This is a perfect comparison. And it makes me feel better than just posting to post. My goal is not to get out 2 posts a week. My goal is to communicate and help others communicate and touch their hearts and draw them closer to God. It's a whole lot more than just follower count (although I have flesh, I fall short). The goal is writing authentically and interacting authentically. I love this.
Good wisdom, Grant! I wrote a bunch of articles on a popular web site populated mostly by cranky trolls. There were loads of negative comments and street fights amongst the usual suspects. However, with each article, there were one or two commenters who got the message, which was pointing to a Godly principle. They made it all worth the effort! Got to keep your eye on your reader, not the stats. They are the ones we serve!
Love your approach on Notes. I go back and forth because I forget my why. It’s helpful to me to see them as just another part of the creative process. Little porch lights left on for my fellow idea shepherds.
This is encouraging. Glad I’m not the only one who feels exhausted by the growth strategy. My niche isn’t solving a problem it’s teaching, encouragement, and fellowship. I write so others don’t feel alone in their struggles and learn more about God’s character in the process. 🤍
You don’t tug the stems to make them taller. You tend the soil, water the plants, and give them light. Only then will growth follow.” —LOVE THIS! Thank you.
Sometimes I feel like Paul walking into a city to preach and everyone’s hurrying past to hear someone else. Two hundred likes for that guy, zero for me? Woe is me. Thanks for the reminder that God doesn't measures metrics, but faithfulness.
Thanks for your post, it feels right on. I have difficulties with growth strategies. I enjoy writing and want to engage with a community. But, the growing follower methods largely seem complicated and not me.
This resonates deeply. The burnout so many Christian (and honestly, thoughtful) writers feel isn’t from lack of discipline, it’s from the quiet conflict between calling and clout.
When writing becomes about hacking visibility instead of cultivating truth, something sacred in the process starts to die. We lose the stillness required to hear God’s whisper under the noise of “optimization.”
Your garden metaphor captures it perfectly, the words are the soil, the tools are the sunlight, but the harvest isn’t ours to force. We’re invited to steward, not to manufacture outcomes.
There’s peace in that shift, the kind that lets you write again for the love of meaning, not metrics.
Do you think digital spaces can ever truly make room for that kind of slow, faithful growth again?
This was so encouraging! For years I struggled with writing and growing a platform because I wanted to be authentic. Not needy. Appreciate your art and consistency to help others.
Thank you for this. I started a Substack blog over a year ago and post very infrequently. Simple fact is I don’t want to throw a conglomeration of words out there on a pre-determined timeline and they not be worth reading. But over time and as events happen, the words begin to gel and eventually there is something worth saying. When I creep into this mindset of “I’m posting to the abyss, so what’s the point?”, God gently reminds me “if you are faithful in the little things….”
This is a perfect comparison. And it makes me feel better than just posting to post. My goal is not to get out 2 posts a week. My goal is to communicate and help others communicate and touch their hearts and draw them closer to God. It's a whole lot more than just follower count (although I have flesh, I fall short). The goal is writing authentically and interacting authentically. I love this.
Well said! It’s so much better that way, I’ve found.
This is such a helpful encouragement, especially to those of us who are still quite new to writing on Substack! Thank you, Grant.
Praise God, so glad to hear that.
Love this - especially the comparisons to gardening!☀️🌱😊
Yes
Good wisdom, Grant! I wrote a bunch of articles on a popular web site populated mostly by cranky trolls. There were loads of negative comments and street fights amongst the usual suspects. However, with each article, there were one or two commenters who got the message, which was pointing to a Godly principle. They made it all worth the effort! Got to keep your eye on your reader, not the stats. They are the ones we serve!
Love your approach on Notes. I go back and forth because I forget my why. It’s helpful to me to see them as just another part of the creative process. Little porch lights left on for my fellow idea shepherds.
That’s a fantastic analogy. I might have to steal that :)
This is encouraging. Glad I’m not the only one who feels exhausted by the growth strategy. My niche isn’t solving a problem it’s teaching, encouragement, and fellowship. I write so others don’t feel alone in their struggles and learn more about God’s character in the process. 🤍
“Growth is meant to be the fruit, not the focus.
Think of it like a garden.
You don’t tug the stems to make them taller. You tend the soil, water the plants, and give them light. Only then will growth follow.” —LOVE THIS! Thank you.
This is so freeing. 🙏🏽🥹❤️
Sometimes I feel like Paul walking into a city to preach and everyone’s hurrying past to hear someone else. Two hundred likes for that guy, zero for me? Woe is me. Thanks for the reminder that God doesn't measures metrics, but faithfulness.
Thanks for your post, it feels right on. I have difficulties with growth strategies. I enjoy writing and want to engage with a community. But, the growing follower methods largely seem complicated and not me.
This resonates deeply. The burnout so many Christian (and honestly, thoughtful) writers feel isn’t from lack of discipline, it’s from the quiet conflict between calling and clout.
When writing becomes about hacking visibility instead of cultivating truth, something sacred in the process starts to die. We lose the stillness required to hear God’s whisper under the noise of “optimization.”
Your garden metaphor captures it perfectly, the words are the soil, the tools are the sunlight, but the harvest isn’t ours to force. We’re invited to steward, not to manufacture outcomes.
There’s peace in that shift, the kind that lets you write again for the love of meaning, not metrics.
Do you think digital spaces can ever truly make room for that kind of slow, faithful growth again?
This resonated with me -- perfectly!
Well said... Growth is the fruit! Thank you!
This was so encouraging! For years I struggled with writing and growing a platform because I wanted to be authentic. Not needy. Appreciate your art and consistency to help others.
Thank you for this. I started a Substack blog over a year ago and post very infrequently. Simple fact is I don’t want to throw a conglomeration of words out there on a pre-determined timeline and they not be worth reading. But over time and as events happen, the words begin to gel and eventually there is something worth saying. When I creep into this mindset of “I’m posting to the abyss, so what’s the point?”, God gently reminds me “if you are faithful in the little things….”