Godward Toil

Doodle scheduler: Tool for kingdom productivity

A tool I've been using for a long time is starting to catch on at my church.  Doodle is the simplest imaginable tool for polling a group of people for their availability.   You just create a poll, offer dates and times, then send invitees to a website where they fill in their names and check little yes/no availability boxes.  It provides an instant, easy to interpret visual representation of which are the best days and times for the greatest number of people (without a single "reply all" email clogging your inbox).

I used Doodle to schedule meetings for the children's ministry, and almost instantly other groups at the church started asking me about it.   Even people who are slow to warm to new technologies see the beauty of this tool right away.  My brothers and sisters are starting to use it for Men's Ministry and for scheduling visitation and prayer for the sick.  Praise the Lord!  May he use it for many more good works.  So, since I had gotten so many questions, spontaneously, I thought I'd share it here too.

Doodle is free.  There is an option to register so you can manage multiple polls more easily, but a logon registration is not required.

The purest words ever spoken from a pulpit

The first 17 minutes of this sermon by John Piper put a stake in the ground for my life.  Pastor John recites scripture from the heart the way I want to, and want my children to.  Paul said to the Corinthians, "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ."   So I am within God's plan for the body of Christ when I desire to imitate this precious brother's Word-soaked life.   These 17 minutes are my vision of biblical productivity.  These words are tools for Godward toil.   If you do nothing else on the Internet this week, watch or listen to (don't just read) this sermon about Scripture memory.

Encouraging faithfulness to core disciplines

I've been considering this morning how to encourage faithfulness to the core disciplines of hearing from God through Bible reading and prayer.   This topic has come to mind for three reasons: 

1. I am always seeking strategies for defeating sloth and distraction in my flesh. 
2. My current focus on church ministry teams has me pleading with God for a team of brothers and sisters who are in the word and praying every day because (as I've discussed in my posts on Psalm 127), the house we build will either fall down or do no lasting good unless the Lord builds it.
3. I recently listened to John Piper's annual sermon exhorting his people to faithful and fruitful prayer.  It is always one of my favorites of the year (last year's blew me away).  This year Pastor John strongly emphasized building habits around prayer, including committing to a time and place.

I've heard the exhortation for having a time and place many times, and of course it is wise.  But I also sense it is incomplete for many people.   I needed to link my disciplines to other actions and habits in my life.  For me, the most helpful strategy has been the "no email before bible" resolution.  This strategy built Psalm 127 thinking into my day--I was essentially saying to myself, "Don't fool yourself into thinking that any work or personal correspondence that is not build upon your relationship with God will be any good to anyone."    I was also trying to defeat Satan's subtle tactics to get me off track with what is most important--"just take care of this one thing and get it off your mind so you can really focus on your Bible," the devil would prompt--which of course just got me off to the races, never to return to my plan for quiet time with my Lord.

I have not always been faithful to my resolution, but it has helped a lot.  I'm considering upping the ante on it by changing some usernames or passwords to include phrases like "IvereadmyBibleGod" somewhere in them (note to hackrs:  this is an example and it won't be in any of my passwords, which will be way more disguised:).   I've also thought about a yellow sticky over the keypad of my work and cell phone that says "Remove only after daily devotions" which would require me to take it off before the Lord prior to using.  After all, the whole reason he has blessed me with a phone is so that I can do my work or ministry for Him!   How silly is it for me to use a phone without seeking him for purity and purpose in all I do?   I'd love to find a way to disable my car with a prayer detector that wouldn't let it start until I had earnestly sought Him!

Now, I know these kinds of suggestions open one to charges of legalism, which is why I LOVED Piper's direct response to this criticism in the prayer sermon this year:

And meanwhile the devil is whispering all over this room: “The pastor is getting legalistic now. He’s starting to use guilt now. He’s getting out the law now.” To which I say, “To hell with the devil and all of his destructive lies. Be free!” Is it true that intentional, regular, disciplined, earnest, Christ-dependent, God-glorifying, joyful prayer is a duty? Do I go to pray with many of you on Tuesday at 6:30 a.m., and Wednesday at 5:45 p.m., and Friday at 6:30 a.m., and Saturday at 4:45 p.m., and Sunday at 8:15 a.m. out of duty? Is it a discipline?

You can call it that. It’s a duty the way it’s the duty of a scuba diver to put on his air tank before he goes underwater. It’s a duty the way pilots listen to air traffic controllers. It’s a duty the way soldiers in combat clean their rifles and load their guns. It’s a duty the way hungry people eat food. It’s a duty the way thirsty people drink water. It’s a duty the way a deaf man puts in his hearing aid. It’s a duty the way a diabetic takes his insulin. It’s a duty the way Pooh Bear looks for honey. It’s a duty the way pirates look for gold.

It goes without saying that just because I remove a yellow sticky from my phone, read my Bible pray, doesn't mean that my heart is with the Lord.  The habit doesn't make the heart, but not having the habit can destroy chances of developing the heart.  That is too big a risk for me.  I  fear wasting my life and time building houses, keeping watch, rising up early and going late to rest (Psalm 127:1-2) if the Lord is not in it.  I also fear for a church ministry team that would meet to talk, plan, and work without every person continually asking God for an renewed mind (Romans 12:2) and a pure heart (Psalm 51).  Join me in praying for faithfulness to core disciplines this year.

A lesson from a customer support experience from Pelotonics

As I mentioned in my last post, I am thinking a lot about ministry team productivity.   I want our children's ministry team to be massively productive for the Lord.  

We have a large team that is responsible for a large ministry.  One of the "tools for toil" I see as potentially helpful is a collaborative project management website.   I have tested several sites, and recently found one, Pelotonics, that I think will best match with the needs of our ministry team.  I have yet to roll it out to the team, so the proof will be in the putting, but my initial work with the site has given me a favorable impression.

That impression was strengthened today with a customer support experience that surprised and challenged me.  It was so good, and put such a stake in the ground for me in terms of productivity, that I have to share it here:   I completed a technical support form on the Pelotonics website with a question I couldn't find answered on the site's forums or wiki.  Within hours, I not only had an answer by email, but the company's founder, Troy Malone, recorded a video response to my question.  The response answered my question, and went on to offer additional useful information related to it--information I had not yet thought to ask for, but which will help me down the road.  I later discovered that Mr. Malone also streams live from his office during many points in his workday to engage with and support his product's consumers.

The reason to mention it here, other than that I was thankful and impressed, is that it presents a challenge to me to think outside of the expectable and strive to surpass it. This company has decided that customer support is central to their model.  Almost every company would say that.  But this company also decided to redefine what customer support means.   From a business standpoint, it will be interesting to see how this scales when Pelotonics grows, but from a ministry standpoint, it is relevant because whatever challenge our team faces, we should ask God to show us the best way to meet it, and open our minds for him to show us something different and more glorious to him than the status quo.  I think this is particularly relevant to ministry with children, whom many churches and parents have underestimated.   Scripture memory:  how about whole books of the Bible?   Lessons:  how about systematic theology?   Sing-a-longs:  how about five verses of the great hymns?   I think our church and many of the families in our congregation do think big about our children, but I always want to be open for God to show me something bigger--even to redefine what I think of as big.

Lessons about how great God is come from the strangest places, don't they?  Ustream??  It should not be surprising, since all of creation and history are a drama that is ultimately about Him and for Him:

For by him [Jesus] all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. (Col 1:16)

Response to Mac Switcher interested in productivity

I don't usually write about productivity software or gadgets.   It's not because I don't value tools that make me more fruitful in the work God has given me.  The tools I use on my computer are as important to me as a saw and plane are for a carpenter.   But there are already lots of sites dedicated to the electronics of productivity, and I've found that, when people ask about the specific tools I use, they sometimes get discouraged in thinking that being productive is too elaborate or requires too much computer knowledge to even try.   When I talk or teach about biblical productivity, I always emphasize that Jesus didn't have a laptop and Paul probably had to scrounge around for parchment to write on.  They were plenty productive for God.  Any discipline worth having should be possible to perform in prison as well as in a cubicle.

That said, I do have friends and students who ask me about my set-up.   Today, a friend who recently switched to using a Mac asked me to point him in some productive directions with his new machine.   Although I never want this blog to become a "tricks and tips" site, it seems reasonable to share my response to him here, since it is directly related to productivity and is a question I get fairly often.

Because I work in front of a computer most of the day, I have tools for many different scenarios and needs.  Some scenarious come up more often than others.  For my friend, who has been a basic-level PC end-user for years, I wanted to boil things down to a short list of programs and utilities I use every day.   I also wanted to major in tools that have a free option, with only a sprinkling of premium products.  So here is what I told him.  Only read it, if you have already memorized the first verse of Psalm 127, and read at least some of my posts on prayer and productivity:

Advice to a Mac switcher interested in productivity

The Basics
Read Walt Mossberg's very basic switcher tips.
Review Apple's tutorials for switchers.

Utilities
Watch video demo of Dropbox and install on all of your machines.
Watch video tutorial, puchases, and install Textexpander.
Read wikipedia explanation of Quicksilver and install it. Once you have it installed read some of these tutorials.  Tuaw's tutorial is also helpful as a start.
Get Firefox, then install Foxmarks Bookmark Synchronizer to synchronize bookmarks across machines.
Download free version of Flip4Mac (to view Windows Media files), if that is relevant to you.

Project/Task Management
Watch the video demo, then purchase Omnifocus, my tool of choice for project/task management and review.

Tools to promote universal capture of tasks, ideas, conviction, and promptings of the Spirit
Watch the video tutorial, and install Evernote client and bookmarklet on all devices (mobile and stationary)
Get Jott to aid in universal catpure of ideas and tasks on the fly using cell phone.

Textexpander, Omnifocus have cost, rest are free with the option to purchase premium features or more space as your use and need determine.  The two applications I use everyday, but did not include on this list are 1Password and Mindmanager.   1Password is the ultimate password manager, but my friend will be moving between his Mac and a PC, and 1Password is mac-only.  If you use secure passwords, it's hard to be without them on your second computer.   Mindmanager is central to my writing, planning, presenting, and brainstorming.  Fantastic software.  However, the mac version, while still excellent, is no where near is good as the Windows version, so it didn't seem appropriate to have it on the Mac Switcher list.   In fact, even though I have Mindmanager for Mac, I usually use it on the Windows side of my machine with VMware Fusion (which is also a helpful utility I use a few times a week, but don't put it in the must-have category).

I hope this list is helpful and read its proper context and purpose:  for the glory of God in software, hardware, and all things.

Stewardship of focused prayer time: Concentric circles and daily themes

In light of the unimaginable importance and privilege of praying, I want to steward my focused prayer time well.    The Lord wants us to pray constantly and spontaneously (1 Thes 5:16-18).   But the Bible also encourages us to "devote" ourselves and be "steadfast" in prayer (e.g. Acts 1:14, Col 4:2), suggesting a kind of discipline and focus.   We are also to pray in, for, and about everything (e.g. Phil 4:2).   Not only about everything, but about nearly everyone--Paul's epistles indicate that a full prayer life includes supplication for lots and lots of people--groups of people (like whole churches) and specific people, like companions, friends, missionaries, and enemies.   (For additional encouragement about focused supplication and the need to "take steps to see that it is part of your regular life, the same way eating and sleeping are"  read or listen to this sermon by John Piper: Devote Yourselves to Prayer)

The enormity of importance and need for prayer can be overwhelming...and, if Satan has his way, defeating.   There have been many times in my life, including very recently, where I got away from praying because I felt like I didn't know where to start.  I would approach the throne of grace, feel lame and distracted, and shrink away into other activities.  Earlier this week, I talked with a dear brother who confessed how much his heart would sink when someone asked him to pray for them, because he knew he wouldn't end up faithful to the request.   I resonated very much with that feeling.

At the deepest level, my failure and that of my brother comes down to an overfocus on self--a "pride of worm" where I am stuck on the lameness I see in the mirror, instead of on the excellencies of Christ I would see if only I would turn away from the mirror and look through the window of His Word.   So, the struggle here is the daily struggle to die to self and live in Christ.   But that struggle happens at lots of levels--from the most mysterious to the most concrete.   One of the purposes of this blog is to explore some concrete tools in that struggle, i.e. how can I set up my life to maximize the chances that I'll let go of it!   

Many books have been written about the disciplines (tools) surrounding prayer, exploring lots of different aspects of it.   I want to share one systematic supplication strategy that has helped keep me focused and encouraged in prayer.   I have just returned to and retooled these structures, so I am excited to share them.  I'm sure this level of lists and structures is not for everyone.   But for my distracted and sometimes overwhelmed soul, these have been a Godsend.

My prayer life is richest when I simultaneously use two strategies:   Concentric circles and Daily Themes.    I got the concentric circles from John Piper, who describes his circles in the sermon I linked to above ("Taking Steps: How" section).    The concentric circles approach starts with the one most in need of prayer (me), then moves out from there.  I start needs I have, then move to my wife, then to my children, then to a list of others that is different each day the week.  So, at the back of my journal I have something that looks like this:

Everyday
Me: Search me, forgive me, and help me (list of heart and other needs such as purity, integrity, gentleness as a husband...)
My wife (list of specific needs she has indicated or I have discerned)
My children (a list of 4 or 5 needs for each.  These range broadly and evolve over time.  For example, a list for one of my children right now reads, "Teachable spirit, Angry growl, Blessing others w/ joy, Intelligible speech, Kindergarten, Salvation")       

Monday:  Work, Career Direction, Coworkers (list of 2 specific co-workers).  [On Monday since it starts the work week.]
Tuesday:   Joy of the Lord for unsaved friends/family (list of 3 or 4 specific people)
Wednesday:  Local church (list of groups and ministries I'm involved in or am considering involvement in, our pastors and staff, specific people at our church I want to pray for regularly)
Thursday:   Universal Church.  Pastors/ministers, other churches/ministries, persecuted church.  (list of specific ministers/missionaries, churches, ministries) [This is a series of concentric circles that moves from specific people in ministry and missions, to larger entities.]
Friday:   World and Current Events.  City, state, country. Elected officials (list of a few, right now includes candidates too!).  Secular organizations (like my undergrad college). Key issues (list of a few like racism, abortion, poverty). 
Saturday:   Family and Closest Friends.  [On Saturday because I desire some of these prayers to prompt me to call people and Saturday is usually the best day for that.]

I can't say enough how freeing it can be to realize that I don't need to pray for everything and everyone every time.  If I tell someone I'll keep them in prayer, it might mean I do that once a week when I reach the daily theme or list that pertains to that person.   I also don't feel the need to hit every item on the daily theme lists every week.   I let my heart, guided by the Spirit, lead me.   After all, despite these  detailed efforts to devote myself to prayer in a focused and diligent way, I don't really know what to pray for!   There is a marvelous paradox at the center of Christian prayer:  What we pray for really matters, really counts.  We need to pray often, specifically, and steadfastly. AND our prayers are like the utterances of a tired baby who knows not what she really needs:

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27)

Knowing this glorious truth should embolden all of us to pray freely and often.   I am jealous for the joy that comes with such prayer, so I am zealous for any tool that will get me there...concentric circles, daily themes, lists, key verses, computer code, resolutions, and whatever else it takes!

Weekly review, the heart, and Satan

Many, many, many people have written about the importance of having a time each week when you review your commitments, calendar, and next actions toward goals.  Right now I have fallen out of the practice in a terrible way, and I'm seeing the consequences...I'm forgetting things, missing needed actions, slipping on my commitments to people, and frittering away time unproductively.   Why does this happen?  If I know that setting aside a couple of hours each week will make me more Kingdom effective ,and save time in the long run, why is it so hard to do it consistently?

With regard to sin, the apostle Paul, in his letter to the Romans, said this:  "For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate."  His idea is that his heart does not follow what his head knows to be good, true, and right.  The prophet Jeremiah said it this way, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick.  Who can understand it?"  (Jer 17:9)  A colleague told me this week that there is a Korean saying that there is no greater distance than that which is between the head and the heart.   

Paul and Jeremiah are most directly talking about the way that pride works to undermine our judgment and lead us to sin.   Not having a weekly review is not "sin" in and of itself, but it is a neglect of a discipline that can lead (and does in my life) to poor stewardship of time, lack of diligence, lack of fruit and good works, failure to honor commitments (integrity), and poor leadership in my family.

When I look at this list of outcomes, I wonder what role Satan plays in stealing my weekly review.  The devil is prowls, seeking someone to devour (1 Pet 5:8) and he wants to render me ineffective--wants me to forget that phone call to a brother in need who I promised to call.  I do not pray against Satan nearly enough--and hardly ever about things like weekly reviews!   But I need to take a stand in prayer for my disciplines. 

Father, restore me to diligence in my disciplines.  Show me how to find time for weekly review.  Defeat Satan who wishes to render me fruitless, flailing, and purposeless.   Give me every tool to stay focused on you and the good works you've prepared in advance for me to walk in.   Amen.

Tool to support my "No prebiblical email" resolution

Some time ago, I came across this Outlook macro posted in 2004 by Christian publisher Michael Hyatt.  It has been a wonderful "tool for toil" for some time, and especially as I strive to live out my resolution to fill myself with God's word and power before attempting other work.

Diligence using (10+2)*5

We have a lot going on in our family right now, so it's been a struggle to stay focused and diligent at work.  I have several big projects going on that need my full engagement.   Today I began experimenting with what Merlin Mann called the (10 + 2)*10 Procrastination hack.  I downloaded a nifty timer program called Multi-timer, which allows you to program up to ten different timer schemes, name them, and associate a completion message.  (Note: I found the timer, and others that are available on the 43Folders wiki page on timers.) 

I created one 10-minute countdown timing scheme (called "10 min dash complete") and one 2-minute scheme ("2 min rest complete").   To each scheme, I added a message, which flashes on the screen when the timer comes up.   I opted for it to make a sound, as well, since some of my dashes might have me in my office but not looking at the computer.  The sound option can be toggled for each of the ten timer schemes you create.

Here's how it works for me:  When I'm ready to start working, I hit the 10-minute dash timer and then minimize it.  I work on one of my identified projects and callings until the timer appears with a message "10 min dash complete" "Praise the Lord and Rest!"   I thank and praise Him, then hit the "2 minute rest" button.  During that two minutes, I go and get a drink, check personal email, check my RSS feeds, or just close my eyes.  When two minutes is up, the timer appears again:  "2 minute rest complete" "Pray and act in faith."   I haven't yet made it through an entire hour or working like this (the *5 refers to repeating the 10 + 2 minutes cycle 5 times--making a full hour), but when I have used it, it has been effective in helping me engage with actions that I've been putting off.

Now, a note to cynics about the little messages.  I know it sounds hokey to have little messages reminding me to praise God or act in faith.  It makes it seem like leaning on the empowering grace of Holy Spirit or giving thanks to the Lord of the universe is a mechanical activity.  But, although having the reminder does not make it so in my heart, I have found that the reminder makes it more likely that I will engage with my heart, thank Him for sustaining me, and trust God for his grace to do whatever my next action is.  (Incidentally, writing the little message can be a spiritual exercise in itself because the text box only gives you 25 characters in which to communicate with yourself.   So you have the opportunity to examine your heart to figure out what it most needs to hear when starting a work dash or resting from one.)   

When I'm at home, I'm often not near a computer, so I plan to try this with an ordinary kitchen timer, as well.   It won't be as much fun for me as the software program is, but obviously the (10+2)*5 tool can be used with high or low tech configurations.

Here's to supremacy of God in countdown timers and all things!