path moving forward.<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      [1]<\/a> Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren. How to Read a Book. <\/em>(New York: MJF, 1972), 49.<\/p>\n

      [2]<\/a> Adler and Van Doren, 52.<\/p>\n

      [3]<\/a> Adler and Van Doren, 329.<\/p>\n

      [4]<\/a> Adler and Van Doren, 335-336.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Mortimer Adler\u2019s classic How to Read a Book arrived on my doorstep, and as it emerged from the bubble-wrapped envelope, I chuckled.\u00a0 This used edition had the look of a 1970s era hardback with the traditional font selection, oversized white space, and garish coloured dust jacket.\u00a0 Likewise, the stilted language of another generation transported me […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":100,"featured_media":14195,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[660],"class_list":["post-14192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-adler","cohort-lgp8"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/100"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14192"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14192\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14253,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14192\/revisions\/14253"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}