Productivity

2010 April 06

by Tyler

Last week John Piper announced that he was taking a leave or sabbatical for the rest of the calender year (starting in May). Here is part of his statement on the reason behind his decision:

I see several species of pride in my soul that, while they may not rise to the level of disqualifying me for ministry, grieve me, and have taken a toll on my relationship with Noël and others who are dear to me. How do I apologize to you, not for a specific deed, but for ongoing character flaws, and their effects on everybody? I’ll say it now, and no doubt will say it again, I’m sorry. Since I don’t have just one deed to point to, I simply ask for a spirit of forgiveness; and I give you as much assurance as I can that I am not making peace, but war, with my own sins…

…The difference between this leave and the sabbatical I took four years ago is that I wrote a book on that sabbatical (What Jesus Demands from the World). In 30 years, I have never let go of the passion for public productivity. In this leave, I intend to let go of all of it. No book-writing. No sermon preparation or preaching. No blogging. No Twitter. No articles. No reports. No papers. And no speaking engagements (read the whole post here).

There is a lot that could be said about this, but the “passion for public productivity” is what immediately stuck out to me. I love what Pete Wilson said about this:

This addiction to “Public Productivity” is strong. Just think, most of us get quite a few accolades for the hard work we put in at the office. When I work 15 hour day I often feel a great sense of accomplishment. I love the high risk decisions, the writing under pressure, and the raw excitement of ministry. In fact, being loved for public productivity can be exhilarating and addictive. It feeds my ego. This is why so many people end up with an inflated ego and a deflated family (read the whole blog post here).

The allure of public productivity is great, especially within social media. Those of us who find ourselves blogging and tweeting consistently have the thoughts about what would be a funny tweet or an interesting blog post. This social media world has a lot of benefits but it also can pull us away from the things that matter more. The allure of public productivity is a dangerous one, and even more dangerous because until you are sucked into it, the dangers of it are hard to understand.

Any thoughts on public productivity or Piper taking an extended leave?

Filed under: the rest...

http://twitter.com/dustinuga dustin

I find it encouraging to see him be proactive in this. I think I also read that he offered to take his leave without pay (his church refused it). Piper, to me, has always been someone I respect as I feel he stives to stay true to Scripture when he teaches.
http://www.manofdepravity.com Tyler

He can be a little divisive because he is so convicted about what he believes, to the point that it is hard to disagree with him and feel like he still thinks you are a true believer. That said, I totally agree with you: a man I completely respect.
Mary

I think it is an admirable decision. Ministry staff and the church as a whole would be healthier if more of us were willing to step back from time to time. I have and am in the process of stepping back from a couple responsibilities and activities to have more time for my family that is going through some tough times. I sometimes feel guilty because I think other people look at it and might say I’m being selfish or that I’m looking for excuses or I’m just being disagreeable, but I truly feel convicted to focus on my family’s needs and my personal spiritual development. Maybe nobody is thinking those things about me, but it is hard to let go of the appearance of looking like I have it all together and can manage 5000 things at once.
http://www.belovedspear.org Beloved Spear

It’s particularly important to take that sabbath, and to realize that the thing that drives you to constantly produce may not, in fact, be the Spirit. Just good ol’ pride and the desire to maintain appearances.
MCDean

My initial thought was the same as Beloved Spear. I have no idea where John Piper stands concerning taking a sabbath, but I would guess that he is making up for lost time.

I’m very, very glad that John can realize that he needs some time, that he ran it through men of wisdom throughout his church, and that he has the willingness and wisdom to do so, as opposed to plowing ahead.

But sometimes, it is wiser to not find yourself in that situation in the first place.

All part of the journey, I guess.
http://www.contentunderpressure.net Josh

I think this move required more humility than anyone probably thinks…I respect his decision.
http://www.thejakers.com Jake Johnson

I think that whenever someone of John’s stature publicly can make a move like this it’s healthy because it tells people that’s it’s OK to acknowledge the sin of pride and work addiction and tears down the perception that pastors—especially high profile ones—don’t struggle with the same things we do.

Personally, I’ve been convicted often of my need to “produce”, usually at the expense of my family. I’m thankful for John’s example and pray that I can learn from it and avoid falling into the same trap because of it.
http://www.ourrisingsound.com Kyle

ironic that many are criticizing Piper for the exact opposite now that he invited Rick Warren to teach at Desiring God conference.
http://www.ourrisingsound.com Kyle

I thank God for the incredible example Piper is. It’s sad that I know of more than 1 example of pastor’s having affairs and starting new churches in less than 8 months.

Piper takes 8 months off for pride.

Convicting.
http://www.manofdepravity.com Tyler

That whole thing is really sad to me. Easy solution to all this. If you really dislike Rick that much…don’t go the conference. I know! Crazy idea right?
http://www.manofdepravity.com Tyler

Well said, totally agree.
http://www.angusnelson.com Angus Nelson

I think we place too much emphasis on our personal performance all the time. In fact, I venture to say we’re religious about it. What we do never seems to be enough: I must pray more, worship more, go to church more, study more… etc.

The only thing Jesus told us to labor for was rest.
http://www.fredmckinnon.com Fred McKinnon

I first had to ask Pete what “public productivity” really was, as I honestly had never heard that phrase, nor did I exactly get what it meant. I guess I fall into that same trap.

I stop and ask myself, “am I more into letting the public hear my thoughts and see my work, or my kids”. Ouch.