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Karen Anderson's avatar

This is a very helpful post. Thank you. Your ending, "Steward what God has given you and trust Him with the results" made me remember another great quote by the late Charles Stanley. He often said, "Obey God and leave the consequences to Him". Thanks again, Grant.

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Grant Herbel's avatar

That’s a great quote. Thank you for sharing!

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UCEXLLY's avatar

This is worth saving and reading repeatedly to remind us that we are ultimately called to serve God alone rather than man, money, or algorithm. Thanks for sharing!

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J. L. Gittens's avatar

Thank you so much! I found myself leaning toward frantically trying to build while looking at the metrics and being overwhelmed and burntout.

But last night I told God, "Please help me to work from a place of rest." So thank you. I needed this. We are faithful stewards in a messed up world...

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Kyle Brooks's avatar

I’ve thought about this a great deal with respect to church planting, but it hadn’t occurred to me to connect it to writing platforms. Thank you for the simplicity and practicality of this article, and for helping me take a big breath in and a big breath out to start the week.

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Grant Herbel's avatar

Praise God, I’m glad to hear it resonated with you! Thanks so much.

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Sourabhi's avatar

This is so encouraging and really helpful for me as a new Christian blogger! I usually write about what the Lord teaches me. I was on Medium before but recently moved to Substack, and it’s a whole different experience. Hardly anyone comments on my articles, but the Holy Spirit led me to this verse, and I’m standing on it:

Philippians 4:19

"And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus."

As you rightly said, "And ultimately, the Person—Jesus Christ—is the point."

He alone should be my motivation to write, and He will bring the right people to read. What I share isn’t my own wisdom—it’s what He teaches me. I’m just a steward, and my job is to faithfully do what He has called me to do.

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Grant Herbel's avatar

Praise God, those are beautiful insights. I look forward to reading about what the Lord teaches you here on Substack :)

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Laurie Kehler's avatar

I have struggled with this for years with “do nothing out of selfish ambition” (Philippians 2:3) juxtaposed with publishers encouraging me to draw attention to myself. It’s difficult to walk this out with a meek and pure heart at times!

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Silje K Jøssang's avatar

Hi Laurie, Camille Mendoza here on Substack has written a wonderful text about online presence vs self promotion with a garden analogy. I think you’d find it helpful (I did!).

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Tracie Heskett's avatar

I'll see if I can find the post you reference.

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The Unchained Woman's avatar

Thank you so much for your post. I am in the middle of frantic anxiety over my platform. I wrote down several quotes from you on to sticky notes and placed them over my desk. I need to remember daily that "The people are the point" and "Ultimately, the person--Jesus Christ-- is the point." Thanks again, I feel the freedom already. I will pray this every morning.

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Grant Herbel's avatar

Praise God, that is wonderful to hear. I’m honored.

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Ana Murby's avatar

Thank you for this powerful reminder! As a podcaster and a writer I find the balance of creating a platform and stewardship difficult but everything you spoke about in this article was exactly what I needed to hear and what I do believe God is challenging me to do. Numbers are soups and those souls matter to God, so they should matter to me too. Thanks again!

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Grant Herbel's avatar

Praise God! It can be hard to remember sometimes, but it’s worth it. Thanks for reading!

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Melissa's avatar

So, so good! Thank you for this!

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A Cultural Shift's avatar

Exactly. Stewarding the gift is key. The end result belongs to the Lord.

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Corinne Jensen's avatar

I needed to be reminded of this today. Thank you!!

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Tracie Heskett's avatar

Thanks for this post. I especially want to remember the part about beginning with gratitude and then creating content from the unique experiences God has placed in our life. Yes, we are to make much of Him--bring glory to Him, which is an ongoing learning process!

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Cherie Reimer's avatar

Offering my writing to Christ for Him to use as He sees best. This frees me. Thank you!

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Kate Dreston's avatar

This is a very helpful post. I am in the midst of trying to figure out the balance of time spent on platform growing vs. actually writing. I want to run my ministry in a way that pleases God. You did a great job of communicating a Christian writer's issues.

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Tracie Heskett's avatar

Some people set aside a (small) fraction of time for reaching people and the bulk of their writing time on content. Not everyone approaches it the same, but God can help us find what He wants for His time * with * us.

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Jen Niemann's avatar

Grant, I really appreciated this and needed to read it! It’s exactly how I’ve been thinking about it all, too. Thanks!

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Grant Herbel's avatar

That is great to hear! Thank YOU.

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Brooke Zoller's avatar

This! I want to glorify God in my writing and be a good steward to those who are reading what I write here. Thank you for sharing your heart on this topic, Grant.

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