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00:00:01
#9: Build That Reading List!
35 Plays2 months ago
Start Your 2026 Reading With Purpose — How to Build a List That Builds You
The first episode of the year drops with energy, honesty, and a whole lot of encouragement for ministry leaders who want to grow with intention in 2026. Rich kicks off the conversation with a confession that sets the tone — he’s a full‑blown book nerd. From Civil War collections to the BookBuddy app to custom bookplates, he’s all in on reading. But this episode isn’t about collecting books. It’s about becoming the kind of leader who is shaped shapedby what they read.
In this extended conversation, Rich invites listeners to rethink their relationship with reading. Not as a hobby. Not as a luxury. But as a spiritual, personal, and leadership discipline that forms us over time. He shares candid stories from his early ministry years, the seasons when reading fell off the radar, and the turning point that brought intentional reading back into his life — leading to 32 growth‑focused books read in 2025.
This episode explores two major themes:
1. Why reading matters more than ever
2. How to build a reading list — and a reading habit — that actually sticks
Whether you’re a seasoned reader, someone who used to read but drifted, or a leader who wants to grow but feels stuck, this episode will give you the clarity, motivation, and structure you need to build a reading list that truly builds you.
If you’re ready to step into 2026 with purpose, depth, and a renewed commitment to your own growth, this conversation is the perfect place to begin.
Resources Mentioned
· BookBuddy App – https://www.kimicoapps.com/bookbuddy/
· Full Focus Planner (Michael Hyatt & Company) – https://fullfocus.co/
· The Power to Change by Craig Groeschel – https://www.craiggroeschel.com/books
· YouVersion Bible App – https://www.youversion.com/
· The Bible (Scripture references in order: Daniel 1:3-5; 2 Timothy 4:13)
Timestamps
• 0:00–5:45 – Confessions of a book nerd & why books matter personally
• 5:46–12:30 – The vision: building a reading list that builds you
• 12:31–19:55 – Five reasons why reading matters for leaders
• 19:56–24:45 – Reading as discipline, growth, and spiritual formation
• 24:46–27:35 – Biblical foundations: Paul, Daniel, and lifelong learning
• 27:36–33:45 – Five practical tips to build a reading habit that sticks
• 33:46–38:20 – Systems, scheduling, and making reading visible
• 38:21–40:55 – Call to action & closing encouragement
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Purpose
00:00:01
NextGen Matters
Hey friend, welcome to the Next Gen Matters podcast, a show for ministry leaders seeking to move beyond overwhelm and move into leading with clarity, confidence, and consistency.
00:00:13
NextGen Matters
Hey, it's 2026. 2025 is now officially in the books. We took a couple of weeks off from our podcast, yet now we are starting this year with a look today into one of my favorite topics.
00:00:31
NextGen Matters
With the intent of each show focusing on empowering you, the Next Gen Ministry leader, I thought today's topic would be very appropriate for the start of a new calendar season.
Book Passion and Collection
00:00:44
NextGen Matters
So grab your cup of coffee and let's start this conversation. Now, i need I need to confess something to y'all right out the gate here.
00:00:59
NextGen Matters
I'm a book nerd. I'm a full-blown, unapologetic manuscript maniac. I have been known to frequent old bookshops, sometimes the mustier smelling the better, in search of my treasure.
00:01:19
NextGen Matters
Just like Nicolas Cage of old looking for the national treasure, I am looking for book treasures. Those treasures. beauties that may be back in the corner.
00:01:32
NextGen Matters
I love old books. I love new books too, but I'm just saying, I love to collect books. I collect books kind like some of y'all are collecting Pokemon cards or maybe baseball cards or or even diamonds.
00:01:46
NextGen Matters
Wait, you're youth workers. Probably not. Anyway, especially i love my favorite genre of which is American history, specifically 1700s through the Civil War era.
00:02:02
NextGen Matters
Not only do I collect books, I collect sets of books. I mean, I'm looking to complete sets based on authors or topics.
00:02:14
NextGen Matters
Now, going to drop a whole bunch of you know authors' names at you, especially I'm thinking now of the Civil War collections that I've been building, but I will drop one name, Bruce Catton.
00:02:25
NextGen Matters
The dude is the GOAT from the mid-century of this last 20th century. Bruce Catton, he is kind of looked back as, you know he's the one that everyone wants to kind of go, that was the dude, that was the man. He's the GOAT, I'm telling you, right?
00:02:40
NextGen Matters
I now have, you ready? I now have every Civil War book, I mean a copy of, every Civil War book the man ever published. Yes, I have it.
00:02:53
NextGen Matters
I just completed it two weeks ago.
Reading Philosophy and Plans
00:02:56
NextGen Matters
Now, not only do I collect books, and especially in the series of books, but particularly when it comes to the Civil War era, I mean, now it's don't know if I tell my wife this was probably like 200, okay? Just Civil War books alone. But not only am I doing that, I even have on my phone, I have an app.
00:03:17
NextGen Matters
The app is called BookBuddy. Yeah, the BookBuddy app helps me organize all of my books. So as long as I upload each book into the BookBuddy app, I now have in my phone a record of all the books that I have.
00:03:36
NextGen Matters
So if you have a book that has the – and if I have to do it manually, that's one thing. But if it's got the – The barcode, that's even that's in a great opportunity because I can just scan the barcode and up pops all this information. I'm talking the cover of the of the book. There's a picture of the cover of the book.
00:03:55
NextGen Matters
We're talking, obviously, the author, the the topic, the subtopic, a summary. How many pages is the book? Is it hardcover or softcover? What is the, you ready? The Dewey Decimo number. Even what is like the Library of Congress number, the ISBN number.
00:04:11
NextGen Matters
It is insane all the information I can get. I organize it now by genre, by subject, by category, and even by, I can do different tags.
00:04:21
NextGen Matters
In other words, like tabs, like four or five different tabs or tags per book. So I can begin to go through and sift through, okay, I want a general grant book. Ulysses says grant, bam, and all the books I got pops up.
00:04:33
NextGen Matters
What a sweet thing. I love this app. Helped me last week in the local bookstore here in Lynchburg, Virginia. I walked in. I'm looking for a specific book, but I want to make sure that I haven't already bought the book. So I opened up my phone and when I see the book I want, but do I already have it at home? I looked, I didn't have it.
00:04:52
NextGen Matters
Sweet. I can buy that book. I'm just saying, I'm a book nerd. All right. Not only the old books, but also Amazon. Amazon's probably one of my closest friends now.
00:05:05
NextGen Matters
All right. So I i even have I even have customized made labels, book labels for the inside of the book. It has my name and I have this cheesy statement I designed. Here it is. Ready?
00:05:18
NextGen Matters
Under my name, it says, read to learn, read to live, and read to love. That'll preach. Read to learn, read to live, and read to love.
00:05:33
NextGen Matters
Now, there's a lot more I could go on, and I won't bore you with my my my crazy desired hobby of collecting and and and and organizing history books.
00:05:45
NextGen Matters
But today's topic is not about the Civil War, and it's not about the American Revolution. Today's topic takes a little more deeper look, a little more focused look,
00:05:56
NextGen Matters
and to books that can help us personally grow and develop as leaders, whether it's in ministry, whether it's our personal life, leading ourselves well, and also growing in Christ.
00:06:08
NextGen Matters
Today's topic, I want to help you focus on building a list that will help build you. Yeah, we're going to talk about how to develop a list of books for you to read in 2026 that will then develop you.
00:06:24
NextGen Matters
Just two weeks ago, it was the last day of the year, i finished my 32nd book,
Reading Journey and Growth
00:06:30
NextGen Matters
growth book for 2025. That's not including my daily time in the scripture.
00:06:36
NextGen Matters
That's not including various audio books I've listened to on Spotify. Not including the podcasts I listen to each day and each week, the various podcasters that I focus in on.
00:06:47
NextGen Matters
And of course, it's not including my guilty pleasure of history books, which I read in the evening. Yeah, I'm a history nerd. Yeah, I'm a book nerd and I'm proud of it. But here's the deal.
00:06:59
NextGen Matters
What I want us to do is consider what it would be like to be highly intentional with not just building a reading list, but reading from that list.
00:07:15
NextGen Matters
Let me give you a background. I've not always been this way. Hardly. Hardly. Starting out ministry in my early 20s, number of years ago, I spent each morning time in the Word, time in prayer for my students, ministry, myself, et cetera.
00:07:32
NextGen Matters
But I also spent time reading books. and And I focused on about 10 to 12 books a year. I'd read various theology books, ministry books, church books, personal growth books, and student ministry books.
00:07:46
NextGen Matters
I'd rotate that. and I'll get more into that later in the podcast episode. It wasn't a long list, but I would read about one book a month. And for me, that was a big step.
00:07:58
NextGen Matters
I just came out of school where I was sick of reading. You guys remember that?
00:08:04
NextGen Matters
But I thought I need to now grow as a young man, not as a college student. I need to grow as a young man. I did well. Throughout my 20s, into my 30s, and probably into my mid-30s, I would consistently read personal growth books.
00:08:21
NextGen Matters
But I don't know why, but I began to kind of fall away from that. still kept reading my Bible. Back then I was listening to cassette tapes, you know, sermons and then on on the radio stations, the Christian radio station. So now podcasts, right? So I still was listening to sermons and in various audio formats of of personal growth.
00:08:40
NextGen Matters
Yes, I said cassettes. I know it was a long time ago. But I stopped reading books. I don't even know why, I just i just didn't read. i mean, occasionally, but not consistently.
00:08:52
NextGen Matters
Then when I hit 40 and moved from Seattle to Lynchburg, Virginia, began teaching in the classroom, residential, and then also teaching online, I was overwhelmed with a lot of reading, but had nothing to do with personal growth books.
00:09:07
NextGen Matters
When people would ask me, Rich, what are you reading? I kind of look at them kind of like saggy. I'd go, I'm always reading. I'm reading assignments. I'm reading discussion boards online. I'm reading projects. I'm reading papers.
00:09:21
NextGen Matters
I'm always reading, but it happens to be grading. i wasn't filling my cup. I was always just pouring out. Speed ahead to the last few years, January of 2023. So three years ago this month from the time I'm recording this episode,
00:09:39
NextGen Matters
I went ahead and I signed up online, purchased my my ticket to go ahead and and listen to the online seminar with Michael Hyatt in the Felt Focus Company.
00:09:50
NextGen Matters
Got as Felt Focus Planner, has been doing that ever since. Set up my year. Yes, business when it comes to Next Gen Matters, but also my personal life. One thing I put into play was I developed a 2023 reading list. i had books i chose.
00:10:10
NextGen Matters
And I read them all. 2024, I said, I'm going up my game. I went to 28 books. And you heard me already say last year in 2025, I read 32 books.
00:10:21
NextGen Matters
I think that's my sweet spot to read a lot more than that. I think I would probably just be overwhelmed. So for me, it's pushing me to grow. But I've also kind of reached my lid, reach reached my limit. okay Now you may not be a a book junkie like me, I get that.
00:10:40
NextGen Matters
And you may not even be into reading that much, but actually most ministry leaders I know actually are readers. So want to lean into us right now, whether you're not reading at all, whether you're reading moderately or like me, where you used to read, we just kind of stopped.
00:10:56
NextGen Matters
I want to encourage you with this. You know, maybe you want to read more, but you get stuck. Maybe you don't know where to start. Maybe you buy the books, you stack the books. They're like me off my right shoulder if you're watching the YouTube. but Over there on my right shoulder, they're my bookcase. I already have my 2026 reading books. 2026 from book one I'm going to read to the 33rd book. They're all right there.
00:11:20
NextGen Matters
I could just sit there and admire those books. But what if you or I never read the books? So I want us to realize just building the list, buying and purchasing the books, even lining them up so you can visibly see them every day in your office, that's a great start, but that's not the goal.
00:11:37
NextGen Matters
And we're going to unpack that, all right? So I want you to think it like this. Wherever you are on the spectrum of reading, on that reading scale, if you will, I hope we all agree on one thing.
00:11:49
NextGen Matters
We need to keep growing. We need to keep growing. personally, professionally, and specifically as a follower of Jesus, we need to keep growing.
00:12:01
NextGen Matters
That's what we're focusing on within this episode, is turning good intentions into good habits, specifically when it comes to the habit of reading. reading, not death scrolling on Instagram, not binge watching puppy dog reels, not getting lost in the land of TikTok or YouTube, but the discipline of reading.
Importance of Reading
00:12:27
NextGen Matters
Each episode, I want to be up front and say, here's my promise. In this episode, I promise this. We're going to be focusing on two major areas. The first is why reading matters. And I have five thoughts I want to share.
00:12:42
NextGen Matters
Why reading matters, followed with how to build a reading list and then build the habit that sticks. Five tips on how to build the list and then the habit that sticks.
00:12:54
NextGen Matters
Because my hope is by the end of the episode, you'll be so motivated, so informed, and so equipped to build your 2026 reading list that you will then step into this new year with intentionality and with purpose.
00:13:10
NextGen Matters
So with no further ado, why reading matters. Here's my five thoughts. Thought number one, reading is a gift. Reading is a gift.
00:13:24
NextGen Matters
We live in this time, this moment of history, when reading is so much more accessible than ever before. We have more books.
00:13:35
NextGen Matters
We have more sources to get books. We have, when it comes to ministry, more ministry resources, more leadership content than any generation before us. And I could continue to go on.
00:13:48
NextGen Matters
You know, actually thought about today and yesterday was preparing for this episode, I thought, how many books get launched or published every year?
00:13:59
NextGen Matters
Here we go. Found it online. 2.2 to 2.4 million new books are published every year worldwide, whether that's print, e-books, audio books, books.
00:14:16
NextGen Matters
roughly 6,000 new books per day worldwide. For most of human history, books were rare. Books were expensive.
00:14:27
NextGen Matters
Way, way back in the day before Gutenberg, they were hand copied. They were reserved for the elite. And now, you or I could download a book and it takes literally 10 seconds.
00:14:39
NextGen Matters
You could listen to a book as you're driving, and many of many of us do. You could actually carry an entire library in your pocket. Reading is a gift.
00:14:52
NextGen Matters
And like any gift, we're called to steward that gift well. You grow when you steward the resources God has placed in your hands.
00:15:03
NextGen Matters
Reading is a gift. That's number one. Number two, reading gets you out of you. Yeah, this is when I wrote this. This is what I'm trying to say, okay? Reading gets me out of my own head.
00:15:16
NextGen Matters
Because I can begin to live, and you can too. We we both can live in this echo chamber of ourself, right? When I'm reading, I'm stepping outside of my own thoughts, my own experiences, my own limited perspective.
00:15:28
NextGen Matters
I'm gaining wisdom and knowledge, and I'm learning from someone else. Someone else's failures, someone else's victories. I'm learning from others.
00:15:40
NextGen Matters
Reading is like mentoring people. or not mentoring, but being mentored by people I've never even met. Currently, right now, I'm reading The Power to Change by Craig Rochelle.
00:15:53
NextGen Matters
I've never met Pastor Craig. I'd love to meet him. The dude is jacked up. He's kind of like Wesley Huff, and he's kind got that big Wesley buff, as they say. This guy has that big look, right? the the The brother, the dude is funny. I'm love i'm loving his book.
00:16:08
NextGen Matters
But what what I'm doing with it is I'm slow walking it because there's about 30 entries and I'm using it for the entire month and I'm reading another book right now to to double up.
00:16:20
NextGen Matters
But I'm reading his book right now because he has a place at the end of each, let's say, entry to journal. And he has very specific prompts. And I'm slow walking it, that one book, because I need to learn. I'm just not going to read it and go, I won't journal because I've always done that. In other words, read it. And where it says to journal, I don't.
00:16:42
NextGen Matters
But I'm becoming more disciplined in this area. And said, no, I'm going to journal. I feel like I'm actually getting coffee, hanging out with Pastor Craig Rochelle, the one who brought us the You version.
00:16:55
NextGen Matters
Okay. Just like in my 20s, when I was in my office, coffee in hand, reading a book of a youth worker, and I didn't know many youth workers in my 20s. To be honest, there wasn't many past the age of 30. So when I would get various youth books in the mid to late eighty s reading those books, I literally felt like I was alone in a coffee shop, having a one-on-one conversation with that author.
00:17:20
NextGen Matters
I thought that in my 20s. I'm thinking that now as I'm reading various books, even in my 60s. I am being mentored by people I have never met. I'm sitting down with them.
00:17:32
NextGen Matters
it It takes me out of my bubble and it gets me into their mind. And I've learned so much from so many. Number three, reading positions us to grow, and it also disciplines us to grow. I'm going to say it again. Reading positions us and disciplines us to grow.
00:17:55
NextGen Matters
let's Let's be honest. Not every reading session is life-changing. I'm going to be really honest. Just like reading the Bible, every day doesn't always light me up. Some days, I mean, it hits me between the eyes reading the scriptures, just like in a book.
00:18:10
NextGen Matters
It's like, wow, I really needed that. Other days I'm like, hmm, it was good information. It just didn't, it didn't, there wasn't the wow factor. Now I say that with all respect to the word of God it is precious and pure and every word is inspired.
00:18:25
NextGen Matters
But I think you understand what I'm saying. Just like when I read a book, not every reading session is life changing. Someday you read a chapter of a book, hits you so hard, just right between the eyes, right?
00:18:37
NextGen Matters
You just, you put that book down thinking, dude, this was amazing. Other days you read number of pages and you're kind of like, well, that was fun. That was great. And you don't know what to do with it.
00:18:49
NextGen Matters
But here's the key. Here's the key. You're reading. reading. You're reading. Therefore, growth doesn't come from the intensity of one moment.
00:19:02
NextGen Matters
I want you to get this, please. It comes from the consistency of many moments.
00:19:10
NextGen Matters
Growth doesn't come from the in so intensity of one moment, but from the consistency of many moments. Reading, is a discipline.
00:19:22
NextGen Matters
And discipline positions you and i for growth, even when we don't feel that we're growing in that moment. It's of like working out, right?
00:19:32
NextGen Matters
It's like working out. Not every workout is amazing. Not every workout you walk out of the gym going, you're feeling so buff. You just don't always feel that But every workout moves you forward to what?
00:19:48
NextGen Matters
To your hashtag goals. Thought number four, reading stretches you and makes you a continual learner.
00:19:58
NextGen Matters
If you know me, you know my favorite book is Colossians, scripture book. If you don't know me, now you know my favorite book in the scripture is Colossians.
00:20:09
NextGen Matters
My favorite ministry book in the scripture is 2 Timothy. Actually, I memorized it back in my 20s. I could not quote to you every every verse right now, but you know what? That was tucked in my heart and I literally did. I created my own with a typewriter. Remember those typewriters? I created my own flashcards, just like Greek class. I created flashcards and I literally could mem i memorized every verse And that passage, chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4, Paul to Timothy, when Paul's signing off of his relationship with Timothy, saying goodbye.
00:20:46
NextGen Matters
He's literally handing over the baton of ministry to Timothy. I cherish that passage, that whole epistle, especially chapter 4 and verse 13.
00:21:00
NextGen Matters
This is what Paul says. It's an obscure ver obscure verse. i want you to I want you to pick up on this. Paul, he's on death row. He knows his time is short. Two summers ago, the summer of 25, my wife and I spent two weeks in Italy, the time of our life.
00:21:15
NextGen Matters
As we were going through the city of Rome, I literally passed the Mamertine prison. I looked, I was like, there it is. But it wasn't part of our tour. I couldn't go in. I'm like, but but i but i I want to go in.
00:21:27
NextGen Matters
a have to go back. That's where Paul wrote. This is where Paul, I walked by the building where Paul wrote this verse. He said to Timothy, and when you visit, bring the cloak.
00:21:40
NextGen Matters
He was cold. He was in a cold, damp cell. Bring my cloak. And he says this, and the scrolls, you ready? Especially the parchments. Chapter four, verse 13. Bring the scrolls, especially the parchments.
00:21:55
NextGen Matters
Even at the end of Paul's life, he wants to keep learning. He's leaning in to continually learning. He wants to keep growing. He wants to keep reading. So I'm thinking, man, here's Paul that literally writes half of the books of the New Testament.
00:22:14
NextGen Matters
And if he still wants to keep learning and growing through reading, then, you know, my friend, I think we're not done either. Thought number five, reading allows you to work on, not just in, your ministry and your life.
00:22:30
NextGen Matters
Most of us spend our days in ministry, you know, the tasks, the meetings, the planning, being on planning center, the emails, the urgent stuff.
00:22:42
NextGen Matters
I kind of see ministry sometimes like that that game at the carnival, whack-a-mole. That would make a good podcast episode, by the way. the wck The whack-a-mole of ministry, you know. We're always putting out these fires and putting out these moles that are popping up.
00:22:55
NextGen Matters
And we don't have time to read. And I think that's what I allowed myself in my 30s to slip into. That's definitely what I slipped into my 40s and 50s. I was too busy doing that I wasn't feeding myself.
00:23:10
NextGen Matters
I want you to think about this. Reading helps me. Reading helps you step back into working just not in, but on your ministry and your personal life, on your leadership, on your character, on your spiritual formation.
00:23:28
NextGen Matters
Reading, and this is why I love, and this is my opinion, why I love books, old school, hardback books, and not just audio.
00:23:39
NextGen Matters
Because when I'm looking at the book physically, I have a i have a highlighter in hand And I'm focused because when I'm out working out my yard, listening to podcasts or audio books, my mind's on two things or three or four things. But when I'm looking at the book reading, when I realize I started daydreaming, I will discipline myself to go back and go, nope, I'm going to read that half a page again because i i I went to La La Land and I admit it to myself.
00:24:12
NextGen Matters
I focus to go back and make sure I want to read that where I understand it. And if it ministers to me and it stands out, highlight it. slows me down. You catch that? Reading slows you down long enough to think, to reflect, to evaluate, and to grow.
00:24:35
NextGen Matters
So reading to me isn't a luxury. It's it's more of a necessity. Now, before I step into the next section of how, I want to take a quick moment to dial us back into the life of the biblical character, Daniel.
00:24:51
NextGen Matters
We took a look into his life and Joseph's life in episode seven on the Why Integrity Matters episode.
00:24:59
NextGen Matters
In Daniel 1, there's a verse that really stands out to me. It says this. this is they'll keep Keep in mind, here's the framework. Here's a timetable. These four young men, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, are teenagers.
00:25:14
NextGen Matters
They're teenagers. They're teenagers. They are of royal descent. They are of royal families. And they are of nobility. Their parents probably were murdered off.
00:25:27
NextGen Matters
And they were taken captive 500 plus miles away to present-day Iraq, Iran, to Babylon. where they would be then brainwashed by the king, Nebuchadnezzar, to do the business of the Babylonians.
00:25:46
NextGen Matters
Here's verse four, when it speaks of them. i'll give you the back end of verse three. Then the king ordered Ash-Fanaz, who was the chief of the court officials, to bring into the king's service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility. Here's verse four. Please get this. Young men without any physical defect.
00:26:06
NextGen Matters
Handsome. You ready? Listen to this. Please, please catch this. Showing aptitude for every kind of learning. Well-informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king's palace.
00:26:21
NextGen Matters
They're described as young men. The Hebrew word there simply means the word for adolescent or older teenager. I love that phrase that they were not only quick to understand and well-informed, where it says they showed aptitude for every kind of learning.
00:26:38
NextGen Matters
So yes, my reading list isn't all just evangelical Christian books. I will bring in various books on business and on leadership,
00:26:49
NextGen Matters
then maybe they're not believers, but I can learn from them because they can help me understand other areas, other disciplines of life. So I just don't read youth ministry books. I just don't read church ministry books.
00:27:04
NextGen Matters
I want to read books about different disciplines to help me grow. Just like the Apostle Paul, couple of times in the New Testament quotes the philosophers of the Greeks, he understood his culture.
00:27:17
NextGen Matters
And that's what I'm talking about. I want to be able to understand the big picture of culture.
Developing a Reading Habit
00:27:21
NextGen Matters
Now, that's a little background there. I'm going to jump into now the next section on how. How do we build a reading habit?
00:27:29
NextGen Matters
Here's five tips. Five tips to build a reading habit. Number one, select specific genres and then rotate those genres. I've already kind of alluded to it or actually did mention it earlier on.
00:27:43
NextGen Matters
When I was starting out in my 20s, I would have four genres that I would pursue in my books, those 10 to 12 books a year, a book a month. I'd read a theology book.
00:27:54
NextGen Matters
I would then rotate to a church ministry book because as a youth pastor, I just did not want to live in the lane or in the, we use the word, the silo of youth ministry. So I'd read a church ministry book.
00:28:06
NextGen Matters
I would then read a personal growth book. And then I read a student ministry book and I'd rinse and repeat. Then I read a Theo book and then a church ministry, et cetera, et cetera. Now I rotate and I have three genres that I focus on in my personal growth readings, business, personal growth, and ministry.
00:28:29
NextGen Matters
Business, I got three graduate degrees and in in ministry. I don't have any academic pedigree when it comes to to business and I'm running Next Gen Matters.
00:28:41
NextGen Matters
I got a lot of catching up to do, y'all. So I've been reading a lot of business books, personal growth, professional development books. so That's my second genre. And then whether it's theology, Next Gen Ministries, or even Church ministry itself, I'll have a ministry book I read and then I rotate those three. I'll read the business book, then the next book I read is a personal or professional development book, and then I'll read a ministry book and I rotate it.
00:29:09
NextGen Matters
Tip number two, be a wise steward of the books you choose. You don't have a lot of time. I get it. You can't read everything and you shouldn't. So choose the books that serve the season you're in.
00:29:24
NextGen Matters
So if you're leading a team, read leadership books. If you're navigating burnout, read a book on soul care. That's Paul David Tripp. If you're stepping into a new ministry role, read something about ministry development.
00:29:39
NextGen Matters
Just don't read what's popular. Ready? Read what's purposeful. I'm going to say it again. Just don't read what's popular. Read what's purposeful.
00:29:50
NextGen Matters
Tip number three, ask leaders you respect for their recommendations. This is one of the easiest places that you could go to develop a strong reading list. I have done this these last few years. I have turned to some ministry leaders I highly respect my age. you ready?
00:30:08
NextGen Matters
Even ministry leaders half my age who I incredibly respect and lean into for wisdom, and they have great, great suggestions for books.
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NextGen Matters
And I've really enjoyed the books that they they threw my way. Ask leaders you admire questions like, what book shaped you the most in this last year? Or what book challenged your thinking?
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NextGen Matters
Or ready, what book did you wish you would have read years earlier? Leaders typically love to share it what has shaped them. For most leaders I know, we want to help each other as iron sharpening iron.
00:30:45
NextGen Matters
So if you want to develop a healthy curated list, then go ahead and ask other leaders what they've been what they've been reading what they recommend. Tip number four, making the list is not the goal.
00:31:01
NextGen Matters
Making the list is not the goal. Some people think that just once they've made the reading list, they're done. No, that's the starting line. Now it's time to run the race.
00:31:12
NextGen Matters
The goal is not to make the list, the goal is to read the list. And even deeper than that, the goal is to grow from what you've read. It's kind of like a list without action, it's just decoration.
00:31:28
NextGen Matters
A list without action is just decoration. Tip number five, keep your reading list visible and integrated into your daily rhythm. This is where the habit gets real.
00:31:42
NextGen Matters
i mentioned i already I already mentioned i chose 32 books last year. I have already selected and purchased my 2026 list. I have the three genres, like I said. I'm reading 11 books of each.
00:31:54
NextGen Matters
Now, here's how I stay consistent. I will look at that book and think, okay, how many chapters is it? And I realize I have to read about two and a half to three books a month to stay on point.
00:32:11
NextGen Matters
33, 12 months. So I will then take, and I've already done, I've already broke the whole thing down. For some books, I will read two chapters a day. Other books, I may read one chapter chapter a day.
00:32:25
NextGen Matters
But I have basically said, okay, I have about a 12-day window, and I don't read pro-dev books on the weekend. I take that off. So I'm talking Monday through Friday, right here where I'm, if you're watching on YouTube, right here is where I'm reading my books every morning, Monday through Friday.
00:32:42
NextGen Matters
So I would think, okay, I got about 10 to 12, maybe 13 working days to read that one book. So I take the book, how long is it? And then I break it down. It's segments. How many chapters would I need to read to finish it in that 12 to 13 window?
00:32:58
NextGen Matters
Take it from there. I also stack the books in this order, not just by genre, but by length. already know, and my books are right over there. already know some of the books are 300 pages long.
00:33:12
NextGen Matters
So the books that I put either before or after it, some of them are very brief. I have some of the books from some of the some of the Puritans I'm reading. a couple of these books are only like 100 pages long. So I realized, okay, I stack those short books up against the big heavy or let's say long longer but lengthwise longer book.
00:33:33
NextGen Matters
Make sense? Then once I break that down, I then put, here's my full focus planner if you're watching on YouTube, I put each day's reading into my weekly task on a sheet I have and then into my full focus planner on my daily task.
00:33:48
NextGen Matters
So I have a week and a word doc I create, here's my weekly task list. I put that Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday for that week, what I'm reading. what book and what chapter or chapters. And then I also then write it down each morning or the night before I finish out in the afternoon, you know before I tap out of here to go upstairs. I work from home, guys. So anyway. So I'm making sure that by the next day, I'm starting with that list is already there in my full focus planner.
00:34:17
NextGen Matters
And it's powerful. It keeps me on point. It keeps my rhythm going. It does. Now, I've created... a list of those 33 books, 11 books for each genre.
00:34:33
NextGen Matters
And then from that list, I then have a table that I made in a Word doc. I just said, well, you could use Excel, whatever. But I made a table where I then have each book inserted in its order of when it will be read.
00:34:48
NextGen Matters
The target date on the left side, the book and the author the next column going left to right, and the final column on the right is my finish date.
00:34:59
NextGen Matters
The dopamine hit is real, okay? That keeps me on point. If it's visible, if it's in front of me, it stays top of mind.
00:35:12
NextGen Matters
Now, if you want, I will email this to you. My email is easy, rich at nextgenmatters.com. If you want my 2025 or 2026 reading list, also with how I create my schedule, you email me, say, bro, I'd want this, and I will email you back. Give me a couple of days, but I will email this back to you.
Call to Action and Conclusion
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NextGen Matters
As we wrap this up, I thought about this. Why does reading actually matter? Why does reading matter? Well, Reading matters because it's one of the few habits that consistently multiplies your growth long after the moment has passed.
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NextGen Matters
It sharpens your mind. It strengthens your leadership and it stretches your capacity to think, to discern, and to shepherd well.
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NextGen Matters
Reading is not simply an activity. It's an investment. It's the quiet, steady work that forms depth in a shallow world, wisdom in a noisy world, and clarity in a distracted world.
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NextGen Matters
When you choose to read, you choose to grow. And when you choose to grow, you choose to lead with greater purpose. And when you choose to lead with purpose, you are now shaping the next generation with intention and conviction.
00:36:51
NextGen Matters
That's why reading matters. And this is why this habit of reading matters. And this is why your growth matters. Because the people you and I lead will always benefit from the leader that we are becoming.
00:37:07
NextGen Matters
I gave you two lists of five, so I want to do a quick review. Here's the five thoughts on why. Reading is a gift. Reading gets you out of you.
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NextGen Matters
Reading positions and disciplines you to grow. Reading stretches you, develops you, and moves you into being a continual learner. And reading allows you to work on and not just in your own personal life and ministry.
00:37:33
NextGen Matters
The how. How do we do it? The five tips. Select the specific genres that you are gonna benefit from and then rotate those. Be a wise steward of the selection of books you read.
00:37:46
NextGen Matters
Ask leaders you respect for their recommendations. Make sure that you know the list is not the goal, it's just the starting line. And then put your readings and your selections, your books, visible near you.
00:38:02
NextGen Matters
and in your weekly and daily lists.
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NextGen Matters
Call to action. As we always finish every episode, there is that C2A. I have five. I have five. They're easy, okay?
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NextGen Matters
Here's the first call to action. Just choose your first book. Just pick one book in the next 24 to 48 hours and start. Just get on the bike and ride.
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NextGen Matters
Two, build your list. Build the 2026 reading list. Maybe it's only six books. Maybe it's 12 books. don't Don't shoot for 32 if you haven't done it yet. Don't stretch that muscle yet.
00:38:49
NextGen Matters
If you haven't been reading books at all, just, I don't know, shoot for eight to 10, maybe 12. But create your list. Three, set the daily reading rhythm.
00:39:03
NextGen Matters
10 to 15, 20 minutes a day, small habits create big change. Four, ask a leader for their recommendations. And five, keep your books visible.
00:39:18
NextGen Matters
Now, bonus round, here we go. If you already have a reading list, and you want to share it with me, I would love to see your list. Not to judge it, just to rejoice. I want to dance in the end zone with you. Come on.
00:39:34
NextGen Matters
So send it my way. RichardNextGenMatters.com. I'd love to see your list. If you haven't yet built it, but you're going to be building it, and you do build your list, send it my way. I'd love to see it.
00:39:46
NextGen Matters
Give you my thoughts. I want to give you high five. All right? Let's wrap this up. When I prayed earlier, because I do over every episode that God will use each episode for his glory and for your benefit, my prayer is that today's episode will encourage you.
00:40:02
NextGen Matters
It will challenge you and motivate you to keep growing as a follower of Jesus and a leader in his kingdom. Good intentions are great, but good habits change your life.
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NextGen Matters
And reading, intentional, consistent, and purposeful reading is one of the most powerful habits you can build. So let's make 2026 year of growth, depth, and development.
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NextGen Matters
Let's steward the gift of reading. Let's stretch our minds, strengthen our leadership, and shape this next generation with wisdom. Thanks for joining today.
00:40:41
NextGen Matters
on the Next Gen Matters podcast. Until next time, remember, your leadership matters because your ministry matters because the gospel matters.