Eating an Elephant

Have you ever heard the old adage, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time”? Well, I just finished eating my elephant.

When Martha and I went on air eight years ago, people said, “well, if you’re going to be a radio personality, then you guys should write a book.” I said to people, “I’ll write a book when God tells me to write a book.” Martha said, “I don’t wanna write a book.”

Well, if you’ve been following us, you know that we finally heard God’s voice telling us to write a book. Actually, He told us to write three books.

A year and a half ago, we set off on a journey to write a trilogy that would encourage everyday believers in their work and retirement: iWork4Him, sheWorks4Him, and iRetire4Him. When we started this project, we had no idea the enormous undertaking it would be to write and release three books simultaneously. Everybody said it was impossible. I said it was like eating an elephant, one bite at a time.

Over the last 18 months, we have put together three books with contributions from 54 different authors. We have gone through almost 40 editorial rotations, back-and-forth from the publisher. We have recorded 100 hours of audio for the audiobooks. We have edited and corrected nearly 1000 pages. And having finished my final plate of elephant this past Monday, with the completion of the audiobook production, I realize that eating an elephant was an enormous undertaking.

Martha and I have worked countless hours on these books, but every one of those hours was worked with you in mind. Because God’s will is that you would live out your faith in your work – something that may sound impossible. But how do we do impossible things? One step at a time, and those steps are broken down for you in all three books.

Psalm 119:105 says, 

“your word is a lamp and to my feet and a light to my path.” 

When we began this project, we didn’t know it would take 18 months, and we didn’t know all the hours of work it would be. We just knew that we were hearing God’s voice. So, we put one foot in front of the other. And today, the books arrived; now it’s time to get them into your hands. I hope you enjoy the results of our elephant project; we enjoyed eating it on your behalf. And I hope that they help you on your own elephant project – sharing Christ with those around you!

 Jim

About the Author, Jim Brangenberg

Jim's Mission: We are called to be examples of Christ to those around us. With that in mind, Jim is passionate about helping Christ followers connect their faith to their work!

Ministering in the Community of Your City

“So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone…” – Galatians 6:10.

Sometimes God asks us to go all-in, and by that, I mean all-in to serving our community in a BIG way.

I have a new friend from Oklahoma who felt God calling him to help elect the next governor. It was a scary step to take his faith public and risk being targeted by the media for it, but he committed to helping elect a godly leader and went all-in to living out his faith on the campaign trail as he advised and directed. And in the end, he succeeded – his friend is now the governor of Oklahoma.

Martha and I met another friend at a meeting in Naples a few months back who has a big heart for serving her community but was unsure how to start. Then God revealed to her the plight of foster families, who often step in to help in emergencies when the state response is slow. She saw an enormous unmet need for physical items such as strollers and car seats and felt God calling her to start a thrift store that would support these families and help raise money for families in the trenches of the foster system who need help fast. She responded, "God, I will do it, but I don't know how!" Today, there are several thrift store locations and so many people that have been blessed in SW Florida because of her “yes” to God and to her community. (listen to her interview here)

The reality is that our world is broken; our communities are broken; broken by sin, by poverty, by hatred, by darkness. And tragically, the Church has largely turned over its responsibility to bring hope, healing, and provision to government programs. But God is asking you to step up, to bring hope and healing to your community and all He requires is willingness. A willingness to live out your faith and a willingness to listen to the stories of those hurting around you. Be willing, and God can and will use you to bring healing and hope to your zip code. Our series of books, iRetire4Him, iWork4Him, and sheWorks4Him, all have stories of people just like you living out their faith in their spheres of influence. You can now buy all three for just $30 - read and share them with a friend!

Jim

About the Author, Jim Brangenberg

Jim's Mission: We are called to be examples of Christ to those around us. With that in mind, Jim is passionate about helping Christ followers connect their faith to their work!

The iWork4Him Lifestyle

I have a friend I’ve been mentoring for 4-5 years who is in law enforcement. He is an honorable man who served two tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and is sold out on Jesus. However, making the connection between his work as a law enforcement officer, his faith, and his tours of duty was especially difficult for him. He struggled with the carnage he had seen in the middle east, the current political tension around his career, and the love that Jesus wants him to share with his neighbor... (aka all those he comes into contact with every day). 

Throughout our friendship, I have prayed with him and for him, but making the connection between his faith and his work has always been, frankly, just plain hard.

Then, about two months ago, I got a text message from him that said,

"I'm just mentally preparing for my journey. Nothing fancy. No theology. No arguments. Just going to offer to share the great news that is Jesus Christ. Offer a small ABC to Salvation, and if they would like, I 'd be happy to baptize them. I don't know where this idea came from, but it came to me that I could do it, and it can be my part. Even if I only lead one person to Jesus this year, one more eternal life will be saved. I'm just a nobody who wants to tell everybody."

Talk about a leap of faith - I am so proud of him! And did you catch the last line of my friend’s text message? I’m just a nobody who wants to tell everybody.

Matthew 28:18-20 says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

When Jesus gave the great commission, it was to fisherman and tax collectors – it was to nobodies. Yet, Jesus chose to use them to spread the gospel to every nation, and it was Jesus who empowered them to do so. In the same way, God wants to use you in whatever profession you’re in to bring the good news to those around you! All you have to do is take the same leap of faith the apostles did, the same leap of faith that my friend did. Say yes to God.

For some easy ways to get started sharing the gospel in your own workplace, pick up a copy of our new book, iWork4Him: Change the Way You Think About Faith and Work.

Jim

About the Author, Jim Brangenberg

Jim's Mission: We are called to be examples of Christ to those around us. With that in mind, Jim is passionate about helping Christ followers connect their faith to their work!

The Walls Are Coming Down

For the last 13 months, our country has been caught in a holding pattern. Most people have been stuck within the confines of their home, removed from any social interaction outside their immediate household due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The rub is, we were created for relationship, for community – and without it, we begin to break down.

As the U.S. starts to open back up, Christ-followers have an unprecedented opportunity to engage with the lonely, the hopeless, and the socially starving. However you define “your community” – whether work, neighbors, or friends - I guarantee there are those inside it who need healing, who need hope, who need Jesus.

Wherever you are, and wherever you go, you carry the light of God with you. Matthew 5:15-16 says, “Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others…” You see, God has placed you right where you are on purpose and for a purpose. He wants to use you as a lamp in the darkness to bring light and encouragement to all those around you who don’t know him yet – to those who are stuck in isolation and hopelessness.

So, as you begin to go back out into the wide world, stop and look around you. Who doesn’t know Jesus yet? What can you do to bring hope, light, love, and healing to them today?

The iWork4Him Nation Covenant lays out a simple plan for transforming your workplace into a mission field, but that same plan can help us activate a ministry of healing in our community.

• Start praying for those in your community.

• Look for ways to serve those around you.

• Work to befriend others.

• Offer to pray with your community members.

Whether you stop to talk to your neighbor in the front yard, invite your coworker to lunch on the first day back to the office, or offer to pray with your boss - be a person that’s a good listener, that demonstrates excellence, that authentically cares, and that brings the light of Christ into the dark places.

The walls are coming down in our country, and as those walls come down, people are ready to hear about Jesus. Don’t miss this opportunity to be a cultural influence for Christ. If you are looking for more inspiration and encouragement about how to share your faith at work and at home, tune in to The Awaken Podcast Network.

Jim

About the Author, Jim Brangenberg

Jim's Mission: We are called to be examples of Christ to those around us. With that in mind, Jim is passionate about helping Christ followers connect their faith to their work!

What does obedience look like in your life?

It’s an exciting week here at iWork4Him! On April 15th of 2021, iWork4Him celebrates 8 years as a media ministry focused on the intersection of faith and work. We have interviewed over 3000 people on over 1800 shows resulting in thousands of hours of video/audio available to a nation of workplace believers hungry for encouragement and resources to help them live out their faith at work. But it might not have happened if Martha and I weren’t obedient to the call of God on our lives…Read on.

On February 19th, 2013, I was speaking before a small crowd on five ways to incorporate your faith in your work (now the iWork4Him Nation Covenant). After finishing, I sat down next to the only person in the group I didn’t know, a woman named Deborah Roseman who owned a Christian talk radio station in St. Pete, FL. She said to me, “You should talk about that ‘faith and work’ on the radio.” I immediately dismissed her and told her she was crazy. Deborah responded that she was serious. I was flattered and told her if she was serious, I would send her an executive summary I had been working on for the last several years about the intersection of faith and work.

Well, I sent the executive summary, and within an hour, Deborah called to arrange a lunch with Martha and me. We were told that our show was needed but would cost $200 an hour to be on the air. I immediately shut down and thought, How ridiculous! I can hear my voice for free; I don’t have to pay $200 to listen to myself.

As we were walking out of lunch, I told Martha that this was a stupid idea, but despite the high production cost, I thought it was an answer to our prayers. You see, we had been praying that we would have a job that would lead to significance, not just a pursuit of success. We wanted a job where God would get all the credit because our success simply could not be attributed to our natural gifts, talents, and abilities. I had also prayed just 90 days earlier - on November 20th, 2012 - for a way to challenge thousands of people to live out their faith in their work. This radio gig seemed like an answer to all of these prayers, BUT it was shaped totally different than we expected. I’m a public speaker and love to be in front of crowds; radio was not a talent I possessed. I told Martha, “This is nuts, and it doesn’t make sense, but I believe we have to say yes, because it is an answer to prayer.”

We went on air on April 15th, 2013, and 8 years later, God has shown Himself in so many ways. What would have happened if we had just said no? I’m glad I don’t have to find out!

What is God asking you to do today that totally doesn’t make sense? Try being blindly obedient and see the miracles of His ways. For more of our story, get ready for our book “iWork4Him” to be released on 6/15/21.

Jim

About the Author, Jim Brangenberg

Jim's Mission: We are called to be examples of Christ to those around us. With that in mind, Jim is passionate about helping Christ followers connect their faith to their work!

A God Sized Remodel

Martha and I acquired a little house in the middle of small-town, mid-west America recently. The place is 125 years old and drew us in immediately with its quaint appearance and excellent location. But here’s the funny thing about old houses: they look great on the outside, but they usually need A LOT of fixing on the inside.

Ever since iWork4Him launched, we have used Romans 12:2 as our team verse.

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.”

You and me… we’re a lot like my old house. Our lives might look pretty good on the outside, but the inside is full of broken, malfunctioning, outdated things. But when we give our lives to Christ, God does a full inspection of the interior of us and prepares for a complete remodel on our hearts, minds, and souls. Just like Martha and I had to rip out the old plumbing, sewer, and electrical in our old house, God dismantles all of the bad connections, wiring, and plumbing inside of our minds and replaces them with brand-new, more effective versions.

This internal remodeling process is a lifelong venture – one that God will be doing until our very last day on this earth. I don’t mind it, but sometimes the remodeling projects on my heart, mind, and soul take a little longer than I think they should. It can be tiring to be a work in progress, but take heart: no matter what the pace, God IS transforming you. The work of the Holy Spirit is perfect and purposeful, and He is building in you qualities and characteristics that will reflect Him to everyone you come into contact with.

Take a few moments to do a self-evaluation today. Is God actively remodeling something in you? If not, is there something that you need to allow him access to?

Have a great week and enjoy working on your next personal remodeling project.

Jim

About the Author, Jim Brangenberg

Jim's Mission: We are called to be examples of Christ to those around us. With that in mind, Jim is passionate about helping Christ followers connect their faith to their work!

Hearing God’s Call to the Workplace Mission Field

Growing up, I always wanted to be a businesswoman. I loved numbers and would daydream about walking into an accounting office in a tailored blue suit. But I was never sure if my passion for business was actually something God wanted me to do. Sure, I was gifted in it, but no one in the Church ever talked about business being a God-given calling; it was never endorsed from the pulpit as such. Then, when I was 13-years-old, I felt strongly like God’s purpose for me was to go into full-time Christian ministry. It’s not that my passion for business ever left, just that I couldn’t figure out how to connect those two callings on my life into one. I wanted to serve the Lord, and I wanted to be in business, but NO ONE could connect those dots for me.

After Jim and I got married, we decided the next logical step was to enroll in seminary. Although we both had graduated college with business degrees, we had also committed our lives to full-time ministry and believed that seminary was the obvious right thing to do. But God had different ideas. He stepped in the way of that seminary education and set us off on the path to realizing that business and ministry are connected, that they are both callings from God. 

It took until I was nearly 40-years-old to realize that God truly had called me to both business and ministry, that He had called me to be a full-time minister inside the world of business. My giftings in administration and organization, my love for people, God, and business are all beautifully intertwined in my specific calling. And it is the Holy Spirit who empowers me to live out a life of ministry inside a life of work.

So, what about you? Have you heard God’s voice calling you to full-time Christian ministry? Have you also felt a call towards the marketplace, government or education, health care or the arts?

It’s okay! It's way better than okay, it's great! 

God has gifted you uniquely to carry out the calling He has for your life. It’s time for us to flip the switch; to recognize that God’s will can include both full-time ministry and a role in the workplace.

Your workplace is your mission field, a place of full-time ministry. Celebrate it! Tell everyone around you that you are called to work, and your work is from God.

This month I’ve been talking with Catherine Gates and Nadya Dickson about the unique struggles and triumphs that women face every day as they seek to live out their faith at work.  We are preparing for a new Podcast, sheWorks4Him that will be hosted by Catherine, Nadya, and me. If you are looking for encouragement, resources, and great connections, tune in to our first episode on 4/19/21 and online at www.iWork4Him.com/sheWorks4him

By Martha Brangenberg

About the Author, Martha Brangenberg

Born into an entrepreneurial family, Martha has been involved in small business her entire life. Gifted with an attention to detail and a sweet sensitive spirit, Martha is a servant leader with a deep faith in Jesus.

Mere Christianity - He Will Make You Perfect

I am a reader; I love to read. The volumes I pick up are often about the faith and work movement or are specific books to prepare for an iWork4Him podcast, but I also enjoy a good novel. In particular, the fiction of C.S. Lewis has been a longtime favorite, but I’ll be the first to admit that his non-fiction has always been a bit of a stretch for me. Three times in the last 40 years, I have picked up his book Mere Christianity, started it, and then not finished.

I was recently inspired to pick up Mere Christianity again when I heard that it was based on C.S. Lewis’s radio appearances during World War II. Apparently, Lewis was asked by the UK Government to come on air and tell people about Christianity, to share his hope in a time that was incredibly dark for Europe. For many nights, C.S. Lewis talked about how he went from being an Atheist to becoming an all-out Christ Follower and Christian Apologist. He had the opportunity to educate a nation in peril about eternal hope found in truth.

As a radio host myself, this story was intriguing enough to help me finish Mere Christianity. In the book, there is a particular quote of Lewis’s that stuck with me. In it, he expounds on Matthew 5:48, “You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

“The command Be ye perfect is not idealistic gas. Nor is it a command to do the impossible. He is going to make us into creatures that can obey that command. He said (in the Bible) that we were “gods,” and He is going to make good His words. If we let Him—for we can prevent Him, if we choose—He will make the feeblest and filthiest of us into a god or goddess, a dazzling, radiant, immortal creature, pulsating all through with such energy and joy and wisdom and love as we cannot now imagine, a bright stainless mirror which reflects back to God perfectly (though, of course, on a smaller scale) His own boundless power and delight and goodness. The process will be long and, in parts, very painful; but that is what we are in for. Nothing less. He meant what He said.”

Talk about a game-changer! All the pain, suffering, adversity, difficult days and years - they all have a purpose. God is using them to make us perfect, to make us into the image of His Son. Wow. This reality has been rocking my world!

As a Christ Follower at work, this fact is a game-changer for you too. God is delivering on His promise to make you perfect, and He is using everything that happens in your life to make you more dependent on Him and His words and His Spirit. He is creating a new heart, mind, and soul in you so that you can minister to those you work alongside and introduce them to the same divine rescue plan.

Think about it. You are on your way to perfect, and He will use it to attract others to Him. Awesome. And do you know what the best part is? It doesn’t depend on our strength or abilities; it’s all on Him! All you have to do is be willing to lay yourself down, to “let Him make the feeblest, filthiest of us into… a bright stainless mirror which reflects God perfectly… His boundless power and delight and goodness.”

God’s will for you today, His purpose for you at work, is that you might be a living reflection of Him to a world desperately in need of eternal hope found in truth.

For more encouragement and support about living a life worthy of Christ during your work week, I encourage you to pick up a copy of our new book iWork4Him and check out the Awaken Podcast Network, a gathering place for over a 100 different podcasts from the faith and work movement!

Jim

About the Author, Jim Brangenberg

Jim's Mission: We are called to be examples of Christ to those around us. With that in mind, Jim is passionate about helping Christ followers connect their faith to their work!

Your Calling Doesn’t Expire When You Retire

Heads up: the subject of this blog might make you uncomfortable, BUT it will be worth it, I promise! In fact, I believe that the future of the Church depends on what we are talking about today: the fact that you have a God-given calling and that calling doesn’t retire.

Over the last seven decades, an enormous new industry has developed to meet the pleasure needs of the over 100 million retired folks in America. We have whole towns dedicated to retirees. We have a camping industry that thrives on selling motorhomes to retirees and building campgrounds for retirees to park their motorhomes and hang out with other retirees. There are tennis and golf clubs, condos on the beach, endless cruises... all targeted at retired Americans. But why? What is the purpose of it all?

Pleasure. We have come to equate retirement with pleasure.

King Solomon had the dream retirement budget - more than Bill Gates, Elon Musk, or Warren Buffet. He had power, money, notoriety, and his life centered on maximizing pleasure. In fact, he wrote a whole book about his pursuit of it - The Book of Ecclesiastes. And in chapter 2, verse 1, he wrote,

“I said to myself, “Come on, let’s try pleasure. Let’s look for the ‘good things’ in life.” But I found that this, too, was meaningless.”

Have you ever wondered if the “American Dream” version of retirement (retirement = pleasure) is healthy? Is it what is best for the Body of Christ? I can’t help but think that if God intended us to work for 40 years and then rest and relax for 30 or 40 years, He would have said so in Scripture. Instead, what He said is that we need to learn to be content. He said that we need to weekly find peace, relax, and get refreshed in preparation for what is next… and there is a next if you are still alive. Heck, Moses didn’t start fulfilling his calling until he was 80 years old!

What this country needs, and what the Body of Christ needs, is a generation of Christ-following retirees who are itching to use the gifts God has given them to fulfill God’s purpose for them. Retirees are in the perfect position to shape and influence the lives of those coming up in the ranks of the next generations. 

So, if you are a retiree, consider ways that you can engage with young people and families. Join a small group with diverse ages, go back to work with the mindset of being a “Mom” or “Dad” to the young people you work alongside, look for ways to influence your kids/grandkids/great grandkids. Pray for the next generations - Text them. Call them. Feed into them. Show them that your wisdom and experience are valuable and tell them your story.

To find more inspiration about living out your calling into retirement, listen to the iRetire4Him Podcast or pick up a copy of our new book, iRetire4Him: Unlocking God’ Purpose for Your Retirement.

Remember, your calling didn’t die the day you retired, it got a new lease on life!

Jim

Hey, by the way – this last week’s podcast is a great next step in the conversation about retirement.  https://www.iwork4him.com/podcast/2021/3/introducing-iretire4him

About the Author, Jim Brangenberg

Jim's Mission: We are called to be examples of Christ to those around us. With that in mind, Jim is passionate about helping Christ followers connect their faith to their work!

What pain in this world drives you to your knees?

God made each of us unique.

• Each has a unique set of gifts, talents, and abilities.

• Each has a unique relationship with God – experiencing Him differently than I do.

• Each has a unique passion in their heart.

• Each is brought to their knees by a different pain in the world.  

These unique qualities drive us to solve different problems in our work, homes, and communities. What is it for you?

Justice & integrity are two of my core values.  The pain of injustice and the lack of journalistic integrity are just two of the issues that drive me to my knees.  I pray about them and ask God to show me what I can do to make a difference. 

The Holy Spirit of God has laid a burden on your heart for some ill in our society. Fixing this problem is impossible on your own. That is the way God likes it. It is impossible to solve the problem without Him by your side.  So many of us stop at "impossible" instead of going to our knees and bringing this impossibility to God.

King Hezekiah looked over Jerusalem's walls at an Assyrian army of 185,000 men and knew that Judah couldn't win a war against them. But Hezekiah, and the entire city, petitioned the Lord, and He delivered them from the impossible. It happened to Gideon and Deborah. It happened for King Jehoshaphat. It happened for Peter at Pentecost, and it can happen for you.

God is ready to solve the impossible He has laid on your heart, if only you will ask Him to join you. Nothing is impossible with God.  As a follower of Jesus, our culture needs you to solve the "ill" that drives you to your knees. Ask God to be your impossible solver today.

Our book iWork4Him is full of incredible faith stories of people just like you that God used to solve impossible problems in the workplace. An incredible example is a recent interview:  Taking on the Goliath's of the World where a few unlikely physicians shaped the future of Health Care.  Does that sound impossible? Well guess what? It's God possible!

Jim

About the Author, Jim Brangenberg

Jim's Mission: We are called to be examples of Christ to those around us. With that in mind, Jim is passionate about helping Christ followers connect their faith to their work!