Seven Thoughts on Time Management

It would be a good use of your time to read Doug Wilson’s post, Seven Thoughts on Time Management.

Here are the seven points:

1. The point is fruitfulness, not efficiency.
2. Build a fence around your life, and keep that fence tended.
3. Perfectionism paralyzes.
4. Fill in the corners.
5. Plod. Keep at it. Slow and steady wins the race.
6. Take in more than you give out.
7. Use and reuse. State and restate. Learn and relearn. Develop what you know. Cultivate what you have.

My biggest take-away/reminder from the post came under point six:

If you give out more than you take in, you will . . . give out. Your lake should have snowmelt streams running into it. Every vocation requires constant learning, constant development.

This is What I Mean When I Say, Date Your Wife

I’m now more than 3/4ths of the way through writing Date Your Wife. Writing this book continues to be a deep joy. Thank you for how you’re praying for this project. Keep at it.

When some people hear “date your wife” they think I mean giving your wife roses or taking her out to dinner. Those are good things to do, so long as you get the center right: Jesus laid down his life in love for men like you and me, so we now have the power and calling to lay down our life in love for our wives.

This video from tornado-stricken Joplin gives a great picture of what I mean when I say, date your wife. We need more men like Don Lansaw.

5-Part Bible Reading Plan for Church Planters

For this season of life I’ve come up with a 5-part Bible reading plan that’s tailored to what God has called me to do as a church planter. Every morning I work through 5 different chapters of the Bible.

1. Heart (Psalms)

I begin by reading a psalm to warm up and engage my heart with God. Starting with a psalm sets a prayerful, desperate-for-grace, and passionate tone for my Bible reading. Most of the time I read/pray the psalm out loud. This plan gets me through the Psalms in five months.

2. Wisdom (Proverbs)

Next, I read a chapter of Proverbs. These days I feel in over my head every day. I need wisdom. Each day I find fresh wisdom in Proverbs. This plan gets me through Proverbs once a month.

3. Power (Acts)

I follow Proverbs with Acts. I read Acts to remind myself of the power of God, his gospel, and his Spirit, asking God to give me a bigger vision for what he can do through my life, through our church plant, and in our city. This plan moves me through Acts once a month.

4. Preaching (Philippians)

Next, I read Philippians. Right now our church plan is in pre-launch phase. We will launch in September with my first sermon series, a series on Philippians. This plan has me read through Philippians every four days and it’s building in me a deep reservoir from which to preach from. Once I start preaching from Philippians, I will replace this slot with the next book I plan to preach from.

5. Leadership (Pastoral Letters)

Finally, I read the Pastoral Letters. I read 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus to better understand my calling as a pastor/leader. I’m facing situations I’ve never faced before, and these letters are helping me see how to lead through these situations in a gospel-empowered way. This plan moves me through the Pastoral Letters every fourteen days.

How I End It

After working through the five chapters, I zero in on one truth or verse that I think the Holy Spirit is calling me to pay special attention to. I write that verse down in my to-do list/notebook that I carry with me. I then take a few minutes to meditate on, apply, and pray through that truth/verse. Then, I move forward and attack the day. Throughout the day I find myself re-mediating on, re-praying, and re-applying the truth/verse from my morning reading.

My pace of reading varies each day. Some days this plan takes me twenty minutes, other days it takes me one hour. It depends on what I have going on, how desperate I feel, how long I pray for, etc.

I love this plan. In a year I’ll change it up and do something different. For now, God is using this Bible reading plan to greatly encourage and empower me. I hope it’s helpful to you.

This post also appears on The Resurgence.

Calvinist Pick Up Lines

This is funny…

HT: Jeff Slavich

Gospel Coach Training in San Jose

There is still time to sign up for Gospel Coach training with Scott Thomas, president of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network. This training event will take place over the course of two days in San Jose, the two days prior to the Acts 29/The Gospel Coalition: Bay Area/NorCal Network conference.

‘Gospel Coach’ materials are designed to give Christian leaders a practical system to develop and equip other leaders in the local church and to shepherd them to glorify God. While it is for leaders, it can be used to shepherd believers of all stages of their life, maturity, age, and gender. This site is a tool to support the principle plans established in the ‘Gospel Coach’ book.

I’m really looking forward to receiving Gospel Coach training along with other church planters, pastors, small group leaders, ministry leaders, and parents. Go here to register for Gospel Coach training in San Jose.

Serving Together as a Church

Yesterday a team from Garden City Church spent half a day serving a downtown San Jose neighborhood in the name of Jesus. We mowed lawns, pulled weeds, trimmed bushes, swept sidewalks, hauled trash, and enjoyed great conversations with our neighbors. Several people, including some single moms, were overwhelmed with emotion at the sight of twenty-seven adults and kids mobilized to turn their blighted yards into beautiful yards. Beautiful Day is doing a great job spearheading these events in the South Bay.

Keep Circumcision Legal

This is ridiculous. That’s all I have to say. I can’t believe I’m writing a blog post with the title, “Keep Circumcision Legal.”

From the Wall Street Journal:

SAN FRANCISCO—A group seeking to ban the circumcision of male children in San Francisco has succeeded in getting their controversial measure on the November ballot, meaning voters will be asked to weigh in on what until now has been a private family matter.

City elections officials confirmed Wednesday that the initiative had received enough signatures to appear on the ballot, getting more than 7,700 valid signatures from city residents. Initiatives must receive at least 7,168 signatures to qualify.

If the measure passes, circumcision would be prohibited among males under the age of 18. The practice would become a misdemeanor offense punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 or up to one year in jail. There would be no religious exemptions.

Read the whole thing.

Spend $75 for Two Incredible Days in San Jose

I want you to join me at a two-day conference in San Jose about preaching the gospel, following Jesus, and planting churches.

We are putting on this conference as a joint effort between Acts 29, The Gospel Coalition: Bay Area, and the NorCal Network.

This is the first conference of its kind in the Bay Area. Just under 8 million people live in the Bay Area and over 1 million people live in San Jose (the 10th largest city in America), yet this is arguably the most unchurched region in America. I love San Jose. It’s a great place to live and work. But this is a place where the gospel is not widely known. We have a big mission on our hands here. I’m excited about the role this conference will play in advancing the gospel in San Jose and beyond. I’m bringing the fantastic people of Garden City Church.

This is a conference for everybody: engineers, business leaders, stay-at-home moms, artists, athletes, college students, and church leaders. This is a conference for you. It takes place June 3rd-4th (a Friday and Saturday). Plan now to take Friday off of work to be at this event.

Speakers at the conference include: D.A. Carson, Mark Driscoll, Matt Chandler, Scott Thomas, and Jeff Vanderstelt. In addition to hearing from these great speakers, approach this event as a great opportunity to make new friends and connections here in the Bay Area.

Now, take action. Spend $75 for two great days in San Jose. If you’re a college student the cost is just $50. Before the sun goes down tonight, register to attend this event. See you there.

Shallow Small Group

This is funny.

HT: Andrew Thompson

Put Your Idea in My Book

I’d like you to put your idea in my book.

The Appendix to Date Your Wife will include 100 ideas for how a husband can date his wife. I’ve written the first 50 of these ideas, you can help write the final 50 ideas.

If you have a good date idea, share it in the comments section and, if I like it, it will make it into the book.

Before you share your idea, make sure you understand what this book is really about. This isn’t a book about simply taking your wife on a weekly date night and buying her roses so you can check “date my wife” off of your weekly to-do list. This book summons men to a comprehensive mission of loving and serving their wives in such a way that their wives flourish and thrive. It’s a call for men to come to terms with how Jesus has pursued them so that they can pursue their wives in the same gospel-powered way.

So, your ideas should center on what will cause a wife to flourish and thrive.

Instructions:

-Share your idea in the comments section.

-Include your name, city, age, and gender (women, I really want you to share your ideas too, this isn’t just for men).

-Keep it short. I will only consider clearly written ideas that are 1-3 sentences in length.