What is Christian Productivity?

Christian productivity is stewardship with everything entrusted to you by God.

The word “productivity” is polarizing. Some view productivity negatively, some positively. Some people hate productivity while others idolize it. Most people think of productivity as efficiently completing tasks. Not a bad start. But not distinctly Christian, either. What is Christian productivity?

When you think of productivity, you think of an upper-class CEO yelling at his employees for not getting more done, threatening consequences if the report isn’t completed by Wednesday. This is tyrannical leadership, not productivity. As Christians, it’s important to view productivity from a Christian perspective, lest we unintentionally adopt unhealthy secular methodologies for our vocational vision. 

Let’s define productivity simply as “stewardship.” Christian productivity is stewardship with everything entrusted to you by God. Or, as Tim Challies put it in his excellent book, Do More Better: “Productivity is effectively stewarding my gifts, talents, time, energy, and enthusiasm for the good of others and the glory of God.” 

Seen this way, every Christian should care about productivity since every Christian is called to steward what God has entrusted to him or her and will one day give account for this stewardship. And every pastor should care about productivity because he is an exemplary Christian. Better stewardship from the pastor usually leads to better stewardship from the church. 

Productivity is deeper than you realize. It’s physical: it involves sleep, diet, and exercise. It’s tactical: it involves planning, scheduling, to-do lists, and goals. And deeper still, it’s also linked to character traits like self-control, discipline, and diligence. Productivity is not just about efficiently completing tasks, but comprehensively involves your entire being since you are a living sacrifice to God (Romans 12:1). 

I believe my job as a pastor in part is to help my flock hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Obviously, I can’t control what everyone does, but I won’t be of maximum value to my flock if I can’t lead myself. I can’t help others if I don’t practice self-care. By putting more energy into understanding and practicing productivity, you’ll be better equipped to promote faithful Christian living in your church. 

So, pastor, I invite you to join me on this productivity journey.  Let’s be diligent in sermon prep. Let’s practice self-care to avoid burnout. Let’s get serious about managing our time well, knowing one day we’ll give account to God for how we spent our lives. If the mission of avoiding burnout, staying healthy, and getting the right things done interests you, then please consider subscribing and joining me on this journey.