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!

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.

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's hiding underneath?

A couple of years ago, Martha and I bought a house that didn’t have a traditional cement sidewalk. Instead, it had a paver sidewalk. Now, where we grew up in Minnesota, you could never have a paver sidewalk because of the frost and ice, but here in Florida, we don’t really have a frost problem.

So, here’s the deal, this existing home has B-E-A-U-tiful oak trees in the front yard. I have never lived in a house with large mature trees, and I love the shade and beauty they provide. However, with all this beauty came an unexpected consequence: tree roots. Here in Florida, we get a lot of rain, and I mean A LOT of rain. In the summer, it’s not unusual for us to get 60 inches of rain. So oak trees, which traditionally dig down deep with their roots to access enough water, in Florida have shallow roots because the rain keeps the soil moist.

About six months ago, I noticed one of my pavers popping up higher than those around it. I thought it might be an anomaly, but it kept getting worse and eventually became a tripping hazard. I didn’t know exactly what was under the paver causing it to pop up, but I suspected it was an evil root plotting to destroy my cool sidewalk. Yesterday, I decided to find out.

To dismantle a paver sidewalk, you have to be careful to remove the paver without chipping it, breaking it, or disturbing the other pavers. In order to get to the “root” of my problem, I had to deconstruct my sidewalk piece by piece. 

Guess what? I found gold nuggets. Tons of gold nuggets. I am rich, and this is my last blog…NO! What I found was not one root or two roots, but three roots all under one 6-inch paver, and one of the roots was two inches thick. Two inches. I actually had to remove several other pavers to get a decent amount of the big root out from under the sidewalk. This operation required the right tools to remove the pavers and cut out the evil root. Then I had to bring in fresh soil to replenish what the root had displaced and carefully put the paver back in place. After I did all of that, I again have a beautiful sidewalk.

This is so much like life as a Christian!

When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit moves into our hearts. 

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:19, “do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you…?”

And as the new resident, the Holy Spirit has the ultimate goal of perfecting us – of getting rid of the tripping hazards in our hearts. However, to do so, he has to cut out all the evil that has rooted itself inside and which plots to destroy our lives.

Getting out the rooted evil in us can feel like surgery, like cutting off a limb. The tools the Holy Spirit uses to remove it often come in the form of adversity, or discipline, or instruction, or accountability, or trials – all of which can hurt terribly! But once the root is out, God can bring in fresh soil to replenish you and rebuild your life better than it was before!

Take some time today for self-evaluation: is there a root in your life causing a tripping hazard for you or those around you? Allow the Holy Spirit to dismantle the pavers around your heart, cut out anything that is not of Him, and replenish the soil. God’s purpose is for you to be perfected! For fresh “soil,” go to www.AwakenPodcastNetwork.com and find a podcast to supply you with encouragement, challenge, wisdom, and guidance for today and every workday.

-  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!

Its Simple Really

If you are a listener to the iWork4Him Podcast, then you will understand when I say, “You are a workplace missionary.” Your ministry exists within your workplace – whatever that workplace looks like. As a workplace missionary, you represent the Creator God, Almighty King of the Universe, The Savior of the World, and the very Counselor of God. You are perfectly equipped to represent God in your workplace through fantastic work effort, a great work attitude, and a prayerful heart to bring Jesus with you to work every day.  With Jesus by your side and the Holy Spirit of God inside of you, no workplace responsibility is too difficult to face, and no relationship challenges too hard to bring healing.

Embrace the calling on your life as a nurse, salesperson, technician, cook, mom, elected official, business owner, etc. (too many jobs to list!) God has placed you right where He needs you to bring hope, healing, and peace to your workplace. He has you in your work to reach the lost through you. You don’t need to preach or pound people over the head with the bible, but you do need to be an open book with your life in Jesus on display.

This country needs healing, and it starts with you…right in your workplace mission field. 

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 new recipe for you: AwakenPodcastNetwork.com

There are a few things that I consistently do in life.  I organize, share what other people are doing, enjoy a good deal, and pay attention to what God is up to in others' lives. 

God has been churning these together recently, and like a good recipe, when you add the right ingredients together, you get tasty results.  Read to the end to see the recipe that God's been creating.

When Martha and I started the iWork4Him broadcast in 2013 – we were one of only a few podcasts dedicated to talking about Faith and Work. Today there are dozens or even 100's, and we find more every day. We have interviewed thousands of people over the last 8 years on the iWork4Him show, and many of these ministry leaders, authors and organizational leaders have started their own podcasts.  There are podcasts specifically for business-people, Christian Working Women, financial advisors, Christian Counselors, and so much more. There are podcasts from many perspectives and cultural diversities produced by people who want to live out their faith in their work and share their expertise. These Faith and Work Podcasts are dedicated to inspiring you through faith stories to live out your faith in your workplace mission field. There are podcasts by great organizations devoted to discipling you to live out your faith in your workplace ministry…BUT WHERE DO YOU FIND THEM ALL!!!!???

In the past, the best way to find a podcast related to your faith and work was through a recommendation from a friend.  If you are like me, you want to see lots of choices and try a few for yourself.  A simple search on your favorite Podcast Platform will find a few, but there are so many more podcasts available and no great system for finding them.

The www.AwakenPodcastNetwork.com has pulled together the voices in the Faith and Work movement into one place so that you can quickly find a voice or two that challenge and teach you regularly.  The Awaken Podcast Network is a platform dedicated to Unlocking Gods Purpose for you in your Work. This one place can supply you with encouragement, challenge, wisdom, and guidance for today and every workday. You are a workplace missionary, and you have a workplace ministry.

The www.AwakenPodcastNetwork.com is just the place to get you started today in Transforming your workplace into a mission field.

Let's look at what ingredients God has been putting together in a recipe and its results.

1. God is stirring in Christians' hearts to live an integrated life in every sphere of influence – from Real Estate to Elected Officials to Coaches.

2. Podcasting continues to grow. Many people share their voice of expertise and have started to include the Biblical perspective openly.

3. A platform has been created to allow the organizing of these voices into one space.

4. Anyone can access this platform to find shows that will directly meet their needs and help them grow.

5. This web app is found at www.AwakenPodcastNetwork.com and can also be added to any website for a small monthly fee.

 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 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!

Have you thanked them?

It’s true for all of us. Each of us has had at least one person, and maybe more that have significantly influenced our walk with Jesus. For me, it was my Jr. High Youth pastor who loved me when I was a squirrelly 12-year-old. He was there when I went “All In” for Jesus. Then there was Mike, who was a college student who actively discipled me in high school. He taught me the bible, how to study the bible, and how to enjoy the bible. He invested time and energy and asked me tough questions about my walk with Jesus as well. There were others, too. As an adult, I have had three racquetball partners who were also great influencers in my life. They motivated me to exercise and even loved me when I acted ridiculously.   There was Robert, who taught me how to be a minister to men. Sol taught me how to pray with others, on the spot.  My friend Bob has played a significant part in shaping the destiny and direction personally and iWork4Him.

Who do you have in your life that walked alongside you on the Narrow Path? Have you thanked them? Have you gone back and reminded them of the significance they have in your life?   I have done this many times with those that have impacted me.  It honors them and honors God for putting them in your life.  Take time this week to thank those who have been used by God to shape you into who you are today. They have been used by God to get you to where you are today.

Now what?  You’ve walked down memory lane for a few minutes, feeling nostalgic about someone special God put in your life.  You’ve sent them a card or called to thank them for spending energy on you. With these special people fresh on your mind, think about how you can pay it forward.  Who are you leading?  What spiritual impact are you having on someone around you?  Are you being a leader worth following?  Make a decision today to pay it forward and pray for God to use you in the lives of those around you.  You may never know the difference you can make when you walk in obedience.

A Culture of Leadership  Listen to this iWork4Him Podcast to learn more about leading well.

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!

Generational Angst at Work?

When's the last time your beliefs about another generation were challenged? Ours were recently after interviewing a hip millennial couple whose God-given work is to enable generational reconciliation in the workplace. (click here to listen to the interview)  What on earth is “generational reconciliation”?

It's helping each generation - most often it’s the Baby Boomers {born between 1946 and 1964} and the Millennials {born between1981-1996} really understand and appreciate each other’s attributes.  To shine a light on the hidden beliefs and misbeliefs each side is holding.  To then know the truth about each of the generations and to learn the best attributes of each, so that each person, regardless of age, can be understood, appreciated and leveraged.

What has this got to do with faith in the workplace?  Well, for one thing, as Christ-followers we are called to love and respect everyone. That’s hard to do, if you’re a baby boomer who can’t see beyond the supposed laziness and lack of focus the Millennials in your department have!  Or if you’re a Millennial pushing against the inside-the-box, outdated ways and thinking of the boomers, who just happen to run the company….

Let’s not forget the “bottom line”.  In the next two years Millennials will make up 50% of the workplace. If you run an organization, or manage anyone from this generation, your knowledge of them and how they work, and how well you know and manage them will be a huge predictor of you meeting with success or spiraling down in frustration. 

Here are a couple of experts we’ve interviewed on iWork4Him, that can help with your generational angst in the marketplace:

https://danitabye.com/

http://grantskeldon.com/

http://gabriellebosche.com/

By Caroline Mendez

About the Guest Blogger, Caroline Mendez, National Brand Ambassador, iWork4Him

Caroline’s Mission: To raise the visibility of Christian Women in Leadership. She is passionate about empowering each woman she meets to be free from that which keeps them oppressed.

Is Your Business a “For-Profit Ministry”?

Recently, I heard a unique term for a business where the leader is a Christ follower and seeks to serve others with it, in Jesus’s name. The term is credited by Roy Goble, entrepreneur and author of “Salvaged” and “Junkyard Wisdom” to his father. Roy’s father called his business a “for-profit ministry”.

A what?  

That’s what Roy’s dad called their family business, a junkyard in Silicon Valley, of all places.  He had a holistic approach to business and people. Yes, he was a businessman, who was committed to turning a profit so it could provide for his family. AND, He saw it as an opportunity to help people by giving them a job, or using it as a tool, to help anyone who came his way, or onto their property. 

[Hear more about Roy’s story in this quick-hitting #PowerPod HERE]

One of his favorite things to do was to help his employees ensure a way for their children to go to college.  There was an intentionality of bringing Christ with him to the junkyard every day. And as Roy shared with us during an iWork4Him interview, his father’s example set the bar for how HIS work would always include Jesus Christ. Roy said he was not aware there WAS a way to work without his faith being a part of it.

As James 4:17 exhorts us:

So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. 

What would it take, for you to transition or shift, your business to a “for-profit ministry” this year?

About the Guest Blogger, Caroline Mendez, National Brand Ambassador, iWork4Him

Caroline’s Mission: To raise the visibility of Christian Women in Leadership. She is passionate about empowering each woman she meets to be free from that which keeps them oppressed.