Today, Matt Perman’s book What’s Bext Next: How The Gospel Transforms The Way You Get Things Done is being released. Should you get a copy? Personally, I think you should as it will challenge the way you think about being productive. Below is a simple synopsis of the book. I will be writing more specifically about it in my next couple of posts.
If you scan the list of leadership/management books being published today, chances are Matt Perman has read them. As a result of such research, along with Perman’s own personal leadership and management experiences, What’s Best Next is a book that needs to be consulted by future leaders, current leaders, and anyone else who seeks to do things for the glory of God.
The aim of What’s Best Next is…
To help you live the life that God has called you to live, and to live it with maximum effectiveness and meaning. If you are an executive, I want to help you be a better executive. If you are a homemaker, to be a better homemaker. If you are a pastor, to be a better pastor. If you are a creative professional, to be a better creative professional. If you are a missionary, to be a better missionary. And if you don’t know what life God has called you to live, I want to help you find it (p. 20).
Perman encourages his readers throughout this book to be people who care about personal productivity. He argues that because the gospel changes everything, then all areas of our life–“the workplace, business, the arts, culture, serving the poor, everything,” including how we get things done, should be affected by the gospel (p. 71).
It is Perman’s understanding of what it means to be productive that is most helpful. He concludes from the study of Scripture that to be productive is “to do good for others, to the glory of God” (p. 74). This others-centeredness is why Perman gives us practical instructions in how to develop a good weekly schedule, how to create project plans, how to manage workflow, and how to get your email box to zero everyday. He writes, “if you become more efficient with things (workflow system, etc…), you will have more time to give to being effective with people without feeling you are always behind on your tasks” (p. 49).
Understanding what it means to be productive is imperative. It is the key to knowing how and why to manage your workload. Therefore, Perman’s first chapters lay the foundation for productivity by helping us understand our calling. And for Perman, everyone has a calling. Whether you are a teacher or business person, you have a mission and purpose which is revealed to you in the pages of Scripture. If you do not understand this mission and purpose to which you are called, that is, that you are called to give God glory by serving others, then how you structure your calendar will be to no avail.
Perman brings What’s Best Next to a powerful conclusion as he helps us to see the relationship between our daily routine and the mission of God. He mentions that “making the most of our time right where we are transforms the world” (p. 317). The reason this is most significant is that many times, I don’t think workers in the secular arena (whatever that means) realize the impact they can have upon the world around them. Perman writes, “whatever your job is, wherever you are, it is both meaningful in itself and a means of advancing the gospel. It is through your work that God changes the world” (p. 319).
For more info about this book click here.
Purchase on amazon.
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