The year was 2013, and one of my favorite preachers, CT Townsend, was on TV.
If you’ve never him preach, you’re missing out! He’s an anointed man of God and one of my pastor’s cherished friends.
“Isn’t that where you were when I left?” my wife Tiffany asked as she walked through the door after a full day of work.
I was sitting in my raggedy old recliner—the same spot as when she left earlier that morning.
This scene had become “the norm” for some time. I worked as a gospel musician on the weekends and sometimes during the week in the studio, but for the most part, my wife was out breadwinning while I was barely making ends meet.
We didn’t really “talk about it” too much, but it was an obvious point of contention in our home.
We did not have a peaceful home, and it was my fault…
I was morbidly overweight, and when I did work, I made peanuts… and I had no motivation to get better.
I was stuck.
Have you ever been in that spot, or known someone who has?
It is an awful place to be.
Fortunately, the Lord is gracious, kind, and patient. He sees our weaknesses and our failures, and he uses them for his glory and to accomplish his will.
The Lord knocked me out of that season with a moment of extreme embarrassment:
About a year later, we were visiting Dollywood in Sevierville, Tennessee, and my wife “conned” me into getting on a rollercoaster.
I hate roller coasters.
But, I love my wife, and I didn’t want to chicken out.
Hesitantly, I agreed.
As we waited in line, the fear kept mounting. Everyone around was excited to soar through the air, and I never wanted to stay on the ground more. “Please, God, let SOMETHING happen to get me out of this ride,” I thought.
Finally, we made it to the top. “Well, here goes nothing…”
I sat down in the seat next to my beautiful wife and begin to pull down the “epic black bar of rescue”—my only hope to make it out alive.
I tried. My wife tried. The attendant for the ride tried.
Nothing worked.
The bar would not come down… because I was too big.
Honestly, I was partly relieved… I didn’t have to ride after all! But I was far more embarrassed than anything else.
I had to do the walk of shame in front of hundreds of people…who knew I was too fat to ride the rollercoaster.
God answered my prayer in the worst—and best—way possible.
Would I have personally chosen a less embarrassing path? Yes…
But God knew what was needed to wake me from my slumber and get to work on myself.
Long story short, the next few years were spent learning:
- How to eat in a way that was sustainable and much healthier…
- How to truly provide for my family…
- How to fall in love with the Bible…
- How to be more productive with my time…
- How to run a business and lead teams…
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How to manage money…
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And so much more.
The last 7-8 years have brought tremendous personal, physical, and spiritual growth, and with the encouragement of my best friend and a close colleague, I am considering a new book project blending my passion for a truly biblical worldview and a productive daily life.
Have you ever looked for practical Christian advice about productivity, and found a lot of very unbiblical ideas and solutions?
I know I have.
And while Christians have written about work and leadership from a biblical perspective for some time, there is a dearth of resources about how to manage time and get the right things done from a theologically informed and sound perspective.
What’s crazy is…as I began to consider this, I found that the Bible has a staggering amount to say about this subject… yet no one ever talks about it.
If you’ve ever found yourself lost in a sea of productivity Apps, Hacks, and Quacks, I think this new project I’m considering would be a breath of fresh air.
What we need is not another productivity system at all; we need an entirely new productivity worldview.
I realize that not everyone reading this is a “productivity nerd.” And I completely respect that.
However, I actually think this subject matter falls into the category of good Christian stewardship.
Bible Nerds don’t study the Bible to be filled with knowledge. Knowledge puffs up (1 Cor. 8:1), and of the making of books, there is no end (Ecclesiastes 12:12).
Bible Nerds take theology seriously and apply it practically to daily living.
What better application than thinking Biblical and theologically about how to be more productive for God’s glory and his kingdom?
Here’s What I’m Thinking
I am considering this for my next book project. The working title, as I have the idea conceived at the moment, is “Devotional Productivity.”
Let’s start there — does that pique your interest? Would you be interested to learn about devotional productivity?
I would probably write this book “in public.”
Meaning, the first draft of each chapter would be published as a post in the Bible Nerd Society newsletter so that I could get your feedback and incorporate it into the final manuscript.
I would likely start with the outline and move on from there.
Based on my notes so far, here’s a very small sampling of the ideas the book would address:
- Why everything happens on God’s time… and what that means for personal productivity
- Why the Bible and science agree that rest is productive
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How to tap into “God’s Production System..”
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The art of delegation
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A biblical philosophy of availability
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How to make a wise and productive decision
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The future kingdom and the rise of AI and human enhancement
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Ditching systems of productivity for a worldview of productivity
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The biblical case for entrepreneurship
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A practical “Freedom Ladder” to apply these principles.
Broadly speaking, there would be three main sections (these titles are NOT concrete; mostly descriptive to give you the idea):
- Part 1: What the Bible Says About Productivity
- Part 2: The Devotional Productivity Worldview
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Part 3: The Freedom Ladder: A Step-by-Step Path to Practical Productivity
What do you think?
I am open to any thoughts, ideas, and opinions you would like to share.
Most people have tried multiple productivity systems, only to experience eventual burnout anyway.
I don’t think people are submitting their daily routines to biblical teaching about how to be effective — that can, and should, change.
Please let me know your thoughts in the comments so we can talk about it!
I especially want to hear from you if you’re skeptical or disinterested. There’s nothing worse than writing a book no one wants to read… it’s hard work 🙂
Blessings, Bible Nerds!
Steve
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