Welcome
Position Yourself for God‘s Success in Life and Career
Follow God's to-do list to rapidly leverage a partnership with God for effectiveness in every season of life.
Throw no Rocks Excerpts
Title story from the introduction.
Merging onto Route 95 North near Richmond, Virginia, on that cool November Saturday afternoon in 1982, I headed to an important meeting in Washington, DC. My specific destination was Tingey House, also known as Quarters A, a home located on the Washington Navy Yard. It was the official residence of the Chief of Naval Operations or CNO, the U.S. Navy's top four-star admiral and member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
I knew a great deal about the man I would meet that day. He was a tall, six-foot-three nuclear submariner, a cold warrior, and a highly educated and accomplished man. He stood in the higher tiers in his Naval Academy class and rowed crew as a Midshipman.
His father died while he was in Annapolis.
He knew how to use power effectively, was a person of high moral character, and his reputation for brains and integrity was rare in Washington. He had little patience with those who couldn't keep up or made frequent mistakes.
A man of action, he was accustomed to dealing with the biggest defense-related challenges in the world in his service to the nation. He worked for President Ronald Reagan and with Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, along with many other senior government officials.
He was also my father.
My mission was personal and unusual, an assignment I didn't seek, but when told to go, I knew it was the right thing to do. I’d harbored a bad attitude toward my father for many years. I went to ask him to forgive me.
Read the exciting conclusion in the book!
Leverage in Family
Leverage Into the Next Generations
Leverage Into the Next Generations
Leverage Into the Next Generations
Leverage Into the Next Generations
Leverage Into the Next Generations
About the author
Charlie Watkins - Business Executive and Men's Leader
Charlie Watkins is a Christian husband, father, grandfather and leader. He came to Jesus in 1980 while serving as a nuclear trained officer aboard a US Navy Cruiser, where he was led to the Lord by the ship's doctor. After leaving the Navy in 1982 he has held senior leadership positions in several businesses.
God has rescued, healed and mentored him through many trials, including cancer, open heart surgery, business failures and successes, transitions and many household moves. His heart’s desire is to impart the most important truths to men so that they can find true success as God's husbands, fathers and leaders, and change the trajectories of their lives, marriages, families and the nations.
Charlie has led men's groups, home groups and spoken in churches. He currently leads a men’s group at his local church, The Point, in Charlottesville, Virginia.
He's been married to Blythe, the love of his life, since June of 1977. Blythe and Charlie have two grown Christian children. They love the people their children married and count their children as their closest friends. They have five terrific grandsons, all mighty men of God in the making.
For most of the past 25 years, Charlie has mentored and worked with leaders. Since October of 2018 he has been serving as President and CEO of Landmark Media Enterprises and Dominion Enterprises, a private conglomerate of data and software businesses.
Charlie is a graduate of the US Naval Academy and holds a master's in business from William & Mary. He also serves on the board of ICM, “The Global Church Developer,” a ministry that partners with indigenous people in the poorest regions of the world to build churches and disciple people.
About the book
Tap into the multiplying power of God with his platform of assets in place.
"There is an effective way for a man to enjoy God's success over a lifetime. He must first position himself for success by establishing 7 specific practices and capabilities. When these are in place, they can be leveraged through a partnership with God in every season of life, including transitions, suffering and prosperity.
The man who is serious about building a life that matters can quickly tackle this "to-do" list and watch God begin to multiply.
1 big question, 1 compelling offer, 7 strategic imperatives, 15 personal stories, 19 meaty chapters. Thrown No Rocks contains only the most important things.
More from Throw no rocks
The big idea of the book from the preface.
The big idea in this book is that there is a specific way to position yourself for a life of true success. It’s God’s way, and it works. Every pathway to true success travels through God. Successful people, those who find and do the will of God, those who walk in their inheritance in Christ here on earth, those who find love, meaning, purpose, and fulfillment, and those who are entrusted with God's true riches, all know this.
There is something else they share. They have all built and regularly leverage a particular group of practices and capabilities, “God’s platform,” to be used in partnership with God. God's platform includes seven specific practices and capabilities, strategic imperatives or non-negotiables for the man who is serious about true success, the kind of success that does no harm but only does good, that really matters, that lasts a lifetime, and that has no trouble associated with it.
Discover the pathway to God‘s true riches.
Our inheritance is most often discovered while we are engaging obediently in Kingdom activities
Endorsements
“Throw No Rocks has power ...because it is direct, bottom line orient-
ed, and tailored to the strategic action mindset of marketplace men.
By explaining a thrilling partnership offer from God on His kingdom
terms and not attempting to bend God our way on our terms, Char-
lie Watkins shows great respect for his readers, men who are serious
about building great lives.”
—JEFF KEMP,
Author of RECEIVE: The Way of Jesus for Men;
Founder, Men Huddle and former NFL quarterback.
“Charlie Watkins is second to none. A military veteran and accom-
plished businessman, Charlie lives out and practices his faith across
all dimensions of his life and work, with grace and true humility. His
keen business acumen is equaled and surpassed by his passion for the
Lord and for teaching, mentoring, and discipling others – most specifically men.
I appreciate him as a friend and colleague and admire
his “tip of the spear” leadership. I am honored to endorse to you a
true hero of the faith – Charlie Watkins.”
—MARTY MCCARTY,
CEO, Military Community Youth Ministries, Colorado Springs, Colorado
“I’ve known Charlie Watkins and his family since February 2022,
when he and Blythe first attended The Point Church. The Lord
clearly led them to The Point; the evidence of God’s guidance was
seen that day (the remarkable story is in the appendix) and ever
since through the lives of the many people that they impact weekly.
The men’s group he started has grown and encouraged many
leaders. The book’s content was used last fall in a church-wide initia-
tive, a “fall sprint” designed to get men into groups for the first time. It was a great success.
—GABE TURNER,
Senior Pastor and Founder, The Point Church, Charlottesville, Virginia
and author of The Intentional Life
"There are few men I admire and respect as much as Charlie Watkins.
His wisdom, insight and thoughtful leadership are filtered through
a deep and abiding faith in Jesus Christ. He has served on the board
of ICM (International Cooperating Ministries) for nearly a decade
offering sage and wise counsel on numerous strategic topics."
—JANICE ROSSER ALLEN,
President & CEO of ICM, the Global Church Developer
Praise is the air cover we need to successfully storm the beaches of our enemies
Charlie Watkins - Throw No Rocks Author
From Trials in Life
From Trials in Life
From Trials in Life
During an 11-year wait for a promise to be fulfilled, Charlie inquired of the Lord how the time could better be spent. The Lord gave him an answer with two specific instructions, the second of which was to take up the sport of triathlon.
He raced for nine years until emergency stomach surgery. Throw No Rocks includes wonderful guidance for men awaiting their best dreams.
The limitations on our lives are directly proportional to our capacity to receive God‘s love.
In Every Season
From Trials in Life
From Trials in Life
Within just a few weeks of completing his 48th triathlon, Charlie was diagnosed with lymphoma after emergency stomach surgery revealed the cancer. He completed six sessions of chemotherapy (the last, with his oncology nurse, is shown above).
This remarkable story includes a defining moment, an experience with God, while in the hospital. Within a few days of this photo being taken, he was elevated to his current CEO role. In Throw No Rocks, Charlie shares how we can leverage God’s platform during times of waiting, times of suffering and times of promotion.