Hugh Whelchel, executive director of The Institute for Faith, Work, and Economics, has done a great review of What’s Best Next for TGC.

It is a fantastic review with a superb summary of the book. And here’s something especially unique about Hugh’s review: he comments on the final section of the book, where I show how personal productivity connects to the productivity of our organizations and society, and therefore why it is important for us as Christians to understand economics.

That’s a very important section of the book to me. I almost had to cut it out due to length, in fact, but insisted that we keep it (though I still and to cut that section in half). I also show how a concern for the productivity and well being of all of society is not just a modern idea, but is clearly and significantly expressed by even the great 18th-century theologian Jonathan Edwards.

Read Hugh’s whole review of What’s Best Next to see a bit more on the connections between Christian love and a concern for economics.

If you are going to be at Together for the Gospel this week, my friend Alex Chediak and I will be doing an author meet up and we’d love to see you. It will be in the lobby of the Galt House on Tuesday night from 10:00 – 11:00, after the final panel. (Note: the lobby is in the first floor of the Suit Tower.)

It will be very informal. Stop by to say hi and hang out a bit, and we’ll also have a brief Q&A time about our books — so bring your hardest questions. We will also be giving away some free copies of our books.

I love really, really, really hard questions, so the harder the questions, the better. Further, you can ask questions about anything; our books would be the best, but you can ask questions about the sovereignty of God, the Trinity, social justice, leadership, social media, hard passages in the Bible, or anything else. Literally anything and everything.

We’ll give some free books to people who ask the best and most difficult questions. (I recognize, of course, the irony there, because if you are asking questions, you’ve probably read the book and thus don’t need one! but then you’ll have another to give away.)

My book, obviously, is What’s Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done, which is about how to get things done and be productive in the new economy, in a gospel-centered way. It first gives a biblical vision for understanding our work, productivity, and the things we do every day; then, it gives a practical approach for improving our effectiveness for the glory of God in all areas of life (something which is sorely lacking right now in the church, in my view).

Alex is the author of several books, including Thriving at College and his latest, Preparing Your Teens for College. His books are about far more than college — at root, they are about what it means to be a mature adult and live life in a Gospel-centered way as a self-governing, competent individual. Hence, they are very related to the issue of productivity, as productivity is ultimately rooted in character and competence — which is what both of Alex’s books are ultimately about.

We look forward to seeing you!