Why Small Things Matter with Charlie Peacock and Andi Ashworth

Faithful on the Clock

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In this episode...

Why Small Things Matter with Charlie Peacock and Andi Ashworth

https://faithfulontheclock.captivate.fm/episode/why-small-things-matter-with-charlie-peacock-and-andi-ashworth

Intro teaser paragraph:

In Episode 98 of Faithful on the Clock, I chat with an incredible husband-and-wife team — 4x Grammy winner Charlie Peacock and author Andi Ashworth. Join us for almost a full hour where we cover their careers, faith, and outstanding new book.

Timestamps:

[00:04] - Intro

[01:05] - Introducing Charlie and Andi

[01:30] - Career summary request

[02:00] - Career summary (Charlie)

[07:22] - Career summary (Andi)

[11:23] - Book introduction

[12:03] - Why Charlie and Andi wrote their new book (Andi)

[13:30] - Why Charlie and Andi wrote their new book (Charlie)

[16:50] - Wanda’s response to the book

[18:50] - Charlie’s take on labels (Christian AND and musician)

[26:20] - A mindset to approach work through a Christian lens (Andi)

[29:45] - Hospitality as Andi’s calling

[30:35] - What hospitality looks like in a traditional office setting (Charlie)

[37:23] - Self-care and the Sabbath (Andi)

[41:03] - Charlie’s struggle with adhering to the Sabbath and the problem of “never enough”

[47:42] - Success versus fruitfulness (Andi)

[53:38] - Scriptures that have been meaningful for Charlie and Andi

[56:17] - Prayer

[57:18] - Outro/What’s coming up next

Key takeaways:

• Charlie views himself as a maker who puts a strong value on imagination and the creativity that comes out of it. He is clear that is also the foundation for his writing, which he loves in addition to music.
• Andi has been successful as a writer and editor. But she has always cared about people and wanted to address their loneliness. But she realized that all of the small ways she tended to people — cooking, cleaning, offering conversation, etc. — was the life God was giving to her.
• Charlie and Andi developed their new book concept from pieces of writing they had already done. The book speaks to people at different points in life but addresses anyone who is thinking about the world, their life, and the different pieces of it. Charlie sees the book as a peek into their creative process and emphasizes there’s something for everyone in it. I found the book warm, full of gems, and full of humility.
• Charlie takes issue with the idea of being pigeonholed as a “Christian musician.” He is a Christian AND he is a musician. He wants people to live their gifts to the fullest, rather than be confined by labels. He stresses that if a small box is taking away his faithfulness to God, then he has to oppose it. He also notes that the box connects to cultural ideas of what faithfulness means or is. I note that his view can help professionals see new opportunities.
• Charlie and Andi approach their work under the phrase, “The Lordship of Christ over all life,” meaning that because all life matters to God, all life matters to us. Seeing that our work matters and has intrinsic value of its own helps us avoid feeling “blank” (without purpose or worth) and steers us toward a more correct theology of God.
• Andi notes that her calling has been hospitality, but that we are all called to some hospitality as part of neighbor love in the spirit of Jesus. Charlie explains how they developed the physical elements of the Art House in Nashville (e.g., the gardens) and asserts that the imagination and creativity essential to life have the power to create a mood and tone by which everything else happens. He encourages companies to create workplaces that feel as though they were created for people to do their best work.
• Andi explains the importance of the Sabbath mindset where you recognize that you are not big enough to keep pressing and pushing through everything all the time — you take one day out of seven to rest. Charlie tells his story of how his internal pressure to “do” physically wore on him. He points out that the world will reward never shutting off and that that’s part of why he didn’t get well sooner.
• Andi lays out the difference between success and fruitfulness. She doesn’t relate to the word “success” because it is so linked with measurable metrics. She wants people to think instead of fruitfulness — that is, what God is doing. He often does small, quiet things with big value, and fruitfulness is not our worry. It is entirely up to Him.

• PRE-ORDER “Thriving on a Riff: Jazz and the Spiritual Life” by William Carter — but first, a review of the recent Square Halo Conference and a reminder of “Why Everything That Doesn’t Matter Matters So Much” by Peacock & Ashworth – 20% OFF | Hearts & Minds Books
• Why Everything That Doesn't Matter, Matters So Much (Amazon)
• About - The Writer & The Husband
• charliepeacock.com

CTAs:

• Consider what your gifts are and whether you are using them to the fullest, as Charlie encourages.
• Identify your current definition of success. Journal about that definition and whether it aligns with fruitfulness, as described by Andi.

What’s coming up next:

Experts often tell professionals to be passionate about their work. But what does passion even mean? Episode 99 of Faithful on the Clock resets the definition.

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