Business, Family, Marriage with Tim Schmoyer

Questions? Thoughts? Comments? Leave me a voicemail message to use in a future podcast episode: https://www.speakpipe.com/timschmoyerComment on the full post here: https://read.timschmoyer.com/p/divine-assignments-to-the-underpreparedA few weeks ago, I was texting with a friend about this “Elder My City” project. He mentioned that I'm “taking up the mantle to lead fathers in this direction” in our homes and cities.I remember sitting there thinking for a minute and then replying:“Oh man, now that you say that, taking up the mantle for this topic makes me nervous. I don't know that I'm qualified for it, but I also care about it deeply, so I will.”His reply was quicker than I anticipated:I read the message a few times. The pattern he recognized isn't that I'm competent in whatever I decide to pursue, but that I pursue the passions the Lord gives me and develop competence along the way.I replied:“Thanks. I don't feel that way, but I choose to believe that it's true.”Maybe you live in this same tension as I do, especially when it comes to fatherhood and pursuing elder qualifications as a God-fearing man. The tension is this:There's a gap between what you currently believe and what you want to believe.I Know This Gap WellAnd it keeps growing larger as I get older.* When I got married, what did I know about a healthy marriage? Nothing. But by God's grace and some hard work, we're still married 20 years later.* When my first child was born, what did I know about raising kids? Nothing. Yet here we are today with seven children.* When I started a business, what did I know about running one? Literally nothing. I didn't even know what a business plan was. But ten years later, it was a leader in our industry before being acquired in 2022.* When I started a blog called “Elder My City,” how deeply did I understand all the theological and practical implications of eldership? Not enough. Yet I know it's already been fruitful in my life and the lives of a few other men.Your story is probably similar. God's pattern isn't always preparation followed by assignment. Sometimes it's the opposite.I Think God Does This on PurposeMoses at the burning bush, stammering about his inadequate speech. Gideon hiding in a winepress, being called a “mighty warrior” while feeling like anything but. Jeremiah claiming he's too young. Peter, the impulsive fisherman, being told he'll become the rock on which the church is built.There's a pattern here: divine assignment to the underprepared.I used to think this was about God seeing potential we couldn't see in ourselves, and there may be some of that, but now I suspect it's about something else:It's about dependence.These assignments create a crisis that forces us to lean into resources we don't yet possess. Wisdom we haven't experienced. Strength we can't manufacture. Skills we haven't acquired.That's why Moses could lead Israel out of Egypt. Not because he had hidden eloquence, but because his stammering would force him to depend on God's words instead of his own. When he said, “Who am I to go to Pharaoh?” God didn't answer by listing Moses's qualifications. He answered, “I will be with you.” The inadequacy wasn't an obstacle to overcome—it was the whole point.Every moment of “I don't know if I can do this” has been preparation for sitting at some future gate where I'll need to say, “I don't have all the answers, but let's work through this together.”The Pattern I'm Learning to TrustEvery mission I've been sent on before I was ready has taught me that readiness isn't the prerequisite. Willingness is. The determination to show up despite limitations seems to be what God honors. It's His invitation into struggle that will form something in me I couldn't acquire any other way.I'm wrestling now with eldership — this biblical vision of becoming a man of wisdom and character who can serve his family and city. And I feel inadequate to it. Who am I to write and talk about it online?But maybe this is where every elder's journey begins. Not with competence, but with acknowledgment of inadequacy. Not with having answers, but with being willing to sit at the gate anyway, offering whatever wisdom he's gleaned from decades of stewarding businesses and families and faith.I don't feel adequate to be a city elder. But I'm learning to believe what I don't yet feel: God keeps sending me where I'm not ready because that's where He does His deepest work.And I'm sure He does the same with you. The question isn't whether you're prepared to be a father in your home, an elder in your city, and a ruler in the Kingdom to come. It's whether you're willing to go anyway. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit read.timschmoyer.com

Questions? Thoughts? Comments? Leave me a voicemail message to use in a future podcast episode: https://www.speakpipe.com/timschmoyerComment on the full post here: https://read.timschmoyer.com/p/you-dont-have-what-it-takesA podcast listener named Christopher sent me a voice message and asked a very critical question about how we, as God-fearing men, actually gain the ability to live out a vision of fathering our homes, eldering our cities, and preparing for rulership in the Kingdom to come.“On this path of biblical eldership and male community leadership—in our homes and in our communities, with our families and those around us—where does the power come from to carry that out? I'm wondering if you could talk more about the Holy Spirit and inviting the Spirit into your life.”I love this! Christopher is asking the question that exposes whether Elder My City is actually biblical or just another self-improvement program with Scripture verses attached.Where does the power come from to live out this vision for men?Unfortunately, most Christian men approach leadership the same way we've been taught to approach sin: through self-management. Try harder. Get educated. Find accountability. Develop a strategy. Build better habits.I don't know about you, but I've found that it doesn't work. I tried it for decades.When I read about the elder qualifications in 1 Timothy 3 as someone who is temperate, self-controlled, respectable, able to teach, able to manage his household well, etc. I know it's easy to treat them like a checklist of Boy Scout merit badges, but I don't think these qualifications are merely accomplishments. They're describing fruit. And fruit isn't manufactured. It's produced.I Spent One Full Year Focused on Galatians 5There was a season of my life where I took this very seriously.For an entire year, I read Galatians 5 every morning before my feet touched the floor. Before I got out of bed. Before I went to the bathroom. Before I did anything. I wanted to embed this into my belief system. I intellectually agreed with the passage, but if my belief in it was low. Maybe at a two or a three. I wanted to believe it at an eight or a nine and experience the transformation I knew would come with it.Consider what Paul says:“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” (Galatians 5:16-18)Paul then lists the works of the flesh—sexual immorality, fits of rage, rivalries, envy, all of it—and says those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Let that sink in. We can talk about the Kingdom, but if we miss this thing, we miss it.The way I read the passage is that the issue isn't the specific sins. Like, “Don't do these things.” Rather, it seems to me that the issue is that you're not being led by the Spirit.From there, Paul leads into the fruit of the Spirit.“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23)We lose something in English here: “fruit” is singular, not plural. We don't divide this up like, “Okay, I've got love, joy, and peace down, but I really need to work on patience.” That's not how it works. You have the singular fruit—the love-joy-peace-patience-kindness-goodness-faithfulness-gentleness-self-control fruit. It's all one package. You get the whole thing when you're living by the power of the Holy Spirit.This list as well as the character that qualifies a man for eldership are not something you manufacture through effort. It's something the Spirit produces through dependence. Which means the path from father to elder to ruler isn't primarily about trying harder to reduce sin and increase righteousness. It's about deepening dependence on the Holy Spirit.My Risky PrayerSo this became my prayer every morning:“Lord, teach me how to walk by your Spirit and not gratify the desires of my flesh. Teach me how to hear your Spirit's voice. I don't want to try harder to force more peace into my life. I want it to be the byproduct of having the Spirit active and alive and leading.”I'll tell you—if you pray that prayer and ask Him to teach you, be ready for what comes next.Here's what happened.I Failed My First TestI was walking through an airport terminal, on my way to catch a flight to speak at an event. And I look down ahead of me. I see some saltine crackers crushed up and ground into the carpet. And I had this little voice in my head. Not audible, but this strong feeling: “Clean those up.”What? No. I've got to get to my gate. I'm that guy who likes to arrive right when boarding starts. I don't want to sit at the gate forever and then sit on the plane for even longer.I'm staring at these crushed crackers as I walk toward them, and it's getting stronger. “Stop and clean up the crackers.”No, that's weird. Not my job. Someone else will do it.I walk past them. It gets stronger. “Turn around and go back and clean those up.”At this point I'm kind of yelling inside my head: “No, I'm going to just go get on the plane. This is weird.”I didn't do it. Got on the plane, flew away. The voice goes away.Then I asked: “Okay, was that you?”Immediately: “Yes.”“Why did I need to clean up the crackers?”I have no way of verifying this, but here's what came to mind: “There's someone back there who is now going to lose their job due to no fault of their own because you didn't clean up those crackers. And they really needed that job.”Okay. Give me another chance.The Second Test Was a StruggleA few weeks later. I'm walking into a store in a strip mall area. As I'm walking in, that feeling comes back: “Stop and pull those weeds you see outside that store.”What? Come on. When I think about the Spirit, I think about the magical fireworks from Bible stories. Not pulling weeds.“No, I don't want to. That's weird. I just want to buy my thing and leave.”I walk past the weeds, go into the store, do my thing. The whole time I'm wrestling. I passed up the crackers. Now you want me to pull weeds? Why does this Holy Spirit stuff start with cleaning?I walk out of the store. Walk past the weeds. Still having this little argument in my head.Then I stop. “Okay, I'll obey.”I turn around, go to the weeds, pull them, clean up the little area, throw them in the trash. I'm looking over my shoulder the whole time thinking people are going to think this is so weird. Security cameras. What's that guy doing?I get in my car. Slam the door a little extra hard because I'm a little irritated and I say out loud: “There, are you happy?”I'm embarrassed to tell you this, but that's the truth.I hear: “Yes. Was that so hard?”“No, but it's weird. I thought this would be different.”“This is how you learn to hear my voice. You start by obeying in the little things.”This is exactly the pattern of Luke 19. The servants were faithful with little and later the Master entrusted them with cities to rule. God was teaching me to recognize His voice in the small things so I'd know what it sounds like in the big things.I'm Learning to Hear His Voice and ObeyFast forward several years. I'm still practicing. I don't have a great batting average, but I'm getting better at listening and obeying. I know what His voice sounds like now, even when what He asks is uncomfortable.I'm doing a YouTube channel consultation with a very popular creator—hundreds of millions of views a month, making millions of dollars. She gets on a call with me because her channel is starting to decline.I look at her channel. I can find a few things to pick at, but nothing that explains the decline she's experiencing. I go through those things.Then in the middle of the call, I get that feeling. That thing comes back. And it says: “Tim, I want you to repeat after me.”My first reaction is, “Oh no. This is going to make me look bad… Okay. Not my will, but yours. Let's go.”So I repeated it as it came to my head. I had no idea what I was about to say.“I've never said anything like this before in a consultation. But here's what I think is going on with your channel. As a Christian, I believe that the Bible says in Job that ‘the Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.' And I think maybe the Lord gave you this channel for a certain season of your life. But now that season is over. It's behind you. And that's why the channel is declining.”I stopped. I had no reason to think she had any faith background. She just kind of stared for a second, then kept talking like I hadn't said anything.That was so weird. So uncomfortable. So awkward.The next morning, I wake up to an email from her.“Tim, I'm writing this with tears in my eyes. I've been crying all evening and this morning. There's no way you could have known this.”She told me her husband now is not her first husband. Her first husband passed away on their honeymoon. It was the most difficult time of her life. She started exploring faith. She had a Bible, and she had underlined that exact passage—”the Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.”She said she'd totally forgotten about that. She'd wandered from her faith, hadn't really practiced or thought about it.Then, sometime after that, she started having medical issues. She wasn't making much money and didn't know how she'd pay for the medical bills. So she started a YouTube channel, and it grew quickly. She started making money and paying for her treatments. A friend told her, “Maybe the Lord gave you this channel for this season of your life so you can pay for these medical bills.”She wrote: “When you quoted that verse and said ‘for this season of your life,' all of that came flooding back. You're right. The medical bills are behind me. That season is over. And I need to pursue my faith again.”I read that email and thought: I'm so glad that worked out. Because I have plenty of stories where it just ended awkwardly. But this is what happens when you learn to hear His voice in the little things—you recognize it in the moments that actually matter.What This Has to Do With EldershipHere's what's interesting. When Jesus talks about leaving to return to the Father, He says this:“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you… When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth...” - John 16:7, 13Jesus didn't say, “I'm leaving, and in my place I'm giving you a textbook to memorize so you can pass the final exam on judgment day.” He didn't give us a list of rules.He said the Spirit of truth would come and guide us into all truth. Paul says to walk by the Spirit and keep in step with the Spirit.He gave us a relationship. He gave us a Person. He gave us Himself, not just a book.And like any relationship, it takes time to build trust. You start with the little things. Crackers in an airport. Weeds at a strip mall. And it builds to the bigger things, like the words you speak in a consultation that bring a woman to tears, the decisions you make in your family, the wisdom you offer to younger men who are wrestling with the same things you've walked through.This is how we develop the character to manage resources and responsibilities and relationships. We learn to steward these things for the King based on His help, His partnership, literally being guided by Him, learning to depend on Him in every way, keeping in step with Him.Where the Power Comes FromSo, Christopher, back to your question: Where does the power come from to carry out this vision of biblical fatherhood and eldership?* “Walk by the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:16)* “Be led by the Spirit. (Galatians 5:18)* “Live by the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:25)* “Keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:25)It starts with that feeling of “this is weird, this is uncomfortable,” and it grows from there into confidence—knowing that when it's uncomfortable, that's often how you know it's Him. When it's weird, that's how you know it's Him.Galatians 5:24 says those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. That's not a passive thing. Crucifying the flesh is active and ongoing. But we don't do it through white-knuckling. We don't do it by trying harder. We do it by living through the power of the Spirit.A man who feels fully capable of leading his home in his own strength will fail at inheriting the Kingdom. A man who knows he can't, who fathers his children and leads his wife and serves his community in constant, desperate dependence on the Holy Spirit, that's the man who's actually being prepared for greater responsibility. The practice of ruling with His Spirit now is preparation for ruling with Him in the Kingdom to come.Father your home by the Spirit. Elder your city by the Spirit.That's the only way any of this works. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit read.timschmoyer.com

Questions? Thoughts? Comments? Leave me a voicemail message to use in a future podcast episode: https://www.speakpipe.com/timschmoyerComment on the full post here: https://read.timschmoyer.com/p/training-for-authority-i-dont-haveI've really appreciated the feedback I've received lately from people who are following along as I explore this “eldership” role in more detail, especially the critical comments that point out the gaps I'm missing in all this.I want to address one of the most common critiques because it was helpful for me to wrestle through, so hopefully it is for you, too.The critique is best theologically summarized by my friend, Sonny Silverton, who commented on an earlier post:Do you delineate between πρεσβύτερος and ἐπίσκοπος or ποιμήν? Have you considered that Paul might be talking about ordained overseers vs older dudes who are merely wise and righteous?The heart of the question is this: “Tim, you're talking about eldership as if it's something for every God-fearing man out there, but the Bible doesn't seem to treat it that way. The Bible talks about elders as men who are specifically selected and ordained by the laying-on of hands.”The honest answer? I hadn't worked through the details of it yet, so I'm glad he pushed me in that direction. I've been writing about city elders and elder qualifications more generally because I still believe they are noble qualifications and roles that every man can aspire to live by (1 Timothy 3:1).But Sonny's question forced me to dig a bit deeper into what Scripture actually means when it uses these three terms for elders. What I discovered brings a lot of clarity to what we're aspiring towards as God-fearing men.Three Words, But One TrajectoryVery briefly, scripture uses three primary Greek words that English translations render as elder, overseer, or shepherd.* Presbyteros refers to an older man, someone with age, maturity, and experience. The guy has authority simply because of accumulated years and demonstrated character. These are the men at the city gates in Proverbs 31:23, the respected voices in community decisions, the ones younger men seek out for counsel.* Episkopos means overseer or guardian. It's someone who watches over others with authority. Paul uses this term interchangeably with presbyteros in passages like Titus 1, suggesting these aren't separate offices but overlapping roles. The overseer holds responsibility for the welfare of those under his care.* Poimen is shepherd, the one who feeds, protects, and guides the flock. Peter uses this image when he tells elders to “shepherd the flock of God that is among you” (1 Peter 5:2). The shepherd doesn't just manage — he knows his sheep, understands their needs, leads them to good pasture.Scripture often blends these terms together. The ordained elder (presbyteros) serves as an overseer (episkopos) who shepherds (poimen) God's people. An elder carries all three dimensions: maturity, authority, and care.Subscribe to join me and other Christian men in pursuing the noble task of eldership (1 Tim 3:1).The Office vs The CharacterYet scripture does create a distinction between the office and the qualifications of eldership. The office of elder (presbyteros) in the church requires ordination, the laying on of hands by apostles or those they appointed. Timothy himself was charged to appoint elders in every town (Titus 1:5), establishing them with authority to teach, correct, and shepherd the congregation.Not every mature man holds this office. Paul is clear: these men must be appointed, recognized, set apart for this specific work.But the qualifications? Those belong to every God-fearing man who want to engage in this noble pursuit. Mature in the faith. Self-controlled. Hospitable. Able to teach. Managing his household well. Not a drunkard, not violent, not quarrelsome. Respected by outsiders.These aren't requirements set aside solely for church government. They're the portrait of biblical manhood at its fullest expression. They describe the kind of man who fathers well, works with integrity, speaks wisdom into difficult situations, and earns the trust of his community whether or not he ever holds an official church position.This is why Paul writes that aspiring to the office of overseer “is a noble task” (1 Timothy 3:1). The nobility isn't in the title. It's in the character formation required to serve that way. It's in becoming the kind of man whose life qualifies him for such responsibility.What this means practically: not every mature man will be ordained to church leadership. But every mature God-fearing man should be growing toward elder-level character. The qualifications in 1 Timothy 3 aren't just for those who might someday serve as church elders. They're the target for masculine development for all of us.City Eldership in the Old Testament (and us today)So where does this leave city eldership, the idea of men serving as fathers to their communities, not just their congregations and homes?As far as we know, the city elders at the gate in Scripture weren't ordained religious leaders. They were respected men whose character gave them natural authority in community decisions. When Boaz needed witnesses for his transaction with Ruth's kinsman-redeemer, he gathered ten elders from the city gate (Ruth 4:2).The Hebrew word used in Ruth 4 (and throughout the Old Testament) is zaqen (זָקֵן), which primarily means “old man,” “aged,” or “bearded one.” The meaning is consistently about age and the natural authority and wisdom that comes with it.This is closer to what I mean by city eldership. Not running for city council (though some men will be called there too), but becoming the kind of man the community knows they can trust. The father who helps other fathers navigate raising teenagers in a digital age. The business owner who mentors younger men building their own companies. The grandfather whose home becomes a gathering place where wisdom flows freely.These aren't ordained shepherds of God's flock in the appointed sense, but they're men living out elder-level character in their spheres of influence.What Eldership Looks Like in the KingdomFor me, this all connects directly to Jesus' principle that faithful stewardship today is the training ground for authority in the Kingdom in the age to come.I know I use this passage a lot, but in the parable of the minas (Luke 19), Jesus rewards the faithful servants not with retirement or rest, but with responsibility. The servant who proved faithful in managing one mina receives exousia (authority) over ten cities.Some dismiss this as “just a parable,” and we shouldn't read too much into it, but Jesus isn't the only one teaching this principle. Paul states it as settled fact in 1 Corinthians 6:2-3:“Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? ... Do you not know that we will judge angels?”And in Revelation 2:26-27, Jesus promises directly:“The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron.”I don't think Jesus' parable in Luke 19 is just a metaphor. Scripture repeatedly affirms that faithful believers will exercise actual governing authority in the age to come. The only question is how much authority, which seems to depend on how we steward what God entrusts to us now.The Progression Scripture Describes for MenNotice the progression Scripture lays out:* The zaqen at the city gate earned natural authority through decades of faithful living. And some of those men are appointed to a be the presbyteros in the church.* The faithful steward in Luke 19 receives Kingdom exousia, the ruling authority over cities, as a reward from Jesus himself based on how they managed what He entrusted to them.* The overcomer in Revelation 2 who perseveres in faithfulness receives exousia over entire nations, ruling alongside Christ with the authority to govern.* The saints in 1 Corinthians 6 will judge not only the world but even angels, exercising authority that extends beyond human affairs into the spiritual realm itself.It's the trajectory that starts in Genesis 1 to “rule and reign, to be fruitful and multiply.” And all of it rooted in one principle: present management determines future authority.Subscribe to join me and other Christian men in pursuing the noble task of eldership (1 Tim 3:1).Why This MattersThis is why elder qualifications matter for every man, not just those pursuing church office. You're in training for rulership.* The father managing his household well today is being prepared to govern cities and nations in the Kingdom.* The business owner treating employees with justice and mercy is learning how to exercise authority righteously.* The man navigating conflict with wisdom and patience is developing the character required for judging between people—and eventually, even judging angels.Peter connects these dots when he reminds elders that “when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory” (1 Peter 5:4). Crowns are worn by rulers. Present faithfulness as an elder—whether ordained in office or living out elder character in your sphere—is rewarded with future glory.God is looking for men He can trust with nations because they first proved faithful with minas. Men who learned to serve before they're given authority to rule. Men who became zaqen-level leaders in their communities before receiving exousia-level authority in the Kingdom.Answering Sonny's QuestionSo where does this leave Sonny's original critique? He's right. There absolutely is a distinction between ordained church elders and “older dudes who are merely wise and righteous.” The office requires ordination. Not every mature man will hold it, and that's ok.But I don't think that distinction minimizes what I'm after here. The elder qualifications are a character blueprint for every man headed toward Kingdom rulership, whether you're ever ordained or not.Paul assumes the Corinthians already know this. “Do you not know?” he asks, almost incredulously. God-fearing believers will rule. The only variables are scope and timing, and those seem to depend entirely on present faithfulness.The question is: am I becoming the kind of man whose character qualifies me for Kingdom responsibility? Am I managing my household in a way that proves I'm ready for tomorrow's city?My family isn't the finish line. Neither is a church office. They're training ground for authority that stretches into eternity—over cities, over nations, over the world, even over angels. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit read.timschmoyer.com

Questions? Thoughts? Comments? Leave me a voicemail message to use in a future podcast episode: https://www.speakpipe.com/timschmoyerComment on the full post here: https://read.timschmoyer.com/p/business-makes-kingdom-men----I used to believe business existed mostly to fund ministry, that the people in the pews wrote checks so the people on staff could do the real Kingdom work.I grew up in a pastor's house. Ministry shaped everything: Sunday mornings, Sunday nights, Wednesday nights, and the hours between. I went to Bible college and seminary fully expecting to spend my life in full-time ministry. Business was necessary, sure, but it was for other people.However, as I read Luke 19 more carefully today, I realize Jesus doesn't tell his servants to plant churches or care for the poor or grow in spiritual disciplines. In the parable of The 10 Minas, Jesus says this:Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, “Engage in business until I come.”… When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. -Luke 19:13, 15The master doesn't hand his servants a theology quiz or a spiritual gifts assessment. He gives them money and says, “Engage in business.”Not prayer. Not Bible study. Not ministry. Business.This Parable Ruins My CategoriesWhen the master returns as king, he asks about ROI (return on investment). The servant who turned one mina into ten gets authority over ten cities. The one who made five gets five cities. The one who buried his mina?He's slaughtered.Not demoted. Not reassigned to a lesser role. Killed. Jesus puts these words in the mouth of the returning king: “As for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.”I want to soften this. I want to explain it away as hyperbole or limit it to the political enemies mentioned earlier in the parable. But the servant who buried his mina is grouped with those who rejected the king's reign entirely. Playing it safe wasn't neutral. It was rebellion.Apparently, Jesus believes something I struggle to accept: fruitfulness isn't optional. Multiply what the Master entrusts to you and receive cities. Bury it? You've declared whose side you're on.To the master, one's fruitfulness in business today seems to determine one's fitness to rule cities in the age to come.I realize this makes most Christian men uncomfortable. Some of us have been trained to see business as secular, something we do to fund ministry or a necessary evil to provide for our family while we wait for the real work of the Kingdom to begin. But Jesus presents business itself as a proving ground for eternal authority.Subscribe to join me and other Christian men in pursuing the noble task of eldership (1 Tim 3:1).Why Business?When I think about my experience in starting, growing, and ultimately selling my business, a few reasons come to mind.* Business forces you to create value where none existed. It requires you to manage resources, assess risk, lead others, and bear the weight of both success and failure. It tests whether you can be faithful with what's entrusted to you when no one is watching and the outcome is uncertain.* Business reveals character like few other pursuits. You can fake spirituality in a prayer meeting. You can coast on charisma in ministry. But business is ruthlessly honest. Did you create value or didn't you? Did people freely exchange their resources for a solution you offered or didn't they? Did you multiply what was given or let it stagnate?* Business joins God in His mission of being fruitful and multiplying, and his subsequent blessing to us to do the same. Any successful business revolves around solving problems for people. The whole endeavor focuses on turning someone's chaos into order, exactly what God did when he took an empty and formless earth and turned it into something orderly and beautiful.The Bigger StoryWhen God created man, his first words to us were not “be holy” or “worship me” or “evangelize.” His first words were, “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it.” Not only was it a command, but it was also a blessing. Genesis 1:22 starts the command by saying, “He blessed them…” We were created to work. And it's good (until work is cursed in Genesis 3; it's still a blessing, but now it's toil).This is the original job description for us: Take what God has made and make it more fruitful. Extend order into the chaos. Multiply goodness. Create culture and civilization from raw materials. Take the garden and grow it until cities like it cover the face of the earth.This is what business does at its core. It takes resources, applies our creativity and effort, and produces something more valuable than what existed before. It's subduing the earth. It's multiplying fruitfulness. It's fulfilling the original design for manhood that God stamped into us at creation.The Master's command to engage in business isn't an arbitrary test. It's reconnecting His servants to their primal purpose as image-bearers. It's asking:“Can you do what men were made to do? Can you take what I've given you and make it fruitful?”Training Ground for CitiesIn Luke 19, the servants who succeed in business receive cities to govern.This is the connection I missed while in Bible college and seminary. Business is not an end in itself. The goal isn't only to make money. It's preparation for rule. It's the fulfillment of the Genesis 1 blessing had sin not entered.When I build a business, I was learning to:* Assess people and situations accurately* Make decisions that impact my family' life, my employee's lives, and our customers* Bear responsibility for outcomes that affect others* Multiply resources rather than merely preserve them* Lead people toward productive ends* Create order and value in a small domainThese are precisely the skills required to govern a city. The man who can make one mina into ten has demonstrated he can take a small domain and multiply its fruitfulness. He's ready for a larger domain.The man who buried his mina revealed he's a steward who preserves but never increases. He maintains but never multiplies. He's risk-averse, suspicious of his master, and content to merely survive rather than grow. It appears that this man is not fit to rule anything.Subscribe to join me and other Christian men in pursuing the noble task of eldership (1 Tim 3:1).What This Means for Men TodayIf business is the training ground for Kingdom rule, then our work as a Christian man is not a necessary evil or a distraction from real ministry. It's the arena where we're being tested and trained for eternal authority.The faithfulness we show in building our businesses, managing assets, creating value—this is not separate from our spiritual formation. It is our spiritual formation.Every hard decision we make is teaching us judgment. Every risk we take is training us in faith mixed with wisdom. Every person we lead is preparing us to shepherd a city. Every failure we endure and recover from is forging the resilience we'll need to govern in the age to come.This has implications for how I father my sons. I'm not just teaching them to love Jesus and be nice people. I'm training them to be fruitful, to multiply what's entrusted to them, to take dominion over small things so they'll be ready for greater responsibilities. And every day that my 15 year old son gets excited to see his hard-earned money growing in mutual funds, and the patience he shows when it looses money and he doesn't pull it out, he's learning to have a long-term perspective on ROI.The Master Cares About ROI, so I Should, Too.To the seminary version of myself many years ago, the most unsettling part of this parable is how much the master cares about return on investment. He's not impressed with the man who played it safe. He's furious with him.The master calls him wicked for not even putting the money in the bank to earn interest. He demands fruitfulness, not just faithfulness in the sense of careful preservation. He rewards multiplication, and he punishes stagnation.This reveals something about the heart of God that shapes how I think about my life right now. The Kingdom is not coming to men who merely showed up and didn't make too many mistakes. It's coming to men who took what they were given—gifts, opportunities, resources, time—and took risks to make them more fruitful.God is not honored by when I play it small. He's not glorified by my risk-averse self-protection. He's entrusting me with minas today because he's preparing me for cities tomorrow.The question is whether I'm engaging in business or burying what I've been given.Every hard moment I face in business, in leadership, in leading a family, and multiplying—that's not a distraction from the Kingdom. That's training for cities. And the Master is watching to see what kind of return I'll bring Him when He comes back as King.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​P.S. In 2013 I was in the startup grind, trying to grow a brand new business with a wife and three small kids depending on me. During that season of life, Timothy Keller's book, “Every Good Endeavor,” completely shifted my understanding of what I was doing. I wasn't just trying to survive financially or even grow a business. I was seeking the Kingdom and joining the Master in His work. I highly recommend this book. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit read.timschmoyer.com

Post URL: https://read.timschmoyer.com/p/the-cost-of-having-no-eldersLead a voice message: https://www.speakpipe.com/timschmoyerNow that I'm thinking about city eldership more intentionally, I'm starting to notice what we've lost by not having it as a normal part of our life. Kind of like how I don't notice the humming of the ceiling fan until I turn it off, I didn't notice the impact of missing city elders until I noticed we had none.I don't mean we lack elderly people. We have those. I mean we have no one sitting at the metaphorical gates where their presence shapes the character of the people living there. (Literal gates would make this easier to wrestle with, but alas, we no longer have those.) No one whose judgment we trust enough to bring our hardest questions. No one modeling what a life well-lived actually looks like.The gates stand empty, and we're all worse for it.I, for one, want to aspire to the noble task of being an elder (1 Timothy 3:1) and link arms with several other men in my city who have a similar vision.What We Lost When the Elders LeftWhen I think about the last time I had a major decision to make—a challenge at work, a marriage conflict, uncertainty about how to guide my teenager. Who did I ask? I sometimes go to an AI bot. Sometimes a therapist. Sometimes to a friend who is as confused as I am.We've created a society where everyone figures everything out alone, where wisdom has been replaced by expertise, and where the only models of manhood we see are either boys who never grew up or professionals who only show us their polished brands.The biblical pattern was different. When Boaz needed to settle the question of Ruth's future, he didn't post in a Reddit forum or schedule a consultation. He went to the city gate and gathered ten elders—men whose character and judgment had been proven over decades, men who knew how to weigh competing claims and render decisions that served both justice and mercy.These weren't elected officials or credentialed experts. They were simply men who had learned to lead their households well, who had built businesses and raised children and navigated conflict, who had acquired the kind of practical wisdom that only comes from years of faithful stewardship. The community knew them, trusted them, and looked to them.When Boaz needed help, he knew exactly where to go and who to ask.Can I say the same?The Vacuum We're Living InWithout elders at the gates, I wonder if our cities operate in a state of adolescence. We lurch from crisis to crisis with no long memory, no steady hand, no voice of seasoned wisdom to say, “We've been here before, and here's what we learned.”Then a job change moves a young father across the country to a new city where he has no one to show him what fatherhood looks like beyond the terrible twos. He's left to piece together manhood from Instagram influencers and lessons from his father who is hundreds of miles away.Even when he seeks a vision for manhood, he really finds only two options: perpetual boyhood or corporate careerism. The path from father in the home to elder in the city to ruler in the Kingdom—the progression that I think scripture presents as the normal developmental arc of masculine maturity—isn't really on our minds let alone consistently modeled for us even in Christian circles.We've lost the infrastructure of wisdom.What Changes When Elders ReturnImagine living in a neighborhood with elders present and active. Not busybodies or enforcers, but men whose proven character gives them natural authority, whose homes you can point to and say, “That's what I'm aiming for.”The new father down the street wouldn't be drowning in sleep deprivation and parenting books. He'd have an older man who stops by, not to lecture, but to sit on the porch and share stories, to normalize the struggle, to help him see that what feels like failure is actually formation. And maybe even receive childcare support from the man and his wife so he can sleep.The high school graduate trying to figure out his next move wouldn't be choosing between college debt and minimum wage work based solely on his guidance counselor's direction. He'd have access to a community of men who've built different kinds of lives—the contractor, the business owner, the teacher—who could help him discern his actual calling rather than just optimizing for salary.The city itself would have a different character. Not because elders would be running everything, but because their presence would create a gravitational pull toward maturity, stability, long-term thinking. They'd be the living embodiment of what's possible when you take seriously the work of becoming a Godly man with a Kingdom vision.The Gate Is OpenPaul's instruction to Titus was explicit: “appoint elders in every city” (Titus 1:5). Not just in churches. In cities. Paul's expectation was that every city should have elders:* Men who are above reproach* The husband of one wife* Have children who are believers and are respectful* Not arrogant or quick-tempered* Not a drunkard or violent or greedy* Hospitable* A lover of good* Self-controlled* Upright* Holy* Disciplined* Hold firm to God's Word as taught so that he may be able to give instruction* Able to rebuke those who contradict God's Word (Titus 1:5-9)Even inside the church we've accepted a vision of masculine development that peaks in the forties with career success and a paid-off mortgage, then coasts into retirement hobbies and golf. We've reduced biblical eldership to a church board position that passes offering plates.We've forgotten that “elder in the city” was always meant to be the goal this side of the Kingdom—not for power or recognition, but because cities need men who've learned through decades of faithful stewardship how to lead, teach, judge, and serve.The path from father to elder to ruler isn't closed. The gates aren't locked. They're just empty because no one's walking that direction anymore.My Next StepWhile I grieve what we've lost, I'm also hopeful for what it could look like one day for me, my family, and my children. So I'm doing something about it: I'm searching out men who could play this role in my life.I've already approached one older man who's willing, but he lives forty-five minutes away. That distance matters more than I initially thought. We can do Zoom calls for advice and coaching, but I'm realizing that format makes me the filter for everything he sees. I control the narrative, frame the questions, curate the image. That's probably fine for a start, but it means there are patterns in my life and my home that will remain invisible to both of us—patterns that only become visible through his presence, through showing up for occasional dinners and seeing how I actually handle my kids when they're acting up, or through being around long enough to notice what I do when I'm tired or frustrated or off-script.I'm praying the Lord leads me to qualified elders nearby who have the time and vision to model this, not just for me, but for what it could mean for my family and, one day, our town.Because if I'm grieving the emptiness at the gates, the answer isn't just to wish for better. It's doing what I can to start filling them. The gates won't fill themselves. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit read.timschmoyer.com

Leave a voice message for me here: https://www.speakpipe.com/timschmoyerI recently had the opportunity to speak about the “father, elder, ruler” progression at a men's breakfast. Afterwards, with tears in his eyes, an older man told me this:“I used to be a leader in my career and in my home, but now that I'm retired and my kids are grown up, all I do is sit at home and care for the dog.”Something in my heart broke for this man. I didn't say it to him, but something in me wanted to say, “No! This is a tragedy! You've spent your life acquiring wisdom and your city desperately needs it. They don't even know how much they need it. That's why they're not asking for it. And you have grandkids who desperately need your attention instead of a random day care employee.”This is a great lie we've sold to Christian men: that the elder years are for withdrawal. For finally putting your feet up after decades of labor. For letting younger men take over while you fade into comfortable irrelevance.The tears in this man's eyes told me he longed for something different. He wanted a sense of meaning, purpose, and fulfillment in his latter years, but didn't have a vision for what it could look like or, even if he did, how to change societal norms to get there. Cities don't have gates for elders anymore.As a 45-year-old father, I realize I'm speaking about something I have not yet experienced, but it seems to me that the grandfather years are essential to the health of a family and a city.Here's the modern vision I see for the elder years vs. what I think the Bible portrays.Modern Vision: The Tragedy of Voluntary ExileWhen a man reaches his sixties or seventies, he's finally arrived at something our culture has trained him to abandon: the culmination of decades spent acquiring wisdom, navigating crises, building things, leading people, and failing enough times to recognize patterns that younger men can't see yet. He's paid for his education in the currency of mistakes, setbacks, victories, and long nights wrestling with problems that don't have easy answers.And then we tell him to go home and care for a dog while his aging body becomes a burden to the family.The man who talked to me after that men's breakfast had actually said something profound, though he didn't mean it this way: he had become a leader in his career and home. Past tense. As if leadership was something you graduated from, like college or braces. As if wisdom had an expiration date.But here's what's actually happening: his grandchildren are forming their understanding of manhood, marriage, work, and faith right now. His city is being shaped by whatever values its influential families have, without his influence. The next generation of men in his church are trying to navigate fatherhood and business and marriage without access to the forty years of pattern recognition sitting unused in his living room.His retirement isn't rest. It's desertion. And it's not his fault. This is what society expects.Subscribe to join me and other Christian men in pursuing the noble task of eldership (1 Tim 3:1).Biblical Vision: The Elder Years Are Not for SpectatingScripture doesn't describe a stage of life where faithful men become spectators. The progression isn't father to retiree. It's father in the home, elder in the city, ruler in the Kingdom. And that third stage doesn't begin when you die. It begins when you've proven faithful with the first two.Remember Proverbs 31:23:“Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land.”This isn't describing a young father. This is a man who has already led his household well, who now sits in the place of governance and wisdom. The gates were where disputes were settled, where guidance was sought, where the direction of the city was determined.These weren't honorary positions for guys who wanted to feel important. These were men whose families and businesses proved they could govern well—and their cities needed that capacity.Or look at Titus 1, where Paul describes elder qualifications. These aren't requirements for young men trying to prove themselves. They're descriptions of men who have already managed their households well, whose children are believers, who have demonstrated self-control and wisdom over decades. The elder years aren't the retirement party after fruitful governance — they're the deployment of everything that fruitful governance built.When a man becomes a grandfather, he hasn't graduated from leadership. He's (hopefully) finally qualified for its highest form.In fact, the Jewish community holds the belief that if a word isn't found in the Bible, then it's a man-made word and isn't a concept from God. Since the word nor the concept for “retirement” is found in scripture, many Torah-observing Jews have the idea that, until they die, they will always be generating value for their family and their community.Personally, this makes sense to me. It doesn't mean I'll always be generating financial value or doing a young man's work, but I'll always be generating value for my family and city until I no longer can. In his book, “Thou Shall Prosper,” (affiliate) Rabbi Daniel Lapin describes it like a golf swing. A good swing doesn't slow down when it reaches its goal of making contact with the ball (i.e., retirement). Instead, it follows through and keeps swinging even after the ball is on its way.Now, I'm not saying every grandfather should pursue formal church eldership. That's a specific office with specific responsibilities. But the qualifications for that office describe something broader: the kind of man whose life earns him natural authority. Whether you're ever appointed as an elder or not, if you've managed your household faithfully, your family and community need the wisdom and influence that faithfulness has produced.The challenge, of course, is that our cities don't have literal gates anymore. There's no cultural script for this today. You won't receive a formal invitation to govern, which means the elder years require the humility to initiate where you're not expected and the wisdom to discern which family is “fruitful soil” and is worth sowing into.What Your Family Actually NeedsYour adult children need you.* They still need to watch you work on something difficult and not quit.* They still need to be reminded why integrity matters when no one is watching.* They still need to see you pray and actually mean it.* They still need to watch you love their mother well after fifty years when love isn't always feelings anymore, it's covenant.And your grandchildren don't need another daycare worker or another hour of screen time. They need access to you, too. They need you to teach them things:* How to use tools* How to think through problems* How to speak with respect* How to handle money* How to read Scripture like it actually matters.Not because you're trying to relive your glory days through them, but because formation happens through proximity to someone further down the road.Your son or daughter is trying to raise these kids while navigating careers and mortgages and marriage. They're drinking from a firehose every day. But you have time now. You have perspective. You have the leisure to invest in formation that their parents don't always have bandwidth for.And here's what's actually at stake: your grandchildren will either inherit your presence or your absence. They'll either grow up with access to a man who shows them what biblical masculinity looks like across decades, or, if their father follows your lead and is also absent, they'll piece together their understanding of manhood from YouTube, their peers, and whatever messages the culture happens to be selling that week.The question isn't whether they'll be formed. The question is by whom.Now, I realize there's complexity in this. If your adult children have created distance, if they're not eager for your involvement, that's data worth listening to. The first work of eldership might be examining why that gap exists and whether you need to earn back trust before you can govern well. But don't mistake complexity for impossibility. Strained relationships can be rebuilt, even if it takes years of effort (and even professional therapy) to get there.Subscribe to join me and other Christian men in pursuing the noble task of eldership (1 Tim 3:1).Your City Doesn't Know It Needs YouPart of governing your city means influencing its families, one family at a time, and right now families in your city are making big decisions:* Public school vs. Homeschool* Opening another credit card vs. Paying down the one they have* Staying in the same industry vs. Changing careers* Giving up on their marriage vs. sticking with itMost of those families don't have people consistently speaking into their lives. Sometimes it's because they don't have the maturity to open up and receive it, but other times it's just because everyone else is “too busy” or “too humble” to help.But you're not too busy anymore.And whether you realize it or not, you have something these families don't: you've spent decades watching decisions play out over time. You've seen leadership fail and succeed. You've watched marriages come and go. You've managed people, budgets, conflicts, crises. You've acquired pattern recognition that takes a lifetime to build.The families in your city need that.Not because you're smarter than everyone else, but because wisdom isn't information—it's the ability to see how things connect over time. The young finance guy sees the projected tax revenue from that new building development. You see what happened the last three times your city approved something similar. The activist pushing the new policy sees the immediate problem it solves. You see the future consequences they haven't considered.This is what elders do. They don't just show up in people's lives to feel important. They show up because their presence governs—it shapes what the future of the city looks like, one family at a time.Ruling Starts Before the Kingdom ComesJesus told a parable in Luke 19 about a nobleman who gave his servants resources to manage while he was away. When he returned, he rewarded the faithful ones with authority:“Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in very little, take charge over ten cities.”The servants who managed the little well were given cities to rule. Not as a retirement bonus—as the natural deployment of proven capacity.This is the trajectory Scripture describes for faithful men: current stewardship determines future authority. The man who governs his household well is qualified to govern the city. The man who governs the city well is being prepared to rule in the Kingdom.Your grand-parenting years aren't the end of this progression. They're where it culminates.The Work That Brings MeaningSo what does this actually look like?It looks like blocking out regular time with each grandchild, not as babysitting favors to their parents, but as intentional formation. Teaching them to pray. Reading Scripture with them. Taking them on errands and narrating how you think through decisions. Inviting them into projects where they can learn skills and see work ethic modeled.It looks like mentoring younger men in your church who are trying to navigate the same challenges you faced twenty years ago. The young father drowning in toddler chaos who needs to hear from someone who survived it. The entrepreneur making mistakes you already made. The couple considering divorce who needs perspective from someone whose marriage outlasted feelings.It looks like using your time and resources to serve needs you can finally see because you're not consumed by career climbing. The widow who needs help with her house. The single mom whose car keeps breaking down. The community project that needs someone with project management experience.This isn't about becoming a workaholic in your seventies. It's about recognizing that the elder years are when you finally have the wisdom, time, and position to govern most effectively, and that your family and city desperately need you to do exactly that.The Choice In Front of YouI think about the man who talked to me at the men's breakfast. He didn't realize he was describing a tragedy. He thought he was describing a normal retirement, but his tears told me he knew something was broken.Our culture celebrates this kind of withdrawal. We call it “enjoying retirement” and “finally relaxing after years of hard work.” But biblical eldership doesn't retire. It deploys.So start small. Call one of your adult children this week, not to advise, just to build the relationship and catch up. Find one younger family in your church who seems hungry for input and invite them to dinner. Show up to one thing where younger fathers gather and make yourself available.You won't rebuild the gates overnight. But you can start sitting in them tomorrow.And your dog, as much as he loves you, will never miss you the way your grandchildren will. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit read.timschmoyer.com

As I've shared this progression idea of, “Father in the home to elder in the city to ruler in the Kingdom,” I keep getting the same question. They say,“Tim, I get the ‘father in the home' part, but elders and ruling part doesn't make sense.”Yeah, I understand why. Most people think “elder” means church board member, and “Kingdom of God” means an eternal vacation in heaven. There's some truth to these perspectives, but neither are completely biblical.The Biblical Progression for MenWhile society may have lost this “noble task” of aspiring to be an overseer, Scripture hasn't. Its vision for men is this:* Fatherhood in the home is training for eldership in the city.* Eldership in the city is training for ruling cities in the Kingdom.The framework comes directly from 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.When discussing the qualifications for an elder, in 1 Timothy 3:4 Paul says:“He must manage his own household well, with all dignity, keeping his children submissive. For if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church?” (ESV)The principle seems to be this: managing my home well qualifies me for broader leadership to help others manage their homes and affairs.It's the same principle we see in Proverbs 31:23, where the husband of the excellent wife has an outstanding reputation and sits as an elder at the city gates. The whole chapter describes her household management, and that qualifies him to sit among the leaders of the city. (Why our communities desperately need this elder role and the impact of its absence is a topic for a future post.)Subscribe to join me and other Christian men in pursuing the noble task of eldership (1 Tim 3:1).But how does that connect to ruling in a Kingdom?Let me unpack these two ideas a bit more from a biblical perspective. I'm honestly still wrestling with how to articulate this well, so please help me here as this (hopefully) starts to click for you.First Objection: “Tim, isn't 1 Timothy 3:4 about church eldership, not the city?”Yes. Kinda.“…for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church?”The confusion comes because we read “church” and think of our modern experience and understanding of “church.” This isn't just talking about the guy who passes offering plates on Sunday mornings. Church leadership is included here, but there's more to it than that.Every biblical example of eldership we have points to governing in a city, not just religious functions. When Scripture talks about elders, they're sitting at city gates (Proverbs 31, Ruth 4), making community decisions, settling disputes, serving people, and managing the common good of their city.The word “church” (ekklesia) in 1 Timothy 3 is the same word used throughout Scripture for assembly or gathering. It's a community of people, not just a Sunday service. I think we've domesticated this concept by limiting “elder” to church committees when the biblical vision is far broader: proven household stewardship qualifies men for civic influence and leadership in the community of faith.Think about Boaz. He goes to the city gate, gathers the elders, and facilitates a legal transaction for Ruth and Naomi. That's not church leadership—that's civic eldership. These guys are known, respected, and trusted with community decisions because they've proven faithful in stewarding their households and businesses well.This is why, in Titus 1:5, Paul says:“…I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you…” (ESV)Paul directs Titus to appoint city elders for the sake of the body of believers (i.e. the church) there.This coincides with Paul's understanding of the church (body of believers) being city-wide communities, not the isolated church corner buildings we have today. Paul writes “to the church in Ephesus, Corinth, Colossi, Philippi, etc.” Jesus does the same thing in Revelation 1 when he writes to the church in Laodicea, Smyrna, Sardis, etc.So, yes, I think, “…how will he care for God's church,” is more accurately understood as, “…how will he care for God's people in that city?”Second Objection: “Ok, but how do you get to Kingdom rule?”Good question! And it's a result of the same issue as before: we read our preconceived ideas into the text. In this case, it's whatever one thinks of when they think of the Kingdom of God.Stay with me here. This is important.In Genesis 1:28, God creates mankind as His image-bearer and blesses them with a clear mandate:“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion...” (ESV)We were created to rule and reign with Him over His creation. This blessed authority was the original design.In some ways, The Fall broke our ruling, but redemption doesn't erase the original purpose — it restores it. Jesus didn't come to evacuate us from earth; He came to restore earth under God's rule with us as His image-bearing representatives.Subscribe to join me and other Christian men in pursuing the noble task of eldership (1 Tim 3:1).This is where Luke 19 becomes critical. In the parable of the ten minas, the nobleman gives each servant one mina and says, “Engage in business until I come.” (More on this command to engage in business is coming in a future post, too.) When he returns, he evaluates their faithfulness with what they were given. The faithful steward who turned one mina into ten receives authority over ten cities. The one who turned one mina into five gets five cities.Notice what the reward is: authority over cities. Not harps in heaven. Not eternal singing. Not floating on clouds. Actual governing responsibility in God's Kingdom.The point?Fruitful management now qualifies you for greater management later.Jesus isn't just testing their financial skills, although that's probably part of it. He's showing that the way we handle what God has entrusted to us right now—our marriages, our children, our businesses, our communities—is preparation for ruling and reigning with Him in His Kingdom.Paul echoes this in 2 Timothy 2:12: “If we endure, we will also reign with him.” The writer of Hebrews says Jesus is bringing “many sons to glory” (Hebrews 2:10). Revelation describes believers as those who will reign with Christ (Revelation 5:10; 20:6; 22:5).“…and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” Revelation 5:10 (ESV)This isn't fringe theology. This is the biblical narrative arc:God created us to rule with Him, sin broke that, Christ redeems us and is preparing us now for our eternal role as co-rulers in His Kingdom.

After a year of writing about whatever was on my mind—business, marriage, family, faith, asset management, coaching—I finally found the through-line connecting everything: eldership. But not the version you're probably picturing.In this episode, I share how biblical eldership connects all the areas I've been exploring and why it matters for men who want to lead their families, influence their communities, and prepare for Kingdom responsibility. I'm also announcing that the podcast is back, with a new approach to creating content that's both sustainable and authentic.KEY TOPICSThe search for a through-line: Why I struggled to define my platform for a yearWhat eldership actually means: Not church boards or retirement—men who govern households, steward assets, and shape communitiesThe progression: From father in the home to elder in the city to ruler in the KingdomWhy this connects everything: How marriage, business, asset management, leadership, coaching, and faith are all facets of this single callingThe podcast resurrection: My new audio-first approach and how it connects with written blog postsAn invitation to the journey: This isn't about having it figured out—it's about wrestling through these ideas togetherEPISODE HIGHLIGHTS"I realized eldership is the through-line that connects all these interests I've been wrestling with.""Faithful governance of your household qualifies you for civic influence, which prepares you to reign in the Kingdom.""Biblical eldership isn't about age—it's about maturity expressed through sphere.""I think for me, I just gotta start and I don't need to have it all figured out."LINKS MENTIONEDRead the full blog post: timschmoyer.comLearn more about becoming a Proverbs 31 husband: timschmoyer.com/i-want-to-become-a-proverbs-31-husbandCONNECTThis is a journey, not a finished product. I'd love to hear your reactions, thoughts, pushback, and challenges. That's where growth happens.Leave a comment on the blogEmail me: tim@timschmoyer.comLeave a voicemail question or share an encouraging story for a future episode: https://www.speakpipe.com/timschmoyerSUBSCRIBEEach episode includes both the raw audio wrestling and a written blog post that refines these ideas into clear articulation. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts to join the journey from father to elder to ruler.NOTE: Some men master fatherhood but never learn to elder their city. Fewer still discover what it means to rule in the Kingdom. This is the path they didn't teach you. Welcome to the journey.

You have an amazing product to sell, but there's so much to still figure out. How much do you charge? And then, how do you pitch it in a way that people understand the value and feel like they would be stupid NOT to buy it? In this episode, you will learn how to create a minimal viable offer, find the right price for your products, and make sure you're making a profit so your business can thrive. Tune in for some great tips on boosting your sales and creating offers that feel like a no-brainer for your audience. LINKS: MidAtlantic CPAs $100 Million Offers (affiliate) FREE Guide, “Product to Profit”  Leave a voice message for Tim with your questions, comments, and ideas to share. LET'S CONNECT! ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠  ABOUT ME  This is Tim Schmoyer's personal podcast where he shares what he's learning from growing and selling a 7 figure business while also raising 7 children and deepening his relationship with his wife... all at the same time! When Tim and Dana married, he was earning only $14k a year as a youth pastor, but in 2013 he started an agency that grew to provide YouTube strategy to some of the world's top brands and creators. In 2022 he sold the business to vidIQ and now does life and business coaching for creators, helping them build fruitful lives in business, family, and marriage.  COACHING  I help creators live fruitful lives in business, family, and marriage. To apply for personal coaching with me, go to ⁠⁠⁠https://timschmoyer.com⁠⁠

Maybe you're like me, and you've made the mistake of thinking that just because you have an audience on YouTube, they'll buy whatever you sell them. Trust me, this is not true. -Especially if you're launching the wrong product. But how do you know that you're launching the wrong product? And more importantly, how do you not waste your time and make sure you're launching the RIGHT product? Watch this episode of Creator Business Labs to learn how to build, test, and optimize your creative products without wasting your time. Links in this Episode  The Personal MBA by Joshua Kaufman Link to Product to Profit Get the Full Business Model Walk-Through Want Content Strategy? ⁠⁠vidiq.com/coaching⁠⁠  Want Business Coaching? ⁠⁠timschmoyer.com⁠⁠  Submit a Question: ⁠⁠https://www.speakpipe.com/CreatorBusinessLab⁠⁠  LET'S CONNECT! ⁠⁠ Instagram⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Facebook⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Twitter⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ LinkedIn⁠⁠  ABOUT ME  This is Tim Schmoyer's personal podcast where he shares what he's learning from growing and selling a 7 figure business while also raising 7 children and deepening his relationship with his wife... all at the same time! When Tim and Dana married, he was earning only $14k a year as a youth pastor, but in 2013 he started an agency that grew to provide YouTube strategy to some of the world's top brands and creators. In 2022 he sold the business to vidIQ and now does life and business coaching for creators, helping them build fruitful lives in business, family, and marriage.  COACHING  I help creators live fruitful lives in business, family, and marriage. To apply for personal coaching with me, go to ⁠⁠https://timschmoyer.com⁠

YouTube has changed so much over the past decade, and what used to be a goldmine a few years back now barely brings in a few cents. In this episode, I break down how the creator economy has evolved and tried to make sense of the whole "business model" thing. I talk about different ways you can create value with your content, how to deliver that value to your audience, and most importantly, how to actually earn from it. I also explain a few key revenue models, like the classic YouTube AdSense, brand deals, and this new approach that's all about providing direct value to your audience. By then end of this episode, you'll understand how to make your content creation efforts more profitable and stable.  Links in This Episode Get the Full Business Model Walk-Through: https://timschmoyer.com/creatorbusinessplan Want Content Strategy? ⁠vidiq.com/coaching⁠  Want Business Coaching? ⁠timschmoyer.com⁠  Submit a Question: ⁠https://www.speakpipe.com/CreatorBusinessLab⁠  LET'S CONNECT! ⁠Instagram⁠ ⁠Facebook⁠ ⁠Twitter⁠ ⁠LinkedIn⁠  ABOUT ME  This is Tim Schmoyer's personal podcast where he shares what he's learning from growing and selling a 7 figure business while also raising 7 children and deepening his relationship with his wife... all at the same time! When Tim and Dana married, he was earning only $14k a year as a youth pastor, but in 2013 he started an agency that grew to provide YouTube strategy to some of the world's top brands and creators. In 2022 he sold the business to vidIQ and now does life and business coaching for creators, helping them build fruitful lives in business, family, and marriage.  COACHING  I help creators live fruitful lives in business, family, and marriage. To apply for personal coaching with me, go to ⁠https://timschmoyer.com

Mentorship in any endeavor so important. There have been some incredibly important people over the years that have had key roles in shaping my business journey. But how do you find a good mentor and how to you get them to mentor you??  In this episode of Creator Business Labs, I'll be answering questions regarding how to find and secure valuable mentorship in the creator economy.  I'll also share practical tips on building relationships, being memorable, and approaching potential mentors to accelerate your business success. You can apply these principles today to get invaluable guidance tailored to your needs, for both your growth and your channel's prosperity. Links in this Episode Family Teams Podcast: https://familyteams.com/podcasts/  1000 Houses Podcast: https://www.1kh.org/podcasts/1000-houses-podcast  Jeremy Pryor Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jeremy-pryors-podcast/id1634281942   Pitch Anything: https://a.co/d/htJskcg  Want Content Strategy? vidiq.com/coaching  Want Business Coaching? timschmoyer.com  Submit a Question: https://www.speakpipe.com/CreatorBusinessLab  LET'S CONNECT! Instagram Facebook Twitter LinkedIn  ABOUT ME  This is Tim Schmoyer's personal podcast where he shares what he's learning from growing and selling a 7 figure business while also raising 7 children and deepening his relationship with his wife... all at the same time! When Tim and Dana married, he was earning only $14k a year as a youth pastor, but in 2013 he started an agency that grew to provide YouTube strategy to some of the world's top brands and creators. In 2022 he sold the business to vidIQ and now does life and business coaching for creators, helping them build fruitful lives in business, family, and marriage.  COACHING  I help creators live fruitful lives in business, family, and marriage. To apply for personal coaching with me, go to https://timschmoyer.com

For the past 10 years, I've been in the trenches with content creators, hearing the same dreams over and over: more family time, ability to travel, and sharing their passions with the world. But here's the catch: even after they've figured out how to make YouTube their full-time gig, they end up feeling stuck—overwhelmed, running in place, and not really living the life they imagined. Growing a channel is one thing, but the real magic happens when you learn to turn that channel into a thriving business that gives you freedom, not just more tasks. It's not about chasing after more money; it's about creating a life you love and having the freedom to enjoy it. Today, I'm peeling back the curtain on my journey. I'll share the big challenges I faced, the business smarts I picked up along the way, and how all this shapes my plan for this channel. Welcome to the Creator Business Lab podcast, where our aim is to equip you with everything you need to build a million-dollar business around your YouTube Channel. And I won't stop there—I'll also share my go-to books for anyone wanting to grow a business as a creator. Let's dive in! Resources in this Episode: * Business Model Generation: https://amzn.to/3H6XoLQ * The Personal MBA: https://amzn.to/48Luz38 * The E-myth Revisited: https://amzn.to/47t23m7 * Ready, Fire, Aim: https://amzn.to/47lQQDP * $100 Offers: https://amzn.to/3tABGwJ SEND ME A VOICE MESSAGE: Questions? Comments? Thoughts to share? Leave a voice message here. LET'S CONNECT! Instagram Facebook Twitter LinkedIn ABOUT ME This is Tim Schmoyer's personal podcast where he shares what he's learning from growing and selling a 7 figure business while also raising 7 children and deepening his relationship with his wife... all at the same time! When Tim and Dana married, he was earning only $14k a year as a youth pastor, but in 2013 he started an agency that grew to provide YouTube strategy to some of the world's top brands and creators. In 2022 he sold the business to vidIQ and now does life and business coaching for creators, helping them build fruitful lives in business, family, and marriage. COACHING I help creators live fruitful lives in business, family, and marriage. To apply for personal coaching with me, go to https://timschmoyer.com

My goal on this podcast is to share what I have learned about business to help you create the systems you need to make life feel free again.

I started my business because I wanted freedom: Freedom of time and finances. I had a passion for my business and wanted to share it with the world. But after years of grinding, I realized I was driving so hard for my dreams that I could never take time off to rest and enjoy the dream I was trying to create. I was not free at all, but a slave to my business. Instead of owning a business, my business owned me. Maybe you are here. Maybe you began your business expecting freedom and found slavery. I found a way out of this bondage and I want you to do the same.  In this podcast, I share my story and how I changed my perspective and turned my attention to good systems that allow me to be fruitful and multiply, while also taking time to rest and enjoy the good gifts God has given me.  Questions? Comments? Thoughts to share? ⁠Leave a voice message here.⁠ SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST & LEAVE A REVIEW ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ ⁠Spotify⁠ ⁠Google Podcasts⁠ ⁠Anchor.fm⁠ ⁠YouTube⁠ LET'S CONNECT! ⁠Instagram⁠ ⁠Facebook⁠ ⁠Twitter⁠ ⁠LinkedIn⁠ ABOUT ME This is Tim Schmoyer's personal podcast where he shares what he's learning from growing and selling a 7 figure business while also raising 7 children and deepening his relationship with his wife... all at the same time! When Tim and Dana married, he was earning only $14k a year as a youth pastor, but in 2013 he started an agency that grew to provide YouTube strategy to some of the world's top brands and creators. In 2022 he sold the business to vidIQ and now does life and business coaching for creators, helping them build fruitful lives in business, family, and marriage. COACHING I help creators live fruitful lives in business, family, and marriage. To apply for personal coaching with me, go to ⁠https://timschmoyer.com

What is community? Is it the people in your church that you say hi to on Sunday? Is it the families in your small group? Is it your neighbors? What if you live out in country? What does community look like then? How do you engage in your community? What is your purpose in your community? How do you use the gifts God has given you to serve your community? How does hospitality play into all of this? In this episode, I have my most special guest, my wife Dana, join me to discuss all these questions and how God has changed our view on community and hospitality over the years. We also share the people God has used in our lives to show us what real community and hospitality looks like and how we now use our resources for hospitality as well.  Questions? Comments? Thoughts to share? Leave a voice message here. SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST & LEAVE A REVIEW Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Anchor.fm YouTube LET'S CONNECT! Instagram Facebook Twitter LinkedIn ABOUT ME This is Tim Schmoyer's personal podcast where he shares what he's learning from growing and selling a 7 figure business while also raising 7 children and deepening his relationship with his wife... all at the same time! When Tim and Dana married, he was earning only $14k a year as a youth pastor, but in 2013 he started an agency that grew to provide YouTube strategy to some of the world's top brands and creators. In 2022 he sold the business to vidIQ and now does life and business coaching for creators, helping them build fruitful lives in business, family, and marriage. COACHING I help creators live fruitful lives in business, family, and marriage. To apply for personal coaching with me, go to https://timschmoyer.com

Recently I was able to sit down with Greg Smith, cofounder and CEO of Thinkific. He and his brother took this company from a little starter company to a billion dollar company traded on the NY Stock Exchange in less than 10 years - all while having a family.  You might find yourself in a similar spot, trying to grow a company while trying to figure out what is most important and where to put your energy. It may feel like the company rises and falls on your shoulders and any time you spend away from it is hurting your business. But, Greg disagrees and shares why he thinks it is better and more effective to grow a business with a family than without one.  LINKS IN THIS EPISODE ⁠Thinkific.com⁠  Send me a voice message: https://www.businessfamilymarriage.com/voicemail/    SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Anchor.fm YouTube   LET'S CONNECT! Instagram Facebook Twitter LinkedIn   ABOUT ME This is Tim Schmoyer's personal podcast where he shares what he's learning from growing and selling a 7 figure business while also raising 7 children and deepening his relationship with his wife... all at the same time! When Tim and Dana married, he was earning only $14k a year as a youth pastor, but in 2013 he started an agency that grew to provide YouTube strategy to some of the world's top brands and creators. In 2022 he sold the business to vidIQ and now does life and business coaching for creators, helping them build fruitful lives in business, family, and marriage.   COACHING I help creators live fruitful lives in business, family, and marriage. To apply for personal coaching with me, go to https://timschmoyer.com

Sean and I have known each other for a long time. We connected in the early days of YouTube due to our similar paths regarding church ministry, video creating, etc. It's been so cool to watch him grow into a multi-million dollar business owner.  But, his story is not without challenges. Along his path to success, his business has had an impact on his family, marriage and mental health. Sean and I sat down recently to discuss this, and he very candidly shared about his problems in his marriage and medication of his success. Money doesn't fix your problems. It reveals your deeper issues. Hear more about that here.  Links In This Episode: Think Media: https://www.youtube.com/@ThinkMediaTV  Sean Cannel:https://www.instagram.com/seancannell/?hl=en  Send me a voice message: https://www.businessfamilymarriage.com/voicemail/  SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Anchor.fm YouTube LET'S CONNECT! Instagram Facebook Twitter LinkedIn ABOUT ME This is Tim Schmoyer's personal podcast where he shares what he's learning from growing and selling a 7 figure business while also raising 7 children and deepening his relationship with his wife... all at the same time! When Tim and Dana married, he was earning only $14k a year as a youth pastor, but in 2013 he started an agency that grew to provide YouTube strategy to some of the world's top brands and creators. In 2022 he sold the business to vidIQ and now does life and business coaching for creators, helping them build fruitful lives in business, family, and marriage. COACHING I help creators live fruitful lives in business, family, and marriage. To apply for personal coaching with me, go to https://timschmoyer.com

Recently, I got the pleasure of sitting down with a long time friend, Derral Eves who is the CEO and executive producer of The Chosen. We got to discuss how he manages his businesses and his family well.  Derral shares practical examples of how he is 100% present at home, gives individual attention to each of his five kids, creates family memories, takes personal time for himself, focuses during work time and then disconnects.  I hope you are encouraged by these practical examples and the backstory to how The Chosen all began.  LINKS Blast from the Past: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfZeW-BzFCk  Watch The Chosen: https://watch.thechosen.tv/ Questions? Comments? Thoughts to share? Leave a voice message here. SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Anchor.fm YouTube LET'S CONNECT! Instagram Facebook Twitter LinkedIn ABOUT ME This is Tim Schmoyer's personal podcast where he shares what he's learning from growing and selling a 7 figure business while also raising 7 children and deepening his relationship with his wife... all at the same time! When Tim and Dana married, he was earning only $14k a year as a youth pastor, but in 2013 he started an agency that grew to provide YouTube strategy to some of the world's top brands and creators. In 2022 he sold the business to vidIQ and now does life and business coaching for creators, helping them build fruitful lives in business, family, and marriage. COACHING I help creators live fruitful lives in business, family, and marriage. To apply for personal coaching with me, go to https://timschmoyer.com

It has been said, “Wherever you are, be there.” But when it comes to turning off your brain and focusing just on your business or just on your family, this is way easier said than done.  Last week, I was able to sit down and discuss this topic with one of my good friends and former employee's Lennon Bone. We talked about how to keep our mind focused on the present and I also shared the most important question I ask to better foster better communication and better relationships with my family and my employees. All of this and more coming up in this episode.  https://stopthestarvingartist.com/  SEND ME A VOICE MESSAGE: Questions? Comments? Thoughts to share? Leave a voice message here: https://www.businessfamilymarriage.com/voicemail SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST - Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/business-family-marriage-with-tim-schmoyer/id1573344035 - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1y7YfpsVlVw6jEmRD6Olgo - Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy81ZmM1NWU3Yy9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw - Anchor.fm: https://anchor.fm/businessfamilymarriage LET'S CONNECT! - Instagram: https://instagram.com/timschmoyer - Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/timschmoyer - Twitter: http://twitter.com/timschmoyer - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timschmoyer/ ABOUT ME This is Tim Schmoyer's personal podcast where he shares what he's learning from growing and selling a 7 figure business while also raising 7 children and deepening his relationship with his wife... all at the same time! When Tim and Dana married, he was earning only $14k a year as a youth pastor, but in 2013 he started an agency that grew to provide YouTube strategy to some of the world's top brands and creators. In 2022 he sold the business to vidIQ and now does life and business coaching for creators, helping them build fruitful lives in business, family, and marriage. COACHING I help creators live fruitful lives in business, family, and marriage. To apply for personal coaching with me, go to https://timschmoyer.com

There's a lot of similarities in how to successfully lead a business and a family. Let's talk about it! SEND ME A VOICE MESSAGE: Questions? Comments? Thoughts to share? Leave a voice message here. SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Anchor.fm YouTube LET'S CONNECT! Instagram Facebook Twitter LinkedIn ABOUT ME This is Tim Schmoyer's personal podcast where he shares what he's learning from growing and selling a 7 figure business while also raising 7 children and deepening his relationship with his wife... all at the same time! When Tim and Dana married, he was earning only $14k a year as a youth pastor, but in 2013 he started an agency that grew to provide YouTube strategy to some of the world's top brands and creators. In 2022 he sold the business to vidIQ and now does life and business coaching for creators, helping them build fruitful lives in business, family, and marriage. COACHING I help creators live fruitful lives in business, family, and marriage. To apply for personal coaching with me, go to https://timschmoyer.com

A lot happened for me in 2022, mostly on a personal level. Some dragons came up that I had to slay. As difficult as they were, doing so has been very fruitful in my life, my business, my family, and my marriage. SEND ME A VOICE MESSAGE: Questions? Comments? Thoughts to share? Leave a voice message here. SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Anchor.fm YouTube LET'S CONNECT! Instagram Facebook Twitter LinkedIn ABOUT ME This is Tim Schmoyer's personal podcast where he shares what he's learning from growing and selling a 7 figure business while also raising 7 children and deepening his relationship with his wife... all at the same time! When Tim and Dana married, he was earning only $14k a year as a youth pastor, but in 2013 he started an agency that grew to provide YouTube strategy to some of the world's top brands and creators. In 2022 he sold the business to vidIQ and now does life and business coaching for creators, helping them build fruitful lives in business, family, and marriage. COACHING I help creators live fruitful lives in business, family, and marriage. To apply for personal coaching with me, go to https://timschmoyer.com

I'm not suggesting that we leave our family every day like we do with work, but is there some value in taking a break from our family and leaving with our spouse to re-energize, re-focus, and re-align? Will doing so have the same effect on our family as it does on our work? Watch the video of our trip to Rhode Island last week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzJ0DQSOuiI SEND ME A VOICE MESSAGE: Questions? Comments? Thoughts to share? Leave a voice message here: https://www.businessfamilymarriage.com/message SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Anchor.fm LET'S CONNECT! Instagram: https://instagram.com/timschmoyer Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/timschmoyer Twitter: https://twitter.com/timschmoyer ABOUT ME This is my personal podcast where I shares what I'm learning about growing a 7 figure business while also raising 7 children and deepening his relationship with my wife... all at the same time! When Dana and I married, I was earning only $14k a year as a youth pastor, but today my wife and I work together growing a business that provides YouTube strategy for some of the world's top brands and creators. During this time we also somehow managed to have 7 children in 8 years! It's an intense season of life, and these are the lessons I am learning through it all. Learn more about me and the other projects I'm involved in at: https://timschmoyer.com

Most people recommend that you do NOT work with your spouse in your business. While it might not be for everyone, we have discovered that working with your husband or wife in business can certainly have some advantages to your relationship, too. Today we discuss experience of mixing business and marriage together and what it's done for our relationships. FOLLOW THE HEMSATHS Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themhemsaths/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/discover/ThemHemsaths?lang=en EPISODE CHAPTERS 0:00 Topic Introduction 3:00 Introducing the Hemsaths 9:24 Our roles in our businesses 14:00 Should you work in business with your spouse? 17:26 Why doesn't it work for some people? 24:46 Our experience working with our spouse 31:16 Work vs. home domains for husband and wife 34:16 The impact this has on our children and family 41:07 The impact of doing business together on our marriages 52:03 Next steps SEND ME A VOICE MESSAGE: Questions? Comments? Thoughts to share? Leave a voice message here: https://www.businessfamilymarriage.com/message SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Anchor.fm LET'S CONNECT! Instagram: https://instagram.com/timschmoyer Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/timschmoyer Twitter: https://twitter.com/timschmoyer ABOUT ME This is my personal podcast where I shares what I'm learning about growing a 7 figure business while also raising 7 children and deepening his relationship with my wife... all at the same time! When Dana and I married, I was earning only $14k a year as a youth pastor, but today my wife and I work together growing a business that provides YouTube strategy for some of the world's top brands and creators. During this time we also somehow managed to have 7 children in 8 years! It's an intense season of life, and these are the lessons I am learning through it all. Learn more about me and the other projects I'm involved in at: https://timschmoyer.com

Last week I spoke at an event about, "Faith at work," specifically how my faith impacts my work and how my work impacts my faith. This a recording of that presentation. I'd love to hear any questions or reactions you have to it! SEND ME A VOICE MESSAGE: Questions? Comments? Thoughts to share? Leave a voice message here: https://www.businessfamilymarriage.com/message SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Anchor.fm LET'S CONNECT! Instagram: https://instagram.com/timschmoyer Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/timschmoyer Twitter: https://twitter.com/timschmoyer ABOUT ME This is my personal podcast where I shares what I'm learning about growing a 7 figure business while also raising 7 children and deepening his relationship with my wife... all at the same time! When Dana and I married, I was earning only $14k a year as a youth pastor, but today my wife and I work together growing a business that provides YouTube strategy for some of the world's top brands and creators. During this time we also somehow managed to have 7 children in 8 years! It's an intense season of life, and these are the lessons I am learning through it all. Learn more about me and the other projects I'm involved in at: https://timschmoyer.com

On my journey to becoming a $10 million CEO as well as a better father and husband, I'm learning that I need to acquire new skills to get to new levels. One of those skills is the power of focus. In this episode I talk about the one thing I can do that that makes everything else easier or unnecessary. That thing will allow me to better grow my business as well as become a better husband and father. The book, "The One Thing," on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3rx04tN (affiliate) SEND ME A VOICE MESSAGE: Questions? Comments? Thoughts to share? Leave a voice message here: https://www.businessfamilymarriage.com/message SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Anchor.fm LET'S CONNECT! Instagram: https://instagram.com/timschmoyer Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/timschmoyer Twitter: https://twitter.com/timschmoyer ABOUT ME This is my personal podcast where I shares what I'm learning about growing a 7 figure business while also raising 7 children and deepening his relationship with my wife... all at the same time! When Dana and I married, I was earning only $14k a year as a youth pastor, but today my wife and I work together growing a business that provides YouTube strategy for some of the world's top brands and creators. During this time we also somehow managed to have 7 children in 8 years! It's an intense season of life, and these are the lessons I am learning through it all. Learn more about me and the other projects I'm involved in at: https://timschmoyer.com

In this episode my oldest two kids sit down with me to answer some questions about how I can be a better father and how we can improve our family. I do one-on-ones every month with my employees to ensure that the working environment is positive for them, that they have what they need, that the job is still working well for them, and to go over any performance discussions we need to have. Doing so creates a strong company culture where people feel heard and creates an environment where they want to work. I think it might be important to do something similar in the family to create a positive family culture where people actually want to be together, feel like they're heard, and operate in their zone of genius. So today I sat down with my two oldest kids and asked them some of the same questions I ask my employees in our monthly one-on-ones. This is our first of likely many conversations about how our family can improve. SEND ME A VOICE MESSAGE: Questions? Comments? Thoughts to share? Leave a voice message here: https://www.businessfamilymarriage.com/message CHECK OUT ONE FAMILY TEAM: https://www.youtube.com/onefamilyteam SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Anchor.fm LET'S CONNECT! Instagram: https://instagram.com/timschmoyer Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/timschmoyer Twitter: https://twitter.com/timschmoyer ABOUT ME This is my personal podcast where I shares what I'm learning about growing a 7 figure business while also raising 7 children and deepening his relationship with my wife... all at the same time! When Dana and I married, I was earning only $14k a year as a youth pastor, but today my wife and I work together growing a business that provides YouTube strategy for some of the world's top brands and creators. During this time we also somehow managed to have 7 children in 8 years! It's an intense season of life, and these are the lessons I am learning through it all. http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=timschmoyer Learn more about me and the other projects I'm involved in at: https://timschmoyer.com

At work, people are held accountable to perform certain duties. At Video Creators, we use OKRs as a goal setting framework for how we set goals and accomplish them each quarter. Everyone's work is public and we're all accountable to each other for it. At home, our kids should learn that lesson now with accountability. There should be goal charts, daily chores. If someone is struggling with their chore, have a family meeting to discuss changes. Sometimes the kid just needs to do something they don't like. Other times there's an opportunity to change how we do things so everything runs smoother. In this episode I talk a bit about what that looks like both in our business as well as in our family with 7 little kids. SEND ME A VOICE MESSAGE: Questions? Comments? Thoughts to share? Leave a voice message here: https://www.businessfamilymarriage.com/message SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Anchor.fm LET'S CONNECT! Instagram: https://instagram.com/timschmoyer Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/timschmoyer Twitter: https://twitter.com/timschmoyer ABOUT ME This is my personal podcast where I shares what I'm learning about growing a 7 figure business while also raising 7 children and deepening his relationship with my wife... all at the same time! When Dana and I married, I was earning only $14k a year as a youth pastor, but today my wife and I work together growing a business that provides YouTube strategy for some of the world's top brands and creators. During this time we also somehow managed to have 7 children in 8 years! It's an intense season of life, and these are the lessons I am learning through it all. http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=timschmoyer Learn more about me and the other projects I'm involved in at: https://timschmoyer.com

We all want to live in environments that have a high, position morale. When morale is low, nothing good happens. The quality of work declines, people bicker with each other, and no one is happy. But when morale is high, people cooperate, there's a positive energy, and momentum that keeps everything running smoothly, both in business and in the family. Today I want to share some thoughts about how we can facilitate an environment of positive morale both in our team at work as well as in our families so we can capture our kids' hearts for the future. Listen to Jeremy's episode about planning a family team retreat on the, "Dads Building Family Teams," podcast: https://familyteams.com/episode/growing-together-as-a-family-interview-with-paul-owens/ Watch the video version on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/timschmoyer SEND ME A VOICE MESSAGE: Questions? Comments? Thoughts to share? Leave a voice message here: https://www.businessfamilymarriage.com/voicemail SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Anchor.fm YouTube LET'S CONNECT! Instagram Facebook Twitter ABOUT ME This is my personal podcast where I shares what I'm learning about growing a 7 figure business while also raising 7 children and deepening his relationship with my wife... all at the same time! When Dana and I married, I was earning only $14k a year as a youth pastor, but today my wife and I work together growing a business that provides YouTube strategy for some of the world's top brands and creators. During this time we also somehow managed to have 7 children in 8 years! It's an intense season of life, and these are the lessons I am learning through it all. Learn more about me and the other projects I'm involved in at: https://timschmoyer.com

Last week we had a company team retreat and a family team retreat. One went great. The other not so much. These are some of my reflections on what worked, what didn't, and the impact retreats can have on our business and family. Questions? Comments? Thoughts to share? Leave a voice message here: https://www.businessfamilymarriage.com/voicemail SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST - Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/business-family-marriage-with-tim-schmoyer/id1573344035 - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1y7YfpsVlVw6jEmRD6Olgo - Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy81ZmM1NWU3Yy9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw - Anchor.fm: https://anchor.fm/businessfamilymarriage

It's important that my business stays focused on becoming the best in the world at one thing, not mediocre at a lot of things. When I lose my focus, the business declines. I have to say "no" to a lot of good and tempting things in order to win. Same with my family. Right now people are asking us to make family videos again, but we stopped Reclaiming Motherhood because we just don't have the bandwidth for it. It's easy for a family to get pulled in a lot of different directions and sacrifice time and relationships together if there's not a clear and focused vision that drives us forward. Questions? Comments? Thoughts to share? Leave a voice message here: https://www.businessfamilymarriage.com/voicemail SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST - Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/business-family-marriage-with-tim-schmoyer/id1573344035 - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1y7YfpsVlVw6jEmRD6Olgo - Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy81ZmM1NWU3Yy9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw - Anchor.fm: https://anchor.fm/businessfamilymarriage

I've been intrigued by the Skorys for years. They're four siblings who grew up and started a successful business on YouTube together. Somehow they still enjoy being around each other, figured out how to work well together, respect each other, and do it all in a profitable way. How does that work? And what did their parents to do foster that kind of environment for them growing up so that they could start a business and work together as young adults? All questions I dig into with them in this encouraging interview. Check out The Skorys on YouTube here. Gabriella's personal channel. Questions? Comments? Thoughts to share? Leave a voice message here. I'll feature them in upcoming episodes. SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Anchor.fm

Employees and kids don't come out of a box fully trained and designed to do one thing and do it well. Often the frustrations we might feel about the poor job our employees or kids do is actually our fault for not training them well enough. We poorly set expectations and then expect them to meet the undefined expectations every time. Instead, SOPs can be a great tool in helping us set expectations and then ensure that they're met every time, whether it be by employees or children. Questions? Comments? Thoughts to share? Leave a voice message here: https://anchor.fm/businessfamilymarriage/message SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST - Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/business-family-marriage-with-tim-schmoyer/id1573344035 - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1y7YfpsVlVw6jEmRD6Olgo - Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy81ZmM1NWU3Yy9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw - Anchor.fm: https://anchor.fm/businessfamilymarriage

The normal approach is to motivating employees is to pay them more money. With kids, we typically motivate them with bigger rewards or worse consequences. There's some merit to both approaches, but I've been thinking about what Daniel Pink refers to in his research about what drives people. It's prompted a few thoughts for both motivating our employees as well as our kids. The research seems counterintuitive at first, but I think it makes sense to enabling our business teams and children to enjoy their work more and do it better than ever before. Drive, by Daniel Pink: https://amzn.to/3eUEQ3M (affiliate) Questions? Comments? Thoughts to share? Leave a voice message here: https://anchor.fm/businessfamilymarriage/message SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST - Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/business-family-marriage-with-tim-schmoyer/id1573344035 - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1y7YfpsVlVw6jEmRD6Olgo - Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy81ZmM1NWU3Yy9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw - Anchor.fm: https://anchor.fm/businessfamilymarriage

When your business team grows, that's usually a sign of success and that things are going well, but if the family team grows with too many children, often the family system starts to break down a bit. What if, instead, we saw our family as a team and oriented it in such a way that it grew stronger as the family team grew larger? Questions? Comments? Thoughts to share? Leave a voice message here: https://anchor.fm/businessfamilymarriage/message Check our Jeremy's podcasts here: https://familyteams.com/podcasts/

Every family struggles with work/life balance. For us, we have 7 kids, a business, employees, a marriage, property, and more. It's taken us almost 15 years to get to a place where our family rhythm feels like it's at a good place. My wife shares how we currently approach this challenge and what it looks like for us. “Every Good Endeavor,” by Tim Keller: https://amzn.to/3yKwFOV (affiliate) Questions? Comments? Thoughts to share? Leave a voice message here: https://anchor.fm/businessfamilymarriage/message

We have our business' team retreat coming up, as well as family vacation and travel. What we accomplish relationally with those “retreat tools” is sometimes similar with both our employees as well as with our family. Questions? Comments? Thoughts to share? https://anchor.fm/businessfamilymarriage/message

In my business I conduct monthly one-on-ones with each employee to review their job, how it's working for them, review any performance issues, and discuss what they need in order to do better. There's a lot of benefits fo this approach over an annual review. A lot of those same benefits apply to doing monthly one-on-ones with my wife and kids. It sets them up to thrive in our family and with the expectations and responsibilities they have here. Questions? Comments? Thoughts to share? Leave a message here: https://anchor.fm/businessfamilymarriage/message

In the book, “Primal Branding,” Patrick Hanlon outlines the 7 elements that makes it easy for someone to fall in love with a brand. This is the stuff that grows YouTube channels and businesses every day, but they're the same elements that capture our kids' hearts for our “family brand.” Today I share a bit of what that looks like. Questions? Comments? Thoughts to share? Leave a message here and remember the 5 B's of public speaking: Be Brief, Baby, Be Brief! :) https://anchor.fm/businessfamilymarriage/message

Having a vision, mission, and core values for your business not only helps you make good decisions for your business growth, but having those things written out for your family helps you make better decisions about your family's time and resources, too. In fact, it's what sets your business up to be the best in the world at what you do. It'll do the same for your family, too. See our family mission board here: https://www.instagram.com/p/B_4wrSrnldU/ Questions? Comments? Thoughts to share? Leave a message here and remember the 5 B's of public speaking: Be Brief, Baby, Be Brief! :) https://anchor.fm/businessfamilymarriage/message

Welcome to the first episode! I am really looking forward to talking with all of you about the intersection between business, family, and marriage. I'm learning that the skills I learn in one of those areas of my life overlap fairly significantly with the other areas of my life and make them all fruitful. Leave a voice message here with your questions, comments, and ideas. https://anchor.fm/businessfamilymarriage/message

This is what my podcast is exploring: how we use the same tools and skills that grow a successful business to grow and manage a successful family. It's my personal podcast, so it also explores other things I'm learning about business, family, and marriage, too.