Jordan Raynor

Oct 19

8 min read ⭑

“While the gospel compels us to want to be productive, it simultaneously frees us from the need to be productive since our status as God’s children is irrevocably secure. God loves and accepts us no matter how productive we are. And we can extend grace to ourselves because he extended grace to us when we were his enemy.”

If there’s one thing Jordan Raynor isn’t, it’s lazy. As an author, podcast host and serial entrepreneur, he prizes productivity, discipline and time management. (So much so that he’s written a book on the topic!) But for Jordan, life isn’t about simply accomplishing as much as possible. It’s about knowing Jesus, following him anywhere he leads and sharing his love with this broken, hurting world.

In today’s interview, Jordan is sharing valuable information with our readers about his secrets to productivity and time management, the creative ways he finds spiritual renewal, and his all-time favorite Christian books.

QUESTION #1: ACQUAINT

There's much more to food than palate and preference. How does your go-to meal at your favorite hometown restaurant reveal the true you behind the web bio?

Every Sunday morning, my wife, three young daughters and I enjoy a truly special time at Hole in One Donuts in Tampa, Florida, where we live. On the way home, we chow down on Cuban breakfast sandwiches (a staple in Tampa!) and the greatest doughnuts on the planet while we all take turns sharing what we’re thankful for from the past week. It’s a terrific way to worship via donuts before we head off to church!

QUESTION #2: REVEAL

We’ve all got quirky proclivities and out-of-the-way interests. So what are yours? What so-called “nonspiritual” activities do you love and help you find spiritual renewal?

Long walks around the lake in our neighborhood. I think a lot of Christians find walking to be spiritual, which shouldn’t be surprising. According to Pastor Mark Buchanan, we worship “the three-mile-an-hour God” who spent time walking with his children in Eden (see Genesis 3:8). Hinduism has yoga. Taoism has tai chi. Shintoism has karate. Buddhism has kung fu. The physical discipline of Christianity is walking. So walking around the lake in our neighborhood is one way I feel God’s presence and pleasure.

QUESTION #3: CONFESS

Every superhero has a weakness. Every human, too. We're just good at faking it. But who are we kidding? We’re broken and in this thing together. So what’s your kryptonite and how do you hide it?

I’m a disciplined guy and I wholeheartedly believe that discipline is a good, God-given thing. But when discipline becomes my ultimate thing, it becomes my kryptonite. I know I’ve crossed over to the dark side of discipline when one of two things happens.

1) I am unable to extend grace to others who are less disciplined than me.

If someone shows up late to a meeting or drops a ball on a project, I can find myself seething with self-righteous anger, an attempt to mask the fact that I, too, have made similar mistakes. In these moments, I have to preach the gospel to myself and remember that every good thing I have — including my ability to be disciplined — has been graciously given to me.

2) I am unable to extend grace to myself.

I can be hard on myself if I don’t finish my to-do list for the day or only get six hours of sleep instead of my coveted eight. Here, again, the solution is the gospel. How? Because while the gospel compels us to want to be productive, it simultaneously frees us from the need to be productive since our status as God’s children is irrevocably secure. God loves and accepts us no matter how productive we are. And we can extend grace to ourselves because he extended grace to us when we were his enemy.

QUESTION #4: FIRE UP

Tell us about your toil. How are you investing your professional time right now? What’s your obsession? And why should it be ours?

I just finished a new book called “Redeeming Your Time,” which helps connect the gospel to our perennial struggles with time management. This is an unbelievably cluttered genre of books. There are currently 60,000 time-management titles for sale on Amazon! But I wanted to write “Redeeming Your Time” because I have two big problems with the perennial sellers in this category.

First, most time-management books are centered on “works-based productivity,” which claims that if you do exercises X, Y or Z, then you will find peace. As Christians, we can start with the opposite premise — “grace-based productivity” — which says that, through Christ, we already have peace, and we do time management exercises X, Y or Z as a response of worship. We are diligent about managing our time well, not to get peace, but in response to peace.

Second, most of these books fail to account for how the Author of time managed his time. Jesus was the most productive person who ever lived, and yet I’ve never read a time-management book that accounts for how he spent his time on earth. That’s crazy! We’d be foolish not to study his lifestyle and the habits that led him to be so purposeful, present and productive. When you read the Gospels as biographies, I believe you see at least seven timeless time-management principles in the life of Christ. That’s what this new book is all about. Helping readers redeem their time the way Jesus redeemed his. Helping us all walk like Jesus here in the 21st century.

QUESTION #5: BOOST

Cashiers, CEOs, contractors or customer service reps, we all need grace flowing into us and back out into the world. How does the Holy Spirit invigorate your work? And how do you know it's God when it happens?

I find the Holy Spirit speaking into my work when I make time to dissent from the kingdom of noise. When my phone is put away, I’m not listening to a podcast, and my mind is free of external inputs. The quieting of the outside world enables me to be still long enough to listen to God’s voice. How do I know it’s God speaking and not myself? When what’s being said is aligned with his Word.

QUESTION #6: inspire

Scripture and tradition beckon us into the rich and varied actions that open our hearts to the presence of God. So spill it, which spiritual practice is workin' best for you right now?

Sabbath.

For years, I viewed Sabbath as a day filled with things I couldn’t do rather than a day filled with joyful things I could do. But then about four years ago, in the middle of a particularly crazy season of life, I re-read what Jesus himself said about Sabbath, and it totally changed my perspective. In Mark 2, Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”

That changed my life. I started to see that Sabbath isn’t just a day for ceasing, it is also a day for feasting.

Here’s what that looks like for our young family. Once we’ve prepared for Sabbath and ceased from all productive things on Saturday night, we light a candle to visually mark our transition into a time of rest. This ensures that, in the words of my kids, it “smells like Sabbath” (and pumpkin pecan waffles) for 24 glorious hours. Once the candle is lit, we feast on takeout from one of our favorite restaurants followed by some sort of epic dessert.

On Sunday morning, I wake up at my normal time to spend time in the Word and in prayer. Once the kids are up, I allow them to indulge in two Sabbath-only treats: A hot cup of coffee and a full-length movie. My wife feasts on sleep while I watch “Tangled” with the kids for the 80th time.

After that, we head to our favorite doughnut shop in town (see Question #1!) and share what we’re most thankful for from the past week. With doughnuts and Cuban breakfast sandwiches in hand, we head back home with plenty of time to get ready for church, where we feast on the Word with our church family.

After church, Sabbath afternoons are usually pretty lowkey: Lunch, naps, my wife and I getting lost in a great book. After naptime, we may go to the beach or a park, or my wife and I might go on a date. But most Sundays, we’re just hanging around the house, playing games, swimming in the pool, running around the backyard, drinking an amazing craft beer. After dinner on Sunday, we blow out the candle, pack lunches for school and get ready for Monday, our souls filled and ready for the week ahead.

But at the end of the day, Sabbath isn’t ultimately about what we eat or do. It’s a holy, sacred day to focus on the fact that Jesus is our ultimate Sabbath.

QUESTION #7: FOCUS

Our email subscribers get free ebooks featuring our favorite resources — lots of things that have truly impacted our faith lives. But you know about some really great stuff, too. What are three resources that have impacted you?

1) “Every Good Endeavor” by Tim Keller because it helped me see the God-given dignity of all work and totally changed my life.

2) Dr. Kennon Vaughn's preaching on the Great Commission called “Every Christian Is a ‘Full-Time Missionary.’” It shows that a much more accurate translation of “Go make disciples of all nations” is “As you are going, make disciples of all nations.” That translation changes everything. It means that you don’t have to change your vocation or your location to participate in the Great Commission. You can make disciples right where you are.

3) Okay, I’m going to throw a curveball here. Recently, I loved this podcast called “Every Single Album: Taylor Swift.” It’s hosted by Nora Princiotti, a brilliant journalist, and Nathan Hubbard, the former CEO of Ticketmaster. Basically, they do a 90-minute deep dive on each of Taylor Swift’s albums. But what makes it really great is that it’s also a deep dive into Taylor as a brilliant strategist and (I would argue) the greatest chief marketing officer in history. It’s a terrific listen for entrepreneurs, marketers and leaders, especially those who love Taylor’s music.

We all have things we cling to to survive (or thrive) in tough times. Name one resource you’ve found indispensable in this current season — and tell us what it's done for you.

The writings of N.T. Wright, one of the world’s leading Bible scholars. More specifically, I loved a terrific book he wrote in 2020 called “God and the Pandemic.”

QUESTION #8: dream

God is continually stirring new things in each of us. So, give us the scoop! What’s beginning to stir in you but not yet fully awakened? What can we expect from you in the future?

My mission is to help every Christian connect the gospel to their work — to see that the work they do isn’t “secular” or a meaningless means to an end. It is a part of co-laboring with God as we build toward his eternal kingdom.

Do you actively manage your time? If you answered no, you’re not the only one. Around 82% of people don’t have a time-management system that helps them stay on track. And many of those who do wish they were even more productive.

But what if we followed Jesus’ example and thought about time and productivity the way he did, as Jordan Raynor encourages us to do? What would change in our lives, in our relationships, in our intimacy with God?

Perhaps we wouldn’t just be more productive but would also have more peace — a peace that “surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7, ESV). Is that what you want today, friend? If so, what small change can you make today as you follow Jesus’ example?

Through his books, podcast and devotionals, Jordan Raynor has helped millions of Christians across the globe connect the gospel to their work. Jordan also serves as the executive chairman of the venture-backed tech startup Threshold 360. He previously served as CEO of the company, following a string of successful ventures of his own. Jordan has twice been selected as a Google Fellow and served in the White House under President George W. Bush. He is a sixth-generation Floridian who lives in Tampa with his wife and their three young daughters. Visit JordanRaynor.com to learn more.