A 1hr a day reading list to make 2020 a year of theology

Did you ever wish you knew more about theology or wanted to brush up on the basics? Maybe you’ve been a youth worker for years, but you skipped training and now you feel like you’re playing catchup? If you start the year right, then you can work in some new reading habits that – with a little commitment – should help you exit 2020 with a firmer grasp on Theology, the Bible, and Youth Ministry.

There’s so much you can read, and the internet is a maze of muddled advice and opinion-heavy black holes. The aim of this post is to cut through some of that and give you a good place to start.

This is by no means a ‘definitive’ list, but it does include a fair few books that many Bible Colleges and Seminaries have on their first year list. It’s not meant to be a final word, but a helpful dotted line to follow.

The hope is to give you a roughly 1hr a day, 5 days a week reading list that will last you the whole year (with 2-4 weeks off somewhere depending on your reading speed).

This list is made up of four areas – starting with the Bible. Beyond that I’ve added three other types of book: Classical, Theory and Practice. The books are not listed in any particular order, however there is a ‘ * ‘ against those that I think are the more essential reads.

You can buy many of these books used on Amazon, but you might find the easier thing to do is take out a Library subscription somewhere and get them to order books for you. If you’re close to a University, then finding a College Library that uses the Heritage system will be your easiest bet.

Remember to check out what’s available as Audiobooks too.

The Bible

If you want to grasp any kind of theology better, then you really do need to start with the Bible. It takes about an hour a day to read the Bible in three months, so I’m going to suggest that half your daily reading allocation for the entire year is the Bible itself – meaning you’ll read all 66 books of the Scriptures twice through in the year.

My instinct is to begin with 20 minutes in the Old Testament, and 10 minutes in the New Testament. That could be three 10-minute sittings a day. Remember too, that the whole Bible is in Audiobook form for free online.

I’d recommend the first time through that you start to read a long-hand translation that you’re familiar with (NIV, CEV, NLT, ERV, GNB, etc.) followed by a slightly more structural translation (ESV, NRSV, NET, ASV, etc.). If you find the time then I’d suggest re-reading proverbs in the MSG version at some point too.

As you go through – reference the introductory page of each biblical book in How to Read the Bible Book by Book by Gordon Fee.

Old Testament

Start with the Pentateuch (Gen. – Deut.), then the first part of the History Books (Jos. – 2 Kngs.), then read through the Psalms & Wisdom Literature (Job, Prov. Eccl. Songs.). Finally go back to the History Books (1 Chron. – Est.), before finishing with the Prophets (Is. – Mal.).

New Testament

Go through it mostly in order, however perhaps read Jn. Before Lk. So, you can read Lk. and Acts together as they were designed to be.

Classical

So much contemporary theology is built upon these stones, and they tend to say more per line than modern books do in a few pages. So, take these slow. This is the small list, but if you were limited to just a few things to read – this is where I’d start.

*Book 1 of Calvin’s Institutes (Free online)

On the Incarnation – St. Athanaisius (Free online – quick read)

The Reformed Pastor – Richard Baxter (Free online)

The Mortification of Sin – John Owen

The Bruised Reed – Richard Sibbes

Books 1-5 of On The Trinity – St. Augustine (Free online)

Books 11 and 22 of City of God – St. Augustine (Free online).

*Parts 1-2 of The Religious Affections – Jonathan Edwards (0.49p on Kindle)

The Republic – Plato (easy to listen to in 3-4hrs it at 1.25 speed on YouTube)

The Nicomachean Ethics – Aristotle (6 hours at 1.25 speed on YouTube)