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What Does God Think about Productivity and Project Management?
Our faith leads us to good works, according to the book of James.
The Bible has a bit of wisdom for us as we set off on the various works that God has given us. You might have a vision for taking on a huge calling like making a big financial decision for your family, planting a church, starting a new ministry, or even taking on a big project at your job. Each of these things is a project, and Jesus has some wisdom to give us about approaching big tasks.
Project (n): a set of tasks that will lead to a desired result
Make no mistake—God calls his people to work hard and work smart to steward the gifts he's given. The book of Proverbs is clear that wisdom is essential to any Christian, so let's see what wisdom God has for us regarding project management.
Start by planning
Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house.” Proverbs 24:27
Imagine you're going to build a house. You head to the hardware store, buy some wood and nails and cement, and just start nailing. Are you going to build a house like that? Probably not.
If you were wise, you'd start with drawing blueprints, running them by an engineer, creating a budget, and ordering the right amount of wood, nails, and cement. Jesus actually references a set of questions that you should ask yourself when starting work on a big project.
What does Jesus say about work?
Jesus is telling the disciples that discipleship is hard work and it's going to take everything they've got. He actually uses the project management of a tower and of rallying an army as examples. Jesus thinks that good project management is so obvious that he can use it as an illustration—which is awesome.
For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him." Luke 14:28–29
Now scope it out
Before starting any big project you need to decide what you want the outcome to be. If it were a tower, then you'd think about things like the height, square-footage, and environmental factors. If you were going to start a ministry you'd think about the number of volunteers, amount of space, and method of communicating to the people.
Scope is just one of the things that are required in order for your project to be successful.
An example of scope is the new marshill.com that we recently developed. We said that it had to:
- work on mobile devices and large screens
- be clean and easy to navigate
- focus on connecting people to Jesus, Sunday services, and Community Groups
- allow people to watch sermons easily
- give people an easy way to donate
- provide an easy way for users to see what's new
What are you trying to do and what needs to happen to make it work?
Count the cost
Before starting any project you've got know what it's going to cost. How much money will be required to pull it off?
The best kinds of projects are the ones that are successful, the second best are the kinds that never start. Figuring out if you have (or can get) enough resources to finish the project is essential to the project’s success.
How much will it cost to do what you're trying to do? Can you get that money?
Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace." Luke 14:31–32
Labor costs
In addition to money, you've got to ask if you have enough people to take on the task. Money can help bring on more people, but you can also bring on people by pitching a winsome and compelling vision and asking them to volunteer.
Do you have the people to take on the task?
All in good time
This king has a timeline he's working against—an army is marching right toward him. He's got to ask himself if he has the time to pull off a victory with the resources he has.
Do you have enough time to reasonably accomplish the task?
. . . also that everyone should . . . take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man.” Ecclesiastes 3:13
We want to see Jesus-loving men and women working hard. We're going to be adding more content that equips you to take on the calling God's given you. We want to see thousands of churches planted, ministries started, and great businesses built to help fuel the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
For more discussion on management and productivity, check out Mike’s blog.