In this episode, Camden Bucey reviews The Gospel at Work: How Working for King Jesus Gives Purpose and Meaning to Our Jobs (Zondervan) by Sebastian Traeger and Greg Gilbert. Traeger and Gilbert note that many Christians fall victim to one of two main problems when it comes to work: either they are idle in their work, or they have made an idol of it. Both of these mind-sets are deadly misunderstandings of how God intends for us to think about our employment. The authors unpack the powerful ways in which the gospel can transform how we do what we do, releasing us from the cultural pressures of both an all-consuming devotion and a punch-in, punch-out mentality—in order to find the freedom of a work ethic rooted in serving Christ.

Participants: Camden Bucey, Jim Cassidy

On this episode Camden Bucey reviews What’s Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done (Zondervan) by Matt Perman. This is an excellent book about Christian productivity that will help you become effective in your labors through a biblical perspective on loving God, loving others, and being a good steward of your opportunities, time, and resources.

Publisher’s Description

Productivity isn’t just about getting more things done. It’s about getting the right things done—the things that count, make difference, and move the world forward.

In our current era of massive overload, this is harder than ever before. So how do you get more of the right things done without confusing mere activity for actual productivity?

When we take God’s purposes into account, a revolutionary insight emerges. Surprisingly, we see that the way to be productive is to put others first—to make the welfare of other people our motive and criteria in determining what to do (what’s best next). As both the Scriptures and the best business thinkers show, generosity is the key to unlocking our productivity. It is also the key to finding meaning and fulfillment in our work.

What’s Best Next offers a practical approach for improving your productivity in all areas of life. It will help you better understand:

• Why good works are not just rare and special things like going to Africa, but anything you do in faith—even tying your shoes.
• How to create a mission statement for your life that actually works.
• How to delegate to people in a way that actually empowers them.
• How to overcome time killers like procrastination, interruptions, and multitasking by turning them around and making them work for you.
• How to process workflow efficiently and get your email inbox to zero every day.
• How your work and life can transform the world socially, economically, and spiritually, and connect to God’s global purposes.

By anchoring your understanding of productivity in God’s purposes and plan, What’s Best Next will give you a practical approach for increasing your effectiveness in everything you do.

Includes a Foreword by John Piper

Participants: Camden Bucey, Jim Cassidy