Throughout the suburbs of any Western city, on any given evening, you will find little groups gathered together in houses to chat, discuss and debate—about books. The civilized social phenomenon of the Book Club now appears to be a mainstay of our culture, and it’s a form that can be well used by Christians, whether the group be a group of Christians or simply a group of bibliophiles. Here are some tips on what goes into starting and being a part of a local book club.
The two main elements of a book club are the books you read and the people you read them with. Members of the group select books to read and then meet regularly to discuss them. The books change from month to month and over time the group provides the encouragement and incentive to read more widely, more thoughtfully, and more regularly.
Our group is a Christian Book Club, though much of what is said could apply to any sort of reading group. There are a few comments on secular Book Clubs below.
In our group, we have gathered a list of suggested books from within the group. In broad terms, the books reflect our shared biblical perspective, and are practical and accessible to the broad range of educational and spiritual backgrounds represented.
After our first introductory meeting, we are now reading Tony Payne’s Islam in our backyard. This Aussie book fits nicely into the above criteria as well as being extremely topical.
Islam in our backyard is of a length and style easily consumed in a month (or less). Other books we select may need to be broken into more manageable chunks and spread over a couple of meetings.
Our purpose is not to conduct a chapter-by-chapter study of the book, but to get a broader picture of the varied benefits and insights that reading the book has given us. Some members make notes in the margin, use a highlighter or have their own preferred means of digesting and reflecting on what they’ve read. Others come to the group happy to just have read the book. The simple Reading Guide (available for download; see below) has questions that may help to focus your thoughts as you come to the group.
The group isn’t intended as a ‘test’ or a ‘class’ or an in-depth analysis. The plan is to get a broad sense of what the author has to say, and to discuss what we thought about it and how we as Christians might find the book useful.
Each month, the group meets in different members’ homes. We start at 7:30pm sharp. The group includes prayer, discussion and supper together. Responsibility for providing supper will be shared around the group. Email can provide a convenient means of communicating the details of the meeting, as well as perhaps fostering continued discussion outside of our regular time together.
A secular group can operate on much the same format. A simple way ahead is to just look in your local papers or library notice board, and see if there are any groups going you could join up with. Alternatively, you could start you own group.
Apart from what we have said above, two other points are worth bearing in mind for starting a secular group.
Firstly, don’t stack the group with Christians! Make sure there is a good spread, and, if you are to err on one side, err on the side of having more non-Christians than Christians.
Secondly, don’t just choose books for their evangelistic potential. If you want to start an evangelism group, call it an evangelism group. But if you want to start a Book Club, it should be primarily about reading and enjoying books. Choose books because you think they are good book, not because they are good Christian conversation-starters. Bring your Christian mind to the books that you are reading. It will be of immeasurable help to the non-Christians in your group to hear how a Christian mind understands and critiques the things you are reading. It will also be a great exercise in developing your own Christian mind.
