{"id":34744,"date":"2024-01-22T11:00:31","date_gmt":"2024-01-22T19:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=34744"},"modified":"2024-01-17T13:21:28","modified_gmt":"2024-01-17T21:21:28","slug":"rethinking-reading","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/rethinking-reading\/","title":{"rendered":"Rethinking Reading"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the Amplified Version of Ecclesiastes 12:12 Solomon says: “But beyond this my son, [about going further than the words given by one Shepherd], be warned: the writing of many books is endless [so do not believe everything you read], and excessive study and devotion to books is wearying to the body.”<\/em><\/p>\n

To that end, I am coming into 2024 quite weary.<\/p>\n

Let me explain…<\/p>\n

The “turnaround” from last semester in 2023 to this semester was far too short (can I get an Amen?). And yes, this semester has some really thick and dense reading material. Sure, I can “inspectionally read” a number of them, and frankly, that’s a discipline that I need to get better at. My “problem,” if it can be called that, is that I want to read EVERYTHING. If you put a cereal box in front of me, I will read it. All of it. I take a book with me to the toilet (TMI). I grieve if I don’t accurately anticipate my reading needs when I travel. If I finish a book on a plane, and don’t have another one to move onto immediately, I start to contemplate rushing the cockpit, demanding a swift landing at the nearest Barnes & Noble.<\/p>\n

A few weeks ago, when I posted online the titles of the 153 books I read in 2023, I got a message from a friend with this attached screenshot:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I resemble this remark! In truth, each of our four children are grown and gone, AND, the pastorate does afford me the opportunity to read, A LOT.<\/p>\n

Bottom line: there is just so much good stuff to read on the planet. And I want to read it all. Never has this been more true than in the field of leadership. Dr. Clark, in a lecture, quoted us the number of leadership books in circulation. I don’t recall the amount, but suffice it say, it was A LOT. In a previous blog post<\/a> I paid homage to all the leadership gurus that I have given precious time and money to over the years. I don’t have an exact amount, but suffice it say, again…it is A LOT.<\/p>\n

In Annabel Beerel’s Rethinking Leadership: \u00a0A Critique of Contemporary Theories<\/em>, we have yet another (fairly) comprehensive review of key leadership theories and skills, particularly those, in her own words, that are “required during times of crisis and radical uncertainty, and how they can be applied in practice” (from the Preface). It’s those last few words (“applied in practice”) that are a challenge for me personally.<\/p>\n

When I read so much, and so widely, I often overlook the important part of “applying in practice.” It becomes information, for information sake, and it can tend to blur together into a mush of amassed data. Beerel, utilizing the seminal work of Edwin H. Friedman’s A Failure of<\/em> Nerve, gets to the heart of that problem. According to Friedman, “American society is one plagued by chronic anxiety, reactivity, a tendency towards blaming, a desire for herding, and a quick-fix mentality. In this environment, leaders are not developed or encouraged to have clarity and decisiveness. They are poor at understanding problems and framing issues” (Beerel, 107). One may be inclined to propose that more information is needed in such a case. Friedman would disagree in saying that “rising mental health problems are due largely to the substance abuse of data, where amassing data has become an obsession; a form of addiction<\/strong>. The fixation of data, writes Friedman, has lead to a barrage of information, which is confused with expertise, where know-how is confused with wisdom, and change is confused with anything that is new” (Beerel, 107).<\/p>\n

Ouch. Busted.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sure, leaders need to be learners. However, Beerel contends that “true learning results in transformation” (Beerel, 107). She mentions this within a larger chapter on the psychology of leadership. And yet, she doesn’t stop there. Beerel, more than adequately, reviews key leadership theories and skills, all of which are of great interest to me (remember…I read cereal boxes), and yet, I’m stuck on Page 107<\/strong> for this particular blog post, not because I didn’t read more than THAT ONE PAGE, but because I am becoming painfully aware that me, myself and I may be my own worst problem.<\/p>\n

Let me explain…<\/p>\n

Admittedly, my reading obsession has become a form of addiction, and that addiction (the fixation on data) is a key contributing factor to my ongoing anxiety. There I said it. It’s me. I have seen the enemy and it is ME. Solomon, in all his wisdom, was onto something…be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive study and devotion to books is wearying to the body”\u00a0<\/em>(Ecc. 12:12). Sure, he may have said that with a cynical tone, like other passages in Ecclesiastes, but his point is noted.<\/p>\n

Does that mean that I am giving up on reading books, blogs, news sites, articles, reference summaries, and long-form materials?<\/p>\n

Not on your life.<\/p>\n

I love books – especially those about leadership, however, I love transformation<\/em> more.<\/p>\n

In June 10, 1815, Thomas Jefferson said something quite profound to John Adams: \u00a0“I cannot live without books; but fewer will suffice where amusement, and not use, is the only future object.”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

In this quote, Thomas Jefferson is expressing his deep appreciation for books, emphasizing their essential role in his life. I resonate with that, so much so, that I have a wooden plaque of that quote on my, well, bookshelf. However, there is a second part to the quote, and it is not found on my little plaque, perhaps due to the lack of space. It says: “but fewer will suffice where amusement, and not use, is the only future object.”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Yes, to both Jefferson and to John Fehlen, books are indispensable and vital. However, there is an acknowledgment that the quantity<\/strong> of books may need to be reduced if the primary purpose is entertainment rather than the quality<\/strong> of practical use (ie: transformation).<\/p>\n

Perhaps Jefferson was “channeling” both Solomon AND Friedman. Perhaps I should pay attention. Perhaps I should go public with a personal challenge for 2024:<\/p>\n

John Fehlen will read less and be transformed more.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I just took a deep breath after writing that sentence. Could I have just taken the first, of many, steps towards the embodiment of a non-anxious presence? Perhaps, I too, am rethinking leadership.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the Amplified Version of Ecclesiastes 12:12 Solomon says: “But beyond this my son, [about going further than the words given by one Shepherd], be warned: the writing of many books is endless [so do not believe everything you read], and excessive study and devotion to books is wearying to the body.” To that end, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":172,"featured_media":0,"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":[2310],"tags":[2977,2976,35],"class_list":["post-34744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-doctor-of-leadership-3","tag-beerel","tag-rethinking","tag-leadership","cohort-dlgp02"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34744","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\/172"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34744"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34744\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34966,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34744\/revisions\/34966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}